Death is My Frenemy Rewritten (Book 3 of the Rewritten Death Chronicles)

Chapter 20: Cradle the Soul

The Three turned from me in unison, ahead of them a large mirror that was not there before. They slinked around the sides of it, and when they came around, three amorphous figures stood, cloaked entirely in royal blue fabric.

The hair at the back of my neck stood.

"We have hidden in the ripples of time," said the First. "Waiting. For you."

My eyebrows furrowed, I slowly gazed at each of the Three.

"Your great destiny is unsatisfied," continued the First. "The balance between good and evil sways. Only one Death god shall cross back into the mortal realm, and it must be yours."

My chin lifted at her final word, and I felt my fists clench at my sides. "Alright, well, where do I get Old Man Charon a boarding pass?"

The Three said nothing. Clearly, they didn't find it funny.

"I'm just wondering," I said, my voice thick with anger , "did all Three of you miss that little rewind of my head cracking open on marble? Well, let me clarify, "my" Death, as you put it, just tried to murder me. And not in his normal twisted 'you're the prey and I'm the predator hee-hee' twisted flirty way. So yeah, he's not "my" anything."

"Destiny does not choose based on feeling," the First said, her croaking voice almost disappointed in me. "Anything less would be a great unfairness."

"Yeah, well, I'm not destiny." I clenched my teeth. "Death can rot in a hole with his freaky eyes face down in a pile of shit for all I care."

The Three cast glances amongst each other, and the Third spoke up. "Faith Williams, you must bring Death back and prevent Charon from entering the mortal realm."

"Is there anything else you'd like for me to do for you? Any grocery lists? Need someone to polish your toenails?"

The Third did not reply.

"I'm tired," I told them. "I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only solution for everything. Whatever destiny you have for me, please, just give it to someone else. I'm done. I'm done. It's time for me to save myself." I heard the wobble in my own voice and tried to steady it. "I just want to go home."

"She is very afraid," noted the Second, her head turning in an inhuman way, her face hidden beneath her cloak. "I told you she was too young, Lechesis..."

"No, she is the one," said the First, who I now assumed was Lechesis. "She is strong."

"What do you mean I am the one?" I demanded, sick of these empty riddles.

Lechesis turned toward me. "The answers you seek will arrive sooner than you think, but not if you are afraid. Not if you turn away from who you are and what you must do. What you are meant to do."

My entire body was trembling now, my vision blurring again, and I knew what I had to listen to them. "I'm not stronger than Death. Not when he's working against me. How can I bring him back if his corpse just tried to kill me?"

"Nothing is as it seems in a dream," Lechesis said. "The answer found in a truth concealed. A darkness you both must fight. There is no shadow without light."

The Three lifted their cloaked heads, their eyes glowing beneath their hoods.

A thread uncut, she shall not die

Her soul we send through broken time

Back to the body to cradle the soul