Morgianna felt like the world had been drained of all color and she was only moving through the motions. For that brief moment after Angeline was gone she had let herself believe that she had succeeded, that everyone and everything was going to be alright. She had no idea where to even start looking for Eltarr. If it had been so easy to find him from the beginning then she would not have had to wait for Angeline to come to her.
"Hey, are you alright?" Morgianna turned slowly towards the voice that had become all too familiar to her. Death stood there with his black hair falling into his red eyes and his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Without his signature scythe he looked like a normal young man, not Death himself.
Without even realizing her body was moving towards him, seeking the comfort she felt by being in his presence. She should feel uncomfortable, scared of what being close to him entails but she only felt the warmth. He opened his arms an invitation that she wouldn't refuse in this lifetime. As she laid her head on his chest she breathed in his scent that could only belong to him. Before even reaching him she had prepared herself for a sickly sweet smell, like the flowers at a funeral or even a tangy coppery smell of blood but it was neither. Instead a warm comforting smell invaded her nose...it brought with it a feeling of belonging. "Shhh it's alright, I have you." Tears she did not even realize were falling were slowly wiped away while she thought about how she was too late to stop Eltarr from being resurrected.
"I was too late and now many will die. It will be my fault...I came here so that I could save people but...I failed." The tears fell harder as she held onto Death as if she were afloat in the ocean and he was the only person who could keep her afloat.
Death wanted to beat every person who had but these high expectations on her shoulders. He wanted to run them through with his scythe and take their souls to the fiery pits so they could wallow in perdition for the rest of time. "It is not the end yet, there is still time to save lives. You have not failed anyone if anything more is alive today because you are here. Where is that strong spirited girl who told me that if I wanted her friend's souls I would have to wait because you would not let them go so easily? The girl who literally looked Death in the face and laughed. Are you telling me you are prepared for me to take them after all that fuss?"
His words brought a sad smile to her lips. She had said and done exactly as he said. There had been several instances where she just was not willing to let those she cared about die when there was something she could do about it. As if the weight that had been dragging her down into her sadness was being lifted she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and gave Death a cheeky grin. "I told you before...Over my dead body."
...
Days after Angeline became a magical nuclear reactor strange occurrences began happening in each of the kingdoms. Black wispy like creatures crawled up from within the ground and began attacking without prejudice all while moving in one direction. Reports poured in from everywhere and each of the Kings issued orders for people to stay in their homes and to not attack the creatures if they came across them but that did not help those who's homes stood in the way. It was like the creatures moved with a singular thought... to reach their destination while wreaking the most havoc along the way. They walked through homes and businesses alike without deviating from their path only leaving destruction in their wake.
Each of the crown princes had to return home to help their people but all left with a promise to return the moment they found Eltarr. Morgianna begged her brother and Olive to return home, even offering to send Fafnir and Myra with them to help keep them safe but they refused to leave her. After she had fixed The Rose's Thorn many of the dragons and whoever else was still willing to fight had been put up temporarily inside. The surrounding town had been cleared, leaving many without homes.
Each time Morgianna walked outside of the building that had become her sanctuary she felt her heart twist in a painful way. Over the years she had learned about the residents whether in or out of her disguise. They were good people and now their whole life had been flipped on its head and drug through the mud.
Even now as Morgianna walked past The Sleeping Giant with its boarded-up windows and quiet interior she wanted to scream with the injustice. Later that day they were supposed to have a meeting and map out to path each of the black wisps or shadow puppets had been taking, and she vowed that once she knew she would wipe Eltarr and every one of his puppets from the world.
...
"They look like they are going to the Academy." Sir Bartholomew rubbed his unshaven chin as all eyes turned to him.
Sir Silvus who was standing to his left was nodding along examining the map in front of them. "It's true if we draw a line from where they started and where they are now it would almost make an arrow pointing straight for the academy. Every single shadow that has not yet been dispatched is showing identical patterns."
Morgianna did not like the sound of that, if they were gravitating towards the Academy it could only mean one thing, Eltarr was there. "First we send scouts, I need dragons that do not mind having a rider and those that excel in magic. We will send 4 teams, 2 of which will have Fafnir and Faust. Everyone else needs to spread the word to prepare for our departure. I will send out letters to our allies, dismissed."
Walking swiftly away from the group she found herself in her bedroom. Looking toward the door that connected the en-suite bath Morgianna shivered. The door was partially open so she could see the covered mirror on the wall. Just like with her past she now found herself avoiding mirrors and other reflective surfaces. The time above her head was like an obsession that she couldn't look away from once she saw it. It haunted her dreams, turning them into nightmares in which she failed and Eltarr rose above the world as it burned to ashes. For her he would be the final boss, the big fight right before the end.
...
A week to the day Morgianna had gathered all her allies once again. The plan was as simple as it could be. They would surround the Academy on all sides. Those with water magic or those of an aquatic nature such as the mermen and women would attack by way of water. The dragons and any other being that could fly would attack from above and those that could do neither would storm the bridges.
She had been keeping an eye on the Academy and found that every person that had been there had to flee due to earthquakes that caused whole buildings to crumble. Then the shadow puppets started to arrive and congregate in one area. The ground below them was black as tar with tendrils of the darkness creating a spider web effect as it grew farther and farther.
"Do you still want to fight him? I could take you now and save you the pain..." Morgianna wanted to cry at the pitying look that Death was giving her. How bad does it have to be for a man whose sole job is to take souls to be looking at her with such eyes?
Steeling her resolve Morgianna shook her head. "No because either way I will still die. I would rather save as many people as I can."
Death had a strange look on his face when those words passed her lips. It was almost as if he were in pain. "I knew you would say that." He looked away from her and towards the people she stood in front of. To some she would look like a leader, but to him she was just their shield. A person who stood within firing range while those lesser beings crowded behind her... It was enough to make him angry. He knew that wouldn't change her mind, he could kill all of them if it meant she wouldn't go through with the attack today. Nothing to fight for if there is nobody left but that would only make her hate him.
Words unsaid on his lips burnt a hole in his heart. He tried to think back to when these feelings started to form but could only turn away. After all, she was a soul, and he the carrier to take it away nothing good could come of him admitting he cares for her.
At that moment a deep voice interrupted. Fafnir stood in a couple of feet away, his body covered in Dragonian armor that was magically made to shift with him when he took his other form. "We are ready."