WHAT'S UP?????? HOW IS EVERYONE'S SUMMER? *hot girl summer twerk*

TIS' FEEDING TIME, MY CHILDREN!!!!

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That was about as much talking as Death could evidently handle, as he quickly reformed the conversation back to strategy and booted me out of the bedroom and into the living room. There wasn't much time for conversation anyway, as Leo, Romeo, Wolf, Blade, Gunner, Denim and Flash had all showed up to travel with us to the Grey-wood cemetery. Unlike Death and his Fallen–some of which were supposedly going meet us at the graveyard–none of the Reapers had wings, which meant we all had to travel by car.

Leo, Wolf, Gunner, and Flash traveled in one car, while I traveled in another, sandwiched between a stoical Denim and an exasperated Blade in the back of a Cadillac, while Romeo boasted in the driver seat about how he founded the term "ménage à trois" in 1856, that monogamy is a social trap, amongst many other Romeo-related topics.

"And that's why I have a past of only having prolonged sexual affairs with stuffy female gynecologists," Romeo concluded, as we pulled into a bare parking lot.

"Shut," Blade hissed, gripping his head against the car window, "the fuck. Up."

Romeo snickered. "Clearly, I'm not the only one who suffers with high testosterone levels in this vehicle. But one of us took care of it tonight." He popped his center console open as he parked the Cadillac. "Want a flesh light to go? Nothing a quick little wank can't cure, mate."

Blade lunged across me for Romeo, when Denim grabbed Blade around the throat and threw him back into his seat beside me. "Enough. Both of you. There's a mortal in the car."

"Half-mortal," I squeaked, pressed back against my seat as Denim and Blade glared at each other on either side of me. "At least, I think so. I don't know too many humans can shoot laser beams from their fingers."

"I don't know about that, Cheeks," Romeo said, working a floss stick through his teeth in the rear-view mirror. "You reek of human."

Blade sniffed in my direction, and his nostrils flared like he was instantly repelled. Funny, Death had that same reaction.

Suddenly, Fallen hit the ground around the Cadillac, surrounding us with leather hoods and weapons. The shadow of menacing wings tucked gracefully into their back. I counted at least ten in my line of vision.

"These are some of Death's Fallen," Romeo said, as if to explain it to me, and cut the engine. "Just a precaution. Let's do this thang."

Denim and Blade got out of the Cadillac on either side of me. I scooched out after Denim and slammed the door behind me. The Fallen shifted, moving into a formation with their hands clasped behind their back. The one with the buzz cut in the center stepped forward as Leo approached them.

"I am Reaper Leonard, Lead Commandant of the Seven," Leo said. "What is your status?"

"I am Fallen Morax, Battle of Order Lead Commander, Legion Six-Nine," said Buzz Cut. I threw my hand over my mouth to suppress my sudden laughter, which turned it into a loud raspberry. Morax's black eyes flicked to each of the Reapers, before landing on me with a brief flicker of surprise. "Is that...?"

"Yes, that is the girl," Leo answered. "She is to be protected at all costs."

The hoard of hooded soldiers all swiveled their head to look at me, whispering amongst each other.

"You're kind of a big deal in the Underworld," Gunner whispered at my ear. "Not necessarily in a good way, but not in a bad way, either. You might want to say something charming for your first impression."

Feeling incredibly under pressure, I raised a hand with a peace sign. "Greetings, Legion 69."

Romeo burst out laughing.

"Hell's horns," Wolf muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.

Morax scowled and turned his serious attention dismissively back to Leo. "Upon Lucifer's rule, I have thirty Fallen stealthily surrounding the perimeter of the Grey-wood cometary. I await orders from His Highness, Lord Death, but I also recognize that time is of the essence. When can we expect his arrival?"

