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 conversatio...

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...

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.

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 t...

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 un...

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 te...

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,�...

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 ...

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 s...

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,...

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 ...

 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 bein...

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.<...

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...

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 ...

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 youn...

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 to...

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 h...

Chapter 103 - Blackmail

After breakfast, Morrigan was quick to start gathering dishes. It felt so stupid to be dragged into this petty game, but at the same time, she didn’t love the fact that they thought they were winning all the time. After depositing the dishes by the sink in the kitchen, she heard Sarah come up behind her.

“Thanks for lending a hand, Morrigan.”

“Uh, yeah. No problem.” Morrig...

Upload scheduled October-December

You've probably noticed I've been down to doing two chapters a week, and sometimes they are a bit short. That's because it's the busy season for my main job. I had planned on just keeping pace with the usual 3 chapters a week anyway but turns out that's been more difficult than I thought it would be.

So for the time being, just expect two chapters a week, and I apologize if sometimes they...

Chapter 102 - Shake on it

Morrigan and Pepper made their way down the stairs, the faint clatter of dishes and murmurs of conversation drifting up from the dining room. As they entered, they were greeted by the sight of Jenna, Livy, and Tyler moving about, placing plates and silverware. The three girls moved with a sort of efficiency that always seemed to impress the counselors, but Morrigan knew better. Jenna liked to p...

Chapter 101 - Morning Routine

Morrigan entered the orphanage through the back door and then snuck up the stairs quietly. Noir's shadow zipped along the walls beside her, darting ahead to check if the hallway was clear. Once he confirmed the coast was clear, Morrigan made her way back to her room, using the skeleton key to slip inside before locking the door behind herself again.

Pepper stirred awake and peeked over he...

Chapter 99 - Epilogue - Angel of Darkness

Alice tore through the shadows, slicing through the thick, oppressive darkness. Her movements were fluid, each slow, powerful step propelling her forward at a speed most reapers would struggle to maintain. Alice was not like most reapers—she resolved herself to be different. She trained relentlessly over the years, pushing her body and mind to the fullest. She would not be just another reaper...

Chapter 98 - Gazer

Morrigan, Death, and Pepper walked through the quiet streets, Pepper shuffling nervously along, glancing now and then at Death with wide eyes. Morrigan couldn’t quite hide her limp anymore. Running after Pepper had done a number on her injury, but it wasn’t exactly unbearable either. Still, she'd be glad to get off her feet when this was over.

“So, Death, one thing I don’t get,”...

Chapter 97 - Time Marches On

Morrigan's ankle flared with pain as she ran at full tilt. She cursed herself for walking so far away when Pepper had asked her to leave. And why did Alice wait until the last damn minute to explain her convoluted plan? Morrigan figured Alice had timed it that way on purpose, just to screw with her as much as possible.

Hearing the car approaching from behind, she turned and waved her arms...

Chapter 96 - For Whom the Bell Tolls

Morrigan raised her scythe as she sprinted toward Pepper. The hollow gripped the small girl’s face, its mouth agape, emitting a ghastly wail as Pepper grew visibly weaker.

“Pepper, hang on!” Morrigan shouted.

Pepper’s knees buckled, and she stumbled back, but Juniper kept her hands firmly on her.

“Wait!” Pepper cried, her feet suddenly finding purchase as she stead...

Chapter 95 - Return

The walk was quiet for a while. Morrigan’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to save Pepper. The younger girl walked ahead, marching toward her doom in somber silence, while Morrigan trailed behind, deep in thought.

There has to be something I can do. Damn it! Fate sucks. Why does Pepper have to die? Why even if I can save someone, I’m not allowed to. Is it even possible? Even ...