Married To The Mad Vampire Lord
Chapter 177: The heart_Part 2

Chapter 177: The heart_Part 2

Without needing to even paddle, the boat moved steadily against the surface of the water, its sharp edge going through the hovering fogs and breaking through the denseness—only for the mists to cover them again. Belle could barely breathe as she did not like how dark the underwater was. She made sure not to look down and kept her eyes ahead, where it seemed like there was no end to the river.

Thankfully, they did not come across a single reaper, but then it was understandable, as Kuhn had told her the path the boat was moving through was different from the path where the reapers journey between the realms to carry souls.

He had said even he had never come through this way before, where the farther they went, the thicker the fog became and the less the moonlight was able to illuminate it, as though they were being buried deeper and deeper between layers of hazy mist.

The atmosphere became colder, and Belle would have ordered the boat to turn back if she did not have the strong, unexplainable feeling that they were headed the right way and that at the end of this journey, something was there.

"You have thirteen minutes," came Kuhn’s raspy voice.

For some reason, Belle did not feel as anxious as she thought she would at that announcement of her time here.

Kuhn continued to speak, "No matter what path you take, you must be careful of the cemeteries in this world. The Wretchlings reside there."

"The Wretchlings? What are they?" Belle asked without losing her focus with the boat.

"They are unseen dark spirits that have no form but desperately want one. They attach themselves to any living soul to gain a form and live among the residing souls in this land. They linger in the cemeteries, as graveyards are places still connected to the living world.

Each year, some humans are buried alive, believed to be dead. These people do not have their souls taken by the reapers, and so the Wretchlings host on them. If they sense a living person nearby, it will be even more than a soul, they will see a chance to fully possess a body."

Belle took in the information with a nod of her head. She was treading on a very thin path in this world, and any missteps might end her life. She couldn’t afford to be sighted by the reapers, nor could she afford to be in the wrong place. She must return to the living world in one piece in order to be able to save Rohan.

She looked ahead without blinking, trying to make out the direction the boat was going in, but the mist was just too thick. And before she was even prepared, the boat hit against something and came to a sudden stop, jolting her almost forward, but she quickly gripped the sides of the boat to steady herself.

The mists suddenly began to clear—not completely, just enough for her to see that the boat had hit against a shoreline. And when she turned to tell Kuhn that they had arrived, she noticed the creature had disappeared and was not inside the boat beside her.

For a moment, her heart stumbled within her chest at the thought that he had fallen into the river from the jolt, but then, when there was no sign of the surface of the water being disturbed, she knew he hadn’t fallen into the water.

She looked around for a moment, but knowing her time was ticking, Belle did not wait for Kuhn, as the creature always found her. She got down from the boat and hurriedly tied its rope at a stand, and she began to walk down the hard surface of the ground.

The moon was brighter here, bright enough to make her see that she was walking through what looked like a cemetery, with many tombstones where creepers had curled all around them. She came to a sudden stop.

Kuhn had warned her to be careful of the cemetery, but her unexplained instinct was directing her forward. She did not want to disturb any spirit or attract them, but then she couldn’t go back when she had a mission. And before she could talk herself into walking back, she began to walk forward.

She did not remember seeing a cemetery the last time when she saw the plant, but she could not ignore the feeling inside of her.

She felt a shiver run down her spine when she saw ravens perched on many of the tombstones, watching her with their strange, dark eyes. They didn’t move, but their heads turned, following her every step.

Belle’s resolve burned deeper than her fear. She continued walking until she walked past the stones and then stepped into a place she began to find familiar, even though she had never been there before.

There was no mist in this part of the land, no houses, only leafless trees on all sides. Belle’s heart began to race with adrenaline as she realized the place was similar to where she had seen the plant, and without even having to look any further, her eyes fell on it.

The plant!

The moonlight shone on it, and the black leaves were still, as there was no wind. Belle hurried to it and crouched down, running her fingers against the leaves with a shaky smile on her face.

But the moment she touched the leaf, she stilled as a memory invaded her mind and began to play with amazing clarity in her head. It was the same flashes of memories she had seen in one of the paintings Rohan had made in his art chamber.

"They took away my heart, Astral! I begged them not to, but they never listened. They ripped it out!" the boy in the corner of the dark chamber cried, his voice trembling in sorrow and his young body shaking so hard Belle wished she was indeed present in that moment so she could pull him into her embrace and console him.

"I don’t want to live without it. Take me away, take me to your world. I don’t belong here."

"I cannot take you anymore. I already defied my people by bringing your soul back. You will live, and I will give you back your heart," came the voice of the reaper named Astral, who stood in the darkest part of the chamber that made it impossible for Belle, who was seeing the memories, to see.

The memories cleared away, and she came back to her senses. She did not move for a long moment as a thoughtful look remained on her face. Kuhn’s master had defied the laws of the reapers to give Rohan back his soul and life? Did that mean he had indeed died when his heart was removed, and because of this reaper, he got to live again? she thought, then looked back down at the plant.

"I found your heart, my love. I will bring it back to you," she whispered tenderly, as she began to wonder how she was going to take it back with her without killing or ruining the plant. This plant was not only the way to save her husband but to give him back what had been stolen from him.

As strange as it was, she felt that strange feeling again inside her, that let her know digging the plant out carefully from the root was all she needed to do. Without wasting any more moments, she began to use her fingers to dig the hard soil around the plant.

She was still digging when she heard a loud, strange sound, like a wail, echo from somewhere in the distance. The cry was so eerie and loud it made gooseflesh rise on her skin, but she did not stop digging. Even as the sound grew louder, it no longer sounded like a human cry. It was far more unsettling, and it seemed to be getting closer to her.

She hurried her hand movements, and along with the cry, she could feel the wind suddenly picking up. There had never been wind here before, but now it was rising, slowly stirring the ground and rustling the leaves.

Even without looking behind her, Belle could feel an approaching presence, and she recalled Kuhn’s words about the formless spirits in the cemeteries. She could not afford to leave without this plant, nor could she afford to let any spirit attach itself to her body and return with her.

Belle dug the plant to the root and stopped short, her eyes widening in surprised wonder at what she saw.

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