As I listened to Leo and Morax continue discussing strategy, I heard a slight rustling from above us. My gaze moved heavenward, and I squinted at a small shadow in the tree above us, a raven sitting in an old maple tree, looming over us from inside the cemetery. My heart rate picked up as I thought of Malphas and our encounter in the projection. Malphas had somehow spoken to his wife, Phoebe Cruscellio, the force that I was convinced was trapped inside my pendant, and after he was given a warning of Death dying, I'd actually been under the impression that Malphas wanted to help us. But convincing Death of something like that had been impossible, and I even I was having trouble believing that everything I'd seen in that projection was true.

As I strained to see the bird in the tree, I realized it was already gone.

Wolf grabbed me by the shoulder. "Now wait a second, little lady," he said. "You're supposed to hang back with Denim and me. In the Cadillac."

"You can't be serious," I said, furious that Death was actually following through with keeping me out of tonight. "We're waiting in the parking lot while all of them go in to kick some demon ass? What if something bad happens and you guys aren't there to help the others?"

"There are thirty others Fallen for back up," Wolf said, steering me toward the car. "Trust me, neither of us want to babysit a mortal tonight, but it's Death's orders."

Instead of defending my maturity level and stating my argument that Death was in no frame of mind to be making last minute decisions about my involvement, I planted my feet and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to look as intimidating as possible in front of Hulk Denim and Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine Wolf.

"Denim and Wolf," I said, "I command you let me into that cemetery."

They shared a look and chuckled.

Wolf ushered me to move. "Get to the Cadillac, Pipsqueak. Before I throw you over my shoulder."

"Look, a bloodthirsty vampire!" I pointed. They looked, including some of the Fallen soldiers. Not really thinking it through, I made a break for it.

Denim and Wolf moved in a blur and lifted me up by under the armpits, carrying my backwards as I childishly kicked the air all the way to the car.

But before I could be tossed inside the vehicle, Death landed like a cat on top of the Cadillac, and I gasped. His mismatched green eyes were nearly black in the night and the lower portion of his face was covered by that black scarf and he wore his Cowell hood. He pounced onto the hood of car and hit the pavement gracefully.

"The girl comes with us," Death said.

A frown dipped my eyebrows.

Wolf spoke up for us all. "But you said––"

"I don't care what I said," Death snapped. "The girl comes with us."

"Yes, my lord."

Under his breath, Romeo muttered bitterly, "Always a dramatic entrance with him. Did he have to dent my hood like that?"

Death stalked past the group of hooded soldiers that parted a path for him and moved fearlessly toward the entryway of the cemetery. I couldn't help but feel strange as I watched him stride away, like something was seriously wrong with him.

"You're supposed to follow me, dipshits!" Death called out, and then kicked open the massive black cast iron gate into the Grey-wood cemetery.

"What the hell is he doing?" Blade demanded.

"So much for a surreptitious entry," Gunner muttered.

Neither the stars nor the moon showed up to light the way, as we trudged forward into the blue-black dusky boneyard blanketing the quiet dead. The rotting smell of earth made me fully aware that corpses lingered beneath the rows upon rows of tombstones fading into shadows on either side of us. I'd never been in a cemetery at night and I yearned for this to be the last time.

"You smell that?" Wolf asked Morax, who lead the obedient Fallen soldiers.

"Indeed," Morax answered.

"It's getting stronger," Romeo replied.

"Whoever smelt it dealt it," Flash said.

I soon knew exactly what they were talking about, as we approached a noiseless fountain in a fork in the pathway toward the mausoleum. The overpowering smell of metallic filled my nostrils. I peered down into the dark water of the fountain, a chill slipping down my spine.

I looked across the fountain at Death, who'd dipping a gloved finger into the water. He brought it to his mouth. "Blood. It's fresh."

"And it's not just coming from this spot," Morax said, gazing toward the mausoleum. "The scent lingers all over the ground."

"Think they're doing some sort of sacrifice?" Flash asked.

"Or they're trying to prove a point," Leo offered.

None of which sounding appealing nor calming to me.

We kept moving through the cemetery. It was too quiet. With every uncertain step, my boots hit dry leaves, the crunching sound of it thunderous compared to our surroundings. The ominous feeling that we were being watched made my heart pound harder and harder. I kept looking for Death's looming frame ahead of us, finding a sense of security that he was my view.

