Lyra was halfway done her last math problem when [i]it[/i]appeared.

She screamed, falling over in her chair. It landed on the carpeted floor with a thud. There were no legs waiting where Lyra expected to find some; for a moment, she thought the bizarre creature must have been a hallucination brought on by her guilt. Then she looked up.

The creature [i]did[/i] have legs, but they were exaggeratedly small, and hung uselessly from its torso two feet off the ground. The hideous, gray creature had wings, but they weren't moving. That meant it was [i]levitating[/i]. 

"Only two so far, huh?" it said in a gravelly whisper. 

Lyra scrambled to her feet and positioned herself behind her bed, as if seeking protection. The Death Note sat on her desk, far out of reach. Not that it was useful. She didn't even know what this creature was, much less its name.

"A-are you going to kill me?" she asked, her voice shrill. The creature tilted its many-horned head back and forth as if curious, then shrugged the thin arms that were several times as long as its legs. 

"Nah, I'm just here 'cause you have my notebook," it said casually, "Name's Ezerion, by the way. You can call me Ez."

"Just take it!" squeaked Lyra. 

"Nah. That's not how this works," said Ez, "The Death Note is allll yours now. Use it as much as you want."

"Please don't hurt me!" said Lyra, backing against the wall.

"You got it all wrong, kid. I'm just a shinigami - a god of death. My job is just to sit around and watch until you're done with the Death Note. The real monster here... is you."