“Welcome to the family,” Unending said, moving away from Tristan and closer to Nethissis. “I may not have much to give in terms of a welcome gift, but… could I have your blade for a second?”
Nethissis nodded and gave her the scythe. The other Reapers watched, equal parts curious and fascinated, as Unending brought the blade up to her lips and whispered something into it. The weapon glowed white for a moment, then Unending handed it back to Nethissis.
“It’s a protection spell,” the first Reaper said. “If you ever drop it, regardless of the reason, it will always make its way back into your hand.”
Widow offered his own scythe to Unending. “That’s cool. Want to hit the rest of us up with some of that mojo? We never learned the spell for it.”
The Reapers laughed. “Oh, come on, brother. You know we can’t all have it,” Soul replied, “First of all, producing that spell for each Reaper would drain our poor sister for years to come. Second, since when do you need a magical keychain for your weapon? You are perfectly capable of holding on to your weapon, you oaf.”
“Then why give the spell to Nethissis?” Widow grumbled.
“Because she’s new,” Unending said. “And she’s earned it after everything she’s done, despite her being… you know, dead.”
“Speaking of,” Dream muttered and snatched Widow’s gimp mask, revealing his gorgeously handsome face. Even now, I found my heart skipping beats whenever I saw it. “Did you know about this?”
Death didn’t seem at all surprised. In fact, she wasn’t following Dream at all. “What are you talking about?”
“Did you know he was this hot?!” Dream replied.
Widow reached for his mask but failed to get it before Dream passed it on to Nightmare, then to Time, who gave it to the Night Bringer. They passed it around, just out of his reach, only to piss Widow off some more. “You’re all being exceptionally immature,” the Reaper snapped, still struggling to retrieve his head cover.
“Of course. I made him, remember?” Death said, somewhat amused. “It was part of the reason for his creation in the first place. I like to surround myself with beautiful things.”
Widow stilled, and for a moment, I could swear he was blushing as he gave Death a sheepish half-smile. Morning finally took pity and gave back his mask, which he quickly slipped back on. “Thank you,” he said.
“Let him hide himself,” Death cajoled the Reapers. “If that is what makes him comfortable, let him have it. You’re not children.”
She turned to face the rest of us from GASP, putting on a brighter face. “I owe you all a great debt of gratitude,” Death said. “I offer you a favor, when no one and nothing else can help you. When all hope is lost, and I am capable of assisting you, reach out. Pray to me, and I will heed your call.”
Derek and Sofia exchanged a quick glance. “Thank you,” Derek said. “Though I wish you’d gotten here sooner this time around.”
“Let’s not dwell on what happened,” Death replied dryly, and I found her evasiveness suspicious. Unfortunately, she wasn’t one to discuss what she could’ve done better—that much I’d learned from this entire ordeal. Death did not like to be reprimanded, especially not by the living. “Let us focus on what the future holds instead.”
“Actually, I would like to address this,” Derek insisted, and I was right there with him, much like the others in our crew, but I knew Death wouldn’t let him have what he wanted. “You have been keeping precious information from us. You wanted Spirit to come back just so you could… what, punish him? We all died, quite literally, for your whims. It’s not okay.”
Death shot him a cold stare. “You’ll learn to live with it,” she said, ending the conversation before she turned her attention to the huddled mass of Trakkians and black-cloaked Darklings. “There is something else I need to deal with.” Raising her voice, she addressed the former Aeternae. “Those of you who served the Spirit Bender, step forth, please.”
When no one dared to move a muscle, Death shouted.
“Step forth! Please!”
One of the silver guards nudged one of the surviving Darklings forward. The others soon followed suit, and within minutes there were about fifty Darkling Trakkians standing in the open space between us and the gathered horde. Ridan watched them quietly, letting the occasional grumble leave his thick throat.
Death walked toward them, motioning for the dragon to stand back. “You may turn back now,” she told him. “Your people are safe.”
Ridan resumed his humanoid form, and Amane was right there to hand him a pair of pants from her backpack. Soon afterward, the remaining dragons had turned, as well, staying close to their Perfect and Arch-Perfect battalions. I caught a glimpse of Heath as he rushed into one of the shuttles for a change of clothes. It was hard not to laugh at this point, and I was thankful that I didn’t have this issue myself. Then again, I didn’t have any issues at all, except for my mortality.
“You. You’re all that remains of the Darkling faction?” Death asked. None of the Darklings answered. “A little courtesy won’t kill you.”
One of them finally spoke up. “Yes. We’re all that’s left.”
“You committed unspeakable horrors in this world,” Death replied. “You used magic that wasn’t yours to use. You deprived countless souls of an afterlife. You destroyed Reapers and turned them to ghouls for your selfish purpose. Do you understand that?”
Again, no answer. It made her scoff and shake her head in dismay.
“We were taught to believe that it was the only way for us to save our people from the Black Fever. The only way for us to retain our immortality,” the first Darkling said, his voice shaky.
