43. The Ferrier

Chapter 43

The Ferrier

A ni disappeared as soon as I sent Katrin away. Sam and I followed as best we could. With my shadows otherwise engaged, we had no choice but to run as mortals, quickly losing her to the maze of the Corridor.

We stopped when the trail went cold, both of us panting for breath. Sam slid to the ground at the base of a tree, arms resting on his knees.

I paced the area in front of him. My fists clenched and unclenched.

"Do you suppose," Sam said, his voice unnervingly calm, "that this game of prey and hunter has only made him desire her more?"

I remained silent, though the thought had crossed my mind.

He tipped his head back, eyes glazed as he looked toward the skeletal branches. "What could he want with her?"

My shrug was lost on his still distant gaze. "Whatever it is, he wanted her enough to mark her but not enough to take her then."

The mystery had driven me mad these last few weeks. I suspected the answer to her curse lay in that reason. If we knew what drove him to hunt her, perhaps we could change his mind. "I guess I could ask him."

"Ask Behryn? Are you mad?" Sam looked at me now, brow crinkled in concern. "Asking Death to explain his actions is like asking fire why it burns."

I nodded, half lost in thought.

The back of my neck tingled, and I pivoted, sighing at the surge of energy that accompanied my returning shadows. Even drained as they were, their presence buoyed my strength.

"She made it," I translated the shadow's whispers for Sam. His body slumped in relief, and the gratitude I felt in that moment gave me pause. We'd never been close, Sam and I. We were more acquaintances than friends, but somehow among the thousands of reapers, we'd connected over our similar stories. His willingness to help had been a welcome surprise when I'd had nowhere else to turn.

Sam pushed to his feet, eyeing the darkening sky. "You've got an hour, maybe two, before sundown, depending on what territory she ended up in."

The shadows continued to relay information. "Ani is there. Waiting."

Sam dusted off his clothes. "Then I guess we better get there before sundown."

Sending one shadow to fetch the carriage, the rest worked in tandem to transport Sam and me as close to Katrin—and Ani—as possible. It was slow going, especially with two of us, but I didn't dare leave Sam behind and risk taking on Ani alone. She'd already proved to be a formidable opponent, and I got the sense she had only been playing with us thus far.

We blinked in and out of darkness, the forest growing darker with each step closer to our destination. As we neared the place where Ani waited, I instructed the shadows to veer off the path. They deposited us in the thick of the forest, utterly spent, their shrunken forms nearly transparent. It was another mystery that these creatures served me so thoroughly.

I placed my hand over my heart and bowed my head in thanks.

One shadow shifted, appearing to point behind us. I nodded in understanding and pulled Sam into a jog. Leaves and branches crunched underfoot, but I didn't dare slow enough to tread carefully.

Sam spotted Ani before I did. She was a smudge of black against the gray trees. Her focus narrowed to a single spot along the path. The way Katrin had left?

My chest eased as I beheld no signs of a struggle. The tension radiating off Ani suggested Katrin had gotten away just in time.

I signaled for Sam to circle behind her, slowing my pace to give him a chance to get into position. Ani gave no indication she knew we were there. I hoped the element of surprise would give us the edge we needed.

Daring a step closer, I crept behind a thick, oak trunk. Still, Ani's focus did not waiver. I caught movement on her other side. Sam met my eye and gave a slight nod.

With a deep breath in, I stepped out from around the tree and froze as someone else appeared on the road right where Ani had been staring. My heartbeat quickened as my first thought was of Katrin, even knowing that she could not cross over on her own.

Sure enough, the woman that appeared was fair in both skin and hair with not a mark to be seen upon her skin.

Ani snarled, and I ducked, gesturing for Sam to hide as well. From his facial expression, I gathered that he knew the newcomer. Knew her and was not pleased to see her.

The two women exchanged words, but none of them reached my ears. When Ani bared her teeth, the other woman reacted with lightning speed, reaching up to capture her with one hand on her neck. I'd seen few creatures move with such speed, fewer still who could walk between worlds at will. If this woman wasn't in Behryn's employ, she was at least as powerful as him.

