Chapter 12
Ebirlloba, the realm of the dead
It wasn’t easy to sneak into Death’s castle thanks to their annoying sisters Mayhem and Chaos haunting the place, but Fate had developed a few tricks in the weeks since their arrival.
Instead of walking through the lovely gothic home Death had created many millennia ago, Fate teleported directly to the room where she spent most of her time.
Often, she was in the company of the women who’d grown into dear friends.
However, today, Fate found the space deserted.
Being alone suited Fate. As usual, there was plenty on her mind.
Each day, populations grew, and expansion meant more people ready to fall in love.
On places like Earth, the vast planet made it difficult to find people with enough in common to unite and simultaneously ensure they lived close enough that they would meet someday.
In other realms, the places were often so small that Fate could easily pluck two people that would suit into her mind and make an immediate match.
It was why other realms had a higher rate of successful matebonds than on Earth.
Setting aside the problems plaguing her, Fate focused on what made her happiest, and that was successful matebonds. Today, her plan was to find someone for a resurrected being and check in on a tiny realm to discover if a long-ago match was finally blossoming.
An enormous viewing screen dominated one wall of the room, which was overflowing with a strange mixture of furniture.
Each chair or sofa represented the goddess who’d created it, and Fate liked the eclectic mixture of deep black, shiny silver, and soft white.
She chose to ignore the utilitarian pieces crafted by Courage and Justice.
Those two really need to discover life beyond the lists, she thought with a roll of her eyes.
Of course, their determination was proving useful as they continued their hunt for their missing murderous sister Folly, and Fate knew that one day the horrible bitch would pay for her every crime.
But Fate could not allow Folly to dominate her mind.
She had far too many people counting on her to get distracted.
With a wave of her hand, Fate brought the Daray condo onto the large screen, and a happy sigh escaped her.
The lovely Daray men were a tight family, and Fate adored any excuse to peek in on the many happy couples under their roof.
But unfortunately, there was a pall over the Darays.
Fate wished she had the power to reassure them that Ducarius would be fine.
However, most of the Darays were resurrected, which meant only Death had the power to send any calming waves to them.
It would take little persuasion to entice Death to do so, but Fate knew her sisters too well.
Death and their other closest friends would lecture Fate on her duties and complain about the tiny realm where Ducarius and Drexley were currently trapped.
It was not her fault Adney was one of the many asshole necromancers.
Fate truthfully had little use for the man despite his insistence on teaching Drexley to follow her unconditionally.
Adney was so full of himself that he easily believed his own lies.
And poor Drexley had no clue that the manipulative Adney had been draining his memories since his arrival.
That was why Drexley did not recall his feelings of unease in the first century of his life in the small realm.
Or the untruths he’d detected as Adney told the story of his life.
The reality was that the necromancer had shunned her gifts.
Adney had met his mate in his youth. But the woman had had little sorcery at her disposal, and her family lacked the political power of the Blackwells.
To please his father, Adney had pursued his matebond.
But the rat had done nothing to aid his poor mate as she’d suffered through childbirth.
All Adney cared about was the son she’d birthed.
Adney had paraded the boy to his father and ordered his staff to pack his mate’s belongings.
The next morning, she was whisked out of the castle, and Adney had crafted his realm to ensure he always had an escape from her.
Despite the many centuries that had passed since Adney had abandoned her, she remained obsessed with the awful man.
It amused Fate to think of the two being reunited soon in Death’s realm after Adney died, since mated sorcerers died together.
Death would not tolerate the woman being misused, but she never separated mates.
Adney would have to face his past and explain to his mate how he’d allowed an enemy to kill their child.
Adney had done this to save his own worthless hide and avoid having to pay the money he owed the man.
It had devastated Adney, but he could have prevented it, and Fate could not forgive that crime.
Drexley knew none of these things, and unless Adney changed drastically in the coming days, he’d remain ignorant forever.
It was for the best. The sentinel would have plenty to face as he navigated his future.
Determined not to get distracted and find out how he was faring with Ducarius until her current duty was completed, Fate forced herself to focus on the present.
Scythe Lord Orpheus Daray was the lone reaper without his other half, and Fate was determined to pair up as many of Death’s beloved resurrected as possible.
Not only would it please her sister, but for many of the men it was reuniting them with mates they’d lost in the process of being brought back to life.
Orpheus was not one of those people. In death, he had been lonely.
Like Masse, he had died young. Fate wondered if that was Life’s plan for Grymington’s people.
To pick souls who’d barely had the chance to taste what the world offered.
Grymington himself had initially been picked to rejoin Earth as a sentinel, but Alaric’s decision to destroy the machine that paired his people with necromancers had altered his destiny.
So, he had been like many of the sentinels and had died tragically in battle years or millennia before Faustus, Domitia, and Le’Terrius had crafted their spell.
As for the first reaper, Fate had paired two young enchanters, and they’d been casualties of some old war she could no longer remember.
Death had ensured the pair had flourished in her realm until that idiot Sigimund had resurrected poor Rixon.
Thankfully, that situation was resolved, and Rixon was reunited with his other half and happily frolicking in the ebirlloba.
Realizing she was allowing herself to get distracted from her task yet again, Fate concentrated on Orpheus.
The reaper was a cheery soul who thought about others first. He was obsessed with hyping the band formed by Grymington’s mate not just because he prized the music but because he believed strongly in supporting those he loved.
And Orpheus adored his family. The Darays were his world.
So, it was imperative that a mate was found who would fit into Chander and Alaric’s household.
Fate closed her eyes and focused on the unbound souls who lived closest to Orpheus first. To her surprise, there was a man in Las Vegas who caught her attention immediately.
Where had he been hiding in her previous searches for Orpheus’s other half?
