“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’ve sent out some local GASP agents to act as a diversion. I had them fitted with Devil’s Weed, borrowed some of your clothes from The Shade and Calliope… They’re out there now, pretending to be you. One of the witches was even kind enough to change their appearance with magic,” she explained.
“Whoa,” Eva said, her eyes wide. “You sent out copies of us? As decoys?”
My mother sighed. “I’m not proud of myself, if that’s what you want to hear. But the agents volunteered, late last night, after you all went to your rooms, worried you wouldn’t be safe. It kept the Hermessi away, in the end, and that’s all that matters.”
“What about the agents?” Herakles replied. “Where are they now?”
“Still moving. They update me every other hour or so. They make themselves seen by various fae in different cities—one of the team members is a jinni, so that has helped them,” Mom said. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted you all to rest and recover. You have a hard day ahead of you.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s actually… It’s a brilliant idea,” Riza said. “I actually feel five percent dumber for not having thought of it first.”
“It won’t last long, though,” I muttered. “The ruse, I mean. I have Eirexis. There’s a possibility that Brendel, at least, will look for its energy signature in that group of agents when she finds them.”
“Right now, the Hermessi are having a hard time catching up to them. Unlike you, they don’t have to be somewhere specific, so they just move around from city to city,” Mom said. “It’ll buy you all at least a few more hours before they catch on.”
“Thank you,” Lumi finally spoke. “It’s an excellent tactic, and we shouldn’t shy away from using it, going forward. It will likely work every time, until they catch on. I will also think of a way to conceal Eirexis’s energy signature. It’s bound to cause us trouble later. An object with such power and age is easy to sense by entities of creation like the Hermessi.”
“How is everybody else in GASP?” I asked my mother.
She sighed again—a recurring reaction with her since my father had fallen ill, and it had gotten more accentuated since he’d been taken. “Troubled and working hard on their own plans. You know Derek and Sofia are preparing a mission to Yahwen.”
“Yes. When is that expected to happen?” I replied.
“Today. Time isn’t on our side,” Mom said.
Nethissis gasped when the Widow Maker materialized next to her. She nearly jumped out of her skin. “Holy… You scared me!” she snapped.
“Sorry,” he shot back, his tone low and desert-dry.
“Where have you been?” I asked him.
“Around. Making some inquiries,” he said. I had nothing to study in terms of deception, as far as the Widow Maker was concerned. His entire body, including his head, was covered in leather. The only part of him I could see were his eyes, which sheltered dark galaxies within.
“Inquiries? With other Reapers?” Amelia replied.
He nodded. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Death, and I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t work. I do now. I don’t like it, but I trust her judgment.”
“Wait, I’m confused. How does a Reaper go about getting in touch with Death?” I asked.
Chuckling, he looked at me. “It’s a little too early for your Reaper training, don’t you think?” His snark wasn’t sharp enough to merit a response. He knew I wouldn’t entertain him. I gave my mother a sideways glance, knowing my future Reaperhood was still a slightly sensitive topic for her. This was something she and I had already talked about, briefly. In a sense, she was relieved that I’d been marked by Death, since that meant I wouldn’t die. At the same time, she was a little unsure about how she felt regarding my Reaper future. Overall, however, she’d understood the facts and would eventually accept them, though it didn’t stop her from worrying about me.
“Telepathy,” he continued. “We’re linked to Death through our minds. Though, mind you, that only applies to the upper circles of Reapers. She doesn’t talk to all of us.”
“So, what, you got demoted and lost your telepathic connection to Death?” Raphael asked, more or less seriously, though I could see a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“No, Chicken Wings. The moment I agreed to help you, I was cut off from Death, for reasons I am not at liberty to say,” the Widow Maker retorted.
“You’re not at liberty to say… That’s a synonym for ‘I don’t know,’ right?” Amelia replied. She certainly knew how to deliver a good burn, and I couldn’t help but appreciate the way she vindicated Raphael. I knew he’d tear down an entire mountain for her, in return. For a moment, I smiled inwardly. Even through these trials and tribulations, love still found a way.
