ONYX MOON

T H I R T Y - T H R E E

Before I could ask him what he meant, he flung the shadow towards the wall. 

Before it hit the wall, the shadow morphed into a familiar figure. 

"Midnight?" I gasped in surprise.

My shadow friend nuzzled my leg before disappearing once again. 

My neighbor let out a string of curses, someone of them in a language I didn't recognize. 

"This is worse than I thought" he muttered to himself "So much worse." 

"What are you talking about?" 

He ignored my question "This changes everything." 

"What?" I asked "Why does this change things?" 

"The shadow creature is taking the brunt of your wounds" He said, his blue eyes locking with mine "You haven't healed from your injuries like I thought in my initial hypothesis. The creature is basically holding you together like glue." 

I reared my head back in shock "What the hell does that mean?" 

"It means that if we leave Tartarus, you'll most likely die out there in the human realm" he said, his tone grave "The shadow creatures originate from the center of the Underworld. They thrive in darkness and draw their power from it. The creature has sustained your life so far because we're closest to their source of power right now. However, the moment we move away from the source, up the nine layers of Tartarus towards the Human realm, the Shadow creature will begin to lose power." 

My breath caught in my throat.

"And if she loses power..." I trailed off

"Then you would most likely die" he stated in a matter of fact tone "For good this time." 

"How do I stop that from happening?" I asked 

He remained quiet. 

"Is there a way to stop this from happening?"

"I don't know if there's a way to stop it from happening" he said slowly "But we need to be careful when traveling up the nine realms." 

"You think I'm still going with you?" My eyes widen as I let out an incredulous laugh "After you just told me there was a possibility of me dying once and for all?" 

"You have too" he growled "You're the key." 

"There we go with that key shit again" I snarled "I didn't have it then and I sure as hell don't have it now." 

"You don't understand." 

"I don't understand?" I asked sarcastically "Why don't you explain it to me?" 

"Do you ever wonder how you were able to get into Tartarus?" he asked "And why everyone was so hell bent on capturing you?" 

My head snapped towards where he was standing "How do you know about that?" 

 "Don't you get it?" He ignored my question "Don't you see?" 

I let out a sound of frustration "See what?" 

"That you're the key to everything" he said "Being Mated to the next King of the Underworld, and being apart of the Pack that basically created the Elysium's, provide you with certain perks or privileges that the rest of the world doesn't have access to." 

"Privileges?" My nose wrinkled "What kind of privileges?" 

"Privileges like opening portals that haven't been opened for centuries" he said "Portals like..." 

"Like Tartarus" I whispered as all the pieces began to click into place "The Guardians don't just guard the gate to this place, do they?" 

For the first time since we've met face to face, the man in front of me smiled. 

"They don't" he said "The Matthews Pack not only guard but have access to all of the Underworld's Elysiums. They can travel between realms if need be and, if circumstances permit it, linger in a world even if they've dead for years on end." 

"If that's the case, then why is everyone after me?" I questioned "Why not go after one of my family members that's already dead?"

He locked eyes with me as he lifted my hand between us, the blood still dripping from my shredded fingertips. 

"No matter how many advantages your Pack has down here, the fact of the matter is, that they're still dead and have no physical body" he said "In order to escape, to truly escape and remain in the mortal realm for the rest of eternity, you'd have to have the blood and blessing of a Living Pack member." 

"That's all?" I asked "Just some of my blood and a stupid blessing?" 

"Not exactly." 

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that they'd need an exorbitant amount of your blood to leave this place or even the Underworld" he said "And in order to do that, they'd most likely bleed you dry, killing you in the process."