1. Ivy

1

IVY

Glaring at Josh with utter shock and an anger that quickly dissipates when I realise I’m just as big a betrayer as him, I huff out a breath. “You are a total arsehole.”

“Back at you, bitch.”

“What are you even doing here?”

Josh smirks, crossing his arms over his chest. “What, you thought you were the only one with a bone to pick with Death and his merry band of psychopaths?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “So what, you’ve been some kind of supernatural spy this whole time?”

“Not exactly,” he says, “Let’s just say I’ve got connections you couldn’t even dream of.”

Vex clears his throat. “As touching as this reunion is, we’ve got more pressing matters to discuss.”

I whirl on him. “You knew about this? About Josh?”

He shrugs. “I know a lot of things. Doesn’t mean I share them all.”

“Fuck you both,” I spit, feeling annoyed but having no leg to stand on. “I want answers. Now.”

Josh sighs. “Fine. Short version? We’re part of a resistance. Against Death, against The Syndicate, against the whole fucking system that’s been controlling shifters and other supernatural beings for centuries.”

My mind reels. “A resistance? How? Why?”

“Because the system is corrupt,” Josh says, his eyes blazing with an intensity I’ve never seen before. “Because beings like us shouldn’t be slaves to Death or anyone else. We should be free.”

I look around the cavern, taking in the other creatures still working away. “And all of these beings are part of this resistance?”

“Yep.”

“Why do you look like Death in your other form?” I demand.

Josh’s lips curl into a sardonic smile. “Because we are Death, in a way. Or at least, we were created to be.”

I blink, trying to process this. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means,” Vex cuts in, “that Death isn’t just one entity. It’s a role, a chosen position, and these beings,” he gestures around the cavern, “were all potential candidates.”

“Candidates?” I echo, my head spinning.

Josh nods. “Yeah. Think of it like a cosmic job interview from hell. We were all created, trained, and tested to potentially become the next Death. But some of us decided we didn’t want the gig.”

I let out a shaky breath as this blows my mind even further than being confronted with Death in the first place. Now, there are stacks of them milling about. “So you’re, what? Death’s rejects?”

“We prefer to be called independently minded cosmic entities,” Josh says with a smirk. “But yeah, essentially.”

“And what does this have to do with me?” I ask though I’m starting to get a sinking feeling in my gut.

Vex and Josh exchange a look that makes me want to punch them both.

“You, Ivy,” Vex says slowly, “are something special. Something that wasn’t supposed to exist.”

“A glitch in the system,” Josh adds.

“You two are going to have to stop being so fucking cryptic. It’s pissing me off. Just say it. I can handle it!” I snap, frustration building.

Josh’s eyes bore into mine. “It means you’re a wildcard, Ivy. You were meant to be Death, but you rejected the process. That has never happened before.”

“Come again? Rejected the process? How? Why? What does it signify?”

He shrugs. “This is what we don’t know, but we know it makes you special. It’s why The Syndicate ultimately wanted you, why Death has taken a special interest in you, and why we want you on our side.”

Narrowing my eyes as I attempt to process all of that, I turn to Vex. “And you? Where do you fit into all this?”

“I’m what you might call a free agent,” Vex says with a smirk. “I have my own reasons for wanting to see Death’s power diminished. Let’s leave it at that.”

I shake my head, feeling overwhelmed. “This is insane. All of it. Apart from what you have said about me, you’re telling me there’s been this secret resistance right under Death’s nose? How is that even possible?”

“Death isn’t omniscient,” Josh explains. “Powerful, yes, but not all-knowing. We’ve been careful and strategic. Biding our time.”

“And now?” I ask, a pit forming in my stomach. “Why reveal all this to me now?”

Josh and Vex exchange a look that makes me uneasy.

“Because,” Josh says slowly, “we think you might be the key to bringing Death down.”

I snort, unable to help myself. “Me? The key to bringing down Death? That’s fucking absurd.”

