“I guess I’m not so easy to kill.”
Annalora placed a strange instrument—the bone whistle!—to her lips and blew. Mina instantly recognized that sound. She’d heard it the day her mother died.
Suddenly, the Death Reaper stood before her.
But not the same one.
This one wore a long black leather jacket. His head was bowed, and his dark hair fell loosely around his face, disguising him, but when he lifted his pale, white eyes and met her gaze, she wanted to cry.
Teague.
He had taken the place of the Death Reaper. In his hand, he held a black dagger.
“It’s always come down to this,” Annalora said. “We’ve waited centuries for the gnomes to have a chance to rule. We’re the forgotten ones, the race that everyone overlooks. We’re strong in our own right. Our armies have proven it. And our poison is the most deadly in the world. It’s pure hate. It was perfect… until you came along. There could only be one of us in the end.”
Annalora’s laugh echoed through the tower. “I win.” She pointed her finger and spoke a command.
Teague shifted into a black griffin with white eyes and lunged for Mina.
She didn’t run, didn’t move, but simply closed her eyes and opened her soul to him. There was a moment of shock as he passed through her. She expected the reaping of her soul to hurt, but instead, she opened her eyes to see that they were surrounded by darkness. Teague stood with his arms wrapped around her, his breathing ragged as he looked into her eyes.
“What happened?”
“I’ve taken you to the In Between. A place of purgatory for souls.”
“So I’m dead?”
“No, you are very much alive,” he whispered. “And I plan on keeping it that way.”
“Teague, what happened to you?”
“A new omen has been chosen. I’ve become Death, a Reaper who will forever collect souls and bring them to the In Between.”
“But how?”
“You saw that nothing can stop Death, except one who is dead or close to death. The omen brought my soul here, to the In Between. As soon as I stepped over, I challenged the Death Reaper and killed him, taking his place. It was the only way. I had to fight to get back to you. I won’t abandon you again…ever.”
“So you’re here to take my soul?” Mina asked hesitantly.
“I’m here to collect a soul, but not yours,” Teague spoke softly, touching his forehead to hers. “You have the other half of mine.”
She inhaled in disbelief, but deep down, she knew it was the truth. How else could she have sensed such trouble on the Fae plane and the closing of the gates? Jared’s side was still with her.
“Are you ready?” Teague asked, pulling away and holding out his hand to her.
She recognized the dagger he held and paused.
When he saw her hesitation, he quickly sheathed the dagger. “The weapon that kills the soul becomes the Reaper’s weapon.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said again, her heart aching at what she had done.
“Don’t be,” Teague assured her. “You were the only one strong enough to do it. I’ve caused a lot of death over the years. I needed to be stopped, and this is truly a fitting punishment for me.” He patted the hilt of the knife and smiled crookedly at her. “I’m just thankful you killed me with a bladed weapon instead of a rock.” He chuckled, and she wanted to punch him in the arm.
In the darkness around her, she could hear the sounds of howling and gnashing of teeth. “What is that?” she asked fearfully.
“The lost souls. We can’t stay here long, because you still have your soul, and there are those who hunger for it. They’ll take it by force.”
“It reminds me of the place in my dream, when I tried to save you and went into the mirror and found you in a dark prison.”
Teague didn’t miss a beat. “It is that place. You came here in your dream—to the In Between—and it remembers you. I have to take you out of here, but I wanted time to speak to you alone.”
The sound of the shadows moving and the cold made her skin prickle. “Is my mom here?”
“Yes, I promise I’ll find her and get her to the other side, but there’s something you must understand, Mina.” His voice sounded so earnest, she felt the bubble of worry start to overtake her.
“What?”
“Annalora’s planned this all along. She has the bone whistle, the one item that can control me. I still have to take a soul, and I’ll try and delay the reaping. But Mina, I can’t touch her if she holds that whistle. When we go back, you have to get it from her and destroy it. Then we’ll both be free of her. Can you do that?” He lifted his hand a second time to caress her face.
She swallowed and grabbed it, feeling the coldness of his skin against her warm cheek. “Yes, I can.”
He nodded. “Good. Because if she commands me again, I’ll have no choice but to take your soul. I’d promise to help you to the other side and not leave you in the In Between, but I’d rather not even have to go that far.”
Mina didn’t say anything else as black smoke surrounded them, and then they were back in the tower.
Annalora stood proud, full of herself, and oblivious, at the tower window chanting in a Fae language. Mina assumed she was celebrating. But as Mina moved toward her, Annalora turned, and her eyes went wide at seeing Mina still alive.
Mina lunged for the hand that held the whistle.
Annalora screeched and clawed at Mina’s throat, but Mina pulled back her fist and punched the gnome girl in the face. Her head snapped back, and she dropped the whistle to the ground. Mina dove for it.
Annalora grabbed Mina’s foot and dragged her along the floor and away from the bone whistle. Mina rolled over, summoned power, and shoved a blast of power into Annalora’s chest, knocking her into a chair. She turned back over and watched as the whistle rolled to a stop at the top of the stairs.
In front of Ferah, who had stealthily returned.
Ferah bent down and picked up the whistle.
Annalora began to beg and cajole. “Ferah, give me the whistle, and I can make all of this go away. I just need to get rid of her.”
The elf-girl stood up, still looking battle-weary and terrified. “I should never have told you of the prophecy which foretold the dark prince’s reign and the end of our world.”
“Grow up,” Annalora snapped. “You and the Godmothers would never have been able to stop the prophecy. This is the end. Can’t you see that?”
Mina got up from the floor and glanced around the room. She caught a reflection in the glass—Teague pacing in the corner of the room, unable to strike because the whistle was still in play. It seemed that none of the others could see him.
“You killed the Fates,” Ferah cried out. Her hand holding the whistle shook in fury.
“Something you should have done long ago.” Annalora tried to play it off as no big deal. “Now we can start fresh, build the Fae world anew. Just give me the whistle, and I’ll end her. You can be head of the Royal Guard. I’ll give you anything you want.” She’d continued to walk and talk until she was only a foot from the elf.
Ferah shook her head. “No, this world will not be built on your darkness.” She turned to look at Mina. “I see light when I look at you. I’ll follow you till the end.”
