Page 26 of The Unseen Hour

“Welcome, new Shades, to the Ether. You are here under the hospitality of Charon, god and ruler of this plane. I am his Head Shade. For now, I’ll be taking you to where the others linger. You may rest there until it is time to realize your purpose.”

So he wasn’t Death, and apparently neither was the leader of this place. Charon, he had said. Then who was this man? Another living being like me? Trapped here, or was he here on purpose? And who was Charon?

Emrys worshiped only two gods: Day and Death. There was no one else.

The questions swirled in my head as I followed the other Shades farther into the Ether.

CHAPTER 14

The crowd began surging forward again. I stood on my tiptoes, craning over the floating souls to try to catch a glimpse of the Head Shade once more.

Everything he’d said about Charon and the Ether and Shades had left me reeling, but he was the one leading this crowd. In my mind, that also made him the person most likely to have the answers I needed, and since I’d already been spotted I might as well approach him. I ducked and wove through the crowd, feeling only a little guilty when I bumped a few swaying and floating individuals.

“Sorry,” I murmured to a woman who didn’t even spare me a glance.

The ground had shifted from fairly flat to rolling hills, with even more wildflowers.

“Please excuse me.” I slid between two men who looked like they were from Mejje, their already billowing pants swaying as they floated along.

I’m surrounded by victims of the hour. Dead people. Likely good people who lost their lives just for being in the wrong place at the worst time. I should be screaming, or sobbing.

But I couldn’t quite manage it. The rest of the Thipp’s must have worn off. I was still uncomfortably cold, but my limbs felt lighter. A nervous energy ran through me, fighting against an undeniable buoyancy brought on by my success. I’d made it! Whether this place was even real, and if I could get here, had been a massive hurdle in my plan.

The difference between death and victory.

The difference between never seeing my father again and having the means to find him.

No doubt I would eventually have to grapple with more obstacles. I’d been unconscious on arrival, so I really didn’t know how to get back. Was time still frozen in Emrys? Was it already January first? Would the antidote get us home, or would it even help if the Thipp’s no longer had an effect here?

All problems for future Celia. I’d spent over a year working toward this destination, and I needed to focus and continue with what I’d set out to do. This journey couldn’t be for nothing.

The Head Shade, as he’d called himself, was only a handful of rows in front of me.

Another one of the illuminated orbs floated past. This time I reached out and placed my palm under it. It was warm, but not burning hot like fire in a lantern.

“We’re here,” the Head Shade’s voice rang out.

I released the orb, and my fingers curled, already lacking the small amount of warmth it had provided.

There were more and more people surrounding us now, and I guessed this was the resting place of Shades. I could see people in clothing that I knew was from the fashions of generations past.

The chill in my fingers had spread, and my extremities were growing numb.

If I couldn’t find my father quickly, I’d need somewhere warm to rest until I could look for him.

My body was getting stiff, this time with chill instead of the effects of Thipp’s, but my mind raced. I spun in place, looking at the new faces for my father. I didn’t see him anywhere, but my hand flew to my mouth when I spotted a familiar face: a man whose name I couldn’t recall, but whom I recognized from Fox Haven. He’d been a woodworker. I had gone along with my father once to have a table made for our entrance hall. The man had been kind and welcoming, asking my opinions and thoughts on the craftsmanship, and smiling at my answers.

He’d disappeared years before my father. The woodworker’s shop had been closed for months after his death, and for the past ten years it had been run by another man in town.

But he hadn’t aged a day. Aside from the pallor of his face, and his floating form, he looked the same.

It made sense that the dead, or the Shades, as the man had called them, didn’t age. But it was disconcerting, seeing familiar faces after so long, when only I had changed.

The Head Shade called for attention.

“This”—he gestured at the rolling hills, littered with trees—“is the Meadow. You are free to remain here. In this form you will have no need to sleep, or eat.”

A few of the faces had slightly widened eyes that might have registered surprise, but for the most part no one showed an outward reaction. It was as if the farther they went into the Ether, the less engaged they became. The Shades were aptly named: mere shadows of whoever they had been before.