I only stop once I’ve reached the edge.
All the whispering stops.
Eerie silence fills the void.
Chills break out over my arms, but I peer down into the gloom, regardless.
A scream gets caught in my throat.
The hole is filled with water, but my Reaper threads illuminate the depths, revealing exactly what’s inside.
Bodies.
Hundreds of them.
They’re floating, and I can’t look away from their lifeless, whitewashed eyes. They look perfectly preserved in death.
My body gives an involuntary shudder. Whatever is calling me is in the water.
Yup, that settles it. This is one hundred percent a trap. The water is probably a carnivorous predator that uses bodies to lure people to their doom.
Okay, that might be a stretch, but still, there’s no way I’m getting in the water.
Hard pass.
Just as I decide to step away, something cold and wet clamps around my ankle.
Before I can even scream, I’m yanked under the water.
Chapter 20
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule twenty:Avoid accidentally desecrating human remains.
Icy water swallows me.
I thrash wildly, trying to claw my way back to the surface, but the more I struggle, the more hands grab me.
The murky depths are cast in a silvery glow from the Reaper threads still clinging to my hand, revealing a scene beyond my wildest nightmares. The once lifeless corpses are now very much sentient, their milky eyes locked on me as they swarm.
A scream gets lodged in my throat.
They’re dragging me down. And no matter how much I fight, no matter how many sinewy fingers I manage to pry off me, more slitherinto their place.
Clammy bodies bump against mine, and soon, there are so many that I lose track of which way is up. Water burns my sinuses, but I keep trying to twist out of their grip.
I didnotcome this far to be eaten by water zombies.
My lungs are starting to burn. This isn’t working.
I don’t know if you can reap an undead body, but I am absolutely willing to try. I stop struggling, and am about to call on more power, only to pause as the undead hands immediately release me. There’s a slick film left in their wake that makes my skin crawl.
Spinning, I try to find the surface, but all I can see is a sea of bodies. They press in on me from all directions. It’s impossible to find my way out.
I try to tug one aside, but spongy hands push against mine, lightly pushing me away.
Claustrophobia mounting, I decide I’m out of time and call on more of my Reaper power. The threads start to multiply.
