Page 98 of In Between Death and the Devil

He smirked, unrepentant. “Yes. You can do something similar with light.”

I remembered the way Death had stepped out of a rent in the air in the Dungeon. That was a handy skill to have. I’d ask him to show me, after I got through this. “Now what?” I asked, looking at the statue on the platform.

“Approach the platform and make your request.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of his embrace. I’d only made it a few feet before the whole space lit up, nearly blinding me. I threw up a hand to shield my face, blinking rapidly to clear the spots from my vision. Once they cleared, I realized the light was coming from a large ball hovering in front of the platform. Shading my eyes, I saw the outline of a person roughly the same shape and size as the reclining statue, except they appeared to be floating upright several inches above the floor.

The light dimmed until I no longer had to squint, the shape of the figure sharpening until a wave of power washed over me, sending me to my knees.

“Welcome, Successor. We’ve been expecting you. Tell me what you seek.” The voice sent chills down my spine, and every instinct I had screamed at me to run. It sounded both ancient and young, human and very much not, and it seemed to come from everywhere. I felt it pull at me, like someone worrying the edge of a ribbon until it frayed. Awareness of anything that wasn’t them ceased to exist.

Fen had not exaggerated about the Guardian’s power, except powerful didn’t seem like the right word, because it felt nothing like what ran through me or what I’d felt from Fen. This was realm-ending. Combined with the lack of emotion or humanity in the Guardian’s voice, I understood why he didn’t feel secure in their presence. If they decided to end one of us, I had no doubt they’d do it without any hesitation.

Panic coursed through me, freezing my limbs and strangling my voice. I had to force my lungs to expand.

A moment later, the pressure that had driven me to my knees lessened enough for me to be able to breathe normally.

“I wish to challenge Death.” My voice was reedy, but my words were clear.

My request was met with silence. It went on for so long that I looked up.

Solid white eyes captured my gaze and bore into me, as if evaluating or searching for something. My eyes watered, but I couldn’t look away. After what felt like an eternity, their grip lessened and I was able to blink.

“Your soul has not been weighed.” Their voice was emotionless and yet somehow condemning.

I froze. The last time I’d been faced with the scales, my powers had made their first appearance, and I hadn’t finished the job. My heart dropped into my stomach.

“All souls who come to the In Between must be weighed.” A column of polished black stone appeared in front of me. On the top were a set of scales and a familiar box of weights.

The scales were unlike the ones Death kept in her rooms, slimmer, with no decoration, just clean lines of metal that gleamed silver, gold and black in turn. A small rod stuck straight out from the center support in between the two pans. I’d seen something similar on the scales in my father’s office. It kept the pans level until it was removed.

Sweat broke out on my forehead as I stood. The memory of standing in front of Death while my power appeared, the terror and helplessness when the weight in my hand had turned to ash assaulted me. I looked down to find my hands glowing.

“Do I have to do it right now?” I fisted my hands, silently begging the light to retreat. It faded, but didn’t completely dissipate, like it sensed it was needed and refused to leave me alone.

“Your presence in the In Between as an unweighed soul is not natural and cannot be tolerated any longer.” Their power built again, pressing on me until I thought I might burst.

I tried to suck in a breath, but I felt like I was choking. “Then I will do it now,” I managed to grit out.

The pressure lifted.

Grabbing my throat, I gasped, sucking down huge gulps of air.

“Very well.” The Guardian reached out a hand towards me, floating closer.

Bracing myself for the pain of having my heart ripped out, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to whimper. Except all I felt was a gentle tug. There was the same sense of being diminished that I remembered from the first time, but no pain. When I opened my eyes, my heart sat on one side of the scale. I blinked. Unlike last time, it remained a solid gold. The outside shell didn’t fade to reveal the pieces inside.

“Am I not to select pieces to be weighed?”

“No.”

I frowned. I’d thought it odd to only weigh pieces of one’s soul instead of the whole, but seeing the whole thing on the scale was unnerving. Like there was nowhere to hide. It made no sense since I’d chosen the worst parts of myself before, but the vulnerability was undeniable. My hand trembled as I reached for the pin in the middle to set the scales loose.

“No.” The Guardian’s voice made me jump. “Leave it in place until the end.”

I swallowed. There would be no way to tell if my sentence was right until after I’d chosen it.

An hourglass appeared in the air next to the Guardian. “You have until the sand runs out to complete this task.”