Chapter 14: 13 slipped hands
"I shall give you one chance, one miracle. In order to fulfill your promise, then I will turn away collecting this soul just once." The slow slight unfold to prayer kneel before the death god.
"No!" That of the manifestation of the god whom governs over the cultists here. Stepping also in kneel before the death god, "This soul has no place among us in the tome of knowledge. Not only must you take her now, but you must guide this soul out of here. Please, it should have never come to be." lowered themselves entirely in begging, "Even the tome itself refuses to accept this soul."
Death stands alone in looking at this total idiot. Not only did she own a place in the records already, but she had been in many realms repairing things that stopped souls screaming. She is even credited for stopping the hall of sinners to just relax a moment, which is a feat no gods of love or art have accomplished. She hand painted the moral that all gods in the debt chamber have gazed and appreciated. Out working even the gods of craft and smithing for her repairs over scythes lost.
"Answer me this." Death picked the scruff of the god at his feet, "If she was never to belong, then do tell why she is keeper of the Magnus grimoire?" The stunned expression, "Following this, the human sacrifices to the tome itself were illegal to begin with. But here you are trying to break that law." Drops them weak at the floor, covered in deaths curse, "You are lucky that all those children died before the tomes had hold of them. She will be the only exception."
The undertaker can barely move, but he had a wonderful idea. Death as a god can hear such things. The other god stares bewildered of such a terrible idea. But it would protect laws governed by souls.
"We have the law of living realms, and you to thank for this." Death drags this other god away, "Time is reversing. I shall keep my word that one life will not be taken just once." The undertaker stands with the gods gone. He barely holds tight this fragment of soul. He watched as the gap slashed through by her opened, and the rest of her was pulled back through. She holds hiding her face. The whole room of books and people within puppeted backward actions. The undertaker returns back the fragment as her living body stands up from the powdered ash it was. Everyone bound to living laws moved back in ways they had before. The only one disconnected was the undertaker, who had been through time reverses before. Back to the day, she began drawing on the walls of the map layout of the manor. Noted as day 2. Given the mix of living and dead members. There will be changes going forward. The dead members would go about preventing her from being in contact with the main tomes and index.
The undertaker sits down at a prime spot watching her. Her hand followed a set pattern. She wasn't finished when she stopped. She reacted off, like she could recall what had happened. Likely, she does. She dropped the crayon and held her front like always. It made sense to the undertaker. She was soul wounded. She gave back all those pages, and now that they are gone, nothing kept her soul intact. She is holding her entrails in place, even if that is her spirit body, then her living one.
"I have no reason to be here." She sinks down at the floor. All these emotions and pain bubbles over. Even her own willpower of existence wavered. Bringing him to quickly come to her side and softly comfort her. She stops for a little moment in shock of such an act and really enjoys being comforted. She, however, still didn't trust his intentions, undertakers play some sort of long game in order to exact any revenge. The undertaker got her up off the floor, into the bed, and sat beside her as her living vitals put her into a state of sleep. He stares at the unfinished map, staring at the finished one he can see in his mind. He looked at the mapping out of things. Her spirit side spies secretly before going about repeating what she did before. Stealing evidence of the family's fraud acts against humans and spirits. Saving the ones who were about to be schemed into giving their names for enslavement. Stealing the stamp seals that be hard for them to replace if they have no keeping of tbe original wax. She made it an effort to remove their seals on their fake genuine to her onces. So they will be fooled to carry her letters in their system. Without speaking a word, she released all the servants from chains. They fought each other and began a manor wide chaos that was plenty of distraction. The mask returned back, just as exhausted as her living side. Just this once, she will let her whole entire mind shut down. Both living and mask side sleep for once. A once in a rare that she was going to test trusting the undertaker so complicit. She has done her things now.
"Have her things packed and send her to that school." Commanded over the obeying ones, "We don't have time to allow potential traitors have the chance to steal the tome." She was all wrapped up. Carried out. The undertaker followed right with her. A servant carried the only already packed bag there was. Having already checked it for anything stolen. She was put into a private car and drove miles away so quickly. She wakes in the mostly empty limo, two demon servants guarding. Her only case at her feet. She can sense the undertaker in her shadow, she doesn't even mind that he was there.
The world flying by the window was midnight, creaking the window she can smell the different places they passed. She knows this motorway system, coming off the 95 and onto the 1. The stand of broken trees of the Matanzas State Forest. A camp site with a small swamp sand beach. Reports of attacks by wildlife in a otherwise human heavy use of land. Going by the neck breaks speed of ignoring the speed limit and the rough way the limo avoids other cars. The blurring of signage, she knew where they are heading. She says nothing, staring out the window and softly almost back to drifting to sleep again. The way the tires bump over the cat eye reflective spots held a rhythm that made her sleepy.
"Miss Eliza." A demon clears voice and she blinks towards waking again. Doesn't look them in the face and was obeying acting child, "Thank you for breaking those chains." She shurgs and looks out the red sky, the break of morning light.
"We are returning to the private boarding school for gifted supernatural students. Your mother is taking evening classes in learning supernatural craft and laws. Your brother is in the 13 grade." So his secondary school learning. She still two years behind him, so she still by human ways a primary school year. Not it mattered for this private school run by a demon king. He would consider hiring her as a huntress over bothering school stuff. He has hope to convince the lady marionette to stay allied to him.
"Miss Eliza, I had already spoken to the headmaster on the phone. We will be arriving on the grounds in 24 minutes." The demon took out a paper file, "These are just a formalities to human court. It is also the information you need as a teacher." Puts it down with left hand towards her reach.
