"Said the Reaper who likes putting them to sleep and feeding on their dreams instead of talking to them." Eva scoffed.

Dream's eyes turned to two dark slits. "Less judgy, more worky, snake lady."

"Then we'll pursue the Spirit Bender," I said, once again having to draw their attention back to where our problems were. Dream and Nightmare's snark could be quite bothersome in the long run. My initial enthusiasm about having them on board was beginning to fizzle out, as the practicality of their presence began to present its share of problems. They were definitely best suited to being apart from our group, in light of their difficult tempers, and I did feel sorry for Kelara. But someone had to put up with them, and my team already had four Reapers—three of whom were like super-powered psycho children. "Assuming he took Death is the best way forward. That has to be part of the reason why he sent Kelara over to Dream and Nightmare, in the first place. He thought he'd get rid of her, which means he deceived her and he's got something to hide."

Seeley straightened his back, his head cocked to the side as if he was listening to something. "We’ve got a problem, though not unexpected, given that we figured him out. The Spirit Bender isn’t in the Neraka sanctuary anymore.”

“Figures,” Kelara grumbled, her arms crossed. “Part of him probably knew there was a chance I’d make it off Desplan with my mind intact. He can’t risk being found now, especially if he’s got Death.”

“Chances are Thieron will begin to glow again when we get closer to Death," Seeley reminded me. "If we find the Spirit Bender, and you see no reaction from her scythe, it'll mean he doesn't have her."

Soul snorted a chuckle. "Come on, man. How many times have you ever seen a coincidence turning out to be exactly that? Never. Death is missing, and Spirit went AWOL. The two are definitely connected. Enough with the ifs already!"

"Fine. Then we'll keep in touch… how, exactly? Your telepathic links?" I asked, looking at Kelara. She gave me a brief nod.

"I'll handle communications with Kelara," Seeley said. "If push comes to shove, I'll know where to find her, and she will know where to find us."

"Okay. That leads us to the next question. How do we pick up a trail for the Spirit Bender or Death?" I asked, leaning into the thick glass window.

Outside, silence reigned supreme. Most of the Perfects, Arch-Perfects, Faulties, and the remaining Draenir had gone into hiding, as far away from the sanctuary as they could. I had no view of the fae sanctuary from this part of the GASP base, but I knew it was hovering somewhere to the south, hundreds of feet above the island's lush jungles, humming and brimming with destructive Hermessi energy ready to be unleashed.

There were only a few hundred fae left for the elementals to affect. Only a few hundred till the five million magic number was hit, and everything came to a premature and unwarranted end.

"I might have a solution for that, actually," the Soul Crusher said.

Instinctively, I braced myself for anger. He'd probably been sitting on some crucial piece of information until now, not sharing it with us because, well, he was a stone-cold psycho. But he was our stone-cold psycho, and we still needed him. One had to take the bad with the good where the First Tenners were concerned.

"Pray tell." I sighed, giving him a sideways glance.

"I picked up a faint trail of Death," he replied, opening the palm of his hand. A wisp of white light glimmered between his fingers, like a tangled, incandescent thread.

The Widow Maker rubbed the back of his neck, the first to express his frustration and dismay. "And you're only telling us now because…"

"Because now is the right time?" Soul shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"No, the right time was back on Mortis, you scab," Phantom snapped. "I've been wasting precious minutes here! Why didn't you tell us you caught that?!"

Soul grinned. "I like pissing you off. How is that not obvious by now?"

"What exactly is that thing?" I asked after a deep breath, staring at the faint light in his hand. He closed his fist for a moment, then revealed it again. It seemed to react to his physical touch, glowing just a little bit brighter than before.

"It's a literal trace of Death's pure energy. They're not easy to find. She only leaves them if she wants them to be found," Soul explained.

"Solidified Death energy, if you will," Widow added. "One inch of that can power an entire planet's rotation."

"Where did you find it?" I replied, scowling at Soul.

"On her throne. No one else noticed it, but I did. Which makes me a better Reaper, don't you think?"

"I'm not even going to get into that," I said. "What do we do with it?"

Soul got up from his chair, tucking a lock of iridescent hair behind his ear. He pressed the light thread against his scythe, spreading it along the curved blade until it seeped through the cold metal.

"We're going to follow its shine," he said. His scythe began to glow intermittently. "It's calibrating now… Okay, we're good to go!"

"Go where?" Amelia asked, genuinely exasperated. "We can't follow you around like Reapers. We can't walk through space like you!"

Soul pouted. "Right. Hold on, I've got a better idea," he replied, and whispered something into his scythe. My heart skipped a beat as I heard the blade whisper something back. Soul leaned closer to it, listening carefully as his gaze darted across our group.

"You have got to be kidding me," Raphael muttered, one hand gripping his short sword. It had no power over the Reaper, but I knew that part of him wanted to just slice into him.

"We're going to one of the oldest corners of the In-Between," Soul declared.

"Would that be the twenty-planet solar system that includes Aledras?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded. "Okay, I give up. How'd you get that location?"

"I have many old tricks up my sleeve."

"And do you not realize the urgency of our situation?" Riza replied, crossing her arms.

"My notion of time passing is not as fleeting as yours," Soul said, his tone clipped. "Relax, we'll find Spirit sooner or later."

"Once again, I must apologize on behalf of our brother," Phantom cut in, shaking her head in dismay. "He's a reckless moron. He's also one of our most gifted Reapers. I suppose talent comes at a price."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Soul retorted.

Widow laughed—and it was a rare and chilling sound. "You take everything as a compliment, you lunatic oaf."

There it was, then. We had a sense of direction, at least, more than an hour later than desired. Still, it was better than nothing. Before we could go on, however, I needed a few minutes to myself. I hadn’t spoken to my mother in a while, and, if there was the slightest chance that something could go wrong, either on my side or on hers, I had to make sure there were last words we'd get to tell each other.

Taeral

"Telluris, Nuriya," I said, after leaving the crew in the laboratory to prepare for the upcoming journey to the In-Between's deepest and oldest corners. "Mom, are you there?"

My heart was filled with a warmth I hadn’t felt in days. A longing to see her again, to hold my father in my arms and to kiss them both, to thank them for having brought me into this world. Funny how apocalyptic events had a tendency to bring out the best in some and the worst in others.

"Tae, honey!" Her voice came through, echoing in my head. "I'm here. Is everything all right with you?"

"Yeah, we're getting ready to go after Death, and hopefully the Spirit Bender too. Kelara is in charge of finding the Time Master. He might be able to buy us some time against the ritual," I said. "I just… I just wanted to hear your voice for a bit, before I leave."

I needed this heart-to-heart with her. I needed her support, now more than ever. Most importantly, I wanted to know how my father truly felt about all this. I'd yet to address the issue of Phyla with my parents, though they'd been kind enough to let Amelia know that they respected my decision, whatever it may be.

"Oh, darling. You're worried, aren't you?" she asked.

A lump formed in my throat. I swallowed it back, focusing on the rippling tree crowns outside, visible through the large, square window at the end of the hallway that separated the laboratory from several storage chambers. "I think I'm entitled to that much. How are you holding up? How's Dad?"

"He's okay, Tae. He's more chipper than ever, actually, odd as that may seem."

"What about you?" I asked.