I had to be sure. I took a step away and turned to face him, keeping myself between him and the others. “Tell me something only Pashim would know.”
Pashim smiled and nodded. “Very well, but first tell me, did you find the letter I left for you inside my mattress?”
My pulse quickened, heat pressing behind my eyes. “Oh…It’s you. It truly is you.” I made to move toward him, but Dhoona grabbed my arm.
“It can read your thoughts. It can find what it needs.”
Pashim sighed, then looked to his left, speaking to thin air. “You were right. I need you for this part.”
The spot beside him shimmered, and a slender, dark-haired woman materialized, dressed in leathers and a deep green cloak, an impressive staff in her right hand.
A wave of energy hit me, cracking and fizzing, raising the hairs on my arms.
My heart shot into my mouth.
Kalani let out a soft cry, and the brothers grew still, their gazes fixed on the woman. The wave of energy pulled back, sucking a little air from my lungs.
“Hey, all,” she said. “I’m Yama’s replacement, but you can call me Priti.”
My heart swelled in my chest, throat pinching as I took a shaky step toward her, then another. Her mouth trembled, matching the wave of emotions crashing over me, and the next moment we were in each other’s arms.
“Babe.” I squeezed her hard. “You’re here. You…Oh gods. Priti.”
“I missed yousomuch,” she said.
I held on to her for long seconds, sobbing and laughing at the same time. She finally pulled away, placing a palm on my cheek.
“You’ve lost weight,” she said.
I let out a soft laugh that was part sob. “I lost two of my best friends and the drohi I love, so yeah…I lost a little weight.” I sniffed, pulling back to cock a bicep and flexed. “But I put on some muscle.”
She laughed. “Yeah, you did.”
“What in the gods is going on?” Kalani asked.
Priti looked over my shoulder, her expression sobering. “Let’s sit around the fire, and I shall tell you what I know.”
The shift in her tone from casual to formal and the underlying voice of command teased my primal instinct to obey. The others immediately moved to the fire, obviously similarly affected.
“You’re Death now. Truly Death.” I searched her face, seeing my friend but also something else. Something more. Something ancient.
She smiled slightly. “Yeah, Leela. I am. Now sit, and I’ll tell you everything I can.”
Pashim held out his hand, and I took it, allowing him to lead me to the fire.
Two of my best friends were back from the dead, and I was eager to find out exactly how.
Chapter 13
CHEESE AND AN ALMOST TALE
BLUE
The hunk of cheese is fresh and fragrant. I sniff to make sure it’s not tainted in some way.
The primordial evil rolls his eyes. “It’s untampered with, rat. Why would I wish to drug you when I already have you in a cage? Now eat or don’t. It is all the same to me.”
He sets the tiny silver key to my cage on the table between us. It’s so close. So very close, but I don’t even look at it. Not directly anyway. As far as the bastard’s concerned, I have eyes only for my cheese.