The Widow Maker didn’t respond. Instead, he looked at me again. “When are we beginning our search?”
“Soon,” I said. “I was hoping we’d try to contact Fallon again via Telluris or the comms system.”
We’d tried repeatedly since we’d reached the Fire Star last night, but Fallon was still MIA. We knew he was with Kabbah, and Nevertide’s Earth Hermessi had promised us that, as long as he was with him, Fallon would be safe. That didn’t stop any of us from worrying, though.
“He is no longer linked to the comms system,” Amelia said. “I spoke to Phoenix about it, and he checked all the active earpieces. He keeps them all in a program, so he can see who’s connected and who isn’t. Fallon is inactive.”
“What about Telluris?” Varga asked, understandably concerned for our friend.
“Nothing yet,” she said. “I tried earlier, too.”
“Kabbah is keeping him busy,” Raphael muttered.
“I’m still confused as to why Kabbah needs Fallon now,” Mom interjected, frowning slightly. “I thought they were powerful enough to manifest on their own.”
“They are. But Kabbah, ever the old and experienced elemental, figured out that Fallon’s hybrid body is a good conduit for him. It amplifies his already titanic powers,” Amelia explained. “It’s helping him against Brendel and the other Hermessi, and it’s what kept them busy on Cerix while we searched for Eirexis.”
“Oh… Would that apply to any Hermessi?” Mom asked.
I immediately understood what worried her. I, too, was a fae hybrid and thus, in her mind, equally prone to Hermessi possession if, say, Brendel wanted a way to fight Kabbah on equal terms. “I think it only works for vampire-fae hybrids,” I said, in a bid to reassure her, though I wasn’t entirely sure myself. “Fallon is the only such creature in existence.”
It didn’t exempt me from a potential possession, though. We lacked that certainty, but my mother didn’t need to know that. She already had enough to worry about.
“GASP should spread the word to its remaining fae agents,” Lumi suggested. “While it’s still dangerous for most fae to become vampires, the few who could would still be vulnerable to Hermessi possession, like Fallon.”
“By the time that happens, I think it’ll be too late,” Eva replied. “The Hermessi are closer to the five million fae mark now. Vampire-fae hybrids emerging should be the least of our concerns. It takes time for the process to take place. By the time they would succeed and survive the transformation, the Hermessi would have the ritual complete. It just wouldn’t matter.”
“I still worry about him,” Varga grumbled. “Fallon, I mean. What if Brendel takes Kabbah down?”
“I don’t think she can. That’s why Kabbah took him over, after all,” I said. “They’re stronger together. Granted, not strong enough to destroy that elemental bitch, but they can still put up a phenomenal fight. We all saw it.”
The Widow Maker clapped his hands once, demanding our full attention. “Okay. Now that we’ve got all the soppy parts out of the way, what’s the action plan regarding Zetos?”
I couldn’t help but frown. I’d thought we had that covered. My mother had already sent out decoys
to keep the local Hermessi busy. All we needed to do was look for the most ancient spots on the Fire Star, where Brendel would have tossed Zetos over four million years ago. I explained that to him, and he literally laughed in my face.
“You cannot be this naïve… to think that what you did on Cerix for Eirexis will work again for Zetos,” he replied. “It won’t.”
That left me speechless. Then what? Another mind-boggling search across the entire planet? Wouldn’t Yamani’s scythe help us again? I had a feeling the answer was no to most of my questions, but that only confused me more. How were we going to find Zetos, if our previous strategy wouldn’t be good enough this time around?
Seeley
Taeral and his crew still weren’t aware of my presence. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with that, even though I’d been accustomed to being on my own for more than a thousand years. But Death had made it clear from the very beginning. I wasn’t allowed to reveal myself unless she allowed it.
Guilt had been eating away at me since I’d whispered into Acantha’s ear, urging her to sacrifice herself to Eirexis. It would’ve been her or Nethissis, if one was to analyze their odds of survival in this hot mess that Brendel had started. They wouldn’t have known that, though. I’d peered into the possible futures of every single crew member to get that insight. Nethissis had been one step closer to her grave, compared to Acantha, but I’d intervened on her behalf.
