“You didn’t tell me why you don’t want me to go, exactly,” I said, switching focus back to Lumi. “I mean, you were quite adamant that I should stay here, but I have to admit, your reasoning about me being tired felt insufficient. Is there something you’re not telling us?”
Lumi blushed, her white eyes wide, the blue contours glimmering. “No, it’s not that. Just my instinct, Nethi. You know, that irksome feeling in the back of your head?”
I stilled, giving her a sly grin. “You’re going to have to do better than that. I’m not buying it.”
“I agree. Give us the deets!” Kailani chimed in.
“Is the Word trying to tell you something, perhaps?” I asked. The thought had crossed my mind more than once, since she’d first objected to my joining Derek and Sofia’s mission. But it had seemed odd. The Word could’ve easily inspired doubt in me regarding this, as I was the one leaving, not Lumi.
Lumi shook her head. “I doubt it,” she said. “I suppose you can call it motherly concern. Nethi, you’ve been through enough. I know I’m still recovering from what we went through, and I spent thousands of years locked inside the Exiled Maras’ basement, for heaven’s sake! I’m guessing you’re not in better shape, given your young age.”
“I’m fine. I really am. Of course, I’m not peachy,” I replied. “But I’m not mangled on the inside. It’ll be okay. It’s just an exploratory mission.”
“Maybe you’re right, Lumi,” Kailani interjected. “Maybe you’re just being a mom.”
“I’ll be honest, my views on life have changed since the Hermessi ritual.” I sighed. “I don’t want to waste another day. If I have a chance to explore and discover new worlds, I’ll take it. Hell, it was my favorite part of our Death Squad mission, you know? All the places we went to, the people we met… I loved it!”
Lumi stared at me, pain flashing in her eyes. “I just don’t want to lose you.”
“Like you lost Acantha?” I replied, knowing that this was what had truly been bothering her. Witnessing the death of one of her apprentices had hurt Lumi worse than anything else. As a seasoned swamp witch, she was deeply fond of her students. We were like children to her, regardless of our age or origins. Lumi nodded slowly, her gaze dropping. “I didn’t have time to think about this during our race to find Thieron, but I’ve had nothing but time since it all went back to normal,” I said. “And I know now, better than ever, that this is something I have to do.”
Kailani shot me a grin. “Is that your instinct talking?”
I rolled my eyes. Lumi, on the other hand, smiled gently. “I get it,” she murmured. “You want to go out there. To see the world. To do something other than staying here or on Calliope, recovering. I suppose there’s only so much of that you can do, in the end.”
I had discovered a new side of myself over the past few months. Wanderlust had taken over my mind, beckoning me to leave, to dive into something headfirst, to take the plunge and see what I’d find at the very end of the journey. It had made me eager to help Derek and Sofia, understanding that it would be my first time out of my comfort zone since we’d defeated Brendel and the Spirit Bender.
Kailani giggled, watching me intently. I must’ve dropped out of the conversation, somehow, because she wasn’t the only one with eyes on me. Lumi was just as interested. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“All good,” I said.
We continued our work on the pentagram, while Lumi did her part as my mentor. I caught glimpses of Tristan and Esme as they talked to their parents, Derek and Sofia, and Ben and Rose, wondering what sort of advice they were getting on their end.
“I need you to be careful,” Lumi continued. “While I do encourage you to go out as much as you can—ignoring my earlier resistance, of course—I want you to remember something, Nethi.”
The moon shone down upon her in rays of pearly shimmer, making her look like a creature not from this world, but rather a dream. That was the feeling I usually got with Lumi. We’d known each other for less than two years, and still, she’d become incredibly important in my life.
“What is it?” I asked, placing a ceremonial bowl at one of the pentagram’s corners.
“That there’s danger everywhere,” Lumi replied. “The world is vast and full of wondrous things, but one must always be cautious, especially when there’s a new civilization involved.”
