The Reapers (The Hunted Series Book 1) Page 19

  She picked her target, aimed, and threw it at a tree. It hit, exploding in a burst of darkness and fog. She watched as the dust cleared. The tree remained intact, covered only with a thin layer of soot.

  “Well, at least your aim is on point,” he scoffed.

  Nivian crossed her arms over her chest and flicked her gaze upward.

  “Forget what you think you know about your strength. It is not your body’s power you use, but what is inside you.” Caspian pointed to her heart. “Your power is controlled by your emotions.”

  How would she flex an emotional power when she had never needed to before? “Caspian, I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

  “Focus!” he yelled. “Use your hate, your fear, whatever you have, aim it, and destroy that tree!” His tone was harsh.

  Nivian straightened her spine and pulled her shoulders back. Silas, she thought. She hated the position he’d put her in, hated that she was the only one who could fight Kain. This wasn’t who she wanted to be. She focused, pushing the power into her hands once more and aimed for the tree and threw her anger at it.

  CRACK!

  Fog covered the target as pieces of bark rained down around them. When the fog cleared, she looked at the tree, a hole punched through the center. Splinters littered the ground.

  A grin formed on her face as she labored to breathe, pulling air into her lungs. She dropped to one knee. Her smile dropped—her breathing wasn’t slowing down. She looked up at Caspian in panic, black spots formed in front of her eyes. She was about to lose consciousness.

  Crap. This sucks. She fell as darkness took over.

  Kain

  Kain fell to his hands and knees, panting. Another wound was already healing. The sensation of his skin knitting itself back together was odd. Holter had explained that Yeva had opened up his powers, allowing him to use them to their full extent. Apparently this included rapid healing. This ability would have come in handy growing up, when he had fallen out of a tree and broke an arm and both legs. It had felt like an eternity before he could do anything by himself again.

  Kain wiped the back of his hand across his face, clearing the dirt from his mouth. Blood. His nose had started to bleed for what felt like the tenth time that night. With only an hour break since the gathering had ended, Holter had trained him nonstop. Not only was it physically demanding in a way he wouldn’t have expected, but it was emotionally exhausting.

  There was much to learn, both in knowledge and the execution of it. A hunter’s powers were led by emotions—the stronger the emotion, the stronger the power—but the intention behind the attack also dictated the type of power created by it. Fear, hate, and duty to protect would all create an energy that could be used against a reaper to defend. Even with the nap on the plane he was ready to drop.

  “How much longer, old man?” Kain asked, wiping the blood on his pant leg.

  “Only until you know what you’re doing.” Holter let out a deep belly laugh.

  Kain grit his teeth. If he wanted to stop, he needed to get years of practice under his belt within hours. Dawn was about to break, and he readied himself, determined not to fall flat on his face from exhaustion.

  Wonderful. This should end beautifully, he thought as darkness threatened the edges of his vision.

  Twenty-Three

  Nivian

  Freezing, I’m freezing…

  Why can’t I move?

  Why can’t I breathe?

  Silence surrounded her. Her lungs burned with fire, and her body shivered violently. Fury gripped her heart and squeezed tightly in her chest. She felt anger at this hopeless feeling, anger at… what? She couldn’t remember why she was angry or why she felt like destroying something. Or was it someone? She had to get out. She needed to get out, to find the answers. Panic filled her. She couldn’t remember anything. She couldn’t move.

  Time slowed to a crawl. As darkness enveloped her, Nivian could feel the life as it drained from her. Colors faded; sky blues to deep, rich blues into impenetrable black. Her lids grew heavy. At that moment, she felt it. Time stopped. A crushing weight and weightlessness, simultaneously, overcame her. Unable to move under the pressure of it, she floated in a world of nothingness.

  In the distance a soft dim light shone. She watched as it grew closer and brighter. Nivian tried to reach out to it. A face formed through the murky blue, the light directly behind the face now fading in and out. She could make out the eyes. His eyes. Those black-as-night eyes were like a knife twisting in her heart. Why couldn’t she remember why it hurt to see them? His features were hazy. She tried to focus, but her mind refused. Who is he?

  A hand appeared, beckoning her to grab hold, and follow. She fought to reach the hand. Slowly her body inched toward the hand, and she reached out. She was close. Her consciousness faded in and out. She had to get to the hand…

  Nivian sat up gasping. Her head darted from side to side, scanning the room. The wind rustled the curtains of her open balcony door. She was home. The clock flashed 1:46. There was no light—or face.

  It was just a dream... but it wasn’t just a dream. It was a memory. She pushed her hair off of her damp face. She’d been crying. Squeezing her stinging eyes shut, she murmured, “No… Caspian.” Clasping her hand over her mouth to hold back a sob, she shook her head in disbelief.

  She died. She had died, and Caspian had been her reaper. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest, threatening to shatter.

