Taeral
"What can Death do, should we get Thieron back to her?" I asked, wanting to hear it from the Time Master again. He'd revealed something shortly after the last of the five million fae had died. Something that the other Reapers and First Tenners hadn't even known about, and the Word, speaking through Lumi and Nethissis, had confirmed it. I needed him to say it once more, for the sake of retaining my sanity.
"I've said it before, and I will say it again," Time replied, while our spell bubble shot toward Aledras at a dizzying speed. "If two powers of the universe combine, there's a chance they'll be able to stop the ritual from destroying everything. It's a little-known, obscure rule, and I have a feeling the Spirit Bender is not aware of it."
Dream giggled, beaming with pride as she looked at her time-controlling brother. "To be fair, you were always the nerd of our crew."
"I only asked the right questions, that is all," Time said, shrugging. He looked at me, his eyes peering into my very soul. "You must understand, it is not a recipe for success. It's just something I picked up by reading between the lines. We were all taught by Death that there are greater forces at play in the universe, and that she is but one of them. The Spirit Bender broke a pattern, and it got him the ire of the Word, as you can see."
Lumi and Nethissis stood still, their expressions blank and their bodies glowing white. "Perhaps I would never have intervened, had the Spirit Bender not taken Death. It is one thing to toy with the living and the Hermessi, but it is something else entirely to give offense to my sister. That is unforgivable, unconscionable."
"We have one last chance," Seeley said, drawing a bitter conclusion. "We may or may not get to win this, but we still have a shot. That's what matters."
The spell bubble breached the atmosphere of Aledras. The sky was white—a strange sight but not entirely unexpected. The entire planet was glowing, reacting to the ritual's completion. All the trees and oceans, the cities and the mountains… everything was shimmering, as if this world had been coated in mother-of-pearl. It was weird and scary as hell, because we all knew it was the beauty before the destruction.
The silence before the storm.
Nethissis cut a hole through the interplanetary spell's fabric with her bare hand. "The ghouls should all leave now. We don't want the Spirit Bender knowing we've got them."
Herbert didn't wait to be told twice. We were headed toward a frozen lake in the northern hemisphere of Aledras. The cold air swished through the hole, making my skin tickle with newfound delight. Whether it was the chill or the eagerness to face off with Spirit, I wasn't sure. But I welcomed the sensation. It meant that I was still alive.
The ghouls slipped out, vanishing into thin air as they spread and converged on the lake. Thankfully, they were all able to hide themselves—we were going to need them to act as the element of surprise.
"I'm just wondering here," Herakles said, prompting both Nethissis and Lumi to turn their heads. "Why don't you just fix it? I mean, you're the Word. All-powerful and whatnot. You've stepped in before. Why do we have to use ghouls and tracking spells and all this crap? Five million fae just… died."
"I am not your fix-all solution," the Word replied. "I am bound by rules. I do not bow before your mortal desires or moral codes. I go where and when I see fit. Frankly, your naiveté is endearing, but counterproductive. Death is somewhat indisposed. Otherwise, I would have been more incisive in my actions."
"Somewhat indisposed?" I asked.
The Time Master nodded. "The thing is that two forces of the universe need to be free in order to come together and override something set in motion by the likes of the Hermessi and other lower entities. By ‘somewhat indisposed,’ the Word means to say that—”
"Death is trapped," Dream and Nightmare said at once.
The Soul Crusher scoffed. "That son of a… I think I know what he did. I mean, I think I know what he used to trap her."
"And?" I replied, my heart stuck in my throat.
"I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself until we get there," he said.
"Typical," I muttered, gripping Thieron tightly and preparing myself for the descent.
The spell bubble went down, its speed gradually reducing until it reached the middle of the frozen lake, where two black dots could be seen, one larger, above the ice. The other… I wasn't sure.
"Get ready!" I shouted.
The crew got in position, as did the Reapers and Kabbah. The spell bubble vanished, and we tumbled across the hard ice, sliding and slipping until we came to a halt.
