The In-Between (Book 1 - Death, Demons and Mere Mortals)

Chapter THIRTY - Power Against Power

The world was dark, smoke filled the air as everything burned in a furious blaze. Bodies lined the ground, their blood replacing the dull grey of concrete. The greenery was dead, hanging loosely and slumping in black. The air was swept with clouds, the sun long-gone leaving only a dark purple moon to light up the world. As it peeked through the clouds, the world was tossed into a new light. Emma stared up, waiting for the purple orb to show itself. When it did, there wasn't only one, there were two glaring down at her. She blinked, and they blinked back. They were eyes, the eyes that belonged to Death.

Her trance was broken by the sound of cheering. Emma looked up; the crown was tight in Death's grip. Its fingers curled rigid around the bands of gold. The jewels stared at her, shining in her eyes. Emma clenched her jaw, her hands losing feeling as she squeezed them tight. Death lifted Its hands, the pupils expanding as the crown got closer. The purple was full of adoration, hope flickering shyly behind. Emma felt panic rise within her. This was it. The creatures jeered, yelling and screeching as their master lifted the crown to Its head.

'Wait!' Emma yelled, her voice slithering through the noise to Death. It stopped, the crown hanging at Its forehead, the spikes covering parts of Its face. It dragged Its eyes over to her, dimming as they took her in. Its face dropped, sending her a tired stare. 'What about me?' She asked, the pleading in her voice obvious to hear. Would he destroy her with the crown? Crush her skull in his fist and let Grim take her away?

It stared; the heavy crown bright against the darkness that wrapped around Its body. 'What about you?' It asked with boredom, Its face scrunching up in disgust as It looked at her. She sniffed, taking deep breaths as she edged her body closer, her feet shuffling on the ground. A growl rumbled from her side and her head swivelled around to see Blake's head lowering, his beady eyes scanning her, his paws rubbing against the ground as he prepared to lunge. Emma inhaled deeply, stopping in her tracks as Blake's eyes threatened her.

She looked back up to Death, whose gaze proudly drifted from Blake to her. 'You're going to kill me, right?' She asked with a shaky breath. It bent over, lowering the crown to sit in Its lap as It moved. Emma did her best to keep her gaze on Death, but they flickered to the crown with a mind of their own.

It sighed in irritation, looking down at her with disinterest. 'No, I can't.' It bit, wishing that It could slice her to pieces. 'We made a deal that your time would be up if you didn't deliver in five years, or until I gained ultimate power. Now, since you've delivered early, you'll die when I master the crown and the powers within.' Emma's head raised slowly, her eyes sparkling, and she forgot where she was for a second.

Her gaze lowered, her mind running with joy. She'd live. For however long that may be. Days, months, years. She still had time. She could see her family, she could truly live. Travel the world and experience things that she had missed out on. She could find love, true love. The screams and yelps of joy shattered the wall in her mind and her feet lifted off the floor as she jumped in fright. She looked up. The crown was raising again, Death's body comfortable as it rose past Its face.

The gold shimmered light across Death's face and Emma noticed that once again, It flinched, Its face spasming vaguely. Emma froze up, her mind going blank for a few seconds. Only then did she notice how dark it was, the red glow emitting very little light. Her fingers twitched and she felt the vein in her forehead pulse against the thin skin. Without thinking further, she made the split-second decision that had the possibility of changing her fate. She kept her eyes open, her hand shooting up as she mouthed the words.

'Lumos, Glarous.' She thrust her palm forward and out of it shot a seething ball of blue light. It flew forward, the violet eyes vivid as the light propelled towards Death. The crown clattered to the ground, bouncing off the arm of the throne as it rolled to the side. Emma flinched, the ball exploded in Death's face and lit up the room. The hiss was loud and terrifying. The creatures in the walls yelped in pain, closing their eyes and cowering from the glow. As the room darkened again, Emma felt her chest tighten.