“You heard Kabbah. The Hermessi’s strength is growing,” Amelia replied. “Time is not on our side.”
“But it’s not too late. We have a location for Eirexis. It’s a lot more than what we got from Death,” I said, frowning.
“We don’t know what we’re walking back into,” Raphael chimed in. “Cerix could be hostile by now, for all we know. Emperor Tulla is a great guy, sure, but… if the Hermessi are running the show there, what are the odds we’ll have it smooth once we get there?”
“Minimal to none,” Eira replied. “But it needs to be done. I’m okay with it. You have my full support, as always.”
Looking at her, I once again realized how amazing she was. No matter what the universe threw at her, she kept a clear head and muddled through. Shills? Not a problem. Titans? Meh. Even as the Hermessi had come after us, she’d pushed through. Hell, during our conversation with Death, she’d been firm and, despite her fear, unabashed.
We were headed down a dangerous rabbit hole, the kind from which it was possible that none of us would emerge victorious, but even so, it was a path that had to be pursued.
The portal’s mist changed its color, from dark gray to deep blue, and Lumi turned around to face us. “Nothing ahead of us is going to be easy or harmless. We’re in for a world of pain, and it may be that not all of us will make it back to tell the story,” she said. “But it beats dying on our knees, at the mercy of these elemental sons of bitches. So, unless you’ve got something better to do, it would be my honor if you all joined me back in The Shade, where we can regroup and prepare for Cerix.”
“I think I speak for all of us when I say that we’re in.” Raphael chuckled.
Indeed, we were fully dedicated to this mission. I took Eira’s hand in mine as we stepped through the portal, following Lumi to Earth. And as the world warped around us, the witches’ wormhole taking us across dimensions and back into The Shade, I knew for a fact that I’d surrounded myself with the most extraordinary creatures. I was proud to serve with them, and I was eager to save the world with them.
Eira squeezed my hand and gave me a delicate, soft smile, and, in that moment, something sparked inside of me. Something changed, ever so slightly, and it put everything into a different perspective. I wasn’t doing this just for myself or my parents or my friends, or even purely for the noble sake of keeping millions of worlds alive.
No, I was doing this for Eira, because she deserved a life of her own, free of the Hermessi’s threat and away from the death and destruction that the ritual would’ve brought into her life. One way or another, Eira wasn’t going to die on this quest—if the Hermessi wouldn’t have allowed it because she was a Water heir to Cerix, Death had permanently stamped her until she found Thieron for her.
Whatever the end, Eira would live through it. So, I wanted her to live through the closest we would ever get to a happy ending: an averted ritual, a pleased Death, and at least three dimensions of the universe saved. Later, perhaps, I’d ask her out… It was a future worth fighting for.
Seeley
I didn’t even need to reveal myself to ask Phoenix for his help. His astral map had been carefully laid out across three screens, complete with coordinates for Mortis. I felt somewhat insulted, knowing that a living creature had learned about Death’s location before me. However, I took comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only Reaper she’d kept in the dark about it.
She’d passed messages to me through other Reapers, and I’d spoken to her throughout most of my existence, telepathically. I’d known there was something wrong with her, that something had happened during the previous Hermessi ritual, but she’d always avoided the subject with me. I’d learned to be grateful for the little attention that she gave me. She didn’t even speak to most of my colleagues. It had always made me feel a tad special.
Standing in Phoenix’s room and staring at the astral map, I realized that I finally had a way of reaching her. I could go there and see her, in person, like I’d wanted from the day I’d died, from the moment I’d been made aware of her existence.
In the background, conversations thrived. The Daughters, Viola, and Phoenix were gleefully discussing the possibilities that had arisen from the revelations about Thieron, Death’s scythe. I, on the other hand, couldn’t avoid the tinge of bitterness that had settled in the back of my throat. Death had never told me that she’d lost Thieron. There had been rumors, of course, but not much else in my rank.
With Reapers spread across nine circles of command, information was usually carefully dispatched according to our levels of clearance. I’d made it into the sixth circle, but only the first, second, and third circles were privy to all the juicy details that had only come to me in the form of measly rumors. Well, this was my chance to confirm a few things.
It took me a while to gather the courage to leave Phoenix’s computer room. I’d talked a big game in front of Vesta, and I wasn’t one to scare easily—not usually. But I had to admit, the thought of walking up to Death and confronting her did make my insides churn.
