Ghost in the Machine (Undertaker x Female Reader)

Chapter Sixteen.

Heads up! This chapter is going up together with chapter fifteen; make sure you've read fifteen first!

Chapter Sixteen.

"Something you still haven't explained to me, though, is how you knew about me, and my death."

We were at the kitchen table; I was working on the slice of "Egg in a Basket" the Undertaker had made for me. We were both a bit subdued after what transpired (was that kiss a dream? Was that why I was in my underthings when it happened??), but managed to get ourselves both completely dressed and fed.

He had finished his slice and was swirling the last of his tea in his cup. "Ah, yes." He set the cup on its saucer and steepled his fingers in front of himself. "Of course," he began, "the fact that your father had had you made the heir to his title was hardly a secret outside of Parliament for long, what with the informants that haunt the place."

I swallowed a bite. "I had figured my uncle hired someone or otherwise had an arrangement of that sort for information."

"Indeed." He reached to pour more tea into my own cup. "And I, being one who deals with all kinds of deplorable types in this line of work, am privy to a good amount of the details regarding the nasty underpinnings of this society."

I put down my toast, intrigued. "Go on, then."

He nodded. "I received an inquiry regarding the availability of a corpse that matched someone of your description. This was not long after your title was changed, and it wasn't hard to convince the grunt asking about it to tell me whom it was for, in exchange for a couple of sovereigns."

I shuddered. "A corpse...they thought they'd need to go that far to prove I'd died? What about my father?"

"I do believe there was some concern that the body was needed as insurance in case you in particular should—and I quote—change into a vampire or some other unholy creature and make your escape."

As macabre as this was, I found it hilarious. I broke out into a fit of giggles for what might have been the first time in many months, for all I recalled. "And yet...he hadn't planned for me becoming a Grim Reaper," I managed between my laughter and gasps of air.

The Undertaker himself laughed and patted my shoulder. "Yes, my dear, welcome to the madhouse."

Having collected myself, I wiped a tear away from my eyes and shook my head. "He really is terrified of me. My uncle, I mean."

"That might yet work to your advantage, you know, especially if we get you some training." He smiled wryly, but before I could ask him to elaborate, he had moved on. "Anyway, I knew what they were up to. I had known already that that night would be your last, and that it would be a suicide, so I had to make my move. It wasn't hard to follow them around and figure out where they meant for it to happen. They even came back to me for a coffin!"

The graveyard, I thought. He'd probably tailed them after he knew they'd likely be the ones to carry out the deed, and saw them digging me a hole in the ground.

"But wait," I stopped him. Something didn't fit. "If you can't make any Lists, how did you already know what would happen?"

"Ah!" He lit up, clearly amused by what he was remembering. "Well, a couple of months ago I was on a brief voyage, and found that the red-haired one was on the ship. They were goofing around with another reaper in the rigging at the bow of the ship; it caught my attention when I was hurrying off somewhere." He shrugged his shoulders. "I spied on them and couldn't figure out what in the world they were doing, although it was certainly entertaining. However, the red reaper dropped their notebook of Names while flapping about, and I thought I'd have a peek before just leaving it where it had fallen." The sides of his mouth curled up in devilish glee. "It was my lucky day!"