Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
“Now we’re talking.” I reached my hand across the fire.
He handed it over and resumed eating.
I washed down my dinner with a healthy swallow of scotch, feeling all the aches in my body fade immediately.
In silence, we ate, eating everything until there was nothing left.
“Why do you eat food if you already eat souls?”
He wiped his hands on his trousers. “They fulfill separate needs. Food is fuel for our daily activities. Souls feed the curse.”
“That’s what you call it?”
“It’s the most fitting.”
I rinsed our dirty plates with the water from my canteen then wiped them down with a rag. “Do you feel bad every time you do it? Feed on someone?”
He stared for so long it didn’t seem as if he would respond.
“Sorry…that was an intrusive question.”
“Since I don’t feed until my breaking point, I don’t remember it. But I see the aftermath. Once I’m satiated, that’s when all the guilt kicks in. The shame. The self-loathing.”
“Have you ever tried to kill yourself?”
He shook his head. “I’ve considered it.”
“Why haven’t you done it?”
He looked away.
“Sorry, that was an asshole question. I just meant—”
“Because I have something to live for.” He looked at me again. “It’s just not an option.”
“Something or someone?”
He never gave an answer.
“Are you married?”
“No. I already told you that.”
“I asked if you were with anyone.”
“Same thing.”
“Sometimes it’s more complicated than that. Can Necrosis get married? Since they don’t have a soul.”
“Not in the sense you have marriage. But we can be bound to each other.”
“Have you ever been bound to anyone?”
He gave me a hard stare. “No.”
“Why do I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me?”
“Because there is.”
I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my chin on top of my folded arms. Instead of pressing him with more questions, I let the conversation end. The flames in the pit started to die down, slowly shrinking back to the rocks. “If it’s because you don’t trust me, just remember where we are right now. I’m traveling with you, alone, prey and predator.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“Then what is it?”
His eyes dropped down to the fire. “Just too hard to talk about.” He dismissed the conversation by pulling back the blanket of his bedroll. His boots kicked the rocks into the fire, putting out the flames and bringing us into pure darkness. Then he lay down and looked up at the canopy of trees.
I decided to lie down too. “You want me to take the first watch?”
“No need. I can hear in my sleep.”
Good. Because I was dead tired. I got comfortable in the bedroll, and almost immediately, I was out for the night.
I woke up to his boot nudging me. “It’s sunrise.”
“Ugh.” I rolled over and pulled the sheet over my head.
He nudged me again. “I said get up.”
I swatted him in the shin.
“Get your ass up, or I’ll pick it up myself.”
“Asshole…” I forced myself upright as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. It took me a moment to fully awaken, to take in the gentle sunlight that appeared through the branches of the trees. The cold air hit my skin immediately, like a piece of ice against my face. I reached for my pack and pulled out the first snack I could find, nuts and berries, and munched on that to get my brain to stir.
A mug appeared in front of me, steaming hot.
“Oh my gods…is that coffee?” I took it from his hands and brought it to my lips for a drink. Bold in taste and aromatic with a multitude of flavors, it was warm and delicious. “This is the best shit I’ve ever had.”
“The beans are from Necrosis.”
“Necrosis drinks coffee?”
“We aren’t that different from you—as hard as that is to believe.”
“Really fucking hard.” I drank it all before I got up and packed my things.
He was already ready to go, standing at the edge of the clearing to keep an eye out. One foot was propped on a rock, and he stood with his shoulders back, surveying the scene ahead of him with the intelligent eyes of a hawk.
I pulled on my boots, tightened my cloak, and then mounted my horse. “I’m ready.”
He continued his stare for a while before he mounted his horse. “We’re changing course.”
“What? Why?”
“A group of riders is headed in our direction.”
I scanned the world around us, seeing no disruption in the serenity. “I don’t see anyone.”
“I don’t see anyone either. But I can hear them.”
“What?” I asked incredulously. “How?”
“Because they’re on horses—and there’re a lot of them.”
“Must be Plunderers.”
“My same assumption.” He kicked his horse and took off.
I did the same and rode beside him. “Do you have a hard time sleeping at night?”
His hands gripped the reins as he turned to look at me.
“Since you can hear everything?”
He looked forward. “I have a hard time sleeping for a lot of reasons.”