Page 10 of Destined to the Reaper

“The only thing you will do is die!” I snapped.

“You don’t know that,” she said, crossing her arms on her chest and lifting her chin defiantly. “Whatever happens to me, what do you care? For me to even attempt to defeat him—or for him to kill me—you need to be freed first. So what do you have to lose?”

“Everything!”

She blinked, confused by my response. I advanced to the edge of the circle containing me. It was odd having a body again, even though this one was nothing more than a shadowy representation of my soul. To her, I would look like a white Wraith.

“Did the Weaver tell you what the task entails to free me?” I asked in a stern voice.

“She said I need to host you back into your body,” Kali replied, sounding a little uncertain.

“Do you even know where my body is?”

She frowned at the taunting edge in my tone. I flinched inwardly upon recognizing it as one Cornelius often used against people he was preparing to berate. It shamed me that his foul influence should so taint my own behavior. In a way, it had to be expected after spending five hundred years as his prisoner.

Kali shook her head, her stubborn—borderline arrogant—stance loosening into one of repressed wariness.

“It is located in one of the sacrificial chambers at the bottom of Hemdell Crypt,” I said in an icy tone.

Right on cue, she shuddered. Her arms crossed over her chest slid down a few inches to hug her waist instead. It had been a subconscious gesture, but highly revealing, nonetheless. The anger such a reaction stirred within me battled with the disappointment I felt and something else I couldn’t quite put into words.

“See? If that makes you shudder—as it should—you are nowhere near ready for such a mission. If you fail, the chances that Cornelius will notice are extremely high. And once he does, he will shackle me in such a way that there will never be any hope of me ever escaping.”

“It’s not like you have any now,” she snapped, visibly stung by my chastising tone.

Her comment struck a nerve. A low hiss emanated from me as I moved even closer to the very edge of the circle in a threatening fashion.

“Tread carefully, little girl,” I growled.

She pinched her lips and lowered her eyes. As aggravated as I felt by her insolent remark, I couldn’t help but find her boldness attractive. There was strength behind her delicate appearance. Clearly, she had been bullied in the past and learned to stand her ground. More importantly, she’d grown wise enough to know when to strategically retreat.

“Look, I don’t have a death wish. I need your collaboration to make Cornelius mortal again so that I can free my brother,” Kali said in a reasonable tone with a slightly pleading edge. “You need someone like me to free you from the prison he trapped you in. We can help each other. I would be a fool not to be disturbed at the thought of entering the belly of Hemdell’s Crypt. You would have had better grounds to be concerned if I had been dismissive of the danger it entails. But that does not deter me. I can do it.”

“And how do you expect to pull that off?” I couldn’t help but ask tauntingly.

“By recreating this circle near your body inside the crypt, no? If I go during the day, most of the foul creatures will be dormant,” she said in a hopeful tone.

“That will not work,” I said with a dismissive gesture of my hand. “While going during the day is a wise approach, creating the circle near my body will not suffice. I need you to become a conduit for me.”

By the way she stiffened, I immediately suspected the Weaver had hinted as to what the cost would be for her to help me. Kali was visibly not keen on it. Had she come here to waste my time?

“And how do I do that?” she asked, her voice tense.

“By giving me your soul,” I replied, matter-of-factly.

“That’s absolutely out of the question,” Kali replied with a finality that made it clear there would be no further debate on the matter.

A wave of anger surged through me. While I understood her reluctance to make such a sacrifice, her flat-out refusal would have felt like less of a slap in the face had it been a surprise for her. But she came here already knowing what I would say. What in the nine hells kind of game was she playing? Why would she give me hope only to crush it right away?

“Then go away and stop wasting my time!” I hissed.

I angrily turned my back on her ready to let my consciousness seek the path back to Cornelius. But that dreadful prospect chilled me. As furious as I felt about Kali leading me on, for the first time in centuries, I was enjoying a semblance of freedom. It would be a couple more hours before I truly needed to go back. Why waste such an opportunity when it likely wouldn’t return for decades if not centuries?

“Wait!” Kali shouted, panicked.

I peered at her over my shoulder. Despite my rigid stance, deep down, my misplaced pride was grateful for her providing me with a way to save face as I lingered here.

“Please, let’s discuss this rationally,” she said in a reasonable tone rife with tension. “If you only need to return to your body, why do you require my soul?”

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