"I've never seen something like this before," I murmured, unable to take my eyes off him. His lanky finger pointed at me next, and I did not like it. His eyes found mine, and I wasn't sure what to make of this.
"They're organized," Dream said, matter-of-factly.
"I take it you've seen this before?" I asked her.
She and Nightmare nodded. "Not that big a pack, though. I must admit, I'm impressed."
"Also, why is their leader pointing and looking at me?" I replied.
Nightmare chuckled. "Well, you are quite easy on the eyes."
"Brother, don't be an ass," Dream scolded him.
To our surprise, the specters moved away from us as the ghouls got closer. The Reapers-turned-monsters ate everything in their path, without discrimination or control. It prompted the three of us to move closer together and point our scythes at them, as a means to warn them not to try anything stupid.
The ghoul who'd been eyeing me reached us first, though, leaving the others to keep feeding on specters. Finally, I could breathe. My arm felt sore. All that swinging had worn me out, it seemed. I might've been stuck between the world of the living and that of the dead, but I still had sensations in my form. I could still suffer or wear out, though not as quickly as in my human life.
"Don't take another step," I warned the ghoul. My voice didn't sound certain, and I wasn't sure why. I could still take him and his whole crew before they could so much as poke a hole through my smart suit.
The fiend straightened his back, his long, lanky fingers wiggling at his sides. "I'm not here to do you harm. None of us are," he said, his voice clear as daylight in my head.
Ghouls could no longer communicate by using their mouths, but they still had telepathic abilities. I'd seen them communicating with sentries in a similar fashion, so being able to hear and understand him wasn't exactly a surprise.
"I take it you came here for the buffet? Who tipped you off?" Nightmare asked him.
The ghoul sneered at the First Tenners. "You two are not my favorite people. I'd rather speak to Kelara here."
"You know me?" I replied, rather perplexed.
"I've served the living for a long time. Not of my own free will, at first, but they sort of grew on me," the ghoul said. "Word has spread about your endeavors, and I had my own share of brushes with the Hermessi not that long ago. I've come to help you."
Dream and Nightmare raised eyebrows at each other, looking downright insulted.
"I'm sorry, what did we do to offend you, ghoul?" Dream shot back.
Around us, few specters remained. The ghouls drove them away, the others long gone by now.
"My name is Herbert. And I am no fan of the First Ten. Most have done nothing but harm to the world of the living. I heard about you all recently. The tales of your involvement with the people… It is shameful."
"Hah! Says the dude who decayed into a bleepin' monster because he ate souls!" Nightmare laughed. "That's rich!"
"I made one poor choice and spent the rest of my existence paying the price. I doubt the same can be said about you," Herbert retorted.
"Wait… Herbert. I know that name. I've heard of you," I said, remembering conversations between Kailani and the other GASP members, back in the sanctuary. Herbert had been enslaved by the witches a long time ago.
"Yes. I was Ibrahim's," he said. "I've been free since I helped Harper's soul reunite with her body. But I haven’t been able to walk away from this war with the Hermessi. They're a threat to our food chain, as well."
"So you want to help because you don't want everyone to die and get reaped, thus leaving you without wandering souls to feed on? How noble of you." Dream chuckled. “I mean, in case of mass deaths like the ritual, there will be extra care for such a high number of souls. Chances are you wouldn’t find any scraps.”
Herbert shook his head. "No, that's just what I told the others to get them to help. They won't like me very much later, but I trust you'll keep that to yourselves for the time being."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Death will return, eventually. Whether it's before or after the Hermessi's ritual is completed, that is entirely up to Taeral and his allies," Herbert explained. "I'm merely looking to be here when she does come back, and I want her to see that I've done my best to help the living. I hope to gain some kind of favor with her, because she will certainly go after the ghouls once she has Thieron back in her grip."
I couldn't help but smile. "You're helping now so you can survive later, huh?"
"That's the plan. I'll loop my friends in at some point. Perhaps later. Now that they've fed, they should be easier to reason with," Herbert replied.
"How did you know to come here?" I asked.
The dried-up oasis was empty now, riddled only with the fallen ruins of its once-populated city. Red sand covered everything, dipping into what had been the bottom. Herbert glanced at it, then back at me.
"I've been asking around. You'd be surprised the kind of things that ghouls see, all over this universe and across all its dimensions," he said. "A rumor here, a question there… The Mirinin constellation came up a couple of times. The Spirit Bender's name and his presence here. It didn't take long for me to dig up the right information."
"Why are you here?" Nightmare asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like we're Death's favorites right now. Surely you didn't think we might put in a good word for you?"
Herbert sneered at him in a way that made my blood freeze. "I'm here to help you. I knew you were coming here, and I'd heard of what the Spirit Bender had done here. I knew of the specters. Don't fool yourself into thinking you mean anything of importance to me."
Nightmare's scythe hand twitched. I gave him a discreet nudge. "Don't be a jerk. It'll get you farther," I whispered, and smiled at Herbert. "Thank you for the assistance. I admit, you did help clear the area a bit."
"You're looking for the Time Master," he replied.
The three of us were all equally baffled. "He's here," Dream said. "You knew that, as well?"
Herbert shook his head slowly. "Not at first. I put two and two together on my way here, but that doesn't matter. I can smell him."
"Seriously?" Nightmare blurted. "How so?"
