Page 17 of Destined to the Reaper

I felt hot and cold all at once at that prospect. I hated this ethereal form that kept me from getting the full experience of mating with her. And yet, the pleasure she gave me far exceeded anything I ever felt before. How much greater would it be in my true body? How much more intense could our coupling be? Would she even allow it, once I was back to my old self?

Kali genuinely seemed to enjoy sex with me, despite her initial outrage and reluctance when I brought it up. After that first time, she appeared eager when I visited her the second and third times. While her orgasms had been undeniable—I’d made certain of it—I couldn’t say if she would have welcomed my attentions again if not to ensure the success of her mission to destroy Cornelius.

She probably would not.

That thought stung. In fact, it cut me deep. Once I was back in my own vessel, Kali would have no more use for me. She would have what she wanted: me out and Cornelius vulnerable. A deep anger fueled by a potent sense of loss reared its head as I tried to make peace with the fact that my time with her wasquickly coming to an end. Was I truly falling hard for her, or was it just an instinctive reaction to finally experiencing pleasure, hope, and gratitude after centuries of despair?

“Why are you so damn restless?”Cornelius mentally hissed at me.

I clamped down on the instant panic his sudden intrusion stirred within me. I needed to do a better job of reining myself in not to tip him off. Since Kali first called me, I had been alternating through bouts of euphoria and depression. Such extremes were bound to draw his attention to me, which was the last thing I wanted.

I reverted to my best defense and diversion tactics: snark.

“Why do you think?”I telepathically replied with contempt.“I’m bored with your pathetic projects. I’m tired of constantly being exposed to that decomposing stench you enjoy wallowing in. That trash you call a construct will not work.”

“Then tell me how to fix it,” he hissed aloud, drawing Meri’s attention.

He waved his hand dismissively to tell her never mind while emitting an angry grunt. Confused, she nonetheless kept her peace and resumed sewing the partially decayed limb of whatever strange creature it had been harvested from onto Cornelius’s latest project.

I chuckled with disbelief laced with disdain.“Like fuck I will. The only entertainment I still get to enjoy is seeing you fail repeatedly,”I said maliciously.“The Gods know you’ve been doing a lot of that lately. By the way, how is Ronika faring these days?”

“Silence!”he snapped, remembering this time to do it mentally.

Naturally, I ignored his command and further poked at the wound, distracting him from his original inquiry into my unusual behavior.

“It must sting to have been so soundly defeated by a little human. She succeeded in less than a month where you pathetically failed for decades. Not only did she thwart your efforts of appropriating her lands, but she also claimed the Wraith for herself, and acquired an insane amount of new powers you could only dream of.”

“I said silence!”he shouted angrily.

With his huge ego, narcissism, an endless sense of entitlement, he couldn’t bear the slightest hint of ridicule. He was so incredibly thin-skinned, he was easily manipulated once you knew which buttons to push.

“I still remember that tantrum you threw after she publicly humiliated you,”I continued mercilessly.“And then, you had to give up the Wraith’s tail! You’re so pathetic. And now you can’t even raise a lousy construct.”

Cornelius slammed his fist on the operating table upon which he was assembling the latest construct. Meri yelped and took a couple of wary steps back in fear.

“Ronika didn’t beat me!”Cornelius mentally snapped, ignoring his apprentice.“She cheated and somehow sold her soul. You better than anyone can see that she’s no longer mortal!”

“She cheated!”I echoed in a mocking fashion with a whiny tone.“That’s always the go-to excuse of sore losers. She didn’t cheat, she outsmarted you. And even as undead as she now is, you don’t have the power to control her. For all your boasting, you truly are a lousy necromancer.”

Cornelius fisted his hands as he leaned on the operating table, staring angrily ahead without seeing. Meri was still keeping her distance, the look on her face clearly indicating she was considering bolting out of there—which would be a wise decision.

“A lousy necromancer that beat you, didn’t I?”he snarled.“So what does that make you?”

If I had a body, I would have shrugged. Unlike him, these types of jabs didn’t affect me.

“You didn’t beat me, but I’ll concede that you tricked me. In a fair fight, I would obliterate you. Keeping me trapped here doesn’t make me entirely helpless or under your control. You like to play with rot? Here, I’m feeling generous today,”I said in a malevolent tone.

Invoking my death aura, I caused the various body parts he and Meri had been stitching together to start rotting and decaying. In seconds, heavy necrosis spread throughout the limbs, making them darken and the stitches fall out.

“STOP!” Cornelius shouted aloud.

“It’s not me!” Meri exclaimed, panicked. “I didn’t—”

“GET OUT!” the necromancer yelled at her before mentally ordering me to stop again.

She didn’t have to be told twice and bolted out of the room, nearly stumbling in her haste.

I burst out laughing and expanded my aura, damaging even more of the precious organs he had painstakingly acquired over the past few weeks. Cornelius ran out of the laboratory to limit the damage. Some of those organs or body parts were insanely rare and exotic. Replacing them would be extremely costly and time-consuming.

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