The Reaper Saga [Book 1-3]

CHAPTER 13 (EDITED)

5132

"I'm never getting in a flight with you."

"I didn't know the hunger was going to hit that bad!" I deadpanned, wiping my mouth every five seconds. I already washed and scrubbed my face for good measure but there was a tiny part of me that could still smell that human's flesh.

"Still." 5133 crawled out of a bush, God knew what she was looking for in the first place. But seeing that lopsided smile on her face, I guess she found it. "I can't save people left and right if you end up killing the whole humanity. People would notice, the Volkios-"

"The Volkios would come to take my lil old soul, rip me apart, and throw me to that-what you call it? Ah, Sparkas, blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all. But when am I actually meeting them? Four years and still no words from them."

"Hush!" She rushed to close my mouth, fear flickering in her gaze. "You should be glad that they didn't. The coven would send hundreds after you, you've no idea how far their contacts go. I've lived with one, trust me, I know."

Damn it.

"Fine. I won't deliberately land myself in trouble." If only I believed my own promise. "Now what are you doing?"

Without waiting for me to react, she pricked my palm, letting a few drops of blood flow. A curse was already in order but I paused, watching her smear the blood around, mixing the crushed flower she just found with it.

"What the fuck was that, 5133?"

"I want you safe. Humor me." She murmured, brushing the same thing on her palm.

"You mean, keep us safe." I looked around, noticing a visible barrier right before me. "Wait. This wasn't here before."

"It was always there but only a witch can see it. Or someone who has a smell of witch on them."

Fuck me. She was clever.

"Ok. Now that I've all kinds of smells on me. Can we hurry? I'm starving."

She looked at me like I lost my mind. "You just ate."

"Not souls. I'm craving something greasy. Maybe a burger or pizza, I don't know." Or a soul, I wanted to add but that would be really pushing it.

"Take this." She dropped a few cash on my other palm, seemingly thinking of something else. "Just-promise me you won't get in trouble?"

"You're talking as if you're leaving me here..." I trailed off, noticing the look on her face. Dammit. She really was planning to leave me here.

"Why?"

She's been the one with me since the day I lost Zach. And, if I really wanted her with me, I could have heeded Fredah's words. There was a way to channel a witch, bind them to another with some kind of amulet. I wouldn't even have to worry about not being a witch then.

Make the joke of keeping her on payroll true.

But my moral compass was glitching lately.

"Because he can't know that I was with you." She sounded odd, like it's making her sad and if I was capable of feeling anything other than anger, I'd be too. "I just need you to know the truth. Be with your mother-"

I wanted to scoff at her. Some mother she was. "Don't talk about her that way. Roth is the only one who raised me. Not some bitch that ran away from responsibility and never tried to look for me. She is the reason I'm in this mess right now. So, sue me, if I'm not interested in mother-daughter bonding any more than she is."

"Fine, ok. If you say so. But you've to control yourself out there. The moment you cross the barrier, you'll start to feel it. I don't want you to start the blood bath once again. Am I being clear?" I imagined how Mikhail would say the same thing. Albeit, with more brooding and glaring but 5133 despite being a carbon copy of him, was a saint compared to that.