telepathically. I’d known there was something wrong with her, that something had happened during the previous Hermessi ritual, but she’d always avoided the subject with me. I’d learned to be grateful for the little attention that she gave me. She didn’t even speak to most of my colleagues. It had always made me feel a tad special.
Standing in Phoenix’s room and staring at the astral map, I realized that I finally had a way of reaching her. I could go there and see her, in person, like I’d wanted from the day I’d died, from the moment I’d been made aware of her existence.
In the background, conversations thrived. The Daughters, Viola, and Phoenix were gleefully discussing the possibilities that had arisen from the revelations about Thieron, Death’s scythe. I, on the other hand, couldn’t avoid the tinge of bitterness that had settled in the back of my throat. Death had never told me that she’d lost Thieron. There had been rumors, of course, but not much else in my rank.
With Reapers spread across nine circles of command, information was usually carefully dispatched according to our levels of clearance. I’d made it into the sixth circle, but only the first, second, and third circles were privy to all the juicy details that had only come to me in the form of measly rumors. Well, this was my chance to confirm a few things.
It took me a while to gather the courage to leave Phoenix’s computer room. I’d talked a big game in front of Vesta, and I wasn’t one to scare easily—not usually. But I had to admit, the thought of walking up to Death and confronting her did make my insides churn.
“They’re on their way to The Shade,” Viola said after a brief conversation with Amelia through their soul connection. I was still amazed, to this day, at how the Druids had once managed to reproduce a form of communication that had been created solely for Reapers. Telluris was, in fact, the way in which we were all connected in this realm between life and death, though we didn’t need a spell. All we had to do was think about the Reaper we wanted to reach, and swoosh—the channel was open.
“Are they okay?” Phoenix asked.
“A bit roughed up, but yeah. The Hermessi are scary powerful now,” Viola replied, understandably worried. I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t had many encounters with the Hermessi, myself, but I knew they could be as evil as they were kind and nurturing. Fanaticism had this way of shifting characters, of making all kinds of entities lose sight of who they really were.
I had a lot of questions for Death, and her complicated relationship with the Hermessi was certainly at the center of my attention. There were a lot of things I’d yet to understand, things that only she could clarify.
“They know where Eirexis is,” Viola added.
I was floored. Again, the living knew more than me. It was infuriating!
No longer willing to listen to how Death had revealed more to the likes of Taeral than to me, the one she’d often referred to as her favorite agent, I allowed myself to slip across time and space, following the astral map I’d just memorized from Phoenix’s screens.
I treaded the stars, careful and quiet, as I put my thoughts in order. I braced myself for the moment I’d meet her, making sure I displayed the appropriate demeanor. Death must not be insulted or upset, but the questions I had were bound to do just that.
“At least I’ll find out if I’m really her favorite or not,” I muttered to myself as I skipped across a couple galaxies, which spiraled beneath me in a whirlpool of twinkling stars and colorful solar systems.
As soon as I set foot on Mortis, I knew I was in for a strange experience. Paper lamps lit the path ahead of me, and bamboo and aspen-like trees rose proudly around, covering most of the night sky. Insects chirped in the distance. Leaves rustled as birds jumped from one branch to the next, occasionally squawking to make their presence known.
I made my way up the path, ignoring the many spirits that wandered through the woods. The closer I got to the waterfall palace, the more I appreciated having spent an extra five minutes reading Phoenix’s report from Amelia, in which she’d accurately described the palace from the outside. It was reassuring, but I didn’t need anyone to confirm that Death was in there.
I could feel her