Page 26 of Vexed
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Vex
Honestly, I was starting to regret giving in to Lily. I know this is what she wanted. What she needed.
But the girl was taking. Her. Sweet. Time.
I crouched behind a gnarled, dead tree, the kind that looked like it was perpetually reaching for the sky in silent agony.
The forest was your typical gloomy underworld aesthetic—perpetual twilight, rustling leaves that sounded like regret, and an unsettling dampness that seeped into your very bones. Fun times.
I shifted, the gritty bark digging into my perpetually skeletal frame. “Come on, Lily,” I muttered under my breath.
Suddenly, a searing, agonizing pain ripped through my chest. It felt like someone had jammed a flaming poker straight through my sternum. I looked down, gleaming wickedly in the dim light—the unmistakable curve of a scythe blade protruding from my ribs.
“Running was never your strength, Vexlorn,” a voice purred from behind me.
Oh, stars above. Ophiel.
My lips curled into a weak, sarcastic smile, despite the overwhelming urge to vomit. “Ophiel. Always a pleasure. Though I must say, your introduction is a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
He ignored the sarcasm as he continued, “Unauthorized use of ethereal doorways, tampering with timelines, and—let’s not forget, killing of humans.” He chuckled, a low, humorless sound that echoed through the silent forest.
“Come along now. This will be much easier if you don’t resist.” More reapers emerge from behind him, stalking towards me.
“Alright, alright, no need to get the muscle involved,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant, even as they grabbed me, each hand feeling like a vise tightening around my bones. “I was just doing a little… community service. Being a good neighbor, you know?”
They dragged me away, the scythe embedded in my chest sending jolts of pain through me with every step. “Community service? You’ll have plenty of time for that in Purgatory,” Ophiel said, his voice dripping with disapproval.
And then, everything stopped.
Lily stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes wide with shock. The ethereal light flickered behind her, slowly collapsing as the door shut. Her face, once etched with grief, was now a mask of pure terror.
The Arc Reapers, who, let’s face it, weren’t exactly expecting a human to pop out of the Ethereal Gate, were momentarily stunned. Ophiel recovered first, his normally impassive face now etched with confusion.
“How did you get here, girl?” he demanded, his voice sharper now, laced with suspicion.
Lily didn’t answer. She just stared at me, then at the hulking figures of the Arc Reapers holding me hostage, then at Ophiel, and back to me again. The gears were visibly turning in her little human brain.
Ophiel huffed, clearly losing patience. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter.” He gestured to the two goons flanking me. “Grab her too.”
The two flanking reapers tightened their grip on me, their grip turning from cold to what felt like it was going to kill me. The next thing I knew, they were grabbing her too. Lily screamed, a small, desperate sound that was quickly swallowed by the oppressive silence of the Dark Planes.
The Crimson Domain lived up to its name. Everything was a shade of angry red, from the bricks of this charmingly dilapidated cell to the pulsing, vein-like structures that crisscrossed the ceiling. Lily looked like she was fading into the scenery.
“Oi! Arc Reaper brigade! Room service! I’d like less existential dread with my suffering, please!” I yelled, rattling the bars. My voice echoed down the oppressive corridor, unanswered. Charming.
Lily coughed, a dry, rattling sound that scraped against my non-existent nerves. The Underworld was killing her, leeching the life from her mortal form.
“Vex...” Her voice was barely a whisper. I knelt beside her.
“Hey, darling. Save your strength for yelling at me later. You know, when we’re sipping mojitos on a sun-drenched beach after I inevitably bust us outta here with my unparalleled wit and cunning.”
The bars screeched open, interrupting my obviously brilliant escape plan. Standing in the doorway was Ophiel, radiating smugness like a broken halo. Beside him stood Thalia, her dark eyes unreadable.
“Vexlorn,” Ophiel drawled, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. “Such a shame. But really, you only have yourself to blame. And perhaps, your little…friend.” He gestured towards Lily with a theatrical flourish.
“She’s the reason you’re in this mess in the first place.” I narrowed my eyes.
“Get to the point, Ophiel. I haven’t got eternity to listen to your melodramatic bullshit.”
He chuckled, a cruel, hollow sound. He turned his attention to Lily, his gaze unsettling, intense. “Sweetheart, why don’t you ask Vexlorn how the two of you met? I’m sure he’ll regale you with a charming tale. A tale of…coincidence.”
Lily looked at me, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s he talking about, Vex?”
My stomach twisted into a knot. I avoided her gaze, focusing on the rough texture of the cell floor. “He’s trying to get into your head, Lily. Don’t listen to him.”
Ophiel’s smile widened. “Oh, I think she deserves to know. Doesn’t she, Vex? Tell her about the day you met. Tell her about her father.”
I sighed, a sound heavy with regret. I knew I couldn’t lie to her. Not anymore. “Fine. He’s right, Lily. The day we met… when you were eight. I was there to take your father’s soul. He was meant to die that day.” Her eyes widened, a mixture of shock and betrayal blooming within them. “What?”
“But then I saw you,” I continued, “And I…I couldn’t do it. I manipulated time, gave him a few more years. But his time came again, Lily. And that’s why I left. I couldn’t face you after that and I couldn’t tell you the truth.”
Tears streamed down her face, silent and devastating. She looked away, her gaze fixed on some distant, unseen point.
I reached for her, my hand hovering hesitantly. She flinched, yanking her arm away, avoiding my touch like I was a burning ember. The rejection stung, sharper than any blade.
Ophiel clucked his tongue, a patronizing sound. “Such a touching memory. But duty calls.” He opened the cell door and held out his hand to Lily, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on his face. “Come with me, sweetheart. I’ll take care of you.”
Rage, raw and untamed, surged through me. “Don’t you fucking touch her!”
Ophiel ignored me, his eyes locked on Lily. After a moment of agonizing hesitation, she took his hand. He led her out of the cell, disappearing down the dark corridor.
“Where are you taking her?!” I roared, slamming against the bars.
Thalia, who had remained silent until now, turned to me, her expression full of pity. “To the Cathedral.”
“Why? Why don’t you just let her go?” I pleaded, the sarcasm gone, replaced by genuine desperation.
“She’s seen too much, Vexlorn. We can’t risk her revealing the proof of us and our world.
They’re going to keep her there until she dies.
And then…” Thalia swallows hard before continuing, “Ophiel is going to erase her. Erase her from everyone she ever met’s memories. It’ll be like she never existed.”
She turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the cold, red-tinged cell. I sank to my knees, the weight of my failure crushing me.
I had tried to protect her, to give her more time. But all I had done was lead her straight to her death. I failed her. Utterly and completely. And the thought of her fading, of her being erased from existence, was a torment I couldn’t begin to bear.