“You are responsible for grave offenses against the universe itself—not to mention my child,” Death replied, pointing a finger at Unending. “You’re mortal now, anyway, so all your efforts have been in vain. And still, I feel like it’s not enough. You’ll die someday, and you’ll get the benefit of an afterlife yourselves, even though you stripped so many innocents of it.”
She raised Thieron to her side, its blade humming angrily. The Darklings took a couple of steps back, visibly terrified and clearly understanding what would come next.
“You don’t deserve an afterlife. I think your place is in the nothingness,” she added, then swung Thieron from left to right. The movement caused a ripple to dance through the air. Once it reached the Darklings, it killed them all. One by one, they dropped like flies, their eyes empty and lifeless.
That was it. That was the end of the Darklings. I’d waited for this moment for a long time, and its arrival brought tears to my eyes as I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. We’d finally prevailed, and the Darklings had gotten their just desserts. The solemn silence that followed weighed heavily on everyone, particularly on the Trakkians.
I wasn’t sure how much they’d been told by Corbin and the Darklings prior to arriving here, but I knew they were also complicit. They’d chosen to fight us even though the Time Master had given them the chance to do the right thing. I understood desperation, but I couldn’t condone what they’d done. I couldn’t accept their reasoning, not when it had come at such a high cost for so many innocents.
Death seemed to be on the same page, as she addressed them next. “You were all a part of it,” she said, loud enough for all the Trakkians to hear. Her voice traveled beyond Roano, blowing through the masses like a biting, unforgiving gust of cold wind. “You didn’t question the way things were. You accepted that your immortality was your single most precious possession, and instead of surrendering it to save yourselves from the Black Fever forever, you chose to march against the very people who could stop this awful curse from ever coming back. You, much like so many other selfish creatures, thought you could have it all.”
She paused and took a deep breath.
“Well, you cannot. This is the end of the line for you. The end of the Aeternae. The demise of your empire. You will live mortal lives, and you will spend the rest of
your days dealing with the fact that you could’ve done better for yourselves and those who tried to help you. Unending came to Visio and gave you a most precious gift, but you spat in her face and joined forces with Spirit to keep her trapped and miserable. Your selfishness is unforgivable, but I know that when you give your last breaths, you will all understand why this had to happen.”
“It’s not right!” one of the Trakkians blurted.
“We were meant to live forever!” another cried out. “What are we supposed to do now?!”
“You will live whatever time you have left,” Death replied bluntly, “in shame and desolation. Your rule over Rimia and Nalore will end, as well. There is no reason for them to fear you anymore. No reason for them to serve you. History will remember your generation as failures but also as stepping stones into a new world. Your children will grow up and learn from your mistakes. They will usher in a new era, where people live and accept their mortality. Where they take part in maintaining the balance of the universe.”
“No!” a third Trakkian shot back. “No! We’re not responsible for what happened to… to Unending! Mira and Kemi! The Seniors! They did it! Not us!”
Death looked over her shoulder to see Mira and Kemi still standing, tall and noble, unafraid of whatever judgment she would pass. “Mira, Kemi, and all the other Seniors were isolated on islands by the Darklings because they understood that what they had done was wrong. They felt regret and acted upon it. You, on the other hand, seem to want to blame someone else for your own participation in these atrocities. Fortunately, your egos don’t matter. Your words are empty and meaningless. Go. Go, spread out, try to move on with your lives. You shall never be immortal again, so make sure the lives you lead have meaning. Be better. Try harder. Show some decency. Now, get out of my sight. All of you.”
She waved them away with Thieron, and all the Trakkians vanished into thin air. Death turned around to face us once more, looking exhausted as she addressed Unending. “See? This is what I meant about cleaning up your mess,” she said. “All you had to do was unmake them when I asked.”
Unending scoffed, unwilling to concede that point. “Had I done that, your hind would’ve been in great trouble. It’s thanks to the vampires that we are here today. That you’re free to fix this whole mess. Had it not been for them, the Spirit Bender would’ve done much worse. Entire worlds would have perished under the Hermessi’s chaos and rage.”
“No, because you would have made your way out of there before Spirit got to you,” Death replied. “Let’s face it. This should have never happened.”
“Stick to your ways, then,” Unending shot back, visibly disgusted. “Clearly, everything we’ve discussed until now went in one ear and out the other. I’m done with this conversation.”
She moved closer to Tristan but kept looking at Derek and Sofia. She seemed to be thinking about something, and I wanted to help in any way that I could, but I worried there wasn’t much I could do while Death was still around.
These two had history, and a good chunk of it was ugly. These were cosmic beings with little to no regard for our ethics or sense of right and wrong. They’d been around since long before we existed, and they would continue well after we were gone.
Even so, not all of us were as fearful of Death as I’d thought. Lumi, for example, never flinched in her presence. I assumed that had something to do with her magical backer, the Word. Death had no power over her. No right to torment or punish her. In hindsight, I realized the Word must’ve condoned Acantha’s sacrifice for Eirexis when the Widow Maker’s seal had demanded it for his liberation. Death and the Word were siblings, in a sense, and they liked to keep their businesses separate.
That was why Death had always insisted that her Reapers keep their distance from the living. Why any association between our realm and hers was frowned upon. But under these circumstances, we’d had no choice but to team up.
