We spent the better part of the next hour recovering and exchanging impressions of all the recent developments. Varga’s crew needed the break, while I hoped the Reapers wouldn’t come back anytime soon.
“Are you sure Death is up there?” Varga asked Taeral, who shrugged in return.
“We’ve had no confirmation, but the constant tingling in my spine kind of says yes,” he replied. “Plus, the closer we are to that place, the more spirits I can see,” he added, looking around. “There are hundreds of them—some are watching us, but most are just wandering aimlessly, translucent and confused.”
“And the Reapers? Wrik, Baethal, and the other one, what’s his face?” Fallon asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Gone, for now,” I said.
“But you think there will be more of them, the closer we get to that building,” Herakles replied.
“Yes. And I believe we must be ready for whatever they might throw at us.” I sighed.
Raphael grinned, putting an arm around Herakles’s shoulders and pulling him into a brotherly headlock. “But we’ve got you back in the mix, you sourpuss. I’m no longer scared. We can take ’em.”
“You’re no longer scared,” Herakles repeated after him. “Were you scared before?”
Raphael thought about it for a moment. He shook his head and chuckled. “No. I was just trying to make you feel better.”
“Aw… the Stravian brothers from another mother, back together again,” Varga quipped.
We laughed, but it sounded weak and faded. Our nerves were strained, our instincts on fire… but we laughed because we needed the momentary release. What came next would either save us or kill us, and we had no way of knowing whether the odds were in our favor or not.
Looking at Acantha and Nethissis, I felt a familiar ache in my heart. I’d experienced this before, back in the diamond dome, shortly before our escape from Ta’Zan’s grip—Kailani had succumbed to the Word, glowing like a limp lightbulb. At the time, I wasn’t sure she’d make it, and it had nearly killed me on the inside. I’d sworn to myself that I would never put myself through such an emotional rollercoaster again.
And yet, less than a month after we’d defeated Ta’Zan, I’d taken on five new apprentices. Not one, not two, but five. Now, I worried they were unprepared for all of this. The Word had funny ways about it—its unpredictability had had its charm over the years, but things were way past serious now. Before, I’d thought the Hermessi would never be able to bypass the Word’s magic.
Clearly, that was no longer the case. It meant that my students and I were no longer as safe as I’d thought, in the event of a completed ritual, and the Word’s peculiar behavior wasn’t reassuring in any way. We’ll just have to keep going and see what happens.
Easier said than done.
Varga
I didn’t let Eva out of my sight. She’d scared me back inside the light bubble. Just as the spell had finally broken through the atmosphere, she’d seemed dangerously close to passing out. Fortunately—so to speak—the bubble snapping had kicked in enough adrenaline to keep her awake. I owed Herakles one hell of a hug for his inspiration to grab Eva as soon as Riza had caught him. I’d doubted I’d be able to do much for her, given my own position, hurtling toward the ground.
The blue bottle had helped her recover, while Lumi’s energy filled me up to the brim. In fact, I felt all powered up and ready to take on a hundred Hermessi right now. However, that wasn’t the mission. After we communicated our position to GASP and heard Phoenix shouting about Amelia and her crew already being on Mortis without knowing it—a conversation that had included a remarkable quantity of expletives—we were ready to move.
“Harper isn’t home yet, is she?” Eva asked. She was quite fond of Harper, as Serena’s sister, and she’d mentioned her concerns about the vampire-sentry before. I shook my head.
“No. But Herbert will hold up his end of the deal, no doubt about it. Ibrahim still has control over him, remember?”
She sighed deeply. “I guess. I’ll just breathe easier once she’s back in her body. It’s got to be weird.”
“Guys…” Taeral muttered, frowning as he looked around. “I think we might not be alone here for much longer.”
“What, the spirits are disappearing again?” Amelia replied and shot to her feet from the rock on which she’d settled to rest for a while.
Taeral nodded. “Yeah. Reapers are coming. Let’s link hands. I can zap us closer to the building.”
We made sure we were all connected. I held Eva’s hand in mine, my fingers gripping firmly, as if I feared that, if I let go, she’d slip away like an early morning dream. We vanished, reappearing moments later in another part of the woods.
The waterfalls gushed not far from where we were, the streams’ rumble much louder than before. Above, hidden in the bamboo-like trees, strange birds shrieked and squawked, like homegrown alarm systems signaling our presence. We were the trespassers here, and I had a feeling someone or something didn’t want us around.
The flat-topped mountain towered over us. I had to lean my head back so I could take it all in, the building, a palace of sorts, rising on top of it like a silent, elegant giant. Lights flickered inside, and a chill squirmed its way through me like a quiet warning, telling me to get back… to stay away.
“I think we can keep walking from here,” Taeral said, his gaze wandering around us. “I can see the spirits now. Oddly enough, more of them than before.”
“More than the place we just left? That’s odd indeed—oh, whoa, wait.” Raphael paused, his eyes bulging. “I can see them too.”
“What? How can—” Amelia didn’t finish her reply, just sucked in a breath.
It turned out Taeral wasn’t the only one who could see spirits, even though he was the only one touching the scythe. We could all see them. Hundreds—male, female, young and old, from a plethora of species… translucent apparitions that stepped forward from the surrounding woods. Some, I recognized as creatures of the In-Between. Others were fae and perhaps visitors from the Supernatural Dimension, like witches and jinn. But there were numerous specimens I didn’t know of, in various sizes and with striking physical features.
“I don’t think this is normal,” Lumi murmured, cautiously moving back into our group. Instinctively, we followed her lead and clustered together, forming a tight center around which the ghosts began to gather. “We’re not supposed to see them.”
“Also, why do they look so… murderous?” Fallon mumbled, drawing his sword.
The screech of the blade sent shivers down my spine, but I feared it wouldn’t do any good against spirits. “Fallon, buddy… I doubt you’ll be able to hit anything with that sword,” I said. “They’re dead, remember?”
But he’d been accurate in his assessment. The spirits seemed angry, their expressions mangled by a fury that didn’t belong there. Those with fangs and claws to bare showed them off, hissing and growling as they approached us.
My heart began a thunderous race, beating frantically as I realized that these spirits were about to become aggressive. But it also begged a question I hoped I wouldn’t get the answer to: “Can they hurt us?”
“I don’t think I want to find out,” Herakles whispered. He and I were definitely on the same page.
“Be ready,” Lumi advised us.
Nethissis and Acantha were not fully recovered yet, and Lumi motioned for them to stay in the middle of our group. They weren’t too pleased with her request, but, based on their long sighs, they didn’t have much of a choice. Eva and I moved outward, swords drawn and ready. Raphael, Herakles, and Riza were on the other side of our cluster. Fallon, Taeral, Eira, Amelia, and Lumi completed the circle.
