“Kind of, but these are no ordinary horses.”
“Are they unicorns?” I ask seriously, and Maxon laughs.
“Sorry, no.” He waves his hand over the lock on the gate, and with a loud creak, the gates slowly slide open. “It’s nice out, so it’ll probably be faster to walk to the train station than to wait for a carriage, but if we have time when we get back, I’ll show you the stables. You haven’t really seen much of the grounds, have you?”
“No. Just the courtyards.”
“There’s so much more. The first Captura match is next weekend, and it takes place in the Shadow Forest, so you actually won’t get to see much of the action, but the initial releasing of the orbs always takes place in the stadium.” He points behind us. “You have to go through the woods to get to it.”
“Are you playing?”
“Yes, it’s tradition for Proeliator and Arbiters to play each other first. The winner from that match goes on to play Magi.”
I try for a smile. “I’ll be sure to cheer you on.”
He shuts the gate behind us and waves his hand over it again, locking it. “Thanks.”
We walk down the gravel road in silence. The sun is out in full force today, warming the air and making me loosen the ties on my cloak. A train sounds in the distance as soon as we step onto a wooden bridge, taking us over a shallow creek. We pick up the pace and arrive at the platform just in time to board. We crowd into a train car with a bunch of other students, and I take a seat by the window, watching the forest quickly pass us by.
It doesn’t take long to get into town and the train station at Grimsby. Students and graduates alike mill about, and a few young reapers cling to their guardians’ hands, pointing to the train as it slows to a stop.
A cobblestone road lies adjacent to the station, and shops and taverns line the road. Reapers enter and leave the buildings, going about their lives as normal. A black carriage that reminds me of a Victorian hearse rolls down the street, being pulled by a large black horse with a fiery red mane and tail.
Three men wearing matching hooded black robes walk down the path along the train. They’re carrying scythes, and it’s only then I realize they are the only armed reapers walking around Grimsby.
“Are those soldiers?” I whisper, turning my head toward Maxon.
“Yes.”
“And they…they keep the peace?”
“If necessary,” he tells me as he stands. “But mostly to make sure demons haven’t infiltrated our realm.”
“They can do that?” My heart skips a beat in fear.
“They can.”
“What would happen if they did?” I ask, looking back at the large scythes in the soldiers’ hands.
“They would take as many reapers with them as they could.”
“Why?”
He purses his lips, again looking annoyed that I don’t know basic reaper history. “To eat.”
“They can eat us?” Both my brows hike up.
“Yeah, they don’t just kill us. They slowly devour us and get one hell of a power boost from it. All souls give off energy, but reapers give off more, obviously. Demons don’t like us because we kill them, but they’re also eager to consume reapers for the power we hold inside our bodies.”
“Holy shit.” I blink a few times, trying hard not to think about how awful it would be to have a demon slowly consume my essence. “So I’m guessing a demon getting in here and devouring a bunch of reapers would be really fucking bad then.”
Maxon turns, angling his whole body at me. “It would start the apocalypse.”
12
“This is where most of the older students come to hang out.” Maxon pulls open the door to the Crooked Shadow Inn and steps aside, letting me in first. The tavern is dimly lit by glowing energy balls trapped inside a variety of glass bottles on the tables.
A large fire crackles in a stone fireplace on the far wall, and chatters ring out among the reapers that fill the establishment. The bartender, an older, redheaded woman wearing a long black dress, looks up and smiles at Maxon.
