“Attagirl,” Lucas chimed in, giving me an appreciative nod.

“It’s a weird time, when we’re joking about death like this,” Grace murmured, holding her father tight. “I don’t want us to die. I don’t want any of us to get kicked out of our bodies by the Hermessi.”

“So, you think it’s got more to do with the will to live, maybe?” Ben asked Seeley, keeping the conversation focused on the fae who’d yet to recover any of the links on their life-chains.

“I’m inclined to say yes,” Seeley replied. “Will to live, probably genetic heritage, too, like Tomassin suggested. Either way, what matters is that it works, at least for most of you.”

“Look at you, all optimistic,” I muttered.

He scowled at me. “Would you rather go back to what it was like before?”

“Nope,” I said with a flat smile. “I’m good.”

Sidyan sighed, drawing our attention. “Okay. So, what now, then?” he asked. “We let them see each other, but it won’t save them. At best, they’ve gained a couple more days on top of whatever time they had left, and I doubt that’ll do much to diminish the Hermessi’s current power. All we’ve managed to do with this is slow them down a bit. The number of influenced fae will continue to grow until the five million mark is hit.”

“They might notice, though,” Kelara said. “The Hermessi might sense the stall.”

“They won’t be able to do anything about it, since they can’t come after us. They’ll keep spreading their influence, intensifying their efforts against Taeral and his crew, even, but that’s about it. As for us, we will continue to help the fae stay alive for as long as possible,” Seeley replied. “Death’s directive. She doesn’t want the Hermessi to complete their ritual, and, until she is able to do something about it herself, she’s asking us for our support. We’ll do whatever we can to stop the life-chains from blackening completely.”

“Reaper magic included?” Rudolph asked.

“Yes. We are not all-powerful, but we can still help,” Seeley replied.

Sidyan scoffed. “We can’t do all the work. You said so yourself, the fae’s will to live is clearly important here.”

“It will be the only thing standing between the Hermessi and the fae’s bodies as their conduits,” Kelara said. “Their will to survive this.”

“Then it’s not looking good for Crane, for example,” Lucas grumbled, his gaze fixed on a water fae I recognized from The Shade’s GASP base. He had one glowing link left, and no amount of fae spirit contact had fixed it. Crane had settled on the floor next to his crystal casing, hopelessly gazing around. The others tried to comfort him, but he gave them weak smiles before politely pushing them away.

“What if his life-chain goes full black before the five million mark is hit?” I asked, counting that scenario, too.

Tomassin shrugged. “We don’t know.”

“Were any of you present during the previous ritual attempt?” Ben asked, glancing at our Reapers. They all shook their heads, except Sidyan.

Lucas raised an eyebrow at him. “You were involved, buddy?”

“Why are you calling me ‘buddy?’ We definitely don’t like each other,” Sidyan replied.

“Sidyan, you witnessed the past ritual attempt?” Seeley cut in, genuinely surprised.

The old Reaper sighed. To be fair, he didn’t look old, but rather like he was in his early twenties. He must’ve died young before becoming an agent of Death. “I saw some of it, yes,” he said. “But Death didn’t let it get this far. It’s all new to me, too.”

“We should keep an eye on Crane, then,” Kelara suggested.

“I agree,” Rudolph chimed in, surprisingly more enthusiastic than minutes earlier, before the fae’s revelation. “If Crane dies, the Hermessi will certainly try to push through his body. They won’t be able to do much until the ritual is completed, but I’m sure he’ll be a serious liability and a destructive force.”

“What can we do?” Grace asked. “I know Crane, he’s a good soul. He’s had bad luck in love, and his life hadn’t been the easiest prior to his arrival in The Shade, but I know he wouldn’t want to give up so easily.”

“It’s his will to live,” Seeley reminded her. “There has to be a part of him that no longer has the strength to fight this. You can try talking to him, encouraging him… whatever you think might work. But you should all be aware that it may not do anything. What we’ve accomplished here, now, is only a short-term fix, like Sidyan said.”

Seconds passed in silence as we all stared at Crane. He seemed resigned to his own fate, and I wondered what had led to such a state of mind. Then again, the Reapers had spent the past week preparing us for death. Maybe his Reaper’s words had gotten to him a little too well. Perhaps he was ready to move on already—but the timing couldn’t be worse, because we were all hanging by a thread, and we needed to keep the Hermessi’s influence at bay for long enough for Taeral and his crew to bring Thieron back to Death.