“You don’t know what kind of people they are,” Kailani added, nodding at me. “You don’t know their culture or their habits. Remember when Tristan and Esme came back from the dark jungles of Central Africa, all ruffled and shaken because they’d stumbled upon a small cannibalistic tribe?”
I chuckled softly. “I doubt we’re running into cannibals on Trexus-2.”
“It doesn’t matter. You don’t know what you’re going to run into there,” Lumi insisted. “On top of that, there is a balance in the universe, my darling. You understand that now better than ever, especially after our dealings with Death and the Word. The last thing any of us wants is another conflict with another species.”
“Speaking of, it would’ve been nice to have a Reaper to talk to about this stuff,” I said, kneeling next to another pentagram corner, ready to deposit a ceremonial bowl filled with smelly herbs. “They’d be able to tell us what kind of people live on Trexus-2.”
Kailani let out a cackle, making me regret I’d brought this up. “You miss Seeley, don’t you?”
“Kind of hard to miss someone like that,” I replied, pursing my lips. “It’s not that, Kale. It’s just… You know, he would’ve come in handy, right about now.”
“Right. His usefulness is what makes you look all doe-eyed, as we speak,” Kailani said.
“You’re sounding like a thirteen-year-old again,” I grumbled.
“We cannot have contact with the Reapers anymore,” Lumi replied, taking the conversation back into a more serious tone. It was her way of interfering whenever Kailani was in the mood to tease me about Seeley. I’d made the mistake of telling her I’d found him rather interesting during our Death Squad days, and she’d refused to cut me any slack since. “They belong between worlds, while we’re of the living. The next time we see a Reaper will be the day we die. This is part of the universal balance I was telling you about earlier.”
“Yeah, I get it. Just… the intel would’ve been nice,” I whispered.
“You don’t have that. So, for the thousandth time, just be careful, Nethi,” Lumi replied.
She had a point, in the end. I would’ve liked to tell her and Kailani about the odd sensations I’d been having recently, but I didn’t want more Seeley jokes hurled at me. Kailani had been on a roll for months, regarding this.
It sounded strange to even say it out loud, but I’d felt it more than once—enough to warrant some suspicions that I was, in fact, being watched from between worlds. It never felt like a foreign presence, but rather a familiar one. As if an old friend had been keeping an eye on me, even though I could not see him… or her. Seeley and Kelara’s names had popped into my head several times, but I’d never been able to follow up or investigate in any way.
I’d been left with this sensation that, somehow, sometimes… someone was watching me.
I didn’t want to tell Kailani about the fact that I did actually sort of miss Seeley. I’d thought about him frequently. While I understood Death’s rules about contact with the living, it would’ve been nice if he’d at least said hi once or twice. I doubted he would’ve been punished for it. To be honest, I missed all the Reapers we’d dealt with. Even the Soul Crusher, ever the functioning psychopath.
On some nights, when I lay awake, staring at the moon outside my window, I thought of them. Of what they could be doing. Of where they might be. The Reapers were a peculiar breed, but fascinating, nonetheless. Just knowing that their kind existed had flipped my worldly concepts upside down.
Even now, as I put the ceremonial bowl down, I wondered… What were they up to?
Seeley
; I felt like the ultimate stalker, and yet I couldn’t stay away.
Fortunately, I’d been on an assignment from Death. She’d tasked me with keeping an eye on GASP—not necessarily on Taeral, whom she’d trusted with Thieron until she was free again. No, she’d wanted me to stay close to Derek and Sofia, mostly because she’d learned about the day-walking protein.
I would’ve preferred being out there with Soul and the others, looking for the remaining First Ten, and I’d voiced my concerns to Death. She’d insisted that I do this for her, stating that it would make sense later. Just because she was still under 999 seals did not mean I could question her. Not at all. Her wrath, post-liberation, would’ve been memorable.
However, my presence here had its silver lining, since it meant I could be around Nethissis more often. At times, I could’ve sworn she’d sensed me, but she hadn’t said a word—not a single peep. There was just something about her that kept me hanging around, making it impossible for me to take my eyes off her.