There was movement in my peripheral vision.

"We were starting to think you wouldn't show."

All at once, Morax and his Fallen soldiers drew their swords, and the Reapers readied their weapons. Leo and Wolf moved to either side of me, and Death remained unruffled, calmly turning to face the voice of Master Vampire Dunkin. Dunkin stood with an arrogant confidence that he was in control of this situation, his hands clasped behind his back. He wore no armor, and had no visible weapon, but his eyes were glowing in the night.

"Look at what you've brought me," Dunkin said, his otherworldly gaze sliding to each of us. "A whole little militia to pick apart. I am overjoyed."

"We want proof of life," Death growled in a low, gravelly voice. "Show us the warlock."

Dunkin laughed, his elongated canines prominent in his smile. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Grim. We've only just begun." He held out his arms and breathed in deeply. "This cemetery is so magnificent at dusk. Especially tonight, when the scent of mortal blood overpowers decay. Can you tell I started the party already? Apologies, I would have let you watch the massacre of the mortal hogs, but my newborns were so...thirsty. You know how they get."

"We didn't come to chit-chat," I snapped, drawing Dunkin's cynical eyes toward mine. Wolf gave me a swift pinch on my left arm that told me to keep my pipe shut, but I ignored him. "Prove to us that Ace is alright."

"Oh, little mortal," Dunkin chided, displaying his fangs in a leering grin, "you especially should not have come."

Suddenly, figures that I hadn't noticed before shifted in the night, darting in and out behind gravestones, leaping down from trees and hovering in the darkness surrounding us. Their growls and hisses reverberated from all directions.

I gripped the sword at my belt and unleashed it.

Blade flicked out his hands, two blades popping into his palms as he fanned out to the left, with Gunner directly trailing right behind him with a crossbow. Gunner aimed the bow at approaching figures, and the beam of light attached to the rim of the bow illuminated the terrifying faces of oncoming vampires. Unlike Dunkin, these vampires were gruesomely ugly. Drool seeped down the corners of their mouths.

"I'd hate to be cliché," Dunkin said. "But you've fallen right into my trap. Quite literally, I'm afraid. Dumbass."

Death held out his gloved hands, as if to test if there was a breeze around him. A single step forward made his whole-body spasm. He brought his foot back with a curse. His hooded snapped down to the ground, as a once invisible trap erupted around him with complex designs that linked together. They blazed to life like a scarlet inferno, leaving Death untouched, imprisoned, directly at the center.

"Shit," Wolf said.

Shit was right.

"A sigil," I said, feeling a weight press down on my chest. My mind harked back to the corn maze, how Death's soul had been expunged from his body and trapped in Limbo.

"Doesn't this just have a certain je ne sais quoi?" Dunkin said. "Maybe a little déjà vu? You, trapped and helpless, in a few squiggly lines? I didn't think it'd be so easy, but damn, that warlock is good! A real talent. Maybe we shouldn't have beaten him stupid, after all." His smile was broad, smug.

My fists tightened, emotion climbing up my throat the idea of Ace possibly being dead.

Gunner, who's lip suddenly curled up in disgust, nudged Romeo. "The hell is up with this guy's smile?"

Dunkin's lips slowly flattened together. "Pardon me?"

"It is a bit of a quirky smile for a villain." Romeo said, and the two Reapers analyzed Dunkin with narrowed gazes. "Very odd...and gummy."

"I hardly saw any teeth," Flash said.

Dunkin turned beat red under the outdoors light above him. "There's nothing wrong my smile––!". He'd stopped himself and ran a hand through his silvery hair. "Fuck the bunch of you, and fuck you especially, Death, and your king's brainwashed cluster-fuck ideals of how the creatures of the night should live."

"You fail to recognize the the importance of the Balance," Leo said. "Good and evil must have common ground. Without this, we will fade into complete anarchy."

