“We didn’t tell you because we weren’t sure it would work,” Kelara said, finishing her light-coloring work on the rune seal. “This is my first attempt, mind you.”
“I still don’t understand how the seals work, exactly,” I replied.
“No one really does.” Death sighed. “They are modified versions, made by the Spirit Bender. He took his time and learned some new tricks while he was plotting my professional demise.”
“Oh, so we’re not even dealing with the classic Thousand Seals,” I concluded.
“Bingo,” Nightmare said, grinning. “How’s it going, Kelara? Think we can drop it down to 998 seals before the turn of this century?”
Kelara was shaking, the spell draining her of every wisp of energy left in her Reaper body, but she didn’t give up. I had to admit, I respected her even more for what she was doing. She grunted as she scratched through the glowing rune with the tip of her scythe. As soon as the blade found clean skin again, a faint pulse erupted from Death—faint, yet powerful enough to knock Kelara back.
She landed on her hind, gritting her teeth. “Damn.”
“You did it!” Death exclaimed, breathing deeply. “I feel a tad lighter already!”
“Wow, you make it sound like the Atkins diet,” Dream muttered.
“I did it!” Kelara gasped. “Finally!”
“Yay! 998 to go! Pop the champagne, will ya?!” Nightmare sneered.
Death laughed lightly, shifting her attention to me. “Good. Now that that’s out of the way, tell me, Seeley, what news do you bring from The Shade?”
She sounded as though she’d just finished a waxing session at the local spa. Death baffled me beyond belief sometimes, but I’d learned not to dwell much on her moods and temperament. She was an entity beyond my full understanding, and I’d had to get used to it.
“Derek and Sofia have put together a small mission for Visio,” I said.
Kelara was still in awe of what she’d just accomplished, her smile bursting with sheer satisfaction. “I totally did it,” she mumbled, mostly to herself.
“They’re going after the source for the day-walking protein,” I added, noticing Death’s expression light up. I was giving her excellent news, it seemed, though I wasn’t yet sure what it all meant, in the grand scheme of things.
“Oh, Seeley, this is great,” Death replied, glancing to the side for a moment.
The wheels in her cosmic head were turning, and I would’ve given anything to be able to hear her thoughts. What drove her? What did she want from these people? What purpose did that protein serve for Death, and why did she need me out there, shadowing Nethissis and her team?
Whatever her next directive would be, I was determined not to go until she answered my questions. I deserved that much, after all the errands I’d run for her thus far.
Kelara
This was going to take forever.
I’d spent the past month tapping into potential I hadn’t even known I had, thanks to Death shedding some light on several aspects of Reaperhood, including the one she’d just explained to Seeley, about her energy being in all of us. It had not been easy, but once I’d become aware of it, I’d actually been able to harness this power, to create this new spell.
She’d said that I was quite proficient, since I’d been able to concoct something so complicated on my very first try. Naturally, I felt encouraged to do more, to try more, to go all the way to my limit, wherever that was.
At first, I’d started out with some brief meditation exercises, just something to put me in touch with my inner self. It had sounded like a yoga session, until I’d felt it snap inside me… the power surging, itching to be let out. From there to crafting a spell that would break one of Spirit’s seals had only been one additional step. I’d let my hand and my scythe do most of the work, focusing on the seal’s structure.
Reaper magic was funny that way, keeping its secrets close until one of us poked it hard enough to make it react. Nevertheless, it was better than nothing. I’d accomplished something incredible today, after months of trying all sorts of previously made death spells, courtesy of Dream and Nightmare, all of which had failed. I’d have thought the Reaper twins would’ve brought some big-league mojo into the game, but nothing they’d conjured had managed to resolve our problem.
We’d finally broken the first seal since Silence, and we had 998 more to go. My only hope was that they wouldn’t all be as iffy as this one. Seeing Seeley back had done a decent job of upping my morale, though. Not that he was very good at being encouraging, but I did get a kick out of impressing one of my peers.
“You must stay with them,” Death said to him, referring to Derek and Sofia. “Go with them to Visio and tell me what you find there.”
“Okay, I’m going to need a little bit more to go on,” Seeley replied.
It didn’t sit well with Death. “Are you questioning me?”
“Uh-oh,” Nightmare mumbled. Dream nudged him in the ribs, hard enough to shut him up.