Fate rifled through his memories and analyzed his personality.
As she had first suspected, he was perfect for Orpheus.
She could not say when the pair would meet, but Fate carefully bound them together in a nearly impenetrable bond.
One that could only be broken by the few demonic beings who were alive, and the pair would have to prove they were incompatible first.
It angered Fate that anyone had the ability to destroy her work, but Justice kept a careful watch on the ability given to the demonic beings.
Fate trusted Justice to ensure no bond that could work would be shattered.
Satisfied that her task was complete, Fate quickly shifted the view to Ducarius and Drexley.
“What are you doing with my sentinels?” asked a voice Fate easily recognized as Death’s. She had not heard her sister enter the room, and the question had come from nowhere, so Fate was pleased that she had not screamed in terror or given any other clue that Death had scared the crap out of her.
“You know I cannot influence them,” Fate chided as she turned to face Death. As usual, her sister was wearing a long black gown, and the red waves of her hair fell past her waist. There was a scowl on her beautiful face and irritation in her black gaze. “What is wrong?”
“I do not understand why there is no other place for Mayhem and Chaos,” Death groused. “The rest of you find it amusing that they are acting as if they are butlers or something, but I am the one stuck here with them, and they are driving me crazy.”
Fate smirked. “Maybe we thought you could use the company.”
“I enjoy being alone.”
“Me too. I find it far easier to think when no one is bothering me.”
“Wonderful, now answer my question. What are you doing with my sentinels?”
“Why aren’t you surprised to find them together?”
“Because I pay attention and knew the second another sentinel left Earth.”
With a swish of her skirts, Fate sprawled on the lacy white chair she’d crafted. “But you were shocked to find that they were mates.”
Death rolled her eyes. “No, I was not. I long suspected they were mates. While every sentinel was curious about what had happened to Drexley, most were content knowing that he was alive and could take care of himself. They searched but did not obsess. Alaric, as their leader, worried about him. But Ducarius was also strangely focused on it. He took it upon himself to search even when it was not a task assigned to him. Plus, there are few unmated sentinels, and hardly any of them have a name starting with D.”
“But several other sentinels have mates of different races.”
“Ducarius would be less successful than his brethren at being with someone who is not a sentinel. He has moved beyond his past and has dealt with his scars, but like the rest of the former skeletons, it defines him too. Ducarius prefers the simplicity of training, trusting those closest to him and his brethren. However, he is less adventurous than any other sentinel. I always pictured him with another of his kind.”
“Exactly!” Fate enthused. “Someone else besides a sentinel might grow frustrated with his deep love of everything that defines him as part of his brotherhood.”
“Plus, I cheated. As soon as Drexley was trapped in Adney’s realm, I went through the entire necromancer’s life.”
“But Ducarius was not the sentinel of Adney’s mate.”
“No, but I am not a moron. I looked past her.”
“And discovered that Ducarius was the sentinel of her twin brother.”
“What an awful man he was. It was no wonder he was eventually disowned and ostracized. Ducarius would have easily met Drexley if different paths had been chosen by all involved. Damnable free will.”
“For warlocks and their familiars, you chose more defined paths. Warlock to warlock. Familiar to familiar. It ensured they met and could easily stay together.”
“Easy to do when souls are born, Death,” Fate explained.
“Sentinels were assigned by a machine created by three people who had no business defining bonds…let alone ones that gave those sentinels no choice but to obey orders. Sometimes I had to get creative so the matebonds would be successful. I figured that, being family members, the sentinels would still have the chance to be together. Little did I know that the necromancers would banish your sentinels to that horrible compound.”
“Necromancers were created at my behest, but I have no ability to alter or influence them directly since they are living,” Death defended.
“I know,” Fate replied softly. “I have often wondered if that is why so many of the necromancers are awful. That they have been intentionally meddled with because there are too many narrow-minded goddesses who resent you. Any goddess who is currently alive except for you can sway or alter their will.”
“Because their creation goddess cannot,” Death muttered as her eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I need to keep a far greater eye on Chander’s people. If Folly has figured out how easily they can be manipulated, necromancers would be useful to her.”
“At least their leader is fantastic. If they trust Chander, they will not be led astray.” Fate summoned a fan of feathers and whipped it near her face. “And his mate is so smoking hot.”
“Do you think Ducarius and Drexley will be successful?”
Fate smiled. “It is probably too early to pat myself on the back, but yes, there is a little glow in their souls already, and it has been but a few days. Adney may try to interfere, and Drexley must face his future. One that will be tougher than he can imagine yet thanks to his ignorance of how he has been controlled and swayed by Adney’s twisted version of reality, but Ducarius will be there for him.
I believe it will work out well, and they will soon have the Darays at their side to lend a hand or offer them support. ”
“Good, then I will see what I can do to hasten that rotten Adney’s death. He will soon find that his afterlife will take him out of the driver’s seat and that he must contend with paying for his choices.”
“I know you will find a suitable but painful future for our foul little necromancer.”
“The trick will be to handle it without stressing out his mate since she continues to pine for the asshole.”
“You are up to the task. Should I tell you about the Daray I matched today?”
Death’s eyes widened. “There are so few of them left unmated, it can only be one of a few.”
Fate rubbed her hands together. “It may be time to expand the Darays.”
“Or focus on aiding the undead elves still waiting at Elven D’Vaire.”
“Both worthy tasks. We’ll keep our focus on both avenues.”
There was a loud knock on the door. “We brought snacks,” Mayhem hollered from the hallway.
“And drinks,” Chaos screeched.
Death scowled. “We also need to make a list of different options for that meddling pair.”
“Yes, but let’s first find out if they brought anything tasty for us to enjoy.”