Chapter 366: The little demon and the soul_Part 3
In the land of the dead, where Belle struggled with everything inside her to free herself but couldn’t, no matter what she did, every movement only ended up making the bind tighten around her limbs. She finally gave up and stared up at the still, big moon in the sky. There were no sounds or movements in this world, one was left with nothing but silence. After an hour of being there, Belle began to let herself sink into despair and hopelessness.
When that soul had entered her body through her, Belle had felt weightless and light. She had felt nothing. She couldn’t feel her own heartbeat, nor her breathing, she was just there with nothing but despair and fear. What was the soul doing to her body now? Would Rohan not recognize that it wasn’t her until it was too late and she perished away here?
Even if he noticed, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t come here, and he wouldn’t be able to get to Kuhn on time before the reapers sensed her time slipping away. Her life weighed on an hourglass, with the sand dropping away faster and faster with her helplessness.
She didn’t want to give up without a fight, but how could one fight while being bound down like this on the ground?
She could barely even feel any part of her body. If she were tied like this while she had a physical form, no doubt it would have already killed her, because she couldn’t breathe properly.
At this point, where no dead soul had tracked her like Norah had done, Belle dreadfully realized that since her body was no longer empty, she was no different from the other souls here, and they wouldn’t sense her as a living girl anymore. She was a dead girl now, and that realization alone sent a bolt of panic through her entire being. It fueled her frantic attempts to break free, but just as the bind had been doing, it only tightened around her all over again.
If she ended up dying here, she would be leaving not only her husband but also her son. She would never allow that. If she had to be a soul forever and wait until she found another body to possess and leave, then she would do it. She would find Norah and make her regret taking her body. She would re-kill her and—
Belle paused her thoughts at the realization of how naturally the idea of killing came to her again. Perhaps it was time she started accepting the fact that she was no longer the same; it was time to accept that she was also capable of killing if it called for it. She would kill anyone who stood in the way of her life, but unfortunately she had no way of doing that now, being tied up.
She stared at the moon with glowing eyes that reflected its light, wishing she could find a way to break free before it was too late. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to give up living because of an insignificant soul who had stolen her body.
Belle was still playing with many thoughts in her mind, even contemplating finding a way to get the reapers’ attention. Since they wouldn’t be able to sense her as a living girl anymore, maybe she could force them to come and loosen her binds. But then again, she doubted that would be a good idea.
It was while she was tangled in these thoughts that she thought she heard a movement in the stillness, something from somewhere around her.
Belle rolled her eyes in that direction, as only her eyes could move and not her head. She strained to see. At first, all she noticed was a strange shadow, which caused her to believe that some of the souls might be able to sense her. But when she narrowed her eyes further, the shadow became clearer, and she saw a small figure walking slowly and carefully toward her.
At first, Belle believed she must be seeing things, because what she was seeing now was utterly impossible. It could not be, and in no way should it have been possible. Yet when the small figure drew nearer and she saw his face in the glow of the moonlight, her eyes widened in astonished disbelief.
Angel!
She cried the name in her mind, though she couldn’t speak it out. He was looking around, turning his head from side to side, and when he seemed to notice her, though she couldn’t fathom how he could have seen her with the black binds holding her down to the ground, he began walking in her direction. His legs were unsteady, but they carried him halfway before he lost his balance. Then, determined, he crawled the rest of the way to her, smiling.
Belle felt a swell of emotions and worry consume her all at once as she watched her son crawl toward her. He looked down at her eyes, which were the only part of her visible through the dark binds holding her.
How had he gotten here? She wanted to ask that so desperately, because she could sense he was alive, just like every other soul would be able to sense him!
That thought made her eyes widen even more. If she could no longer be sensed as a living person, her son most certainly could!
"Mama..." he called softly, touching his small hand to the bind on her face.
She began to shake her head, wanting to tell him to go back and leave her, but the words she needed, she could not speak with the bind. Being as helpless as she was now, she wouldn’t be able to fight any other soul who might want his body, just as hers had been stolen.
’Angel, go back the way you came! I don’t want you to lose your life too, my son!’ she cried desperately in her mind, wishing for some way to say the words out loud to the boy. But he, unaware of her frantic plea, was now running his small hand around the bind as if searching for ways to loosen it, to free her face from it. His brows were drawn tightly together in concentration.
’You can’t help me, go back to your father!’ Belle groaned in frustration, straining to move, but all her attempts ended in failure.
Angel, oblivious to what his mother was trying to tell him, or the fact that his own scent was far stronger than hers in the land of the dead, kneeled beside her, trying to slip his tiny fingers under the bind to burn it away.
Unlike Belle, who could no longer be sensed, Angel carried the raw, unmistakable scent of a demon. And demons were creatures the reapers resented above all others, for they were masters at playing with death and cheating it. His scent spread faster and farther than any normal human’s could. It was like a delicious meal to the beings of the realm.
Already, the desperate souls could sense him from miles away, and the scent of him stirred them awake. Their hunger and need stirred violently. One by one, they began rushing out of the dilapidated houses, and others even clawed their way up from beneath the ground in haste, bumping into one another in their frenzy to go after the scent.
Having the body of a young demon was a priceless prize, and to them, a rare chance at life again. They began running as though their very existence depended on it, some so frantic that they tumbled straight into the River of Souls in their reckless haste.
Sounds of wailing spirits, who couldn’t go far from the cemetery, rose into the air, echoing.
The Grim Watchers, who were on the far side of the River of Souls, away from the cemetery side where the scent was coming from, heard the sudden chaos ripple through the land. They lifted their heads, their sharp senses flaring. Sniffing the air, they immediately caught hold of the spreading scent that seemed to be the very cause of the rising chaos.
’A living demon,’ one of the Grim Watcher muttered hoarsely, his voice low and edged as his long cloak dragged behind him. He turned to follow the trail of the scent, even as he communicated swiftly with the others.
’How is a living demon here, in this world?’
’Don’t know. Find it immediately before order in the land is lost,’ another Grim ordered, the very one who had been tasked with watching over the living girl who had once dared to perish herself in the River of Souls before he could catch her and take her to the elders. Without hesitation, he, too, made his way in the same direction the desperate souls were running.
The elders would not be pleased with this chaos, just as they had not been pleased with the disturbance the living girl had once caused. Such things had never happened in this world before, until Astral, long ago, interfered with matters no Grim should ever touch. He had saved a demon’s soul and twisted the fates, playing with both time and destiny, something reapers were forbidden to do.
The Watcher growled low in displeasure before disappearing, hurrying to reach the source of the disturbance before matters spiraled completely out of control.