“Are you sure?” Raphael replied, his voice low and his gaze set on Baethal. “We could keep them busy here.”
“They’ll come after me, whatever we do,” I whispered. “You can keep them busy outside the palace, while Eira, Lumi, and I go in.”
“Makes sense,” Herakles chimed in. He looked at Riza. “You ready to kick some Reaper asses?”
Riza giggled. “Frankly, I look forward to seeing what these creepers can do.”
Lumi gave me an approving nod. “We’ll have to be fast,” she said. “You know they won’t let you out of their sight.”
At first, I’d thought the Reapers would be skittish about anyone else holding the scythe—but that meant they would’ve intervened much sooner, since Amelia had been in possession of it. No, things got extra tense after I’d taken hold of it, which reinforced my decision to bring the whole crew with me to the palace. From there, they’d keep the Reapers at bay for as long as they could, using every single weapon and spell and ability in their arsenal. All I needed were a few seconds to zap myself, Eira, and Lumi inside, where Death was bound to be waiting.
From there, we’d see what would happen. But we had to get there first.
“You’re remarkably stubborn.” Baethal sighed. “I’m afraid you’ve left me with no other choice but to kill you, Taeral, Prince of the Fire Star.”
He knew my full title, though that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Even so, it didn’t deter me. On the contrary. It made me feel like this was a good opportunity to show him and the rest of his cohort why I’d been given that title and why, one day, I would lead the Fire Star.
“It’s going to get crazy, fast,” I muttered. Taking Eira’s hand in mine to begin with, I nodded. “Link hands.”
One by one, as the Reapers descended upon us, my crew connected physically to one another, until we were all linked. I took a deep breath, and we vanished, shortly before the scythes came down from multiple angles, glistening blades aching for our throats.
In the split second of darkness that followed, I braced myself for what would come next. For Death wouldn’t let herself be approached with ease…
Taeral
This was as close as I’d gotten to the waterfall palace. I’d managed to teleport us all outside the beautiful structure, its paper walls and sturdy, red-painted wooden frame towering over us. The modular roofs looked even bigger from where we now stood, like slate-stone giants bending beneath the weight of the sky itself. From inside, candlelight flickered in every room. The plateau was simple and covered in short grass, and waterfalls gushed from beneath, pouring down into the ring-shaped pond from which streams began to slip outward through the tall forest. The sound of running water overlapped with the tomb-like silence of this place.
Amelia walked over to the edge and looked down the mountain, while Varga used his True Sight to survey the woods and the palace’s interior. The pull I’d felt earlier was even stronger now, my body fighting to stand in one place, every muscle tense in its resistance. I could barely think straight, my chest aching.
“Oh, this isn’t good,” Amelia said, looking at me. Her expression said it all. “I can see ghosts, even without your scythe, and they’re making their way up the mountain.”
“Quite a few,” I mumbled, also worried the Reapers weren’t far behind. The rest of the crew spread out, ready for a violent offensive from multiple angles and determined to allow Lumi, Eira, and me to get inside.
“Hundreds,” Amelia replied.
“What’s the view from the inside, Varga?” I asked, bracing myself for the worst.
“Um… Not much, I’m afraid. Something’s blocking my True Sight,” he said. “It’s all fuzzy and smoky and… I’m sorry, I can’t see anything in there. But I can tell you there are more spirits coming through the woods. They’re all moving like they have no other choice.”
“It’s like this place has its own supernatural alarm system,” Lumi grumbled. “As soon as we set foot here, the ghosts were basically activated, forced to come here and take us on.”
“That, and the Reapers, too,” Raphael said, gazing into the distance. “I can see fleeting glimmers across the sky, getting closer. There’s no time left. Tae, you need to move!”
I didn’t wait to be told twice. Taking Eira’s and Lumi’s hands, I gave Amelia a brief nod. “Good luck out here.”
“I’m more worried about you three right now,” she croaked.
