Page 9 of Destined to the Reaper

I immediately clamped down on my emotions so that Cornelius wouldn’t catch on. With the portal’s pull growing in intensity, he would soon detect it. I could not allow it. Only someone who knew my sacred name could perform this summons. Was my freedom finally within reach?

In my eagerness to find out, I almost jumped through the portal only to rein myself in at the last minute. This could be a trap leading me into an even more dreadful fate than the one I currently endured. And even assuming no enemy awaited on the other side, Cornelius would feel me leaving if I wasn’t discreet, and he would reel me back in before reinforcing my cage to prevent any chance of future escape.

I needed to handle this smartly.

With much reluctance I sent out a discreet magic tap through the portal telling the summoner to pause it until the time was right. I could only hope they would understand the message and not take it as a rejection. In half a millennium of captivity, this was the first doorway to open for me. I couldn’t bear the thought of another five hundred years of this if the summoner gave up and permanently closed the portal.

As a million thoughts swirled through my mind, I suddenly felt Cornelius probing my consciousness. I clamped down on my emotions and refocused on him. As I had missed whatever nonsense he’d been spewing, my lack of snarky response had raised his suspicions.

I shifted my attention to Meri, allowing the disgust I felt to fill me, drowning out my emotions about the portal. The pathetic female was now on all fours, teeth clenched while the massive construct pounded into her from behind. He had the bull legs, tail, and knotted cock of the lesser demon Cornelius had kept after killing him. His torso belonged to a human male who hadfailed to pay his debt on time. The head had been chopped off a troll, although the eyes belonged to a wolf shifter. And the arms came from a demonic ape.

Next to them, Alva was on her knees, bobbing in front of Piers’s groin, her ass, legs, and lower back red with angry welts where he’d belted her.

“You go enjoy your pets. I am done with this farce. You’re welcome to try and force me to stay, but I am not,”I said with all the contempt I could muster.

Visibly satisfied that my strange tuning out had been prompted by how sickening these little parties were to me, the suspicious edges of his prodding faded, and Cornelius snorted. The controlling and cruel parts of him wanted to coerce me into staying to assert his dominance. To my relief, he decided to let go this time.

Watching Piers fucking Alva’s face was getting him hard. Even though she was the one stirring his fire, he would be plowing Piers first, just to spite him.

As he began unbuckling his belt, I faded into the background.

Despite my burning urge to rush to the portal, I bided my time, fading deeper and deeper until my host would barely even be able to notice my presence. Once he fully got into the action, he would no longer pay me any mind. Considering the amount of alcohol and drugs they had brought into the room, this would last at least three or four hours. Afterwards, they would rehydrate and pass out in bed. Technically, I would have until the wee hours of the morning before I had to return.

I spent the next eternity hoping and praying that the summoner wouldn’t leave out of impatience. By the time I felt confident enough to send another tap through the portal, a little over forty minutes had elapsed since it first opened. The swiftness with which they fully reopened it had my spiritsoaring. Whoever it was wanted to see me as eagerly as I wanted to get out.

Nevertheless, reining myself in, I carefully followed through the swirling tunnel that appeared before my mind’s eye. Moving too swiftly, even in this deeply faded state, would tug at the tether still binding me to Cornelius.

A cool evening breeze, fresh air, and the discreet singing of running water in the distance struck me before the world fully formed around me. My shock at finding myself in the middle of the Fey Woods paled in comparison at discovering the identity of the summoner.

“By the Gods! It worked!” the woman exclaimed.

“Kali?!” I breathed out, flabbergasted.

A shiver coursed through me upon hearing my own voice, even though it had a disembodied edge to it. I had not heard myself like that in five centuries.

She recoiled, her eyes widening as surprise took over her excitement, before giving way to wariness.

“How do you know my…?”

Her voice trailed off, and she blinked as if struck by a sudden understanding. I nevertheless answered her not-fully-formed question.

“I bore witness to your encounters with Cornelius,” I replied, my voice harsh. “You doubted your ability to succeed, and yet you summoned me. What is this? How did you learn this ancient ritual?”

She licked her lips nervously and visibly fought the urge to squirm.

“The Weaver taught me,” she answered quickly. “I asked her for help defeating Cornelius to free my brother. She said I had to free you first before he could be vulnerable enough for me to kill him.”

It was my turn to recoil. A million thoughts swirled in my head, although shock, hope, and confusion warred within me in equal measure. Why would the Weaver intercede now? Why send Kali of all people?

Sure, she was a decently powerful mage. However, I highly doubted she was fierce enough to see this through, especially considering the risks and sacrifices it entailed.

“You foolish girl! You do not have the power to kill Cornelius,” I snarled.

“Without your powers, he—”

“Even without me to leech from, he will remain more powerful than you can ever hope to be,” I interrupted. “You are too weak to challenge him.”

A mulish expression laced with anger settled on her face. “The Weaver thinks I can do it!Ithink I can do it! There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to free my brother!”

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