NIVIAN
NIVIAN TUCKED THE eye under the collar of her shirt and descended the stairs to the main hall. She kept her pace steady, avoiding eye contact with the others until she made it outside the gates. The weight of accusing eyes seemed to drill into her back. Though she knew it was only her imagination.
Still, she paused and scanned the area, but didn’t see another Reaper anywhere. Paranoia and guilt snaked its way around her spine, slithering up until it wrapped around her throat.
She threw her hood over her head and transported to inside her apartment.
Heart still beating fast, she leaned against the door and took several deep breaths. Nivian twisted her fingers, the magnitude of what she’d done, what she still intended on doing, hit her hard.
What if she didn’t return? Would Caspian blame her for everything? So much remained unsaid between them. And what of everyone else, the other Reapers, her friends… the world? She couldn’t leave things how they stood now.
Nivian pushed away from the door and pulled a notepad from her nightstand and sat down on the bed, wishing she’d taken the time to move the chairs and island table from her old apartment to this one. Though, it hardly mattered anymore. She pushed that thought away and focused on her letter to Caspian.
She chewed on the end of the pen, thinking of what to write. There was more to say than she could adequately put in a letter. Too much that relied on how he would respond.
Just the start of the conversation they would need to have then. She had to believe they would talk again, had to believe she would come back with Kain.
She put pen to paper. Nivian wanted to tell him how she was sorry for what she was about to do and hoped that one day he’d find it in him to forgive her, then asked him to give her a few days before he tried the ceremony with Holter.
She was about to fold the letter up, but something made her hesitate. While she didn’t plan on being gone any longer than that, there was the possibility that something would delay her.
Crossing out the last sentence she wrote in three months. It seemed excessive, but if he could give her that time, or whatever it took for her to return, then Holter would be safe. She would understand if he couldn’t, but if he could believe in her one last time, she wouldn’t let him down. It wasn’t an option she was willing to consider.
Then, on a whim, she made a suggestion she had no right to offer.
Satisfied, she folded the letter and stood. She suddenly felt the urge to hurry to keep from backing out. Many things had scared her, including the threat to her own existence.
But this was something else entirely.
This was about more than her. She repeated that thought over and over in her mind.
She picked up the stuffed bear Kain had given her and hugged it to her chest, then gave their place one last look, committing it to memory. The need to say goodbye was stronger than she would have liked to admit, especially since she planned on returning very soon. But there are no guarantees.
Rolling her shoulders, she stuffed the letter in her pocket, then transported back to G.R.I.M., coming face to face with Evander.
“Hello, Nivian,” he said.
“Uh, hi, Evander. What are you doing here?” she asked nervously.
He raised a brow as if he could see what was on her mind. “I am on my way to take care of a mark. What are you up to?”
Nivian waved a hand. “Nothing, I’m just tired and… I miss Kain.” It was a cheep shot, using Kain’s name that way to try and avoid unwanted questions.
He blanched a little, then nodded. “I am sorry. I will leave you to your thoughts then,” he said and stepped out of her path.
“Wait,” she called. He turned back to her. “Will you give this to Caspian later when you see him?”
Evander’s eyes went from the letter to the windows of Caspian’s office at the top spire of the building. “He will be back, you could give it—”
“No, I will probably be busy working on my own mark then.”
“You—” he started with narrowed eyes.
“Please, Evander?” she asked quietly.
She wasn’t sure what went through his mind as he contemplated her request, but the tension in her shoulders eased a bit when he reluctantly took the letter and vanished.
Each step through the main hall felt like her first, and her last. The feeling of imminent change was nearly tangible.
One last time, she donned her disguise, blending in with all the other Reapers, oblivious to the turmoil going on under their noses, unaware of the clock ticking down each second. She could have been one of thousands.
Nivian made her way to the back stairwell and headed down into the heart of G.R.I.M. to Silas’s chambers. The throne room felt much colder and emptier than it had the last time she’d been there, almost haunted.
Away from the eyes of the others, she ran to the back and searched for the secret door. It took a few minutes, not having thought to mark it the first time.
