Page 78 of Haunted Hearts

There’s no sign of Willow.

“They do? Why?” Kwil asks.

Because you never know when you’ll run into someone like Fulton, Death answers.

“Wait, there’s been others like him?” Jonah groans loudly before throwing up his hands. “Where do these psychopaths come from?”

All over, Death’s grim response sends a shiver down my spine.

“Where’s Willow?” Kwil looks behind Death, clearly expecting her to walk through the door at any moment.

Preparing for dinner.Death pauses as Theodon and Brock join us.While she is busy, I would like to bestow upon you some wisdom and a gift.

“A gift?” Jonah takes a step back from Death, shooting him a suspicious look. “Why does the thought of Death giving me something sound terrifying?”

Death’s mouth twists up into an amused smile as he looks over at the young man.The last time I offered a gift, these three ended up here in the Realm of the Dead. I do not typically give gifts the living would appreciate. You, however, are not part of that world anymore so you have nothing to worry about.

Death lifts one hand up and with one long finger, beckons me forward.

I close the distance between us without any hesitation. Being around Death hasn’t made him any less scary or intimidating, but knowing that he won’t kill us, again, due to our ties with his daughter, seems to make it easier to breathe around him. Stopping in front of Death, I mentally brace myself for whatever he has in store.

Last night, Willow brought back a reaper, and four spirits that Fulton trapped. Because she brought those who belong in this realm back, she helped bring some semblance of order back to the Realm of the Dead,Death states, his expression going blank.But it’s not enough. Now that I know for certain that it’s Fulton causing the imbalance here, he needs to be taken care of. His tampering with Death Magic will throw things into chaos across this realm and his. Lives and souls will be lost unnecessarily due to his quest to be all-powerful. As much as I hate to throw this at her, I’ve tasked Willow with hunting the warlock down and bringing him to the Realm of the Dead. Unfortunately, I can’t stay. I’ll be leaving tomorrow to continue to fix the realms affected by his destruction. All of you will have to figure this out on your own.

“By bringing him here… you mean his soul, right?” Theodon hedges carefully.

His soul or body, it doesn’t matter,Death answers grimly.The warlock left a scar in his wake after leaving the Realm of the Dead and now, as he attempts to use the power he stole from Willow, it has angered this realm. The Realm of the Dead has claimed Fulton as its own which means he is bound by it now. He belongs here, one way or another.

“Ok, go get Fulton, we can do that,” Brock starts slowly. “It will be like reaping, except with someone alive rather than dead.”

This is nothing like reaping.Death turns his attention to Brock.Your souls are in peril facing such a warlock. He will fight you with Death Magic that will destroy your souls, or he’ll try to capture your souls. Fulton is evil in ways that I have not seen for quite some time.

“And if he captures even one of us,” I hedge slowly as I think about how connected we all are. “Then we’re all in trouble.”

“Willow most of all,” Kwil adds darkly. He looks from me to Death. “Tell me, why aren’tyoudoing this job? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care about hunting down the bad guy, but this particular warlock has a vendetta against your daughter and the world. Is it wise to send Willow after Fulton on her first mission?”

Death turns his full attention to Kwil who instantly takes a step back, though never breaking his stare. Jonah nudges Kwil in the side with his elbow, giving him a panicked look.

“Shut up, man.”

Death ignores the horned man and answers Kwil.

The imbalance in this realm is far too great to leave in the hands of Willow to fix. What I do to repair the damage would take hundreds of lifetimes for Willow to even begin to grasp. Because I can correct what she cannot, she is tasked with hunting down those who seek out trouble.Thatshe can handle. Even though the threat is dangerous, remember, Willow is dangerous as well.Death looks around at all of us.In order to protect my daughter efficiently and to keep yourselves from harm, I bestow upon you, my gift.

With that, Death gives a slow wave of his hand up and down my body. I see the energy leave his hand and spill towards me. The dark shadow swirls around as it leaves his fingertips. Before I can panic, the energy wraps around me in a loose embrace, then solidifies from my neck down.

The others around me gasp as Death’s gift becomes visible to them. I look down, gaping as well. Coating my body in lightweight metal, is a coat of armor fit for a knight. It’s jet black and so dark that it doesn’t seem to capture any of the light in the room. When I move to inspect the design, I find that it makes no sound as the material rubs up against itself. The metal is so light, it’s practically flexible. In my grip, is a black sword with a black hilt that matches the suit of armor. I’m afraid the lightweight weapon will crumble when my grip tightens around the hilt. To my surprise, it doesn’t. In fact, it feels strangely sturdy.

Jonah reaches out tentatively to touch the armor on my forearm. His fingerprints leave no marks in their wake.

“We’re knights now?” he asks as his hands drop away. He looks up at me before turning wide eyes to Death, followed by a shit-eating grin. “We’re going to be knights! I can’t wait to show Willow. Where’s my suit?”

The guy nearly bounces up and down with excitement.

“Is this strong enough to protect me?” I ask with a frown as I look down to my feet that are also wrapped in the armor.

It is strong enough to ward off most magical and physical blows you will receive, Death assures me.Like Brock’s scythe, it holds a miniscule amount of power from the Realm of the Dead and will neutralize most magic from the Realm of the Living.

Before our eyes, the armor dissolves into shadows, and sinks into my skin. My nostrils flare as I fight back the urge to wipe my hand down my body to wipe off the freezing cold that lingers in the armor’s wake.

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