Nethissis was a special creature. I still felt bad for convincing Acantha to sacrifice herself to Eirexis, but I’d done it to save Nethissis from certain death. The decision would haunt me forever, but I did find comfort in knowing that I’d given her a chance to live, to fully explore her marvelous existence.
Even now, as she helped Lumi and Kailani prepare their interplanetary spell, I fought the urge to reveal myself, wondering what her reaction would be if she saw me again—especially after the conversation she’d just had, where my name had been unexpectedly dropped. That had been a pleasant surprise. Copper scales covered the back of her neck, reddish hair flowing loosely over her bare shoulder. Her skin looked soft, glistening like silk in the moonlight. Her voice had the sweetness of honey, and I needed to get a grip, already!
“I think we’ll be ready to leave in a couple of hours, tops,” Lumi said. “We’re waiting for one last shipment of serium batteries for the shuttle, if I’m not mistaken.”
Kailani nodded, glancing at the small ship. “Dmitri!” she shouted. “How long till the batteries get here?”
Dmitri’s head popped up behind the windshield, his black hair ruffled. “An hour, maybe two!”
“Told ya.” Lumi chuckled.
“We already have batteries on board,” Nethissis replied, her brow furrowed. Even when she pouted, she was gorgeous. I worried I might’ve fallen for her. It would’ve been a tragedy, if that was the case. A Reaper and a living creature could never be together. Not only was it impossible to sway Death on the topic, but it didn’t feel right, either, no matter what my feelings for Nethissis were—though, frankly, I wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, that I felt for her; I only knew I wanted to see her again, that I could not get enough of her, and that I’d sort of traded another life for hers... But our worlds were apart, and that was to be the end of it. “What do we need more for?”
“Backup,” Lumi said. “I ordered them last night, after the GASP meeting. I’m putting our past experiences to good use, honey. Don’t worry.”
I finally found the strength to move away from this conversation, focusing on the vampires instead. I’d only seen Tristan and Esme in passing since I’d been assigned to shadow Derek and Sofia, but last night had been a good opportunity to get to know them better. They hadn’t been involved with GASP as much as their peers, but they certainly seemed to have potential.
As they stood to the side, talking to their parents, Derek, Sofia, Rose, and Ben, I noticed their body language. It told me more than their words ever would. Esme, for example, was a fierce creature. Only a few inches shorter than her brother, she knew how to appear imposing, keeping her back straight and chin up at all times, in a military fashion. Her athletic figure helped, as well.
She was the fighter of the two. Tristan was the studious type, but there was a wild side to him, as well. I could see it in his deep green eyes, and I wondered what it would take to bring out the beast in him. Given the protective look he sometimes gave his sister, I figured a threat to Esme might do the trick.
They’d called the planet they were about to visit Trexus-2, but it was better known to its people as Visio. I’d made inquiries about the place, but I hadn’t had a chance to see it for myself. No one had been able to tell me much about it, other than the fact that it had not had a war in over three million years, which was rather impressive. I’d asked the higher circle Reapers to put me in touch with others who’d been there, since I couldn’t leave Derek and Sofia’s side for too long, but I’d yet to hear from them. Understandably, I was curious, as well. Chances were Death would command me to go with them, so I was bound to learn more, soon enough.
All the vampires I’d seen so far were excited about this mission. Most of them yearned to be in the sun again. Even talking about the protein would draw smiles upon their pale faces. From a biological perspective, I could certainly see why they wanted to be able to withstand being in the daylight. The vampires were exquisite predators, held back only by their sun sensitivity.
If that weakness was to be removed, then it would benefit the entire species. I couldn’t even imagine what life would’ve been like had I not been able to enjoy the warm sunlight on my skin, and therefore I couldn’t help but sympathize with their kind.
Derek was lucky, despite his traumatic experience with Ta’Zan. If he hadn’t been abducted and experimented on, he never would’ve learned that there was a way to cure this unpleasant side of vampirism, without losing all the powers and immortality. He could now research this further and bring his dream of day-walking vampirism to everyone else.
