A Shade of Vampire 79 A Game of Death - Bella Forrest Page 0,18
undetected,” I continued.
“I’ve been using Thieron to quietly observe the Reapers around here and in Eritopia,” Taeral said. “But I haven’t let anyone see me. You want me to just walk up to one of them and ask for help? They’re loyal drones, Lumi. They won’t just say, ‘Yeah, sure, let’s do this.’”
For the past few months, Taeral had been learning to use Thieron better. He’d told me a few weeks back during one of our post-Hermessi follow-up meetings that he’d figured out how to make himself invisible to other Reapers, and he’d spent nights treading the In-Between with them, eavesdropping on conversations and the few spells they cast, depending on their assignments. Not all Reapers handled reaping, exclusively. Some were given other, so-called administrative tasks, though Taeral had never gone into detail about them. He’d picked up a few death spells along the way, too—nothing too flashy or powerful, given that he was limited as a living being, but good enough for him to practice, since he was destined to become a Reaper once his life was over.
He could move from one planet to another, but only on more local levels, within the same solar system, mostly. He could hide and reveal himself to the living, the dead, and those in between alike. He could even bind spirits to a certain place using a string of runes he’d picked up from the other Reapers. He could also reveal Reapers in his proximity, as well as spirits and ghouls, even when the latter did not want to be found.
Only Eira and I knew about it, since Death would’ve blown a fuse if she ever found out. As far as she and the other Reapers were concerned, Taeral was merely safeguarding Thieron, waiting for Death’s release in order to return it to her.
“I understand you’ve been keeping a low profile, Tae, but I need your help. I have to get to Visio. I am positive that I’ll be able to get to the truth of what happened to Nethissis, as long as nobody knows I’m there, especially Derek and his crew. She… She deserves this much.”
Eira nodded faintly. “Derek’s team can’t stir much trouble there. They’re after the day-walking protein. But, to be fair, if anyone on Visio is responsible for Nethissis’s death, we can’t let them get away with it,” she said, looking at Taeral. “You can help.”
Taeral stared at her for a while, and I had a feeling they both knew something I didn’t. To say that I was intrigued would’ve been a gross understatement, but I kept quiet, waiting for him to give me an answer. I’d already made my case. There wasn’t anything else I could tell him to earn his favor. The ball was in his court.
He shifted his gaze to me, a twinkle of mischief animating the embers in his eyes. “There’s something I haven’t told you about my more recent immersions in the world of Reapers,” he said.
“Okay…” I breathed.
“I think I can help you. I just didn’t consider it an option. But Eira is right. Whatever is happening on Visio, we cannot let anyone get away with Nethissis’s murder,” he replied. “I won’t be able to take you there myself, because it’s too far away—”
“And the whole of GASP has its spotlight on you, since you were entrusted with Thieron,” I interrupted him. “I know. It’s why I asked you to put me in touch with a Reaper.”
“There’s a solution. But you’ll have to see it for yourself in order to understand the lengths we’re about to go to for Nethissis… for your mission,” he said.
I couldn’t help but frown, slightly confused. “What are you talking about?”
Taeral gave me a half-smile. “Trust me, you’ll have to see it to believe it.”
My curiosity had swelled into a monster, eating me up on the inside. What had Taeral been up to since we’d last met? What had he uncovered in the veil between the world of the living and that of the dead? Most importantly, who was going to help me get to Visio?
I had more questions than I’d thought, but I also trusted Taeral. If he said he had a way, then he had a way. But I was dying to know what it was. Whatever method of transportation he’d provide, I understood that I was one step closer to reaching Visio, to finding out who’d killed my Nethissis and why. That was all that mattered.