Page 77 of Grim

I reach out, and to my surprise, my hand finds the edge of his soul, and like with Kane, it’s solid.

“You loved him well, GG. That’s what matters. That love? That’s not ending. That’s eternal.”

His eyes go glassy. “You think he’ll be okay?”

“I know he will. Because he had you, and I will make sure he’s well looked after.”

“Thank you, Rue,” he says, voice trembling.

The edges of the cloud of him begin to separate and disappear like cotton candy in the rain. Winston whimpers. He sighs in response to the sound, then releases a second resigned exhale.

“I’m ready to go now.”

“Checkmate,” I say to GG wistfully.

He smiles. “But what a game!”

We share a final moment as he begins to laugh lightly. The sound fades as the last smoky wisps of his apparition does as well.

And then he’s gone.

“Did he …”

“Yeah,” Kane says, voice low and unreadable. “He moved on.”

“I did that?” I whisper, staring at my palms.

“It would seem so,” he breathes. “And mere moments before his portal closed at that.”

I give him a nervous smile before shrugging, “Beginner’s luck?”

ReprimandsandRSVPs

The OtherWorld

As I step through the OtherWorld into Death’s Door, LLC, the scent hits me like it always does—a punch of ozone and burned offerings. The sights and sounds of this place always feel heightened. But today feels especially oversaturated.

I head for Big D’s spa, my shoes echoing across the onyx floor. Crimson light beats beneath my steps in a telltale thrumming, as though the OtherWorld itself has a pulse, even though its denizens do not.

He’s waiting in his private atrium—if one could call a gold-and-black pearl bathhouse surrounded by floating skulls and cascading water fountains an atrium. Big D reclines on a skeletal chaise lounge half submerged in black water, wearing a blinding lamé Speedo and a silk robe open down to his navel. Twizzlers trail down his chest like candy leis, and he’s sipping something electric blue from a chalice shaped like a spinal column while using a Twizzler as a makeshift straw.

“Kane!” he shouts, arms wide. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Let me guess. The girl died before her timeagain, and you tried to mess with timeagain.”

“She assisted on a reap,” I say flatly, stepping onto the marble platform circling the pool.

Big D sits up so fast that the water sloshes overthe rim. “She did what?” Big D’s voice booms, rattling the walls of his bathhouse. The sound would probably have me shaking in my Stefano Ricci shoes, if I was wearing them. D’s bath house rules:‘Shoes kill the vibe’.

“She assisted on a reap,” I repeat, not responding to his theatrics. “She helped a soul cross,” I say. “Willingly. There was peace. She talked to him, calmed him. Listened.”

“Why was she even there?” he growls, his candy falling into the dark water around him. “You’re supposed to be babysitting the body, not holding reaper orientation week.”

Choosing to ignore him referencing Rue asthe body,I stretch my neck before speaking. “Well, she’s my responsibility until her official crossover date. That was the arrangement. You and the Sisters were pretty clear on that.”

He stands, and water steams off his skin.Subtlety, thy name is Daryl.

“Yes, she isyour responsibility because you told her everything. Kane, you handed her AfterLife information without waiting until she was in the actual fucking AfterLife.”

“You don’t need to yell. I am aware of the situation.”