I couldn’t help but agree. My people, the Exiled Maras, had done the same.
“He likes it here,” I said. “But he knows he can’t stay.”
“What will you do next?” Harper asked the ghoul.
“I don’t know. I suppose I’ll enjoy my freedom for as long as I can. I promised Ibrahim I’d stick to eating corpses, so maybe I’ll find myself a cemetery somewhere to live in,” Herbert replied.
“What about souls?” I asked.
“I’m a creature of habit and of my word,” Herbert shot back, slightly offended. He glanced at Harper. “But you, darling, your soul smells incredible. I’m still amazed I was able to control myself as well as I did. Then again, freedom is far more scrumptious than one indulgence. However, going forward, I’d advise you not to get yourself killed. I’ll know it, straightaway, and I will come for you.”
The thought of that happening chilled both Harper and me to the bone. I moved closer to her, while she kept her position in the pool, hot spring water bubbling around her. She gave Herbert a wary smile. “But I’d have a Reaper making sure I move on.”
“Don’t underestimate a ghoul who’s set his sights on a particular soul. I may be savage, Harper… but I do know how to get what I want,” Herbert replied dryly.
Despite the menacing significance of his words, I couldn’t help but smile, ever so slightly. The ghoul was simply telling Harper to stay alive, using the threat of his ravenous appetite to deter her from leaving this world before her time. After having sheltered her soul inside him, I figured he knew Harper almost as well as I did. He was aware of how daring and sometimes even reckless she could be, especially when it came to protecting the people she loved. Harper was still the “cool cucumber” of her crew, but there was a vulnerability: she couldn’t stand watching her loved ones suffer.
So, yes, I appreciated Herbert’s warning. It came at a most auspicious time, given these new developments.
“You, on the other hand, and your friends… you have your work cut out for you,” Herbert said to me. “Death’s scythe is a mighty precious tool.”
I nodded, still adjusting to the entire concept of Thieron. Death’s most precious tool was missing, and I couldn’t even begin to fathom the implications. Having this understanding of why Death had not been able to intervene until now did, at least, help clear up some things—it did answer our most burning question.
“Our friends are on Mortis now,” I said. “They’re about to find Death and talk to her.”
Herbert shuddered and took a few steps back. He clicked his black tongue. “I doubt that will end well for them.”
“What’s he saying now?” Zane asked, still frowning. “Does he know something more than what he’s told Ibrahim or Harper?”
The ghoul shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I just know not to piss off Death. The only reason why ghouls exist to this day is because she doesn’t have Thieron anymore. We stay off the radar, though… I’m hoping that, if she gets Thieron back, she won’t bother with us.”
“Well, she hasn’t sent Reapers out to hunt you,” Harper replied. “Maybe you simply aren’t at the top of her priority list. Maybe she has allowed you to live because she wants to see how you evolve… or, I guess, devolve.”
“Perhaps. Either way, if your friends are already so close to her, I’d best bid my farewell now and go as far away from here as possible,” Herbert said. “It has been a pleasure, darling. And remember my warning. Do not die, or I will cross the vast fabric of space to come eat your soul myself, and no Reaper will stand in my way.”
She grinned. “I know that’s a lie, but I do appreciate your concern. It’s heartwarming. Thank you, Herbert. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you…” She gasped. “Oh, Herbert, wait! Back on Neraka’s moon, you said you’d tell me. The original ghouls hunting us, they used a swamp witch spell on you,” she added and looked at Zane, Fiona, and me. “The main ghoul, Kill. He said something like ‘Revellis,’ I think, and he tapped Herbert and made him visible, forcibly keeping him in his physical form for a few minutes. Enough to almost catch us.”
“Swamp witch magic?” I asked, quite confused. “Since when do original ghouls fumble with swamp witch magic?”
Zane raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s the kind of mojo that can be used by