Soul pouted. "Right. Hold on, I've got a better idea," he replied, and whispered something into his scythe. My heart skipped a beat as I heard the blade whisper something back. Soul leaned closer to it, listening carefully as his gaze darted across our group.
"You have got to be kidding me," Raphael muttered, one hand gripping his short sword. It had no power over the Reaper, but I knew that part of him wanted to just slice into him.
"We're going to one of the oldest corners of the In-Between," Soul declared.
"Would that be the twenty-planet solar system that includes Aledras?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded. "Okay, I give up. How'd you get that location?"
"I have many old tricks up my sleeve."
"And do you not realize the urgency of our situation?" Riza replied, crossing her arms.
"My notion of time passing is not as fleeting as yours," Soul said, his tone clipped. "Relax, we'll find Spirit sooner or later."
"Once again, I must apologize on behalf of our brother," Phantom cut in, shaking her head in dismay. "He's a reckless moron. He's also one of our most gifted Reapers. I suppose talent comes at a price."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Soul retorted.
Widow laughed—and it was a rare and chilling sound. "You take everything as a compliment, you lunatic oaf."
There it was, then. We had a sense of direction, at least, more than an hour later than desired. Still, it was better than nothing. Before we could go on, however, I needed a few minutes to myself. I hadn’t spoken to my mother in a while, and, if there was the slightest chance that something could go wrong, either on my side or on hers, I had to make sure there were last words we'd get to tell each other.
Taeral
"Telluris, Nuriya," I said, after leaving the crew in the laboratory to prepare for the upcoming journey to the In-Between's deepest and oldest corners. "Mom, are you there?"
My heart was filled with a warmth I hadn’t felt in days. A longing to see her again, to hold my father in my arms and to kiss them both, to thank them for having brought me into this world. Funny how apocalyptic events had a tendency to bring out the best in some and the worst in others.
"Tae, honey!" Her voice came through, echoing in my head. "I'm here. Is everything all right with you?"
"Yeah, we're getting ready to go after Death, and hopefully the Spirit Bender too. Kelara is in charge of finding the Time Master. He might be able to buy us some time against the ritual," I said. "I just… I just wanted to hear your voice for a bit, before I leave."
I needed this heart-to-heart with her. I needed her support, now more than ever. Most importantly, I wanted to know how my father truly felt about all this. I'd yet to address the issue of Phyla with my parents, though they'd been kind enough to let Amelia know that they respected my decision, whatever it may be.
"Oh, darling. You're worried, aren't you?" she asked.
A lump formed in my throat. I swallowed it back, focusing on the rippling tree crowns outside, visible through the large, square window at the end of the hallway that separated the laboratory from several storage chambers. "I think I'm entitled to that much. How are you holding up? How's Dad?"
"He's okay, Tae. He's more chipper than ever, actually, odd as that may seem."
"What about you?" I asked.
"I'm still here, aren't I?" she replied, and I could almost see her smiling.
"Mom, about Phyla. I know I was supposed to come straight back to The Shade, but—"
"Don't even think about it." My mother cut me off. "You made the right choice, Tae. We all think that, your father included."
I sighed deeply. "I guess. But I wanted, I really wanted to revive Dad with Phyla. I had every intention of doing that. The Phantom had limits. I…" My voice trailed off. I'd had the words ready in my head. I'd known how I was going to justify my decisions in a way that made sense, yet, as I spoke, my mind went blank, unable to retain a single coherent thought. "I'm exhausted," I added in conclusion.
A moment passed in silence as I waited for her to say something, anything to quell the desperate need I had for her approval. How ironic… I'd spent most of my life doing everything without looking over my shoulder and waiting for her opinion or encouragement. But faced with the end of the world tumbling toward me like a massive boulder, my self-confidence had been plummeting at a steady rate, and I hadn’t even been aware of it. I'd been too busy convincing myself that we had to do this. That there was no other way.