The question remained. Was she friend or foe?

More words were spoken. Against my better judgment, I inched closer, trying to capture the whispers on the wind. The newcomer frowned at something Ani said and sent her flying backwards. Ani yelped as she sprawled on the ground several paces away. She glared across the clearing but made no move to retaliate. The other woman took one step toward her, and Ani scrambled to her feet, turned tail, and ran in the opposite direction.

On the far side of the scene, Sam slowly shook his head. In disbelief? Horror? I didn't get the chance to find out before the remaining woman called out.

"I know you are there." Though she didn't shout, her words carried through the forest. "You need not fear me."

I stepped clear from the tree I'd hidden behind, drawing her eye. Over her shoulder, Sam's eyes widened. I gave him a subtle head tilt in return and hoped he understood my meaning.

Hide , my eyes beseeched him.

For all I knew, she'd guessed at there being someone nearby. By making myself known, I hoped to keep Sam's presence a secret. Raising my palms for good measure, I stalked toward the unknown woman.

Every step closer revealed more about her. The finery of her clothes, the lack of lines upon her skin, the haughty tilt of her chin. It wasn't until I neared that I realized how much shorter she stood. The top of her head sat just below my chin, but she stared down her nose at me nonetheless.

"May I ask whose acquaintance I have the pleasure of making?" I asked, inclining my head.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony, Evander."

I tensed at her use of my name.

"Nor does Samedi need to remain hidden." She glanced over her shoulder to where Sam hid, now reappearing to join us on the path.

He passed me a look that conveyed all the confusion I felt.

Facing the stranger, Sam turned on his full charm, transforming into the gentleman he'd once been. "You have us at a disadvantage, my lady, for you clearly know our names, but we do not know yours."

The woman looked him up and down, unimpressed. "I am Moira, though it will do you little good. I've come to let you know that Miss Fil'Owen is safe for now."

A weight lifted from my shoulders as Sam flashed me a dazzling smile. I had so many questions. Sensing the need to tread carefully where this woman was concerned, I asked the most pressing. "Where is she?"

"She is beyond." Moira gestured to the road behind her, suggesting Katrin had made it to the world of the living. "I left her at an inn. When you cross, my footman will be waiting to take you to her. He is blessed with the Sight and knows for whom he waits."

The sun had nearly set. A small band of light illuminated the horizon. "Thank you, Lady Moira," I said, placing my palm over my heart.

"Do not thank me yet, reaper."

My blood iced. Instinctively, the shadows gathered closer to me. "What do you mean?"

Moira looked from me to Sam and back again. "Her mark is a mark of Fate. It cannot be undone. Her stars cannot be unwritten. Fetch her if you will, but it is the Afterworld that calls and to the Afterworld she will go. Her days are numbered."

"How long?" I growled, unwilling to accept the word of some stranger in the woods. "If you know so much, how long does she have left?"

Moira considered me. She opened her mouth and closed it as though debating her answer. "Do you really wish to know?"

Yes.

No.

I didn't want to know, but would Kat? Was it worth it to put a timestamp on our time together?

My silence was answer enough. Moira pressed her lips together and nodded once.

"Why her?" I asked.

She shrugged, and I balled my hands into fists to keep from shaking her.

"Why anyone? That is what they all want to know, isn't it? Why was he poor and she rich? Why did she die young? Why did victory favor one kingdom over another? Why were you both made reapers and denied entrance to the Afterworld?" She shrugged again. "I cannot say."

"Cannot or will not?" Sam asked.

"Knowledge is not the gift you think it is. There is beauty in ignorance. Happiness in naiveté. Enjoy what you have today, Evander, for tomorrow is never guaranteed."

Without another word, she strode away, a specter floating through the forest. Sam and I watched until she faded from view, the last of the sunlight fading with her.

Sam turned to me, brows raised in silent question. Shaking off the strange encounter, I nodded once and slipped through the door to the mortal world.