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"After you talked about them, I went back and picked up the books to try and refresh my memory" She reapplies her lipstick in the "

I stroke the tips of s "So what else do you know?"

She bites down on her glossy lip "A lot, but I want you to prepare yourself for what I discovered" Then she grabs my hand and pulls me out the bedroom door "They are exceptionally beautiful So beautiful in fact, that some humans can’t actually see their beauty"

I follow her down the stairs "And what about the insanity part? Is that true? Do they really lose their minds from the burden of death and the Reapers’ blood?"

She stuns her foot into her white satin high-heel "They can, if they give in to the wrath of death It’s all about good and evil with these things, I guess At least, that’s what the book said"

I turn sideways to fit through the doorway "As in the Griht?"

She stutters at e "Yeah, that’s the Griel blood, mixed with Reaper blood, mixed with human blood"

It’s dark outside, the stars and htly We hop into her car and I have to lean forward because s are uncos off and tosses them into the backseat before she climbs in, then she starts up the car

"Reapers are considered the bad version of death They collect the evil souls and they are very powerful Allegedly, the Griel breed was put on Earth to stop soels of Death and the Reapers over who should get which souls orsouls" She adjusts her el lives on Earth as a hu both the power of Heaven and Hell in their bloodstreaels of Death and the Reapers at the same level, so neither would have more power over the other"

"You els of Death are as bad as the Reapers," I say, noting that her version of the story els the good ones?"

"In soood souls, but the book said that they got greedy trying to balance out the soul collection when Reapers started stealing innocent souls" She sighs heavily "But anyways, I guess Reapers constantly try to trick Griels and mess with their heads so they would surrender to death and join theh, technically, neither the Reapers nor the Angels are supposed to interfere with their lives"

Her tires screech as she peels onto the highway The sidewalks are flooded with kids in Halloween costu with purple and orange lights A girl in an Angel costu her mother’s hand in front of a house with an eerie els and Grim Reapers really exist?

I rotate away froainst the door "So what happens to the Gri tortured by death until they die?"

Raven doesn’t answer right away "Basically, I think so"

I’irl with death on her shoulders connected thele choice she would save the world But the fight would not be easy He had to be talking about a Gri her car as she hunts fro "Here, there’s the book" She tosses a book onto ains control of her car "It actually doesn’t say es if you want to read through it"

"Thanks" I open the book and flip on the light above the console "And I o re-check this out and read it"

She fiddles with the te it up then down "Look, Ember, I know I’ve been a really shitty friend forthe last week or so But I want to start over--I want to be a better friend"

"You’re a good friend" I flip to the page she marked "And last week’s bitchiness is totally acceptable considering… what happened" I pause, one thing still bothering me "But Raven, can you do me a favor and never call ret "I’m so sorry That was such a lo And I know you’re not crazy"

I’ to wonder if a Griel lives inside e, we both stop breathing The road is still stained with the X and the median is scuffed from the collision There is a small spot decorated with flowers and ribbons

My ht and the way Asher took down a guy twice his size without even soCould Asher have killed him to protect Raven? But ould he decorate the scene? "What do you think happened to Laden?" I ask, trying to convince myself that there’s no way it could be Asher, but deep down ree "Do you think he’s… Do you think Asher really killed hi wheel "You knohat? I really don’t want to knohat happened to him If Asher killed him, then so be it"

I clear els are the els that have ever existed They have a direct insight to death…" I read aloud with a shiver "They have the power to either destroy the huions end up lying" I glance up froes "But how can they destroy the human race? That’s what I want to know"