Bitter Ashes (Bitter Ashes Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

and I are Bastet,” she explained, as if it made all the sense in the world.
    I knew that Bastet was the cat-headed Egyptian goddess of warfare, but I didn't think Sophie was claiming to be a goddess.
    “That man, Estus, said that you're Vaettir,” I said, feeling extremely silly for discussing it so seriously. “Like zombies,” I added.
    Sophie smirked at me as we walked. “We are Vaettir, but we are not zombies. Sometimes the Vaettir reanimate after death.”
    “Uhh,” I began, “you know that's basically the definition of zombies?”
    Sophie bit her lip in frustration. “Perhaps, but we are not the zombies portrayed in all of those silly movies. We sometimes reanimate because a piece of our soul is left in our bodies. It gives the bodies life, but the person who inhabited that shell is gone.”
    I bit my lip in return and tried to not sound condescending as I said, “That's still pretty much the definition of zombies.”
    Sophie huffed in annoyance, but didn't try to convince me further. If zombies actually existed, that would be it for me. I would lose my mind and run screaming into the dark, never to return.
    We passed through a large dining area and into a kitchen the size of what a large restaurant would have. Monstrous pots brimming with boiling liquids sat on the industrial sized stove, filling the room with savory smells. Sophie retrieved a large bowl and began filling it with what looked like beef stew.
    “I don't eat meat,” I said quickly.
    She stopped ladling and dumped the stew back into the pot irritably. “Of course you don't,” she said with a touch of sarcasm. “Because a vegetarian executioner totally makes sense.”
    “I'm not an executioner,” I said nervously. “You've all made a mistake.”
    “Whatever you say,” she replied as she picked up a knife and began hacking away at a large loaf of bread that had been sitting out on the counter. “Cheese?” she asked.
    I nodded my head. “Yes, cheese is fine, just no meat.”
    “Not ever?” she asked as if she didn't quite believe me.
    I shook my head.
    Sophie snorted. “Well that's irritating.”
    She ventured to the far side of the kitchen, opened a large, walk-in refrigerator, and disappeared inside, eventually emerging with an armful of produce. She returned to the cooking area and placed a tomato, an avocado, some lettuce, and a package of alfalfa sprouts on a cutting board. She began chopping haphazardly while I looked at the rest of the kitchen.
    Large, gas station style coffee pots took up a counter to my left, and in front of me along the far wall was bar style seating, along with a few small tables and chairs set out of the way. 
    Within a few minutes, I was seated at the shiny counter along the wall with a veggie and cheese sandwich placed in front of me. Sophie had left out mayo and mustard, but the sight of her wielding the large kitchen knife had prompted me to keep my mouth shut.
    My stomach was groaning painfully, arguing with my mind for not wanting to eat. When my stomach won out, I picked up the sandwich and prepared to take a bite.
    “How is our little executioner doing?” Someone whispered right beside my ear, though no one had been there a moment before.
    I jumped and dropped my sandwich back to its plate. It fell apart, looking pathetic and unappetizing. I turned to find Alaric staring at me from just a few inches away.
    My pulse quickened as he swept my hair away from my face to reveal my neck, turning my initial annoyance into anxiety. “You know, there's no meat on your sandwich?” he asked, looking at my neck instead of my face.
    I scooted my stool a few inches away from him. He didn't seem offended. In fact, he pulled another stool up close and sat with his knee touching mine. I was glad that he'd at least found a shirt somewhere as he leaned against me.
    Sophie cleared her throat behind us. She sat near the door, drinking a cup of coffee. I would have loved some coffee, but I didn't really want to ask