  It couldn’t be possible, could it? It would explain why she was different from the others. Reapers were created from energy, not from life. It stung that Caspian had been the one to end her human life—a life she couldn’t remember. Her death now fresh in her mind, as though it happened seconds before. Images flashed through her mind in rich detail. Painful and slow, she hadn’t been afraid, she felt betrayed. She racked her mind, but her memories only went back to the second she began to die. Humans were scared when they came face-to-face with their reapers, but she had been furious. What in her life had led to anger being her final emotion?

  Why would he hide this from her? Were they close because she had been his mark? Was their closeness a misconception on her part? In reality, he kept her near, as though she were nothing more than an experiment to be monitored.

  Tears burned her eyes. She blinked them back and took two steady, deep breaths. Caspian had chosen her death, and it had been painful.

  She threw her covers off and crossed the room in two strides, and grabbed her cloak.

  Caspian

  Caspian sat in his office and poured over his books, looking for an answer he would be able to use. They all wanted the same end result: to have the balance restored, before it got any worse, and a way to keep it in place for good. He would feel better if he had a backup plan, something more direct than the one Silas had planned.

  He glanced at the small clock on his desk. The light dimmed. Dark crystals formed on the clock, spreading out over the desk, and flowing over and down the sides, covering the ground and walls. With a burst of fog, Nivian appeared right before him with wild hair and wide-eyed. He stood. What had happened to her?

  “Nivi,” he started, as he walked around the desk to meet her.

  “Don’t—don’t even dare, Caspian. I know the truth.” She spat out.

  “Tell me what happened,” he said, his voice soft as he reached out to her. She jerked back avoiding his touch.

  “How could you?” she demanded, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes.

  Caspian had no idea what he had done since they last spoke. He’d taken her to her home and come back to his office to research. “Please calm down. Sit and tell me what is going on.”

  “I don’t want to sit. And don’t treat me like a child. You know damn well what you did!”

  A heavy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. She was never this upset. There was only one time he could even think of when he had seen this kind of rage in her. His heart clenched at the memory.

  “How am I to
respond if you will not tell me why you are upset?” He tilted his head to the side and drew his eyebrows together.

  “Upset? You think I’m upset? Upset doesn’t even begin to cover this!” she replied acidly.

  “Enough!” his voice boomed. Angry or not, this would not get them anywhere. “Stop shouting, and tell me what you are angry about!”

  Her breathing came out ragged. “You. Killed. Me,” Nivian bit out through gritted teeth.

  Caspian froze, his eyes wide. There it was. The one thing he had hoped she would never remember. They both stood unmoving for several minutes, their eyes locked.

  Shock registered on his face as she glowered at him. Pain reflected in her eyes. If he had been a human and not a reaper, this is the look that would kill him.

  “Nivian…” he whispered, not knowing what to say or if there was anything he could say. He reached out a hand toward her, a timid attempt to try to calm her rage. He wanted to explain, but the words caught in his throat.

  “Don’t.” A single tear escaped her eye. “You can’t explain your way out of this one.”

  “No. I cannot explain it away, but I can tell you what happened, and why it happened.”

  “How could you?” The look on her face was enough to destroy him. Tenderly, he lifted his hand and cupped her face.

  “I had orders, Nivi. You were always meant to be a reaper. It was the path of your life energy. If I hadn’t been there at that moment, then someone else would have. I was your reaper, and I would do it again a thousand times if I had to.”

  A look of disgust formed on her face. “You think telling me what happened can make this better, that it could excuse what you did? Why you did it?”

  “No. I do not think it will. However, I do think it will help you to understand.”

  “Understand?” Nivian scoffed and backed up toward the door, shaking her head. “I never want to see you again.” She spun on her heel and disappeared, leaving him alone once again.

  She was never meant to remember. How could this have happened? He had hopped that if she were ever to find out, he would be the one to tell her.

  Nivian

  She was shaking when she got back to her place. A knock sounded at the door. Storming over, she threw the door open and yelled, “I said I never wanted to see you—” she stopped at the alarm on Kain’s face.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, blinking rapidly and shifting his feet.

  “No, I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.” She backed up and motioned for him to enter.

  “Are you okay?”

  “She will be fine,” Caspian said from the shadows behind her. His cape wrapped around him, hood over his head.

  “Get out!” she shouted at Caspian. How dare he follow her? He had a lot of nerve coming to her home after what he did to her.

  “You should probably go, she seems really pissed at you,” Kain said calmly to Caspian. Ice flooded her veins with every passing second. She couldn’t believe the nerve he had to follow her here after what he’d done.

  “This does not concern you, hunter.” Caspian glared at Kain.

  “Nivian?” Kain touched her hand, bringing her attention to him. She turned to face him. Kain’s worried expression sucked the fight out of her. She felt the rage drain and leave sadness in its wake.

  “It’s okay, Kain. I can take care of this.” She looked down at his hand on hers. “You can go. I will stop by later, okay?”

  Kain nodded and glared at Caspian, then let himself out. Nivian watched him close the door softly behind him, before she turned on Caspian.

  “Get. Out. I told you I never wanted to see you again! What part of that did you not understand?” She mocked his earlier use of the word.

  “Let me tell you what happened, and if you still feel that way, I swear you will never lay eyes on me again.”

