Page 43 of Famine

“Fuckingfine.” Famine halts his horse abruptly.

Oh shit.

“Wait,” I say. “Are you actually taking me up on the offer?”

I was more interested in taunting the horseman than actually following through on my word. But now …

Famine dismounts. A moment later, he reaches for me, cuffs and all, dragging me off his horse. My bare feet stumble against the earth, my shackles clanging as they shift.

“Alright,” I say, glancing around. “Right here. Okay.” I swallow, clear my throat. “I didn’t realize you were so eager.”

I glance at the horseman’s pants. I’ve seen him naked before, but he was so badly hurt then that I hadn’t really noticed his genitals. Now, however, I’m oddly piqued at the thought of seeing his dick, damn my curious mind.

When Famine doesn’t make a move to undo his pants, I reach for them.

He glances down at me. “What are you doing?”

I can feel all that disapproving energy focused on me.

“Getting things started. If you’re a little shy, we can take this slower—”

“Shy?” he echoes.

Understanding flashes in his eyes a second later, followed by—wait for it—annoyance.

He swats my hands away. “Stop,” he says, vaguely irritated.

I give him a confused look, but he’s not even paying attention to me. His focus is on a grassy patch of earth a few meters away.

I back away from him as he reaches out a hand towards the ground.

Seconds go by. Then, from the earth, a tiny sapling sprouts before my eyes, rising up gracefully, its branches and stems unfurling.

Only hours ago I saw a different batch of plants rise from the ground, and yet, this process looks wholly different from what I saw this morning. Those earlier plants grew aggressively; it was a violent, monstrous birth. This, on the other hand, looks like a slow dance.

It takes much longer for this plant to grow, partially because the tree is so damn large. As it grows and fills out, its leaves sway up and down, almost as though it’s breathing. Its trunk thickens and then—wonder of wonders—beads of fruit swell along that trunk and some of the larger branches. They turn color, going from green to wine red to, finally, a violet-black.

And then, the tree settles, its rapid growth complete. I stare up at it. It’s a jabuticaba tree, much like the one I picked fruit from the day I found the horseman.

Famine lowers his hand, turning to me.

“Well?” he says.

My brows draw together, confused. “Do you want me to suck your dick under there?”

He exhales, his eyes rising heavenward in exasperation.

“I’mkidding.” Sort of. I’m still thinking about the blowjob to save all humanity.

The Reaper glowers at me. “It’s food for you to eat,” he explains anyway. “To get you to stop talking about sex for five seconds.”

I guess his dilemma about feeding me is not much of a dilemma when sex is the other looming option.

Shame. I was half excited about his supernatural dick too.

Chapter 14

The few travelers we pass all die. The horseman makes sure of that.

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