A Shade of Vampire 77 A Fate of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,86
and because he’s a living creature and thus cannot use it the way any of you would,” Death replied. “Do not take this personally, Reapers. This isn’t about who’s worthy of holding the damn thing. It’s not Excalibur.”
“You’ve given it to me because I can’t play with it. I lack your knowledge,” Taeral concluded.
“Exactly,” she said.
“So you don’t trust us,” Widow grumbled.
Phantom groaned, somewhat frustrated. “Did you not see what the Spirit Bender did?! He was one of us! Our brother. Our friend. And he turned against her. What happens if one of us tries to do the same? How will Thieron be safe in our hands, if one of us did what Spirit did?”
“But we’re not Spirit,” Widow insisted.
“We’re not incorruptible, either, brother,” Soul chimed in. “I may not like the point that Death is making, but it is valid. I accept that premise, and I understand it. It doesn’t make us any less valuable.”
Widow thought about it for a few moments. Eventually, he conceded, lowering his head in a slow nod. “Fine. What do you want us to do?” he asked, his galaxy eyes fixated on Death.
She smiled, seemingly pleased with how the conversation had progressed.
“And how can I help?” Kelara asked.
“You, my dear, you’re staying here with me, and so will Dream and Nightmare,” Death said. “The three of you will work to break the remaining seals and get me out of here, hopefully before the century ends.”
“I am sorry I cannot help you with that,” the Word said through Lumi and Nethissis. “My power would have helped with Thieron, if you’d allowed me. The seals, I’m afraid, are a different business.”
“It’s fine,” Death replied. “The Spirit Bender learned too many of my tricks. This is my fault. I wasn’t careful. I trusted him too much.”
“Turns out neither of you are perfect.” I chuckled and instantly regretted it, as Death, Lumi, and Nethissis scowled at me. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. It is the truth, regardless of its inconvenience,” the Word replied. “I shall take my leave now and give you your friends back. Chances are we will all meet again. You GASP people have a knack for getting into all kinds of trouble.”
Death touched Lumi’s face, smiling softly. “I suppose our brethren will require some explanations about this in the future. I trust you’ll be by my side when that happens.”
The witches nodded. “You can count on me. I saw it all, from the very beginning. I understand what led to this.”
A split second later, the eerie glow of Lumi and Nethissis’s bodies faded, and the swamp witches were back to their original selves. Death nodded slowly and shifted her focus on Seeley.
“You, my darling, will go through all the sanctuaries and bring the fae back. You have that power now,” she said, and pointed a warning finger at him. “Mind you, it doesn’t mean you’re allowed to bring anyone else back. It doesn’t work like that. Five million fae is your limit. Afterward, you’re back to normal.”
Seeley bowed politely. He gave us all a brief glance. “It was an honor knowing you all,” he said, then focused on Nethissis, in particular. “I’m sorry for what happened to Acantha. I hope you have a good and beautiful life.”
Death smiled vaguely, noticing the dynamic between them. With everything that had happened, none of us had possessed the energy to observe how Seeley and Nethissis had stolen glances from one another, how they’d bonded.
Nethissis looked downright trodden by the prospect of never seeing him again. “That’s it? You’re leaving, then?”
“The living and the dead cannot meet. The same goes for the living and the Reapers,” Seeley replied. “Like I said, it was an honor.”
“And a pleasure,” Soul cut in. “He just won’t admit it.”
Seeley chuckled briefly and vanished, off to do his part in fixing some of the damage that the Spirit Bender and Brendel had done. I couldn’t stop myself from hugging Raphael—I needed an outlet for all the happiness flowing through me at the thought of our fae friends and family coming back to us.
“Worry not, young swamp witch. Your paths may cross again, at some point,” Death said. “Nothing is set in stone.”
Nethissis tried to smile, but it seemed like quite the effort. Lumi gripped her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Can you believe it? We’ve made it. We’ve actually made it.”
They hugged each other first, then pulled the whole crew into a tight group hug. I didn’t mind it one bit—we’d all made it. It was