She is Fatal to Death (Standalone Story)

Chapter 34 (In My Bones)

Tahoma

They met in the dining room, having just enjoyed a modest breakfast, or at least the humans did. He looked to his left side, where his mother was, and to his right, where the ever quiet Renata was. Her hold on his hand was tight and full of anxiety, but at least she felt comfortable enough to do so in front of everyone, and everyone noticed.

He felt terrible for her, especially as she did everything to avoid looking at Rocio and Diamond, who sat together across the way and had equal trouble making eye contact with anyone. They didn't hold hands, but anyone could see they were together.

Tahoma didn't know how he didn't catch this sooner—maybe because he was busy trying to keep everyone alive, which seemed like a fair enough distraction.

"We should hide away from him for as long as possible," Nirvi suggested after clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. "Let Renata figure out what is going on with her," Renata seized up beside him, "and when she is confident, we will do what we must."

Balam's red gaze shot to Renata. "Do you believe you can fight him? Nirvi told me you already have."

Tahoma squeezed her hand in reassurance when she hesitated to answer. "I didn't exactly plan to. It just happened. I got frustrated when he refused to help me, and I just...followed my instincts. If they even were my instincts."

"What does that mean?" Nirvi inquired, leaning forward.

"I think I know," Keone spoke up from his silent position as Renata struggled to find her words. Everyone's attention zoned in on the quiet man. Tahoma still reeled from the fact that Angel's star pupil turned on him, and was understandably suspicious. But if Keone was willing to talk, spill any information on Death, it wasn't like they could afford losing any kind of advantage over the grim reaper.

He cleared his throat. "While discussing your circumstances of immortality, he confided in me..." His eyes were hesitant only for a moment before resolve settled in, "that while you were there, he felt the power coming off of you–but it wasn't yours, it felt as though you were syphoning it from him."

Tahoma swallowed in response to the implication, and Renata went completely still. Her voice was hollow and hopeless. "I'm not doing it on purpose." So, she didn't deny it, much to Tahoma's despair. She must have felt what he explained on her end in the diner.

Keone nodded in sympathy. "That may be true, but you're doing it anyway. And if that last confrontation alerted us to anything, it was that your simultaneous existence is not sustainable, and he will not go down quietly."

"So," Nirvi nodded along, "it will come down to a fight."

Renata pulled her hand away and scrubbed at her face. "Why me?"

Tahoma put a comforting hand on the space between her shoulder blades. "This is all just theory–"

She shook her head, breaking his heart as he heard the desperation in her voice. "No, it's not. They're right. I can feel it in my bones that they're right." She looked down and her shoulders sagged. "I just want to know why me out of all the billions of people on this earth. Is my karma that bad?"

"We never got that far," Keone interjected. "To be frank, neither of us thought this situation would go as far as it has–yes, we considered you as an anomaly, but nothing of this magnitude..."