I'd caught its whiff before, but never so strong. Never so… determined.
"Hey, Reapers!" I shouted. "Reapers! Whatever your names are! One of you had better answer me!"
My voice echoed against the sanctuary's hum. I knew they could hear me. They could see me. They were probably aware I was down here. I just needed to get them to do me a favor. After all, I was a dying man.
I deserved that much.
Vesta
The Reapers spoke in hushed tones, but we all knew the end was coming. As much as they tried to hide it, we could tell. Their movements, the way they stole glances at us whenever they spoke, their inability to look us in the eyes. We could feel it, too. Our life-chains were fading. My last link was barely a faint orange, black flakes forming here and there, like ink stains. My soul was weary. My mind exhausted.
I'd put up quite the fight, from the moment I'd fallen.
Hours earlier, there had been a sliver of hope left. I knew Taeral would do everything in his power to stop this, and so would everyone who'd joined him on that quest. But, as time passed, mercilessly bringing us closer to the ritual's completion, even I'd had to admit that we might not make it, after all.
"They're not looking very optimistic," Ben said, eyeing the Reapers in charge of our cluster. "Rudolph can't even talk to us anymore."
Grace let a deep breath out, her gaze lowered. "I don't think we're going to make it."
"At least River, Lawrence, and the others are away from here," Ben replied. "If this is our end, they won't have to witness it. The Shade needs protection, now more than ever."
"I know," Grace replied, her eyes shimmering with tears that would never flow. Her body, however, was crying. "I hope they get another chance out there. I hope the Hermessi won't be able to destroy them the way they did us."
"Mom… Hold on, it's not over yet," Caia said, as she and Vita put their arms around her and hugged her tight. "Not yet. Please, don't lose hope."
"Honey, I'm just being realistic," Grace murmured, giving her daughters a gentle smile. "Whatever happens, I'm with you. We're together. We shouldn't be. You shouldn't be here, but… this is it, you know?"
My throat closed up. I wanted to scream and kick and cry, but I was as helpless as everyone else. Lucas, poor soul, was practically red with fury. He'd been brought back only to be whacked again.
"This isn't the first time we've hung by a thread," Kailyn reminded us.
"I wonder what it is they're talking about," Lucas muttered, scowling at the Reapers. Rudolph's gaze kept darting between the outside world and the sanctuary. A voice echoed in the distance, but with all our spirits here, murmuring to one another, and the structure's unnatural and constant hum, I couldn't make out much.
I tried to move away from my body, but I felt my movements grow sluggish, almost stiff. Maybe it had something to do with my life-chain dying. Maybe I'd be able to move more once the last link snapped.
"Rudolph, what is it?" I asked, raising my voice.
He stared at me for a moment, sweat glistening on his forehead. "I don't know what you mean," he replied from six crystal casings away.
"Get your ass down here and talk to me," I snapped. "Now!"
Hesitant at first, he made his way back to our cluster, his hands deep in his pockets, scythe tucked away. Still, I had a hard time getting any words out of him, until Lucas poked him in the ribs. He’d done it almost instinctively, then realized he could touch a Reaper—judging by the momentary flash of surprise on his face.
"Talk, pipsqueak. We're at Death's door!" he snarled at Rudolph.
The other Reapers stayed back, but they watched with renewed interest. Usually, spirits stayed away from agents of Death, but it did make sense that we could touch them. After all, we could touch each other. I’d even managed to give Zeriel a message in the plane of the living. And Reapers were in charge of us, so they had to be able to touch us, if they wanted—how else would they reap us, otherwise? In hindsight, I should’ve hugged Seeley before he’d left. Chances were I’d never see him again…
"Your fiancé is outside, shouting for you," Rudolph finally said.
My heart skipped. "Wha… What?"
"He didn't leave with the others," Rudolph replied. "He stayed here. I suppose he wants to spend whatever time he has left with you. Unfortunately, said time is rather short. We're in the last thirty fae now."
"He's outside?!" I yelped. "Why… Why the hell didn't he go to The Shade? He's going to… oh, God, he's going to die here, with us!"
My knees gave out, and Ben was quick to hold me, as dread washed over me in icy, biting waves.
