A Shade of Vampire 73: A Search for Death

by Forrest, Bella

  But she had only seen what I’d seen while holding the scythe. Spirits wandering through the endless woods. A sea of green stretching overhead, for miles and miles on end, with the occasional clearing of a waterfall or a river. Cliffs and mountains in the distance. Animals rushing past bushes and through narrow crevices, then more spirits, most of them quiet and wondering what they were doing here.

  “There’s one thing I know for sure,” the girl added as I took the scythe back from Taeral. “I’m not home. I don’t think any of the others are home, either. There are so many species, from worlds I’ve never even heard of.”

  “Do you know what your planet is called, or where it is?” I asked.

  “I could tell you, but would you be able to find it?”

  “Not right now, but I could ask our friends back home. They could look through all the records we have. The more you tell me about your world, the higher the chances of eventually finding it.”

  She lowered her head, her shoulders dropping. “What good would that do? I’m still dead.”

  “Yeah, but maybe someday I’d be able to go there, find your parents or anyone you left behind, people you might know of,” I said. “If you have a message for them, some last words… I don’t know. Closure isn’t a bad thing, is it?”

  The girl smiled, a sense of hopefulness beaming through her. I now understood why they were all semi-transparent, too. It was part of being a ghost. One’s soul manifested in different forms, but for those who had yet to move on, the body they’d left behind was still a part of who they were. The image they’d been born with and had lived with was the only one they knew, the only way they could manifest. Only, without a physical body, they were mere visions, illustrations of the people they’d once been, ethereal and see-through.

  She started to flicker, like a screen breaking, unable to maintain its display. I worried. It didn’t seem like a natural reaction, and she was equally confused. “What… What’s happening?” she asked me.

  “I don’t know. How do you feel?” I replied.

  She thought about it as the flickering intensified. I feared she’d vanish, soon. “Breathless. Heavy. Cold.”

  “What’s going on?” Lumi cut in. She couldn’t see the girl now, but she could tell from my expression that something was off.

  “I’m not sure. It’s like she’s about to… Oh.” My voice faded as the blue girl disappeared into thin air. “She’s gone. She simply vanished.” I turned around, looking for her, but there was no sign. Even worse, the other spirits lingering around us had begun to flicker as well. I described what I was seeing, but neither Lumi nor the rest of our crew had an answer as to why this was happening.

  All I knew was that it felt wrong.

  I glanced up and saw someone standing at the top of the cliff, several feet from the waterfall. He wasn’t flickering, but he was watching us intently. He wore a long tunic—black, with a tall, white collar and white sleeves. His hair was long and blond, combed back in a neat fashion. His almond-shaped eyes peered right into my soul. His cheekbones were high and razor-sharp, and his ears were long and pointed. I’d never seen creatures like him before. Not exactly, anyway. Not with his peculiar features.

  “What do you see?” Lumi asked, following my gaze.

  “If I were to venture a guess, I’d say a Reaper,” I murmured, remembering what Yamani had told us about the Reaper uniforms. Black and white. Adding this guy’s outfit to the fact that no one but me could see him and that he wasn’t flickering and vanishing like the others, my conclusion seemed fair. This was a Reaper who didn’t want to be seen. But I had the scythe. Even if he wanted to hide from me, I had a feeling he couldn’t. Then again, there was so much we’d yet to learn about their kind. I was operating on assumptions and personal experience.

  “Is that why the souls are vanishing?” Eira wondered.

  “Good question,” I replied. “Maybe. But I don’t think they’re doing it on purpose. I think he’s doing something to cause this,” I added, nodding at the presumed Reaper, who watched me like a hawk.

  Up to this point, we had more questions than answers. We still didn’t know where we were, but it was a world riddled with ghosts. We’d figured out that only someone holding a Reaper’s scythe could see them, and we also knew that these souls came from different worlds—clustered here for some reason, not knowing what they were doing or why they were here.

