Page 7 of Haunted Hearts

Brock scoffs, “It doesn’t matter. As long as it gets done—"

“Look!”

Jonah’s voice causes us all to jump. We turn in the direction Jonah is pointing. All five of us stare ahead as Death reappears in front of Fulton and his knights. This time, he’s not the height of an average human. Willow’s father is as tall as theUtikyieand easily more intimidating. At the sight of the intruder, theUtikyiereact. The black knights pull their massive black swords from their sheaths and move with a speed that none of us have yet to see. They charge Death. Willow’s father pulls a scythe out of thin air and uses the handle to block any immediate attacks.

He throws two of them back with a flick of his wrist. Another two are knocked off their feet and the last three go flying upwards. A cloud of dirt circles Death’s feet before rising upwards into a tornado of dust and dirt until he’s no longer visible. Overhead, the dark clouds crack with lightning and the air grows cold. TheUtikyieby Death’s feet get sucked into the wind vortex and the others that had been tossed several feet away, get dragged in as well. Lightning cracks across the sky once more, the bolt so thick it looks like the sky could have been split into halves.

The moment they are out of sight, the storm collapses in on itself. All the occupants vanish with it.

“We need to go, now!” Theo hisses.

I open my mouth to warn him that Fulton may be expecting an offensive attack now that Death showed up, but before I can voice it, demons round the rocks we’re hidden behind and leap for us. Years of training, mixed with a monster’s instinct to protect myself and my mate, prepares me for the attack. I snarl and lunge for the closest creature. My sword slices through its body with ease. I pivot, my sword coming with me. I decapitate a second and cut three out of the four legs of another.

“Go, go, go!” Theo roars. “Get to Willow or these things will just keep coming!”

I don’t hesitate.

Without pause, I turn, crouch, and jump over the large boulders with ease. My heart and mind focus on the task ahead of me: get to Willow. What I’ll do when I get to her, we’ll see. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do what needs to be done. My feet move swiftly over the relatively smooth terrain. I’m faster than my brothers, Jonah, and Brock, but they aren’t too far behind. I can hear their footsteps hitting the dirt and their breathing as we charge forward.

But I also hear the demons giving chase.

“I’ll keep them off of us!” Viktor snarls. The sound of his feet slowing down as he drops back barely registers as my focus doesn’t stray from my goal.

Though there must be a half a mile between us and Fulton and his bloodred tree, we’re on him quickly. As we approach the wizard, I realize he doesn’t even know we’re here. He’s frantically trying to stab the trunk of the tree with something, talking to himself. Over and over again he stabs the tree, trying to find hold. Just as I cross the barrier where the purple quartz stones are placed, Fulton manages to lodge the object in his hand into the trunk of the tree.

Closing the distance between us, I can see red liquid ooze from the device. Fulton, cups his hands together, catching the falling liquid. When he looks up, our eyes lock. His mouth stretches open in a terrifying grin, displaying brown and yellow, sharpened teeth. He brings the liquid to his lips as I raise my sword and close the distance with a bounding leap. As my sword comes whistling down, Fulton moves.

He's so fast that I don’t even see where he goes. Out of instinct, I twist and duck. It saves my life… I mean, soul. A black dagger flies past the space where my neck had just been. Stopping in midair, it flies backward, returning to its owner. Swinging my elbow backwards, I hit him in the gut before twisting and raising my sword. Fulton stumbles back, out of the way of my blade, with a huff. A red mist gathers around his free hand, and he flings the magic towards me.

Knowing that whatever he has up his sleeve could potentially destroy my very existence, I dive out of the way. As I hit the ground and roll, the spell hits where I’d been standing. The red clay sizzles and bubbles.

Oh shit, we need to be careful.

Theodon arrives on the scene next. His attack is swift as he goes after Fulton. But the warlock moves faster than we had anticipated, especially considering the sickly appearance he portrays. Theodon’s sword slides across Fulton’s smaller blade, causing sparks to fly.

Again, Fulton’s free hand begins to glow red.

Brock comes up behind Fulton, his scythe slides through the air while the warlock’s attention is on Theodon.

“Kwil! I need your help!”

I tear my eyes off the three fighters to follow the sound of Jonah’s voice. It takes me a second to find him. My gaze slides towards the tree, then rises. About a quarter of the way up the trunk, I find Jonah perched on the edge of a massive alcove within the tree.

Then my gaze lands on Willow.

At first, I don’t even recognize my mate. The body, tangled in branches, is so shriveled and gray, it looks like a zombie. But then I note the curly hair, the clothes, and of course, the pull to her is undeniable. Wrapped around the majority of her body are deep red vines and branches. Most of which have sprouted red leaves and even red flowers. Her blood drips from each puncture wound as thorns grow into her body.

All the air in my lungs vanishes.

I’m moving before my brain has even registered it. Letting Brock and Theodon take care of Fulton, I sheath my sword and take a running leap at the tree. The strange tree has plenty of knobs and short branches to grab hold of, making climbing easy. I reach Jonah and Willow in a matter of seconds.

“I-I can’t do it,” Jonah whispers as I join him.

I swallow as I gaze upon Willow.

To my horror, I realize that the color in her skin is coming back. Her shape is filling out and her breathing is becoming steadier.It’s just like the reaper had said, she’s dying but can’tdie.

“Hey, Little Minx, can you hear me?” My voice trembles.

---