“Is it?” Vex asks, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve already shown an ability to resist Death’s power in ways no one else has. You’re unpredictable, uncontrollable.”

“A right pain in the arse, more like,” Josh mutters, and I give him the finger. He grins. “That’s what we need, though. A thorn in his side. A poison he doesn’t have an antidote for.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes so hard they nearly get stuck, and shake my head instead, trying to process all this information. “So what, you want me to join your little rebellion? Fight the big bad Death?”

“It’s not that simple,” Josh says, his expression growing serious. “What we’re proposing is dangerous. If we fail, the consequences would be severe.”

“More severe than being hunted by Death and The Syndicate?” I ask sarcastically.

Vex nods grimly. “Much more. We’re talking about potentially unravelling the very fabric of existence.”

I blink at him. “You’re joking, right?”

“I wish I were,” he says.

I run a hand through my hair, feeling overwhelmed. “You’re asking me to risk everything, to potentially destroy the universe, based on what? The fact that I’m some kind of cosmic glitch?”

Josh steps forward, his eyes intense. “We’re asking you to take a stand against a system that’s been oppressing our kind for millennia. To fight for freedom, not just for yourself, but for all supernatural beings.”

I laugh bitterly. “Oh, is that all? Just topple an ancient cosmic order and liberate the supernatural world. No pressure.”

“Don’t you get it, Ivy? Death is manipulating the system. He is arranging for souls to be delivered before they are ready.”

The blood drains from my face as I freeze. “What?”

“You heard me, and you know what I meant, so don’t play dumb. He has set up The Syndicate to ensure that there is a place for his underhanded techniques to get past the cosmic balance. He is cheating the system, and we aren’t standing for it anymore.”

“Wow,” I mutter. “What the fuck?” What does that make me? Complicit in this cosmic manipulation? By taking out these targets, bad guys or not, have I been completely screwing up the universal order?

“Look,” Vex says, his tone softening slightly, “we know it’s a lot to take in. But you have to understand the opportunity we have here. With your unique resistance to Death’s power, we might actually have a chance.”

I cross my arms, eyeing them both sceptically. “Resistance? He pulled me into a wacky dreamscape earlier and gave me a serious ultimatum. I wouldn’t say that was resistant to his power.”

Josh and Vex exchange another look that makes me want to smack them both.

“What was the ultimatum?” Josh asks carefully.

“That I either kill my guys or he takes my soul.” I look at Vex. “That’s why I was running.”

“You think you can outrun Death?” he asks with narrowed eyes. “Interesting.”

“Look, the plan,” Josh says slowly, “is to use your connection to Death against him. To essentially hijack his power.”

I blink. “Hijack his power? What the fuck does that even mean?” I seem to be asking that a lot lately.

Vex sighs. “It means we think you might be able to tap into Death’s abilities, to siphon them off and use them yourself.”

“What? You want me to become Death?” I ask incredulously.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Josh says, nodding like one of those bobbleheads.

I close my eyes and breathe. This can’t be happening. It just can’t.

“Ivy.”

My eyes snap open when I hear the familiar voice, and I grimace. “Aunt Cathy. I might’ve known you were part of this.”

Her perfect eyebrows shoot up. “You knew?”

My shoulders slump. “No. I didn’t know any of this. What are you even doing here? Are you one of these rejects?”

“Hey,” Josh snaps. “Rude.”

“Sorry,” I mutter.

“I am one of these rejects,” Cathy says, folding her hands primly in front of her. Her dark pants suit is smart and businesslike, much like I remember her. “Don’t forget that you are, too.”

“Even more so,” Josh says snidely.

I shake my head at him, giving him a vicious scowl. “I can’t get my head around this. How am I supposed to stave off Death taking my soul or killing my guys, or forcing me to kill my guys, or whatever? That is all I care about right now. Your end game isn’t mine.”

