Page 52 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

S omething like betrayal hit me as Death went on.

“For our plan, you will each need to be in a separate location. It requires living souls, wielding the power of gods. Now that you’re both here, we have the means.

Celia, you will carry the sheet music to my church.

You need to take it to the altar within the church and destroy it.

First, sing the melody written on it. Then, rip it in half, burn it, do whatever it takes. But it must be damaged beyond repair.”

It almost hurt to think of getting rid of it. Charon’s music was deadly, but beautiful. For my family and Orion, though, I would do anything.

“I can do it,” I promised.

“Good. Orion?—”

“Why are the churches so close together? Emrys is large, as you said. Why not put the churches in two locations?”

Death turned to me, lightning dancing on her skin.

“The relationship of the gods is complicated. Charon and I were not always as we are now. Now then, Orion. The baton is the other piece. Take it to Charon’s ruins and the graveyard that surrounds his former church. ”

I wanted to know more; I was no better than the worst gossip in Emrys. But whatever had happened between the gods didn’t matter nearly as much as how we could save Rayus.

“You need to use your song and pull the Shades to you. As long as you are holding the baton, they will answer your call from all over Rayus,” Death was telling Orion.

“I’ll do it,” he promised.

“When you first exit the Ether, head straight there. Sing, and do not stop. Conduct them toward you. While you’re doing that, Celia will be at my church destroying the music.

Keep singing the Shades to you and don’t stop.

Once she succeeds in her part, the Shades will be released, free to go to their real afterlife.

Their spirits will be transported to my realm, where they belong. That’s when?—”

“And what about us? What will happen to us?” I asked.

Freeing everyone else was something I desired greatly, but I needed to know Orion would be saved as well.

For a split-second, a muscle in Death’s jaw twitched, and I was reminded that I was speaking to a deity and not a friend or even my brothers, where an interruption or informal word could be quickly forgiven.

Death smoothed her expression into a smile.

“You will both be alive. Although”—her smile faded—“Charon will be well aware of what we have done. He will notice when the hour is broken, and I am certain his wrath will be immense. After all, this was to be his grand victory. This was the hour when he intended to use the Shades to overpower all of Rayus.”

Cold swept through me, all the way to my core. If we failed, it would not just mean another year of victims from the hour. It would mean the loss of everything in Emrys and Rayus that we held dear.

Death held a hand out but didn’t actually grab mine .

“I will handle that part. I’ll settle things between us, but you should still be on your guard.”

While I appreciated the warning, I had no idea what good it would do us. What could we do against an angry god? We just had to hope Death could keep him at bay and protect us from his wrath.

“I will see you both after it has been done. Now, then, I have something I need to?—”

“How long until the hour?” It was Orion who interrupted this time. “The Shades are more restless than they typically are this time of year.”

“This time of year? What do you mean?” Death frowned.

“I’ve watched them for a hundred years. Normally they wouldn’t grow this restless until a few weeks out from the hour, but it’s only August, isn’t it?”

Death froze, the lightning dying on her skin.

“That wretched fiend! He must be changing the timing of this realm. He can, you know. I’d wager he’s made the days and nights longer with his dancing lights”—she gestured at the sky that was currently filled with dazzling purple and oranges—“to make the days and nights longer than usual. He doesn’t know I’ve involved you, I’m sure of that.

If he did, you wouldn’t be standing here. But he must be concerned.”

“So the date?” I asked.

“It’s December. The people in Emrys are preparing to celebrate Wintertide soon. It’s why I came down, so we could have everything prepared in time.”

“December!” Orion shouted.

“December?” My own voice was quieter as I grappled with the reality.

An entire year. We’d been counting based on the system that had worked for Orion for years, but Charon had changed the rules .

We were almost out of time.

“Charon is returning. When you get to Emrys, you know what to do. Take the music to the church once Orion has the Shades. They’ll disappear, and you’ll be truly alive,” Death said.

For a brief moment, I thought I saw Orion frown, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. I reached a hand out and placed it on his arm.

“We’re both anxious, but we’re so close. Mere weeks until the Unseen Hour, and all of this will be behind us. We’ll protect each other.”

Orion held my hand.

“Yes. And I’ll know when the hour is here, no matter what he’s done. He’ll summon me. Then you can go to the church, and Death will help protect you from Charon.”

The deity smirked.

“I’ve been in touch with the others. We’ll be having a discussion with Charon. He’ll have more important things to worry about than two lost Shades, once this is over.”

The way she said the words made me quite certain that I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of such a discussion. Charon, however, deserved whatever consequences were coming for him.

