Page 118 of Down from the Tower

“You know nothing,” Midas growls, but I’m barely listening to him. If this white rabbit wants to divulge the secrets of the Queen’s madness and Midas’ fixation on the dead, I’m not going to stop him. Let him shed his sins before he passes and save me the trouble of digging for answers.

“So what was the purpose of the wall, then,” I ask, “other than to physically keep people like Arthur’s army and the Mad Queen from crossing into Tressa?”

Theo rings his hands, and he’s starting to adjust since this time they don’t disappear. “The wall is like a barrier. There’s a lot of spiritual concentration in Tressa, but you probably never noticed it before, Reaper. It all manifested in Midas’ magic since he stole the souls of anyone who passed within the kingdom, and then when he needed the extra magical push to fight off Arthur’s advancing troops, he called all the gold within his power back to his body. Since the people of Tressa had gold embedded in their blood and souls from the water-”

“It killed all the living citizens to call them back to Midas,” Rapunzel says, filling in the blanks. She looks to her father with renewed disgust, shifting away.

“Yes. Because Midas can control the spirits in Tressa, it offset the balance. The dead are meant to be Reaped, not concentrated. Because Midas would steal them from all across Tressa, the dead never rose. Spirits have a habit of concentrating where the greatest spiritual pull is, or where there are lots of dead. Right, Reaper?”

I nod to Theo. “Yes. Like calls to like. When the dead concentrate in one location, it draws other souls to that point. It calls the Reapers forth too, so we can Reap the dead and help them pass on.”

He glances sadly between the three of us, shaking his head. “Until you both crossed over the wall, there were no souls passing in or out of Tressa. Living, dead, no one passed over the wall. There were rumors in the kingdom and surely in Sherwood that people could, but no one ever made it. The travelers were either struck down by guards or killed when Midas spotted them. The wall alloted absolute control, and the only way in was through the port. So when the two of you passed over the wall, one living and one dead, it shook the magic within and caused the curse to splinter. He couldn’t control any souls that didn’t drink from the cursed fountain, that’s not within the King’s domain. So to keep his gathered souls from leaving to seek a Reaper, or unwanted souls from entering the kingdom and causing him issues, he built the wall. You managed to do exactly what the wall was designed to stop, and it created weakness within the structure.”

Theo is on a roll and I don’t have to encourage him to continue. “When the King panicked about the rumors of Arthur’s troops, the whispers that said the Mad Queen was coming, and his daughter gallivanting around Mystica, he took drastic measures. Purging the kingdom of all the living, except the few who drank the Phoenix Rose, caused unrest. The tea protected us from the Golden Curse and in turn suppressed the princess' power. But the other civilians, guards, everyone? They all died and Midas called them to do his bidding, becoming a part of his power. That magical pull was too much for the damaged wards around the kingdom, so the wall cracked. And when that many spirits rose up-”

“It caused a domino effect,” I grumble. “Too many spirits, too much spiritual energy. It alerted the dead to the new surge of energy, drawing them in. That’s why I felt an overwhelming burst of power, causing me to pass out. It’s like being supercharged with magic all at once, and the spirits took notice. But that wall was still intact, so there was no way for the newly arrived spirits to enter. Now that Midas is dead, they can enter anywhere they wish.”

Theo pauses, as though he’s trying to take a breath that his spirit no longer needs. “All of this happened because Midas wanted absolute power, and paid the ultimate price. The dead must be Reaped, and those left alive will decide the fate of Tressa. The wall is gone, and those ships Arthur sent out following Modred’s death are gone.”

“And Arthur’s going to want vengeance for the ships that were destroyed,” Rapunzel chimes in.

“I didn’t do that,” Midas snaps, waving a hand. “The wall did that when it fell. I’ve fed magic into the structure every day for years, ensuring it was impenetrable so the only way to attack was by sea. And it worked, until I passed. When I no longer had a hold on the structure, it fell. That’s what destroyed the ships and leveled the kingdom. Almost a half-century of magic being dispelled all at once will cause a rush of power to overtake the land.”

I frown at his timeline. “The wall went up when I was alive. It hasn't been half a century.”

Midas grins at me, his ghostly smile malicious. “It wasn’t a wall at first, not like it is today. It started small. I began with a perimeter of golden bricks lining the kingdom, and built from there. Bricks became gates, gates became a wall, and I phased out the openings as my strength grew and my daughters were born, so no one could cross the wall.”

My brows lift. He put a lot of time into barring his kingdom from the world, just for it all to come crashing down the moment he died.

There’s a large gust of chilled wind, and I glance out towards the fallen wall. A wave of white is crossing the land, and my eyes widen as I realize what it is.

The dead. So many spirits called here. I’ve used too much magic fighting, and even if I could reap some, there’s no way I can send all of them on.

Midas turns, grunting. “All that power, wasted. They came when I called upon the lives of this land. It created unrest, apparently. I felt the dead surging towards the kingdom and intended to call them home, but unfortunately you two and the Mad Queen showed up before I could get to that.”

Rapunzel steps forward, ready to get into it with her father again but I place a hand on her shoulder. “We need to move on.”

She glances at me, her brows drawing together. “But… the dead are coming. Don’t you have to deal with them?”

“All at once?” I ask, looking down at my hands. “Even at full power, reaping hundreds of spirits at once is quite a feat. Perhaps if I had one or two other Reapers to help, it could be done, but not after our battle with the Queen. I can’t call out that much power again.”

Midas scoffs, like the idea is absolutely absurd, but Rapunzel slowly nods in understanding. “Okay, then what do we need to do?”

“Leave,” I answer, looking at the two spirits before us. They cannot wander. Both of them know too much and have self-serving intentions. If they are free to roam Mystica until another Reaper arrives to reap them, disaster could strike.

I hold out my hand, the comforting weight of my scythe returning to my palm. “We can go in a moment. It’s best to be away before so many dead take the kingdom. But these two I can send on.”

Theo bows his head, but Midas floats backward a few steps. “Absolutely not! You will not be deciding my fate, boy.”

“Unfortunately,” I say to him, dragging the blade in a wide arch before dragging downward, opening the rift like I did for Dorah, “I can and will cast you into the afterlife.”

Midas growls, but Theo speaks over him. “Please, don’t forget the timepiece. You will need it again someday, I’m sure of it.”

I really don’t know if he’s being truthful, or if like many of the dead he’s just spouting off his sins to cleanse his soul before he passes on. Midas is doing a fine job avoiding that, but Theo is a bit like Modred. I nod, and before I can move Rapunzel steps away, shifting towards the timepiece in question.

I gesture with my scythe to the tear. “Away you go. If you try to run, I’ll cleave your soul in two and cast you out in pieces.”

Theo doesn’t need the threat, bowing once more before shifting forward. I could almost call the look on his face peaceful, like he’s more than ready to greet the next life. He steps through without question, and I turn my attention to Midas.

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