"Taeral," she started, then paused for a second. "Stopping the ritual is your priority, do you understand me?"
Her voice was so calm and soothing. My heart throbbed.
"I spoke with your father about this. He wouldn't have wanted you to come help him first," she added. "Not until the rest of the world is saved. You don't have to explain anything to me, or to your father. Am I making myself clear?"
A tear rolled down my cheek. I hadn’t even felt it in my eye. I knew all that. I'd been aware of all that. But my heart was just so twisted and crunched up about this, as if no reason would be good enough to deny my father's salvation.
"Yeah," I mumbled.
Behind me, steps echoed in the hallway. Turning around, I saw Eira coming out, joined by the rest of our crew. She motioned that it was time to go and gave me a warm and encouraging smile. Something swelled in my chest, beyond my control. It was as if my heart had decided to grow a few sizes. One look at Eira, and I could already feel my resolve in its triumphant return. One glimpse of her ocean-blue eyes, and everything made sense again. I knew once more where I was going, and why saving this world was so important to me.
"The only way is forward, darling," my mother said. "Kelara will find the Time Master, and you will find Death. Do you hear me? Nothing else matters. Not our decision to evacuate the GASP personnel. Not the Hermessi's growing power. Nothing. Nothing besides you winning this and showing those elementals what you're made of."
"I love you, Mom," I whispered, my gaze fixed on Eira. "I'll see you soon. I promise."
"Be careful, Taeral. Stay focused. Your father and I are with you, every step of the way," she replied, and I could feel her presence fading as the Telluris connection closed off.
It was time to get cracking. I had been blessed with some of the greatest friends and allies that I could've wished for. I had Eira by my side, ready to do whatever it took to save our planets and to finish this, once and for all.
As I walked back down and reunited with my crew, and as Lumi gave me a brief but wholeheartedly encouraging smile, the picture came into clear focus, indelible from the very fabric of my consciousness.
All we had left were our bodies and our hope. One way or another, we would prevail.
Kelara
My journey alongside Dream and Nightmare had not been an easy one, and it would only get harder. They sent shivers down my spine whenever they looked at me. At times, I worried they might just knock me out and eat my dreams, like they'd wanted to from the moment we'd first met. Despite the urgency of our situation, they never stopped teasing me.
Nevertheless, we did make progress.
I had to pull them away from various points of attraction, for they were two of the most easily distracted creatures I had ever come across, but we managed to cross through multiple worlds where the Time Master had been known to reside over the millennia.
One world, in particular, stood out, and it was our latest stop in the quest to find Dream and Nightmare's elusive brother. Surprisingly enough, we'd made it all the way into the Earthly Dimension. None of the In-Between locations had panned out, and there had been no trace of him anywhere in those worlds.
"Did you know we'd end up here?" I asked Dream as we stepped onto Astram, a small planet in a galaxy not that far from the Milky Way.
"Whatever do you mean?" she replied.
"She wants to know if you pulled a Soul Crusher on her." Nightmare chuckled.
Dream smirked. "Oh, as in, I dragged you all over the In-Between
, knowing we had better odds of finding Time here?" she replied, and I nodded once. "Honey. We've wasted about six hours treading worlds and looking for him. I'd much rather spend my time doing something else. Like putting you to sleep and feeding on your sweetest dreams."
"Ugh, enough with that already. It's getting old," I snapped.
Glancing around, I realized that this planet, unlike most of our previous destinations, was inhabited. Stone buildings rose on top of rolling green hills. Towers overlooked the entire region, with fires burning bright at the top.
It reminded me of the Irish countryside, if I were to be specific. The sky was a perfect blue, and the color of grass was so intense, it put a smile on my face. Taking a deep breath, I could taste it on the tip of my tongue. This was a beautiful world, with trees as tall as buildings and villages sprawled around pink-and-orange patches of blossoming orchards.
A river ran through the citadel, snaking through the wheat fields, flanked by settlements on both sides for at least ten miles before it vanished into a giant forest. Large birds flew overhead, their wings spanning at least twenty feet.
