Barron then came back to the story he was saying,

"I just wanted to have fun and was there to collect her soul.

"

"It was sweet of her to make you a muffler on her deathbed,

" and on Belle's words, Barron flipped his head to look at Belle.

"I know that! I didn't care at that time. We Grim reapers lack emotions because of the environment we have been placed in. The people around us stripped away those emotions but I feel bad now,

" his ears had stood up to fall back down.

"Whoever that girl was, the duchess, she must have made the muffler for you out of her heart's goodwill. You can take it as a thank you gift, for sending her to the land of the dead safely and putting her in the boat for the Rower to take her to the gates,

" Belle wondered if Barron was feeling guilty for getting a gift from someone who he had given illness, so that the person would die.

"I wished that was what happened,

" muttered Barron that caught Belle's attention.

"What do you mean?

" she frowned.

"There was a change of plan. She was supposed to die due to illness but one night someone came and murdered her,

" said Barron, the chirpiness gone and his voice serious,

"I went to the land of the dead. Searching for her soul because there are different degrees that changes your course of the soul to where it is sent. Some get access, some don't. By the time I had reached, she was nowhere to be found,

" he said, placing his chin on his knees to let it rest.

"Why not ask the Hawverts? If they changed the plans,

" asked Belle and she saw Barron shake his head. His long ears almost touched the surface of the ground as his body was small.

"I would be the next person to be sent to oblivion if I went looking for a mortal's soul,

" answered Barron,

"I looked for her for sometime before giving up. The muffler reminded me of her.

"

"Maybe I can help?

" asked Belle and Barron raised his head to give the vampiress a look. Saying this, Belle stood up and started to walk to stop and ask,

"You coming?

" and Barron who was still confused, stood up by pushing one hand on the ground and following Belle.

"Did you notice that you are swaying?

" murmured Barron as they made their way through the corridors to see Belle who pulled out the key-like pendant that she wore around her neck which was often hidden in her dress. It was a master key of the mansion that could unlock anything. A key she had found to be hidden in the storeroom of this floor.

Unlocking the door, Belle stepped inside the darkroom before a ball of light passed around the room to light every lantern that was hanging on the wall. This wasn't Belle's room, but it was Evelyn, her past that had the information about being a white witch as well as the forbidden magic. There were scrolls stacked in the racks.

Pulling out one of them, she placed it on the table before lighting a candle and placing it at the centre.

"We are going to try summoning her,

" informed Belle to Barron.

"That will work only if her soul is fine. If she is eaten by one of the creatures, you won't be able to do it,

" though they were Grim reapers, all they did was reap and didn't have powers to summon the souls,

"Will it work?

" Barron asked, who pushed a stool forward and climbed on it to look at the wide parchment-like map that Belle had on the table.

"It worked when I tried summoning the twelfth Grim reaper. It should work again,

" said Belle before she muttered spells that turned to whispers, surrounding the room.

What Belle was doing right now was accessing the knowledge she had from her past life, for the person she used to be as a white witch which had passed to her current life. Barron in the meantime stood on the stool to be the most patient he could ever be as he stared at the parchment. Belle raised her hand and used the knife to cut her palm, and drops of blood falling on the surface of the markings.

The liquid started to move, creating a trail of red path behind it and both Belle and Barron leaned forward, waiting to see when the blood would stop moving. When it finally came to stop, Barron asked,

"Where is that?

" as he didn't understand the languages of the witches.

Belle took in a deep breath before saying,

"I think...that's the lake. The lake of bones.

"

The lake of bones was what comprised the land of East, Bonelake. Humans, vampires and other creatures including the witches didn't hover around the lake because it was considered to be ominous. There were many stories that were told about it, rumours that were mostly negative and nothing nice to hear about. The lake of bones was not called simply just like that but because it was told bodies were thrown in there who didn't deserve to be buried in the land.

"I know the lake of bones,

" said Barron before jumping down from the stool and saying,

"We should go there!

"

Belle didn't have to ask Barron to know that he shared some sort of attachment to the girl who had knit the muffler for him. When Lucas heard about it, he had tagged along, leaving the servants while also dragging Greed with them to the infamous lake of bones. The lake didn't have water but had a foggy smoke which had a mixture of black and hue in there with light that moved beneath it.

Arriving at the spot, Belle whispered to Lucas,

"I thought souls were sent to the land of the dead to pass through...

"

"There are some death reapers who don't like taking souls from certain places. This just happens to be one of them,

" answered Lucas to see Barron who had moved towards the shore to look for one single soul.

.

Scroll to read the next chapter...