I checked my watch, aware that I’d need to report back to Death soon. The remaining seals had rendered her unable to reach me through our telepathic connection, and I’d made a habit of relaying information back to her myself, and not through other Reapers. Allowing myself to slip away from this dimension, I watched space and matter warp themselves around me in colorful swirls, as I set my mind to Aledras, in the In-Between.
Walking between worlds, I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated. I understood that my existence could no longer bump into that of the living—there was a balance required in the universe, overlooked by more than just Death, and there had already been one big mess with the Hermessi, not that long ago. People were still dying, and Reapers were needed to guide them into the world of the dead. That had not changed, and neither had most of our rules.
Of course, some of the tight and, frankly, unnecessary regulations had been scrapped among us agents of Death, but there was still no contact allowed with the living, under any circumstances. As much as I would’ve liked to see Nethissis, Taeral, and the rest of the crew again, to talk to them, to hang out with them… I couldn’t. My tasks kept me busy, more often than not, but I would’ve liked to have this option. I had enjoyed the little time I’d spent with these people.
The Aledrasians were still recovering from what had happened during the ritual. Thousands of them had perished, many of their souls claimed and forced by the Spirit Bender to turn into ravaged and furious specters. I would’ve wanted Death to restore them, much like she’d had me do with the five million fae. I’d asked her about it, and she’d said there was not much she could do for Aledras. Giving life back to the fae had already been quite a stretch, regardless of the way in which they’d died. She couldn’t have done the same for the Aledrasians—not without stirring the wrath of her brethren, other forces of the universe I’d not had the misfortune to meet. I didn’t include the Word here because the Word wouldn’t have given a damn. It was the others that Death had worried about… entities I hoped to never come across.
But the planet looked good. Thieron’s restoring blow had stopped its physical destruction, at least, restoring the lands and the forests, the rivers and the mountains. The Aledrasians had to rebuild some of their cities, and I’d found a sliver of comfort in knowing that they would never suffer like that again. There would be no other Hermessi ritual. Taeral’s unique hybrid nature and ability to
wield Thieron had made that possible.
I reached the frozen lake within seconds of my arrival, thankful for my ability to move through space without being subject to its physical rules. Death lounged on the thick ice, looking bored and drawing stickman figures in the thin layer of snow that had settled. Chains still linked her to the bottom—part of the 999 remaining seals. Runes covered every visible part of her skin, going beneath the silken white robe, as well. All of them seals, too.
Dream, Nightmare, and Kelara looked pretty tired, their legs crossed as they sat around the ice hole into which the chains went. They’d been at the second seal for about eight months, give or take, and they had not managed to crack it yet. The irony did not escape us—it had taken the Spirit Bender mere days to trap Death, but it would take years, at this rate, to free her again.
“Seeley, darling. Give me some good news, please,” Death said, giving me a broad but cold smile as she got up and brushed the snow from her silken robe. “I’m dying of boredom here.”
Not that I could blame her. Her telepathy was under seal, as well. She relied on us Reapers to bring her up to speed, to tell her stories, to entertain her in any way possible. She’d been bound to this place, unable to do anything. It was a miracle she hadn’t gone stir crazy yet—captivity was not something that Death could easily tolerate.
“What’s going on here? Any progress?” I asked, knowing what the answer would be.
I earned myself a trio of scowls from Kelara, Dream, and Nightmare. They were positively drained. “I might’ve figured out the second seal,” Kelara replied. “But I need to be careful as I apply the spell. That’s mainly because my hands are shaking. I’m friggin’ exhausted!”
“No need to get cranky, Kelara, I was merely asking,” I said, raising my hands in a defensive gesture. Dream and Nightmare giggled at one another.
“We’ve been at this for a while.” Dream sighed. “Give the girl a break.”
A Shade of Vampire 78: An Origin of Vampires Page 4