A Shade of Vampire 79 A Game of Death - Bella Forrest Page 0,57
“Is there a hell? Am I going to hell?”
It didn’t come as a surprise that other civilizations believed in afterlife punishment for their deeds. The Eritopians had similar faiths, as did some of the Nerakians and inhabitants of other planets I’d visited before the Exiled Maras had trapped me. It was a recurring idea across the In-Between that our actions were punishable by superior forces, one way or another.
The pixies, my species, believed that the universe gave back what you put into it. If you murdered, you would lose someone to murder, if not your own life. If you lied, then someone would lie to you, and so on. I remembered Amelia mentioning the earthly concept of karma, which was eerily similar to ours.
“What is beyond death cannot be quantified in such terms,” Sidyan said to Bym. “The universe does not sit in judgment of the living.”
That somehow seemed to reassure Bym, and we followed them farther away from the other Reapers. We passed a tall and thick cluster of red, jagged rocks, until no one else was in sight. I nearly screamed when a small ghoulish-looking creature emerged from behind one of the stones.
Taeral squeezed my arm in a bid to reassure me, and I held my breath.
Bym was downright confused, not that I could blame him. “What’s happening?”
“But I can judge you, and I can also feed a friend while I’m at it,” Sidyan replied, and pushed Bym forward. The spirit stumbled and fell, whimpering.
The ghoulish creature was half my size, with more humanoid features than most of its kind. Most of the hair had fallen, but what was left was long and black and silky. There were feminine lines blurred by the almost-transparent skin, muscles still twitching and vessels still filled with flowing red blood. “What the hell is that?” I asked.
“It’s a ghoul,” Taeral said. “Though unlike anything I’ve seen before. To be fair, I’ve only seen the meat-eaters from Herbert’s crew… I think this one might be an original ghoul, like the ones from Nevertide. But it’s pretty small.”
“No… Stay away from me!” Bym screamed, but to no avail. The ghoul pounced and tore him apart, eating every thread of his soul, its skin glimmering with delight. Its eyes were wide and not all black. I could still see the irises, in which galaxies still shone, much like the Reapers’.
Sidyan didn’t say a word. He just stood there and watched Bym get eaten, until there was nothing left, except for a very contented, purring little ghoul. He seemed satisfied with the outcome, while I struggled to make sense of everything I had just witnessed.
I remembered there were some pretty strict rules about this. On one hand, I honestly didn’t mind watching that monster get eaten by another monster, but, at the same time, I wondered… wasn’t this “illegal” in the world of Reapers?
“It’s showtime,” Taeral muttered, then whispered briefly against Thieron’s blade, revealing us both. “Sidyan! It’s been a while, buddy!”
The Reaper froze, his galaxy eyes wide and filled with horror. The ghoul was equally frightened. It scampered backward and hid behind his long tunic. There was nothing about its behavior to suggest aggression. It was weird, especially when I compared the creature to others of its kind.
“Taeral,” Sidyan managed. “You… What are you doing here? What’s the swamp witch doing here?!”
I figured he knew us without ever having actually met us. The Reaper network of information was wide and practically endless. It didn’t exactly come as a surprise that Sidyan had been so quick to recognize us. But everything about this particular moment was intriguing. We’d caught him doing something terrible, according to the laws of Reapers.
“I figured if I showed my friend what you’ve been up to, she’d have a better understanding of why I’m so sure you’re going to help us,” Taeral said, grinning like the devil. “By the way, feeding a soul to a ghoul. What sort of punishment does that carry?”
Sidyan’s pale face turned red with anger, but he put his scythe away, his hands then balling into tight fists—so tight that the knuckles turned white. The ghoul eyed us warily, after having found a mild sense of safety behind him.
“Don’t worry, Lumi,” Taeral continued when Sidyan didn’t reply. “He cannot hurt us. I’m Death’s protégé. He wouldn’t dare.”
“I wouldn’t, period,” Sidyan hissed. “I can explain this.”
“I’m sure you can, especially since it’s not the first time I’ve seen you do it,” Taeral said. It caught Sidyan’s attention.