Page 46 of Sins of the Heart

---

night, wondering why the obvious didn’t seem so obvious to her mentor in the Asetian Guard. “Why

doesn’t Sutekh just ask him who the killers are?”

“The soul reaper was murdered, but his soul never

went to the Underworld. We’ve checked every territory.

Questioned every god and demigod. The reaper isn’t

there. And he isn’t Topworld. He doesn’t appear to be

anywhere.”

That news had been anything but reassuring. “How

is that possible?”

Calliope had shaken her head and spread her hands,

palms up. “If I knew that, I would have all the answers.

But that’s your task. To find answers. We suspect that

if one of Sutekh’s minions or allies finds the remains

first, they’ll complete a reanimation ceremony. Draw

EVE SILVER

55

the reaper’s soul back from wherever it has gone. I trust

you understand exactly how dire that could be?”

She understood that the Daughters of Aset had to

find the reaper’s remains before anyone else did. Because common lore claimed that reapers weren’t supposed to die. In fact, once they made their choice and

swore fealty to Sutekh, he forced their souls back into

their bodies and modified them using dark magic and

the souls of the innocent. So if Sutekh’s minions found

the reaper’s remains first, it would stand to reason that

they could work that same dark magic to bring him

back. Reanimate him. And he’d sing like the fat lady,

fingering the ones who’d killed him.

The possibility didn’t give her the warm and fuzzies

because she couldn’t shake the feeling that the Daughters of Aset just might be the ones who’d done the

deed, in which case they’d take a direct hit when

---