“I’ll find a way to help you. I promise, Rudolph. One way or another, I’ll come back to you. I’ll help you. I’ll figure something out. But I need you to stay strong, okay? I need you to remember yourself, to remember who you really are, no matter what your physical form tells you right now, okay?”
He didn’t move. He didn’t even growl. His breathing was ragged, but I knew he was listening and registering every word, gathering whatever strength he had left to go down on his own terms, if needed. And I had meant every word I’d said to him.
“Don’t forget me, Rudolph. I’ll come for you soon. I… I just need to talk to Seeley about all this, okay? Nod if you’re okay with that, please. Nod if you’re going to wait for me. I need you to promise, Rudolph, do you hear me?”
He nodded a fourth time, and I felt a smile blooming on my face, with all the heartache included. I’d gotten through to him, and he was paying attention. That mattered. In the long run, it might even be our ticket out of here.
A plan was forming in my head. Seeley definitely had to have some input on it.
I couldn’t do it without him. Or without Rudolph, for that matter.
Nethissis
Carefully moving through the hallways, I paid attention to every single sound, every single snarl and growl echoing from the cells. My pursuer had not tired, and was bound to show up again, eventually. It had caught my scent more than two days ago, and a ghoul was not known for its ability of self-restraint. Herbert had been an amazing exception.
I could’ve used Herbert right about now.
Downtrodden by what I’d seen earlier, I made it my objective to find a way to expose Zoltan and all his projects. He was doing something to the Reapers he captured, turning them into ghouls. He trained them and made sure they obeyed him. My worst fear was that the same would happen to Seeley, sooner or later. The thought alone was enough to make my whole being run cold, ice working its way through me, stiffening my every move.
I found him in his cell, still chained to the wall. His face illuminated when he saw me. The four ghouls he shared this place with jumped from their sleep, proceeding to snap their fangs at me, but I waved them away with sheer disinterest. “All of you need to go to hell,” I said.
They didn’t scare me anymore, and it showed. Surprisingly enough, they didn’t know what to do with my reaction, so they just sat on their hinds and watched me, occasionally letting out a low growl to remind me that they were still there, and that, once they were free, they would come for me. Until that happened, however, I was free to continue to flip them off whenever they made their presence heard.
“Nethissis. Are you okay? What the hell took you so long?” Seeley asked, moving against his restraints. He was getting stiff and sore, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He measured me from head to toe, his gaze darting past the private parts with genuine respect. Perhaps he’d forgotten that I was dead. There wasn’t much the outside world could do to me—except for that friggin’ ghoul. Or maybe I just looked really good naked… Ugh, still so awkward.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s… It’s been insane.”
“What happened?”
“I found Rudolph and the crew,” I replied, and he was tempted to smile. “But so did the black guards. They had a ghoul ready and scythes of their own.”
His face dropped. “No. Please, don’t tell me that—”
“It was vicious. I have never seen anything like it. These maniacs have protocols in place for Reapers. They use ghouls to take them by surprise,” I said. “Rudolph and his team didn’t stand a chance. They didn’t even see it coming!”
“Where are they now? The Aeternae can’t kill a Reaper, no matter what tools they have in their arsenal,” Seeley replied, his jaw clenched with raw anger.
“Zoltan has done something to them. I wasn’t there to see it because I was running from the ghoul. But he—”
“Wait, what?!”
I exhaled sharply and told him about the last couple of days, emphasizing my inability to come check on him, given that I had been on a constant run for my afterlife. “It homed in on me, over and over. Relentless in its pursuit. By the time I got back here, it was too late for Rudolph and his team. Seeley, Zoltan is somehow forcing them to become ghouls.”
The revelation made Seeley freeze, his galaxy eyes dark and blank. He stared at the ghouls on the other side of the room, and I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.
“I saw Rudolph, too. He’s turning. They’ve all been turning, but Rudolph’s got a bit more control over himself. I suppose it varies from Reaper to Reaper,” I added. “I think I can get him to help us, if we play our cards right.”
“So, these guys here, they must’ve been turned against their will, too, right?” Seeley asked, without taking his eyes off the creatures, who seemed to understand us better than ever. They no longer snarled at me. “How does Zoltan get a Reaper to eat a soul?”
“I… I don’t know, but he does it. He must have some kind of trick up his sleeve, because Rudolph, at least, never would’ve done it himself. Not to mention the others. There’s something awfully wrong here, Seeley. And we need to get you out of here before the same thing happens to you.”
He gave me an alarmed look, and I knew the thought had not yet crossed his mind. “Death should send more Reapers down here, especially if she doesn’t hear from Rudolph and his crew.”
“Do you see anyone else looking to help us?!” I snapped, tired of hoping that Death might remotely save our asses. Whatever plans she had for Visio, they clearly didn’t include contingencies for abducted and turned Reapers. “We’re on our own. And we need to get ourselves out of this mess.”
Seeley sighed deeply, nodding slowly. “Do you think you can get Rudolph to help you? I mean, without eventually getting eaten?”
“I don’t think I can guarantee that last part, but I believe he wants to do good, that he wants to fight his nature,” I said. “If we get him on our side…”
My voice trailed off, as a familiar growl emerged from the shadows by the iron door. The ghoul that had been chasing me was finally back, and it had found me.
“Oh, crap,” I murmured.
“Nethissis, you need to run,” Seeley said, his voice uneven, staring at the beast as it stepped into the light.
It was bigger than the others, who were now alert and riled up, snarling at the creature—an intruder on what was presumably their turf. But the ghoul did not care about them. Its big, beady eyes were fixed on me.
“How did it get in? I thought this cell was warded,” I managed.
“From ghouls getting out, not coming in,” Seeley concluded. “Or maybe it’s got some kind of privileges. The runes on its collar are different from the others.”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” I muttered, determined not to die even more today.
Moving away from Seeley, I backed myself toward the north side of the room. The ghoul sauntered toward me on all fours, and I knew I only had one shot to test the theory regarding the creature’s privileges. I looked at Seeley for a moment, then at the other ghouls. They were restless, dying to be let loose so they could teach this new intruder a lesson.
Maybe I could help them…
The big ghoul charged at me, its claws extended and its fangs sharp and big enough to tear a large animal into pieces. I waited until it was inches away from me, then bolted along the right edge of the room, headed straight for the chained ghouls. They were beside themselves, likely thinking they were getting a swamp witch snack.
