Page 31 of Woven Souls

I freeze in surprise. No one but me, and a handful of necromancers, call this world the Realm of the Living or refer to the other as the Realm of the Dead. Fredrick must see something on my face because his eyes light up with excitement.

“Yes, you know about the Realm of the Dead, don’t you, Willow? But did you know that Death Magiconlyresides in that realm? Yet, somehow, not only do you possess this rare power, you hold an abundance of it. My theory is that you don’t belong in this realm.” He grins. “It is believed that the power in the Realm of the Dead is so great because those with power who have died in the Realm of the Living bring over a small portion of it with them, and it gets added to the growing mass of energy the Realm of the Dead contains. Is that true?”

I have absolutely no idea if that’s true. Quite frankly, I don’t really care what power lies over in the Realm of the Dead. What I care about is that he knows I have Death Magic and that it excites him.

I’m also worried about how much Viktor is gaining from this conversation.

While his expression remains impassive, there is not a single doubt in my mind that Viktor is wholly invested. There is no way he can sit there, unfazed, when the last time he heard the term “Death Magic” was when the other Ghosts outed me for not being a necromancer. I wish I knew what he was thinking.

Instead of answering Fredrick’s question, I roll my eyes and scoff. “So, we’re here because you selfishly decided to overreach and be all powerful. Did you ever think that reaching into each realm might be dangerous?”

“Not at the time, no,” Fredrick admits with a frown, clearly disappointed that I don’t wish to address his question. “Unfortunately, I was too short-sighted to see it any other way.”

I shake my head in confusion. “How do I fit into all of this?”

“With age comes wisdom,” the warlock explains. “What the scrolls did not cover was how to reach into each realm. I began creating spells that would tamper with the Veil first, knowing the Realm of the Dead would probably be the hardest to gain access to, consequences be damned. In order to keep track of everything, I began to write down the things I learned and the spells I created into a book.”

“Oh boy,” I grimace. “This is the book I touched, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed,” he confirms. “Eventually, I learned about ripples the Fae protect and travel through. Finding a ripple wasn’t too hard once I knew what I was looking for, and once I managed to take what I needed from that realm, I thought I would be closer to opening the Veil to the Realm of the Dead. Unfortunately, by then, my work drew attention from other warlocks. A few times my book was stolen, but each time I managed to find it again. Frustrated that my findings and all my hard work was being threatened, I cursed the damn thing one night in anger. Whoever touched it would be cursed in a horrific fashion, which varied depending upon the person. The only ones that could use the book would be me or someone whose power was so great they could do what I set out to do: open the Veil…”

Again, his eyes fasten on to me. As I meet his gaze, I make sure not to react to his words.

“How did I end up touching your book,Fred? Shouldn’t you have it in your possession?”

“During my quest, I fell in love with a woman named Rebecca.” Fredrick’s excitement fades as his expression softens. “And when she got pregnant, my dreams changed. No longer did I want to be this great warlock, but rather a great father and husband. I gave up looking for power and reprioritized my life. But while I gave up, others did not. One night while I was away, teaching at a university, a warlock broke into our house and tried to steal the book. Rebecca had been home at the time and called me, frantic. She confronted the thief while on the phone, and I heard what happened. The warlock grabbed the book and simply vanished. I can remember Rebecca’s confusion as she explained what was happening and that was when I remembered the curse. As she reached down to pick it up, I called out to her to warn her, but it was too late.”

I grimace.

Fredrick nods as he catches my expression. “You have witnessed what the book is capable of, and that fate was no different for Rebecca. I lost her that night, and I have been broken ever since. I came home and tried to destroy the thing but was unsuccessful. It held too much power to be destroyed. So I used a spell to hide the book so completely in this realm that not even I knew where it was. I hated myself and wanted nothing to do with the pursuit of power.”

Viktor hums thoughtfully.

“If you were done with the book, why have trackers look for it?” he asks the warlock.

Fredricks scowls. “Because my brother began looking for it. You see, Fulton was never the warlock I was. He knew that I was pursuing something great and must have figured out what it was. He confronted me about my book. I refused to give it to him, so he threw a fit and disappeared. Worried that he was out there searching for it, I held a competition using some of the best trackers in the world. It ended up fruitless. They never returned, and it wasn’t until later that I realized if they had found it, they were most likely cursed in some gruesome fashion, or dead.

“I didn’t try looking for it again. I figured if it couldn’t be found, fine. The world was better off. But then I heard from Fulton. He reached out to me from the Realm of the Dead, using a necromancer as the go-between. He wanted me to know that he was still alive, and that Rebecca needed my help. That I needed to open the Veil fromthisside to let them both back over. But of course, I’d never figured out how to open the Veil in the first place. I couldn’t help them. Thenyoutouched the book, Willow. I felt your power one night a few weeks ago, and it was like I’d been dunked in a cold river.”

I stare at Fredrick, already piecing together what he needs from me. The blood begins to drain in my face. Leaning back in my chair, I turn to look out at the river.

“So, you need Willow to open the Veil between these two realms to get your brother and wife back,” Viktor muses with a scowl.

Fredrick nods. “Exactly. I’ll remove the curse hanging over you now, and then I’ll remove the curse over your friend when you bring back my wife and brother.”

Viktor turns to look at me then, his gaze thoughtful. What’s he thinking? Does he believe I’ll actually do it? Or does he doubt I have the power to do such a thing? Ignoring Viktor, I look back at Fredrick and shake my head.

“No, I won’t be doing that.”

Fredrick doesn’t seem perturbed by my quick dismissal. He leans forward eagerly. “Forget my brother then. He can rot in hell. All I want more than anything else is to see my Rebecca again.”

“No.” I meet his gaze firmly. Fredrick opens his mouth to push the issue, but I shake my head again. “Don’t ask me for something I can’t do.”

“Can’t or won’t?” the warlock asks with a frown.

“Both.” I lean forward. “Because of you, I’ve been chased by monsters from the Third Realm and demons and Utikyie from the Realm of the Dead. Clearly, you’ve managed to gain some control over the things that exist in the Realm of the Dead. If you can do that, you can figure this out. I want nothing to do with any of this. I want out, now.”

Fredrick blinks in surprise.

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