A Shade of Vampire 77 A Fate of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,27

Widow Maker rubbed the back of his neck, the first to express his frustration and dismay. "And you're only telling us now because…"

"Because now is the right time?" Soul shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"No, the right time was back on Mortis, you scab," Phantom snapped. "I've been wasting precious minutes here! Why didn't you tell us you caught that?!"

Soul grinned. "I like pissing you off. How is that not obvious by now?"

"What exactly is that thing?" I asked after a deep breath, staring at the faint light in his hand. He closed his fist for a moment, then revealed it again. It seemed to react to his physical touch, glowing just a little bit brighter than before.

"It's a literal trace of Death's pure energy. They're not easy to find. She only leaves them if she wants them to be found," Soul explained.

"Solidified Death energy, if you will," Widow added. "One inch of that can power an entire planet's rotation."

"Where did you find it?" I replied, scowling at Soul.

"On her throne. No one else noticed it, but I did. Which makes me a better Reaper, don't you think?"

"I'm not even going to get into that," I said. "What do we do with it?"

Soul got up from his chair, tucking a lock of iridescent hair behind his ear. He pressed the light thread against his scythe, spreading it along the curved blade until it seeped through the cold metal.

"We're going to follow its shine," he said. His scythe began to glow intermittently. "It's calibrating now… Okay, we're good to go!"

"Go where?" Amelia asked, genuinely exasperated. "We can't follow you around like Reapers. We can't walk through space like you!"

Soul pouted. "Right. Hold on, I've got a better idea," he replied, and whispered something into his scythe. My heart skipped a beat as I heard the blade whisper something back. Soul leaned closer to it, listening carefully as his gaze darted across our group.

"You have got to be kidding me," Raphael muttered, one hand gripping his short sword. It had no power over the Reaper, but I knew that part of him wanted to just slice into him.

"We're going to one of the oldest corners of the In-Between," Soul declared.

"Would that be the twenty-planet solar system that includes Aledras?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded. "Okay, I give up. How'd you get that location?"

"I have many old tricks up my sleeve."

"And do you not realize the urgency of our situation?" Riza replied, crossing her arms.

"My notion of time passing is not as fleeting as yours," Soul said, his tone clipped. "Relax, we'll find Spirit sooner or later."

"Once again, I must apologize on behalf of our brother," Phantom cut in, shaking her head in dismay. "He's a reckless moron. He's also one of our most gifted Reapers. I suppose talent comes at a price."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Soul retorted.

Widow laughed—and it was a rare and chilling sound. "You take everything as a compliment, you lunatic oaf."

There it was, then. We had a sense of direction, at least, more than an hour later than desired. Still, it was better than nothing. Before we could go on, however, I needed a few minutes to myself. I hadn’t spoken to my mother in a while, and, if there was the slightest chance that something could go wrong, either on my side or on hers, I had to make sure there were last words we'd get to tell each other.

Taeral

"Telluris, Nuriya," I said, after leaving the crew in the laboratory to prepare for the upcoming journey to the In-Between's deepest and oldest corners. "Mom, are you there?"

My heart was filled with a warmth I hadn’t felt in days. A longing to see her again, to hold my father in my arms and to kiss them both, to thank them for having brought me into this world. Funny how apocalyptic events had a tendency to bring out the best in some and the worst in others.

"Tae, honey!" Her voice came through, echoing in my head. "I'm here. Is everything all right with you?"

"Yeah, we're getting ready to go after Death, and hopefully the Spirit Bender too. Kelara is in charge of finding the Time Master. He might be able to buy us some time against the ritual," I said. "I just… I just wanted to hear your voice for a bit, before I leave."

I needed this heart-to-heart with her. I needed her support, now more than ever. Most importantly, I wanted to know how