Page 2 of Haunted Hearts

The branches that hold me turn pink, the color racing up each limb and into the trunk of the tree. The color deepens as the thorns continue to absorb the blood from my body. The white tree slowly begins to turn pink. Then red. Blood red.

Is… is the treefeedingoff of me? The idea is repulsive, but I don’t have enough fight left in me to let out more than a pained wheeze.

“No, no, no, none of that,” Fulton tsks, pacing back and forth slowly as he watches me. “Don’t you see? The very purpose of your existence is to make me great. You should be thrilled to be here in my presence. I’ve been looking forward to this very moment for a long time.”

He claps his hands together, laughing hysterically as he does.

“For years I’ve searched for a way to obtain Death Magic. It was nearly impossible. But then I ran into a necromancer who clued me into the slight energy spirits produce. And there it was. The answer I’ve been searching for. A way to tap into the last realm that would make me invincible.I’d show my brother, and the world, that I deserve the respect I never received.

“But spirits weren’t enough. I could capture dozens, even hundreds, and it would only give me a boost here and there.” Fulton shakes his head. “But then… a reaper stumbled upon me in search of a spirit he’d come to collect. His presence was a game changer. Using him was like collecting a thousand souls. It still wasn’t enough to freely use Death Magic, but it would get me to my goal much faster. For years, I ingested the Death Magic the spirits and reapers gave me. Until one day, I decided to wield it.”

He pauses when I let out another pained wheeze. As I begin to nearly die once more, and my throat closes up, he continues,

“It caught the attention of a fucking coven. They came snooping around and tried to kill me. They nearly did. A reaper even showed up to take me away. When it arrived, however, I sawit. The opening to the Realm of the Dead… I escaped death that day and began planning. I knew that if I was here, I could have the power I needed. It didn’t take long to lure another reaper to me. I took his scythe and captured his soul, opened the Veil and stepped through, with only these seeds and a plan. I knew cursing my brother’s book would be my key out of here. Iknewit!”

The world begins to go dark. The warlock’s voice begins to fade.

“Now, with unlimited access to Death Magic, you and I are going to show our world that you can’t stop greatness. It will be you and me, forever and ever!”

His manic laughter follows me into darkness.

Chapter2

BROCK

The spirit with horns, a tail, and a piece of my mate’s soul hasn’t stopped talking since his arrival.

It’s normal for a new spirit to be chatty. Typically, it’s nerves that drive the chitchat, given their new situation. Jonah’s excuse, however, is desperation, as he tries to convey all the information that I need to face an unknown enemy. Every detail he has shared gets tucked away for later use. I want to know everything about Willow. For five years my soul has yearned for the woman it can feel, and sometimes even see, yet could not have. Each time she opened the Veil, I’d tried to note everything about her and her surroundings. What was she up to? Who was she with? How many souls has she collected and saved this go around?

“—and that’s when we went to Everlast and broke into Theodon’s house and tried to steal a book with a whole bunch of secrets about the Fae and—”

Theodon… I swallow back my hatred for the exiled Fae prince. Ever since he and the other two, showed up in my mate’s life, Willow has been in danger. Over the course of the last month, I’ve watched as she’s had to run, or fight, for her life, throwing monsters into the Realm of the Dead to escape their claws and teeth. Whatever hasn’t died on the way over, I’ve taken care of happily.

But she should’ve never been in danger in the first place.

These Fae brought all of this to Willow’s doorstep and now… Now, she could be anywhere, experiencing something horrific, and has no one to help her. My knuckles turn white as I grip my scythe tighter. Anger gathers in my veins.

I’ll find you, Willow…

“—then Fulton had theUtikyiegrab and bring Willow here in the midst of the fighting and—”

I can’t suppress a shiver of terror at the prospect of facing theUtikyie.The Black Knights of the Pit have been around as long as time, keeping the meanest and most dangerous spirits in their cages. Soulless, lifeless suits of armor, it is said that, should you get too close to the Pit, they will destroy you without mercy or throw you down into the Pit itself, where the monsters trapped there will feast upon your soul. How this Fulton character managed to corrupt theUtikyieand pull them away from their post is beyond me.

Then what Jonah said actually hits me.

“Wait, Willow was brought here,alive?”

Jonah throws his hands up in frustration. “Yes! Didn’t I just say that?”

Fuck, she’s dead for sure now. That, however, is not my concern. Willow’s death means that I can now be in her life… or rather her second life. Eh, semantics. My gaze drops to the corpse at our feet. Jonah’s body, twisted, gray, and petrifying before our very eyes, is the same grizzly ending my mate has met. My stomach clenches painfully. How she must’ve suffered… and I wasn’t there to help her transition.

“So, then I jumped into the closing Veil that Willow had opened and—" His mouth slams shut as his gaze becomes unfocused. Is this a tracker thing? He’d said he could find her, could he have locked in on her location?

“Jonah, what is it? Is it Willow?”

The man blinks rapidly, his gaze coming into focus as his face pales. “Yeah, I think I found her but… for once I hope I’m wrong.”

“What did you see? What’s happening to her? Is Fulton with her? Which direction is she in? Are you ever wrong?” I ask the questions as they come to me, no one more imperative than another. Jonah’s eyes lift to meet mine.

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