Slaying Year Two (Grim Reaper Academy 2)

Her smile grew. “This is your chance to see what life on the other side is like. Why waste it? After all, you never know when it will all be taken away from you.”

I cocked an eyebrow. There she was! The Pandora I was accustomed to.

“It’s a truth universally known that nothing lasts forever, be it good or bad.”

“Are you saying that…”

“I’m not saying anything,” she cut me off quickly, pushing herself away from the doorframe and taking a step back. “I’m just stating facts. Anyway, will you come to my party? Come on, do it as an experiment. Your first party where you’re the center of attention. Aren’t you even a little bit curious?”

I sighed. I had to admit she had a way with words, and she knew how to read people. Or me. Maybe she just knew how to read me because I was so damn transparent.

“Give me a second.”

I slammed the door in her face, knowing she’d wait for me. There was no way she was going back to her party without the prize everyone was waiting for. Corri jumped off the pillow, flapping her wings viciously to keep herself in the air.

“You need me, right? You need me!” She spun around once and kicked her tiny feet in some silly dance she’d invented. “What shall it be, Mistress? Wonder Woman? Captain Marvel? Black Cat?”

“Superheroes?” I laughed. “I gotta say, though. Compared to my blockheads’ ideas, yours are inspired.” GC and Paz had gone for Disney princesses. Corri had only been around me for two weeks, and she already knew me better. Anyway, I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable dressed up as a superhero, so I went for something tamer. Still a superhero, but less angry than the DC and Marvel ones. “Let’s go for Sailor Moon.”

Corri nodded knowingly. She thought for a second then started swirling fast in the air until she disappeared with a poof, leaving a cloud of sparkling dust that dissipated quickly. I went to brush my teeth and wash my face. It would take her a minute. The pixie had a bunch of tricks up her sleeve, and I still had no idea whether her powers were limited or not. They probably were, but since I never asked her to do anything difficult, I was never going to find out what her limits were. She was back three minutes later, dropping a costume onto the bed. It was perfect, and it even had a wig. I put it on quickly, laughing all the while. Sailor Moon had been my favorite cartoon when I was little. I related a lot to the clumsy girl with long, yellow pigtails. My own hair was blond back then, and my mother had insisted I let it grow. I chopped it off later, in fifth grade, and dyed it blue. It was fine. With my new look, I could still be Sailor Neptune, who I later considered way cooler than Sailor Moon. She was more feminine, more mature, and she could play the violin. So many things I was not…

“This is perfect! Corri, you knocked it out of the park.”

The pixie beamed at me. “It was no big deal. I just went to Japan and back.”

I blinked at her, then laughed out loud. She was kidding, for sure. Still, it was better not to ask.

“Now, be a good pixie and stay here, okay? I won’t be gone long.”

“Don’t worry about me. Go, have fun, party until morning!”

I rolled my eyes and opened the door. Pandora was waiting for me outside. Yeah, that won’t happen. The plan was to go there, stuff my face with some shrimp and cupcakes, have a drink or two, and once the students who’d come to see me got drunk enough to forget I was there at all, leave. The idea was to get Pandora the successful party she wanted, then ditch her. Maybe GC and Paz would want to ditch the thing with me.

* * *

It was cold on the beach. Not the best place to have a party at the end of October, if you ask me. On the other hand, I was probably the only one who was suffering. I was the only human. The mages could get warm in seconds with some hot brew made of weird plants I’d never heard about, the demons were naturally hot and never felt the cold, and the angels had their wings to protect them from the harsh breeze coming from the ocean. Vampires never felt cold, nor warm, and mermaids and mermen were fine with either temperature. GC hugged me to his chest to warm me up, as Paz went to get me a mug of mulled wine.

“I’m so glad you changed your mind, goddess.” He kissed my ear.

“Mhm…”

I looked around me. Word had gone out that I was at Pandora’s Halloween party, and more and more students were pouring down the cliff. As far as I could tell, no one was coming through the caves, which meant they had no idea they were connected to the Academy via a secret staircase and an underground tunnel. Warm air was coming out of the large mouth of the cave, and I pulled GC away and toward one of the campfires. But no matter how much distance I put between myself and the cave, I could still feel the damp air tickling my legs. This is stupid. It’s all in my head. Because I was wearing Sailor Moon’s tall red boots. The skirt was a little too short for my liking.

“You look sexy in that sailor outfit,” Paz smirked.

I took the mug from him and greedily inhaled the rich cinnamon and apple vapors.

“I regret everything,” I mumbled. “I should’ve come as a giant hot dog or something. Wouldn’t be freezing cold…”

He stepped closer and shoved GC in the shoulder. “Move. I can keep her warm. My skin is naturally hot.”

GC narrowed his eyes at him but decided that my comfort was more important than his ego. Well, that was a first! Pazuzu wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into him, resting my head on his chest.

“Ouch! What the hell is that?”

He chuckled. “Sorry. Just my pirate sword.”

He pulled the prop sword out of its sheath and threw it in the sand. With the bumpy obstacle between us gone, I settled back into his embrace. Only to feel another bump, more familiar this time, against my buttocks. I smiled. This one, I could be on board with.