Chapter 10:

There was no way Ants'nel was a spirit.

Jack had been thinking about the older (what did he call him? It wasn't like he knew what Ants'nel actually was), but he didn't really think that the older… being was a spirit.

First off, none of the other spirits ever saw him; heck, they'd never even heard of someone named Ants'nel, and everyone looked at Jack like he'd gone 'round the bend if he mentioned him. They'd never heard of Maras or Valka or Eia or Solriss or any of the others, either, and Bunny and Groundhog had started ribbing Jack about having a group of imaginary friends. The summer spirits outright teased him, declaring loudly and openly to anyone who would listen that Jack Frost was out of his mind.

Coyote and the White Owl Woman, on the other hand, though they said they did not know Ants'nel or the others, had begun acting a little strangely when Jack had described them. Heck, even the Leprechaun had looked a little nervous.

Now that Jack thought about it, all of the oldest spirits said they didn't know anyone named Ants'nel, and it certainly seemed like they were being honest when they said it, but when Jack began actually describing him they started acting funny. All of them looked uncertain; some even looked a little scared.

Needless to say, it had Jack intensely curious.

Of course, most would probably have suggested that Jack simply go to Ants'nel with his suspicions and talk about it, but… well, Jack didn't know how to even begin approaching the subject. Hey, Ants'nel, I was wondering why none of the other spirits know about you and why none of them can see you. You mind telling me why that is?

The sad thing was that was essentially the best conversation opener Jack could come up with, which was one reason Jack was somewhat relieved when he couldn't find Ants'nel. He'd flown all over the globe, twice, and there had been no sign of… anyone, actually. Well, he'd seen Vlad in Romania and had said a brief hello, but Jack knew that he didn't keep tabs on denizens of the spirit world.

So here Jack was, sitting in a lone tree near the edge of a small woodland in the Scottish Highlands. It was fairly dark out; despite the fact that there was a full moon a light fog had descended about an hour ago, shrouding a good portion of the light. Jack found he didn't really mind the partial darkness; he didn't particularly want to feel like he was being watched by the Moon right now.

Idly making patterns of frost in the grass with his staff, Jack found himself wondering of the Moon ever talked to Ants'nel. Ants'nel never really brought the spirit up, and whenever Jack mentioned MiM in his presence he would always seem to radiate a feeling of… annoyance, Jack supposed he'd call it. That in itself was odd; all the other spirits Jack had met held some level of respect for the Moon (despite that Pitch's was distinctly grudging). But when Ants'nel spoke of him, he always managed to make the Man in the Moon sound like a child trying to act like an adult, messing with things he didn't really understand. Valka was the same way; she'd scoff whenever MiM was mentioned, and her horse would be more inclined to bite things for several minutes afterward (Jack had learned that the hard way). Eia always looked like she'd sucked on a lemon and Maras would look like he'd actually considered rolling his eyes.

Aside from that, though, there was this aura around Ants'nel. Jack was rarely cognizant of it these days since he'd known him for so long, but Ants'nel had this feeling of age about him, and whenever it was pronounced enough for Jack to notice it the frost spirit got the distinct impression that Ants'nel was older than the Man in the Moon. Much older.

Come to think of it, he'd never asked Ants'nel how old he was, either.

And, as though summoned by his thoughts, Jack heard a familiar voice. Well, familiar enough that Jack recognized it as Ants'nel, but it had… changed. It… Jack wasn't sure how to describe it. It sounded like dried leaves blowing over a dirt road, or like sand falling through an hourglass.

"This is the sixth one in as many weeks. So many half-formed ghouls in so little time cannot be a coincidence, Solriss."

"I know that, but I can't pick up any magic traces, not even anything like necromancy."

"Have you spoken with the cait sith and the hounds?"

"Yes; none of them have seen or sensed anything suspicious, and poor old Shuck has been patrolling this area for nearly three weeks! I don't understand how someone could be raising corporeal ghouls right under our noses!"

Ghouls?! Jack felt a thrill of terror run down his spine. He'd heard tales of the creatures from spirits all over the world, undead creatures that fed on the spirits and occasionally the flesh of the living, and hoped that come Hell or high water he'd never meet one. To hear that Ants'nel had, apparently, dealt with six of the things with apparently no issue…

What was he?

Jack, shifting as quickly and quietly as he could, climbed higher in his tree, just to a point where he could see above the shifting fog. Four figures stood illuminated by the moonlight. Two were horses, Ants'nel's pale steed and Solriss's blood bay mare. One was Solriss. Jack couldn't see Ants'nel's face from here; he was wearing his usual hooded cloak, but now the hood had been drawn up over his head.

Then the hooded figure turned toward his horse, who was staring intently at his master, and Jack froze in shock. And terror.

Beneath the hood there was nothing but a skull, though the voice it spoke with, though changed, was undoubtedly Ants'nel's.

"I am aware, my friend," he said, lifting a hand- a skeletal hand- to stroke the pale steed's nose.

And then it clicked.

The Pale Horseman.

Ants'nel wasn't a spirit. Ants'nel was an Incarnation. No, more than that, he was a Primordial. The most powerful and quite probably the oldest Primordial.

Ants'nel was Death.

Well, here's a new chapter, everyone! I felt emotionally stable enough to finally finish this one, but it will probably be a while before I continue this story. The condition I was diagnosed with a little over a month ago is major depressive disorder, and I have been working on managing my symptoms and recovering from this episode ever since. Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support and encouragement; it helps me keep going.