The three of us rushed across the grassy plateau and up the wooden stairs, which had been painted black and covered in a smooth lacquer. I could almost see our reflections on the surface. We made our way to the top and stopped in front of the massive double doors, which, unlike the walls, had been made from gold, sculpted with ample mythological scenes of warriors and dragons. I couldn’t help but wonder where the story had come from, because it didn’t seem Earthly at all, and it certainly didn’t ring any bell from the Supernatural Dimension or the In-Between. This was folklore from another, unknown world, for sure, eerily similar to the ancient Chinese, though. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, since people from other cultures and other dimensions had made their way to Earth, before.
“I doubt there’s a bell we can ring,” Lumi said.
Behind us, swords screeched and clanged. A vicious fight had already erupted in the few seconds we’d spent crossing the plateau. Our crew was surrounded by ghosts that could touch them and the Reapers we’d left behind earlier. We only had moments to get in before Baethal and his cohort realized we weren’t among those on our team.
I teleported us beyond the double doors, with little concern as to whether that would be possible. The burning pain in my chest had been confirmation enough that I was closer to my target now than seconds ago.
Inside, it was quiet. Wall lamps made of polished wood and silk paper glimmered down the hallway, casting a soft, yellow light. On both sides, rooms were lined up all the way to the end of the corridor, with beautifully painted screens acting as sliding doors. But there was no one inside.
We moved through the hallway, carefully looking to our left and our right. The rooms were decorated sensibly, with soft, dark-colored carpets and low beds, bamboo tables, and chairs with delicate carvings. The paintings on the walls drew my attention—each of them depicted a single character, a beautiful young woman with white skin, lips as red as summer cherries, and long, flowing hair. The scenes varied across the rooms, from the young woman filling a pitcher of water from a white, foaming river to her riding a tall, black stallion, a long-handled scythe in her hand as the full moon rose behind her.
“This is where she lives,” I murmured. “This is her home…”
“So many rooms. I wonder who else is here with her,” Eira replied, eyes wide as she tried to take it all in. Despite her calm voice, her tremors were visible. She was overwhelmed by this entire moment, and I couldn’t blame her. A little over a week ago, she was still commanding a garrison of Cerixian troops, barely aware of who she was and what was about to be thrown at her.
“Can you smell that?” Lumi asked, her nostrils flaring.
I took a deep breath and caught the delicate scent. It was floral, but not too sweet. Intense, but not powerful. The combination made my skin tingle, as the fragrance didn’t seek to invade us, but rather charm and welcome us—a stark contrast to what was happening outside.
“It’s jasmine,” I said, finally putting my finger on it. “Some kind of essential oil, I think.”
At the end of the hallway, two screen doors awaited. Beyond, four colored lights could be seen, like fuzzy watercolors splashed against the white paper. On both sides of the doors, two small black tables had been set. On top of them, fragrance diffusers worked their magic—candles burned beneath the black clay bowls, in which water had been mixed with the very essential oil I’d just mentioned. I could see the greasy pearls as they lingered in the water, gradually evaporating. The scent was significantly sharper here.
I exhaled, glancing at Eira
and Lumi. “Are you ready? We’re not sure what awaits beyond these doors.”
“It can’t be worse than what’s outside,” Lumi replied.
I smiled and pushed the screens to the side, revealing a wider hallway, with more rooms opening on each side. My heart jumped up in my throat at the sight of what stood at the end. Four Hermessi figures, four humanoid flames burning brightly white, blue, orange, and green. I held my breath for a moment.
“I take back my previous statement,” Lumi mumbled.
I noticed the soft sheen of her skin. It was as if light flowed through her veins, and she wasn’t even aware of it. I figured it had something to do with the Word, and I had to take it as a positive sign—maybe her power would help us soon, because I had no idea how we might be able to get past those Hermessi. Granted, I could try teleporting us again, but what if that no longer worked here? I had to consider all options.
This was Death’s home, and I doubted she’d make it easy. I worried that our advance so far could very well be in vain, that it had only served as a means to get our hopes up before mercilessly crushing them.
