Chapter 8

The parking at the resort was accomidating as was the on site staff ready with a wheel chair. Being stubborn, I got out on my own and used the crutches. Everyone seems a little pale at my capabilities. The lady who has been with me most gives a run down and file from hospital about me. The suitcase seemed a struggle for two men to lift it. It was put onto the wheel chair I wasn't using.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Fallown. Would you like to settle in first or talk?" I stand with clicking my upper back. This scared them, I flutter my left hand to shoo them. I take a relief sigh in good that felt.

"I read the welcome pack folder. I want to know of my pets are OK then we can talk. I have nothing prohibited in any bag. Check if you want." The have staff take my suitcase to my room ahead of me. I am directed by the normal site staff. I take pause to those not following, "Thank you for helping me and getting me here. I hope we meet again in better times." The car staff smiled and nod. Making their last checks before heading off. I returned to walking onwards through a set of automatic doors. Then someone opened a manual door, it code locked... noted. My mask watched the code entry and wrote it down. I take no less then five more steps in and some fluffy thing had jumped, claw climb and the bumped his face into mine.

"Hello Loki." I pet him and he purrs as always. I pass my crutches to someone random and lowered to Morpheus. My tubby cat baby. So happy that he gave me his back feet to pet between his toes. I laughed. Petting my cats. I lowered a free hand down to the last cat. He likes tickles and then will clean the smell off him, "Yeah. I don't blame that." I commented. My two dogs were on leashes and pulled right to me. They smell my pain and were gently with me. Singing in my welcome. I laughed and sing to because just can. The utter shock of people around me was amusing.

"The most attached to anyone I have ever seen. They don't care for us." I took back crutches and eventually stood. My dogs helped me and my cats trusted me to have balance.

"You to can be stronger then you seem when you have three idiots to control one two leashes." I reply, "Thank you for looking after them. It's one less burden of worrying." My fatty jumps off with my fluffy. They brushed all over me, all of them. Even the hissy cat. I ignored this as I am use to it. I adjusted my crutches without hurting them.

I looked at the people now. I blinked a few times because I didn't know if I should be seeing undertakers this clearly. Then again... there was posters everywhere with runic patterns. Living folks know they were there and act indifferent about it. In my head that establishes that this mixing was all aware and visible. I don't need to be the crazy one. The leaflets didn't state anything about this.

People. Focus. I don't know anyone of them except Curiosity. Yet... the uniforms. I know that everyone was a personal bodyguard. Making the one odd the likely King. My prolong silence of study and they were watching my reactions.

"Nice to meet you sort of in person." I finally voiced.

"Not the reactions I expected." He frowned just like Curiosity does. They don't all do that. A considerable note of maybe king is partner to the left hand spy. A interesting choose. His voice I heard before, the tome had been annoyed at his page tapping habit. In fact the book was recently slammed closed for it.

"We should take a private room or is the door entrance good enough?" He waved in being the guide to the next area. It was like a camrea less room with a table and sofas. I see a bird watching from the back of one seat. It coos seeing me, and I nod in greeting. It hops happy of being acknowledged and jumps on me. The undertakers near me back off. I pet it with my right hand for a bit. I get back to walking to the seats. I waited for the king first to sit. I am not ignorant. The notice I wasn't a fool was apparent and they knew to just go along with whatever happens. I sit with putting crutches on the side of me for now.

"Your not clueless, for sure." I brought my mask to my hand. I put it to the side of my head, watching the doors. No locks here. The bird coos and I return to pet it a bit more, "And someway you are."

"Its not a bird. I know. They find me all the time. Always whispering for something. They do a better job of predicting the issues all realms will face then dreams do at telling you about the living worlds." I state, "I can't be afraid of something that plays its purpose correctly. We know the rules. Don't we?" I ask it and it nods, "Mail? exchange of random things? Just because?" It dances happy to see me and I let it be as spoiled as I would any creatures I respect. Trust isn't respect in this case.

"OK. You are strange."

"Thank you. I pride myself in such things. Being strange is better then normal. I had to accept it really. If being American isn't strange enough for folks or a outsider trickster with problems, then I am just a open minded weird person." He shuffled in his seat uncomfortable, "Be straightforward about what you want from me. You British beat around the bush to much."

"I want access into the original copy of the immortal tome."

