Read Online Unreap My Heart (The Reaper Series) by Kate Evangelista - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kate Evangelista
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around in her head right now. Maybe, deep down, she had violent tendencies.
Arianne stopped and breathed to calm down. No, she wasn’t this person. She had to tell herself that at least three times before the killing urge went away. Balthazar had gotten under her skin, and they’d just begun their search for the Redeemer. She didn’t understand half of what he’d said. All those names. Way too much information all at once. She blamed herself for not pacing the questions. Every time he answered one, even more popped up in her head. She stopped talking to him after he called Niko a pansy. So. Not. True.
Her heart ached when Balthazar summoned his scythe. The thing didn’t look anything like Niko’s, but it reminded her of the Reaper of Georgia anyway. There were seconds when she thought she’d gone absolutely crazy. Worrying about him sleeping in that crystal coffin wouldn’t help her accomplish what she’d set out to do, but she worried anyway.
She must have been trapped in her thoughts for a long time because when she next looked up, the landscape had changed from barren to blinding white. Powdery hills randomly dotted the shining hexagonally cracked ground as far as the eye could see. The flats gave the illusion of a never-ending mirror, reflecting a sky with no sun. Arianne didn’t know where to look. She shielded her eyes, wishing for sunglasses. The hills reminded her of salt, except finer and looser.
“The Sorrow Flats,” Balthazar said, as if he’d anticipated her question.
“You’re a mind reader now?” she asked, not taking her eyes away from the eerie and unreal sight. It was an odd name for a place filled with so much light.
“Just adapting.”
“Okay, since you’re adapting, what am I thinking now?”
He glanced at her from his shoulder and grinned, giving her a glimpse of fang. “For every innocent death, an angel weeps an ocean of tears.” He gestured to the white hills of—not salt, technically. “Those tears collect here.”
Arianne came to his side. “No dice, pretty boy. What I was actually thinking was what are we doing here?”
Pointing toward the distance, he said, “Beyond those hills is Granmare Baba’s hut. She’s the one who can help with your little human problem.”
“I resent that.”
“You’ll have nothing to resent when you’ve been eaten.” He snorted, which seemed to be his favorite thing to do because he’d been doing it a lot around her. That and sighing. “You don’t have a body. What you’re seeing right now is your soul, which is still tethered to your body. You’re pure energy right now, and that’s lunch for everyone and their uncle around here.”
“Well, you’ve suddenly gotten chatty.”
“You bring out the worst in me.”
“Are you saying you want to eat me too?” Arianne dared to ask when the rest of what he’d said registered. The white hills were pretty distracting to look at.
“Hell no!” He stuck out his tongue and wiped his fingers over it. “I live on life force, the kind still inside whoever I’m eating. Residual energy has a bitter taste since it’s no longer inside the being. Even if you’re technically still alive, you’re outside your body, so your energy is residual. Why the Reapers and a majority of creatures in the Underverse like it, I have no idea. No accounting for taste, I guess.”
The way he said it—as if he didn’t refer to what kept her alive—had Arianne backing away from him.
“Hey, where are you going?” Balthazar reached out for her, but she flinched back. Her hand went to the knife, and she pulled it out of the sheath. He grimaced. “I thought I made myself clear when I said no killing the protector?”
Hands shaking, breathing heavily, Arianne kept backing up. “You’re gonna get me eaten. I think that earns me the right to protect myself.”
Stopping his forward motion, Balthazar braced his hands on his hips and breathed through his nose, his nostrils flaring. “We’ve been
Arianne stopped and breathed to calm down. No, she wasn’t this person. She had to tell herself that at least three times before the killing urge went away. Balthazar had gotten under her skin, and they’d just begun their search for the Redeemer. She didn’t understand half of what he’d said. All those names. Way too much information all at once. She blamed herself for not pacing the questions. Every time he answered one, even more popped up in her head. She stopped talking to him after he called Niko a pansy. So. Not. True.
Her heart ached when Balthazar summoned his scythe. The thing didn’t look anything like Niko’s, but it reminded her of the Reaper of Georgia anyway. There were seconds when she thought she’d gone absolutely crazy. Worrying about him sleeping in that crystal coffin wouldn’t help her accomplish what she’d set out to do, but she worried anyway.
She must have been trapped in her thoughts for a long time because when she next looked up, the landscape had changed from barren to blinding white. Powdery hills randomly dotted the shining hexagonally cracked ground as far as the eye could see. The flats gave the illusion of a never-ending mirror, reflecting a sky with no sun. Arianne didn’t know where to look. She shielded her eyes, wishing for sunglasses. The hills reminded her of salt, except finer and looser.
“The Sorrow Flats,” Balthazar said, as if he’d anticipated her question.
“You’re a mind reader now?” she asked, not taking her eyes away from the eerie and unreal sight. It was an odd name for a place filled with so much light.
“Just adapting.”
“Okay, since you’re adapting, what am I thinking now?”
He glanced at her from his shoulder and grinned, giving her a glimpse of fang. “For every innocent death, an angel weeps an ocean of tears.” He gestured to the white hills of—not salt, technically. “Those tears collect here.”
Arianne came to his side. “No dice, pretty boy. What I was actually thinking was what are we doing here?”
Pointing toward the distance, he said, “Beyond those hills is Granmare Baba’s hut. She’s the one who can help with your little human problem.”
“I resent that.”
“You’ll have nothing to resent when you’ve been eaten.” He snorted, which seemed to be his favorite thing to do because he’d been doing it a lot around her. That and sighing. “You don’t have a body. What you’re seeing right now is your soul, which is still tethered to your body. You’re pure energy right now, and that’s lunch for everyone and their uncle around here.”
“Well, you’ve suddenly gotten chatty.”
“You bring out the worst in me.”
“Are you saying you want to eat me too?” Arianne dared to ask when the rest of what he’d said registered. The white hills were pretty distracting to look at.
“Hell no!” He stuck out his tongue and wiped his fingers over it. “I live on life force, the kind still inside whoever I’m eating. Residual energy has a bitter taste since it’s no longer inside the being. Even if you’re technically still alive, you’re outside your body, so your energy is residual. Why the Reapers and a majority of creatures in the Underverse like it, I have no idea. No accounting for taste, I guess.”
The way he said it—as if he didn’t refer to what kept her alive—had Arianne backing away from him.
“Hey, where are you going?” Balthazar reached out for her, but she flinched back. Her hand went to the knife, and she pulled it out of the sheath. He grimaced. “I thought I made myself clear when I said no killing the protector?”
Hands shaking, breathing heavily, Arianne kept backing up. “You’re gonna get me eaten. I think that earns me the right to protect myself.”
Stopping his forward motion, Balthazar braced his hands on his hips and breathed through his nose, his nostrils flaring. “We’ve been
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