“No. I simply want to know what it is I’m doing chasing these people around,” Seeley said. “I could be here with you, helping the seal-breaking operation move faster. Or out with Soul and the others, looking for the remaining First Tenners. It feels like I’m missing important information, and I’d very much appreciate it if you could enlighten me. That’s all.”
Death thought about it for a moment. She certainly didn’t like anyone doubting her. However, given her current condition, maybe it was time she put more trust in Reapers like Seeley. He’d served her, flawlessly, for more than a thousand years. I would’ve trusted him with my life and my afterlife.
“Seeley, I wouldn’t send you out with them if it wasn’t important,” Death finally said. “Chances are their trip for this protein will yield more than just the possibility to walk in the sun again. It could very well get us closer to breaking these seals within days, rather than centuries or millennia.”
Dream and Nightmare’s heads twisted so fast, I worried they might’ve snapped their necks as they turned to gawk at her in disbelief. “What in the world are you talking about?!” Nightmare croaked.
“I only have more questions now,” Seeley said, unwilling to let go. Death was definitely holding back. Even I could tell.
”I need you to trust me. I would tell you more, but I’m not sure whether I’m right or wrong on this, which is why you must stay close to them and report back to me as often as you can,” Death explained, sounding rather frustrated. “Please, Seeley. Just trust me. I’m asking you to do this for all of us, not just for me.”
Seeley exhaled, understandably exasperated. “I have never doubted you. Never. And I have always done what you asked of me, without hesitation or opposition. But I’ve gone out on a limb one too many times, and I’m honestly tired of getting myself in trouble without knowing why. Because, let’s face it, we all know this isn’t going to be a tame ride. Nothing that involves GASP or the Shadians is without unexpected twists. That much we’ve learned, just from the Hermessi incident—not to mention their previous expeditions.”
“Like I said, your mission might get us closer to breaking the seals faster,” Death said. “It’s only a hunch. And I will get into the specifics of it all once you tell me what you find there… wherever ‘there’ is.”
“You know, we actually share Seeley’s frustration here,” Dream replied. “It wouldn’t kill you to tell us more.”
“You might find that telling the whole truth for once is actually quite liberating,” Nightmare added.
“I’m not telling you more until I understand what is at the source of that day-walking protein. Period,” Death replied dryly.
Seeley nodded once. “Okay. But I promise you, this is the last time I’m going in blind. I’ll stay close to Derek and Sofia. I’ll investigate and let you know what I find. But when this is all over, if you still keep secrets from me, secrets that might get me or others hurt in the process, I swear I’m done with all of this. I’ll go back to reaping people and not giving a crap about what you or the upper circles are up to.”
“So, you’re leaving the search for the First Tenners to Soul and his crew, then?” I asked, changing the subject. “The Unending, the Night Bringer and the Morning Star are still out there, and we’ve yet to learn anything new about them.”
“Also, why won’t you tell us the reason for wanting us all back here together again?” Dream asked. We’d tried asking before, but Death had kept quiet about it. Whatever the motive, it had to be big enough to warrant all the remaining First Tenners.
Death nodded, her galaxy eyes twinkling a little brighter. “Soul is due to return with updates soon. He promised he’d have something for me by the third full moon. We’re reaching it shortly on Aledras, aren’t we?”
We all gazed up at the twilight sky, a white pearl rising in the growing darkness. “Indeed, we are,” Dream said.
“As for the reason why, I doubt you need it right now. I’d rather keep you all on your toes. Your curiosity is rather irksome.” Death sighed, then glanced up. That was the end of this particular conversation again. She definitely wasn’t ready to talk just yet.
“I cannot wait to see Unending again,” she murmured, appearing to almost forget that we could hear her as she stared at the night above.
“Can I say something?” I interjected, my legs still too weak for me to get up. It was impressive that I was still conscious, though my eyelids were getting droopy. Death gave me a curious glance. “You speak of Unending with… love, if I’m not mistaken. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know you love us all and so on, but I’ve noticed you tend to light up whenever you hear her name, in particular. Why is that? What makes her special?”
Death let a deep sigh roll out of her chest, as if eons of solitude and sadness were tumbling out. I’d clearly struck a chord. “She was my first. My very first,” Death said. “In a way, she’s like my first child. You never forget or stop loving your first, do you?”