Down the stairs to the labyrinth below, she descended, stopping at the tunnels end. The eye felt warm against her skin.
Pulling it from her shirt, she examined it, the heat from the stone warmed her palm. Not in her imagination then.
She let it hang on the outside of her shirt. The heat was just a little too intense against her bare skin. She stepped into the room ready to follow the same path as last time, but when she reached the other side of the bed, the hole had been closed.
The Moirai must still be guiding her. Though their way was frustrating. A few simple words would have saved so much time and frustration.
Leaving the room, she returned to the tunnel and glanced around. Go back the way she came or… the tunnel’s dark end seemed to shimmer. Nivian approached it cautiously, holding out a hand, and found nothing. The darkness was only an illusion she’d believed to be a wall. She laughed at her own stupidity and entered the void, leaving the pale light of the crystals behind.
She kept her hand along the side of the tunnel and dragged her feet to avoid stumbling in the pitch dark. The path angled down, spiraling. For a long time, she walked without faltering, wondering if she was even on the right path or if she would find something entirely different than she expected at the end.
The entire time, the eye seemed to hum with warmth.
Already, she’d lost track of time. Hours must have passed before the first crystal sprung from the wall. A few feet farther another, and another, until the tunnel resembled the one at the start, except the crystals now glowed with an inner fire casting orange and red hues along the walls and ground.
Nivian picked up speed, then broke into a run, urging her legs to move faster and faster. She came skidding to a halt as the tunnel turned sharply and she came face to face with a dead end.
Of course, she thought. It wouldn’t be that easy.
A growl of frustration reverberated through her and she slammed her fist against the wall and almost stumbled as it gave way, bending under the pressure but still resisting. The eye around her neck grew almost unbearably hot and she hissed through her teeth. She jerked the leather cord, lifting the stone away from her.
A strand of hair tickled her cheek and she absentmindedly pushed it behind her ear.
Nivian backed up and examined the barrier. The light breeze that seemed to come from nowhere in particular brushed against her cloak, rustling the bottom hem.
Nivian placed her palms on the wall and pushed until her hands slid through the barrier, heavy and thick as if she were moving through tar. She slid her arm until it disappeared up to her elbow, the sleeve of her cloak rode up and when her chest hit the wall, she couldn’t pass through anymore.
The eye of the Tome flashed as bright as molten metal and she pulled away from the wall, withdrawing her arm.
“What?”
Was the eye trying to communicate with her? She picked it up, surprised by the cool smoothness of it, without a trace of the searing heat from moments ago. It had returned to its dormant state, as if it were nothing more than a pretty stone.
While her arm had passed through, her cloak had not. The barrier had stopped any part of her covered by her Reapers cloak. Something about the magic within couldn’t pass through.
It didn’t matter. She had to go in, with or without it.
Quickly, Nivian stripped off the cloak, letting it fall to the floor in a heap, setting her scythe atop the pile of cloth. She was left feeling vulnerable without them. She had hoped that once she’d found Kain, she could transport them both out. But it looked as if they’d have to make it back at least this far.
Cracking her knuckles, Nivian placed her hands against the wall and pushed against the barrier. She slipped through without the resistance from the cloak.
Unfamiliar magic enveloped her, pressing against every inch, squeezing and crushing as if to say: You don’t belong here.
Claustrophobia crept into the marrow of her bones, tightening with every inhale and exhale, every tiny movement.
Then she broke free.
Gasping for breath, Nivian barely managed to stop herself from falling forward onto her face. Dark, murky water splashed all around her legs. She found herself in the middle of a large circular lake. The water shallow as far as she could tell. Forest lined the edges, each identical in the way they all seemed to lean forward, pointing to the center of the lake.
From habit, she placed a foot atop the water to walk along the surface and frowned when it sank. She tried again, but with no success. Flexing her hand, she willed a small orb of power to form in her palm. The build up skittered along her skin with the familiar electricity then sputtered and faded.
She tried again. Nothing.
