Autumn Knights

Chapter 119 - Calling (Out) All Readers

Morrigan leaned back against the wall and watched as Death scuttled over to one of the nearby bookshelves and began scanning the titles. She was in a bit of a rush herself tonight, considering the longer she took to get back to the shelter the higher chance of her getting caught, but she decided to just enjoy this for a moment. A typical night of reaping involved at best rudimentary conversation with Noir but more often he was the one urging her to hurry about and just do her job.

“My...

Chapter 118 - Live and Let Die

“Well, this certainly is a dilemma…” Death mused, waving his skeletal hand in front of Morrigan’s face. “I suppose it isn’t entirely unsurprising, though.”

“I wonder if it only expanded to the areas where it dug into her?” Hilda murmured, leaning against her staff while making sure Morrigan stayed focused on it. “You know, just replacing the damaged parts automatically.”

Death inclined his skull slightly. “Well, that would explain the expansion, but not the...

Chapter 117 - In and Out

Morrigan lay in bed, propped up on her pillow to keep her stomach bent and avoid straining the makeshift stitches. Pepper was in the bathroom, back from the hospital with a freshly bandaged arm, and it was almost time for lights out. But then a knock came on the door, just before being swung open without waiting for a reply. Sarah stood in the threshold with Miss Cheyenne in tow behind her.

“Uh, hey… Something up?” Morrigan asked as she sat up and perched on the corner of her bed....

Chapter 116 - Mask on, Mask off

Jenna sat alone in the cramped office, arms crossed tightly over her chest, and her foot tapping an erratic rhythm. The clock ticked audibly, each second pounding at her already frazzled nerves. Her nails dug into her sleeves. 

What the hell is Morrigan?

No matter how much she tried to push it down, the thought kept resurfacing. The glowing red eyes, the pale, almost translucent skin, the way she had pulled that knife out of her stomach like it was nothing—it was i...

Chapter 115 - Quick Thinking

And they did run, but not right away. They stopped, stared, backing away slowly, horror inching into their eyes. Morrigan had just been stabbed, and not only was she smiling as if it were no big deal, but she pulled the knife out of her stomach and threw it at their feet as if it were no more than a mild inconvenience. She had changed into a monster.

Red eyes blazing, her hair and skin unnatural. Blood was dripping on the floor all around her, and in the back of her mind, she knew that ...

Chapter 114 - Scary-Reaper-Mode

Jenna likely mistook Morrigan’s hesitation for fear, as a smug smirk spread across her face. However, the knife in her hand was not the main source of Morrigan’s unease. It was a reasonable conclusion to come to, and while the knife did bring up a certain very bad memory, the reality was that getting stabbed would only amount to an inconvenience. The real reason for Morrigan’s tension was the changeling; it wasn’t just bubbling, it was boiling and lashing against the seal, an...

Chapter 113 - Sting Operation

Morrigan could feel Pepper’s unease as they made their way down the hall to the breakfast table. “Hey, don’t stress,” Morrigan said, giving Pepper a reassuring pat on the back. “Everything’s going to be fine, and if this works, we won’t have to deal with those… uh… them messing with us anymore.” She carefully avoided referring to Jenna’s crew as “those bitches,” knowing that swearing made Pepper uncomfortable.

“I-I know. I trust you, but…”

...

Chapter 112 - The Devil Wears Cheap Perfume

The next morning, as Sarrah made her rounds knocking on doors and announcing breakfast in an hour, Morrigan sat up immediately, rubbing her eyes and trying to shake off her grogginess. Across the room, Pepper was already beginning her routine, but paused and watched Morrigan curiously.

“Mmmmm… what?” Morrigan asked, her voice heavy with sleep.

“Did you sleep well?” Pepper asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Normal.”

“It’s just… you woke up much earli...

Chapter 111 - Intermission - Stone-Cold Crazy

Frank hugged his knees, sitting on that thin mattress in the room that was carefully set up with no sharp corners. The door had no handle on the inside, and the only window sat high on the wall and was made of reinforced glass, though it did provide some natural light in his otherwise austere living arrangements. There was a single camera in the corner, which had a single red light that never stopped blinking. 

