Unreap My Heart (The Reaper Series) (35 page)

“What?” She sucked in a breath of coppery air. The red water’s smell made her nauseous. “What do you mean you know?”

He snorted. “I was there when Tomas said you’d be the one to recognize the Redeemer. I’d been keeping an eye on your thread this whole time, not only because I hate Wraiths.”

“Then what are we gonna do?”

Balthazar glanced down his nose at her. “I have a plan. Just play along. Zakariel will be too busy with Ben. Since you’re still bound to me, he may not notice. If you follow my lead we might make it through this.”

Arianne’s molars squeaked against each other when she gnashed her teeth together. “How’s that supposed to work?”

“Shut up and follow my lead. How hard can that be?”

The raft glided into shore. It came to a stop on the sand, jerking forward. The motion cut off the rest of Arianne’s argument.

Zakariel came forward, his brow wrinkled. “The boy?”

Balthazar picked up Ben and handed him over to the Heavenly Host. “We had a situation. He’s not fully a Wraith yet since he doesn’t have access to an unattached human soul.”

Arianne gulped.
Act natural. Act freakin’ natural.

The Heavenly Host looked Ben over when he balanced him in his arms. “The Redeemer can still save him.”

A sigh of relief exploded from Arianne’s lungs. Balthazar stood over her before Zakariel could notice anything off. He reached down and picked her up off the raft floor like a doll. Then he stood her up and patted her body down like he was dusting her off. Too woozy with relief, Arianne didn’t argue. She stood in stunned silence and let Balthazar do what he wanted.

He kneeled before her and tied a shoelace that had come lose. She didn’t quite understand why. The boots she’d worn had burned away, so he’d given her sneakers instead. Now he tied her shoelace for her. Was he deliberately being sweet?

He looked up at her and grinned the second the question entered her head. Arianne tsked. The link between them. When would it disappear?

“Soon,” Balthazar whispered. He pointed at his wrist. The tattoo looked faded.

Arianne didn’t know if she should be relieved or disappointed.

Her conflicting feelings continued as Balthazar held her by the waist and lifted her off the raft onto the beach. Arianne stared at the sand that sparkled like little diamonds while Balthazar thanked Charlion for getting them safely to Haven. She looked over her shoulder just as the ferryman pushed off the beach. Creepy how she saw nothing of him, just that cowl casting a shadow where his face should be. By the time a shiver had gone through her body, Charlion had become a speck in the vast horizon. She briefly wondered what favor he’d owed Balthazar, and whether it was settled by bringing them to Haven.

“Quit standing there,” Balthazar called.

Arianne whipped around to see him and Zakariel already several yards away. She waved because she didn’t know what else to do. Idiot. The nerves tied her muscles in knots. When she could move from the spot Balthazar had left her in, she jogged toward them.

Once she’d caught up, Balthazar eased her behind him while he walked side by side with Zakariel.

After they cleared the beach the sand bled into a dirt floor, Arianne forgot her worries for a second. Information flooded her brain about Haven. Her connection with Balthazar may be fading, but the info download still worked. Arianne tuned out Balthazar and Zakariel’s conversation to take in her amazing surroundings.

Towering limestone pillars made up most of Haven. More than thirty thousand of them. No one really kept count of the exact numbers. The columns rose up several stories—some as high as forty feet into the air. A light fog covered the tops, obscuring the actual height of some of the higher pillars. Leafy trees peppered the columns. The nests were the most amazing part. Arianne had to crane her neck while she walked just to catch a glimpse of them. Angels who stayed in Haven before they made their way to the human world or Heaven lived in nests. Mothers took care of their young in nests too.

The air in Arianne’s lungs whooshed out when a group of angelings—baby angels—ran around her. They turned her in a circle because of their game of tag. Zakariel barked something at them and they ran away, giggling the entire time. Arianne glanced up at the Heavenly Host and caught a small grin and a twinkle in his eye.