“I need to talk to you,” Seeley said to me. “Alone.”

Looking around, I had a hard time finding a spot where we’d actually be alone. My spirit was still tied to my body; we couldn’t exactly go out for a walk outside the sanctuary. But that wasn’t the biggest issue—the look on his face worried me. Whatever he had to tell me, I doubted it was anything good. Then again, that was Seeley’s signature move. He gave you the good news, and then he slapped you hard with the bad news.

Seeley

I didn’t like the idea of leaving Vesta here, but Death had given me an important mission. And I was of more use out there, shadowing Taeral and his crew, than here, waiting for Vesta to die—the one thing I wanted to do everything in my power to stop from happening. I’d grown fond of the little fae. Her spunk and thirst for life were incredible. Her determination and wit were unparalleled, if I were to be honest. I’d met millions of creatures in my life as a Reaper, from different species and cultural backgrounds, yet none had had Vesta’s impact on me.

In the span of a few days, she’d managed to mobilize me and, by extension, the entire Reaper ensemble, into a solid reaction against the Hermessi and their ritual. That didn’t put me in the greatest of lights, I realized, as it had taken this one frightened and angry fae to make me accept the hard truth, that what the Hermessi were doing was unnatural and evil, and certainly not something that Death would’ve normally allowed.

Thanks to Vesta, I’d gone out and learned the truth about Thieron. So, yes, I cared for her, deeply. However, I was needed elsewhere. I gently pulled her away from the Novaks, just so we’d get a little bit of privacy, while she watched me with understandable concern.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing more than the usual,” I said, motioning around us. “But I can’t stay. Death has assigned me somewhere else, so Rudolph will continue to watch over you in the meantime.”

Her jaw dropped. “What? Why?! No…”

“I’m doing this for you, believe me,” I replied. “I’m of more use out there than in here.”

The nervous hissing of ghouls rippled through the sanctuary. Some of the Reapers mobilized and stationed themselves in the doorway, their scythes out and ready to strike. The fae’s spiritual energy was brighter now, fueled by the excitement and relief of being able to see each other. That also had an effect on the hungry ghouls outside.

“Yeah, about that…” Vesta muttered, nervously eyeing the doorway.

“They’re not coming in,” I said to her. “You’re safe in here, at least for as long as you have glowing links on your life-chain.”

“Where are you going? Will you be back?” she asked, and bit her lower lip, as if formulating her own answers in her head, none of which seemed to please her. For all her strength and spunk, she’d become attached to me. I probably gave her a sense of potential in a dimension where she was practically defenseless, with no one but her Reaper to help her survive.

“I shouldn’t tell you, but if I do, I suppose it’ll help you keep your mind sharp, going forward,” I replied. “Death assigned me to watch over Taeral and his crew. I won’t be able to keep them safe and alive if things get too hairy, but I’ll be there to help them where possible. We need to get Thieron back in Death’s hands. You know your survival depends on it.”

She thought about it for a moment and nodded. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. They need you more, for sure.”

“And I’ll be back. Should the worst-case scenario come to happen, I’ll be here to reap you myself. You’re my charge, and I won’t leave you on your own,” I said. Sadness lowered her gaze, and I felt compelled to put my hands on her shoulders. Touching a spirit was always a strange experience, but one I rather enjoyed. I was practically dead, too. My physical contact options were woefully limited. “In the meantime, I’ll do my best to save you and everyone else.”

“I get it. It’s not something I like or will ever accept, but… you know…”

I smiled. “I do. While I’m gone, can you promise me one thing?”

It was a long shot, but worth trying, nonetheless.

“What?” she asked.

“Try not to get on Rudolph’s nerves too much.” I chuckled. “He’s a decent fella, and I’m already stretching the favor he owes me. Go easy on him. He’ll do his job; he’ll keep you safe. He’ll tackle an army of ghouls, if he has to.”

She gave me a half-smile. “I’ll do my best. Can I ask you something, now?” I nodded, bracing myself for a difficult request—it was in her nature to make my job incredibly complicated, but I’d already come to accept that from Vesta. In her way, she was unique. “Any chance you can make the living see us, too?”