Page 83 of In Between Death and the Devil

“We’re not talking about this anymore,” Daphne said. “So, Fen says you’re with us.” She looked at me expectantly.

“I am.” I was proud of the certainty in my voice. If I was going to be the next Death, I needed to start acting like it. Projecting confidence, even if I didn’t feel it.

The relief around the table was palpable.

“Tell me what I need to do to challenge Death.”

Daphne exchanged a worried glance with Marcus and Titus and then the three of them looked at Fen.

“We haven’t had a chance to discuss in detail.” He held up his hands.

“What?” I asked, my stomach sinking. He was right. All he’d told me was that I’d have to challenge Death in something like combat to replace her.

“The challenge is not simple,” Marcus said.

“So tell me what’s involved.” I crossed my arms, trying not to appear as agitated as I felt. The optimism I’d woken with evaporated.

Fen’s hand landed on my thigh, and a quiet support filtered through our bond.

I took a breath. I was just collecting information. There was no need to freak out. Yet.

“You’ll need to prepare in a number of ways,” Daphne said.

“Learning to use your powers for combat,” Titus said.

“Strengthening your Death Chord with Fen so you can draw on more power,” Marcus added.

“And then there’s the trials for you to get the Orb,” Daphne said.

My eyes bounced between them as they spoke, my pulse spiking. Tests? Orb? I glared at Fen. He hadn’t mentioned anything about any of that.

Fen sighed. “I’m sorry, Maeve. I thought we’d be able to have this conversation before you committed to this path. I wanted you to have all the information before you decided.” His regret and worry pulsed through our connection.

I’d have liked that, too, but Death had forced my hand. Now, I felt utterly unprepared for what I needed to do. “Just explain it,” I said as calmly as I could manage.

All of us looked at Fen.

“A Successor can challenge a sitting Death or Devil by passing three trials. Once the third trial is completed, the Successor is given the symbol of their castle. In Death’s case, it’s an Orb.”

I nodded. Everyone in the World of the Living knew about Death’s Orb and the Devil’s Rod. The symbols were in most of the statues of them that decorated the Orders.

“The Orb, or Rod,” he continued, “gives the Successor the right to make the challenge.”

I bit my lip, wishing it was more straightforward.

“The trials require a Successor to prove they have what it takes to mount a serious challenge,” Daphne said, as if sensing my thoughts. “Otherwise there probably would’ve been a lot of challenges in the In Between’s history.”

I nodded. That made sense. There wasn’t any point in challenging Death if I didn’t think I could defeat her. “So, I need to get the Orb. Tell me about the trials. What do I have to do?” I ignored the lead pooling in my stomach.

The table fell silent once more as they glanced between each other, as if debating who was going to give me the bad news. I was getting really sick of them treating me so gently. I wished they would just get on with it.

“We don’t know,” Marcus said finally. “There aren’t any records about them.”

“Death purged her Library of anything that talked about the transition between Successor and god when Fen ascended,” Daphne said, her expression sour. “All we know is that there are three trials and that they vary every time.”

I fisted my hands to keep them from trembling. “How am I supposed to prepare for something if we have no idea what’s involved?”

“Preparing you for combat should prepare you for anything the trials might throw at you,” Titus said.