Page 113 of Woven Souls

“Get up,now,” he snarls as he grabs the collar of my sweatshirt and yanks me to my feet with ease.

“Hey, get off—”

“Shut up and listen to me,” a voice says deep within the hood. “You’re going to tell meeverythingyou know about Willow Harvest and the man after her.”

He wants to know about Willow? Who the hell does this guy think he is? I scowl and shove at the hooded individual. He lets go of me, but my blow has no other effect against the wall of muscle I just tried to move. My fists tighten at my side as I glare at the individual.

“I’m not telling you anything.”

The hooded figure leans over me as he grabs me again by the collar of my hoodie. “You will if you value your soul,” he hisses.

A shiver runs down my spine. Mysoul? Not my life?

That’s when it hits me. I was cold and unable to move earlier because I wasdying. I’m dead. I look down to find proof right at my feet. The body I’m standing beside is gray and stiff. The mouth is open in an eternal scream; my face twisted with agony. I grimace as I look back up at the person who has a hold of me.

Wait a minute… I fell throughWillow’sVeil, which means…

“Hold on. You’re Willow’s reaper!” I bark out in surprise. Relief releases the tension in my body. “She’s in danger.”

The reaper lets out a deep chuckle that lacks any warmth or amusement. Somehow, a chill manages to race down my spine despite not having a physical body.

“Exactly, I’m hers, and she’smine,” the reaper hisses as his grip tightens. “So, give me thequickversion of everything you know so when I findmywoman, I know what to expect.”

I’m not a fan of the possessiveness in the guy’s voice. Scowling, I shove at him again.

This time he doesn’t let go.

“She’s notjustyours. She’s all of ours.” I glare into the darkness of his hood. He may be a foot taller than me, and nearly as thick as Viktor, but I won’t let him intimidate me. “And I’ll tell you everything so that whenwefind her,wecan work together to save her.”

“You think you’re going to find her?” His incredulous scoff is followed by the reaper releasing me and stepping back. “You have no idea how the Realm of the Dead works.”

He’s right. I don’t. But there is something that I have going for me that he doesn’t.

“That may be so, but I’m an elite tracker. I can findanything.” I grin as my body already begins to shift through this realm in search of Willow. Being dead doesn’t seem to affect my skill. “I’ll be able to point you in the right direction in just a moment.”

The reaper grunts. At least, I think so.

“Well?” The reaper crosses his arms over his chest.

“Well, what?” Didn’t I tell him it would take a few minutes?

The dramatic sigh the reaper lets out sets me on edge. I open my mouth to explain how my gift works, but before I get the words out, he interrupts.

“If that’s true, by the time you’re done explaining what the hell is going on, we’ll know which way to go.” He tilts his head in my direction. “So, start talking.Now.”

Right, it’s time to save Willow. With a nod I open my mouth and let the entire story fall out.

Chapter29

THEODON

“Come on!”

I yank Kwil’s arm as he stumbles. I don’t think anyone is following us, but I’m not going to wait around to find out. Pretty much everyone who isn’tus,lies dead at the top of the temple. But that doesn’t mean guards posted around Everlast aren’t gunning for us.

Willow’s last grand gesture before being ripped from this world only adds to the gut wrenching, nauseating pain burning so hot in my chest my eyes won’t stop watering, nor will the trembling of my limbs subside. Breathing through it is no good. It feels like I’ve been amputated in the grisliest fashion. My whole being wants to collapse in on itself. But before I can shrivel up in despair, I have to get Viktor and Kwil to safety.

As the van comes into view, I almost lose it. My legs wobble, and my vision blurs so dramatically that the van disappears. I blink away the moisture as I let go of Kwil to jog over to get the keys I hid earlier in the day. Both Viktor and Kwil stumble over to the car. When I unlock it with the push of a button, they yank open the doors and climb inside. I get on the driver’s side and shove the keys into the ignition.

---