"You really want your ears torn off... sheesh." I muttered, "Why? What power or knowledge are you seeking out of the poor soul?" He blinked scared a moment, "Access isn't easy. You just happen to be be owned a few favours by us. Accessing the core is a expensive favour and if you really are able to find what you want from it. You will need permission from the gods." I hold the bird, "Not just the typical gods. You have to beg to the true titles. They are sensitive souls to careless requests."

"That was a well preform lie." A guard tuts. I held the bird stronger as it hissed. Some reacted to protect the king, even with a weapon removal.

"Undertakers should take it this warning. We as god eaters protect the book you so convent as the immortal tome." My bird hissed slowly, "Do not insult those that protect you. If you fear me, then you should be more afraid of the thing we fear more." It shivers, "Never insult the keeper of a tempered book."

"Yeah, it is a hot tempered book." I agree, "Which reminds me of something it personally wanted to scream at you for. Be glad I am the one to pass on the message." I put the bird to the side and clear my throat, "Stop tapping on the pages. You will have your hand ripped off at some point. The book hates it. The displeasure is enough for it to slam in your face, for sure." There is that slight nervous smile on one side, like what I said had creeped him out. I take a sigh and sit back now, "It's the only waring given to you civil like."

"Tapping pages... yes. I do that when I am confused on why there is names missing. Its why I wanted to look for them in the immortal tome."

"I have to wonder what condition of the name your asking about. Maybe you don't need to access it the book in order for me to tell you. Its a much safer thing to do. I don't want it hissing at me and I don't want true death to come at me for the stupid action. His really fussy about soul names." The rased eye brows, "anyways. Location of said name. Do you know know them peronally?"

"No." He waved and someone shows me that photo again of the family line up.

"Oh, well no wonder you can't read their names. They aren't in the immortal tome. They are the asigned jobs among the dead which has a weird law about having anyone sharing the book section space to not read that space." He blinks at me like I said something stupid, "I don't make up the rules." I reminded, "All undertakers are written in that section too. You can't see each others names." I clap, "But I can." the clap was to freeze time and welcome only the king and likely his partner.

"Why did you do that?"

"Requirement for me to access the books." I shrug and I twisted my hand with making a copy of the agisned book appear. It was the summary version - the original is to big for me. I flicked through a ton of the pages and read through, "Undertakers..." I voiced in feeling the names, "More undertakers." I paused the pages, "Oh, I forgot." I throw the book and it returns to me a new colour, "There we go..." I picked through, "They really took on the insult as a badge of honour. Changing the name from Seer to Trickster. All the living folks are a Seer... and the dead are Tricksters." I closed the book for now, "A exact person?" I ask the king pointed to my donor, "Ugh... I guess. Maybe I can learn if his alive or not." I flip pages and stop to how it was torn. I seen this before, "Oh... Well that makes sense. He stole the page." I show this, "Literally."

"How does someone do that?" Curiosity peering.

"Well he stole something more then just a page. I know what he did and I finally understand why. He can't be tracked otherwise. If something bad were to happen to the complete copy, his name would never stuck in the same issue." I closed the book and return it for now, it was wearing me out, "Leave the prick to save his own bacon." I clap with reutnring everyone else back to shared time, "Someday I will punch him where it matters and throw the debt in his face. I will harvets his ograns to pay for it." The king laughed at me.

"Well, you have no issue with hating the man that made you."

"Being left abondoned does that. Being left to die really does that." the smirk of nerve back, "Yes, I am really sour about the prick. My impression of most of that family is assumed from his impression and my grandparents. They tried but I knew not to trust them." I cross my arms in habit again, "Are they dead?" I asked.

"You're biological grandparents?" I nod a this, "Indeed. They are both passed the veil. The graves for the shells they left behind are on the american soil." I had shed one tear at least. They were amazing grandparents depsite not trusting them. I did cool stuff and learn so much from them. I did love them as grand parents.

"Oh, please don't." the god eater wanted me, "You bleed enough." I think crying has something to do with my mask side bleeding. All the god eater say this when I cry. I do feel faint from to much crying. I took a tissue from my hand bag and wipe it away. Putting the tissue back to my bag. A relief to the god eater beside me.

"What was that about?" Curiosity asked.

"My health doesn't matter right now." I reply and clear my throat of the knot I felt in taking in the news. Hard to sallow even. I made my tea return to my hand and sip it. This passes better in calming my mood, Camille is always soothing, "You're no different to the soceity in term of looking for him. They asked me too." I locked my jaw a moment to not cry more. My dogs throw the door open and all of them came to join me on the sofa. Fluffy thing on my shoulders. Dogs on my legs. cat on my lap. The hissy one sitting on the sofa arm, knocked my crutches to the floor as it annoyed his view, "Thank you Ragnor." he flicked a tail at me, "Grumpy." I tut.