Ahead, the Spirit Bender stood, sneering at us. He was the first black dot. I couldn't see the other anymore. The pebble that had been embedded in the tracking spell hit the ice, suddenly stopping at a fixed point behind the Spirit Bender. That seemed unnatural, as far as physics were concerned.
"I thought you'd have given up by now," Spirit said, hands resting behind his back.
"Where is Death?" I asked, my tone firm, my body quivering before him.
He took a deep breath. "It's over, Taeral. The ritual has been completed. You should learn to adjust to these failures, my friend."
"You helped kill five million innocent people," I shot back. "I'm not going anywhere until you and I sort this out."
"Is that why you brought the Word with you?" he replied, his galaxy eyes reduced to slits as he glanced at Lumi and Nethissis. "Because you want to… sort this out?"
"No, the Word is here to undo the mess you've made, brother," Time said.
Spirit chuckled. "Look at you, walking and talking. You lucky scab." He shifted his focus back to me and the witches, who were flanking me. "The Word cannot harm me until Death speaks and agrees to join forces with him," he added. "Unfortunately, my maker is a tad… indisposed."
Dream and Nightmare moved closer, craning their necks to get a better look. Phantom vanished and reappeared behind Spirit, her eyes wide as she glanced down below the ice.
"She's trapped down there." Phantom gasped. "He's got her under the Thousand Seals!"
Specters appeared and jumped Phantom before she could even raise her scythe against her treacherous brother. Thieron was thrilled, vibrating in my hand, illuminated from within—it was a new and more intense reaction, I realized, as we were finally within Death's reach.
Seeley intervened and reaped the specters, helping Phantom pull back. The Reapers were all shocked.
"What the hell did you do, brother?" the Soul Crusher demanded. "The Thousand Seals? Seriously? And specters? Have you gone off the deep end?!"
The Spirit Bender laughed. "The specters only serve to protect me. Did you really think I'd be out here on my own?" He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, thousands of specters appeared, former Aledrasians who'd been harvested for this particular stage. They growled and hissed, surrounding us on all sides, eager to cut us down. Spirit kept them at bay, though I doubted they'd stay still for much longer. All he needed to do was let them loose. "I've worked too hard to get to this point, my dear brothers and sisters."
I glanced at Lumi. "Is he telling the truth? Can you not do anything at all?"
"Not until Death is released, I'm afraid. All I can do is give my witches an extra kick in their heels. You'll have to break Death free before anything else can occur," Lumi said.
Widow leaned in from behind. "Or find a way to get one of us close enough to break the first of the Thousand Seals. It's Silence. If we remove that, Death will be able to at least speak and consent to the Word's offer of direct assistance."
Looking back, I noticed the Time Master was gone. "Where did Time go?!" I hissed.
"Don't trouble yourself with him," the Soul Crusher replied, moving past me as he took out his scythe. "Let's give this ass the beating of a million lifetimes. I've had enough of his nonsense."
The Spirit Bender raised his hand. Behind him, I caught a glimpse of Death's hands pressed against the ice. Oh, she was definitely down there, under some kind of ancient seal. I wanted to know how he'd pulled this off,
in the first place, but the entire planet was gradually working itself up to send out the devastating pulse that would ignite the fae sanctuaries, turning them into lethal weapons against entire civilizations.
"I think you missed the part where I said I have spent a long time preparing for this, brother. Did living inside Zetos ruin your ability to comprehend basic sentences, Soul?" Spirit asked.
"I may be a little rusty, Spirit, but I am superior to you," Soul said. "It's time I reminded you of this simple, indisputable truth."
Something tugged at my heart. At the same time, Death slapped the ice. Thump. Thump. Thump. I wanted to move closer, but I couldn't. The specters were riled up, staring at Spirit's hand as if waiting for his signal.
Oh, crap. They are literally waiting for his signal. The hand in the air. That was it. But I needed to get closer to Death. I had a feeling she needed me.
"Can I use Thieron to break the seals?" I asked, looking at Phantom, who brushed off her frilly nightgown, visibly disgusted by how close the specters had gotten to roughing her up.
She shook her head.
