Amal would certainly have her hands full, I thought. And so would Nethissis. Based on what I’d read about the symptoms and how the disease manifested, it was a complicated project to undertake, one which required both the scientific advances of Strava and the power of the Word. Maybe a combination of these could finally bring the Black Fever to a halt.
“Have you identified the source yet? The carrier?” I asked.
The nurse shook her head. “No. But we are doing health tests this week,” she said. “We’ll use it as an opportunity to see if the carrier is in the palace.”
“I take it the Aeternae are from here, then,” I concluded.
“Young maid and two squires,” Valaine said. “Their parents have yet to be notified. We will have to tell them soon, but they will be sworn to secrecy, in order to avoid mass panic.”
“Why is it happening sooner?” I replied. “The cycle seemed pretty specific.”
“We don’t know.” The nurse sighed. “But we are not prepared for this.”
Valaine turned to look at me. “Do you understand why we need your help?” she asked. “We’re a proud nation, and we do not do this often, but we need you. Even the Lord and Lady Supreme will admit it. We dare not say it aloud, in front of people, and many among our nobles still refuse to acknowledge it… but…”
“I know,” I said, giving her a soft smile. “You need us. I’ll have to tell the crew about this, though. They need to understand what they’re getting themselves into.”
“Yes. Just keep it within your group. No one else knows I’ve brought you down here, except Lina here,” she replied, glancing at the nurse.
I didn’t have words left in me. After the horrors I’d read about in the library, after seeing victims of the Black Fever with my own eyes… how could I say no to Valaine? Naturally, I wouldn’t have dreamed of guaranteeing any kind of result, given that this was a disease we knew so little about. But we could still try, and I knew that Amal and Nethissis would pull out all the stops to cure this disease.
They had Amane and Lumi within reach, thanks to Telluris, if they needed additional support. We could send blood samples to Strava through GASP; we could even advocate to bring more witches to Visio in order to work faster against this emerging outbreak. Despite what Acheron and Danika had said last night, I figured curing Black Fever was more important than keeping an extra five or six GASP members away from Visio.
Valaine had taken a great risk telling and showing me all of this. It couldn’t have been easy, and I had to appreciate her determination—or was it, perhaps, desperation? Either way, she needed me, and I couldn’t allow myself to let her down.
Without even thinking, I took Valaine’s hands in mine in a bid to reassure her. “We’ll help you. We’ll do whatever we can. You have my word.”
Relief lightened her expression, her black eyes filled with warmth and flickers of hope. Nobody deserved to go through this. We needed to make this nightmare stop for the Aeternae.
Seeley
The evening set over Visio in deep shades of red and purple that streaked across the sky. I stood on the rooftop of the east wing, just above the guest rooms where Derek’s crew had been lodged. I’d spent most of my time split between shadowing the team and looking in and around the city, searching for some clues as to why there wasn’t a single Reaper working here.
To my disappointment, my search had not yielded any results. All I had was radio silence and zero answers. It angered me, so I’d taken a moment out here, to just collect my thoughts and replenish my energy. Omniscience was tiresome, especially when Derek and his people split up and I had to dart around, making sure I didn’t miss anything.
I’d seen the Black Fever victims, and I’d witnessed the Blood Arena murder, as well as the duel that followed. No other Reaper had shown up for Krassus or Demetrius, so I’d reaped them myself, not wanting to leave any wandering souls around. Visio was anything but perfect—that much was clear. Their intentions seemed good, though their politics were oppressive. Nicely packaged and well remunerated, but oppressive. Like Derek had said, though… it was their business, not mine. My issue was the absence of Reapers, which made no sense, and the confusion coming in from the higher circles only made things worse. I couldn’t move away from the crew to start reaping anyone who died, so my society had to come up with a solution soon. In the meantime, I had to continue my search for answers.
How could three planets—three, not one, because the same thing was happening on Rimia and Nalore, as I had recently learned—slip through the cracks of our system? How could millions of creatures not be carted off to the underworld upon their deaths? This was mind-boggling!