"Oh they have names."

"No... those aren't their real names." I clarified, "I choose those names to use instead of the real ones. Right?" I looked to loki and he bumps my face, "Fluffy, we dont need a face knocking session." he ignores my plead, "Ugh." I look to the kings horror of staring at them all, "yeah, You thought the bird was bad." I laughed, "Loki eats dragons." I say proudly, "Ragnor eats... ugh... what they again?" I asked and he flicked his tail at me, "Oh. The sort of demon gods things." he smacked someone nearby, "And Morpheus eats dreams." I smile, "Dont you fatty." I pet him and he stretched half asleep on me, "Aww." He hugs my arm, "Just don't bite me, again." I pet his nose and he sighed happy with a slight purr.

"What about those two?" Pointed to the dogs which upon mentioned has a song of the pack raise. I sigh being used to it and they all covered their ears in not enjoying it.

"These two poop buts." I pet them quiet, "don't care what they eat. As long as it smells and moves funny." I say in silly voice, "My puppies love everyone and everything. They bring back the most lovely of gifts." I clear my throat, "Espcially tomes and scythes. Because they get to excited about eating everything that moves."

"Oh, well... thats nice. How?" the most mouth of the body gaurds, the same one that tut before. She hates me really bad. Like I killed something close to her. Although I wouldn't put t past any of my pets to eat a undertaker.

"This is their daylight forms. This is how they are among the veil of living. When they walk over to other side... well." I take pause in seeking a word, "Yeah."

"You thought I was you issue." the god eater in crow form laughed at them, "My elders are still scared of her." Ragnor jumps at caughting the crow and the two fight for a bit. I snap my left fingers and they both backed off hissing.

"Children." I growled in my other voice. They sit on the back of the sofa with space between them.

"Yeah, that voice. I didn't know that was you all this time."

"Well my voice gets borrow all the time. My voice... its words. Whatever the book has hissed about to you before in that voice is your problem. Not me."

"Oh that is right, you claim that the tomes are sentient." I stare at the king with the deepest of glares, "Rude."

"You might want to be quick about changing you assumptions." I tell him, "You too will be haunted every night with a paper manique." I warned. I felt the book slam into my gut for that. Enough to spit some blood and cough about that.

"Oh..." curiosity is quicker at least to understand, "That does make sense. It tells you what it wants so that your not clueless. The whispers weren't crazy talk of a living human making sense of our world." He is quicker to pass a tissue box in offering. I mop everything up, "The books have ate poeple... we cant deny that." he looked to the king, "Remeber the interen with the wedding suit?"

"Yeah. i thought he moved departments." the king muttered.

"His empty suit was laying on the floor among the shelving... among the shattered ash across several moved books."

"I am sure his ashes were plenty to add a new page in." I hummed, "A creature has to hunt somehow and humaninly as possible."

"What is the book to you?" that lady again.

"Another pet that owns me." I answer correctly, "I don't get choose. They choose me." My dogs howl softly in agreeing. Morpheus buried his face into my arm more and sighed, "Very attached." He so attached to me that I left him off my lap completely. His own strength and power to stay steady on me without digging claws in more, "Yeah." I put him comfortable in my lap again.

"We... you mention like you aren't alone. but other then pets, you seems alone. And that mask." He remebers, "But you claim it as you too." I say nothing in denying or correcting him for this.

"Fine, you answered a lot of dirty questions." the king sits back, "Did you have anything else in value?"

"Value?" I pondered, "The soceity is made of four factions. Easy to guess; angels, demons, undertakers and what they describe as the undisclosed types. That last section has a mix of minor terrirory owners, living humans meddling in afterlife affairs and those that gained part of the society without connections of bloodlines. They are a high governor table of chosen few that have two titles. A known face is something like light in their name and the hidden folks have dark things in their names. Everyone is a 'something' trickster. But a leader of a department is a 'something' 'something' trickster." The look of someone in the room suddenly shuffling about. The guy in glasses is snatched very fast and pulled to the floor with a hex binding. I stop for the benifit of them sorting this guy out the room, "His famous, you know." I pointed out, "His dodgey question trickster." they pinned him on the floor, "A governor of the undertaker seat. His name sits next to my other great grand uncles."

"You did just read the the family regerister." The king gets how I knew this information, "But how does a outsider know all that other stuff."