  On top of that, there was a Reaper-looking dude watching us, and I was becoming more and more convinced that his presence had caused the ghosts’ flickering disappearance. Oh, definitely more questions than answers… and I feared that guy wouldn’t tell us anything about it. Not unless we made him.

  And therein lies the challenge. Catching another Reaper and getting him to talk.

  Taeral

  “Should we go up there?” I asked.

  Amelia shrugged. “We could try. I’m not sure he’d tell us anything. Plus, I’m really worried we might stumble upon another psycho-Reaper situation,” she said. “It could be a long shot, but I think I’m justified in my concern, given our introduction to Reapers.”

  “Fair point,” Raphael replied. “But still. He should know where we are, at least. Phoenix is obviously not close to an answer. The clock is still ticking.”

  Amelia handed me the scythe. “Here. Look up at the waterfall’s edge. Left side, beneath that tall tree.”

  I took it and found myself staring at him. He matched Amelia’s description perfectly. Tall, black-and-white tunic, long blond hair, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. I couldn’t see his scythe anywhere, but I figured Reapers wouldn’t make a habit of flashing such a precious weapon, anyway. My determination grew with every moment that passed. The longer we stayed here, the less we would learn.

  To my dismay, the Reaper stepped back, out of sight. I reached out to the others. “Quick, link hands. He’s gone.”

  I teleported us atop the waterfall, where I’d last seen him. From up here, the river roared as it dropped below, cascading over the jagged rocks. The wind blew, sharp and chilly, and the view was downright stunning—just rippling waves of green bamboo and aspen-like woods, as green as raw emeralds and as deep as the ocean itself.

  But the Reaper was nowhere to be found.

  “Do you see him?” Lumi asked, and I shook my head in response.

  “Yeah, he definitely doesn’t want to talk to us,” Amelia grumbled, pursing her lips.

  “Semper Telluris, Taeral!” Varga’s voice came through in my head, my insides buzzing as our connection lit up across who knew how many galaxies and solar systems. Semper Telluris allowed Varga to communicate with all of us, as a modified Druid spell. All he needed was to call out one name in the group—in this case, mine, and we’d all be able to hear him. “Are you guys okay?”

  “We are, for now,” I replied, slightly amused and equally irritated.

  “What’s wrong? You don’t sound okay,” Varga shot back.

  I chuckled. “You know me so well.”

  “Turns out this world we’re in, it’s got the creep factor cranked up to eleven,” Amelia interjected. “It’s full of ghosts from different planets, and none of them know how they got here or what they’re supposed to do here. Also, we spotted a Reaper, but he’s gone now.”

  “Whoa. You can see ghosts?” Eva exclaimed, understandably shocked.

  “Yeah, the scythe. Yamani’s scythe,” Amelia replied. “Anyone who touches it can see ghosts and Reapers freely. We just figured it out ourselves.”

  “Oh, good, so you’re not hallucinating!” Herakles laughed.

  Amelia narrowed her eyes, making Raphael stifle a chuckle. “I see why you two are friends now,” she muttered to Raphael, who gave her a soft shoulder squeeze in return.

  “I’d like you even if your mind was shoddy, don’t worry,” he whispered. Whether he’d meant for the rest of us to hear that or not, I wasn’t sure, but it certainly got a reaction out of Amelia. Her jaw nearly dropped.

  However, s
omething bothered me, besides the Reaper who’d just dodged us. Specifically, I was beginning to doubt we’d make it back to Calliope in time. It gnawed at my stomach, and I didn’t like it one bit, but Raphael had said something that made sense. The clock was ticking, indeed.

  “Listen, Varga, while Phoenix tries to locate us, you guys should go ahead with Mortis, once you find it,” I said, displeasure oozing from my tone. I didn’t mean it, but I had to be honest, at least with myself—I really wanted us to be with Varga and the whole crew, looking for Death, instead of wandering through these woods and literally chasing ghosts and Reapers. “Finding Death is top priority right now, and I don’t want you waiting for us to do it.”

