Page 42 of Death Warden
“Then why did I tell you?” I challenge.
There’s comprehension in her eyes. “Maybe youwantedto.”
I realize that she’s right. I want to tell her. I want to confide in her.
I am so fucked.
CHAPTERELEVEN
ADI
“Alich?” I’d read about these creatures when doing research for a novel a few years back. “Like your soul is in a phylactery somewhere?”
His smile was wry. “If only. I don’t know where my soul is. I sold it centuries ago to save someone I loved. I thought it would kill me, but it turned me into a parasite. A being who needs another’s soul to survive. I’m forced to devour a soul every few decades to survive and remain…cogent. If I don’t, I’ll become a monster. A killer.”
“When you saydevour a soul, what do you mean exactly?”
His eyes were cold. “I mean what I say. I find someone close to death and I borrow their soul. It becomes mine for a time until I can’t hold it any longer. But I also inherit some of their mannerisms, their skills.” He looked out the window. “I don’t know who I am anymore. I have no idea what parts of me belong to the original Curo.”
Oh, God…This was why he didn’t do serious relationships. He didn’t trust his emotions. Didn’t trust what he wanted. But he was wrong.
Uneducated when it came to how it all worked.
“It doesn’t work that way, Curo.”
He arched a brow, his eyes remaining cold. “You think you know more about my predicament than I do?”
“No. But I don’t think selling your soul means you lose your personality. No one can own your soul, not until your body is dead. They might feed off the power in your soul, but it’s still connected to your mortal body.”
He frowned. “It is?”
I smiled. “Yes. Souls need a tether on this plane. If it’s not their body, then it’s an object or a place. Look, when someone dies, they can choose to stay here or go into the light. Into the light breaks the connection to the mortal body. Some souls stay, and those souls remain cogent as long as their bodies are intact. Once they decompose, these souls become empty. If the bodies have been cremated, the souls become empty faster.”
He listened intently, absorbing my words greedily.
“You’re still alive, so your soul is still tethered to you, wherever it may be. The souls you borrow eventually get pulled to the other side. It takes some serious mojo to burn up a soul, Curo, and you don’t have that.”
He slow-blinked at me. “I’m still me.”
“Yes.”
His throat bobbed and he looked away. “Drink up. We need to get you back in time for patrol.”
His tone was curt, almost indifferent now. Disappointment carved a pit in my belly.
“What did I say?”
But he shoved his chair back and stood. “I’ll meet you at the bike.”
He strode out of the café and down the road, leaving me with a knot of confusion in my chest.
Hell no was I having this.
* * *
Curo leaned up against Drake,chin tucked in, silver hair falling forward across his forehead like a sexy anime character.
“Hey!” I stormed toward him. “What the hell is your problem, hmmm?” I stopped in front of him. “I was trying to help you.”
