"What is the proof that Guilt and Cross are the same people?" demanded Barron for answers. 

"Guilt was an exact replica of how Lucas looks right now and Evelyn, it was the past me. Let me show you," she said, removing the ribbon for the second time around her neck, she unb.u.t.toned her s.h.i.+rt that she wore with the first three b.u.t.tons and pulled it away from her neck, "This is a bond."

Barron climbed up on the chair to take a closer look at her skin, "Broken wing. You must be an angel, Belle."

Belle smiled at Barron"s words but she said, "There are many bonds in this realm, but there was one bond which only the first few pureblooded vampires are aware of. Like many other things that come from the land of the dead, the bonds are taken from there, one unique one called the irreversible bond."

Lucas pulled back Belle"s s.h.i.+rt to cover her skin and b.u.t.toned her s.h.i.+rt up, to say,

"The irreversible bond is the ultimate bond between two people. Unlike soul bonds that expire after the people die, this one will reincarnate you back with their lover. You will end up with them after years with them, even after death does them apart," he explained to Barron who appeared to not know about it, "There was a couple who fell in love and they decided to live with each other. But the couple fell out of love to the point where they set up to kill the other. Sadly, the bond didn"t allow them and they met, fell in love to only hate and the cycle continued which is why the bond was never pa.s.sed down." 

"I thought it was marking," and Lucas pulled his own s.h.i.+rt away to show her the broken wing that they shared with each other. 

"But how can one Grim be filling two spots? Unless the Hawverts are indeed idiots," said Barron, leaning himself towards the chair and sitting down. 

"That, we don"t know," Lucas answered because he had no answers for it, "Maybe it is something like Belle, there are two of them in two places."

"Wait what?" asked Barron whose head was going to fall off with the amount of information that he was hearing from them. He looked at Belle who gave him an awkward smile. 

"My soul took its own form in the land of the dead and is now part of the realm of the dead. There"s another girl like me," Belle could tell that Barron was speechless, "But I don"t think it"s the same for Lucas. Because Guilt clearly spoke about his essence, he tore a part of himself out on purpose and placed it somewhere safe." 

So the book belonged to him as it was written by himself. 

"You know if they are the same people, it feels like a conspiracy theory," said Barron, tapping his hand on the chair, "Killing both of you. Do you know who killed you?" he asked her. 

Belle looked thoughtful, trying to remember the person"s name that was uttered, "Creed. That"s what he said, his name was."

"There"s no Creed in the Grims," Barron waved his hand. 

"She misheard the name," said Lucas, "She means to say the Sixth Grim. Greed." 

Barron frowned hearing this, "But Greed was a follower of Guilt. See they have G and G."

"In that case, you and Baltimore must be friends," Lucas chipped in for the bunny to shake his head. 

"Why would Greed do that? I don"t see why he would kill you and you?"

Belle who had heard Greed and her former past self talk to each other, said, "He said something about him not liking about Guilt falling in love with a mortal from the land of the living. Wasn"t it the Hawverts who schedules punis.h.i.+ng the reapers?"

"Indeed but sometimes a word or two from others can spark enough fire to burn the forest," replied Lucas. His eyes s.h.i.+fted to Barron, "When did you last hear about Greed?"

"Probably a few months before now. When there was a summit of punis.h.i.+ng a measly reaper. You didn"t attend it. You didn"t attend any of the summits," Barron said because he had only heard about Lucas but he had never met or seen the Thirteenth Grim. 

"It was never important to attend the summit," replied Lucas, "Watching the reapers shout and scream. What a waste of time."

"I didn"t attend all of it," Barron then hopped from the chair he was sitting on, "Let"s go find the book! Chop chop! We have no time to waste," said Barron.

"Relax, the book isn"t with anyone. It is supposed to be with the black witch. We need to wait for another pa.s.s."

"Another pa.s.s?" both Bell and Barron asked simultaneously. Lucas nodded his head. He had visited Edith the day Isabell had pa.s.sed away, to ask more about it and she had only smiled as if she was the smartest in the room.

Her words were, "Wait for the seventh person."

The book had been given to Evelyn which then went in the hands of the council. After this, it fell in the hands of two more people and then Isabell. But Isabell lost the book to a black witch. His guess was that, he had to wait for the book to pa.s.s the next person before he would retrieve it. 

Lucas had been having his doubts about a Grim Reaper working alongside with the other council members until now and maybe his suspicion was right. But for this, he would have to go to the council. 

When Belle yawned, Lucas placed the frame back where it belonged to say, "Go to sleep, Belle. Barron and I will be here."

Belle gave him a nod, standing up and about to leave when he pulled her towards him and kissed her on her lips. His hand on her small waist as his lips moved against hers, "Goodnight," he wished to pullback.

And Belle"s body felt like it had been turned to putty, with a giddy smile on her lips, she said, "Goodnight," and left the room.