“The little ones are always a menace,” he said with great humor. “Do you remember when you used to run around like that, Balthazar?”

Arianne’s jaw dropped at the new piece of information about her traveling companion and bodyguard. “You used to live here?”

Balthazar snorted in response to her question.

The Heavenly Host was more than happy to fill her in. “Balthazar was born here.”

It was like Zakariel had dropped a bomb. Balthazar? Born in Haven? Shut the front door!

“My mother was a Heavenly Host,” he grumbled.

Arianne staggered. Too much shocking information all at once. Her brain couldn’t take it. Balthazar’s mother was like Zakariel?

Shocked, she asked, “Where are your wings?”

Balthazar’s shoulders stiffened. “I think you should know, Ben’s going to be fine.”

A distraction. Really? And dang if it didn’t work.

“Is it true?” she asked Zakariel.

The Heavenly Host nodded once without looking back at her. “You got him here just in time. He’ll be processed and sent on his way.”

Touching her chest, both happiness and sadness swirled inside at the news. Happy because Ben wouldn’t be condemned to a life of consuming souls. Sad because this might be the last time she’d see him. Her eyes went to his unconscious body in Zakariel’s arms.

“Will I get to say goodbye to him?”

Zakariel smiled at her then. “I’m sure that could be arranged.”

The relief flooding Arianne’s insides didn’t last long when Zakariel added, “That is, after you pick out the Redeemer.”

She stumbled on an invisible rock. “How does that work exactly?”

Patiently, Zakariel answered her question. “It’s very simple really. We will present you with several candidates and you will pick out the Redeemer. If you succeed, you get your audience.”

Yeah, simple.

Arianne swallowed. Her hands began to shake. She stuffed them into the pockets of her jeans. Balthazar stared at her for a second over his shoulder. Zakariel led them into an amphitheater at a clearing. He handed Ben off to another Heavenly Host and continued forward. He descended the steps toward the sunken center of the amphitheater.

Just as Arianne stepped forward to follow, Balthazar whirled around and caught her shoulders in his hands, stopping her momentum. He looked into her eyes and said, “You can do this.”

Arianne had lost count of the shockers today. “Are you actually giving me a pep talk?”

“Just make your choice and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

Balthazar didn’t answer the hidden question in her statement. Instead, he turned around and made his way to where Zakariel stood at the center of the amphitheater. Arianne followed solemnly. How hard could it be to pick out the purest soul of them all?

At the bottom of the steps, Arianne stopped. Zakariel nodded at her then waved his hand at the angel standing off to one side. Arianne looked from Zakariel to Balthazar. Her heart did mini somersaults. Her palms inside her pockets began to sweat. When she looked back at Zakariel, a line of women stood behind him. The candidates he’d mentioned.

Zakariel stepped aside and gestured for Arianne to choose. She looked at each face of the candidates then her heart stopped. Arianne forgot everything she had to do and ran for the line of could-be Redeemers.

Chapter 39

GMAB

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in his life, Balthazar stood slack-jawed. Arianne didn’t take a second to think about her choice. Before he could stop her, she bolted toward the line of seven Redeemer decoys. What the hell? Pins and needles ran up and down his left arm. His chest tightened. If a heart attack felt like this, he’d drop dead in seconds.

Did she stop and think? No! What Niko saw in this impulsive chick escaped him. Balthazar snapped his mouth shut. He saw their deaths. Plain as day this would be the last they’d exist together. He’d slap her again. If they made it out of this alive, he’d slap her silly. His hand itched for it. His only consolation? Watching Zakariel look as dumb as he did. Two powerful creatures in the Underverse bested by a human girl. Balthazar shook his head. He had to admit it was funny. Downright hilarious. Maybe he’d taken a hit of the Angel’s tears after all, and this entire thing was just a stupid hallucination. But in what hallucination would he get to see the Heavenly Host’s eyes bug out of their sockets?

