Unreap My Heart (The Reaper Series) by Kate Evangelista Read Free Book Online Page A

at the memory of almost losing Niko. Arianne refocused half her attention back on Tomas. No point in dwelling on what had already come to pass.
    From the set of his jaw and the tightness of the muscles in his neck, Arianne suspected Tomas was holding something back. Well, he’d either tell her or she’d have to live with not knowing. The one thing he got right? She had other things to worry about. She channeled her inner Girl Scout and stuffed a pair of jeans into a backpack along with several shirts and sweaters. A couple of pairs of underwear followed. She may not be in her actual body, but she wouldn’t allow herself to travel feeling all icky. If she could—or if Balthazar would let her—she’d wash her underwear, if not her clothes.
    “What can you tell me about the Redeemer?” she asked. “How will I know when I’ve found him or her?” She had a hard time thinking of the Redeemer as an it.
    “How did you know how to bargain with the Master like that?” Tomas asked back.
    Arianne paused before she reached for a pair of socks. She answered Tomas’s question without looking back at him.
    “There was a whole summer when Ben and I watched nothing but Dealing with the Devil reruns.” Her chest ached at saying Ben’s name. It still didn’t feel like he was gone, like he was just wandering around somewhere doing something and she’d see him at the bus stop in the morning.
    Tomas chuckled, relaxing a little for the first time since they entered the room. “I used to watch that show. They got so many things wrong, but the whole being specific part was right.”
    She shrugged. “I figured if I wanted something out of Death, I should be as specific as possible. Hell, if it weren’t for being able to see the dead for years, I’d be freaking out right now. But after meeting Niko”—a twist of worry hit her chest this time instead of an ache—“there’s nothing I wouldn’t believe.”
    “Vampires, werewolves, fairies. Those aren’t true.”
    “Aw man! I was hoping those were real too.” She shook her head and smiled.
    “Well…the romantic ones that sparkle in the sun aren’t. But yes, there are what you might call vampires in the Underverse.” Tomas smiled back briefly before his face turned serious. “You shouldn’t have given Balthazar what he wanted.”
    Arianne zipped up the backpack and moved to the weapons table. She picked up a knife which was in a sheath with a strap. She couldn’t be a hundred percent sure why she picked it out from the rest. The strap seemed too small for her waist. She glanced at her thigh. Ah. But did she really need a knife? The thought of what she’d given Balthazar for her protection made her knees go weak.
    “Just what does giving him a year of my life mean?”
    “With Balthazar, it can mean anything.”
    Arianne swallowed. “Can you give me an idea here?”
    Tomas rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. “Best case scenario, he’ll take a year at the end of your life.”
    “Like if I’m supposed to die at eighty, he’ll kill me at seventy-nine.”
    “Something like that.”
    “Doesn’t seem so bad.”
    “But he can also keep you for a year, make you his slave.”
    Her heart jumped to her throat and beat there. “He can’t really do that, can he?”
    “Balthazar isn’t exactly a humanitarian. Like the Master, he always does things for a reason. The reason why he’s here is because he wants to challenge Death for his seat.”
    “He can do that?”
    Tomas’s frown spread all over his face. “The position of Death is a very powerful one. Imagine having power over all living things. It’s an intoxicating position and many covet it. The Master has held the post longer than anyone else. And just as Lucifer challenged God for his seat in heaven, so did Balthazar challenge Death. The first time he did, he lost and was banished to the Nethers the way Lucifer was banished to Hell. But unlike Lucifer, who is content to rule over his kingdom of fire,