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Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Love
  4. Before
  5. One
  6. ONE
  7. Two
  8. TWO
  9. Three
  10. THREE
  11. Four
  12. FOUR
  13. Five
  14. FIVE
  15. Six
  16. SIX
  17. Seven
  18. SEVEN
  19. Eight
  20. EIGHT
  21. Nine
  22. NINE
  23. Ten
  24. TEN
  25. Eleven
  26. ELEVEN
  27. After
  28. One
  29. ONE
  30. Two
  31. TWO
  32. Three
  33. THREE
  34. Four
  35. FOUR
  36. Five
  37. FIVE
  38. Six
  39. SIX
  40. Seven
  41. SEVEN
  42. Eight
  43. EIGHT
  44. Nine
  45. NINE
  46. Ten
  47. TEN
  48. Eleven
  49. ELEVEN
  50. Twelve
  51. TWELVE
  52. Thirteen
  53. THIRTEEN
  54. Fourteen
  55. FOURTEEN
  56. Fifteen
  57. FIFTEEN
  58. Sixteen
  59. SIXTEEN
  60. Seventeen
  61. SEVENTEEN
  62. Eighteen
  63. EIGHTEEN
  64. Nineteen
  65. NINETEEN
  66. Twenty
  67. TWENTY
  68. Twenty-One
  69. TWENTY-ONE
  70. Twenty-Two
  71. TWENTY-TWO
  72. Twenty-Three
  73. TWENTY-THREE
  74. Twenty-Four
  75. TWENTY-FOUR
  76. Twenty-Five
  77. TWENTY-FIVE
  78. Twenty-Six
  79. TWENTY-SIX
  80. Twenty-Seven
  81. TWENTY-SEVEN
  82. Twenty-Eight
  83. TWENTY-EIGHT
  84. Eleven Months Later
  85. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  86. Copyright

‘Charon?’ I gasp theatrically. ‘So we don’t have to do this for ever?’

Deborah shakes her head then raises a finger to me. ‘However,’ she warns, looking me in the eye this time. ‘The offer is made in order of seniority. So Esen first, then Dev and if they want to stay, you will be asked, Ash.’

‘OK.’ I look from side to side at Dev and Esen, making the groove between my eyebrows deeper.

‘So . . .’ Deborah pauses and I don’t know if it’s for dramatic effect or if she genuinely needs a moment before she asks the question, but she waits a second or two before she turns her cheek to Esen and asks, ‘Miss Budak. Would you like to stay with us or would you like to continue on your journey?’

Esen pretends to think about it then says, ‘What? And miss out on all of this?’

When she holds her arms out, turning to gesture at the bookshop, Deborah doesn’t flinch, obviously expecting that response, as she turns to Dev.

‘Miss Devlin. Would you like to stay with us or would you like to continue on your journey?’

Dev shakes her head. ‘I want to stay.’

‘Very well.’ Deborah turns to me and if my heart still worked, it would be hammering hard enough against my ribs to splinter them. ‘Miss Persaud. Would you like to stay with us or would you like to continue on your journey?’

‘I don’t know,’ I lie, tucking my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket and biting down on my bottom lip. ‘Where would I go if I get on the boat with Charon?’

For one dizzying moment, I think that she’s going to tell me, that by being a reaper, I’ve earned the answer to the great, unanswered question – the meaning of life and what’s beyond the sea. She doesn’t, of course, giving me the same safe, neat answer we give everyone. ‘Wherever it is that you would like to go, Miss Persaud.’

I pretend to think about it for a moment longer, then nod. ‘Yes.’ I nod again. ‘Yes, I want to get on the boat.’

‘Very well,’ she says, nodding back. If she’s surprised by my decision, she doesn’t show it. ‘We’ll miss you, Miss Persaud,’ she tells me and I believe her. ‘But I hope that you find whoever it is that you are hoping to find.’

She lifts her chin to look at me with a smooth smile that makes me wonder if she knows.

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‘I need to go somewhere first,’ I tell Dev and Esen as soon as we head out of the bookshop. ‘It won’t take long.’