Zakariel’s wings twitched in a way that told Balthazar he was too surprised to control the muscles holding them still. His great dignity was shattered. Balthazar forgave Arianne her impulsive nature. She had managed to shock the unshockable Zakariel. There was hope for her yet.

Arianne ran for the second to the last girl farthest from where Zakariel stood. The Redeemer decoy Arianne zeroed in on had long brown hair with hints of red mixed into the strands. In the right light, she’d have flames for highlights. Her heart-shaped face turned from calm to surprised. The white Grecian gown she wore enhanced her curves instead of drowning them in fabric. Balthazar would have thought of her as beautiful if his eyes weren’t riveted to the flame-haired girl risking her life on a hunch. Well—Balthazar corrected himself—she didn’t have a life to risk. Her soul. Yes, she risked her very soul. He had to admire her for that. He couldn’t be too sure if she really did go on a hunch because their connection was fading by the second. He guessed they didn’t need it anymore. Granmare Baba’s magic always had an expiration date, and he couldn’t tell if he liked that their connection faded or was disappointed.

Then the unexpected happened. The girl Arianne ran to opened her arms and Arianne flew into them. Balthazar cocked his head to the side. Both girls jumped into each other’s arms before the one in the gown pulled back and cupped Arianne’s face in both her hands, tears glistening in her eyes, a wide smile on her Cupid’s bow lips.

Balthazar’s brows rose a fraction. Now that both girls stood together, he made out the similarities in the slant of their eyes, the shape of their cheekbones, the curve of their lower lips. What were the chances?

“This can’t be,” Zakariel sputtered. “How?”

Arianne and the girl turned toward the still-in-shock Heavenly Host, question marks on both their pretty faces. They looked so much alike Balthazar wanted to kick himself for not noticing it sooner.

“What’s the matter, Zakariel?” Balthazar grinned because his job just got easier. Sort of.

Zakariel pointed a trembling finger at Arianne and continued to sputter. “She couldn’t have been able to pick out the Redeemer.”

The surprise on Arianne’s face and the calm smile on the girl—who Balthazar suspected to be Arianne’s younger sister—confirmed it all. He could have laughed then if he wasn’t too busy searching for the whistle he kept in one of the pockets of his singed coat. He may have to replace it after all this craziness was over.

“Are you saying you stacked the deck against us, Zakariel?” Balthazar clucked, shaking his head. “That isn’t very sporting for a Heavenly Host.”

“Oh shut up.” Zakariel’s face crumpled. “You know as well as I she’s no longer attached to her body. Did you really think you could hide it from me?”

The girl who held Arianne frowned. “Is that true, Ari?”

Balthazar’s heart cracked at the question.

Arianne bowed her head and nodded. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Carrie. I should have known you’d be the Redeemer. When Niko reaped you, your soul was different from the others.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later.”

Carrie stepped away from Arianne and spread her arms at an angle. Golden light engulfed her. Arianne shielded her eyes as did Zakariel. Balthazar stood far away enough that he didn’t have to shield his own. In the distraction the Redeemer created for him, he finally found what he was feeling for.

He fished out what resembled a dog whistle and blew on it. Only one creature in the Underverse would hear the subsonic call. Balthazar could only hope it came in time as he returned the whistle into his coat.

The golden light receded and concentrated behind Carrie. Electrical sparks outlined her transparent wings. As the Redeemer, she had a set of four—two on each side. They stretched out and dispersed the excess energy manifesting them caused. The air in the amphitheater crackled. The six other decoys backed away from Carrie and returned to wherever Zakariel had summoned them from. Balthazar didn’t need to know the whats and whys of it. Arianne—by sheer luck—had picked the right one. She didn’t need to be attached to her body. This new information niggled at Balthazar. Could it be that D and Tomas had known all along? Had he worried about Arianne’s thread for nothing? His molars rubbed against each other hard, the tip of one of his fangs piercing his lower lip. Oh, they were going to pay.