The Fear Of Death Confounds Me: A Wizard101 Novel

Chapter 27: You Have To Die

The next thing I know, James and I are at Yoshihito temple, where Malorn was waiting for us in front of a humanoid cow, who was dressed in robes of the Mooshu royal guard. Malorn turned to us as we approached.

"This is Hideo Kebo. He has information regarding the Tree."

I turned to Hideo, who looked at me with sorrowful eyes.

"There is only one way to get to the tree of life. You must cross the cursed river."

James answered, eyebrows furrowing.

"...Why do I sense that crossing isn't as simple as using a boat?"

"Because it isn't." Hideo sighed. "The river doesn't allow anything...good to cross, so the only way to cross is to abstract an evil spirit."

I looked at Hideo in confusion.

"Like...a ghost? How the hell do we manage that?"

"You will need a spirit cage, to capture the spirit."

"A spirit cage?"

"There's two ways that you can acquire it: either venture into the Ancient burial grounds to look for it..."

"Or...?"

"Or... you're the forbidden keeper aren't you?"

"How did you...?"

"I can sense the power emanating from you. You can forge the cage yourself."

"...Okay then. I guess it's up to me."

James and I walked away, when I realized that Malorn wasn't following. I turned to him in confusion, which caused him to speak.

"I'm going to find the spirit."

I was just about to reply when he abruptly walked away, towards the village of sorrow. I sighed heavily, brushing off the residual anxiousness I had been harboring since the morning. Fine if he wants to be like that, we'll be like that. I walked towards the end of the wooden platform, sitting on its edge, with James in tow, staring out into the glistening blue hued water. Yoshihito temple really is a vision of beauty. James turned to me.

"So...Forbidden Keeper." He gave me a playful smile. "Do your thing."

I nodded, smiling back before closing my eyes in concentration, crossing my legs under me and cupping my palms facing the sky, in a prayer stance. Using my mind's eye to picture what I want to mold into reality, every intricate detail down to the material. Let's see, I want something strong enough to hold an evil spirit. Ah...a mixture of angelic silver, astral shards and hematite should suffice. I stayed like this for a while piecing everything together in my mind, before reciting my spell.

"Quaeso."

The next thing I know my hands felt heavier, my sense of touch going into overdrive as I levitated the object that was molding in my hands, intricately being formed in the exact way I was intending with the meticulous movements of my hands. A moment later it was complete, my magic dissipated as I opened my eyes, the cage lowering gently into my hands. I looked up at James who was looking at me in bewilderment.

"You're something else, love."

I suppressed a smile at the new nickname he just hastily threw at me, hiding my blush behind my hair as I miniaturized the object, pocketing it in my robe. I brought out my legs from under me, allowing them to dangle off the edge of the platform. James shifted closer to me, putting an arm around me, while I leaned my head on his strong masculine chest. I felt safe...safer than I had in a long time; which was exactly the problem. My thoughts kept gravitating towards Edward, my ex-boyfriend, and how he abruptly left without saying a word, which was the entire reason I didn't just try to be with Malorn. Not to mention how problematical my life is without any extra...complications. James is Malorn's brother, and obviously my being close with James is affecting my relationship with Malorn. Ugh Emily, what happened to not falling into the same trap? What happened to people are a liability? I sighed heavily, looking off into the distance. James regarded me, question obvious on his face.