Death's Ledger

Chapter 8 - We Should Split Up

Gabriel had inherited my lost soul.

Something about the whole situation left me feeling cold inside. How did he know we'd be there? Why would he follow us all the way to Warren & 5th on the chance that I'd be looking for Daniel's soul? What's in it for him?

"What are you doing here, Gabriel?" I repeated, earnestly.

"I'm here to help you find him," he said with a tone of reassurance. That radiating emptiness that usually surrounded him bubbled into something tangible. I concentrated on him. For the first time, I could feel him through his veil - that thin silk slip between him and the rest of this world. He was concerned about me, and it didn't matter whether I liked it or not.

Damnit.

"Sage." Blaire's voice shook me out of my haze. "We need to go. I'm running out of time."

"We should split up," I said suddenly. "I think I should go with Gabriel."

Blaire, who was already a few steps ahead of me, glanced over her shoulder. "I don't think so, Spazz."

"I have to," I said firmly. "It makes sense."

"This isn't Scooby Doo. We can't just split up and hope everything works out!" Blaire protested. Then she quietly added, "Get real, Sage, this wasn't what we talked about. We don't know him - you don't know him."

"Blaire, you don't have time to fight me on this," I said, hoping to reason with her. We were already dead, what else could possibly happen to me? "You have to go pick up. I can't have you in the same boat as me. I just can't."

"Sage is right," Gabriel said.

"No one was asking you," Blaire shot back.

"Blaire!" I rolled my eyes. She can be a snob and a jerk without her morning cigarette. "What's your damage?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interfere," he said, turning away.

"No, wait," I said hastily. Gabriel paused, looking at me over his shoulder. I could feel him putting up his veil again.

"Sage," Blaire began to protest.

I hugged her quickly. "I know. I'll be careful," I said softly, reading the fear in her eyes. "Everything's going to work out fine. Nobody puts baby in the corner."

Dirty Dancing references always put Blaire in a better mood - best friends are supposed to know those kinds of things. And like clockwork, Blaire forced a smile. "Whatever, Spazz. I'll meet you back at your tree later tonight. We have a date with City Limits. Don't be late," she whispered in my ear, and then spun away.

Gabriel and I watched as Blaire and her silver, click-clacking heels disappeared down the street, heading toward the Metro station. Just before she rounded the corner, she glanced back over her shoulder and waved good-bye.

I waited until she had turned away and then lowered my head. Now I was truly alone in the city with a guy I wasn't sure I could trust.

"When was the last time you saw Daniel Rumsfield?" Gabriel asked, unbuttoning his overcoat with a smart jerk, and throwing it wide open.

It was strange. I mean, all I knew was one second he was standing there and the next minute he was gone. "It happened so fast," I said faintly. "It was so unbelievable and so unimaginable. My mind couldn't quite grasp what had happened."

"Let me help you remember," Gabriel said, holding out his hand to me. His manner was courteous, even friendly, and yet, I looked at it for a long moment before entwining my fingers in his.

I don't know who exactly started the "smalltalk standard", so I would be more than obliged to take credit for it. I seemed to excel in expressing myself in the most insignificant ways. "Do you like this part of town?"

"You know, it's been awhile since the last time I was here," Gabriel admitted as he led me down the sidewalk, "and the streets have changed quite a bit."

I stopped, abruptly realizing what he had just said. "And when was that exactly?" I asked.

"In 1939," he said quietly; his eyes unreadable. "Right after I Death took me herself."