Thieron was incredibly adept at concealing my presence, dammit…
Then it hit me. Thieron would never be able to hide from Death. She knew I’d been here all along. She’d probably sensed me the moment I’d set foot on Aledras, but she’d kept quiet, likely to see what I was up to.
Awkwardly revealing myself, I offered an apologetic bow, my blood running cold enough to freeze up my veins.
“You little scoundrel.” Dream giggled, almost maliciously. “You’re not supposed to be playing with Thieron like this.”
Death didn’t say a word. That scared me the most, since I had no idea what would happen next. The last thing I wanted was to be on the receiving end of her wrath and punishment once she was out of those seals.
“I can explain,” I managed, staring at her with wide and what I felt were frightened eyes. Dread blew through me like the blizzard that had blanketed this whole area in snow.
“I’m all ears,” Death replied dryly.
Yeah, that was not the tone I’d been hoping for. But I had questions. Important questions that needed honest answers from her. My fear quickly subsided as I forced myself into that inquisitive mindset. I was still her trusted friend, and my eavesdropping couldn’t be enough to damn me in any way.
“We heard from Esme on Visio,” I said. “The Darkling Aeternae are using death magic. They have ghouls.”
Death’s expression faded. Her half-smile dissolved into a pout, her starry gaze darkening as if black ink spilled across the universe. I was onto something here, and she did not like it one bit. It only made me pursue the matter more.
“I was hoping you might have some explanation for all this,” I added.
Again, she said nothing, but Time, Dream, and Nightmare were downright astonished, gawking at her with dropped jaws. They didn’t know anything about the Darklings’ endeavors—unlike Death, who looked as though at least she’d suspected something. This was getting even more intriguing, and she hadn’t even responded yet.
Taeral
“Might I have a word in private with Taeral, please?” Death asked, looking at Time, Dream, and Nightmare. None seemed happy to oblige such a request.
“Seriously?” Dream protested. “We should be privy to such a conversation.”
“Please,” Death insisted. “We’ll talk later about this. First, I need to clear some things with Taeral, since he’s come a long way for answers.”
Time got up, stretching his arms out. “You heard her. Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Nightmare replied, equally displeased.
“Anywhere but here,” Death said, smiling flatly. “I’ll call upon you when I’m done.”
This was awkward on multiple levels. I wasn’t even a Reaper yet, and Death seemed to favor me over her first children where important information about the Darklings was concerned. Or maybe I was just fooling myself, soon to be left alone with the one entity who could end me without even batting an eye.
The three Reapers vanished, and Death and I finally had the privacy that she’d requested. Silence ensued, weighing heavily on my shoulders. She just looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“Is this the part where you kill me for being brazen enough to spy on you?” I asked, my voice a little shaky. It made her laugh lightly.
“You’re the only one I trust to look after Thieron while I’m… like this,” she said, raising a leg and making the chain links jingle. “I asked to be alone with you because I can’t tell them what I’ve suspected about Visio. Not yet. Not without them leaving, against my precise orders, to handle Visio themselves.”
I sat on the ice, utterly befuddled.
“You need to explain this to me, because I’m not following,” I managed.
“There are a few things I should tell you, actually. Things I haven’t shared with anyone else, mainly because I wish to see who will stay loyal to me in the face of cosmic uncertainty.”
“Okay…”
I braced myself for whatever she had to dish out, hoping I was capable of understanding everything. Whatever Death had to say, it clearly involved Visio and my people—and their safety was my main concern, at all times.
“I’ve suspected for a while that the Spirit Bender might’ve left more trouble in his wake. Even after his destruction, traces of his evil linger, as evidenced by what happened to the Morning Star,” Death said.
“What happened to the Morning Star?” I asked.
“He trapped her, and that is all you need to know. She’s free now, but it took the deaths of ten living people to release her. I worry something similar, if not worse, might’ve happened to