Exhaling sharply, I glanced around the palace. The view was as dreamy as they came, lights flickering through thousands of windows, smoke rising from the tall chimneys, and the sky gradually darkening overhead as the city prepared for slumber. The streetlamps were dim, shadows dancing across the cobblestone, down the alleys and boulevards lined with boxed trees and neat sidewalks. The occasional carriage drawn by Visions clicked and clacked through the neighborhoods. Couples and families and friends retreated to their homes. Tired Rimians and Naloreans moved through the streets, their eyes half closed as they stopped by the baker’s or the market for last-minute groceries, just before the closing bells rang.
This was a peaceful city. Silver guards were all over, watching, listening, doing their best to keep the people safe—and not just the Aeternae. I’d seen Rimians and Naloreans saved from street violence, as well, on the outskirts and in the less pleasant parts of the city. However, I needed more time for a proper assessment, and more Reapers.
The latter were currently being gathered and sent my way, so I wasn’t going to be here on my own for much longer. I knew Tristan and Esme weren’t planning on doing their secret explorations till much later in the night, but I also knew Nethissis was running out of patience. I’d heard her talking to Eva over their Telluris connection. She suspected something foul beneath the pretty-looking surface, but she wasn’t sure what it was that bothered her.
If only I could tell her about what I’d been dealing with. I zapped into her room, to find her standing in front of a tall mirror, wrapped in a dark red silk robe. Her handmaiden had just finished drawing a hot bath, stopping in the doorway with a polite smile.
“Milady, your bath is ready,” the Rimian girl said.
“Thank you, Lory,” Nethissis replied, without looking away from her reflection.
As the handmaiden left the room, Nethissis breathed out, tension gathering around her, the air troubled and supercharged. She wasn’t going to just stand around for much longer, merely observing the Aeternae, the Rimians, and the Naloreans. She’d drawn her conclusions already, and she’d shared them—not only with the crew, but also with Eva, her closest friend.
Nethissis was convinced that the Aeternae were hiding something. Based on the handmaiden’s warning not to explore the prohibited sections of the palace, I knew she was preparing to do just that. Only, unlike the others on her team, Nethissis had the ability to turn into a small copperhead snake, able to move freely through the dark corners and nooks, to explore and get to the bottom of the mystery.
For a moment, I wondered if my issue and hers were related. What are the odds that they’re not? I asked myself. Over a thousand years as a Reaper had taught me that there was rarely such a thing as coincidence.
“Okay, here goes,” she murmured.
Her bones cracked. She grunted and gasped as her body changed. The copper scales on her skin spread, and her form shrank into that of a snake. The silk robe dropped on the floor, now empty. The reddish brown head poked out from between the soft folds, her amber eyes glistening in the candlelight. Nethissis was ready to explore, and I was in awe of her snake form. Even like this, she was beautiful, slithering across the floor as the dark brown spots danced along her body.
Her forked tongue slipped out. She analyzed the smells, the chemical composition of everything around her, and I was compelled to follow as she snuck under the door. Nethissis wasn’t a regular, large copperhead like the ones I’d seen on Earth. No, she was significantly smaller, but that allowed her to sneak around virtually unnoticed.
Maybe my instincts were right. Maybe we were both searching for the same thing, so I decided to stay close to her, just in case. I wasn’t allowed to interfere in the affairs of the living, including hers, but I doubted I’d be able to resist the temptation. This wasn’t just anyone. This was Nethissis. I’d gone to great, unethical lengths to stop her from dying as a sacrifice to Eirexis. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to her on Visio, either.
She moved through the hallways, keeping to the shadows. Leaving the more populated sections of the palace behind, Nethissis made her way into the west wing, descending a service staircase. The access doors to it had been locked, but that didn’t stop the feisty little copperhead. She slipped through and reached a dark, damp, and filthy corridor—the complete opposite of everything I’d seen above in the palace.