I couldn’t tell why, exactly. Or maybe I could, but I just wasn’t ready to be honest with myself. Either way, it didn’t matter in the long run. A sacrifice had been needed to release Eirexis, and they’d made it with Acantha. But it does matter, doesn’t it?
Yes. My choice between the two young swamp witches had been personal and selfish. I would never stop punishing myself… or maybe I would, eventually. How long could guilt survive in the soul of a Reaper?
“Then what are we supposed to do?” Nethissis asked. Her voice alone was enough to send a most peculiar hum through my chest. “Yamani’s scythe won’t work?”
The Widow Maker glanced at me for a moment. We’d already talked about this, and we knew the best way forward for them—he was it, in fact. The Widow Maker and Eirexis were their best guides to Zetos. I’d spent half the night discussing several issues with him, some less pleasant than others. For one, he didn’t understand why Death no longer answered his telepathic calls. He hadn’t spoken to her since she’d locked him inside Eirexis. Millions of years had gone by, filling the space between now and their last conversation. Death, too, had changed, ever so slightly. She’d said so herself.
By sending me out here to watch over Taeral and his crew, Death had basically pushed the laws of the universe. Interference by greater forces was never appreciated in the affairs of the living, but these were still special circumstances. Even so, she was wary of pushing it, of tilting the universe in the wrong direction if she specifically sanctioned more than one Reaper to help Taeral’s team. If the Widow Maker wanted to help them, that was his decision. Part of the binding agreement he’d had with Death for Eirexis was that he’d become a free soul upon his release.
A free Reaper, entitled to eternity in this form, or a soul to be reaped, so he could move on, if he so chose. Those were his options now, and, for the time being, he’d chosen to remain a Reaper. He was no longer bound to Death, though. And any telepathic communication between them could be seen as a conspiracy to further bend the natural rules—she’d already pushed it with my involvement, special circumstances and all. She didn’t want to risk going further.
Naturally, the Widow Maker had understood this. He didn’t seem to like it much. Like me and every other Reaper who had been fortunate enough to exchange words with Death herself, he found it hard to be without her. At least during his time inside Eirexis, he’d been dormant, for the most part. Time had passed differently for him, quickly enough that he didn’t have the chance to miss her. Awake once more, however, the Widow Maker felt her absence deeply.
“Check out Eirexis,” he said to Taeral. “Notice anything remotely different about it?”
Taeral took Thieron’s handle out from its thigh straps and looked at it. The black bone carried a peculiar sheen, something he hadn’t noticed before because it hadn’t been there. “What’s this?” he asked, slightly confused.
“It’s reacting to Zetos,” the Widow Maker replied.
“Why isn’t Yamani’s scythe reacting, too?” Eira murmured.
“You kids were lucky that Kabbah sent you in the right direction,” the old Reaper said, clearly amused by the fortunate coincidences that had brought them to this point. Deep down, I wondered if they had indeed been just happy accidents, or if the universe had given events a nudge here and there, without anyone noticing. “Eirexis is the first piece of the quest. It’s the first to activate, and the only one to be sensed by Reapers’ scythes. Forget anything else you’ve been told or taught until now. I know Thieron better than most. Zetos is too subtle in its plane of existence to be sensed the same way.”
Silence settled over the room, as Taeral’s crew waited for the Widow Maker to explain. I doubted that would happen. The guy’s ability to pick up on social cues was infantile, at best. Solitude inside Eirexis had its repercussions.
“So, Eirexis will help us locate Zetos, this time around?” Amelia asked.
The Widow Maker nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake! How is it going to do that? The Fire Star is enormous!” Taeral exclaimed, quite exasperated. “It’s shimmering now, ever so slightly, but that doesn’t tell us if we’re closer to Zetos or farther away. Where do we go? Where do we start searching? We don’t have time to do a full planet scan!”
“You don’t have to,” the old Reaper said. “Point Eirexis to your right. What do you see?”