  “Ugh. That’s what I was going to talk to you about,” Varga replied. “The crew and I were talking about the same thing. Chances are we’ll find Mortis and the Nekronos system before we find you. Some old texts have come in from the Druid archives. They managed to dig them out a couple of hours ago, and there was mention of the Nekronos system in there.”

  “Which is amazing!” Lumi exclaimed. “Tae is right, though. As soon as you know where it is, you should go. GASP will come to our rescue once they figure out where we are. If we can, we’ll join you on Mortis afterward, but in the meantime, keep at it.”

  “We’ll catch up,” I added reassuringly.

  “Okay. We’ll do that,” Varga said. “You be careful out there. Don’t get involved with murderous Reapers again.”

  He chuckled, then silence settled over our Telluris connection again. It prompted a scoff from Amelia. “See? I’m not being paranoid.”

  “Never said you were. Only, this time, we know how to handle ourselves with one of these,” I replied, showing her the scythe. “And we’re certainly able to anticipate particular moves, especially if they try to get Hermessi on our tails again.”

  I meant it, too. We’d learned a lot from our encounter with Yamani, not just about Reapers but about the Hermessi and the lengths they were willing to go to in order to catch us. It motivated me like crazy to know that I was on the elementals’ most wanted list.

  “What now?” Eira asked.

  “We keep going,” I replied. “Might as well, since we’re here. If we bump into that Reaper again, even bet—” I stopped, the hairs on the back of my neck raising. Shivers tickled my spine. I felt watched. Someone had their eyes on me, whether they wanted me to know it or not. That didn’t happen often, and I was inclined to believe it was because of the scythe I was still holding.

  I looked over my shoulder and past the waterfall. Down by the stream, where we’d been earlier, the Reaper stood. His eyes were on me. I knew I’d sensed something.

  “Do you see him again?” Lumi whispered.

  “Mm-hm. No ghosts, though. Just him,” I said.

  “What is he doing?” she replied.

  “Same as before. Watching me.”

  “This is getting annoying,” Amelia muttered.

  “I agree.” I sighed, then braced myself for what would come next. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait, what?” Raphael hissed, but I was no longer there to reply.

  I teleported myself down by the stream, only to find the Reaper gone. Cursing under my breath, I looked around again, my heart throbbing with anticipation. If this was a game he was playing, I was more than willing to join in until I caught him. If he was simply avoiding us and watching from a distance, again, that wouldn’t fly with me. I moved better on my own, and I knew the crew would understand that.

  They said something from atop the waterfall, but I didn’t register the words, only the irritated tones. Instead, I kept watching the woods, until I spotted him about fifty yards south of where I stood. I zapped myself there, but he was gone once more. This time, however, I was quick to spot him about twenty yards to my left.

  I dug into my fae-and-jinni nature and made myself disappear, then teleported myself to his spot. Again, he eluded me, already farther away from me.

  “I see everything that’s living,” I heard him say, his tone brimming with amusement. He was taunting me. The arrogant jerk was taunting me!

  Think fast. Reapers walked between worlds. They could make themselves unseen to the living and to the dead, as they wished or needed. It was a different kind of invisibility, one which pertained to planes of existence. My ability was natural and physical, merely an optical illusion.

  Therefore, I had to figure out another way to make myself invisible. One that would fool a Reaper. If that was a possibility, I’d need a Reaper’s set of skills, perhaps… or his multi-powered weapon?

  Remembering the scythe in my hand, the thought I had brewing grew with the grace and strength of something much more willful… like an implanted thought. It didn’t sound like me, but I could swear that it was beckoning me to ask it. The blade shimmered gently, as if coaxing me into making my demand.

  Giving in to that thought, I pushed myself to believe I could get it to make me disappear like Yamani had done back on Hellym. He’d had that ability without holding the scythe, too, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I could get it to help me this time. I really wanted to talk to this guy, and he wasn’t making it easy. On the contrary, he was practically laughing in my face.

