“You’re looking for my brother. So am I,” the bloodshot-eyed people said, none of them moving so much as an inch. They were merely devices through which the ancient Reaper spoke, and that didn’t answer any of the numerous questions currently swarming through my head.

“Morning Star?” Widow asked, raising his voice. “Is that you?!”

“Why, yes, dear brother. You look well. I see you are free again,” the people replied.

“Someone completed the Thieron challenge,” Soul said, visibly intrigued. “Where you at, sis? What the heck are you doing here?”

“I’m feeding on the days,” the people responded. “I’m in a bit of a predicament, and this has been my only solution so as not to lose my sanity.”

“Forgive me, Morning, but I’m a little confused,” Phantom replied. “You are the day. You’re the sunshine. The brightness. The morning to every night. How are you feeding on the days, as you said… and why?”

“Oh, it’s a long story,” the people answered. One of them dropped. I rushed to his side, only to find that he wasn’t breathing anymore. My insides squirmed. Yeah, there was something horribly wrong here. The poor guy had died from literal exhaustion. He was so skinny and pale, I could almost see right through him.

“Guys, he’s dead,” I said, my voice barely audible.

“Right. My mistake. They keep dying off, I’m afraid,” the other people replied. “I’ve switched off the night here. There is only day, and I feed on the sunlight. If I let the night come over, it hurts everywhere…”

“Holy crap,” I managed.

Phantom frowned. “What happened to you, Morning? You’re hurting these people. You’re killing them. How long have you been here?”

“Ages… I think. Or maybe just weeks. I don’t know, I’ve lost track of time. All I know is that I walked into a trap, carefully laid out for the likes of me,” the people replied. The dead guy’s soul emerged from his body, and I felt the obligation of reaping him. Before I could even take out my scythe, however, he froze and disintegrated into millions of tiny flakes of light, swept off by the wind. “I can still reap, if that’s what you’re thinking, young Reaper,” the Morning Star said through the people, as if having read my thoughts.

I understood then that not only could she communicate through them, she could experience everything through them. Every sense, every emotion… she had access to it all. “You feel their suffering, don’t you?” I asked.

“Yes. But I don’t have a choice. He did this to me.”

“Who?” Soul replied.

“Spirit. He lured me here. Trapped me. Laughed in my face, saying I would never see my brother again. I still believe he did something to the Night Bringer, too,” the Morning Star replied.

Her response felt like a kick in the knees. I’d thought we’d gotten past the Spirit Bender. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. Death wasn’t the only one he’d messed with. If the Morning Star was right, the Night Bringer was stuck in some kind of shady predicament, as well. “How did Spirit trap you here?” I murmured, moving away from the body.

“He knows things that none of us should know,” Morning said. “Things that I doubt even Death would’ve had the courage to tell him about. I don’t know why he did what he did, but I’ve been stuck here forever, and it hurts so much. If I don’t keep them awake, I’m in agony. At least, this way, I don’t suffer that much.”

“Is it a curse?” Phantom asked.

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Where are you?” Soul replied.

“I don’t know that, either. I’m not sure I’m anywhere anymore.”

“Jeez, this is getting more and more complicated.” I sighed, closing my eyes as I reached out to Death. I could feel her inside my head, and I gave her access to all my thoughts and senses, hoping she might understand this situation better than the rest of us.

“Hold on, Morning. Kelara here is talking to Death,” Soul said.

Suddenly, all eyes were on me, and I felt little and naked and absolutely defenseless.

“Tell her I miss her,” the Morning Star murmured through her people.

“What do you make of this?” I asked, my voice low.

“It’s odd,” Death replied. “She’s there, and yet she’s nowhere. It’s an ancient seal, but I never taught anyone about it. Especially not Spirit. That would’ve been stupid.”

“Oh right, because you only taught him enough to play with until he figured out how to put those thousand seals on you,” I retorted, unabashed in my sarcasm. “He obviously picked up some extra knowledge from you somehow.”

“That’s impossible. It’s not like Spirit could’ve reached into my head and picked something out.”

“It looks like that’s what he did,” I mumbled.

“Find the source,” Death said. “She’s there somewhere. Once you do, reach out to me, and I will teach you how to break the seal. It’s an awful spell, but it’s not that difficult to break, unlike everything he’s put on me.”

The more she spoke, the more I wondered about her judgment in general. Then again, I had no right to question her. The Spirit Bender had deceived absolutely everyone. Including me. Taking a deep breath, I looked around.

“Where do we even begin the search?” I asked Death.

“Morning will have to help you, my dear. Even though she might not know it anymore, she’s the only one who can tell you where she is. Comb the entire planet, if you have to, but find her.”

And just like that, the connection went dead. No mention of Rudolph. No additional details. Just shut up and do your job, Kelara. I was actually dismayed by all this. Not that surprising that Spirit had ended up turning against her. Now you’re just being mean and bitter.

“We need to find the Morning Star,” I said to the group. “Her physical form is here somewhere. Once we do, Death will help us release her.”

“Ah. You make it sound so easy.” Soul chuckled.

“I would like to be free again, please,” Morning said. “I sincerely do not enjoy tiring people to death. The pain… it’s too much.”

I hadn’t expected to end up in a situation like this, especially since both Seeley and Rudolph, not to mention Rudolph’s crew, were missing in action. My concern for them and my frustrations regarding Visio were clouding my judgment. I hadn’t even taken a moment to consider this incredible achievement.

We’d actually found one of the missing First Tenners. Well, sort of, anyway.

The Morning Star could help us get to the Night Bringer and maybe even the Unending, eventually. First, however, we had to find her Reaper form. With no additional help from Death, Soul, Widow, Phantom, and we had our work cut out for us.

This was a big planet, with lots of nooks and crannies to sift through.

Damn you, Spirit Bender. I hope you’re suffering, even in nonexistence.

Esme

The darkness was sweet and quiet.

Sometimes, voices emerged. Kalon, telling me to wake up. Tristan, promising me that everything would be okay. Amal, asking Amane to give her a new dressing for my wound. I’d been injured somehow, but the memory of it was so fuzzy, so far from my reach, that I couldn’t even be bothered to try to get to it.

“Esme, please. Come on, sis.” Tristan’s voice came through again, almost surprising me. I’d been so well rested, so deeply relaxed in this sensory deprivation, that I’d almost forgotten who I was and what I was meant to do.

My brother was calling out to me.

What had happened?