We were underground now, and I realized I hadn’t seen this area before. It was strange and cold, with barely a flutter of pale light at the far end of the hallway. Water dripped down the walls, forming puddles over the stone floor. There were many doors along this corridor, most of them locked. I peeked through some of them—empty cells with rotten wood benches; dark pantries, their shelves loaded with jars and tin boxes, each smellier than the other; and storage chambers filled with old armor and swords and shields, dating back two to three million years ago, at least.
Nethissis kept moving, constantly testing the air with her tongue. She’d caught the scent of the pantry chemicals, as she, too, had checked these rooms out, albeit briefly. There wasn’t anything that either of us could consider a red flag.
At the end of the corridor, a maze of narrow hallways opened up, each leading in a different direction. To say that I was intrigued would have been an understatement. It was time to hone my omniscience again. My energy levels were pretty low, but I had just enough for a nighttime exploration task. I split into three versions of myself, the weaker one staying with Nethissis. In her snake form, she was practically impossible to spot, and we had yet to come across any signs of life.
It quickly became a challenge for me to focus, as my two other selves continued their quest through the adjacent corridors. More cell rooms, stinky pantries, and storage boxes. More dampness and darkness. More water dripping down the rough stone walls. Soon enough, we were both on to something.
Guards patrolled these underground sections. Not silver or gold, but black-armored guards, with short swords and belts loaded with small leather pouches, different from other soldiers I’d seen so far. They moved slowly up and down the corridors, occasionally checking the heavy locks on each of the doors. What could they possibly have in here that required armed protection? It didn’t make sense, since I’d checked the rooms myself.
Nethissis hid in a wall nook for a few minutes as a guard passed her by. His boots thudded across the floor, sending cold echoes through the hallway. She came back out, raising her neck to get a better look at the guy. I quickly realized that she had good reason to be curious. These weren’t regular Aeternae guarding the place. They were all former Naloreans, big and burly and pale of skin, but with fangs and claws and Aeternae reflexes, prompting Nethissis to be extra careful in her endeavors.
Normally, they only allowed Aeternae to handle palace security, so why was this place different? It still fell within the palace’s jurisdiction. Hell, even the armor was identical to what I’d seen on the upper levels, except for being black. They had the same crests and decorative motifs etched into the shoulder and chest plates.
I continued shadowing Nethissis on this side, while my other two versions moved farther away. It seemed as though the corridors reached out and away from one another. We ended up in another, tighter hallway, lined with solid iron cell doors. It felt different, compared to what we’d observed until now.
Strange noises emerged from inside these rooms. Sounds I didn’t immediately recognize. A loud, spine-tingling shriek pierced through the corridor, and Nethissis stopped cold upon hearing it. We both looked around, trying to identify the source, but there was nothing in sight.
Staying back, I tried to go through one of the iron doors. To my surprise, I couldn’t. Something warded my Reaper form, forbidding my entry. My stomach churned. This wasn’t good at all. In fact, this warranted additional concern. Determined to peek into this room, I didn’t even notice Nethissis was gone until it was too late. She’d slithered away, undeterred by the shriek, while I’d been left standing in front of a door I couldn’t open or pass through.
To my frustration, it wasn’t the only one. Every single cell on this block was warded against me. Determined not to let the Aeternae get away with whatever it was they were hiding, I decided to break open one of the doors. Nothing they had put together could keep me out for good.
“Kelara, can you hear me?” I reached out through my telepathic connection.
“Dream, for Pete’s sake, enough with the…” Her voice trailed off. “Seeley. Yes. I’m here.”
Our link was weird. I’d never been able to hear her like this, before she’d even become aware of my contact. Something was changing among the Reapers, and I wasn’t sure what it was, or who was responsible. And it was the least of my concerns right now.
“I was right. There’s something iffy going on here,” I said. “They’ve got locked cells in the underground. Warded against Reapers.”
My other versions came across similar rooms, also protected against me and my kind. They were also neatly sealed, and I knew even Nethissis, wherever she’d gone now, couldn’t sneak through. Whatever this place was, it warranted an in-depth investigation, and I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed backup, and I needed it quickly.