Frank tightened his grip on his knees as he kept his back firmly agains...

Chapter 110 - Talking Curses

“Seriously, Morrigan, why didn’t you say anything?” Emma’s tone was sharp, her arms crossed tightly as she stared Morrigan down. Hilda leaned casually against the pavilion railing, watching the exchange with a contemplative expression.

“I don’t know,” Morrigan muttered, shrugging. “It just felt too complicated to explain.” Her voice faltered slightly as she glanced away, fidgeting with the edge of her hoodie. Lacking any better explanations, she had reluctantly confess...

Chapter 109 - At the Park

Morrigan only had to slip out of the shadows twice on her way to the park to get her bearings. Since it was so hard to see anything from within the shadows, she had initially assumed that navigating through shadow stepping would be nearly impossible. However, it was proving easier than she had expected—at least in the quieter outskirts of the city where there were fewer lights and streets to contend with. She did know this town pretty well, after all, and her ability to navigate Codwell Ore...

 Chapter 108 - Under the Bridge

Morrigan stepped out of the shadows onto a narrow span of cracked concrete. The quiet night was broken only by the wind and distant hum of passing cars. 

Pulling out her list, she scanned the last name for tonight: 

Dwayne Katz, age 42, 2:13 A.M., Under the Redwood Overpass, East Side—Overdose. 

She frowned. The Redwood Overpass was notorious for being a slummy alcove that is better avoided. The wide bridge stretched over a dried-up creek on the eas...

Chapter 107: Searching for the Answers

Morrigan stirred as a tap on her shoulder was accompanied by a familiar, sophisticated voice.

“Morrigan. Wake up.” It was Noir, and if she wasn’t well used to his presence by now, opening her eyes to see his demonic, glowing yellow peepers staring at her from beside her pillow might have alarmed her. “It’s time.” Behind him, the silhouette of his tail swished in the darkness.

Barely forcing one eye open, Morrigan sat up and glanced at the alarm clock, trying to peer th...

Upcoming schedual

Hello, just giving an update since I've been silent for a while. As mentioned last time, I took a break due to my main job being seasonal and much busier september-december (and frankly, I was feeling a bit burned out as well) but I've recently gotten back to working on Death is a Girl.

I've decided I'll resume regular uploads every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, beginning on January 6th.

This will allow me time to build up a backlog and have an easier time sticking to the sched...

I'm taking a break!

So as mentioned in a previous post, my main job is seasonal, and therefore I've had less time for writing these last few months. I intended to keep some updates coming but have been kind of failing at that, and I feel myself getting burned out, so I came to the decision that it might be best to just take a break until late December when I'll be far less busy with other stuff.

I'd like to thank all my patrons for their donations so far, and I fully understand if you cancel your membershi...

Chapter 106 - Mean Girls

Morrigan found herself picking at her food that night at the dinner table. She couldn’t shake the feeling that every eye was on her, except maybe Beth, who was more focused on her meal or trying to remind Cersi to stop talking and eat once in a while. Pepper watched her with concern, the trio of girls gave her occasional glances, and the three counselors—Sarah, Cheyenne, and Alexa (the younger blonde one)—kept checking if she was eating.

She usually had no trouble eating, but toni...

Chapter 105 - Shower Thoughts

Pepper woke Morrigan up with a soft nudge on her shoulder.

“Mmmm, what?” Morrigan groaned, turning away.

“Um… it’s dinner time in an hour.”

Morrigan instantly shot up. “Are you serious?” She realized she’d slept nearly the whole day. At least she wouldn’t be tired while reaping tonight, but still…

“Sorry, I tried to wake you up earlier, but you told me to go away.”

“Uh… no, that’s okay. It’s not your job or anything.” Morrigan ...

Chapter 104 - Two-way Street

Soon after Jenna, Livy, and Tyler left, Morrigan pulled out her phone and texted Emma. She was tired enough to fall asleep if she just closed her eyes for a few minutes, but Emma was a priority.

“Guess who got their phone back.”

She laid the phone on her chest after sending it and closed her eyes. Surprisingly, it vibrated within a minute. She tilted it up to see Emma had already responded.

“About time! Hey, did you hear anything about Hilda fostering you?...