"She needs to see him!" Grace said firmly. "If he's out there, you have to help her!"
Rudolph shook his head, but he didn't sound as sure of himself as before. "I can't. It's against the rules."
"Screw your rules!" Ben replied. "Screw your rules a thousand times! We're dying here! Can't you see that?"
"I'll never see my husband and our daughter again, if the Hermessi win," Vita cried out. "But Vesta… She still has a chance to say goodbye. Dammit, Rudolph, enough with the friggin' regulations. You've picked the worst time for that!"
Still, Rudolph didn't immediately oblige.
I felt compelled to touch his hand, demanding that his gaze meet mine. "Please, Rudolph," I whispered. "This might be it for us."
He glanced over his shoulder at Malleus and the others. To my surprise, they all gave him a brief nod—even Sidyan, the most reluctant among them. Rudolph touched my crystal casing and pushed it out into the main pathway of the sanctuary, almost effortlessly. The thing was twice his size, yet he had absolutely no trouble with it. Perhaps it was one of the perks of being a Reaper.
I followed him, speechless, as my life-chain jingled, most of it black and rotten. He brought us closer to the doorway, so I could look out and see Zeriel. My breath was cut short at the sight of him standing below, his head tilted back as he shouted for the Reapers to let him see me.
"Come on! Show her to me!" he roared. "Vesta! Get them to reveal you! Please! I need… I need to see you!"
"Rudolph, please," I whispered.
He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, I had to have become visible, because Zeriel went silent and gawking. "Vesta… Vesta!" he managed. "Baby! I'm here!"
"What are you doing here, you fool?" I called out, crying. Well, I thought I was crying, but it was my body doing the hard part. Tears rolled down my cheeks, my amber-glowing cheeks, and it tore me apart to see myself like this. To be unable to touch Zeriel. To hold him. To lose myself in him, one last time.
Zeriel chuckled, but I knew he was keeping his misery to himself, not wanting me to see him in any way broken. "Where else would I be when my betrothed is up there, unable to leave?"
"You could've saved yourself!" I said.
He shook his head. "I'm beyond saving if I'm not with you."
"Oh, Zeriel. You're breaking my heart."
"I think you broke mine first the moment you stomped into my life. And I let you. Hell, I smiled and welcomed the destruction, with arms wide open. But it's been the sweetest of mayhems! I wouldn't take anything back."
I laughed softly, inwardly relieved to see him like this. I doubted I would've been able to keep it together, had he revealed exactly how he felt about this situation. We both knew we were screwed six ways from Sunday, yet we were both able to look at each other and smile.
"Maybe Taeral will save us," I said. "Maybe we'll one day look back on this and laugh."
"I hope so," he replied, the glow fading from his blue eyes. "And if we die here, today or tomorrow or whenever, I just want you to know… I love you, Vesta. More than anything. More than life itself."
"Clearly more than life itself, since he's here. The suicidal fool," Rudolph muttered behind me. I shushed him and shifted focus back to my beloved.
"I love you, Tritone King," I shouted. "To the moon and back, and beyond, even!"
"It's been a fun ride, don't you think?" he s
hot back, grinning.
Yes, it had been an incredible ride. A breathtaking adventure. We'd fought for our lives more times than we could count, yet, if we could both go back, we would've done it again. Over and over, until the end of time.
"Perhaps we'll meet up in the afterlife," I said.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I honestly doubt death can keep us apart," he replied.
The earth rumbled beneath the sanctuary. It shook and knocked Zeriel back. I sucked in a breath, but he sprang back up, dusting himself off. Earthquakes rippled across the entire area, making the woods shiver and the grassy clearing crack like a broken eggshell.
"Are you okay?" I asked him.
There was no need to ask what was going on. The whole planet was reacting to the increasing levels of energy emanated by the sanctuaries. I wasn't sure whether it was the local Hermessi's doing or just a natural phenomenon. It didn't even matter anymore, if I were to be honest.
"It's getting closer," Zeriel said, his brow furrowed as he looked up at me.
"I'd rather you were up here, but whatever's powering the sanctuary won't let you come," I replied.
"If I die looking at you, it's cool," he said in an undertone, but I could still hear him.
