sharply and told him about the last couple of days, emphasizing my inability to come check on him, given that I had been on a constant run for my afterlife. “It homed in on me, over and over. Relentless in its pursuit. By the time I got back here, it was too late for Rudolph and his team. Seeley, Zoltan is somehow forcing them to become ghouls.”
The revelation made Seeley freeze, his galaxy eyes dark and blank. He stared at the ghouls on the other side of the room, and I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.
“I saw Rudolph, too. He’s turning. They’ve all been turning, but Rudolph’s got a bit more control over himself. I suppose it varies from Reaper to Reaper,” I added. “I think I can get him to help us, if we play our cards right.”
“So, these guys here, they must’ve been turned against their will, too, right?” Seeley asked, without taking his eyes off the creatures, who seemed to understand us better than ever. They no longer snarled at me. “How does Zoltan get a Reaper to eat a soul?”
“I… I don’t know, but he does it. He must have some kind of trick up his sleeve, because Rudolph, at least, never would’ve done it himself. Not to mention the others. There’s something awfully wrong here, Seeley. And we need to get you out of here before the same thing happens to you.”
He gave me an alarmed look, and I knew the thought had not yet crossed his mind. “Death should send more Reapers down here, especially if she doesn’t hear from Rudolph and his crew.”
“Do you see anyone else looking to help us?!” I snapped, tired of hoping that Death might remotely save our asses. Whatever plans she had for Visio, they clearly didn’t include contingencies for abducted and turned Reapers. “We’re on our own. And we need to get ourselves out of this mess.”
Seeley sighed deeply, nodding slowly. “Do you think you can get Rudolph to help you? I mean, without eventually getting eaten?”
“I don’t think I can guarantee that last part, but I believe he wants to do good, that he wants to fight his nature,” I said. “If we get him on our side…”
My voice trailed off, as a familiar growl emerged from the shadows by the iron door. The ghoul that had been chasing me was finally back, and it had found me.
“Oh, crap,” I murmured.
“Nethissis, you need to run,” Seeley said, his voice uneven, staring at the beast as it stepped into the light.
It was bigger than the others, who were now alert and riled up, snarling at the creature—an intruder on what was presumably their turf. But the ghoul did not care about them. Its big, beady eyes were fixed on me.
“How did it get in? I thought this cell was warded,” I managed.
“From ghouls getting out, not coming in,” Seeley concluded. “Or maybe it’s got some kind of privileges. The runes on its collar are different from the others.”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” I muttered, determined not to die even more today.
Moving away from Seeley, I backed myself toward the north side of the room. The ghoul sauntered toward me on all fours, and I knew I only had one shot to test the theory regarding the creature’s privileges. I looked at Seeley for a moment, then at the other ghouls. They were restless, dying to be let loose so they could teach this new intruder a lesson.
Maybe I could help them…
The big ghoul charged at me, its claws extended and its fangs sharp and big enough to tear a large animal into pieces. I waited until it was inches away from me, then bolted along the right edge of the room, headed straight for the chained ghouls. They were beside themselves, likely thinking they were getting a swamp witch snack.
They rose on their hind legs, eager to pounce as soon as I reached them. But I was a spirit. The laws of physics didn’t necessarily apply to me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the free ghoul scrambling after me.
I sucked in an imaginary breath and glided across the floor, slipping past the ghouls. My pursuer got tangled with them, the chains searing its skin—probably because of the death magic that they’d been imbued with. The melee sounded and looked vicious, and I had just narrowly escaped all of them.
Jumping back up, I rushed toward the door. Seeley was struggling against his restraints,