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“Impatient, are we?” he mentioned. He reached out his arm, sending a trail of shadows to wrap around the gwisin. They coiled around her like a snake, pulling her in like a lasso.
I knew what I should ask him. What my mother would ask him if she were here. She’d ask him how to get out of the bond.
But I was not my mother, and recruitment season was coming. Which meant any thoughts on escaping this bond must come after Flora got me all the way through to the end.
“Truth: where are you from?” I asked instead.
His face was smug when he answered, “The Beyond.”
Wow, so verbose. Next time, I should be more specific. “Very helpful.”
“You’re welcome.” His gaze fixated on my neck. “You covered my mark.”
I rolled my eyes. “It looked like a hickey. I couldn’t just show it off.”
He grumbled and drew the ghost closer.
“Can I quote you for an article?” I asked.
His brow furrowed. “For your newspaper?”
How did he know I was connected to the school newspaper? Was he keeping tabs on me?
“No, for the oracle’s gossip column. Yes, for my newspaper.”
Please say yes, I hoped.
We might actually outsell the oracle if he responded favorably. Everyone wanted to know who Mr. Hot and Mysterious was. And then Flora could give me a break for a while.
He scowled. “No.”
Damn. “Okay then.” He was doing the air glow thing again, but I desperately jumped in with, “Your fans will be disappointed.”
The air rearranged. “My what?”
He sent back the gwisin already. He waited alone.
“You have a fan club. My friend Cordelia is the leader. They think you might be a murderer, sure, but you’re very handsome.” Handsome enough that Cordelia thought we would look good together.
“Why did you choose to be an interviewer,” Reaper said, “when in most situations, you’re talking about yourself and your own friends?”
“What am I supposed to do when my interviewee is so solemn and silent?”
“Listen,” Reaper suggested. A tendril of shadows moved forward, wrapping around my ankles in a light brush. I should step out of them, but I had nothing to tell Flora. I needed solid information, or she would follow through on her threat to wear my severed hands like a necklace. Reaper’s shadows stabilized, anchoring my feet to the ground. I had no choice but to stay.
The shadows tickled. I almost laughed. But I kept my face serious. He smirked.
“Why did you keep calling me cursed when we first met?”
I saw a flash on his face I couldn’t recognize. “I can sense Gaksi’s energy on you. It made you appear demonic.”
And he was that afraid of Gaksi? More than he seemed to be of his original target?
“What are the consequences if you don’t capture the gumiho? Besides the loss of human life here. Humans aren’t your subjects, are they?”
The shadows swirled up, brushing my knees. I swayed them away.
“I cannot return home with any of my dignity if I allow her to escape,” Reaper said. “There is too much at stake. My honor is at risk.”