  I exhaled sharply, strained already from trying to will a mere object into doing what I wanted. I want to walk between worlds. I want to walk between worlds like a Reaper. I thought that, repeatedly, my gaze fixed on my target, the blond-haired Reaper. Nothing happened. Or, at least, nothing felt different. I sensed a minor drop in the temperature around me, but that could easily be attributed to the ground-level currents coming from the waterfall. Either way, it appeared that the Reaper scythe didn’t work like I wanted it to. But the Reaper’s expression changed. He seemed confused. A second later he vanished and reappeared thirty yards farther to the left. Still, he looked around like he couldn’t see me.

  This is odd.

  Looking down, I understood his confusion. I could no longer see myself either. A grin stretched my lips as I realized that the scythe had worked after all. It had made me invisible, even to the Reaper—I was between planes of existence now. Nothing around me seemed different in any way. There wasn’t anything to suggest a change in dimensions. Still, he couldn’t see me anymore. How was this possible? I’d considered it a long shot to begin with, given the little we’d learned about Reapers. The scythe allowed its holder to see the dead and the Reapers, yes. It was uncertain, though, whether it allowed Reapers to hide from other Reapers, like I’d just done right now. Setting my confusion aside, I decided to take advantage of this.

  I teleported myself over to where he stood.

  “Looking for me?” I asked, smiling, from behind him.

  He turned around, eyes wide with shock. “How’d you do that?”

  “Ah, so you can see me again,” I observed, glancing down. Indeed, I was visible again. Up to this point, I could turn invisible with the scythe, but teleporting myself canceled that out. Okay. Good to know.

  He moved back and was most likely about to vanish again. My hand shot out as I brought the scythe’s blade up to his throat. “You should stay for a while,” I retorted. “We need to talk.”

  “You shouldn’t have that,” he said, glowering at my scythe.

  “Finders keepers,” I said. “What’s going on here? Why did the ghosts disappear? Did you have something to do with this?”

  He sneered. “My colleagues were right. You’re not as dumb as you look.”

  “Again with the rudeness. What is wrong with you people?” I groaned, rolling my eyes. “I simply asked you a question. Why do you feel the need to insult me?”

  “Because that scythe doesn’t belong to you, and it’s an insult to all of us that you get to strut around with it!” he spat.

  Oh, I’d hit a nerve. “Its owner tried to kill us so he could turn into a ghoul. I think it’s fair that we keep it. Now, tell me, where are we?”

  “I’m not here to answer your questions.�
�

  “You should, though. I’m the one holding a blade to your throat.”

  “You can’t kill me with it.”

  I cocked my head to the side. It was time to take a gamble, since the thought had already begun worming its way through my head since I’d managed to turn invisible. “Are you sure about that? So far, this nifty little thing has helped me vanish, like you. And I’m not a Reaper. Doesn’t that concern you? Doesn’t that mean that I might be able to do more with it?”

  He didn’t answer straightaway, but I could almost feel him itching to get as far away from me as possible. There was fear mingling with the stars in his eyes—an indigo night sky reflected between those eyelids, as eerie as Yamani’s and the guy who killed him.

  “You give yourself a little too much credit,” he said.

  “Why is it so hard to answer a simple question?” I replied.

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “You know, I heard all about you. Word travels fast among my people. I just can’t, for the life of me, understand why Seeley didn’t take the scythe away from you after he was done with Yamani.”

  I smirked. “We were busy getting away from the Hermessi. See? I answered your question. Try answering one of mine, and you’ll see how well we get along.”

  He clicked his teeth in annoyance. “Yes.”

  “Yes what?” I asked.

  “I’m the reason why the spirits are vanishing. It’s temporary, though. I’m just trying to herd them all back in one place,” he said.

  I wanted to commend him for giving me a straight answer, but I decided to go with a follow-up, first. He clearly wouldn’t tell me where we were, but I thought I’d bombard him with location-adjacent questions until he let something useful slip.

  “Herding them? They’re not cattle. Why are you… herding them?”

  “Because it’s a cleanup operation!” he yelped as my scythe’s blade got dangerously closer to his skin. He was definitely and undeniably afraid of it. Of me. “I’ve got a cranky boss, and she’s making a mess, and I’m having to clean up.”