Page 38 of Woven Souls

Fredrick shakes his head back and forth wildly, tears streaming down his face.

“I’m all powerful. How is this happening to me?” he cries out.

“I asked you a question!”

He hiccups and a bubble of snot pops out of one nostril. “N-no, please. Don’t do this!”

I scoff at his audacity. If he would just look around at the destruction and death he’s caused tonight, he’d see that I can’t let him walk away from this. He’ll come after me again and kill more people in the process.

“You should’ve thought of that before attacking me.”

With that, I give him the end he deserves. The fingers on the hand he’s holding up turn black, quickly followed by his palm. The flesh around each finger seems to wrinkle and shrink before they shrivel up completely. Once they’re nothing more than gnarled bones and skin, pieces of each digit turn to ash and begin to float off. The same thing happens to the rest of his hand.

I can’t tell if his scream is one of pain or horror, but as the rest of Fredrick’s body follows the same pattern, the scream gets louder. The old warlock fades away piece by piece until his clothes fall into a pile right where he was standing. Ashes float away in the cold breeze that comes to sweep him up.

When he’s gone, I turn my attention to the hundreds of spirits littering the street. With a hard push, I quickly open up the Veil and shove the mass of them through. Behind me I hear a soft gasp as the spirits become visible for the few moments it takes for me to send them over.

I ignore the others as I search for… There! On the other side of the Veil, my reaper stands, waiting. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. A strange sense of homesickness causes my heart to squeeze in my chest. Is it weird that I wish he was here so I could give him a hug and tell him absolutely everything? Probably. I give him a quick wave before I shut the Veil.

The moment the Veil is shut, I pull back on my power.

The color returns to the street. Lights that still have bulbs and electricity flicker back on, and warm air chases away the cold draft. When my feet touch the ground, I wince as pain flares up through them. Gritting through the pain, I take inventory of the situation. The demons are gone, I’ve sent the Utikyie back to where it came from, and Fredrick is literally in the wind.

Well, I consider this a job well done. Not too shabby for someone who’s never done all that at once before. Grinning, I look around at the others to make sure they’re okay.

That’s when I notice all eyes are on me, and all faces are varying shades of white. Even Jonah. No one says anything. Only the sound of the crackling fires and sirens from emergency vehicles blaring off in the distance break the silence.

My grin fades.

Okay, so in order to save us, I had to let the real me free. Before I let my secret out, however, I probably should have considered the consequences a little more. One of them being that I might scare a few people.

“Oh, come on, don’t look at me like that. I did what I had to do to save us!”

Theo and Viktor look like they’ve gotten the wind knocked out of them. Kwil’s large jaw has dropped open, and when Jonah opens his mouth to try to speak, only a wheeze comes out. He shuts it, giving up on whatever he wanted to say.

My excitement fades as shame creeps forward. There’s no doubt they’re scared. It’s written all over their faces.

Their fear breaks my heart. Even though I’m not a fan of Theo and Viktor, I don’t want them tofearme. I never wanted this. My parents warned me that people wouldn’t understand. What I am… It’s hard to wrap your head around. And that’s if I just explain it. These guys have nowseenme in action, which is probably more horrifying than if I had just come clean to them about what I am to begin with.

If the ex-Ghosts were beginning to waver in their decision to consider me a threat, I’m sure I just solidified that I’m definitely a problem now. Are they willing to kill me, throwing away their own lives, now that they know what I can do? They have to know I wouldn’t have done any of this if I hadn’t felt it necessary, right?

Kwil is the first to snap out of his shock. He takes a shaky step towards me. His next step is more confident as are the ones that follow until he stands directly in front of me. With wide eyes, he stares down into my face.

“That was incredible,” he whispers, his voice tinged with awe.

Incredible? Some of my worry eases as I smile up at him.

“It was, wasn’t it?” I hesitate before asking. “You’re not scared? Or disgusted?”

Kwil’s pupils narrow on my face as I repeat his same insecurities he’d voiced during our bath.

“I’m the furthest thing from scared or disgusted,” he assures me, his voice growing deeper. Are his eyes starting to glow? “I don’t think I could be more enamored with you, Willow.”

Without warning, Kwil bends down and kisses me. More of my worry disappears. If he’s willing to still kiss me after this, maybe we’ll be okay. My heart flutters as I reach up and touch his grotesque face. He leans forward so our bodies are pressed together. I don’t miss the vibrating bulge pressed against my stomach. My toes curl with excitement.

“Hey, now! Surprise kisses are my thing!”

Jonah’s outrage makes me laugh. I pull away from Kwil to find him smiling down at me. Jonah grabs my arms and pulls me towards his chest. His kiss is deeper and more thorough, leaving me breathless by the time he pulls away.

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