“Death’s… apprentice?” Zoe said. Ever nodded hesitantly. “So… you help guide souls to the Underworld?” Nika had stopped playing with the candle flame and was now rubbing his back under Zoe’s chin, tail caressing her cheek before he sat, regarding Ever with unblinking eyes.

  “That’s exactly what I do.” He allowed himself a little smile, his eyes still riveted on his date.

  “So when you appeared on the security camera that night,” she said slowly, “you were there to reap Bozo?”

  “Yes.” He looked away for a moment; he’d forgotten to blink. "I helped him cross to the Underworld.”

  “How?” A stray strand of her immaculate hair had fallen loose. Nika batted at it playfully, but Zoe wouldn’t be distracted. Buoyed by her curiosity and the fact that she was still talking to him, he gave her a quick rundown of the reaping process.

  “And how do you understand animals?” Zoe continued.

  ^Why do you not tell her, reaper?^ Nika mraowed indignantly.

  Ever looked at the cat, then back to Zoe. “I understand souls.” While only a partial truth, it was still the truth.

  “So he just wanted pets and to be told that he was a good boy…” Zoe's eyes trailed Nika, who had leaped off the table in disgust.

  “I ended up finding his owner later on and reaping him too.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  “Wait…” Zoe said, leaning even closer to the candle. “You’re saying he died?”

  “Yes,” Ever said. He breathed a sigh of relief internally. The less he had to talk about his ability to speak to animals now, the better. “Death - my mentor - had found out that he had died but was still tied to Earth.”

  “Was he eventually reunited with Bozo?”

  “I…”

  I kept Bozo in the office before Isaiah came down. Death said. Didn't know ghost dogs could pee; last time I ever do that.

  Ever smiled. “Yeah, they were.”

  “Did you…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you just speak with him just then? Death?”

  “You can tell?”

  “Your eyes sort of went…” Zoe’s eyes lost focus, staring off into the distance.

  Ever laughed out loud, much louder than he intended to. This made Zoe giggle, raising a hand to her mouth in an effort to hide it. It was a bit unseemly in the fancy restaurant, but neither of them cared. As their laughter died down, he grew sombre.

  “You’re not scared of me, now that you know?”

  A waiter came to clear away the empty plates. Zoe lowered her hand onto the table, turning her relaxed, open palm towards Ever - an invitation. Hesitantly, he brought up one hand, which had been clenched in a fist in his lap for the last ten minutes, putting it into hers. She gently rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.

  “I’m not scared of–”

  Nika leaped back onto the table, resting his paw on their hands.

  ^I’m not sorry for interrupting,^ Nika said. The ghost cat’s claws extended out and would have sliced into the top of his hand if he were a fur and blood feline. ^There is someone here that I believe is in need of your particular set of skills.^