AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I took a hesitant step toward Edgar. “I thought I wasn’t going to see you again until I passed the Warlock’s Trial.”
“That is correct,” Edgar said calmly.
“You mean… I’m ready? But I didn’t do anything.” I was so confused about what might’ve prompted this meeting.
“You didn’t have to do anything,” Edgar said. “You merely had to become the reaper you were meant to be. As I said before, power over death is more than a magical feat.”
I realized now what he meant. “It’s a mindset… a comfort of letting go of your fear. That’s what really gives you power, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Edgar confirmed. “Death is a transformation, and every reaper understands that. You weren’t ready to join us until you realized that death isn’t a permanent state, just one more stop on the path of a soul’s journey. Now that you understand your role as a reaper, you are ready to join the Reaper Order.”
Edgar held a dark cloak out to me, and I took it. I almost expected my hands to go straight through it, but there was powerful magic at work here. My fingers curled around soft fabric, and a wave of pride washed through me.
“Thank you,” I told him.
“There’s one more thing,” Edgar added, reaching into his cloak. He lifted a wand painted white and carved with a rib cage at the end. “I believe you’ll be needing this.”
A euphoric feeling filled me from head to toe. After all this time, we were finally in possession of the Mortana Wand.
I grasped it firmly. The end of the Wand glowed, and a chord in a minor key rang throughout the room. Dark purple magic swirled up my arm, then settled into my skin, so deeply I felt it latch on to my spirit.
I heard the others gasp in unison. They couldn’t see the reapers, but it was clear as day that they saw the Wand materialize in my hand.
“When will we see each other again?” I asked Edgar. “Perhaps Mother Miriam will assign you to guide me into the next life.”
Edgar tilted his head. “Mother Miriam does not make reaper assignments. It is our choice which souls to reap. We choose our own assignments, Lucas.”
“So… all those souls I’ve helped cross over… I wasn’t given some magical order to help them,” I realized. “I chose to help all on my own.”
Edgar nodded. “Yes. It is a reason Mother Miriam chose you as a reaper. You have always wanted to help others, and you will continue to do so. Now go. Live your life. When one of us comes for you, it will be a welcome meeting.”
Warmth filled my chest, and I truly felt like I understood then what it meant to be a reaper. The reapers disappeared, and I turned to the others.
“We have four Wands!” Chloe exclaimed. “We should move in on the priestesses as soon as we can. We have the power to take all their magic, so we can beat them.”
“We can’t,” I insisted. “We aren’t ready. Marcus is just a newborn, and Nadine needs time to recover. It’s going to take at least six weeks until they’re back to full strength, and they need to be healthy enough to be moved if something goes wrong. If something happens and we’re forced to flee, we won’t have time to bring Marcus’s medical supplies with. He needs to be able to survive off of support. We’ll be safe here for now, because if the priestesses want to come for us again, we’ll be ready for them.”
“My grandmother isn’t going to wait around,” Chloe argued. “We’ve almost been discovered multiple times. Six weeks is too long to wait.”
“I want to go after the priestesses as much as anyone, but I agree with Lucas that we need more time,” Grant said. “You said it yourself at Yule, Chloe. We can’t go in guns blazing. We don’t have enough intel to destabilize the cult, and that needs to be done before we face the priestesses. Otherwise, their supporters are going to rise up. We can’t just walk in and kill them. If we do, others will take their place, and nothing will really get done, because we’ll just have to kill even more people. We aren’t the bad guys. We need to have the support of the coven before we move in—or at least, have enough people on our side that they’re willing to think about changing their minds. If we take the priestesses out now, it’s going to be a mistake, because there will be resistance from the public, and Miriam’s Chosen, if we don’t do this the right way.”
Talia stepped forward. “I agree. Chloe and I haven’t been able to get close enough to town to gain a firm understanding of the cult’s mentality and learn how to destabilize them. If we’re going to do this the right way, we’ll have to go undercover so we can infiltrate the cult and retrieve solid intel, because what we’ve been doing hasn’t been working.”
Chloe backed down. “All right. We’ll do this the right way, but we can’t wait longer than a few weeks. You guys need to promise me we’ll make our move, and soon.”
“We’ll give Nadine and Marcus six weeks to recover,” I decided. “We’ll move in when we’re ready, but not a moment sooner.”
* * *
Nadine and I spent the next two weeks snuggled up in bed, watching Marcus wiggle or reading him stories. We finally got to hold him for longer than a few minutes, and it was amazing. He was getting stronger by the day and gaining weight rapidly. With Luana’s healing treatments, he was stronger than any preemie she’d treated before.
Nadine was recovering quickly from labor, though Luana was still monitoring her closely. Onyx said they wanted to keep an eye on her up until at least six weeks after delivery, but her blood pressure had come down, and she was doing much better. Luana was finally able to work her healing magic on her, which Nadine said helped immensely.
Isa had recovered as well, and she spent most of her time in our room, usually nursing Rishi. The kitten was already growing so fast and had so much fur. He’d gotten so big because he was a glutton who had no siblings to compete with. Rishi often made gagging sounds while nursing, because he drank so fast. When he wasn’t nursing, he was whining for more food. He was clumsy and always falling off of things, and he had a stupidly cute little face. Rishi always wore a bug-eyed expression, and his tongue was always sticking out. He was the most adorable kitten.
Slowly, Marcus was taken off his tubes and monitors, and he was transferred from the incubator to a heated cot.
After two weeks, we were able to take him out of the room. I sat in the living room, snuggling Marcus in my arms the first night he was able to leave his cot for more than a few minutes. We were celebrating his progress and all getting together for a big dinner. Nadine was in the kitchen with the girls, laughing while they cooked and snacked on appetizers. The guys were outside doing nightly patrol on the ward borders. I just sat there taking in the joyous sounds of the friendly banter filling the house.