It seemed none of her powers world work from there on out. It wasn’t entirely unexpected, yet inconvenient and unsettling nonetheless.
Storm clouds hovered in the sky, covering the horizon with a solid blanket of ominous gray that threatened to open up and pour down at any moment, destroying the perfect quiet.
The distant sound of water trickling caught her attention. Nivian moved out further into the water, toward the sound, and soon she was wading waist deep.
Pale shapes loomed ahead and she squinted into the dim light. Jagged rocks jutted out of the water like angry teeth forming a circle around a large, black hole.
Her feet no longer touched the bottom and she was forced to swim the rest of the way, her clumsy attempt was less than graceful. She caught mouthful after mouthful of water before her fingers managed to grab hold of a tooth like rock. She pulled herself up onto the stone, sputtering. The lingering taste of algae coated her tongue.
Nivian peered down into the void. The trickling water echoed in the chamber, making it impossible to tell how deep it was.
Only able to see a few feet down, Nivian plucked up a loose pebble and dropped it in. It bounced off the rock sides but the sound of water soon drowned it out. It seemed to be widest at the top, narrowing as it spiraled downward.
Nivian swung a leg and felt around with the toe of her boot, reaching for something to prop herself up with. Finding a small lip of a rock, she brought her other leg over and lowered herself over the edge.
The rocks were large and slick with slime from the constant trickle of water coating them.
Nivian took her time, feeling for cracks or ridges to grasp as she clung precariously.
Inch by inch, she made her way down.
Chancing a look up, she groaned seeing only a few yards above then the lip. Sweat dripped down the sides of her temple as she reached out with a boot, determined to keep going. The tread slipped against the rock, unable to find purchase.
“Uhg, come on,” she grunted, dropping her gaze to where she reached out. Nivian’s hand slipped and she hissed, drawing it into herself. Blood oozed from a small cut. Nivian shook her hand, willing the unfamiliar sting to fade but only succeeding in making it worse.
It wasn’t a bad cut by any means, but she’d never really been injured, and when she had, her Reapers’ powers were always there to steal the pain away and heal her quickly.
Small pebbles rained down below her from her movements and she stilled, heart pounding loudly. Her fingers slipped on the wet rock, losing their grip. Nivian fought to cling on, her hands aching from the pressure. The nails of her fingers dug in and bent back, and she cried out in pain. Her right hand slipped, leaving her hanging by one arm.
The darkness below stretched out like massive jaws awaiting her fall into its gaping maw.
She forced her mind to work through her panic and used the momentum of her swaying body to reach up and grab hold of the rock once more.
More loose gravel ground into her opened palm. Her arms shook from the strain of holding on. The brittle rock crumbled from under her grip. But she held steady.
In a blink, Nivian found herself surrounded only by air. She flailed her arms wildly, reaching for something, anything, to catch her, but the rocks were too wet and slick, her skin too smooth and raw.
She fell down, down, down, into the void, the hole she’d entered though shrinking as if closing its lazy eye.
And then, nothing.
Nivian woke with a jolt and pushed herself up, every muscle in her arms and back protesting the movement. Her skull pounded, as if it would split her in half. Pressing her hand to the back of her head, her fingers touched something hot and sticky. She pulled them away to see them covered in a thick, red substance. Blood.
Tilting her head back, she peered at the hole above. It was a far way off. It should have been impossible for her to survive the fall without her powers. She didn’t understand, but she would take it.
She stood on wobbly legs, cringing when small rocks hit her face.
Pebbles floated in the air. Nivian lifted her hand and poked one, sending it drifting away. It struck another, and the two bounced gently off each other and changed direction. She plucked one from the air and threw it down. It slowed, stopping then rested with the softest rustle along the ground.
The gravity at the bottom was almost nonexistent. It explained why she never heard the rock she threw hit the bottom.
Nivian turned in a small circle, blinking into the shadows. But it was the trickle of water at her feet that guided her. It glided along the ground through a thin channel formed by the constant flow from above. And she followed it into the massive cave that yawned open before her.