death’s summons. Until
Bec.”
The rocket we saw touch down rises with a roar that shakes the tombs around me. I think the structures are going to shatter,
but as the rocket parts the clouds and powers away from the planet, they settle down again.
“We don’t know how Bec cheated death,” Raz says softly. “We’re not sure if she chose to remain, or if the Kah-Gash kept her,
aware of the side effects.”
“What side effects?”
Raz is silent a moment. Then he moves away from the lodestone, through the tombs, back to the chamber. As I follow, he speaks.
“Death was a force, but when Bec defied it, that force developed a mind. It became aware of itself, the universes, its role.
And unfortunately it reacted with anger.”
“This is madness,” I grumble. “Death’s not a person. It can’t
react.
”
“It can now,” Raz disagrees. “It constructed a body. Prior to Bec, beings died and souls passed on. But the new Death has
the power to harness souls. It can deny them passage to whatever lies beyond. It built a huge, shadowy body out of—”
“The Shadow!”
I cry, coming to a standstill, eyes widening with horror.
I’m trembling. It all makes horrible sense now. Beranabus was right—the Shadow
is
the greatest threat we’ve ever faced. Only it’s far worse than he imagined. You can’t cheat death and you can’t hide from
it.
“Precisely,” Raz sighs. “Since death claims all things, Death knows where all things are. The body of Death can only thrive
in an area of magic, so it resides in the demon universe. But its reach extends to all worlds. It can guide the Demonata to
wherever there is life.”
“But why is it working for them?” I moan.
Raz makes a humming noise. “This is speculation, but we believe the Demonata and Death share a common goal—the restoration
of the Kah-Gash. If they achieve it, the lifeforms of this universe will cease to exist. The Demonata will return to their
immortal ways. The Old Creatures will drift along sadly. And Death’s task will be vastly lessened.”
“What task?” I frown.
“The harvesting of souls. Death’s job is far harder now than it was before the Big Bang—so many souls to process. It seems
to think the job is
too
hard, and is working to—as you humans would aptly put it—lighten its workload.”
“We have to stop it,” I gasp. “We have to find the Shadow and destroy it. If Death has a body, it can be attacked. If we kill
it, maybe its mind will unravel.”
“We do not think it is possible to kill Death,” Raz murmurs. “It will simply put another body together. There will never be
a shortage of souls.”
“The Kah-Gash,” I snap. “We can use that.”
Raz makes a face. “The Kah-Gash never had power over death. Also, as I said, it might have worked through Bec to grant Death
consciousness in the first place. The Kah-Gash has changed. In the past, the pieces cut random paths through the universes.
But since Bec defied death, the other parts have worked their way to your planet. They both cropped up there shortly after
she died. We could do nothing about Bec’s piece—she was beyond our grasp—but we directed the other pair into forms of our
choosing and sent them far away.
“They escaped and returned to Earth, in Grubitsch Grady and you.”
“You think the Kah-Gash wants to reunite?” I frown.
“It looks that way. Perhaps the Kah-Gash wishes to fight Death, to preserve the universes. Or maybe it too yearns for a return
to simpler ways, and is using Death to achieve its goal. We don’t know. We can only fear.”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” I grunt. “We have to go back. I’ll join with Bec and Grubbs, try to control the
Kah-Gash, and hope for the best. There’s no other way, is there?”
“Actually,” Raz coughs, “there is. But you’re not going to like it…”
NOAH MK II
W HEN we cross to the next world, I find myself on a large, circular,
Bec.”
The rocket we saw touch down rises with a roar that shakes the tombs around me. I think the structures are going to shatter,
but as the rocket parts the clouds and powers away from the planet, they settle down again.
“We don’t know how Bec cheated death,” Raz says softly. “We’re not sure if she chose to remain, or if the Kah-Gash kept her,
aware of the side effects.”
“What side effects?”
Raz is silent a moment. Then he moves away from the lodestone, through the tombs, back to the chamber. As I follow, he speaks.
“Death was a force, but when Bec defied it, that force developed a mind. It became aware of itself, the universes, its role.
And unfortunately it reacted with anger.”
“This is madness,” I grumble. “Death’s not a person. It can’t
react.
”
“It can now,” Raz disagrees. “It constructed a body. Prior to Bec, beings died and souls passed on. But the new Death has
the power to harness souls. It can deny them passage to whatever lies beyond. It built a huge, shadowy body out of—”
“The Shadow!”
I cry, coming to a standstill, eyes widening with horror.
I’m trembling. It all makes horrible sense now. Beranabus was right—the Shadow
is
the greatest threat we’ve ever faced. Only it’s far worse than he imagined. You can’t cheat death and you can’t hide from
it.
“Precisely,” Raz sighs. “Since death claims all things, Death knows where all things are. The body of Death can only thrive
in an area of magic, so it resides in the demon universe. But its reach extends to all worlds. It can guide the Demonata to
wherever there is life.”
“But why is it working for them?” I moan.
Raz makes a humming noise. “This is speculation, but we believe the Demonata and Death share a common goal—the restoration
of the Kah-Gash. If they achieve it, the lifeforms of this universe will cease to exist. The Demonata will return to their
immortal ways. The Old Creatures will drift along sadly. And Death’s task will be vastly lessened.”
“What task?” I frown.
“The harvesting of souls. Death’s job is far harder now than it was before the Big Bang—so many souls to process. It seems
to think the job is
too
hard, and is working to—as you humans would aptly put it—lighten its workload.”
“We have to stop it,” I gasp. “We have to find the Shadow and destroy it. If Death has a body, it can be attacked. If we kill
it, maybe its mind will unravel.”
“We do not think it is possible to kill Death,” Raz murmurs. “It will simply put another body together. There will never be
a shortage of souls.”
“The Kah-Gash,” I snap. “We can use that.”
Raz makes a face. “The Kah-Gash never had power over death. Also, as I said, it might have worked through Bec to grant Death
consciousness in the first place. The Kah-Gash has changed. In the past, the pieces cut random paths through the universes.
But since Bec defied death, the other parts have worked their way to your planet. They both cropped up there shortly after
she died. We could do nothing about Bec’s piece—she was beyond our grasp—but we directed the other pair into forms of our
choosing and sent them far away.
“They escaped and returned to Earth, in Grubitsch Grady and you.”
“You think the Kah-Gash wants to reunite?” I frown.
“It looks that way. Perhaps the Kah-Gash wishes to fight Death, to preserve the universes. Or maybe it too yearns for a return
to simpler ways, and is using Death to achieve its goal. We don’t know. We can only fear.”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” I grunt. “We have to go back. I’ll join with Bec and Grubbs, try to control the
Kah-Gash, and hope for the best. There’s no other way, is there?”
“Actually,” Raz coughs, “there is. But you’re not going to like it…”
NOAH MK II
W HEN we cross to the next world, I find myself on a large, circular,
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