“I can see the horizon,” I announce. “Maybe we should travel through the night, I’m not sure I can sleep here.”
Willem and Kane share another of their secret looks. I cock my head expectantly and wait for one of them to say something. I’m tired of being the third man out, trying to decipher their secret language on my own. I am traveling with them and in just as much danger, the last fight cemented that fact for me.
“We can’t travel through Zculth at night,” Willem says finally. “We were delayed because of the demons, but we were hoping to have made it through this region by now.”
“What happens after nightfall?” I feel the cold tendrils of fear once more. Chill-bumps appear on my skin and I pull my cowl lower, using it to shield my emotions as much as to shield my body from the chill in the air.
“There have been times when the restless souls of the fallen reapers buried here rise from the grave,” Kane grumbles. Willem leaves his horse and walks over to a monument as Kane continues, stopping by my side. “We need to pass through one of the worst burial sites and then we can make camp on the other side, but it’s important that you stay quiet and move quickly.”
I press my lips together and follow Kane and Willem. The strange chill gets stronger as we move through the graveyard. I know that human souls are naturally drawn to reapers once their bodies die. I also know that there’s something about the mortal soul that’s intoxicating to the Nephilim. My eyes never stray far from Willem as I replay his story in my head. Once we reach the other side of the graveyard, Kane helps me from the saddle, the cut on my hand burning and my body tired from the fight.
I grab his arm to keep him from moving away. “Willem told me that the Nephilim and Reapers fought during Drogaem’s reign. Why would the Reapers continue to serve Death if he was responsible for their fallen brothers?”
“The Reapers and Nephilim are closely related,” Kane reveals. “Their powers are even very similar, but it’s their hunger for more that always ends things badly. When I ascended, the Reapers were more willing to live peacefully than the Nephilim.”
“How were the Nephilim when Drogaem ruled?”
Kane swipes a hand through his hair and frowns. “They roamed freely, doing whatever they wanted without anyone to tell them it was wrong. They got used to that freedom.”
My eyes shift toward Willem. “And then you took it from them.”
“Precisely,” he replies with an air of boredom.
I ignore his attitude, needing to know the roots of it all. Kane will think it’s because I live here now, for me it’s to understand the deeper motives of the silent stalker that Kane hasn’t realized travels with us. “So, were the Reapers upset that they were still treated differently than the Nephilim? Do they resent living in servitude to the throne, I mean?”
“There aren’t many left, but I suppose it’s possible.” He walks away then, leaving me with more questions than answers as always.
My suspicions of Willem only grow stronger the more I know about his kind. For all I know his plan had been to befriend the new Death all along in hopes of stealing whatever artifact Kane is after. I watch Willem as he attempts to start a fire, the ash continuing to fall. A loud howl breaks through the silence.
My eyes shoot over to Kane and he runs straight for me. He scoops me up into his arms and commands Willem to abandon the horses. I cling to his shoulders as he summons his wings. He takes into the sky without warning. A scream nearly slips past my lips, but I bury my face into Kane’s shoulder. I let his scent soothe my worries, but the sound of flapping wings cause my eyes to lift once more.
Enormous, phantom Reapers with skeletal features and a nightmarish smile on their faces chase us across the night sky. Kane holds me close to his chest and the rapid beat of his heart does little to quell my concerns. I reach for my dagger and hold it tight. One of the Reaper’s grows closer and stretches out it’s long claws, aiming for Kane’s back. I muster the courage in me and slash with my blade. Moonlight glistens upon the sharp metal as it cuts through the ghostly hand.
As the hand falls into ash, I watch below, the horses left to the Reapers bidding. I turn my vision back to the Reaper behind us, watching it swivel back and forth, screeching wildly. It fall back behind the others but they continue to race toward us. I would give anything to deafen the sounds around me. The screaming Reapers and the calls of fear of the horses bears down hard on my heart. I grip tightly to Kane’s shoulder as swerves and maneuvers through the air.
Willem and Kane slow once we reach a river racing below us. I pick up my head and look around, not understanding. The Reapers continue to race toward us, gaining on us rapidly.
“Hurry! They’re right behind us!” I scream.
Kane lands on his feet on the other side of the rushing water. He sets me down, but I move to stand behind him and Willem. The reapers race along the ground straight for us but stop just short of the water. Their glowing eyes squint with hatred before they blow away like ash in the wind.
I drop to my knees and press a hand to my chest. “I thought you said we could make camp once we leave the graveyard.”
“They rarely ever leave the burial sites,” Willem rasps. His breath is almost as labored as mine.
He stretches his wings and his feathers rustle. Now that I know what his true nature is, I see the resemblance between him and the Nephilim. Part of me even wonders if