"How did Time make it all the way out here?" I asked. "Did you know about this place?"
"Well, it was on our list. At the very bottom. Hence why we didn't mention it earlier," Dream replied.
Every time we reached a new world in our search for Time, each carefully written down on a piece of paper by Dream, she and her twin would perform a series of what I could only assume were tracking spells, looking for traces of the Time Master. Every time, we'd come up empty.
"I do wish I had Soul's knack for finding energy signatures," Nightmare said. "I bet I would've found something by now."
"It doesn't really matter," Dream assured him. "If the tracks in one place have faded, it means he hasn't been there in a long time. We need to feel him. Really feel him."
"Do you feel him here?" I asked.
She shot me a cold stare. "Not yet. Don't rush me."
"We are running out of time!" I replied, overwhelmed by exasperation.
The last time we'd spoken to Seeley and Taeral, they were still scouring the oldest parts of the In-Between, looking for Death and the Spirit Bender. I had yet to think of a way in which a First Tenner like Spirit could've literally abducted Death, but I didn't exclude the possibility. The Soul Crusher had made a point of underlining that one of his kind could pull such a thing off with the right resources.
It made more sense than Death leaving smack in the middle of a war with the elements.
"I think we should make our way to that fortress," Nightmare suggested. "I've got a good feeling about this place."
Dream exhaled sharply. "You'd better. It's our last known location. We've reached the end of the list."
"Again, I ask, how did he make it all the way here?" I asked.
"Time was always an explorer," Dream explained. "He traveled across dimensions with zero restraint, always searching for the edge of the universe. He never found it, but he didn't stop looking. He found the Earthly Dimension, though, as your GASP friends call it. To his surprise, there weren't as many inhabited worlds as, say, in the Supernatural Dimension. So, when he found Astram, he was quite pleased. We all knew about Earth and a few other clusters, but this was a complete novelty for him."
"Mm-hm. I remember how pleased he was when he told us about it," Nightmare added, melancholy drawing a faint smile on his face.
We made our way across the land and entered the castle. To my surprise, there were human-like creatures living here. Their physical similarities were downright striking. The height, the general physiognomy, the way they moved… They spoke in a strange tongue which I didn't immediately recognize. Fortunately, my Reaper mechanism was quick to engage.
All Reapers were gifted with an ability to understand and speak any language in the universe. Every sound, every syllable and accent. Upon adjusting to these new sounds, I realized that the people's concerns here, in this particular structure, revolved around a rather simple way of life.
Their clothes were made of linen, leather, and furs—simple but comfortable, by the looks of them. We walked through the poorer areas of the fortress first, where fires blazed in pits and women were busy preparing cauldrons, filling them with water and all kinds of spices and vegetables.
The men went to war and made sure their people were safe, and the women looked after the place. They reminded me of tribespeople, and they seemed content, as if they'd reached a high point in their society and did not want or wish for more.
"Oh, man, imagine the bad dreams these people must have," Nightmare murmured as we moved through the crowd, unseen and unheard by the living.
"You're not munching on anyone's nightmares. We need to find Time, remember?" I replied. "Speaking of… Anything?"
He gave me a weary look. "Nope."
"Whoa. Yes," Dream said, glancing around with renewed interest. "It's ever the slightest trace, but he was here. More recently than in other places. Hold on."
She dashed across the market square and vanished. Moments later, she appeared at the top of the stairs, which led to the upper parts of the fortress. Nightmare and I followed. Up here, the richer folk dwelled. Their clothes looked better, with layers of velvet and finely crafted brocade. Gold pins adorned the men's chests, and gemstones were sprinkled around the women's necks.
"Up there," Dream said, pointing to the highest point of the fortress.