"Heaven has more clout over Lucifer's decisions than his own people," Dunkin argued. "You know it's true. The New Order smothered the voices of nightly creatures. Lucifer wants to rise again, he wants to be able to walk the earth, and he'll kiss any asses he has to in order to get there. For nearly seven-hundred years, vampires have been slaves under Lucifer's reign."

"And for good reason," Wolf chimed in with a snarl. "Vampires have caused more turmoil between species than any other. Quarreling against Lycans and shapeshifters over petty feuds that you carry on from your ancestors."

Dunkin cocked his head and laughed. "And for good reason? Lycans are filthy, despicable creatures jam-packed with incest. They wouldn't know their mother's tit from their third wive's."

"You know nothing of the Lycans," Wolf growled. "Living in ignorance and claiming a bias against people you don't understand makes you the despicable one."

 Dunkin's mouth parted, as if to feign a realization. "Ah, my apologies. I almost forgot, Wolf, you're that Seven who used to fuck a legendary alpha's pooch mate. Until he found out and put her down, of course." He tapped his chin with a sharp nail. "Say, didn't he rip her spine out and feed her bones to his devotees? What a crying shame. Guess it is a dog-eat-dog world, after all, huh?"

Wolf lunged for Dunkin's throat, when Flash and Gunner grabbed him and hauled him back. "Coldblooded arsehole!" Wolf snarled, thrashing to be let free. Denim came from behind him and secured in him place with his bulging ebony arm. "At least she had some backbone, you spineless tick!"

"Tell it to someone who gives a shit, soul eater," Dunkin snarled. "Vampires have been forced into hiding, forced to live on limited territory, and forced hunt on certain grounds, while the Seven and his Fallen live any which way they want." His eyes darkened as they swung to Death in the sigil. "And you, Death, as Lucifer's eyes and ears in the mortal realm, let it happen. Which makes you just as responsible."

Around us, figures emerged into full clarity, pale complexions and fangs that matched Dunkin's. Dread churned my stomach as they surrounded us and the Reapers and Death's Fallen backed closer toward the ring of the sigil.

"More vamps coming up from the east," Leo said, snapping our attention. He held his sword out in front of him. "My lord?"

"Tell me something, Dunkin," Death said, his voice unruffled, his body unmoving in the sigil. "From one immortal to another. Have you ever loved someone you didn't realize was so fragile, so temporary, until one day, you blinked, and they were gone forever?"

Something twitched in Dunkin's face. His mouth crinkled in the corners, like he wanted to laugh, but he didn't, as if he were uncomfortable. 

Death shifted his foot and turned in the sigil, slowly facing Dunkin with his draping hood concealing his face. "Would you have given yourself to save the person you're imagining? Would you have the heart to sacrifice a piece of you to breath them back to life? Even if it meant you would never be the same again. Even if there were consequences. Consequences they wouldn't have wanted you to pay because it destroyed you. Destroyed you in a horrible, unbearable way."

Dunkin's head tilted, gazing at the vampires around him that waited for his command, staring back at him as if expecting he had an answer. His eyes narrowed back to Death. "Is there a point to this senseless rant?"

Death laughed darkly under his breath, but I had a feeling he wasn't laughing at the Dunkin. "I strain not to know your weakness, vampire. Blood is the only thing that keeps your life essence animated. And you wasted it, decorated this graveyard with it." His voice gradually rose with each word, beckoning everyone to listen. "All to create the illusion that you are in control and not a pawn to Ahrimad, as if you aren't already a hostage to your own undying hunger, as if your body isn't unbearably thrumming right this second, begging for you to taste the blood seeping into this ground and wet your dry mouth." A few of the vampires around Dunkin suddenly became distracted, flicked their hungry, beady eyes to the ground, to their shoes, stained in crimson. "Everything I do, I do with precision, with purpose. What you've done is sloppy."

"So, to answer your question," Death continued, "my rant has little significance. To you. But what it has done is buy us some time. If my son learned anything valuable from me, anything at all, it is the discipline and the patience required to conquer the toughest of obstacles and conjure the darkest of spells."

