Azazel frowned. “You think they went in search of a power source?” He shook his head. “No, if there was such a power source in the Underealm, then we’d be aware. I’d be aware.”
Cassius sighed. “I don’t know. All I know is that after this unit failed to return, the Righteous settled on the only option we had for fuel. Human souls. It’s the closest we can come to the divine energy that forged us.”
There was something in the Underealm. A solution possibly. “Can you dig up more information on this mission? Corroborate its existence?”
Cassius looked up at the sky, churning and seething in a storm that would soon swallow us all. “I’ll petition the Righteous council. It can’t do any more harm than has already been done.”
Now that their secret was out, he meant. Now that the Beyond and the earthly realm were on the verge of ending.
“I’ll find out what I can,” he said. “But you mustn’t let the news of what’s happened here spread. If the humans find out, there will be panic. We will either prevail, or we will go silently into the night.”
The end of the world as we knew it…The end of humanity and celestials…Oh God… My gaze flew to Azazel. “If the Beyond falls, then the celestial connection the fallen and their descendants need to live will be gone.”
Cassius’s smile was wry. “You finally understand.”
Azazel cursed.
What had the Dread done? In their attempt to go home, they’d kickstarted an apocalypse clock. “We will figure this out.”
He was looking at me with a strange expression on his face, as if he couldn’t quite figure me out.
His eyes narrowed, and then he nodded to himself as if coming to a decision. “You have a loved one in purgatory.”
My throat tightened. “Yes?”
“The core of the pure souls is sent to the Edge. A part of purgatory with its own rules. They feel no pain, I assure you.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. My Aunt Lara and all the souls trapped there deserved better.”
“I know,” he said softly. “If we fall, purgatory will fracture, and these innocent remnants will be devoured by the malignant who reign there. Our worlds will become prey to the depraved, and then…Who knows how it will end.”
Why was he telling me this? My question must have shown on my face.
“I want you to get innocent cores out. Use your scythe and set them free. It’s the least that can be done. Some retribution to possibly balance the scales.”
“What do you mean?”
He closed his eyes. “Your scythe can act as a conduit to the ether if you wish it to. You can draw the cores to you and set them free.”
They could have done this all along, but that would have meant telling us, the Dominus, the truth. It was a tangled web they wove, and now it was all coming undone.
“You can free Aunt Lara,” Cora said, squeezing my hand lightly.
“Mal is a purgatory reaper, and he isn’t here. We have…issues to deal with in the Underealm.”
Cassius’s smile was tight. “You don’t need Malachi. You need a celestial, and I believe you have one.” He turned and began to walk away. “I’ll petition the Righteous for information on the Powers’ mission.”
“How long?” Cora called out after him. “How long until we lose power?”
He turned to face us, his expression grim. “Weeks. Maybe a couple of months, if we’re lucky.” His wings unfurled with a metallic snap. “Let’s hope fate is on our side.”
And then he was shooting up into the air like a bullet to be swallowed by the storm.
Grayson had been silent and watchful while the Dominion spoke, and now he asked the question on all our minds.
“What now?”
I ran a hand over my face, suddenly desperate for a chocolate sprinkled donut. “Now I release my Aunt Lara from purgatory. Now we find an energy source for the Beyond.” I sighed. “Now, we stop the world from ending.”
“What about Lilith?” Cora asked.
Fuck.
“What’s happened to Lilith?” Azazel said.
Oh, boy.
To be continued.
Fee’s journey continues in Reaper Unhinged.
Grab it HERE
Other books by Debbie Cassidy
The Gatekeeper Chronicles
Marked by Sin
Hunted by Sin
Claimed by Sin
The Witch Blood Chronicles
(Spin-off to the Gatekeeper Chronicles)
Binding Magick
Defying Magick
Embracing Magick
Unleashing Magick
The Fearless Destiny Series
Beyond Everlight
Into Evernight
Under Twilight
The Chronicles of Midnight
Protector of Midnight
Champion of Midnight
Secrets of Midnight
Shades of Midnight
Chronicles of Arcana
City of Demons
City of the Lost
City of Everdark
City of War
For the Blood
For the Blood
For the Power
For the Reign
For the Hunt (novella)
Heart of Darkness
Captive of Darkness
Bane of Winter
Fate’s Destiny
Deadworld
Deadworld
Dead City
Dead Sea
Dead End
The Nightwatch Academy
Shadow Caster
Shadow Weaver
Shadow Warrior
Shadow Master
The Nightwatch Series
Ghost of a Chance
Give up the Ghost
Ghost at the Feast
Lay the Ghost
Deadside Reapers Series
Reaper Unexpected
Reaper Uninvited
Reaper Untamed
Reaper Unveiled
Reaper Undone
Reaper Unhinged
The Iron Fae Series
Taste My Wrath
Feel My Power
Dragon Guard Series
Dragon Trial
Dragon Rising
Survivor’s Heart (Planet Athion World)
Novellas
Rogue
Rebel
Survivor
Standalone Novellas
Blood Blade
About the Author
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non-psychotic way of course. She writes High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Space Fantasy, and Reverse Harem. Connect with Debbie via her website at debbiecassidyauthor.com or twitter @authordcassidy. Sign up to her Newsletter to stay in the know, or join her Reader Group on Facebook.