Page 11 of Destined to the Reaper

I slowly turned back to face her and approached the edge of the circle again. She looked quite small before my shadowy form. Her head barely reached the middle of my chest. Technically, I could scale myself down, but it would require energy I did not want to waste. Oddly, seeing her looking so delicate in comparison stirred within me a pleasant protectiveness. Considering I needed her to perform a dangerous part of this mission to free me, that she should prompt such a reaction from me should be terrifying instead of agreeable.

“What is the point?” I asked in a slightly haughty tone. “It is clear you will not consent. What would discussing the matter accomplish?”

“You are asking for an insane price to help you,” she retorted stiffly. “I think it’s only fair and highly reasonable for me to understand why in the world you would ask that, and how the fuck it’s relevant to the task needed.”

I pursed my lips as I weighed her words. Of course, it was indeed a reasonable request. Only a bumbling idiot wouldconsent to such a thing without challenging it. I didn’t know why I was acting in this obnoxious fashion so contrary to my normally charming disposition. I wanted to believe it was merely to drag things out longer without being too obvious about my reluctance to reintegrate my cage.

“You giving me your soul creates one of the most powerful bonds possible between two beings,” I explained at last in a far gentler tone. “That bond will supersede the one currently leashing me to Cornelius. It will allow me to easily transfer from his vessel through you and into my own body. Without it, the moment I attempt to reintegrate my body, the tether will pull me back to him.”

Kali frowned. She lowered her gaze to the ground as she reflected intensely on my words before glancing back up at me. “Assuming I agree and give you my soul, would that be a temporary thing? Would you pledge to fully return it to me, no tricks and no strings attached?”

As soon as I began shaking my head, anger and an air of betrayal settled on her stunning features.

“No, Kali, I would not return it to you,” I replied in a calm voice. “Before you get angry, know that it is not out of greed but merely because it is impossible. Once given, a soul cannot be taken back or returned.”

“That’s a lie!” she snapped. “Demons do it all the time. You sign a contract in blood, and should you fulfill the conditions set therein within the agreed upon deadline, then it will be returned to you.”

I smiled. “You are correct as far as how those contracts work. However, their soul is not givenyet, which is the operative word. It is the equivalent of putting a lien on it. Should you fail to fulfill your commitment, then you forfeit your soul’s ownership, which then becomes the permanent property of the demon to do with as they please. In our specific situation, a lien would not work.I do not seek to take possession of your soul. I simply must to create the necessary bond.”

Her shoulders slouched, and my chest constricted at the air of defeat marring her face. Once again, a wave of protectiveness surged within me.

From the first time I had laid eyes on her, she had stirred a potent possessiveness and hunger in me that never abated over the years, only growing stronger. In many ways, stating that I didn’t seek to take possession of her soul was in fact a lie. I craved it with a fierceness that defied logic. Even now, its shimmering colors mesmerized me. Now that I was free of the limitations of Cornelius’s human vessel, I could finally hear the haunting melody of her soul. It was like the blissful sigh of the wind in response to the gentle caress of the rays of the sun at its zenith. It had a sensuous and yet crystalline quality to it that I could listen to forever.

“I’m sorry,” Kali said at last, putting an end to my wandering thoughts. “I cannot do that. That’s too steep a price. I’m not fighting this hard to free my brother only to become a slave myself.”

“You would not be a slave,” I objected, feeling a little stung that she would think me capable of such a thing.

Granted, it was a fair assumption, especially under the circumstances. But I still felt offended by it.

“Says you,” she countered with a challenge in her voice. “I don’t know you. The Gods only can say how all those centuries trapped in the twisted fuck that is Cornelius has affected you. The bottom line is that my soul would no longer be mine for as long as I live, and probably even beyond. It will give you an insane power over me, and I’ll be helpless to do anything about it. Tell me I’m wrong.”

I bowed my head in concession. “You are correct in each of your statements. Unfortunately, I have nothing else to offer you of my pure intentions other than my word and a pledge.”

She shook her head, but I doubted it was conscious. Her brow still creased, she continued to think furiously.

“This is not a bridge I’m willing to cross. But the Weaver said there might be another way that does not involve me giving you my soul. She talked about becoming your host,” Kali said in a hopeful voice.

My face instantly closed off. Beyond the fact that I genuinely wanted her soul with an almost rabid hunger, I really didn’t like the other option because of all the ways it could go wrong.

“There may be another way,” I admitted with much reluctance. “But it is a lot riskier. And truth be told, I highly doubt you would consent to that one either.”

Her brow shot up with undisguised curiosity with a sliver of wariness. “Riskier, how? And why would I have an issue with it?”

“It would require for me to give you a part of my soul instead. Once that happens, the part of me that remains within Cornelius will be weaker. He might notice my thinner presence. But more importantly, should he require the use of my greater powers, they will clearly lack the potency they should normally have. If he suspects what is happening, not only will he shut it down, but he will be able to trace the link back to you as he reclaims the part of me you will be carrying. And then, he will come after you with a vengeance.”

She once again shuddered, realizing that there would be no easy conclusion to this plan.

“But what if I go first to the crypt and you give that part of you to me right before we transfer you to your body? That way, even if Cornelius notices, he will never have enough time to react and shackle you again,” Kali suggested tentatively.

Her shoulders slouched again when I shook my head. “That would not work. Or rather, it would only work if you already hosted at least a quarter of my soul, but ideally a third. But hosting in that fashion requires multiple sessions with only a small fraction transferred each time to avoid detection because I am tethered. What you suggest is what we would have done had you given me your soul. Then, you would have gone straight to my body and the transfer would have been almost instantaneous.”

“Damn,” Kali muttered under her breath. “How many sessions would it require for me to host enough of you for this?”

“At least three sessions, but more than likely five,” I said in a slightly taunting voice.

A part of me was enjoying this, knowing how she would lose her mind once I went into details as to what it entailed. The other part was steadily hoping she would consent to it, not only for a chance to regain my freedom, but also to fulfill one of the many desires she awakened in me from the first time we crossed paths.

She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder even as she narrowed her eyes at me. “Okay. So we do those three to five sessions for me to become your host. But what happens after I transfer you into your body? Will I be totally free of you?”

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