“They’re not moving,” Eira said, staring at the Hermessi.
I recognized their colors. Air and Earth stood by the left of the doors, while Fire and Water settled on the right. And, just like Eira had noticed, they were still, simply standing there. Fear threatened to cloud my judgment, but Death’s pull was even stronger. Every step I took was bringing me closer to her, and the connection was simply undeniable.
“We should keep moving. See what happens,” I whispered.
Cautious in our movements, we stepped forward. After we passed by the first rooms, we stopped, freezing on the spot. They had décor similar to that of the chambers before, with paintings of Death on the walls. Only these ones were inhabited by spirits, which simply stood close to the sliding screens and watched us. There were two of them in each room, I realized—mostly males and females from different species, all of them dressed in white, silken robes, translucent.
“Keep walking,” Lumi advised us.
Eventually, the three of us managed to move again, passing by the rest of the rooms. By now, we’d counted about a hundred ghosts, pairs silently watching us. I couldn’t ignore the sad look in their eyes, though I wasn’t sure who it was that they were feeling sad for—us or themselves.
Ahead, the Hermessi were still, but I could feel them watching. I sensed the rush of wind through my veins, the trickle of water down my spine, the blaze of fire in the pit of my stomach, and the earthly weight in my feet. Nevertheless, I kept walking, with Eira and Lumi by my side.
“It could be they’re not attacking because Death commanded them not to,” Eira suggested, her voice shaky. That calm demeanor from earlier had dissolved into an understandable state of dread, which, if I were to be truly honest, we all shared. But like I’d said to Baethal earlier, we’d come too far to stop now.
We reached the Hermessi, and only ten feet stood between us and what lay beyond those double screen doors. A stylized depiction of Death had been painted across the paper, beautifully framed by the shiny black wood. It showed her sitting in a massive throne with gilded details, the long-handled scythe in one hand and a red apple in the other. It had to mean something, though I wasn’t sure what.
From here, we had to get past the Hermessi and hopefully find Death. But the elementals shuddered, their flames releasing sparks in shades of white, blue, green, and orange, their heads tilting toward us. My chest tightened, as I wondered whether we had any real shot at saving our people. It was the wrong time and the wrong place to harbor such doubts, but I couldn’t help it. Yes, we’d made it here, by some twist of fate, but what guarantee was there that we’d ever live to tell the tale?
Right then and there, I thought about my father, now sick and fallen under the Hermessi’s influence. My mother, her strength and resolve tested by these dire circumstances. The almost four million fae that had succumbed to this ritual, so far. Inalia, who’d been forced to sacrifice herself and become a Hermessi in order to save her planet.
Eira, whose hand held mine so tight, it broke my heart—mainly because I knew that it could easily be the last time we’d ever feel each other like this. Lumi, whose glow had intensified with every step she’d taken so far. Our friends outside, likely still fighting murderous ghosts and stubborn, rule-abiding Reapers. Every agent of GASP in The Shade, in the Supernatural Dimension, and the In-Between, fighting to stop the Hermessi cultists from spreading the elementals’ influence… caring for the afflicted fae in their sanctuaries… struggling to make sense of this mess and tirelessly working to stop the end of days from wiping everything and everyone off the map.
And, as I thought about each and every one of them… I understood. There was no certainty that we’d succeed. There was no promise of a safe tomorrow, even if we did avert this apocalypse. The only thing I knew for a fact was that, as long as there was breath in my lungs, rhythm in my heart, and hope in my soul, I could do everything in my power to make it happen. To secure our survival.
This was part of it.
Amelia
We were woefully overwhelmed. Acantha and Nethissis threw everything they had at the Reapers—pulse after pulse of bright lights that barely grazed them, fireballs they disintegrated with their scythes, and shards of blue energy that merely cut the fabric of their uniforms.
Raphael and Fallon handled the brute force offensive, casting fire attacks and engaging some of the Reapers in physical fights, fists and legs ramming and kicking and blocking. Herakles, Varga, Eva, and I handled most of the ghosts, using whatever weapons and abilities we had between us.