"The book told me." I reply, "It's trying to pay off this debt to get you off our business. You want dirty luaudry of the society. It gives plenty of those to stop you having favours." I pause with waiting for it to hit me. It doesn't.

"My little pet keeper is right." My mask take by the paper doll, "Dirty secerts are nothing to me. I know a lot of things, things we shouldn't. I know these creatures fear me." the animals around me snuggled in wide eyes staring at the paper doll of full human hieght. It leans at the back of the sofa between the crow and cat, "Speak monarch, my freedom of information can be enough to make demi-gods envy you." It paused with snarling a moment for something else. It flicked a hand and the binding over the undertaker was altered into something else, "Dirty fool. I am not deaf. If I knew where her useless dead beat was, I would have ate him by now. Stolen from me. He has a price to pay."

"Oooh." Curosity pulling his king away safely, "You are the core books." The paper nods, "Why do you meddle in affairs?"

"I don't want to. I would rather not. I have no wish to pick sides, or at least this half of me doesn't. I don't know about my other half. It's not exisiting yet or I don't know what thier soul name is. I have a stake in this little piss match between you two soceities. The one man we are all looking for has my stolen thing. I want my thing back. She wants to be nice and punch him. I want to use his flesh."

"yeah, I am use to this by now." I sip my tea, "You said you wanted to eat the last family memeber over something. I accepted being ate a long time ago." It posed thinking.

"The demon... oh, he was tasty." I blink in hoping it didn't just mean, "You just gave him to me. So generous." I totally did.

"Ugh, I will be forever remembering the screams of the damned soul." I muttered.

"No. It isn't a damned soul. That soul was sent back into the system. If I wanted to bother I could find him and eat him again." I don't bother reacting to this, "I wonder how I should cook that worm over there." It peering over to the undertaker pinned to the floor. It scratched my mask area that was broken, "But then again, fate has her plans. It be meddling." It hugs around me, arms crossing over my shoulders and the mask leaning to peer at the king, "You are still owed a small favour... but words are enough to satify you lot. But swearing us to a undertaker would be to much. What do you want monarch? What exactly is is you seek in this war between the cursed?" it twisted, "They aren't speical souls. They are just living humans that could see and hear. When they died, they were tainted by the knowledge learned to early. At least they are normal souls with normal problems." a hand pet my head, "This one is speical. I have been looking for this one but now I have to train her. Training takes time... but she isn't going anywhere."

"But how did they become cursed?" the king actually slammed a hand on the arm of his chair.

"Oh... that is a forgotten story. You will upset the goddess of knowledge." It tuts, "I know but I don't want to piss them off. You need to ask permission for those sorts of questions. I am not a god but I can be smited by one." it snarls a little in peering a direction, "Another one annoying my pages. I will eat them if they look good enough." it ponders, "A death god. No... not worth it. The last one was to dusty." It peer back to the king, "Mmm... I don't have to give you all the details I guess."

"You can answer?"

"The curse itself is a soul bond issue. Every soul tainted by something is often sighted as being cursed or gifted. Take example this little one I wanted. I tainted her, I am her curse. The bloodline of Seers are tainted souls. It was something rather heroic, apocalyptic and something about love. A Romeo and Juliet story that double crossed the veils. Back when the veils weren't... well. I can't tell you that part." It holds both my shoulders, "This universe is to be protected, someone as to do it. A deal was struck. A soul was chosen, or voted... or something." It lifted a hand in scratching the mask area again, "Does this answer help you?" The king sighed and he was really conflicted. But the pages stirred and it tilts, "Hmm..." It stands straight and looked around, "Yet how?" I asked ponders. It peers to the undertaker at the floor, "Oh, I get it." It grins, "Fate can hate me later. We can be called even with this." It knocked the guy flat out, "Death curses. Nasty little curses." it was doing something strange and it ate something, "Mmm... yes. That will do." it stands and hugs around me, "I have saved your live. Our debt is paid."

"Pardon?" the king.

"That is meddling." The death god who was here for the duty, "You mustn't."

"Oh, But I did. Tell you boss that the undertakers meddling is at fault. I would not have owned a favour to them if they didnt meddle with me frist." the death god sent a raven which gat ate by a god eater. The reaper jolted in shock and leaves quickly to deliver that message himself. It peers back to the undertakers, "Conquesnces are yours to pay. Karma will be after us."

"He should have died." Curiosity knew it, "Why?"

"You saved a life that shouldn't have." My face is being held, "You broken my cycle and now you pay that price of altering."

