But the work was nowhere near finished, and we knew that reuniting the remaining First Tenners would speed things up significantly. Death had been quite persistent about that. The Spirit Bender’s seals aside, however, I was troubled.
The Soul Crusher, the Widow Maker, the Phantom, the Time Master, the Dream, and the Nightmare worked tirelessly on breaking seal number 902, while I tried reaching out to Seeley again. I hadn’t heard from him since last night, and it wasn’t like him to just disappear—especially after the mystery he’d clearly stumbled upon there on Visio.
Death noticed my frown as I realized I wasn’t going to reach him this time, either. It was as if our telepathic link had been squelched. Something was wrong.
“What is it, Kelara?” she asked, sitting with her legs crossed in front of the ice hole, chains still binding her to the bottom of the lake.
The others moved around her, scratching symbols into the ice with the tips of their scythes, following a precise pattern, whispering spells and working to disable one more seal.
“Seeley’s MIA,” I said.
It was enough to stop everyone in their tracks. It even drew a scowl from Death, whose expressions had once been so smooth, so frosted, that it would’ve been damn near impossible to read. This whole situation was taking its toll even on her—and that said something.
“What do you mean?” Death replied, her cherry-red lips barely moving.
“I haven’t heard from him since last night,” I explained. “I’ve been trying to reach out to him, but there’s only silence. Seeley would’ve said something by now, even if there was nothing to report.”
The Phantom sighed. “You should tell Rudolph. It might mean trouble for him and his team.”
“Rudolph,” I said, calling out to the Reaper through our telepathic link. “Rudolph, are you there?” Several minutes passed. The First Tenners and Death stared at me, waiting for my face to light up as soon as Rudolph’s voice came through. “Dammit, Rudolph, say something!”
“I’m here,” he finally replied, sounding farther than ever. “What’s up?”
“What do you mean, what’s up?!” I croaked. “Are you kidding me? Where the hell are you?”
“On my way to Visio. We finally finished our work. The calamity was a bloody nightmare, killing way more people than we’d expected,” he said. “I’ve got a crew of six with me. We should be at the palace in about an hour, tops.”
“I can’t get ahold of Seeley,” I replied, Death’s dark and starry eyes still fixed on me. “Something’s wrong, and I need you to be careful once you get there.”
“Kelara, I will apprise you on the situation as soon as I reach Visio. Thank you for the warning. We’ll be cautious,” he said.
“I’ll be waiting for you to reach out. Find Seeley, please!”
Rudolph definitely got my message, even though silence settled in my mind. All I could do now was hope that everything would be okay. Then again, what were the odds of everything actually being okay on a planet seemingly without Reapers or ghosts? I didn’t like any of this, and Death’s insistence on keeping the intervention team small got on my nerves.
“I still think we should send a bigger team over there,” I said. “An army, if possible. Visio just doesn’t feel right.”
“Your persistence is unbecoming, Kelara,” Death said. “I told you, discretion is crucial at this point.”
“Discretion for what, exactly?” I asked. “Who’s pulling the strings over there? We don’t even know who that is or why they’re doing whatever it is they’re doing. We’re completely in the dark here!”
“What Kelara is trying to say is that you’re withholding precious information,” the Time Master interjected politely. “And it’s counterproductive. If you tell us more about what you know or think is happening on Visio, perhaps we will be less persistent in requesting additional Reapers to go there.”
He was definitely more eloquent than me. My very soul was cluttered with anxiety and concern, and Death’s annoyingly calm demeanor and refusal to answer the most basic of questions wasn’t helping.
“It’s not that I know more, or that I don’t want to tell you. I have a hunch, but it is worthless until we get more information from Visio,” Death said. “I appreciate your concern, Kelara, and I understand where you’re coming from. However, my previous statements stand. If there is a culprit involved, we do not want to spook him—or them, as the case may be. A discreet reconnaissance mission is the best way forward, until we learn more about that place.”
Resting my hands on my hips, I breathed out. It didn’t make me feel any better. “What if something happens to Rudolph, too?” I asked.
She thought about it for a moment, stealing glances at the First Tenners. Each of them wanted to say something, but they were genuinely frightened of her. They didn’t have to show it. I could tell from their hesitance alone, since they, too, believed a greater presence on Visio might get faster and better results as to what the hell was going on there.
“We’ll carefully discuss the next steps, should that come to pass,” Death finally said. “I know you’re upset and worried. I know you would like to do things differently. But if my suspicions about Visio are correct, any number of Reapers will be absolutely useless.”
Above us, the blue sky was clear, an endless mass of frosted azure. Around us, there was nothing but ice and pure white snow. Aledrasian cities rose in the distance, but a blizzard was brewing on the horizon, soon to swallow them whole. It all seemed so quiet and peaceful—the complete opposite of what was happening inside me.
“I wish you would tell us more about these suspicions of yours,” I muttered, glancing at the chains that bound her to this world. Spirit had done a spectacular number on her. I was still in awe of what he’d achieved, often wondering how long it had taken him to pull it all off. It had nearly ended the worlds.
“All I can tell you is that we need to find the other First Tenners,” Death replied. “Should my theories prove true regarding Visio, I’ll be the only one who will be able to do something about it.”
“I am so confused right now.” The Widow Maker groaned, crouching next to her. “Why don’t we get more Reapers involved with the seals, at least? Or with finding our siblings?”
Death shot him a cold glare. “Because they would be useless. It takes the strength and talent of the First Ten to break a seal made by one of their own. You saw how exerted poor Kelara was after the second seal. And the Night Bringer, the Morning Star… the Unending… they won’t speak to any regular Reaper. They’re very good at hiding, as you all know by now.”
“So what do you suggest, then?” I asked.
“You need to be patient about Visio, first and foremost,” she replied. “You also need to take Soul, Widow, and Phantom with you and go find the others. Unending, Night, Morning… I need them back here, with me.”
“To help break the seals faster,” I said.
She nodded once. “And not just that. It’s time we bring the family together as a whole.”
“What about us?” Dream replied, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Nightmare and Time. “Do we stick around and keep working the seals?”
“That is exactly what you will do,” Death decreed.
“I still don’t like this.” I sighed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. It had been tickling my cheek for the better part of a minute, thanks to a cold northern wind blowing in. “You holding back on Visio. I don’t like it.”
“I will not spend another minute trying to convince you to follow my lead, Kelara,” she said, her tone frosty and sharp. “You either obey or you go back to your regular duties.”