“They’re on their way to The Shade,” Viola said after a brief conversation with Amelia through their soul connection. I was still amazed, to this day, at how the Druids had once managed to reproduce a form of communication that had been created solely for Reapers. Telluris was, in fact, the way in which we were all connected in this realm between life and death, though we didn’t need a spell. All we had to do was think about the Reaper we wanted to reach, and swoosh—the channel was open.
“Are they okay?” Phoenix asked.
“A bit roughed up, but yeah. The Hermessi are scary powerful now,” Viola replied, understandably worried. I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t had many encounters with the Hermessi, myself, but I knew they could be as evil as they were kind and nurturing. Fanaticism had this way of shifting characters, of making all kinds of entities lose sight of who they really were.
I had a lot of questions for Death, and her complicated relationship with the Hermessi was certainly at the center of my attention. There were a lot of things I’d yet to understand, things that only she could clarify.
“They know where Eirexis is,” Viola added.
I was floored. Again, the living knew more than me. It was infuriating!
No longer willing to listen to how Death had revealed more to the likes of Taeral than to me, the one she’d often referred to as her favorite agent, I allowed myself to slip across time and space, following the astral map I’d just memorized from Phoenix’s screens.
I treaded the stars, careful and quiet, as I put my thoughts in order. I braced myself for the moment I’d meet her, making sure I displayed the appropriate demeanor. Death must not be insulted or upset, but the questions I had were bound to do just that.
“At least I’ll find out if I’m really her favorite or not,” I muttered to myself as I skipped across a couple galaxies, which spiraled beneath me in a whirlpool of twinkling stars and colorful solar systems.
As soon as I set foot on Mortis, I knew I was in for a strange experience. Paper lamps lit the path ahead of me, and bamboo and aspen-like trees rose proudly around, covering most of the night sky. Insects chirped in the distance. Leaves rustled as birds jumped from one branch to the next, occasionally squawking to make their presence known.
I made my way up the path, ignoring the many spirits that wandered through the woods. The closer I got to the waterfall palace, the more I appreciated having spent an extra five minutes reading Phoenix’s report from Amelia, in which she’d accurately described the palace from the outside. It was reassuring, but I didn’t need anyone to confirm that Death was in there.
I could feel her inside me, my chest contracting with every step I took to reach her. The spirits around the ring-shaped pond were restless. They scowled at me and tried to hurt me—but as soon as they saw my scythe, they vanished. Not that they’d ever be able to lay a finger on me, not even if I’d still been alive. I’d once been a fearless sentry, one of the first in my species. After my experiences with original ghouls, aggressive spirits would barely get a scoff out of me.
When I reached the double gilded doors, my throat closed up for a moment. It was incredible… Death’s presence was so powerful, so intense. Impossible to describe, yet never to be forgotten. There was a warm sense of familiarity about it, as if I was simply on my way to visit my favorite sister. I already loved being here, so close to my origin as a Reaper… to my maker.
The doors opened before me, and I stilled.
She was waiting for me. I knew it. And I had a lot to talk to her about. I hated what was going on in the sanctuaries. The fae’s impending demise was unnatural and awful, and it didn’t make sense that us Reapers should stand back, when, millions of years ago, Death herself had intervened. The rules were too stiff, and as much as I’d tried to follow them, watching Vesta’s plight had pushed me over the edge. Despite my steely façade, I felt awful for her. She didn’t deserve any of this. None of them did.
“Come in…” a whispering voice beckoned me.
How could I say no?
I moved up the hallway, passing by the many rooms which Death had occupied with spirits. I recognized some of them—they all carried the mark, a small black spiral on the side of their necks. The sign proving that Death had reaped these people, personally. I’d come across them over the years. I’d reaped their sons and daughters, on more than one occasion. And to think my path had almost crossed Death’s on such occasions.
I wondered why she kept them here, but it didn’t take long for me to connect the dots. Those I recognized had been visionaries and cultural icons of their time. Interesting creatures with extraordinary experiences to share—and if there was one thing I knew about Death, it was the fact that she simply adored stories. We’d spent hours weaving them to one another during my first century as a Reaper. It had been a way for us to bond, and our telepathic sessions had grown shorter over the years, but still, to this day, she couldn’t get enough of the experiences and tales I gathered from the world of the living.
Four Hermessi stood guard outside her doors, and I knew one of them had betrayed Taeral and his crew, according to Viola. I scowled at them. “You should be ashamed of yourselves,” I said bluntly.
“This area is restricted, Reaper. Move back,” the Air Hermessi replied.