Now more than ever, I wanted Taeral to win this. If I'd lost hope earlier, it was coming back with a vengeance. My very soul swelled, suddenly too big for the sanctuary—or at least, that was how I felt.
"And if we don't die, we'll spend the rest of our lives together, like you promised," I said. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
He smiled. "I sure hope not."
How many hours did we have left? How long until the ritual would destroy us all? My last link was half black now, and I could feel an emptiness gnawing its way through my chest, itching to snap my life-chain loose.
If this was goodbye, then it was the best goodbye I'd get, and it was better than no goodbye at all. "I'll see you again soon," I whispered, hoping the words would turn into a prayer that the universe might listen to.
Hoping that, one way or another, this wasn't the last time I'd see Zeriel.
Taeral
It had all come down to this.
I was on the ground, and it shook and broke apart beneath me. Thieron was twenty yards away, and Brendel was coming for me. She couldn't kill me, but, dammit, she could inflict enough damage to put me out of commission for days, if not months.
Around me, defeat was lurking. Eva, Varga, and Nethissis were out cold. Lumi was hanging by a thread. Seeley's breath was ragged as he struggled to keep some of the Hermessi at bay.
The Widow Maker put up a good fight, his raw strength decidedly a bonus in this instance. But he was only one against so many. The Soul Crusher was tired, as well, split between too many interdimensional pockets, in which he'd trapped several Hermessi. I doubted he could open up another one without pulling a muscle or something. Phantom cut through the elementals, light on her feet as she zapped herself around the mountain peak.
Kabbah was surrounded by ten Hermessi, each of them pummeling him with raw-energy fireballs. He was overwhelmed, but he could still see me. He understood my situation, yet he didn't seem able to do anything. It wasn't fair of me to expect salvation, anyway. I'd had my shot. I'd blown it.
Amelia was nowhere to be seen. Raphael was flying and dodging several Fire Hermessi. Riza was holding up a protective energy shield against an Air Hermessi's violent attacks, while Herakles tried to pull himself back up, right behind her.
It wasn't looking good for us.
Yet I couldn't give up. Failure was not an option. I understood that now, better than ever before, as Brendel stalked toward me. She didn't have a face, but I knew she'd have smiled, if she could. Victory was within her reach.
Looking at Thieron, I knew victory was within my reach, too.
"It's over, Taeral," Brendel said. "I told you."
I caught movement to my left. Amelia climbed up from behind the eastern ridge, grasping at thick shrubs to pull herself over the sharp edge, the scythe's blade caught between her fangs and her eyes glistening with rage. She had her sights set on Brendel.
Oh, no, Amelia…
I knew what she wanted to do. But did I want to stop her? No, I needed my opportunity. I had to let her do it, no matter what. My heart throbbed. It was sheer madness. She brought herself up and gripped the scythe by its ivory handle, licking her lips and tasting the metal in its absence.
"It's not over yet," I replied, sneering at Brendel. "You don't understand. Even now, you don't understand. It's not in our nature to take no for an answer."
"There may be no other choice left for you," Brendel said.
Amelia darted past her, her scythe out as it cut through the fire. It left a strip of blank space in its wake. Brendel stilled, watching Amelia as she went around and came in for another shot, a warlike shout exploding from her throat.
"Amelia! No!" Raphael growled, but was quickly tackled by an Earth Hermessi's shooting vines. He was pinned against a stone, his arms and legs tied back as the vines tightened and pulled, threatening to break them.
But Amelia didn't listen. She charged at Brendel with no regard for her own safety.
I worried she, too, had missed her opportunity, and that she was headed toward certain death.
A peculiar whisper traveled across the battle zone, the air rippling above us while the earth continued to shake us all violently. "What the…" My voice trailed off.
Something emerged behind Brendel, seemingly out of thin air. A ghoul.
Its massive mouth was open, long fangs sparkling through the stormy darkness. Amelia kept going, determined to hit Brendel again, who, in turn, raised a fiery arm—ready to deliver a potentially deadly blow.
My heart became a tiny muscle, unable to beat anymore, as the ghoul pounced on Brendel, slashing at her with its enormous claws. How was this even possible?
