Page 115 of Woven Souls

The temperature in the room goes from comfortable to freezing in an instant. As lightning cracks across the sky outside, the power goes out. The small hairs on the back of my neck rise. It grows colder in the room. Frost creeps across the windows. All three of us stiffen as a split between realms forms, and Death steps into the cabin.

At least, it feels like Death.

The being that joins us looks nothing like the father figure who came to check on his daughter a few weeks ago. This entity is made up of the blackest of black shadows, crowding the room with its width, height, and sheer power with hardly any true shape. The cloak hanging off the shadowy mass of dangerous energy billows in a wind I cannot feel. Where I assume his face is, burn two bright white globes that are pinned in my direction. I can’t see his expression, but I canfeelthe rage radiating from him.

WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?The power in his voice is so intense the house shakes. He whirls around to face Kwil who, even in the dark, visibly shakes under the weight of Death’s fury.WHERE IS YOUR MATE, KWIL? THE ONE YOU PROMISED YOU’D PROTECT!

Kwil’s hands ball into fists at his sides before they uncurl and his shoulders sag. He lowers his head in shame.

“She’s gone. She’s been taken from us.”

GONE? GONE WHERE?he bellows.I CAN HEAR HER SCREAMS STRETCHING ACROSS ALL OF TIME. I CANNOT PINPOINT WHERE SHE IS, SO TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND HER.

Her screams… Oh, god. Bile creeps up my throat.

“She’s not here in the Realm of the Living,” I tell him, my voice cracking as my instincts scream at me to shut up and run. “Fulton used the Utikyie to take her to your realm.”

You failed my daughter. All of you,Death hisses.Where is the fourth one? Too much a coward to face me?

“Jonah went after her,” Viktor states, his voice thick with emotion, making it gruff. “He dove into the Veil, and that’s the last we’ve seen of him.”

Death pauses.He’s dead… I can use this to my advantage…

“Is that certain?” I ask him slowly, dreading the answer.

No one lives in the Realm of the Dead,he snaps at me.

“Then, Willow is dead, too.” Kwil’s voice is hardly more than a whisper, but I hear it break all the same.

She’s not dead, she is stuck in between,her father objects at once with a cold hiss.I will find Jonah, and he will help me hunt her down. With his connection to her, he will feel the pull to her soul.

Death turns his back to us ready to leave, but I step forward at the same time Viktor and Kwil step in his way.

“Take me with you,” Kwil pleads. “We were just discussing this when you arrived.”

Then, you are stupid as well as incompetent,Death sneers.If I hadn’t shown up, you’d be stuck in this realm.

Kwil swallows hard. “Then take me with you now that you’re here.”

“Take usbothwith you. Our woman needs us,” Viktor states firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

SHE NEEDED YOU BEFORE!The windows in the room shatter under Death’s booming voice. As glass goes flying, the heavy rain comes pouring in.

“Give us a chance to fix this.” I take a step towards the raging entity. “You said she needs us with her in order to have full access to her power. If she’s in trouble, she needs us now more than ever.”

Death stills as he considers my offer. I look from him to the others who are watching Death with expressions ranging from desperation to determination. I’m certain both are holding their breath. Hope blossoms in my chest the longer Willow’s father doesn’t object to our request. Finally, Death sighs.

There are rules I must follow, and one of the biggest is that a soul must have passed before I can cross it over.

“So, we have to die.” I look to the others who turn to look at me. Judging by the hard press of Viktor’s mouth and the anguish in Kwil’s face, there’s nothing to discuss. “None of us have any objection to this.”

Death says nothing as he drifts over to the side table next to the couch. One moment the table is empty, and the next there is a crystal decanter with three matching whiskey glasses sitting there.

Then why not share a farewell toast before you leave this realm forever?The curious tone in Death’s voice captures my attention.I will give you a few minutes, and then I’ll be back.

With that, Death disappears. I have a feeling he didn’t return to the Realm of the Dead. The unnatural cold he brings with him lingers in his wake and the hair on the back of my neck remains standing. I don’t give him another thought, though, as I move towards the gift he left in his wake.

My hands shake as I reach for the decanter. I’ve never feared dying, thanks to the training the Brotherhood beat into us about the glory that comes with it. But I have never once beeneagerfor it, either. Now, I am. We’re going to save Willow. Not because our souls demand to be with her again, but because my heart is bleeding and screaming without her. It is with an eagerness to rejoin the woman I adore, mixed with the trepidation of not knowing what we’ll face in our journey to find her that I shake.

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