A Dance With Death

|| Chapter 40 - Incite ||

                  

For a moment, it seems like the world is standing still – all eyes on me. There's not a sound that can be heard, no movement that can be seen, no air that can be felt. The reapers are frozen in their spots, utter terror in their eyes. The name of Death has seemed to get them intimidated – like a mischievous child getting called on by his angry parents. Neither of them is willing to acknowledge the fact that I, indeed, have suggested an otherwise 'terrible' solution. Or the fact that I am giving off so much energy. Even Ektor, who supposedly wasn't listening to our conversation, is surprised.

"You," Zebediah's coarse voice speaks up, "are a very crazy human." He steps away from the crowd, raising a shaky finger at me. He's scared. Just like Althea was when she first got to know about me. "You think you're really smart? You think your. . .your idea, is going to do something good?"

I shrug. "Of course I do," I say, my tone unaffected by his intense glare. "That's why I said it."

Before Zebediah could snap again, Griffith interrupts him. "Zayn," he warns. "We talked about this." He paces forward and looks at me with a concerned, yet apprehensive stare. Althea stands behind him, quiet.

"No!" I bark. "We didn't talk about this. You did. I said something but you guys shut me up. I listened. That's it. I listened to how you let these restrictions get in your way. You guys have the power, you have the ability. But you're too scared to take the chance!"

"Zayn," Raiden emerges and says, "I see where you're coming from," he raises his hands and speaks in a serene manner, implying that he understands, "but you don't know how dangerous this is. Death is not meant to walk on land. He's not to be among us. He'll bring something worse than the end."

"And you think that something bad is going to happen?" I ask, folding my arms on my chest.

"We know something bad will happen," he answers. He bites his lips, his eyes begging me to not talk about this further.

"And have you ever met this guy. . .?" I raise an eyebrow at him. His silence tells me what I need to know. "So never?"

"We don't need to meet Death in order to know what will happen," Zebediah says, his anger evident in the way he speaks. "There are rules––"

I raise my hand at him and cut him off with an annoyed huff. "Again with the goddamn rules!" I hear gasps after my remark. I step away from Zebediah and shake my head. "What is it with these stupid rules? What could possibly happen if you break these rules? The end of the world? Oh wait! We are already on the brink of that!" I clench my fists to show my frustration. "Why can't you just see what we can do with him on our side?"

"This is not about the effects of Death coming here, among humans," Raiden explains. "It's about a precedent that has been maintained since time existed."

"Potayto potahto. Precedent is just another fancy world for a rule." I swear that I could see a faint smile on Althea's lips just for a split second, as though she is really amused by what I said. But the fear in her eyes tells me otherwise.

"Zayn you don't understand," Raiden says, "this is not that simple."

He's wrong. I do understand. I know that this is very tough for them to do. They must've been around for hundreds of years, thousands even. All these years, they've lived under the constant fear of breaking the rule; of breaking the Order. They've never learned about what happens when the conduct is broken. They were told something, and they were made to follow it. They were made to feel scared of something that wasn't according to the rules. Reapers have been made to follow, not to lead. They've been bound by shackles in the name of rules.