Page 117 of Haunted Hearts

Both Brock and Kwil swear beside me.

“Caveman, Remy! I need your help!” Brock roars. “We need to open the Veil further without splitting it open too wide.”

“On it!” That’s Remy, his tone full of determination.

I yank harder on the sphere of protection Fulton has. The ground is pelted with ice. I can feel it hitting me, though Kwil and Brock take the brunt of it. The wind begins to scream. I squeeze my eyes tighter as I pull with all of my might.

I block out the ice, the wind, the cries of surprise, and calls of alarm from the reapers around me. Hell, I even manage to block out Kwil’s and Brock’s touch. Right now, I only want one thing. And I’m going to get it. Sucking in a deep breath, I demand my power to comply with my wishes. It is pulled taut as the Realm of the Living fights to keep what belongs to it. It’s a game of tug-of-war.

Gritting my teeth and throwing more power up through the Veil, I yank as hard as I can.

My power suddenly goes slack, having no resistance on the other end of it. There’s a scream, maybe even more than one, that doesn’t belong to the wind. The ground stops rolling as something hits it with an impossible amount of force.

I gasp as my power returns to me. It whips back like a rubber band that’s snapped. My eyes fly open as I drag in another deep gulp of air. That breath, however, is stalled when my eyes land on the object now sitting between me and Theo’s group of reapers.

The house is smashed in on one side, though a full half still stands. The roof is caved in and windows are blown out.

The house… Fulton… They’re here in the Realm of the Dead.

I fucking did it.

Throwing my head back, I laugh. It’s wild, manic, and even to my own ears it sounds off. I gasp for breath as I step out of Kwil’s arms.

“Oh, Fulton!” I yell.

“Willow! Be careful,” he snarls, immediately stepping around me. Black armor materializes around his body and solidifies.

I ignore him as I call out to the warlock, “Hey Fulton! The Realm of the Dead wants me to welcome you home. Why don’t you come out to say hi!”

With that, the ground in front of me erupts into tall green flames. I raise my hands and force them forward. They race towards the house, burning so hot that the hail and bones falling from the sky melt and burn up. The fire hits something halfway between us and the house. The impact causes the flames to fly in every direction like an explosion.

“Purcians! Watch it!” Caveman roars.

Suddenly, I’m tackled to the ground as a shriek from up above grows too close for comfort. Brock swears in my ear as I hear Kwil roar.

“Nicked it!” Caveman yells as Brock rolls off of me and helps me to my feet.

I glare at the house before turning my attention to the creatures flying overhead. So, these are Purcians. They look like eels, with tiny front legs. They slither through the sky with large gaping mouths and flash us their rows of teeth. There are only a few flying overhead at the moment, but in the distance I can see more coming.

A lot more.

“I’m going to destroy these things—”

“You can’t, Willow!” Brock shakes his head. “They’re part of an ecosystem. You can’t kill this many of them or it’ll really mess things up.”

Fine. I won’t kill all of them. Just a few. The lightning overhead crackles and whips through the sky. I use that energy and redirect it. I strike four or five of the monsters circling us overhead. Their bodies go up in flames. I do it again and again until they begin to rise up, above the clouds, out of reach. They’re still here but my attack will keep them at bay for at least a few minutes before they chance getting closer once more.

“This is why we’re here. We’ll keep them off of you, Willow. You just keep doing what you need to do!” Caveman assures me. I turn to look at him as his legs spread wide apart and he turns his attention up to the sky.

I nod, ready to get to work, when the monsters I just chased off drop from the clouds directly towards us.

“Oh shit…” Remy whispers.

“Don’t let them get too close!” Brock warns. “Willow, your nifty fire could be really handy right about now.”

I nod.

Ok, Fulton, hold on a second. I have monsters to destroy.

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