The Daughter of Death- *RAYOR*

Chapter 16: The Marvellous Kind of Trouble

A carbon copy of myself stood next to me. "Aster fell into your arms? You're joking."

"Yep," I said. "But then Death came and chewed him out, big time."

"About what?" Levy's eyes widened.

"Blakely." I hung upside down, hooking my feet onto the banister.

Levy rolled his eyes. "You're lying,"

"Why isn't Aster back yet? He may be scrubbing blood and guts, a kidney or two..." I let my voice trail mysteriously. "We'll never know, Levy."

"Oh really?" Levy rolled his eyes as Aster strode in, looking mad. He sat down, opened a box of chocolates, and stuffed three in his mouth.

"You know those are for guests, right?" I said annoyingly. It was a habit that I'd perfected- there was a particular pitch to be at to do it. "And you don't need to eat. I think you've had your fair share of life energy today."

Aster's eyes widened, probably from the sugar rush. "Just because I don't need to do it, doesn't mean I don't do it," he said.

"Well," I said expectantly.

"Mmmph?" Aster had just stuffed two more chocolates into his mouth.

"Well," I said, taking an orange chocolate before Levy could. He harrumphed and took the rose cream.

"Well?"

"Details!" Levy and I said at the same time. We grinned at each other. We may clash on some parts but we always knew what the other was thinking.

"What happened?" grinned Levy.

"How's Blakely?" I pestered.

"Did you nearly die?"

"Did you get demoted to scrubbing blood and guts off the wall?"

"Something, good, no and no," said Aster. "I got pretty chewed out. Because of you, Nicco! You went and blabbed!"

"No I didn't!" I crossed my fingers behind my back.

"Yeah you did! He told me! And now he'll never want me as his right hand man!" Aster looked down gloomily, then ate another chocolate. Levy took one at random, gagged and spat it into the sink.

"Mint," he said. "And?"

"And I didn't get punished because the Grim Reaper likes me." Aster smiled a very chocolatey smile.

"How's Blakely?"

"She also got chewed out," said Aster.

"Aww," I said.

Aster looked affronted.

"Well. Are you going to help them?" I waited.

"Not yet," said Aster.

That was his answer for the next few days.

"Listen," I said. "If they die and you didn't help them, then I am going to say that I told you so. How is Death?"

"Mad," mumbled Aster. "A new batch of people died today. Twice the amount of work!"

"Mum's mad," I said. "We maybe accidentally demolished her box of chocolates."

"You told her!"

"I didn't have to. But she let you off, because you seemed 'down'." My fingers sketched quote marks around the word. "But seriously, Ass-"

Aster gave me a look.

"Aster," I corrected myself. "I want to help Blake, and I want to go to Earth. Come on."

"Are you going to annoy me?"

"Y-No. Right, Levy?"

"Wrong," he mumbled from a graphic novel.

"Lev, are you coming?"

"Of course!" He flung down the book. "It's not like we can die, can we?"

"No one's going," said Aster. "You're staying where you are. Mum'll be home in a few hours. You can't go gallivanting off to who-knows-where-"

"What does gavillanting mean?"

Aster rolled his eyes. I rolled mine back. "Blakely could be dying. Arielle could be dying."

"How do you know about Arielle?" asked Aster, caught off-guard.

"You told me about her, remember?"

"I did?" I nudged Levy, who had begun to giggle. He'd followed Aster in secret once and seen her.

"Yes," I said, poking Aster, "and she's a fine specimen."

"Specimen?"

"Go off to your reaping, then," I said. "Levy and I will sit on our hands and wait for Mum."

"I can never trust you, Nicco."

"You don't have a choice. How many reapings left?"

He sighed. "Twenty."

"Get along with it," I said. "Grim Reaper's already mad at you, you don't need to make him worse."

Aster paled, turning to the door. "Be good!"

I grinned, my tongue tickling the gap where my front tooth had fallen out. "I always am."

Levy sat down with his graphic novel as the door slammed. I grabbed his arm. He had the beginnings of a new front tooth in his mouth, and that was how, I guessed, Aster and Mum told us apart. "Let's go, Lev," I said.

"It's dangerous," said Levy primly, though I saw the spark of excitement in his eye.

"All right," I said. "I'll go on my own, then."

I turned, but Levy groaned, "I'll do it," and I heard the sound of him getting up from the armchair. "Shall we go, then?"

"Wait!" I said. I rushed upstairs to Aster's room, picked the lock and burst inside. There was an array of scythes. He had taken the best, but I grabbed a stone one for Levy and a steel one for me. I handed him it, saying, "Be careful."

"Why do I get the stone one?" he complained.

"Because I'm superior, and I was the one choosing," I said. "Come on."

"You always get us into trouble, Nicco."

I grinned again. "The marvellous kind of trouble. Let's go help Blake!"

"And Arielle," said Levy. "And Willow."

"And company," I added.

I went to the door, humming merrily. "I swear, she's growing on me."

"According to Aster, she's 'in trouble'."

"Let's get her out of it, then," I said.

"You get us into trouble in the process."

"If you save Death's daughter, what'll that do for your career?"

Though he was obviously trying to hide it, Levy's eyes popped with excitement. "Okay. Let's go."