The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

“Why don’t you find something else to do? I’d like to talk to her.”

“Are you sure? That’s a raven, in case you forgot.” He stood up.

“She’s still a person and has a right to know.”

Jackal groaned. “Fine.” He sheathed the knife on his hip and stepped out.

Reaper pulled the chair up closer to the cell and sat down.

“I doubt the Emperor was so desperate to employ the help of you soft-skinned rats.” She said.

“He’s completely unaware of our involvement.” He let the insult slide.

“Then why come for me? They’ll never acknowledge you had anything to do with it.”

“Luckily it’s not about that.” He held out a hand. “We will be bringing you back to your emperor, but it’s not for glory.”

“Ah…” She sat herself up straight. “Political gains? You think if you turn me in, you might be able to secure a foothold in the Alliance.” She grinned. “That’s funny. I don’t think it’ll work.”

“Won't know unless we try." He crossed his arms. "You were a top soldier for your country. On your way to becoming a Champion. Why would you throw it all away?"

She huffed. "You wouldn't understand. Humans don't have families. You don't care, or love. You all just run amok, razing everything you see to ash and dust." She scratched her leg with a foot. Those four long, narrow ears folded backwards. "You don't even care about your own brothers fighting beside you. You destroy yourselves to get further ahead."

"Funny," he smiled softly. "My superiors tell me the same thing about eldiravan."

“Guess it doesn’t matter what you are, superiors lie and bullshit you till they get you killed.” She took a soft breath.

“So, why did you run away?”

“I was given a mission to...basically do what you’re doing to me. Track him down. Capture him. Bring him back to our Emperor. I had full intention to do it no matter who it was. Only…” A sigh. “It was my father.”

“Your father? Do you know why?”

“They said he decided to overthrow the Emperor. Slaughtered his entire unit to keep them from stopping them and disappeared into the night.” She tilted her head. “He was a Champion of the Emperor himself. He had close ties to everyone in the empire and was well loved among our people. I had been told he was corrupted by humanity since where he was last stationed was on a planet with a human colony. I investigated the area and found the opposite.”

Reaper was silent, listening to her. He studied each of her minute movements. The spark in those yellow eyes.

“Everyone was dead. The human colony. Our base. Not because my father betrayed them. Something...ate them. I know it sounds crazy, but some sort of monster did it. Everyone was torn apart. Most of them were eaten.”

“Did you see what did it?” He crossed his arms.

“I saw a few foot prints. Three toes, almost like a diamond shape. Whatever it was, it was bigger than a house. I didn’t stay long because I didn’t find my father’s body. It got me thinking that maybe...just maybe there was a misunderstanding. I tried to explain it to my CO, but he refused to listen to me. I wanted a team to investigate the situation. They refused. So I refused to bring him back. They declared I, too betrayed the Emperor and I’ve been on the run ever since.”

“I was told you killed your unit in cold blood.”

She laughed. “Fuck no! That would mean I killed my brothers. I may beat the piss out of them, but I would never fucking kill them.” She scooted to the edge of the bench to lean forward.

“Blood brothers I take it?”

“Yeah. Supposedly shared the same womb, but I wouldn’t know. I never really knew my mother. My Captain is...was my eldest brother. The other one, older than me, was with us, too. We were establishing a new base when I got pulled out to track down my father.”

“They station family together like that?”

“Family works best together.” She raised a brow. “Do humans not?”

“We tend to keep families as far apart within the military as possible in case the worst happens and a unit gets wiped out, there are still children of the same blood alive. Entire lineages won’t be wiped out in one move.”

With another sigh, she lowered her head.

“What happens when you go back to your Emperor?”

“He’ll have my head cut off. All traitors are executed.”

“You don’t seem to be a traitor. I’m sure when you go under trial they’ll find that out.”

“Pah! There is no trial. You take me to them. They will tie me up. Put me on a stage, and execute me in front of the entire country. I will be shamed. My family will be shamed. It’s possible they will be punished as well when it’s all said and done.” She bit her lip. “If you actually want to help me, put a bullet in my head.”

Reaper scratched his scruffy cheek. How could he send her to her death? There would be no fair trial. She would simply be killed publicly. Even if all the evidence said differently.

“Well? Why don’t you?” She snapped at him.

“Have you heard about eos?” He asked.

She studied him before answering. “No.”

“Supposedly,” He leaned back. “They are these creatures made out of both flesh and machine. Our doctor has been dubbing them as organic-machines. They kill and devour everything they see.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Humans call them differently. They’re a folk tale. They aren’t real. It’s just a way to keep people from the edge of the galaxy.”

“It may be because they are real. We’ve encountered them. We even have an eos hunter here on the ship.”

“I don’t know what this has to do with anything.”

“What if the eos killed that colony and your father’s base?”

“Ridiculous. They wouldn’t have been defeated by wild animals.”

“These are a lot stronger than wild animals.”

She was quiet.

“Your empire lied about you.” He pointed. “What if they lied about your father, too?”

“Why are