. 02

Chapter 2

Things Worse Than Death

A booming laughter vibrated throughout my body. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?" The Gravedigger's voice permeated my mind.

The dizziness subsided and I cracked my eyes open.

His face flickered between that of a handsome man and a skull. He looked over the missing skin from my arms before dropping them in disgust. "You're out after midnight." He tskd. "You know better than that." A glass of amber liquid appeared before him and he drank it down in one gulp.

I sighed.

He smiled before puffing on his cigar. "Your timing is never good."

"If only the thing cutting me into pieces would follow your schedule." I scoffed as I stood.

"If you turn your clothes inside out they won't be able to see you."

I looked at my bloody nightgown confused.

He lifted my chin to look at him. "Otherbeings 101. You should know this, everyone knows this. Hell, even children know this."

"That scary thing that has Kieran is an Otherbeing?"

"Fae, Pixie, Elf, Demon, Angel, Imp, Sprite. There are many names for them. Best to be polite and call them the Good Folk, never know if they're listening."

I nodded like I understood what was happening.

"I can only tell you this because there are books written about it that you could read. One is even accessible to you." He hinted and sighed when my stare was blank. "The three most important rules of the Old Ones; One, always be polite. Two, they like gifts of sweets. Three, know their true names and they may grant you a favor. If they know your true name they'll use it against you. Oh and another one, don't ever make a deal with them. They use their words wisely and their deals only benefit them."

"How do I find Kieran?" I had absolutely no plans of ever meeting another Otherbeing in my lifetime. I needed to find Kieran and get the fuck out of the forest.

"Aren't you connected?" He asked as if it were that simple.

"How do I get her true name?" The task felt impossible.

"You're better off finding a hag stone."

"A stone with a hole in it?"

"Look at that, you do know something." He looked around. "I've said too much already."

I looked around. It may be better to stay here. I walked around the cemetery. It was creepy. Fog rolled over the cold ground. Silent stone statues and grave markers littered the unending landscape.

The skeletal man appeared in front of me, blocking me from entering the cemetery any further.

I looked him over closely. He was half skeleton half...man? Was I considering staying here forever? "Where's Jonny? Diego?" I asked him instead. Were they here? Wandering the land of the dead forever?

The man laughed again. "I thought you were smarter than following a mere male into the Underworld."

I side-eyed him as I looked around his large frame.

"You can't keep coming back here," his voice was low, intimate.

I scoffed. "I only come back because you send me away." I stepped around him and continued my exploration. Snark may not have been the best tone to take with a Being like...him but if I needed to survive with the dead I would have to protect myself somehow.

"Now that your lover is dead, you find this a suitable home? You hope he's here, waiting for you." He stood a few feet away, following me but keeping a small distance.

"You're the one that keeps sending me back. Keep me here and there will be nothing to come back to." I turned to face him. "Yes. I'll marry you." I assumed his proposal was still on the table.

He laughed. "Now is not a good time, Bosal. I have told you how to escape the hag. Go back. I'll send for you when it is time."

"You'll send for me?" I asked incredulously. How many times would I have to die, in order to...die?

"Your lover is not here. Nor his brother, nor-" he stared into the depths of my eyes. "Nor your children."

I pulled away quickly, turning my face away from him. "There are things worse than death."

He raised his eyebrow. "As many of us know."

A loud chain rattled, splitting the frigid silence of the graves.

"Even Death has rules." The Gravedigger turned me away from the cemetery, his bony hands around my shoulders. "It's time for you to leave now. I'll give you a parting gift if you do not say another word." He spun me to face him quickly. "Close your eyes and you will be able to see. See that it is you, it has always been you, and it will always be you." His hands moved to my face as he bent and kissed me. His kiss turned to smoke and I woke up on the forest floor.