“You couldn’t have,” I said. “Tae, none of us saw it. Brendel was ahead of us, somehow, at least where The Shade is concerned. Someone told her. Someone betrayed us.”
“Someone helped Brendel, far beyond telling her where to find you,” Seeley interjected. But the look on his face told me there was more, but he wasn’t ready to share. I’d not met Reapers before, but there was a sense of wisdom coming from Seeley—he seemed like the kind of person who’d only speak if he had something concrete.
Taeral’s back straightened, as if jolted by a rush of electricity. “I can’t see him.”
“What do you mean?” Amelia asked him.
Thieron was still in his hand. He touched Yamani’s scythe, too, just to be sure. But it didn’t seem to work. “I can’t see my father’s spirit,” he said, then glanced at Seeley. “Surely, he wasn’t reaped so quickly.”
Seeley sighed and shook his head. “After your Mortis episode, all the Reapers across all the dimensions were instructed to hide the spirits from you,” he replied. “Of both the living and those under the Hermessi’s influence. It’s why you couldn’t see anyone, not even your father, in the fae sanctuaries. Why you can’t see him now.”
Taeral’s eyes grew wide. “I hadn’t even thought of that, but… now that you mention it, I understand. Why were such instructions given?”
“Because you’re one of the living, in possession of a scythe. It’s technically against the rules and considered cheating,” Seeley said. “Hence, you’re blocked from seeing Sherus or any other spirit.”
“I want to see him,” Taeral declared.
“It wasn’t my rule. I can’t override—”
“Dammit, Seeley, you Death-drone!” Soul snapped. “If you don’t let the boy see his father, I will. He deserves that much!”
Seeley scoffed, clearly displeased to be in the minority in this, since we were all throwing arrows at him over it. Widow nodded. “Do the right thing, Seeley.”
He did. He raised his scythe and whispered something against the blade. A moment later, a translucent, shimmering figure emerged from the air. It was Sherus, understandably sad and angered by what had just happened.
“I’m so sorry, son,” he said.
Taeral shot to his feet, suddenly energized. “Dad… No, I’m… I’m the one who’s sorry. I couldn’t save you.”
“I’m going to get my ass whipped for doing this,” Seeley grumbled, but Soul shushed him, eager to witness this exchange between Sherus and his son. I now understood why Amelia had kept referring to the old Reaper as a “functioning psychopath.” He was sort of getting off on this scene, and it made my stomach turn itself inside out.
“Don’t, Tae,” Sherus said. “She had you locked down. Either you killed me, or she did.”
There was no soul-chain link left. It had been destroyed, and Sherus was now a ghost, a lost spirit. But who would reap him? I looked at Seeley, but he didn’t seem keen on doing it. I doubted Soul or Widow had been tasked with it—they were free Reapers, after all. And surely, we would’ve seen or heard an assigned Reaper the moment Seeley had revealed Sherus. This was against the rules, and therefore would have drawn some kind of protest.
“What happens to me now?” Sherus asked, glancing at Seeley.
Surprisingly, he didn’t have an answer. “I’m not sure. There’s no one here to reap you. Your guardian Reaper is nowhere to be found, but I will find an answer soon. I’ve already reached out to the higher office.”
“The perks of telepathy,” Soul grumbled.
“It’s not fair,” Taeral said, shaking. “Brendel killed him deliberately. Not the Hermessi’s influence. It’s not right. It’s not natural. My father deserves another chance, and you need to give it to him!”
“Death hasn’t said anything yet,” Seeley replied.
“I don’t care!” Taeral snarled, and Raphael and Herakles had to hold him back. Fury was taking over, and it was a difficult thing to control. I knew that better than most.
Soul groaned with frustration. “Come on, bucko! You are seriously disappointing me right now! What did I tell you earlier about listening to your instincts?”
We all paused, confused by what the Soul Crusher had just said.
“I really don’t have any patience or time for your stupid mind games,” Taeral replied, gritting his teeth. “If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Tae, wait,” Eira murmured, her eyes wide as she seemed to catch on, one step ahead of us. “He didn’t say it without a reason. He knows something.”
The Soul Crusher smirked. “It just so happens that she’s right. But it’s getting really tiresome having to explain it all to you.”
“You never explained anything in the first place,” Raphael retorted.
The Widow Maker grabbed the Soul Crusher’s arm and twisted it around his back. It seemed to hurt enough to make him howl. “I’ve had enough of your crap. Less than an hour out of Zetos, and you’re already getting on my nerves,” Widow growled. “Out with it, already!”
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay! Dammit! Stop!” Soul whined, and Widow let him go. The “functional psychopath” Reaper moved his arm around, wincing from the pain. It was good to know they could still experience that, if only at the hands of other Reapers. “No one is reaping you, Sherus, because your death wasn’t planned. It’s not in the books. A Hermessi deliberately offed you, not their… what did you call it? Influence.”
We looked at one another, wondering if that was all that Soul had to share. Judging by how Widow had crossed his arms and kept glowering at him, I had a feeling there was more.
“What happens to him now?” Taeral asked.
“Two options. One, you give a Reaper time to be assigned to Sherus, given his current one is… I don’t know, missing? Or, two, you get Phyla and use it to resurrect him,” Soul replied.
Heat washed over me as the realization sank in. Taeral was beyond astonished, his lips parted in shock. Amelia couldn’t help but gasp.
Noticing our collective befuddlement, Soul rolled his starry eyes and proceeded with a much-needed explanation. “You’ve already learned that Eirexis can heal anything. But it can’t bring the dead back, obviously. Zetos can cut through anything, though I’m not sure whether you’ve already realized that or not.”
“No,” Taeral said. “But I did see the damage it inflicted upon Brendel.”
“Which makes it all the more intriguing as to how she managed to put herself back together so quickly, but we’ll mull that over later,” Soul said. “Point is, each of Thieron’s pieces has an independent power, a sliver of Death herself. Eirexis is healing. Zetos is… well, cutting. And Phyla, bucko… Phyla is the most important. It’s the gemstone of life. It takes life, and it gives it back. So, if you find it, if you get to it, if you get past the Phantom, you will have a shot at getting Daddy dearest here back.”
Minutes slipped by in leaden silence as Taeral and Sherus stared at the Soul Crusher. None of us dared speak. There was so much tension, I worried our heads might explode.
