Page 10 of Haunted Hearts

The relief that pools in my chest is so strong that the tears I had just pushed down come back with a vengeance and spill down my cheeks. Immediately, I move to close the distance between us.

“Shit, Willow, what’s happening to you?” Jonah gasps as he and Kwil step forward, coming up behind Brock.

Judging by the horror on Jonah’s face and concern on Kwil’s, I’m missing something. The awe-struck, slightly worried expression on Brock’s face only confirms this.

“I feel strange…” Willow whispers, her voice raspy and full of pain.

Her body sways slightly. I come up beside Willow, my arm hovering behind her back in case I need to catch her.

“Willow, your soul has taken on some damage,” Brock states, his expression smoothing out until the worry is gone and a small, sad smile pulls at his mouth. “Let me help you.”

Looking down at her face, I realize what the three of them are talking about.

Covering Willow’s face are strange thick lines. One would think she’s wearing a porcelain mask that was shattered, then pieced back together. Beneath her skin, shining through those cracks, is a glowing green light that is pulsating softly. Her eyes are open but the same glow emanates from her sockets and it, too, pulsates.

Through her shirt, I can tell the rest of her body looks like this as well.

“Willow, how can we help you?” I ask her. Raising my hand, I go to place it on her shoulder, but I hesitate. If I touch her, will she shatter? Too scared of her hurting her, I allow my hand to drop to my side.

As Brock opens his mouth to say something, Willow’s legs give out from under her.

I catch her before the others can even move. Lifting her up carefully, I pull her to my chest and hold onto her for dear life. If she cracks and falls apart, I’ll be here to hold every piece until we can put her back together.

“What can we do for her?” Theodon asks, stepping up beside me.

“First, we need to get her somewhere safe,” the reaper says, grabbing his hood and pulling it back up so that his face disappears from view. “There are things here in the Realm of the Dead who will have felt her power from all reaches of the realm and will come hunting for her. Once we’re relatively safe, I can tend to her.”

“So that was all Willow?Shecalled down the fire? She blew up those rocks and she brought down the lightning?” Jonah asks, his voice strained with awe.

Brocks nods.

“Impossible,” Theodon shakes his head with a scowl. “If she could do all of this,” he waves his hand at the scorched earth around us. “None of us would be dead right now.”

“I don’t even think we’re really dead,” Jonah mutters. “I don’t feel dead.”

“I assure you that this was all Willow,” Brock looks around us before taking a step away from us. “And as for impossible? Well, no one ever dreamed that Death could have a child. So, I’ll be removing ‘impossible’ from my vocabulary for a while. Now, we need to get going…”

“Why should we trust you with her?” Kwil asks him as he walks up to me with his arms outstretched.

I glare at him. “If you don’t get your hands out of my face, I’ll bite you. You can have her later.”

Kwil’s murderous glare is paired with the baring of his large teeth. “Give her to me, Viktor. I had to… I had to be the one to…”

His mouth slams shut.

It takes only a second for understanding to dawn on me. My heart shudders in horror. Oh shit, Kwil killed Willow. I would have done it. I would have killed Willow if that meant ending her suffering. But I’m relieved it wasn’t me. Knowing that I would have done it out of mercy wouldn’t absolve me of the guilt that would undoubtedly plague me forever. How would I be able to look her in the eyes after that?

How will Kwil?

Only able to barely conceive of how terrible he must feel, I begrudgingly hand Willow off to him. Relief and pain twist Kwil’s expression as he leans down to press his forehead against Willow’s and pulls her into his chest. My heart twists at the sight.

“If Death trusts Brock, we should too,” Theodon declares firmly.

“He’s a good guy,” Jonah nods in Brock’s direction.

Brock sighs, “Like I said, we need to go somewhere safe,now. We need to leave.”

“Brace yourself,” Jonah grumbles. “Brock’s mode of transportation sucks ass.”

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