  Nivian thought about it before agreeing. It seemed that letting him speak would be the only way to get him to leave her alone. Walking over to the old chair in the corner, she sat down and motioned for him to ‘explain.’

  He sat down on the couch and angled himself to face her. She refused to look him in the eye.

  Caspian took a deep breath before starting, “Yes, I took your mortal life. Unlike all other reapers, you were once living, though you were never human.”

  He paused to give it time to sink in. Slowly, she turned her head and acknowledged him. He’d got her attention. Her head tilted to the side. What in Gaia’s name did that mean?

  “There is more to this than you could know, Nivi.” He raised an eyebrow and nodded before continuing. “You were once a hunter. Of course, no one knows other than Silas and myself. It was… an experiment for Silas. Regretfully, I fear the reason this fate was thrust upon you is my fault.”

  “Your fault for his ideas?”

  It didn’t make sense. She knew Silas was capable of many things, but she also knew no one could convince him to do anything he didn’t already want to do.

  “Yes. It was shortly before The Dissension. The balance was intact. There was relative peace between the hunters and us. Silas thought of it as his gift to Yeva. One day I was following a mark in the marketplace when our eyes connected. You knew me the second you saw me, and you smiled. It was so out of the ordinary for a hunter. I almost forgot who I was. You went on your business, and I went ahead and carried out my mark.

  Several weeks passed, and I could not forget your smile. I needed to see you again to talk to you—and if I was lucky—to make you smile again. I found you one morning sitting alone near your favorite tree. I approached you.” His mind flashed back as he told her their story…

  Caspian

  A shiver shuddered visible over her and Nivian jumped up from where she sat. Caspian stood several yards in front of her. “Why are you here?” She backed up against the tree.

  “I’m not here for your life energy.” He held up his hands. She had nothing to fear from him. Her face reflected the doubt he knew she felt..

  “What do you want, reaper?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

  “I—I wanted to talk.” He looked down, feeling unsure of himself. Nothing in his long existence had ever made him feel this way.

  “Talk? What business do you have to speak about with me?” Her eyes darted from side to side, looking for an escape. He couldn’t blame her. She reached behind her for the weapon she carried on her missions, her fingers grasping air.

  “No, I’m not here on business. I thought we could sit and talk.” He motioned to where she had been sitting.

  Sitting back down slowly, Nivian eyed him with suspicion. “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “I swear to you, I did not come to you to break the truce.”

  She motioned for him to sit next to her. He sat down, but left her space so she wouldn’t think it was a trick to get near her.

  They talked all day until the sun began its slow descent.

  Nivian stood. “I must go. Thank you for your company.” She started to turn away.

  “I will walk you home,” his eyes widened at her guarded expression, realizing his mistake, “if you will allow me the honor.”

  She contemplated it for a moment and His heart soared when she nodded in agreement.

  As they walked, they continued their conversation. Their pace slowed the closer they got to her home. After reaching the edge of her land, they made plans to meet again the following week. The meetings soon became a routine.

  “We continued to meet. It wasn’t long before we became close, and it was months before anything changed. Silas called me into his office and gave me my new assignment—you. I was devastated.”

  “I don’t know if Silas found out about our meetings, or if it just happened to be a coincidence. I never bothered to ask that question. I couldn’t see past my own pain. I ran to you and told you that you were my next mark. I would never go through with it. You didn’t believe me. You told me to leave and that you would have my life before I could have yours. I
asked you to take it. I would rather be destroyed than end your life.” Caspian stopped. The memories of that day hit him as if it were yesterday. He didn’t know it then, but he had fallen in love with her.

  “You still came after me. You still carried out the mark on me,” Nivian spat out.

  “I told Silas I would not do it. He said it would happen one way or another, and he would send every reaper after you if he had to. I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone hurting you. I put it off as long as I could. I watched you, telling myself I would carry out the mark, but deep down I knew I only wanted to see your face again. Silas approached me. He said he wanted to try a little experiment and—it might save you.

  “That was all I needed to hear. I would do anything to save you. I didn’t stop long enough to wonder if he was being honest or placating me.” Caspian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was hard to relive the pain. He loved the time they spent together, but he never forgave himself for betraying her.

  “He gave you a little hope and just like that, you took my life?”

  “No, it was not quite so simple. He told me how to do it. That it could either save you or destroy us both. So I went to you. I told you I could save you. Blinded by my desire to spend time with you again, I begged you to listen. You refused to hear me out, saying you would destroy every last reaper before you willingly let us take you. I did not know what to do.”

  “Later that night you were standing by the river. When I approached you, I wanted to try and convince you one last time. As soon as I got close, you attacked me. The fight didn’t last long. You fell in and sank. I don’t know if you could swim or not, but you didn’t even fight it. I wanted to go after you, but instead I cut your life thread. The look on your face when I brought you above water was full of hurt and sadness. I brought your energy to Silas and left. The next day, I saw you wandering around G.R.I.M. Headquarters. I called out to you, but when you looked at me, your eyes were empty. You had no memory of who I was. Whatever Silas had done to you—it worked—but it took your memories.”