Page 123 of Psycho Gods

For a split second, I had the horrible sense that I was the one supposed to be doing something, and it didn’t feel like it had to do with stopping them. It felt like they were working an enchantment over me and lulling me into a trance.

What else could be the fire’s purpose?

There were no enemies around, and it was just the four of us up in the thin air of the mountains with snow and rocks all around.

My eyelids fluttered shut.

I was unbelievably tired, and the flames called to me. They melted me in the most intoxicating way.

The fractured, icy bits of my soul thawed.

The Necklace of Death and diamond bracelet warmed and vibrated until my skin buzzed.

It was heavenly.

Bending forward so I could get closer to the raging fire, I enjoyed the delicious warmth as it chased away the invasive chill that was always present in my bones.

I wanted to curl up like a cat and bask in the inferno.

I wanted to lie on a bed of ashes for eternity.

It was pure relief after years of being plagued by chattering teeth and goose bumps.

After a lifetime of ice, I finally knew what genuine warmth felt like.

It was everything.

I wanted more because it was so much better than I could have ever imagined.

My legs gave out, and I fell to my knees. The rocks were toasty against my chilled flesh, and I pressed myself into the ground.

Everything became hazy in the best way.

The heat intensified, and I sighed with relief as my lungs thawed.

I closed my heavy lids and drifted off.

Into.

Blissful.

Sleep.

* * *

“Wake up!”

Someone bellowed down at me, and I batted at them. “Shut up,” I mumbled as I tried to sink back into the warm darkness.

It was divine.

“She’s fine.” A different person sighed with relief, and I shivered as cold battered my face.

“No, she’s clearly not fucking fine.”

There was a smacking noise and what sounded like a fight.

“I am fine,” I said sleepily as I curled tighter into a ball and mourned the exquisite warmth because, yet again, everything was uncomfortably cold.

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