Page 93 of Woven Souls

Smiling at the elderly couple, I tread lightly, “My friends and I have reason to believe that there has been some corruption in the Brotherhood. Would you know anything that can confirm that?”

“Of course the Ghost Brotherhood is corrupted,” Brillie says stiffly. “We are dead because we started asking too many questions about the new power source the heads of government wanted to install in our homes.”

“Power source?” Kwil repeats.

“It’s supposed to be better than any renewable energy out there,” Eli explains with a heavy sigh. “But when we pushed to know where this power was coming from, they got mad, and when we objected to having it installed in our home, we were forcibly removed from Everlast and killed when we tried to re-enter. Once we were dead, we re-entered Everlast and found out our government is working with the Ghost Brotherhood and encouraging Ghosts to bring over stones from the Third Realm. They’re using the power within the stones to make Everlast the utopia that it is. Why they wouldn’t just tell us I don’t know, but it all seems so fishy.”

“I still don’t know why they would kill us for asking questions.” Brillie looks at Eli, her bottom lip trembling. “Why couldn’t they just tell us the truth?”

Kwil and I exchange looks.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I tell them sincerely. “Then maybe you’ll understand what we’re trying to do.” Quickly, I go over what we learned from my father. “And now my three friends are on their way to find hard evidence that the Fae, specifically the Brotherhood, have purposefully been destroying or creating an imbalance between realms. We have no way to communicate with them, so I was wondering if you guys could help us. Maybe go with them and keep an eye on what’s going on for us? If something happens to them, come find me and let me know.”

“Of course, we’ll help!” Brillie’s scowl smooths out as she smiles. “It will give us something to do.”

Eli nods in agreement. “Which way did they go? And will they be able to see and hear us like you two can?”

“They went that way.” Kwil points. “You should be able to catch up to them with no problem.”

“They won’t be able to hear you, unfortunately,” I admit.

“Oh, how frustrating.” Brillie frowns. “Alright. Where will you be if we need to alert you of trouble?”

“You’ll feel me,” I assure them with a dark smile. Playing cat and mouse with demons and Fae today will be challenging. Using my Death Magic will be inevitable, and they’ll sense it. I only hope that I have the energy to keep it up longer than an hour or two.

Both spirits nod.

“Alright, we’ll be back with news, if there is any.” Eli takes a step back as he speaks.

The two spirits take each other’s hand and float off in the direction my men have taken.

Once they’re out of sight, I say, “I thought Fae didn’t age.”

“We do, just extremely slowly.” Kwil takes my hand again and starts to pull me in the opposite direction. Our goal is to be as far away as we can from where the other three will enter Everlast when the demons sense us.

“Are you going to stick around when I’m that old and wrinkly?” I tease, trying to keep myself distracted while we move through the woods. “You’ll probably still look how you are now by the time I’m eighty.”

His hand tightens around mine before he looks over his shoulder at me. “You’re stuck with me, Willow. This baby face is yours to look at forever.”

I smile at him, even as my stomach knots. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

Chapter23

JONAH

The sun makes its appearance just as the woods begin to thin and the entrance to Everlast appears.

The warm glow hits what can only be described as paradise.

The dark wrought iron metal gate is accented with gold decorative pieces. The vines, which have overtaken the massive stone wall on either side of it and stretch in both directions for what seems like miles, have bright, multi-colored flowers in full bloom I can smell even from this distance. The road leading up to, and beyond, Everlast changes from cement to a rough textured, brick-shaped marble that must have cost a fortune to lay. The buildings beyond the gates are made of black or white bricks, or thick stones. Golden rooftops glitter in the morning sun. Bright flags float in the wind, high on poles, in all of various shades of colors, and have a crest of some sort in the middle.

I already have a thousand questions about this place.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever enter Everlast. Hardly anyone ever does. The Fae aren’t the friendliest species, that’s for sure. I wish we were arriving under better circumstances, so we’d have time to actually look around.

Theo holds up his hand, and the three of us come to an abrupt halt before lowering into a crouch. At the front of the gate are two Fae, lounging against the stonework, talking and laughing with one another. Both wear what appears to be some sort of fancy white Kevlar vest and a police uniform, and each is armed with a gun.

Not a sword.

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