As it turned out, Death's idea of planning a murder was to not plan a murder.

We stood outside a small town, nestled in the foothills of a large mountain range. I leaned against a fence post, ignoring the sheep that fled from our prescence.

"Is this where she lives? Being honest, not where I thought an immortal would choose to stay," I said, enjoying the sound of the world around me.

"Old places tend to attract immortals. There's so much energy in the land, it helps clear the mind." Death messed with his gloves, before picking up my scythe. "And it comes with the added benefit of making it easier to hide from me."

I looked down into the valley. The houses stood further apart than I expected, with a few surrounded by fields. Picturesque barns and silos sat side by side, with herds of cattle, sheep, and goats around them. Those were accompanied by older, dilapidated versions, often stripped of paint and left to the elements. The gray wood stood stark against the green pastures. The loud bray of a donkey cut through the air.

My arms rested on top of the post I had been leaning against, and I rested my chin on them. "So where's she at?"

"Probably at the historical society if her habits have kept. Kid, whatever happens with her you need to be careful."

I looked at Death. "Why?"

"They can't hurt you the same way Life can, but they can see you. They can touch you."

"Faye could see me."

"Because I let her. We can pick and choose who sees us, but we don't have a choice with the immortals. Life cleared the fog from their minds." He crossed his arms, tapping his fingers against his bicep. "The haze that conceals the true world from mortals, it's the same stuff that dulls sounds from their world, the same stuff that eats away at mortals' memories. They remember every move I've made better than I do. This isn't going to be easy, kid."

"I never said it was going to be. Besides, they've never met me. If it comes down to it, I can try to use the arm thingies."

"I told you the names of those."

"Yeah, but arm thingies is easier to say."

"Let's- Let's not use those until we understand why you have them, okay?" He smiled at me. It didn't reach his eyes.

Regardless, I nodded and followed him as he headed into town. The main streets were paved; dirt and gravel roads branched off from those. It was along one of these muddy dirt roads that the historical society was located.

A bell chimed as we walked in. Display cases stretched from wall to wall. I walked along them, looking at the tools and family Bibles. One of the Holy Books, older than most of the others, was written in Greek, and some of the notes in the genealogy were in an older form of English.

The dates on the family tree placed this book back before the invention of the printing press.

"This book is ancient." I mumbled, scanning the names. Harper Evans stuck out to me, along with the name of her husband and child. The girl's name had a death date next to it, a few months after her birth.

"Her daughter was born immortal. I had to kill her before she got older," Death hit the desk bell.

"Hold on a moment!" A voice with a heavy British accent came from deeper within the maze-like room.

"Hold onto what?" I laughed quietly to myself.

The smile stayed on my face as a man in a sweater vest emerged into view. He placed the books he carried on a desk before pushing his glasses up.

"What can I help you chaps with?"

"Is Harper here?"

"One of her mates?"

"You could say that."

"She'll be back in her office. It's odd though, this is a small town. Word gets around fast about tourists, especially someone with your coloration. Also, is your hair natural?"

"Yeah. Luckily, I avoided getting pale skin. I would burn so bad I'd get called a lobster until Rapture and maybe even after it."

I knew if I let them get started, the conversation would never end. Leaning on the counter, I picked up my foot and drove it into Death's shin.

"Was that necessary?" He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes. I'm not standing here for an hour while you two chat. It's bad enough in a store."

The guy chuckled. "Sounds like you put your daughter through a lot."

"She's not my daughter."

The guy drew his head back in thinly veiled disgust."Oh."

"It's nothing like that." Death said, flustered. "She just works for me."

"By work he means I get him coffee, spill it, and then he looks at me like I'm the biggest disappointment since Michelle Obama changed school lunches. I liked my ice cream, thank you very much." I huffed and crossed my arms.

"Anyway, how do we get to her office?"

The man gestured to a set of stairs. "Head up those. Third door on the left."

"Thanks. Come on, kid."

The wood creaked dangerously underfoot. Upstairs was just as crowded as the first floor, but there were more shelves and less Bibles.

Death rested his hand on a worn doorknob, the polish long since rubbed off. "Be ready for a chase."

He turned the handle and shoved the door open.

"Dawson, I told you to knock before-" Harper's chair crashed to floor as she shot to her feet. Her long delicate fingers wrapped around the hilt of a dagger. She held it up, angled towards Death."How'd you find me?"

Ribbons tied off the plaits in her hair, periwinkle offsetting auburn, and matching her soft glowing eyes. Freckles speckled her nose and cheeks.

"Next time, make sure you have both of your ribbons." Death held up the one we had found. "Give us the key."

"I don't think I will. I haven't done anything to hurt you and yet you keep trying to kill me."

"You had me tried as a witch!"

"You're still standing here, aren't you? And that seemed to be a fun century for you."

"I was drowned, burned at the stake, and stoned. It was not a fun century."

"That's not so much my fault as yours. You were the one who decided to walk on our side of the veil."

Death bared his teeth. "It's something that's necessary when dealing with you immortals."

"I'm sure," she said, flipping the dagger in her hands. "If I may, why have you decided to track me down after all this time? I thought you would have given up after the last time."

"Don't act like she didn't tell you. I know my sister keeps in contact with all of you. And I know you are the only ones who have the key to open her dimension. So hand it over, and I'll make this quick."

I inched towards the sofa and sat down. One of the springs made a weird noise. Death and Harper looked at me.

I gestured for them to go on."Continue."

"Who is she?" Harper asked.

"Nobody important."

"Hey!"

Ignoring my outburst, Death continued, "Hand over the key."

"You keep telling me to do that, and yet you don't have it. Maybe you should think about reworking your approach. But remember," she said while she flipped the dagger. Its point rested against the small of her throat, divoting her skin. The smallest force could send it through the porcelain skin and into an artery. "You'll never get what you want if I should meet my end."

"You're immortal." I moved my arm so I could try to summon my powers if I had to. Death sent a subtle nod my way, but I couldn't tell if that meant to activate ir or that it was a good idea to be ready.

"My patron foresaw this occurence. This dagger is capable of severing my connection to her and my body in one blow." A twisted smile spread across her face. "You'll never get what you want. All of us are willing to sacrifice everything for her, why else would she give us this gift?"

"Uh, cause she's a nutcase?"

"She isn't crazy. She's brilliant. Her light spreads across all of us, filling us with hope and love. She wants that to last forever."

Death tossed me my scythe. "We don't have time for this."

"Oh, but you do. You know you can't catch me. But I'd like to see you try."

"We're in a, what, five-hundred square foot room? I like my chances."

Harper chuckled and I shuddered as her laughter turned maniacal. It echoed off of everything. She slashed the dagger through the air. Nothing happened, except she had placed it in a sheath.

She stepped backwards until her legs hit the windowsill. She kept going. Her body crashed out the window.

Chapter: 1,512

Book: 25,067

I have up to chapter 5 edited, though I need to still do some touch ups.

I need food.

See yah