Read Online The Golden Age of Death (A CALLIOPE REAPER-JONES NOVEL) by Amber Benson - Free Book Online

Noh said, brushing away bits of loose-leaf tea that hadn’t made it into the tea strainer.
    “Why did Calliope leave Sea Verge,” Jarvis said, all eyes now trained on him. “That is the correct question.”
    “Something’s going on here and you better start spilling it,” Clio said, as the kettle whistled and she removed it from the stove top, pouring its contents into the teapot before setting it back on the eye.
    Jarvis was prepared to be as frank as possible. Now that they were all assembled at Sea Verge, he knew he had to keep them here for the next twenty-four hours—something that would not be an easy task once they’d heard what he had to say.
    “The ‘difficulty’ came to Calliope’s attention the day she met the Ender of Death for their duel,” Jarvis said. “Though the thing seems to have started long before that.”
    “Okay, can you be more ominous?” Clio asked.
    “I am not being dramatic,” Jarvis replied. “I am trying to be as accurate as I possibly can.”
    “Just go on,” Daniel said, shooting Clio a “cease and desist” look. “No one is going to interrupt you again until you’re finished.”
    Jarvis seriously doubted Daniel’s ability to control Clio when she was upset, but he decided to keep that thought to himself.
    “Wait,” Noh said, suddenly. “Before you start talking, tell me one thing.”
    Jarvis hesitated, not sure what the girl was going to ask of him.
    “Yes?” he asked, waiting for her to continue.
    She looked him dead in the eye, her gaze probing and intense, then she spoke:
    “Why are you in the wrong body?”
    This was the last thing he’d expected her to say.
    “I, well, I—” he spluttered, but Clio swooped in to save him.
    “How do you know he’s in the wrong body?” she asked Noh.
    Noh shrugged.
    “I can just tell.”
    She left her spot at the island, walking over to Jarvis and taking both of his hands in hers—and Jarvis shivered because her fingers were so cold.
    “What are you doing?” he asked when she suddenly lifted both of his arms up into the air.
    “Callie never told any of you what I do, did she,” Noh said matter-of-factly.
    When no one answered, she smiled.
    “I’m a clairvoyant…or, if I’m feeling more whimsical, I just say that I see dead people.”
    “I didn’t know that,” Clio said, picking up the teapot and pouring out tea into each of the mugs as though it were an everyday occurrence for human beings to see dead people.
    Jarvis had known Clio her entire life—and he didn’t think anything ever fazed her.
    “It’s how Callie and I met. We were part of the Strange Brigade at the New Newbridge Academy. There were a bunch of us odd kids, kids who didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the student body, and we just sort of found each other and became friends. Actually, less like friends and more like family, really.”
    She returned her gaze to Jarvis, giving his hands a quick squeeze before letting them go.
    “So because of my abilities, I can see that your soul doesn’t fit in this body. It pops out in all kinds of weird spots,” Noh added, poking at his side. “Like here.”
    “That tickles,” Jarvis said, backing away.
    “And here and here,” she continued, ignoring Jarvis’s skittishness as she pointed to his neck and head.
    “Is that a bad thing?” Clio asked.
    Noh shook her head.
    “There’s absolutely nothing to worry about, but it’s just avery, very curious phenomenon, something I haven’t really seen before.”
    “Thank God,” Jarvis said, sighing with relief. He didn’t need any strange body issues cropping up in what was already proving to be an untenable situation.
    “You can go on with your story now,” Noh said, her whole face lighting up as she gave him a shy smile—and Jarvis thought she was truly beautiful in that moment.
    “Thank you,” he said, returning her smile. “As I was saying, it started with the duel. We all know Calliope had promised Marcel, the Ender of Death, she