“What?” he asked with his dark voice, which still scared me a little—but not totally in a bad way. Maybe, possibly, even in a good way. But I wasn’t going to go there because I was not supposed to have a thing for death.
He was a very busy shadow-skeleton man, and meeting his family had made the importance and sanctity of his role here all the clearer.
“Earlier,” I said, “that painting showed moonlit waters in the middle of an ocean—no land in sight. Just a moment ago, before you came down, it showed the big room upstairs with the magical cauldron thingies. Now it showsthisroom. Look.”
He hesitated, then he drifted forward, his fuming form coming to stand next to me, though he left ample room between us.
“This is how it always looks,” he said.
“It showed moonlit waters before,” I insisted. “You believe me… don’t you?”
He tilted his head at the painting. “You said an ocean?”
“Yeah,” I said. “With a huge full silver moon.”
“These quarters,” he said after a beat, “are… linked to my essence. In addition to taking the form I prefer, it seems they also have the capacity to display my whereabouts. Something I never knew… until now.”
“Omigosh,” I said with a smile, my heart leaping since I’d been the one to make the discovery, and because talk aboutcool. “This is too neat! And it makes sense. You only see this version of the painting because that’s all youcansee since the painting always reflects whereveryouare. Which means you were near an ocean before?”
“In it,” he said.
“Init?” I piped. “Why would you be…”
I trailed off before uttering a small “Oh.” Because, for an instant, I’d forgotten what he did. What he was.Whohe was…
Flustered, I shook my head to sweep away the giant elephant in the room that was my certain death and turned toward him, seizing him by one bony arm.
“Go into another room,” I said, shoving him lightly in the direction he’d entered from. “This is Disney World Haunted Mansion–level epic. I-I just want to see something.”
He actually went, to my surprise.
“Go try your music room,” I said, pointing down the hall before skipping back to the painting to see if it had changed already. It hadn’t.
“You were in my music room?” he asked, and my heart clutched.
“Um,” I said through a cringe-smile. “Nice Metallica collection?”
He didn’t reply, but swept out of sight, down the hall, and I squealed when the painting changed before my eyes, melding to show the corridor instead of this same room. A beat later, the painting changed again, becoming Grim’s music room. There were all his guitars, including the purple one.
“It shows where you are!” I called after him. Then, excited, I went in search of him, swinging around the corner and then another untilI returned to his side. “I can’t believe you never knew this whole time that the painting showed where you are. How come no one ever told you?”
He didn’t answer. But in the silence, Flora’s response from earlier returned to tickle my brain. How she’d said something about Grim never having anyone over.
Was it possible I was his first… houseguest?
“I should have brought you a plant or something,” I blurted out.
“What?” he barked.
I shook my head, because of course there’d been no way for him to follow that train of thought.
“I mean, since you never have company. I should have brought you a houseplant or some other housewarming gift since you’ve probably… never had one. But you don’t have any windows, so a houseplant wouldn’t be the best.”
“I outright abducted you, and you’re brainstorming housewarming gifts?”
I scoffed a laugh and waved him off. “You didn’tabductme. You just… borrowed me. Like a library book. But don’t ask me where my RFID tag is, I’m not telling.” I laughed. “And come on, youtotallyneed a little gift. Do you drink wine?” My hands went to my lips. “I’m sorry. Maybe that’s an offensive question. I… should think before I speak, but then… why start now, right?”
I laughed again, nervously this time.