“What about the vampires?” Lumi asked, her eyes fixed on Unending. “Well, I guess they’re human now, so technically not vampires anymore. But your power did good in this world, too. The Perfects and the Arch-Perfects were designed using vampire genes. Now they’re not as powerful as before. It will have an impact on our peacekeeping operations across the dimensions. They selflessly chose to abandon their immortality in exchange for your freedom. What do you say to that?”
“Nothing,” Death replied, taking over. “Your efforts were much appreciated. But vampirism was never supposed to happen. It’s over now, and, like the Trakkians, the humans once gifted with immortality must learn to live without it.”
Tensions were rising. Even the air felt different. Though she was no longer bound to Visio, Unending seemed to still have an effect over the planet. The winds rose, throwing up swirls of dust. The ocean raged nearby, its waves crashing against the stone wall beneath Roano’s western border. Something was happening.
Kalon squeezed my hand tightly in a bid to reassure me, but witnessing this dispute between Unending and Death made me feel uneasy. We’d dealt with some terrible things in the recent past, but this was a whole new level of conflict I wasn’t sure we could handle.
Unending was free, and she wasn’t having any of Death’s ultimatums.
Sofia
Thankful to be alive, I held Thayen and Derek close to me. Ben, River, Rose, and Caleb’s presence helped, too. But the view in front of us was shifting into something dark and threatening as Death refused to back down before Unending. Personally, I thought it was a bad move, but Death wasn’t the type to accept any outside input on how she should proceed.
Despite everything that had happened, Unending still demanded control. In this case, she demanded that we remain immortal. If I had a say in it, I would accept the gift of immortality again, and I was certain most of us felt the same way. But I didn’t dare interfere. It felt like the kind of issue Death and Unending needed to sort out between themselves.
“The time for you to make decisions for me has long passed,” Unending said, her scythe glistening. Was she really rising against Death on this? I knew she was powerful, perhaps above even Spirit’s level in terms of death magic, but would it be enough to go against her maker? “I’ve been a free agent for ages, despite my Visio imprisonment. The gift of immortality is mine to give as I wish, and you know it.”
“Did you not tell Tristan you regretted giving it to the Aeternae?” Death sneered. “I had a chance to peer inside your mind the moment you came back to me. I know everything you said, everything you felt. We may disagree on many things, but this… you have to admit, my darling, this is the one thing that has put us both on the same page.”
“The Trakkians were a bad move. The timing was terrible, considering Spirit was free and scheming against you,” Unending replied. “However, the vampires have been nothing but wonderful creatures. Yes, they made their share of mistakes in earlier times, but look at them now. Resilient, valiant, honorable. Never self-serving or acting against the best interests of the many. If anyone deserves immortality returned to them, it’s the vampires.”
“That’s not going to happen!” Death snapped, Thieron’s blade zinging. “Please, Unending. Stop this. Stop perpetuating your mistake! I told you your gift was a bad idea from the beginning. Stop proving me right!”
Unending sighed, her eyes narrowing to dark slits. “You know, up until this moment, I thought you might actually come through. That you might actually do the decent thing in the end. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, as you still demand control over me.”
“Sister, please, let’s not argue about this.” Morning tried to intervene, but Unending waved her away.
“No. I am done being the pawn. I am done being told that what I am is wrong. I am what Death made me, and I don’t intend to exist in shame anymore,” she said. “I certainly don’t intend to repeat my Aeternae mistake, but the vampires deserve their immortality back. The Perfects and Arch-Perfects deserve their full strength returned to them. They are true guardians of the liv
ing.”
“Don’t make me do this,” Death hissed, Thieron glowing red.
Unending was in deep emotional pain. It was written all over her face. But it didn’t stop her from bringing out an oval stone with three white dots painted on one side. “I wish you could be reasoned with,” she said, then pressed her thumb against one of the dots.
“Ah!” Death cried out, clutching her chest. Thieron’s glow vanished, and she gave Unending a horrified look. “What did you do?!”
“An insurance policy,” Unending replied. “I’m not at all happy to use it, but you’ve given me no choice…”
“Sister, what is going on?” Widow asked, his voice loaded with concern. None of the Reapers tried to intervene, however. I caught the shadow of a smile dancing across Lumi’s face.
“You left a seal inside her, didn’t you?” the swamp witch asked.
“I did. It’s my protection against Death,” she replied. “It will not affect her movements or powers, but she can never hurt me or those I gift with immortality ever again.”
Death was furious. “How dare you?! Have you lost your mind?”
“No. My mind is clearer than ever, and I know that you need a limit in place,” Unending shot back. “The moment I saw you again, I understood that you were irredeemable. You are foolish and stubborn sometimes—so foolish and stubborn that you cannot be reasoned with. Hence this little device. I removed all the seals from the Thousand Seals spell, save one. It causes unimaginable pain, and it will serve as a reminder not to mess with me anymore.”
Death shook her head. “Don’t do this. If you give anyone immortality, I will have them killed, one way or another. Don’t be stupid!”
A Shade of Vampire 86: A Break of Seals Page 22