“Death assigned me to you and your crew. I was to shadow you, to figure out what this place was all about,” Seeley explained. He sighed deeply, resting his head on the wall behind him. “I knew you were going to check out the palace, so I followed you. I had no idea we’d both be stumbling into this tangled ball of crazy.”

I got up, crossing my arms and taking a couple of steps back. That got the ghouls riled up again, but I was no longer worried about them. The chains had already proven their effectiveness. “You need to fill me in on the details here,” I said. “Because I’m getting a majorly creepy vibe from you right now.”

Seeley shot me a cold glare. “Really? After everything we’ve been through?”

“Would it have killed you to say hello?!”

“Ah. So that’s your problem. Not me following you guys around.”

“That too, yeah,” I retorted, wondering if he could see me blushing—I could swear I felt my cheeks burning, despite having no physical form anymore. On one hand, I was thrilled to see him again. On the other, it broke me that we were meeting again in these circumstances.

“Death forbade me from reaching out to you. To any of you.”

I scoffed. “Still following her blindly, huh?”

“My options are rather limited in this, Nethissis,” he said. “I don’t have the luxury of being able to disobey an order. She might be under those seals now, but once she’s out… I’ll be on the receiving end of her wrath if I go against her. And trust me, you don’t want to piss off a cosmic power like Death. You just don’t.”

Exhaling slowly, I tried to put my frustration aside. This was not the right time to bicker about keeping in touch. After all, we belonged to different worlds—or at least, we used to belong to different worlds. I was on his side of the veil now. Either way, it wasn’t fair to him. We had bigger problems to deal with, such as my unexpected death.

“Why did Death want you to follow us?” I asked him.

The ghouls had given up already, merely scowling at me and baring their ginormous fangs whenever I looked their way.

“She didn’t say,” Seeley said. “I know it’s not the answer you want, but—”

“Yeah, I know, she has a tendency to withhold important information until the very last minute. I remember,” I grumbled, scrunching my nose. “How are those seals of hers coming along, by the way?”

“Slowly but surely. Though, frankly, she’s struggling. She wants all the remaining First Tenners back. Apparently, they can help speed things up if they’re together. I reckon it’s about a power balance.”

“And what about Rudolph? You said he’s on his way? Where are the other Reapers? I haven’t seen anyone around. Shouldn’t someone have come when the Rimians were killed here?”

A bitter smile danced on his lips. “So you’ve noticed that, too. It’s been bugging me since I first arrived on Visio.”

“Is Zoltan catching them, keeping them here in these dungeons?”

“I’m not sure. But there wasn’t a single Reaper in sight, and no wandering souls, either. It’s why I called for backup. Some of the doors I’ve tried going through are riddled with warding magic, designed to keep my kind out. Something weird is going on here, Nethissis, and I think it’s got something to do with Zoltan Shatal and his ghouls and his death magic.”

My soul ran cold, as if I’d been suddenly submerged in ice water. My death seemed trivial, in hindsight, compared to the plethora of strangeness that clearly dwelled in these parts of the palace. I didn’t have answers, only more questions. The worst part was that Seeley was as confused as me about all this. Usually, I’d have looked to him for knowledge and wisdom.

“It’s death magic he’s using to keep you here, isn’t it?” I asked, and he nodded in return.

“I’ve never seen some of these symbols before, but it’s definitely from our repertoire. Someone from the upper echelons taught him about this stuff,” Seeley said. “I’m talking first circles, at least.”

“What’s the point of all this?” I mumbled, looking around once more. “I get that they’re keeping ghouls here, but to what end? I don’t see any of the Aeternae feeding on souls—unless I missed something?”

Seeley shook his head. “No, you’re right. They’re not eating souls like the Nerakian daemons and Maras used to. There’s something else afoot, but I’m a bit tied up at the moment and unable to investigate further.”

“What can I do to help?” I asked, crouching beside him. Reaching out a hand, I wanted to see if I could at least touch his collar and set him free. Vesta had pulled quite the ghostly stunts during the Hermessi debacle. Maybe I could do something similar.

My fingers went right through the metal, but I could feel his skin, strangely warm and sending all kinds of sensations through my very core. Gasping, I jumped away. My breath had left me, and I had trouble getting it back.

Seeley was equally surprised. “The veil is thick on Visio,” he said, his voice low. “But since I’m a Reaper, you can still touch me.”

“Wait, the veil is thick… what do you mean?”

“You can’t touch these chains.”

“But I leaned against the wall outside. I could touch that!” I replied, growing restless.

“That’s just a phantom sensation. It’ll wear off, the longer you stay here, in the world of the living. You weren’t leaning into the wall. You just thought you were. The ghostly psychology is a little tough to explain right now.”

“Great. So I’m useless. That’s what you’re saying.”

He smirked, as if an idea was brewing in his head. I liked this look on him. It gave me a sliver of hope, though I dared not allow such an emotion to take over. Not in my condition.

“You’re not useless,” he said. “You can still move around freely. And Rudolph is still an option.”

It hit me then, and I couldn’t help but smile, a new kind of energy surging through me. “I can find Rudolph and warn him about all this.”

As Seeley nodded in agreement, I wondered—would this be enough? Would Rudolph maybe summon a whole army of Reapers to come to Visio and tear this whole place apart? Surely, Death would sanction something like that, given the attack on Seeley. Zoltan had no intention of letting him go, but I didn’t know what he planned to do with him.

I had a feeling we were barely scratching the surface of the nefariousness in this place. Nevertheless, someone had to. Someone had to cast a light on this darkness and reveal the ugliness it had been hiding.

Maybe I’d get back to my body, too. Maybe Death would decree that my passing was unnatural, much like she’d done with the five million fae. Maybe this wouldn’t end in tears, after all.

Nethissis

After a few minutes of rigorous planning, I finally found the courage to ask Seeley the big question.

“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.”