Her face softened when she turned back toward me.

“I have only one thing left to do before I take my leave, and I hope you will understand why I’ve saved it for the last. I needed you both able to give your full attention to our plan, because many lives depend on it. Celia, I need to share something with you, if you would follow me.”

My heart was heavy in my chest, each beat like a weight against my ribcage. I clutched Orion’s arm, and it calmed slightly.

“Whatever you have found, we should both hear it,” I told her .

Death paused, then brought her arm down.

“Very well. I searched throughout my realm, and I must extend you my deepest condolences. Your father is not in the Ether. He has been with me. It may be of some comfort to know th?—”

I collapsed, tugging Orion down with me, still clinging to his arm. A sob tore free from my throat.

“His soul has been looked after. I promise you, Celia, he’s in no pain,” Death assured me.

But what about my pain? What about my family’s?

I clutched at my chest, unable to stop crying. Tears streamed down my face. “He was supposed to be here. He has to be here! Or in Rayus somewhere! There was no … no body. He wouldn’t have just left us!” My voice grew harsher on each word.

Orion knelt behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned into him, my tears staining his sleeves.

Death knelt down, too, running a hand a few inches over my hair. I felt the crackle and static as my hair lifted, but it was strangely comforting.

I wished I had my own lightning. A way to vent my emotions that was visible, and powerful.

“There, there,” Death soothed. “I know humans have difficulties with parting. But I am just another continuation of life. You will see him again, and now you know where he’ll be waiting. And you have my assurance that he is well.”

Death had revealed very little of her realm, or what people’s spirits really went through after death. I was aware by now that Emrys’s preachings of a land of darkness and a land of light were probably wrong.

The words did help, though, if only a little. Death had done so much for us and now was offering us a way home. She would look after Father. At least he hadn’t been in the Ether, alone and lost, unable to reach anyone he loved.

I forced myself to take deeper breaths.

After a few minutes I hiccupped, still crying but no longer with heaving sobs that shook my chest.

“Thank you,” I choked out, “for finding him.”

“There is one other detail,” Death said as Orion helped me to my feet. “I hesitate to mention it, but I swore to bring you all the information I found. I am a goddess of my word.”

I sniffled, nodding along. “Whatever it is, I want to know.”

“Your father is safe now, and in my care. In regard to his manner of death, however … “

I tensed, clutching Orion’s arms lest I collapse again. I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t ready. I opened my mouth to stop Death from speaking.

“He was murdered. His death was intentional, and his killer lives.”

Death reached for me as if she might steady me. Small shocks crackled across my skin, and some of my grief morphed into purpose and rage.

“Tell me who did it!”

I would ensure that they didn’t live past another Unseen Hour. The anger that spiked through me was almost physical, so hot and sizzling that for a moment I felt like I could call down Death’s lightning if I wanted.

Death tilted her head to the side, and for once I was frustrated by the mask and not intrigued. It was so much harder to read the deity’s emotions without seeing her full expression.

“We must bring them to justice! This cannot stand,” I insisted.

“You will seek revenge? Tell me, small human. What will you do when you find them? Alert the constabulary? Call for a trial? ”

“Rip them apart with my bare hands!” I swore.

Death laughed, and I lunged. Orion held me back.

“This is the furthest thing from humorous! How dare you!”

Death raised a finger, all signs of laughter gone.

“Careful, little human. We are familiar, but there are some things I will not tolerate. I did not mean to insult your grief. I merely meant to point out the glaring error in your plan.”

“And that would be?” I demanded.

“Take it from me, as someone who knows. To cause Death, you must be willing to kill. You’re angry now, but ask yourself, are you a killer?”

I sagged in Orion’s arms.

No, I wasn’t.

I’d never killed, but I’d learned a lot during the year I’d spent in the Ether. What the gods were willing to do, and what I was willing to do.

“I’ll do whatever it takes. But I need to know who they are.”

“I’m not denying you, but I need you both focused solely on your work with the Shades, not a vendetta. Free the Shades first. When you have succeeded in ending the Unseen Hour, and I have Charon handled, I will give you a name. I promise you that.”

It would have to be good enough. There was only so much bartering one could do with a god, and I needed that name.

“Until the hour,” Death said, before disappearing in a flash of lightning.

“Come on, Starlight, let’s head home.” Orion wrapped an arm around me, looking as defeated as I felt.

We were on the verge of a great victory, but it didn’t feel that way.

All the reading, and deciphering, and sneaking, and planning, and searching.

My father hadn’t been in the Ether at all.