"Is there any bounties he wished for me to collect before we arrived?" Bowed heads meaning there was something worse.
"Spade of abnormal attacks on students in the dorms. He wishes to leave you to it, to learn what it is and deal with it." She goes through the paperwork. So she both a student in look and a teacher by authority. She allowed any place she wishes to stay. Use of all teacher and student facilities. She paid a basic human salary into a bank, she has that paperwork here. She is to do some minor bounties as rent and all the bills. The bigger bounties will be rewarded separately - subject to rank of mission. She reads the basic site rules like when power cuts out and evacuation sceneries. There the storm shelter is and protocol for fire, attacks and floods. Given she struggles reading on the best of days, she skims most of it and left the rest to her shadow to bother attempt to read it. By the moment they park up, she independently gets out of the car. She doesn't let all these freed demons make any assumptions that she was going to them. Two came out the boot of the limo and even the passages and driver were freed too. A squad of nine demons whom bow loyalty before the headmaster.
"Lord Williams." The undertaker also not quiet so doing well still with a broken right arm and a slightly shabby the normal appearance. The hat long gone and his got a nervous twitch in his right hand. Even so, makes the require greeting and respectful bow of a higher standing demon such as this headmaster.
Given it is the dawn hours, the human puppet the headmaster hold is drozy with long lasting blinks. The stress of being a headmaster in an abnormal school is easily read in the grey hairs and wrinkles of what should be a 40ish year old man. Wearing the appropriate suit for being a headmaster and standing as a king does over his subjects. Behind the eyes is a regal demon lord of purple scales, twisted long black horns and goat inverted colour eyes. Humanoid appearance for a demon baring the lack of nose. The overly of the human face would make it easier for humans to read the demons expressions but she looks the demon headmaster in his eyes, not the human. She can see both layers of existence. She can see the king outfit and blessing wards he held. She smirks impressed that he bother to wear his best ambassador uniform in coming to greet her. She doesn't want to assume it is for her but... the headmaster took one look at her. Shivered and then sinks down to one knee at her.
"Seriously?" She huffed, "Get off your knee before you get you best part of pants muddy." She stretched a lazy and causal, "It can't be serious business if you bother knee like that." He only lowered further, "Other then the attack of your students, you been OK?" She so casually human in how she spoke and with what little a child can achieve in forcing the adult to stand up, "I wonder how delicious this snack that upsetting your sheep will taste this time." But that's when he laughed nervous of hoping she was joking. She sadly was serious in that wondered thought. He accepts that she wanted to hold his left hand and she carries her own case with her right hand. Together through the main gate of rows bowing heads. Even some human teachers among the demon servants staff of his command.
"Beloved Lady Marionette, I hoped to ask you to take on the investigation the sigil guild as labeled for God ranking." She stopped walking with him as that was a interesting detail, "9 hunters lost. the recovery of a grim reapers tome. This has become a threat for both living and spirit."
"You didn't bother hiring Franklin?" She asked.
"Ugh... who?" He asked cautiously.
"I guess he must be busy." She lets his hand go and twirls about in the spot, "I don't mind taking such a request. Hunting dangerous souls is just what I do. I consider it my purpose." She stands straight, "But today I came here as not just the creature of a broken shape but I am so a living human. I am both. I must follow the law of living needs. I will need to eat both ways and sleep altering time schedules. This can be quiet a hindering thing as I have no direct connection with the afterlife but instead I am ruled by the living law of time and space. So if time reverts among humans, I will too. Regardless of which form you seek me as." She softly posed her right hand in summoning her shadow and now she placed on the mask. As per her current ways normal, her mask has a surface visible to demon and undertaker. At a distance, they can't see how damaged it is.
"I wish you explained this sooner. That you are both a Seer and a Fallown in blood." He closed hands, "That your human standings should match you titles."
"No... humans can't stand a little 8 year old bossing them about." She looks at the splendor of the buildings. Her eyes tracing the etched echo of history that woven into the bricks. From within the inner courtyard is five separate buildings with open air corridor shade connecting them. The centre here has a massive play tree and metal benches sprinkling the open unroof spaces. Three buildings are historically defined in age. This was a sugar cane or cotton plantation. The owners house, the barn for processing raws and the barn the slaves slept. It's all been modernized for the schools purpose.
The on looking windows has some students and teachers looking at this fancy greeting Given to a little girl. She was so much better received then a human state administrator checking if the school is within regulation. It only fuels abnormal theory of who she really is and why the demon bows to such extreme to honor her.
The newer built buildings were that of the gym part storm shelter with was keeping to the open spread of spacing. On top of were the crop would have grown. The last noticable build was six entry points on this side alone. The signage reading for these doors explains the purpose just fine. The libaray, theater and main eatery.
She takes a seat on a cold metal bench, case dropped into her shadow. She can sense there still another four buildings she hasn't spotted yet but her mask knew them. A disconnect music room. Art department. Church and private teachers out building. The church has a small graveyard of the time this was a plantation. No new Graves and the memorial status of a worker cutting away sugar cane. She can see from her minds eye.
"Please come with me, join me for breakfast." The headmaster insisted with a gentle hand on her back, "You seem hungry." Her stomach does seem pretty lively with gurgle. She got off the bench and follows walking beside him. The staff disburse while most were helping those that came with her. The undertaker being swept among to be treated and better cleaned up. The sling he has was filthy and he needed to report that he was doing OK to his king. Separated from her. He will now come to learn what all these demons think she is and why they treat her like that.