Riza zapped herself across the platform, casting spells to at least slow the spirits down, but nothing we did seemed to work. Minutes had passed, and we were all still standing, though I wasn’t sure for how long. I sported several deep cuts on my legs and my right hip, Raphael was bleeding profusely from a back wound, and Herakles was so bruised and battered, his left eye struggled to stay open.
Varga panted, his movements alarmingly sluggish, as Theoth swerved around him and slashed his shoulder with the scythe. Eva quickly swooped in and dragged her claws down Theoth’s back before she vanished under a pile of her clothes. A long snake emerged, with emerald-and-golden scales and a black belly. It was Eva, making good use of her Druid nature, which she’d fully retained after transitioning into a vampire. I lost sight of her during the melee, but I heard several Reapers screaming from what had to be her painful bite.
Our biggest problem was that the Reapers could easily shift from their visible to their subtle forms, thus making it incredibly difficult for us to watch our backs at all times. From what I could tell, however, despite the burning pain that spread through my whole body from their scythe cuts, they could only attack us in their visible forms. Yamani had gone invisible to evade us and taunt us, and his colleagues here were doing the same.
“Tell me you’ve noticed it,” Raphael breathed, just as he dodged Baethal’s scythe.
“What, that we’re getting our asses handed to us?” I asked.
A few more minutes, and we’d all be on the ground. Fallon was the first to go down, after one of the Reapers materialized behind him and kicked him in the back with such crippling strength that it knocked the air out of his lungs. Varga moved to protect him, but Wrik was faster, coming at him with his scythe and a cold grin.
“No! They’re not trying to kill us,” Raphael said and dashed to the right, moving around Baethal. His wings burst out, confusing the Reaper, and Raphael took advantage of his momentary confusion to bring his claws up, dead set on piercing Baethal’s ribcage.
“Holy crap,” I murmured, my eyes wide as I realized that he was, in fact, right. The Reapers were incredibly fast and aggressive in their offensive, but none of the blows they’d delivered so far were deadly. I doubted they would have had much trouble killing us, if they really wanted to. Clearly, they didn’t, and I’d been so wrapped up in fight
ing them that I’d failed to notice this precious little detail.
Baethal vanished and reappeared a few yards back, his eyes narrowed as he carefully analyzed the skirmish. He tapped a nail on the scythe’s blade, and the sound of a large bell rippled outward, bringing the entire fight to a sudden halt.
At once, all the Reapers disappeared from our ranks and joined Baethal. The ghosts froze as well, staring at us with empty eyes. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breath cut short, and my wounds stinging worse than any other injury I’d sustained until now. The scythes were definitely capable of inflicting a startling amount of pain, deeper and sharper than regular blades.
Fallon managed to push himself up into a kneeling position, blood dripping from his cracked brow ridge. Fortunately, his vampire nature would heal that and the rest of his bruises and gashes in no time. The same couldn’t be said about Herakles, who was in dire need of at least one of the witches’ blue bottles to recover. Riza moved to his side, one arm around his waist to help him stand. The Faulty was wobbling on his feet.
“Something’s off,” Baethal announced. “Taeral isn’t here.”
“And neither is that elemental daughter and the bossy swamp witch,” Wrik added, frowning.
“Took you a while.” Raphael chuckled, unabashed in his contempt.
The Reapers all went pale at once, the realization hitting them so hard, it was almost comical. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, despite the pulsating pain in my legs and hip. They’d been so busy fighting and pretending to be trying to kill us that they hadn’t even seen Taeral, Lumi, and Eira slip past the palace’s gilded double doors.
The uh-oh look on their faces was priceless, but the ease with which they’d stopped the fight, including the ghosts, did startle me. That same ease could be used to kick it all back into motion and terminate us out of sheer spite—for we’d distracted them from their true mission, just as Taeral had suspected earlier.
A Shade of Vampire 73: A Search for Death Page 22