Page 20 of Destined to the Reaper

I smiled, both amused and embarrassed to make this revelation. “Reapers can feed in several ways. Draining the lifeforce of a fallen’s remains or lesser souls are common methods. But we normally feed off the energy emanating from people’s souls. The stronger the emotions, the more energy they generate.”

“Like a succubus?!”

I hesitated. “Partially. Feeding from emotions does not drain the target, contrary to the way a succubus does it. As you will recall, I pledged not to harm you in any way. The energy that you produce is the sweetest thing I have ever tasted. It is quite addictive. It’s a good thing too, as it helps give me enough energy to fool Cornelius in not noticing that my soul is thinner from sharing parts of it with you.”

“I see,” Kali said, rubbing her nape uneasily.

She didn’t quite know how she felt about it all. I couldn’t blame her. And yet, my stupid mouth ran away with me again.

“Give me your soul, Kali,” I said in a pressing tone. “Not only will I protect you, but I will make you long-lived.”

She opened her mouth with a frown upon hearing the first sentence, likely to shut me down in no uncertain term. However, my second comment piqued her curiosity.

“Long-lived? Not immortal?”

I smiled and shook my head. “Only the Gods and the Ancients are immortal.”

“What about you?”

My smile broadened. “As I am neither a God nor an Ancient, I am indeed mortal, but long-lived. Other Reapers and Icanbe killed. It is just extremely hard. My body regenerates fully in little time, even if it was completely burnt or destroyed beyond recognition. I could do the same for you.”

Her eyes widened ever-so-slightly at that. It was a little underhanded to dangle such a carrot before her. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want such an ability? It struck me how shameless I was willing to become if it convinced her to give me her soul. The need to own her was driving me insane.

“But you would own my soul permanently,” Kali said at last. “So as enticing as this all is, it remains a hard pass for me.”

“If you die in the crypt—and youwill—all of this will have been in vain. Cornelius will win,” I snapped.

She lifted her chin defiantly. “I had a reasonable life, and I should therefore have a decent afterlife. At least, you will be free. As much as I would love to kill Cornelius myself, I take comfort in knowing that you will see that he is properly punished for what he did to you.”

I pinched my lips, unable to argue with her logic, but not yet willing to drop it, despite knowing she was still not ready to cave in on this… if ever.

“And what of your brother?” I challenged, another wave of guilt surging through me at this low blow—honest though it was. “Even if I kill Cornelius after you have passed, it will not free your brother. Jasper’s soul is decaying. Soon, he will be a mindless ghoul. Someone needs to perform a ritual to free him.”

“And you can’t do it?!” she exclaimed.

I shook my head with an apologetic look. “I cannot interfere in the lives of mortals other than to reap them. You will have done all of this in vain if you do not survive the crypt, unless you find someone else to take care of your brother once you’re gone.”

“Is this some kind of trick to force my hand into giving you what you want?” Kali asked, narrowing her eyes at me. “I mean, if I give you my soul, and you become my owner, won’t it also preclude me from intervening in the lives of mortals?”

“No, silly woman. I will own your soul, but you will still be human with all the same rights and none of my restrictions. I will simply make you long-lived and near immortal.”

“So you won’t stop me from doing anything I want but that you may disagree with?” Kali insisted.

“Why would I? If I disagree, I will try to reason with you. But if you insist, then it is your choice to make. I am not your master.”

“But you could be, if you so choose,” she countered.

“If I so choose, yes, I could be,” I said with a shrug.

She gaped at me as if I were a creature that should not exist. “Wow! You could have lied instead of admitting to my worst fears!” Kali exclaimed.

I frowned. “Is that what you would want? For me to lie to you, ply you with pretty untruths to wrest what I want from you through deception?”

She pinched her lips and gave me a ‘Don’t be silly’ look. “Of course not. But you didn’t have to be so blunt about it.”

“There will always be nothing but honesty between us, however unpleasant the truth may be,” I said in an imperious tone.

“Fine. But this soul giving business is still a no go for me. I’ll figure out another way to get out of the crypt in one piece,” she said stubbornly.

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