A Search for Death (A Shade of Vampire #73) - Bella Forrest Page 0,98

This was the only way she could stop me from intervening again.”

“And she spent the past four million years awake, grooming the newer Hermessi into her cult and waiting for the many others to awaken with the Blackout,” the Word concluded, nodding slowly. “You said Brendel cannot destroy Thieron.”

Death shook her head. “It’s an extension of me. It’s impossible. They’re just natural elements. They cannot do anything with Thieron, either. They can’t use it.”

“She broke it into three pieces?” the Word asked.

“I made my scythe a long time ago, brother, and imbued it with the most intense and dangerous parts of my nature. The way you see me now is… how shall I put it? The basic version. I cannot move with as much ease as I did before, but I have mobility. I can select Reapers the moment they’re born, and I can punish them. My attention span is, sadly, shorter. I cannot kill my Reapers, but they can kill one another, at least, if they have to. I do advocate for peaceful discussion, but sometimes, all that’s left is violence.”

“You cannot kill ghouls, either, then,” I said.

She shook her head again. “I would’ve wiped them all out by now. I’d let some of them live, four million years ago. I’d been curious, at the time, as to what they would become. They bore and irritate me right now, but they’re the least of my problems. I cannot kill the Hermessi, either. Imagine that. Death, unable to inflict death herself.”

“You have four Hermessi posted outside your door,” the Word replied. “How did that happen?”

Death grinned. “I cannot kill them, but the ones I get my hands on… well, let’s just say I can still coerce them, depending on how strong they are. Mortis was almost destroyed during the previous ritual. These four were made shortly afterward, when I retreated here. They’ve yet to betray me, and they were young and impressionable enough to serve me from the beginning. Times have changed, though, and I’m pretty sure at least one of them has been sympathizing with Brendel’s cause. I suppose they’ll skip out on me eventually, but until then, I’m pleased with their service.”

“What about the three pieces?” the Word asked.

“Yes. Thieron was made from three elements, each bearing its own name. Eirexis, the handle, is made from the bone of a stone dragon. They’re extinct now, but they used to terrorize millions of worlds in the Supernatural Dimension. I was quite fond of them, and I reaped them myself whenever one of them died. I remember crying when I took the last one. Even Death cannot interfere in the natural order, you see, not without potentially dire repercussions.”

Eira cleared her throat. “What does Eirexis do? You said you imbued them with some of your powers.”

“Ah, she has a voice!” Death chuckled. “You don’t need to know what the pieces do, my darling. Now, Zetos, the blade: that was made from tibisium, an indestructible metal I harvested when the In-Between was still a child. I found tibisium on most of the younger planets, closer to their cores. I think one might still find it in that twenty-planet solar system that GASP has been looking for,” she continued, smiling at me. “You see, that cluster isn’t just the ritual’s location, chosen by the Hermessi. It’s also one of the richest planet systems ever born. You’ll find resources there, valuable and powerful, not seen anywhere else in the In-Between.”

My mind was saturated with new information, yet I was hungry for more. Everything she was telling us opened new doors to incredible opportunities for exploration—chances we’d miss, unless we stopped this ritual.

“Phyla is, perhaps, the most valuable,” Death added. “The gemstone that is mounted on Zetos. It’s home to Supreme Death, the one ability I need to destroy the Hermessi, and the only one you’re allowed to know about, now, to make you understand its importance. There have been tales written about me over the eons. Some might have survived to this day, in worlds that your GASP friends have yet to discover. They’ll tell you more about Thieron and its components… if you live past this ritual, that is. You won’t, unless you stop it. What a conundrum.” She laughed bitterly.

“It won’t affect you, so why should you care, right?” I snapped, anger taking over my self-control and tearing it to shreds. “You’ve been holed up in here for millions of years, not giving a crap, right? Who cares if we all