“Do you think she’ll bring me back?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Who, Death?” he asked, and I gave him a soft nod. “I don’t know. Maybe. It’s up to her, really.”
“Because Taeral still has Thieron, as you know. He could easily—”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” Seeley replied, cautious with his words.
I understood then that the decision didn’t belong to him. It made me feel heavy. Even though I’d left my physical form behind, my limbs were leaded, anchoring me firmly to the stone floor. Seeley noticed my reaction, a shadow drawn between his eyebrows.
“I’m sorry, Nethissis. I’m sorry this happened to you. It’s not fair,” he continued, looking away for a moment. “Let’s find a way to get me out of here first. One step at a time, because there are things going on here that are completely wrong.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m perfectly okay with sticking around as a ghost for as long as possible.” I chuckled, trying to make light of the situation. It was the best I could do, not only for myself, but also for Seeley. After all, he was practically helpless—our only true ally among the Reapers, and he was chained to the wall.
“You’re not a bad-looking ghost,” he replied, giving me a faint smirk. Darkness smoldered in his eyes as he shifted his focus back to me, and I suddenly felt like the very center of the universe. I’m still naked. Oh, boy…
“Are you trying to give me a compliment?”
“I’m a little rusty in terms of social skills. I thought you knew that. Your bare form isn’t helping, either. I’m doing my best.”
“Well, I was hoping at least one of us on the Death crew had rubbed off on you during our Hermessi adventure,” I said, trying not to laugh. He was right, though. My nakedness wasn’t of any positive assistance. I had to cut him some slack.
“Forgive me, but none of the champions on our crew made me want to follow their lead where wooing a woman is concerned,” he replied. “I had enough time to watch them all get together, and I was rolling my eyes. Hard.”
Heat burst through me, like an unexpected fever. “You want to woo me?”
Only then did he realize that he’d been talking out loud, for his demeanor changed so quickly that it was nearly impossible to keep up with him. “Okay, so Rudolph should be on Visio already,” he said, switching back to business mode. I pressed my lips into a tight line, wondering if I should pursue the wooing part nonetheless, since there were a lot of logistical issues attached to it—such as, how would we even be together, since I was dead and he was usually tasked with reaping the likes of me?
I decided to let it go for now, because I had yet to figure out where we’d even stood while I was still living. We hadn’t seen each other since the Hermessi debacle, and there had been many thoughts and feelings left unspoken between us. Seeley was right. We had bigger problems to deal with. Freeing him was at the top of my list.
“Where would I find Rudolph?” I asked.
“I told Kelara I’d meet him inside the palace library, since it’s one of the easier places to find,” he said.
“Chances are we won’t be having any ghoul problems, since it’s all the way up there and not in these wretched basements,” I noted.
Seeley shook his head. “Let’s not underestimate Zoltan again. He’s already pulled a fast one on us. Remember, ghouls and Reapers can make themselves unseen and unheard to the living. And Zoltan knows there will be others coming to Visio, looking for me.”
“That’s right, because you’re cut off from them now,” I said, pointing at the collar around his neck. “That thing’s keeping you docile and unable to call for help, huh?”
He exhaled deeply. “It’s also chafing the crap out of my neck.”
“When I find Rudolph and his team, I’ll bring them down here, like we said, but we’ll have to be extremely careful. Zoltan is probably already on the lookout,” I replied, anxiousness spreading through me like a dull but persistent flame.
“You have an advantage in your position,” Seeley said. “Zoltan underestimates your ability to help me. And Death must be told about what’s happening here. We need more than Rudolph’s team if we’re to set things straight on Visio.”
“Especially since we don’t know who else is involved.” I sighed. “Do you think Acheron and Danika are aware?”
“If we’re to follow the simplest logical thread, I’d say yes, since this is their palace. They should know what’s going on, even down here in the dungeons.”
I frowned, noticing his hesitation. “But?”
“But I have seen plenty of instances where the rulers had no idea about what was going on in their own homes, so to speak. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Zoltan has been pulling this off without any other upper-echelon Aeternae knowing. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we figure out what exactly it is that Zoltan is doing here in the first place. I don’t understand the purpose of these dungeons or why he’s keeping ghouls around like this. I’m missing something.”
“The thing that bugs me the most is… where did all the Reapers go? I know I’ve asked this before, but surely you understand why I feel the need to ask again.”
Seeley nodded slowly. “I’m positive it’s got something to do with Zoltan, but again, I can’t think of a reason why. I don’t even know if he’s killing them or keeping them prisoner, like yours truly here.”
“I can check the other cells. There are hundreds down here,” I said.
“After you find Rudolph,” he replied firmly. “Informing him and Death is paramount right now.”
I got up again, stretching my arms. The ghouls snapped their fangs at me, roaring with undying aggravation, but I no longer cared. We had work to do, and I couldn’t let a bunch of hungry soul-and-flesh-eaters get in my way. Besides, they were chained to the wall and confined to this room. All was not yet lost.
“I’ll go up to the library now. Hopefully, Rudolph will already be there,” I said, giving him a soft smile. “I’ll see you soon, Seeley.”
“Whatever you do, stay out of sight and out of trouble,” he warned me. “Zoltan is planning something. We need to figure out what it is before other Reapers get hurt.”
I moved away from him, wishing I could do more to get him out of here. But I was helpless, merely a lost soul, frustrated and alone, with zero supernatural abilities left. I couldn’t even turn on a light or push a glass off the table. Vesta had been able to communicate with Zeriel eventually because she wasn’t dead during that Hermessi debacle, and I remembered Zoltan also mentioning that the veil on Visio was thicker, preventing me from trying to reach out to the living.
Even so, I was determined to bring everything to light. Zoltan’s actions had led to my death, but I was certain that everything he’d done before last night, along with everything he was going to do in the future, would get more people killed. He had access to death magic, the likes of which not even Seeley had come across before. Otherwise, he would’ve set himself loose already.
The little I could still offer, I was ready to give. Whatever was going on in the pits of this palace was unnatural, breaking innumerable laws of the universe and its greatest forces. It was time for it all to stop.
Kelara
We were finally making progress on these blasted seals. Since I’d last seen Seeley, we’d managed to break three dozen. Their difficulty levels varied, thus making it impossible for us to estimate an end date for this endeavor. Some seals took mere minutes, others hours, days, even months and years. Thankfully, the Time Master had helped by stopping time around us—we were able to spend years working on one particularly stubborn seal for five years, while only hours passed in the outside world.
There were perks to having a time-manipulating Reaper handy.