"Thieron is but a toothpick without Death," the Spirit Bender said. "I must say, you're all overreacting. Why don't we just sit back and watch the rest of the ritual unfold? It's not like you can do anything about it anymore, anyway."
Amelia charged him, raising Yamani's scythe. "You're destroying my world, you monster!" she shouted. The Soul Crusher waved a hand and threw her to the side like a limp ragdoll.
"What the hell?!" Raphael blurted, rushing to get to Amelia.
Soul shot him a cold stare. "Unless you're one of us, you don't stand a chance against the Spirit Bender."
This felt like a standstill, and I didn't like it. I'd come here armed with hope and determination. I could feel Thieron aching to slice the Spirit Bender into little bits and pieces, until there was nothing left of him.
"Last chance before I let the Oompa-Loompas loose," Spirit said, quite amused, hand still in the air. "Shall we kick back with some drinks and popcorn and adjust to a new world? Or will you be stupid enough to challenge me?"
Thieron's energy burst through me like wildfire. I settled into an attack stance. There was only one answer to be given, and only one way in which this would all end. Against the odds. Against the fear, the despair, the crippling grief.
I'd had enough of a Reaper's tantrums. We'd lost too much. Enough is enough.
"Give me everything you've got," I said. "I'll pay you back in kind."
Riza
Seeing Taeral like this filled me with unexpected energy.
As he and the Spirit Bender clashed, the battle began.
Despite my fears and exhaustion, both physical and mental, I felt a renewed sense of self. Images of my parents flashed through my mind. They were depending on me, on all of us, to pull through. Glancing at Herakles, I knew that he was part of the reason why I'd been holding on with such fierce stubbornness. For us. For me. For every single living creature in this universe.
None of us had asked for such a titanic responsibility, yet it had been thrust upon us, nonetheless. I couldn't bring myself to walk away from it. The only way was forward.
As the specters jumped us, we all fought as hard as we could. Amelia, Taeral, and the Reapers had scythes. Lumi and Nethissis channeled the Word's amplified powers. The rest of us were in danger, because these modified spirits could potentially kill us—and there were so many of them.
But even so, we did not back down.
Herakles used every weapon in his arsenal. The blades. The sword. Even his claws. I cast magic and teleported myself around the frozen lake, helping my friends wherever I could. If there was a specter creeping up on Eva, I'd be the first there to knock it back. It wasn't our bodies that the spirits were responding to, I quickly realized. It was the steel in our weapons.
I'd gotten myself cut and scratched by these creatures already, but, since they were basically ghosts, kicking and punching had done nothing. The swords, however, those worked!
"Use your blades!" I shouted. "Use your steel! It hurts them!"
In an instant, the balance in this fight changed. We slashed and cut through the specter mess, even as they continued to pile up on us. Raphael's fire helped a lot, as well—not necessarily because it hurt the spirits. It didn't. But it distracted them long enough for us to move in and cut more of them down.
The Reapers got busy thinning the herd. Their scythes transformed every specter they touched into bursts of golden sparks. Kelara, Dream, and Nightmare had clearly done this before. They moved like shadows, vanishing and reappearing around the frosted battlefield. Seeley, Widow, Soul, and Phantom were hard at work, as well. Casting bits of Reaper magic between their hits, they managed to distract entire clusters before cutting them down.
I couldn't see the Time Master anywhere, and the ghouls were missing, too. I'd expected them to show up by now. Reappearing next to Amelia, I quickly analyzed our current odds against Spirit's specter hordes.
"Where the hell are the ghouls?" I asked.
"Damned if I know," Amelia breathed and took down another spirit. She wasn't a Reaper, but the scythe in her hands still caused damage to the ghostly mass. A Reaper always pitched in to finish the job—either Soul, Kelara, or Seeley, for the most part. We were spread thin against too many enemies.
Taeral took on Spirit with everything he had, swinging Thieron expertly while dodging the Reaper's blade. Soul had already advised him not to get cut. We knew that it was how the Spirit Bender controlled his ghosts. All he had to do was cut you once, and you were his. Of course, that usually applied to the dead, but the Soul Crusher had been specifically clear that it did the same to the living, as well.
