“Turns out this world we’re in, it’s got the creep factor cranked up to eleven,” Amelia interjected. “It’s full of ghosts from different planets, and none of them know how they got here or what they’re supposed to do here. Also, we spotted a Reaper, but he’s gone now.”
“Whoa. You can see ghosts?” Eva exclaimed, understandably shocked.
“Yeah, the scythe. Yamani’s scythe,” Amelia replied. “Anyone who touches it can see ghosts and Reapers freely. We just figured it out ourselves.”
“Oh, good, so you’re not hallucinating!” Herakles laughed.
Amelia narrowed her eyes, making Raphael stifle a chuckle. “I see why you two are friends now,” she muttered to Raphael, who gave her a soft shoulder squeeze in return.
“I’d like you even if your mind was shoddy, don’t worry,” he whispered. Whether he’d meant for the rest of us to hear that or not, I wasn’t sure, but it certainly got a reaction out of Amelia. Her jaw nearly dropped.
However, something bothered me, besides the Reaper who’d just dodged us. Specifically, I was beginning to doubt we’d make it back to Calliope in time. It gnawed at my stomach, and I didn’t like it one bit, but Raphael had said something that made sense. The clock was ticking, indeed.
“Listen, Varga, while Phoenix tries to locate us, you guys should go ahead with Mortis, once you find it,” I said, displeasure oozing from my tone. I didn’t mean it, but I had to be honest, at least with myself—I really wanted us to be with Varga and the whole crew, looking for Death, instead of wandering through these woods and literally chasing ghosts and Reapers. “Finding Death is top priority right now, and I don’t want you waiting for us to do it.”
“Ugh. That’s what I was going to talk to you about,” Varga replied. “The crew and I were talking about the same thing. Chances are we’ll find Mortis and the Nekronos system before we find you. Some old texts have come in from the Druid archives. They managed to dig them out a couple of hours ago, and there was mention of the Nekronos system in there.”
“Which is amazing!” Lumi exclaimed. “Tae is right, though. As soon as you know where it is, you should go. GASP will come to our rescue once they figure out where we are. If we can, we’ll join you on Mortis afterward, but in the meantime, keep at it.”
“We’ll catch up,” I added reassuringly.
“Okay. We’ll do that,” Varga said. “You be careful out there. Don’t get involved with murderous Reapers again.”
He chuckled, then silence settled over our Telluris connection again. It prompted a scoff from Amelia. “See? I’m not being paranoid.”
“Never said you were. Only, this time, we know how to handle ourselves with one of these,” I replied, showing her the scythe. “And we’re certainly able to anticipate particular moves, especially if they try to get Hermessi on our tails again.”
I meant it, too. We’d learned a lot from our encounter with Yamani, not just about Reapers but about the Hermessi and the lengths they were willing to go to in order to catch us. It motivated me like crazy to know that I was on the elementals’ most wanted list.
“What now?” Eira asked.
“We keep going,” I replied. “Might as well, since we’re here. If we bump into that Reaper again, even bet—” I stopped, the hairs on the back of my neck raising. Shivers tickled my spine. I felt watched. Someone had their eyes on me, whether they wanted me to know it or not. That didn’t happen often, and I was inclined to believe it was because of the scythe I was still holding.
I looked over my shoulder and past the waterfall. Down by the stream, where we’d been earlier, the Reaper stood. His eyes were on me. I knew I’d sensed something.
“Do you see him again?” Lumi whispered.
“Mm-hm. No ghosts, though. Just him,” I said.
“What is he doing?” she replied.
“Same as before. Watching me.”
“This is getting annoying,” Amelia muttered.
“I agree.” I sighed, then braced myself for what would come next. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, what?” Raphael hissed, but I was no longer there to reply.
I teleported myself down by the stream, only to find the Reaper gone. Cursing under my breath, I looked around again, my heart throbbing with anticipation. If this was a game he was playing, I was more than willing to join in until I caught him. If he was simply avoiding us and watching from a distance, again, that wouldn’t fly with me. I moved better on my own, and I knew the crew would understand that.
They said something from atop the waterfall, but I didn’t register the words, only the irritated tones. Instead, I kept watching the woods, until I spotted him about fifty yards south of where I stood. I zapped myself there, but he was gone once more. This time, however, I was quick to spot him about twenty yards to my left.
I dug into my fae-and-jinni nature and made myself disappear, then teleported myself to his spot. Again, he eluded me, already farther away from me.
“I see everything that’s living,” I heard him say, his tone brimming with amusement. He was taunting me. The arrogant jerk was taunting me!
Think fast. Reapers walked between worlds. They could make themselves unseen to the living and to the dead, as they wished or needed. It was a different kind of invisibility, one which pertained to planes of existence. My ability was natural and physical, merely an optical illusion.
Therefore, I had to figure out another way to make myself invisible. One that would fool a Reaper. If that was a possibility, I’d need a Reaper’s set of skills, perhaps… or his multi-powered weapon?
Remembering the scythe in my hand, the thought I had brewing grew with the grace and strength of something much more willful… like an implanted thought. It didn’t sound like me, but I could swear that it was beckoning me to ask it. The blade shimmered gently, as if coaxing me into making my demand.
Giving in to that thought, I pushed myself to believe I could get it to make me disappear like Yamani had done back on Hellym. He’d had that ability without holding the scythe, too, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I could get it to help me this time. I really wanted to talk to this guy, and he wasn’t making it easy. On the contrary, he was practically laughing in my face.
I exhaled sharply, strained already from trying to will a mere object into doing what I wanted. I want to walk between worlds. I want to walk between worlds like a Reaper. I thought that, repeatedly, my gaze fixed on my target, the blond-haired Reaper. Nothing happened. Or, at least, nothing felt different. I sensed a minor drop in the temperature around me, but that could easily be attributed to the ground-level currents coming from the waterfall. Either way, it appeared that the Reaper scythe didn’t work like I wanted it to. But the Reaper’s expression changed. He seemed confused. A second later he vanished and reappeared thirty yards farther to the left. Still, he looked around like he couldn’t see me.
This is odd.
Looking down, I understood his confusion. I could no longer see myself either. A grin stretched my lips as I realized that the scythe had worked after all. It had made me invisible, even to the Reaper—I was between planes of existence now. Nothing around me seemed different in any way. There wasn’t anything to suggest a change in dimensions. Still, he couldn’t see me anymore. How was this possible? I’d considered it a long shot to begin with, given the little we’d learned about Reapers. The scythe allowed its holder to see the dead and the Reapers, yes. It was uncertain, though, whether it allowed Reapers to hide from other Reapers, like I’d just done right now. Setting my confusion aside, I decided to take advantage of this.
I teleported myself over to where he stood.
“Looking for me?” I asked, smiling, from behind him.
He turned around, eyes wide with shock. “How’d you do that?”
“Ah, so you can see me again,” I observed, glancing down. Indeed, I was visible again. Up to this point, I could turn invisible with the scythe, but teleporting myself canceled that out. Okay. Good to know.
