Unchosen by Michele Vail Page B

here?”
                  Demitrius’s voice startled me. I turned, and found him standing behind me. He looked just as surprised as I felt. Dem was as black as coffee grounds and still had a faint Jamaican accent. He’d been our ka heka since Mom left more than six years before. He had trained Ally and I to make zombies, and we considered him part of our family.
                  He held out his arms, and I collapsed into them, sobbing. Finally, I got a grip, and pulled away.
                  “Ally called me. I … what happened, Dem?” Then I realized that Dem standing outside of the Zomporium probably meant my family was out, too. Relief warred with fear. “Is everyone else safe, too?”
                  His gaze flickered from me to the fire, and then back to me again. “Everyone,” he confirmed. “’Cept your father. We can’t find ’im.”
                  “Daddy?” I turned toward the building, and gazed in horror at the carnage the fire now wrought.
                  “Last anyone saw, him was in de office.”
    My father was in the building. If Rath didn’t find him, Daddy would die. I couldn’t bear the thought. Even now, a reaper could be in the office with my father, waiting for him to take his last breath so his soul could be escorted into the afterlife.
    Tears poured from my eyes, then a new, more insidious thought wormed inside my brain. What if Rath was there to reap him?
    The breath left me in a rush, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe that of Rath. He hadn’t known there was a fire, or he wouldn’t have suggested we step right into it. I had to believe, too, that he would never reap one of my family members without telling me.
    I trusted Rath. If he could save my father, he would. I believed that whole-heartedly.
    The moments passed excruciatingly slow. Had it been a minute? Five minutes? I glanced at Dem, but his gaze was on the fire, no doubt noticing how odd it looked. If anyone would know necromancy at work, he would.
    “Someone did this,” I said.
    He nodded. “Yes, chil’. Someone did.”
    I couldn’t stand to wait another second. I did the only thing I could think of to do: I walked away from Dem, closed my eyes, and prayed to Anubis.
    If you’re there, Anubis, please, please, please help my dad. He doesn’t deserve to die. And you owe him BIG for taking care of me. I need you, Anubis. Hear me! Please!
    My throat knotted as more tears poured from my eyes. My heart turned over in my chest. Betrayal pierced me like a knife plunged into my gut. Why had Anubis abandoned me? Why wasn’t he listening?
    “Molly!”
    The urgency in Dem’s voice dried up my tears. I whirled around and watched as Rath burst through the back door, carrying my father in his arms.
    “Daddy!” I ran to them, and saw that while my father had soot on his face and blackened clothes, he was breathing.
    “Thank you, Rath. Thank you so much.”
    “He’s alive,” he said. “But he needs help.”
    “I’ll take ’im.” Dem, showing way more strength than his thin body should have, unburdened Rath of my father. “Ambulances are in the front, tendin’ to everyone sufferin’ from smoke inhalation. You go back to school. They be callin’ you soon enough. Then you come home, Molly.”
    “All right, Dem.” I agreed, even though I didn’t want to go. I leaned down and kissed my father’s brow. “I love you, Daddy,” I whispered.
    Dem turned and strode away.
    Rath enclosed me in his ar ms. I barely noticed the trip into the Shallows, letting Rath hold me tight while he took us back to my dorm room. Terror pulsed through me. I wanted nothing more than to return to Las Vegas and be with my family.
    “Try to rest,” said Rath. He kissed me softly. “I’ll watch over your dad until you get there.”
    “Thanks,” I said. My eyes felt puffy and I knew I probably resembled a raccoon. “How long do you think it’ll be before someone