It looked like a temple of sorts, just above the throne room. In this place, the society was literally layered inside the fortress. At the top was the temple—for their god, I assumed. Right beneath it was the ruler, a king of sorts, perhaps. Upon reaching the throne rooms, I noticed they were open. I could see the regal seat from outside. People probably gathered here, requesting an audience whenever they had needs or concerns. The entire section was heavily guarded by armored swordsmen, but there was no monarch in sight.
Below, the nobility lived. The commoners had been left at the bottom, though none had struck me as miserable in any sense. They didn't know any better, either. They'd yet to emancipate themselves like many had done before them, on Earth.
This isn't Earth.
Still, this civilization's existence begged the question. How had they developed here, in the first place, and with such astonishing similarity? Unlike the Supernatural Dimension and the In-Between, the people of Earth had not gone around exploring. They didn't have the technology or the magic that had been made available through GASP to the supernaturals.
What if the people of Earth had been isolated from the rest of the dimension? Had someone put these creatures here, on Astram? What were the odds that such similar civilizations would grow, almost simultaneously, on different planets so far apart from one another?
I'd have to answer these questions later. The pinnacle of our journey was within our reach, as we made our way up the last steps and stopped in front of the temple's round, polished pillars.
"Oh, now I feel it," Nightmare said, giving his sister a surprised glance.
"What do you feel?" I asked, already on the edge of my seat. Had we finally found the Time Master?
"Our brother," Dream said. "He was here, beyond a shadow of a doubt."
The temple towered above us in shades of charcoal and limestone gray. It felt cold and empty, but I knew it wasn't. A Reaper had passed through here, not that long ago—I didn't sense it myself, but the looks on Dream’s and Nightmare's faces told me everything I needed to know.
We were getting closer to finding the Time Master.
Kelara
"I'm surprised there are other human-like creatures out here," I said.
The three of us stood before the temple's pillars, not enough courage between us to go inside. I couldn't understand why. We were three Reapers, two of us even among the oldest in existence. There was something inside that prevented us from moving right away, but we didn't have the courage to speak up.
"This dimension was once rife with them," Ni
ghtmare replied. "Some destroyed others in interstellar wars for dominance. Others destroyed themselves by ruining the ecosystems of their worlds. Earth, as you know it, is not the first instance of humans becoming the dominant species."
Dream nodded in agreement. "There are a few more like Astram out there, a few of them actually farther ahead in terms of technology and development. Here, the people have maintained a certain state for thousands of years. They've been like this for a very long time."
"Do they not feel the need for progress?" I asked.
"Do you not feel the need to set foot inside the temple, already?" Nightmare said, a sarcastic grin slitting his face.
"After you, sir," I retorted. "How am I supposed to be the first one to go in?"
Dream giggled. "I take it we all feel it, then. The dread oozing out of this place."
"What is it?" I sighed.
Inside, there wasn't much to be seen. The lights were dim, barely glowing on wall-mounted torches, blue with orange wisps. Shadows stretched across the floor, but I could still make out a large statue in the middle of the temple. Its face wasn't visible, but even so, its eyes sought to haunt me.
"Something awful happened here," Dream said. "Not to the living, but to one of our own. A Reaper bled here."
"Whoa," I blurted. "How can a Reaper bleed?!"
"Old magic. Death magic," Nightmare replied. "We can feel our brother's presence, but even you can sense his suffering."
Bracing myself, I sucked in a breath and finally moved, taking the first steps inside the temple. Darkness briefly enveloped me as I passed between two of the pillars, the statue in the middle revealing itself. It was odd that barely anything could be seen from the outside. As soon as I walked into the shadows, everything seemed to come to light—albeit a soft one.
"Oh, snap." Dream chuckled. "That's him!"
"What?" I asked, staring at the statue.
It was the figure of a man sitting on a throne, in what looked like an elegant tunic, a sculpted pocket watch hanging from his chest pocket. His hair was combed back, his eyes hollowed out. His long fingers spread like a spider's legs over the armrests. And he seemed to be smiling.
A Shade of Vampire 77: A Fate of Time Page 8