Soul noticed and shot me a grin. “Don’t underestimate a ghoul, I guess. Those claws can still distract the blazing bitch.”
It took Brendel by surprise as well, and it prompted Amelia to come to a shocked and screeching halt.
The ghoul and Brendel became a joint mass of grayish translucent skin, claws, fangs, and fire as they rolled over the ground. The creature couldn’t do much to the Hermessi other than nag and confuse her, but it was still better than nothing since it broke Brendel’s attention. Amelia realized that this was the second chance she'd been waiting for. Sprinting toward the flaming scuffle, she cut through and low with her scythe, and I heard Brendel's scream—so primal, so sharp that it made my skin prick. Amelia had been careful not to hurt the ghoul.
To my astonishment, it wasn't just this one intervening. Oh no, there were dozens of his kind appearing all around. They all went for the Hermessi, leveling the playing field almost instantly. If they moved fast enough, they could minimize the damage that the Hermessi’s energy did to their bodies and transparent skin, while keeping the bastards busy. I caught glimpses of Kelara, Dream, and Nightmare. There was another Reaper with them. I assumed it was the Time Master.
But time hadn't stopped.
Without giving it a second thought, I focused on Brendel. Amelia delivered a third blow by some kind of miracle, before Brendel, still fighting off a very persistent ghoul on her back, swatted her away like a bothersome fly.
I felt something snap inside me. It coincided with Amelia falling and smashing into a tree. The trunk broke and came down with a tormented moan. I couldn't see her anymore because of the foliage.
"Crap," I breathed, understanding what the snap I'd just felt truly meant.
Closing my eyes for a second, I allowed myself to disintegrate. I teleported twenty yards across and grabbed Thieron. Its power surged through me with insatiable delight.
Brendel didn't even see me. She was too busy setting the ghoul on fire. The creature whined and screamed in agony as Brendel covered him in furious orange flames.
One shot.
&nbs
p; That was all I needed. She'd been weakened already, unable to hold the teleporting block on us anymore.
I fell. The ground had opened beneath me, but I was too close to ending her, once and for all. "Not today, dammit!" I shouted and zapped myself right behind Brendel. "Not today!"
She turned around, suddenly aware of my movements.
I slashed across her flaming torso with all my might and strength and will, and Thieron burst in a flash of blinding white light as it cut through her.
She gasped.
Unable to move anymore, both hands still gripping Thieron, I could do nothing else but look at her. Her white eyes were round, echoing shock. She hadn’t seen this coming. I'd finally pulled one on Brendel—big enough to take her down for good.
"You… You worthless sack of…"
Her voice faded, as did her fire. Wisps of orange turned to billions of sparks that vanished into the night. Suddenly, I was on my own, and Brendel was gone. I'd killed her. I'd killed Brendel, and, for the life of me, I could not believe it.
Thieron buzzed with delight. Both of us had been waiting to do this for a very long time, it seemed.
"Holy hell," I heard Soul exclaim.
Looking around, I realized that everything, not just my heart, had come to a pause. A freezing moment in time, where everyone stared back at me, unable to believe their own eyes. Even the Hermessi were astonished, no longer moving.
I could breathe again. "I did it…"
I'd done it.
The world was finally rid of Brendel. And it was all the better for it.
It only needed saving now.
Taeral
The Hermessi seemed as though they'd been frozen in time. Only the flames of their energy bodies moved, burning and heating everything around them. Phantom, Soul, and Widow were speechless. The ghouls could be seen, too, silent and staring, much like Kelara, Seeley, Dream, Nightmare, and a very confused Time Master.
Raphael had reached Amelia, keeping her close. His wings were spread and his fists were on fire, ready to hit back at any of the Hermessi coming their way. Lumi helped Nethissis, Varga, and Eva back to consciousness with a combination of swamp witch magic and whatever was left of our healing potions. Riza and Herakles gawked at me, smiles drawn widely across their faces. Eira was still, much like Kabbah, both of them glowing blue and green, respectively, and panting. Something had changed about Eira—not that it was the first time she'd transcended her nature as a Hermessi child. She'd taken a step deeper into elemental territory, that much I could tell from her appearance and the stern look on her face.
A Shade of Vampire 77: A Fate of Time Page 14