“It is, though,” Cathy says. “It is your legacy.”

“Huh? What legacy?” A tightening on my wrists makes me frown down at my arms. Poison Ivy has taken the place of my fingers and is creeping up my arms as dread fills my soul about what she is going to say. I beat her to the punch, “Are you saying that my parents were part of this?”

Her green eyes meet mine, and she shakes her head slowly. “No,” she says quietly. “It skips certain people. It’s just the way it is. My grandfather was one, not my parents, nor your father, and you.”

I stare at Cathy, my mind reeling. “So you’re saying this cosmic Death candidate thing runs in our family?”

She nods solemnly. “It’s a rare genetic quirk, passed down through generations. Some of us are chosen, others aren’t. You and I were.”

“But I didn’t know,” I protest weakly. “How could I not know?”

“The knowledge is suppressed,” Josh explains. “It’s part of the process. You’re not supposed to remember until you’re activated.”

I turn to glare at him. “Activated?”

“It means,” Vex cuts in, “that something triggers your latent abilities. Something wakes up the part of you that was meant to be Death.”

“But you aren’t one of these Death things?” I ask him, ignoring his statement for a moment.

“Nah. But I have inside knowledge of The Syndicate, and everyone has their price.”

I blink at that, wondering what his is, but push it aside. “Okay, but because I’m not really one of these Death things, I’ve never been activated, so I have zero idea what this even is?”

“Yep,” Josh says.

“So I have to take your word for it?”

“Pretty much. Do you trust me?”

The question is fired at me, and I don’t have an answer.

“You said you trusted me,” Vex says. “I’m telling you everything Josh and Cathy says is true.”

Well, how nicely he has boxed me into a corner.

“So what now? You want me to challenge Death for his job?”

“Not exactly,” Josh says. “We want you to disrupt the system. To throw a spanner in Death’s plans.”

“By becoming Death myself?” I ask incredulously.

Vex shakes his head. “No. We don’t want you to become Death. We want you to be the antithesis of Death.”

I snort. “Life? Sorry to break it to you, but I’m not exactly nurturing a new existence over here.”

Josh rolls his eyes. “Not Life. Think of it more like Chaos. A force that disrupts the natural order Death claims to maintain.”

“Chaos,” I repeat flatly. “Brilliant. Because my life wasn’t fucked up enough already.”

Cathy steps forward, her eyes pleading. “Ivy, I know this is a lot to take in. But you have to understand the importance of what we’re asking. Death has become corrupt, abusing his power and manipulating the system. We need someone who can stand against him.”

I laugh bitterly. “And you think that someone is me?”

“We know it’s you. Your unpredictability is exactly why you’re perfect for this,” Josh argues. “Death can’t anticipate your moves because even you don’t know what you’re going to do next.”

“Gee, thanks,” I mutter, my cheeks going a bit warm.

“Look, we don’t have time for you to have an existential crisis right now. Death is after you, remember? We need to act fast.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “What exactly do you propose I do? Walk up to Death, slap him in the face with my glove and challenge him to a duel?”

Josh snorts. “Not quite that dramatic, but not far off, either.”

“We need you to tap into your latent abilities,” Vex explains. “To awaken the part of you that was meant to be Death.”

“Okay, but how the fuck am I supposed to do that?”

Cathy steps forward, her expression serious. “You need to be triggered. We’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time. We have ways to amplify your natural resistance to Death’s power.”

“Amplify how?” I ask suspiciously.

Josh grins, and it’s not a comforting sight. “Ever heard of chaos magick?”

“Err, no. Unless I missed that lecture option on the Thornfield Prospectus.”

“Definitely not on the Prospectus. This is primal stuff, older than Death himself. It’s unpredictable and dangerous, but incredibly powerful. Much like you.” He beams at me.

“In fact, it is you,” Cathy states, and now it’s all just too much. I stick both middle fingers up at them and turn on my heel to take my chances with the shadow monsters.