"She lived because we meddled?" It peers.

"No... because you tampered with my house. You let them in. You opened a can of worms, Mr Curiousity. Now a cat didn't die." It posed to the god eaters, "They can't cross... Now they can. My wards are there for a reasons beyond you. You been meddling in my wards. You have done so a long time. It was a matter of time to caught up. A debt was being built. You let them cross. I watched you because I wasn't meant to meddle with internal affairs of the universe. That was my deal. You broken that." It stands, "But you aren't the only undertaker. You all have walked somewhere out of reach of the universe laws. You met the Clothus. Yes." the undertakers step back, "You are at least smart enough to not let the corpse eaters in. Locaust among the crop of souls."

"Krama pays a dish best served cold?" A guard asked.

"No... not when you meddle with things beyond our law and order. You can't be saved from what happens next." The god eater peer to each other hearing it, "So which warden did you piss of?" it ponders, "I hope its the sane ones. They are talk able." a door was broken, a wooden door that was put there, "Mmm... a insane one."

It turned into a book and it offered the names of the souls asked. A pouring fountain of black goo drips at all surfaces. It took souls, dropping corpses everywhere. It gave souls, replacing in the corpses that were empty. The book was released to float on its own and the door and goo is gone. I look at my own hands, dripping of red blood. I looked around a room of corpses. Then something was torn... the veil was ripped away. the blood was gone. Corpses. the smells replaced with sounds. It was if that moment was all it was. A moment of no time at all. All were there and now they were gone. The blood was everywhere and now it isn't. It was and is not anymore. My pets were just as indifferent as it was nothing that happened. Dog that lay at my feet. A cat on my shoulder. A cat in my lap. A cat that knocked down my crutches again. I don't remember standing them up from him knocking them the last time. My arm hugged by the sleepy cat, a soft sigh and purr. A room of silence.

"Miss Fallown, we brought you here because you were in a extreme accident." I moved a vomit bucket to my side as a smell passed me, it was real and now its not. The corpses were and now they are stood here alive again. The person in front of me backed away as I shivered in the acid fizzing my teeth. I was glad my hair is tied back, "Are you ok?"

"The doctors said that this is a stress response, that there isn't anything else they can do to stop it." A carer that read my file from hospital. Someone with handing me a tissue, my hands weren't blood covered. My sick was for a moment black ink looking and then it was as would. I wipe my mouth, black ink turned human fluids. I shook out of my nauseaous daze. The living world was back in focus for me.

"Sorry." I hold the bucket close, "Don't worry about me." I felt how rough my hands are, worn and creaked. I rubbed across fingers a moment, this wasn't changing or going away. I take a moment of meditation and make sure to look on the person across from me, "What were we talking about? You were welcoming me to this place or something. My mind lasped with being dizzy from this." I excuse myself.

"Yes. We are giving you a apartment here. You will be able to maintain some independence but you can always one the staff for help if you can't. We value and respect that everyone is different and able where possible. We allow pets on site living. The rent is however where your issue lies. The hospital forced you here but you are not in finical able to stay here. You're current house was emptied out and now being newly rented, so no turning back there."

"We have options that could make it affordable. We have staff that live on site too. We know your CV record has the right skills we need." he was my lawyer but this is the human. The spirit inside is gone, "You would make a perfect activities director. You would plan and sort events for the residence here." A human contract with pay and other benefits, "We work along side charities that need someone like you to plan events. They can help you too." I took out another reading yellow strip. I leaned back and read through this whole contract. Holidays. Pay. Benefits. training. Long hours. On site living. Shared staff duties. The work is a nightmare in truth but its this or being homeless. My cats... I would have to give them up. My fluffy thing isn't a street boy. Nor is fatty on my lap.

"Miss Fallown?" I turned the page, "Are you ok?" I was getting frustrated at my lack of ability to read anything fast enough.

"Let me finish reading this." I huffed, ignoring them. I did feel off. Really off. I had in fact vomited again, searing pain through me. Another ghost attacking me, "Oh." the were quick to have someone help me. I wipe, real blood. I rattled in taking a breath.

"Burn in hell." whispered and faded. Just as the pain kept me awake, my mind was fuzzed out. Sight blurry. The room is dusty... the blood wasn't human. It was the wipe out of undertakers around me. Someone had to have the last try for me. A man that was the king's partner and spy. He stared in forgetting that he shouldn't murder a living person. I recall staring sad for him. I know that much.