hand it over to Anunit.
And for some reason, I’d cut Joy, actually inflicting a wound. A very strange wound, like nothing I had seen before.
“Can you tell me what just happened?” I asked, giving my wife a concerned look.
She grunted softly, straightening her back. At least Joy’s rippling pulses hadn’t completely debilitated her. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve never witnessed that type of injury before. But she’ll be okay. I’m sure of it.”
“How so?”
“She’s as powerful as any of the First Tenners,” Unending said. “And you’re just a vampire who was somehow able to wield my weapon. There are some limitations on what a living creature can do with a scythe.”
I sighed, the adrenaline finally wearing off. My legs were shaking. “Does this mean I’m going to be a Reaper after I die?”
“That wasn’t the case before, but maybe things have changed. I don’t know,” Unending said. “First of all, I need to tell Death what happened. We just got into a whole lot of trouble with Joy and the soul fae. She’ll clear it up with the Reaper and the village, but still… she needs to know everything that went down here, in clear detail. Maybe now she’ll consider retiring Joy and tasking another Reaper to guard the soul fae. It’s insane what happened.”
The time we’d spent among the soul fae had helped Unending through some internal thoughts of her own, I realized. Not that our priorities had shifted, but the way we were going to approach the rest of our journey certainly had. “You should also double check that we are still to deliver the Mixer to Anunit, before the Reaper gets here. Won’t Joy find a way to come after us?”
“No. She’s not allowed to leave the village,” Unending replied. “Death clarified this earlier, during our last quick chat. She used some mojo of her own to make sure Joy doesn’t up and leave.”
“When did Death clarify this, exactly?”
“You know, after I knocked Joy out. It’s like Death knew that telling her to back off wouldn’t be enough. She was trying to comfort me with this idea that… if we leave the village, Joy wouldn’t come after us. Sheesh.”
Good. The last thing I wanted was another confrontation with an exceptionally angry and powerful Reaper. Unending closed her eyes for a moment, reaching out to Death through their telepathic connection. I gazed around, watching as the jungle became aware of our sudden presence, the foliage veins glowing green.
The wind blew through the trees, its whispers making my ears twitch. I worried Joy might yet find a way out of the soul fae village, but that fear subsided more with every minute that passed without a violent Reaper attack.
Unending scoffed, opening her eyes again. “I swear, I don’t know who’s playing whom here, but I get the feeling we are both just pawns in this game.”
“What happened?” I asked, carefully analyzing her expression.
“I told her everything that happened: our basement fight with Joy, you being able to cut her, and me having to put one of her precious soul fae to sleep. I didn’t expect her to be so calm. She actually said, and I kid you not, to stay on track and give the Mixer to Anunit just like we agreed.”
I was confused. “Huh? Well, look who’s mission-oriented all of a sudden.”
“Right? Just give the Mixer to Anunit, she said, and go through the rest of the trials,” Unending replied, taking the artifact out to study it more. “No explanation. She just wants me to keep her in the loop, and I find that rather… odd, that she didn’t have more questions, or at least a mild scolding about what I did to Loren…”
“What if it turns out Anunit is plotting something against Death?”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “I doubt it. I’ve actually considered every possibility. Even with the Mixer, she can’t do anything other than piss Death off more. Sure, Anunit can inflict some damage on our society, but nothing our maker can’t handle. Nah, there’s something else going on here, but if Death won’t tell me what, despite me repeatedly asking, I’m not sure we have any choice other than to see this through.”
We had to get to the end of our journey if we wanted a shot at the whole truth. I didn’t like being in the dark like this. Neither did Unending, but considering our present circumstances, she was right. It was our only choice.
“So, we’re giving this to Anunit,” I concluded, nodding