"You selfish piece of trash!" Taeral shouted and dodged Spirit's scythe. He brought Thieron upward fast, missing the Reaper by only a few inches. It was enough to make Spirit look worried. It became obvious then that he did not want to get hit with Thieron. Chances were it would lead to his permanent death, the irreversible kind. "You've put all the living in mortal danger because you're angry at your mom! Do you not realize how foolish you are?!"
The Spirit Bender chuckled and darted toward Taeral. The prince managed to move out of his way, but the Reaper quickly swerved and came after him again. "Your mind is too small to understand how insignificant you all are. You're mere blips in the fabric of the universe, mine to use however I please! You can't even fathom what it's like to exist like me, for millions of years, unable to escape or move on!"
"Why does your existence matter more than ours?" Taeral asked. He vanished just before Spirit cut through him. The Reaper's reflexes were sharp. Taeral reappeared behind him, but Spirit's scythe was already out to meet Thieron. The blades clashed with a gut-wrenching shriek, the impact causing a tremor across the frozen lake.
"Everything and everyone is disposable to me, as long as it hurts Death," Spirit hissed. "I may not be able to kill her, but I can make her existence miserable, as miserable as she's made mine!"
I moved back from their fight, worried Spirit might spot me. To my left, a couple of specters jumped Varga, their claws and fangs tearing through his leather suit and pale skin. They drew blood, which splotched down on the white ice like scarlet roses. I zapped myself behind him, grabbed his wrist, and teleported him several yards away from his attackers.
"Thanks, Riza," he said and quickly dove back into battle, as more spirits came at him. I released a flurry of phosphorescent sparks, dazzling the specters long enough for Soul and Widow to intervene and start clearing them out.
Looking back at Taeral and Spirit, I worried our guy might end up getting hurt. The Reaper made him run and dodge and move a lot, never tiring. But Taeral's energy was running low, his swings increasingly sluggish. The teleporting didn't help. I, too, felt exhaustion climbing its way back to the top of my consciousness, but at least I wasn't at risk of getting cut with Spirit's blade, then hit by his manipulative powers.
"I never wanted to be a Reape
r!" Spirit snarled. "I never asked for this! All I wanted was to die, as I was meant to die! She wouldn't let me move on. I begged her. For millennia, I begged her, but she wouldn't listen."
"So what? You're punishing us all because Death didn't let you die?!" Taeral retorted. They'd both paused for a short moment, while Taeral got his breath back and Spirit quickly surveyed the battlefield and smirked. The odds had yet to flip in our favor, but, if we kept going, we still had a chance at fighting the specters off completely. We, the living, did the fighting, while the Reapers came through and reaped the crap out of these violent and bloodthirsty spirits.
"You're merely collateral damage," Spirit replied. "If you want anyone to blame, look to Death. This is on her. It's all on her."
"Coward," I blurted, drawing his attention. "You can't even take responsibility for your actions."
He grinned, but there was darkness in those galaxy eyes, the kind that predicted terrible things to come. "I suppose you're still wondering where your ghoul friends went, little Miss Know-It-All?"
Around me, the fighting continued. Vicious and ruthless, bloody and painful. Scythes glimmered in the light. Specters snarled and clawed and bit through everything they could get their hands on. The living struggled to keep up and not get torn to shreds. There wasn't enough time to do anything more, as the planet's hum became louder, the glow intensifying from within and threatening to blind us completely.
"I've got wards all over the place," the Spirit Bender added, his chest swelling with pride. "You thought I didn't know about the ghouls? I have eyes everywhere, you worthless creature. My magic sprawls across dimensions. Little bits and pieces left in my wake. Alarms. Whispers. Dead eyes that I can see through. I was ready before you even showed up!"
Dread clutched my throat, its grip tightening as I realized our ghoul allies would not be able to help us this time around. We were still fighting a losing battle, despite our emotional jumps from the pits of misery. Over and over, we'd climbed out of that darkness, clinging to a single thread of hope, only to get kicked back down. This time, it was the Spirit Bender's turn to crush our resistance.
A Shade of Vampire 77: A Fate of Time Page 17