Reapers - Master of Souls (Reapers Chronicles Book III)

10-Search Party (1 of 2)

NP in Aramis' Playlist: Silent War by A Fine Frenzy

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Jealousy, I suspect jealousy.

Something is changing me real slow from the inside out.

Vincent looked pale from the loss of blood. Black stuff continuously seeped out of the wound on his shoulder. It wasn't healing as fast as the ones from the twins' explosions. For hours, he gritted his teeth through the pain until he passed out.

He was delirious, muttering under his breath "I didn't want to do it. No!" and arching his back, grinding his teeth.

I wanted to hold his hand, comfort him but all I could do was whisper, "It must be really bad, this dream..."

Vladimir pulled a stool towards Vincent's bed and sat cracking his knuckles. He glanced at me, removing his glasses. "Aramis, I think you're not going to want to see this. Amyr's in the infirmary. You might be of assistance to him."

With a passive nod, I slipped out of the room and headed to the infirmary. Amyr stood outside Max's room, along with the Elementals: Antoinette and Louise.

"You okay?" he asked.

I sighed, plastering a noncommittal smile on my face. "Yeah. You?"

Flexing his neck, he shrugged. "Boss said Cairo broke my windpipe. Not something he can't fix. Used a lot of mojo though. He's been trying to heal Max for a while and so far, nothing's happening."

Hesitantly, I went inside and saw a pale scrawny Max. His face was hollow and his limbs had shriveled.

"Shouldn't he have healed by now?"

"I dunno, Noob. Since the war, things around here got weird. I mean more than the usual-weird." He cracked his knuckles. "Maybe it's the torture. That Helcium's some nasty stuff. The Grandmaster's not so great himself these days. And you know what happens when Mother Ship self-destructs."

"It takes all the other little alien aircrafts down with it," I muttered.

"Let's just hope the boss gots enough juice left to heal Vince."

Whatever poison Vincent got from me, I could only hope Vladimir's ability would work on it. I was beginning to wallow in my thoughts when Levi emerged from the dark hallway. His lapis lazuli armor made a dull clinking sound as he walked up to us.

"Ready?" he asked Amyr.

"I'm born ready," he sneered. "Aramis, you up for some hunting action?"

"Yeah, I'm getting rusty." I cocked my head forward and let them lead the way.

We met up with Luci's search party near the abyss. Strange symbols were burnt on the ground. The remains of herbs, minerals and some small mammal scattered about the ritual site.

Levi gave Belial a curt nod. "Any sign of the creature?"

"Alexis and Manu are on its trail," Belial answered with the enthusiasm of a sloth. "They might be onto somethin'."

A familiar came to us with a golden button that might belong to someone's suit. "It's Master Irvine's," said the familiar, glancing up at the small swarm of fireflies overhead.

I took the button. My first thought was how Sharifa would feel about this. She had always been close to Irvine. "You don't think he's dead."

"We cannot be sure." Luci stood near the edge of the abyss, kicking dirt. "And frankly, it's not our most pressing concern. The barrier is gone."

"So, we summon a new one," I suggested. "Catch Adrianna, place her back into her cell and make some sort of foolproof Bind."

Rolling her eyes, she faced me. "If it was that simple, anyone could have done it by now. It's a barrier as old as the creation of death, Aramis. You will need an extensive knowledge of the arcane arts and an ancient book of spells hidden Eldest-knows-where all these millennia, both of which, luckily, we don't have."

I ditched the insightful insult that first came to mind. "Book? You mean like... a Grimoire? The Grimoire of Chasms?"

Luci's eyes widened. "Yes. How—"

"Well, Eldest might not be the only one who knows where it is."

"Where is it?" she demanded.

"Whoa, hold your horses," I put my hands up. "I think I might know who has it. But... I don't exactly know where he is right now."

Luci looked like she very much wanted to toss me in the abyss as I told them about Cairo. In the end, we split the group into two. Luci, Belial and I were tasked to find the boy, while the others kept tracking Adrianna.

In silence, I led them to the part of the woods where Sharifa and I left Cairo. If having possessed did me any good, it was that my draughting got drastically better. My eyes were sharp. I could see every obstacle and react to it on time. I could even see the tiniest glitches, the floating Doors along our way.

We found the spot in a matter of minutes. To my dismay, Cairo wasn't there anymore. The only sign that he had been there was the rectangular mound of dirt he had dug up while he was high on Ethereal water and SirenSoul combo.

Belial immediately searched the area. After a minute of fruitless draughting, she got back to the mound and took a knee on the ground. Her pale brown eyes narrowed while sieving the dirt with her fingers.

"Any tracks?" Luci asked.

"A steamin' pile of squat," she groaned. Then she placed her palm on the freshly dug soil, cocking a brow. "Wait. Something's moving... Crazy sonova—"

Belial began digging. When that proved to be time-consuming, she slammed her hands on the mound and the loose dirt was disgorged from the now six-foot deep rectangular hole in the ground. As if that wasn't creepy enough, I saw Cairo lying at the bottom, eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest.

"I-is he dead?" I asked.

"One way to check," Belial heaved a sigh. She hopped down the hole and kneeled.

Cairo's eyes suddenly fluttered open. He gasped for breath and scooted up, but instead of getting out of the hole, he began scooping up dirt and piling it over himself.

"Talk about diggin' one's own grave. Boy must've hit his noggin real hard," Belial scoffed before searching Cairo's pockets. "No Grimoire."

Luci and I exchanged hostile but meaningful looks.

"Someone must have taken it," I tried to explain.

"You think?" Luci retorted, jumping into the hole. She stepped on Cairo's neck and shifted her weight on it. "Where's the Grimoire? Tell us!"

Cairo just gagged as what was supposed to be a laugh. When Luci lifted her foot off his neck to let him speak, he clawed on the walls of the hole and gathered the soil around him. Luci began kicking him until his face was a bulgy mass. But he just wouldn't stop burying himself alive.

I didn't expect I would pity him. His brother might be dead and he didn't have a clue.

"Come on, Luci," I said. "The guy's bonkers."

Panting, Luci climbed up.

"Make him talk," she told Belial. "I'll stay behind and find the others."

With a shrug, the woman pulled Cairo out of the grave. "You're comin' with us, Prince of Egypt."

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To be continued...