Taeral exhaled sharply but did as he was told. Aiming Eirexis to his right, he stilled for a moment, then shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Okay. Now, do a slow 360-degree turn with Eirexis up.”
Taeral moved, his gaze fixed on Eirexis. As expected during the turn, the symbols on Eirexis took on a slightly more contoured sheen, as if reacting to the direction of Zetos. I smiled, my arms crossed as I watched the Widow Maker. I didn’t need to see his face to know that he was grinning beneath his mask.
“Whoa…” Taeral mumbled. He turned farther to the left, noticing the glow’s intensity increase before it went away completely, leaving him with only the faint glimmer of the black stone dragon bone—which signaled that they were simply on the right planet. He moved back to where Eirexis’s symbols had lit up the brightest. “Oh… I see…”
“It’s a divining rod, basically,” Amelia said.
“What’s that?” Raphael asked.
“The humans used it a long time ago. It was basically a stick they used to find water below the earth. It was more or less fiction, if you ask me, but for some it worked. The stick would vibrate if it was near a water source,” Amelia explained.
The Widow Maker walked over to me, leaving the crew to wonder over Eirexis, as they tested different directions and eventually agreed that they would need to go west if they wanted to find Zetos. Thieron’s blade clearly had a pull on Eirexis.
“You need to explain to me why Death insisted on this Taeral boy,” he whispered, making sure no one heard him. He could’ve just disappeared from their sight to talk to me in our Reaper plane of existence, but he probably didn’t want to give them any cause for concern. No one likes a frequently disappearing ally. “What makes him so special, huh?”
“He’s important to the ritual’s end, I told you,” I said bluntly.
“How, though? Is it about his heritage? Am I missing something? Come on, Seeley. I don’t know you, and I can’t speak to Death directly. Help me out here. I need to know what I’m getting myself into,” he replied.
“You chose to stick around and help them,” I chuckled.
“So I wouldn’t have to cross over, you noob!” the Widow Maker hissed. �
��I’m not ready to move on, and my options were clear the moment I was released from Eirexis. I’m a free Reaper now, yeah. But I still deserve some information here!”
I shook my head slowly, regretting that I couldn’t tell him everything I’d learned from Death. “He’s the only one who can make a real change in this wretched cycle that the Hermessi have established. He can shift things, after millions of years.”
“Better than Death?” he asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes.”
“We’re ready to go,” Taeral said after a while, looking at the Widow Maker. He couldn’t see me unless I allowed it, and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was watching me, somehow. This fae-jinni hybrid prince was certainly special, and he had zero clue as to his own potential. It was fascinating to observe like this.
The Widow Maker walked back to the crew, hands behind his back. “You’ve figured out your direction?”
“We’ll keep going west,” Taeral replied.
“We’ll teleport across patches of ten to fifty miles at once and see how close we can get before Brendel and the others come for us,” Riza added.
Nuriya put a hand on Taeral’s shoulder. “I believe the Widow Maker severed your Telluris connection to Viola,” she said. “Make one with me, instead. I need to be able to reach you, no matter what.”
“Good idea,” Eva replied and prepared the ingredients required to establish a soul link between their group and Nuriya.
I was a little worried about them. The Widow Maker was no longer fused to Eirexis, and his powers could no longer be amplified. He could still do most of his Reaper spells, but at a reduced level. But even that was better than what I was able to do. The guy had tens of millions of years on me, if not more. Granted, he’d spent a lot of those eons trapped inside Thieron’s handle, but still, I felt like the noob he’d referred to me as in comparison. He was a good ally for them, and so was Kabbah. But it wasn’t enough.
Brendel played dirty. She was ruthless and had no moral compass. Most of her associates were the same. Heartless entities that were desperate to see the ritual completed, no matter what it cost. While I applauded those who stood against their brethren, I knew that Taeral and his crew would need more than a few allies to push through and complete this mission for Death. Unfortunately, Reapers couldn’t undertake the challenge of retrieving Thieron.
A Shade of Vampire 75: A Blade of Thieron Page 2