Son. The word hit my skin like ice. Slowly, Death brought his hands to his hood and pulled it down. The panels of his face shifted. He blinked, and his mismatched eyes flicked to a coal black. The obsidian cloak on his shoulders fell in a rippling puddle at his feet as the Raven Demon stood in the sigil. Malphas.

Dunkin's silver eyes went so wide, I thought they would bulge out of his skull.

"Surprise," Malphas said to Dunkin, his features a transforming between creature and man and the Raven god. "Dumbass."

The wind began to howl against us. Everyone looked up at once, the shadows of birds that none of us had seen before crying out in the trees above us. Energy crackled in the air like static electricity, with fear, and I could have sworn even the ground gave a slight tremble.

"Tonight," Malphas said, holding out his talon fingertips on either side of him and smirking, "you have soaked this graveyard in your demise. Worry not, the mortal sacrifices you have made will not be wasted....not with two gracious gods in your company."

The sky ruptured in seizures of lightning. The flash of light outlined a creature hovering in the air above us all. It levitated in the middle of the frenzied birds, a horrific, hellish shadow of a monster against the moon's beam. Two enormous obsidian wings bear the air with a thunderous, rhythmic strokes, and the trees bent away from the movement like a fearful cringe from sheer might. Shadows slinked across the ground beneath him, chilling whispers enfolding from the darkness, consuming the pathway to the mausoleum with blackness.

Ravens cried out louder in a frightening chorus. Shadows spread across the ground. An impending doom implied by this chorus as the light from the lamps on either side of the pathway shown against Death's full otherworldly form.

He was a reawakened nightmare I'd never been introduced. Skin as coal black as midnight, wicked horns curving down the side of his skull, and his bare upper body rippled with lethal muscle. The green hues to Death's eyes were masked by dusk, a lethal fury, which poured outward from his eyes in the form of a black, noxious smoke. Darkness expelled from his every pore, haloed the crest of his head like a magnificent crown, curtained behind his back in a trail–– a royal cloak fashioned from shadows.

"Unholy....fucking hell," Dunkin said, voicing all of our thoughts.

"I call upon the dead of night," Death's monstrous, guttural voice thundered over all. "Draw from the life soaking these graves. Drink from the blood of the once breathing. Awaken, my dead. Crawl from your dark depths. Awaken, awaken, awaken bones from beneath. Stir from your slumber and rise. Rise, and serve your master!"

The ground shuddered with such a force that sent us all off balance. Stone cracked in the distance, gravestones fracturing one by one, row by one, the bone-chilling moans of the dead unleashing across the graveyard. 

HEEEEYYYY, you!!! Please don't forget to vote, leave lots of feedback, and share this story with your BFFLAD's to support me!!! <3

AUTHORS NOTE:

So, where TF have I been????? Well, updates have been slower for many reasons, but mainly because I am currently on submission to publishers and writing projects off of Wattpad to be pitched to more editors! Death is My BFF (the brand spankin' new manuscript off of Wattpad) was submitted to about 18 publisher editors approximately 6 weeks agao, via my NEW LITERARY AGENT!!! WOOP WOOP!!!!!!

Submission is a long, tedious process that a writer goes through to get traditionally published, and a horrible waiting game, but EVERYONE keep your Cupcake fingers crossed that a publisher finally picks me up!!!!!! Obviously, my #1 goal is to make writing my full-time career and make enough money that I can keep creating for you guys and live my dream as a writer!! I so, so, so deeply appreciate your patience with updates, as I'm currently juggling a lot!

Thank you so much for sticking with me!!! This journey is kind of a crazy one, but I'm so excited for you guys to FINALLY read this new manuscript and all the new insanity, plot twists, and never-before-seen epic #FADE moments that encompasses almost every page! You're gonna DIEEEEEE!!!

Oh, and if you haven't already, you REALLY should join the Death is My BFF Facebook Group! The link is on my Wattpad profile bio and it's below!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/308207282529485/