Page 136 of Her Blood Revenge

Dorian picks up a skull and inspects it, no doubt realising the same thing as I just have.

‘This was a bone arch,’ he says, dropping the skull without care. ‘No blood witch bones have been left behind.’

‘Neve took them. She must have.’ That thought has my insides in a fiery knot. And not much has the privilege to achieve that.

Dorian looks at me, utterly terrified. That is more frightening to me than anything.

‘She has taken the bones of blood witches. Slaughtered an earth coven on their Athir festival. Killed the king and queen. And I have seen my old mistress stir from her slumberin the deepest parts of her realm. And it’s all connected to the symbol Neve used when she was pregnant with Ashe. The symbol on Hel’s manacles. One of which is broken.’

The Shadow Master staggers and actually falls to his knees. His eyes become unfocused as he looks into nothing. Fuck me. This is unheard of. Not him. Never him.

‘What does this mean, Dorian?’ I ask, resting my hand on his shoulder. ‘Do you know?’

‘Something beyond terrible. I think… I think…’ He blinks. ‘I think she’s trying to release The Goddess herself. How could I not see? How did I not fucking see this?’

‘What? Tell me!’

‘A story. A myth. Maybe it’s more.’

‘Then tell it!’

‘When the witches cast Hel down and sealed her away, they performed three spells. The first was the sacrifice of a child. The only daughter of the first blood witch. An act so unnatural it tore a rip in between worlds. A mother killing her new born baby. It created the first manacle on Hel’s wrist.’

‘Neve killed Pixie. She slit her throat as an infant.’

‘An act that maybe, just maybe, broke the first manacle.’ Dorian takes a deep breath. ‘The second manacle was made when the witches slaughtered an entire town and spilt every drop of their blood. It was the beginning of the sea Hel now lives in. So much death. It created Hel’s second manacle.’

‘The earth coven. How they all turned to mist.’ I swallow dryly. ‘You think it broke her second manacle?’

He stares at me with an ancient fear. He nods.

‘And the third?’ I ask.

‘The third was the death of a god.’

‘Which one?’

‘The god of man.’

‘Of man?’ I repeat. ‘I’ve never heard of him.’

‘He protected humanity. Guided them into peace and understanding. Gave them knowledge and patience. The blood witches killed him, leaving humanity unguided and godless. His death created the third manacle. The one around her neck.’

‘OK.’ I take a breath. ‘There’s not been anything like that happen, has there? Nothing to break the third manacle. No dead gods, right? We have Athir. Very much alive and held in the forests. We have Hel. She’s not about to kill herself. Then there’s Nua, the water god. Aed, the fire god. And Enil. Goddess of air. Seeing as all the covens still have their magic, we can assume no gods are dead because if they were, there would be no magic for them to syphon. Right?’

Dorian looks at me with that same dread.

‘And Pixie is alive. Neve didn’t kill her. She tried to, but she didn’t.’ I know I’m trying to reason with something well beyond reasoning.

‘She could have,’ Dorian replies. ‘She’s died before, Shaw. And been brought back. And if her father is Athir, the earth God, then he could have resurrected her. Given her to the earth witch to keep her hidden from Neve and Hel.’

I scoff. ‘Athir would not do anything to protect a witch. You know that as well as I do. None of the gods would. They hate witches. Even if she were his child, he would not care. If such a thing is possible.’

‘She’s got something of a god in her. Or she would not be cursed as she is. Only we’re capable of this confinement. Demigods. She’s his. It makes sense. Her powerful earth magic and blood magic. They made her.’

‘Then maybe he needs her for something,’ I suggest. ‘For him to appear now when all of this is happening. To give her his grimoire and make contact, just as Neve is messing about with all this. She’s needed. Neve sent her away before that wave could kill her. They could have grabbed Pixie the night she got past the barrier, but they didn’t. They came for Dhalia and the grimoire.’

‘If there’s a way to free Hel, there must be a way to free the other gods, too. It has to be a spell only she can perform. Pixie must resurrect them. She’s a necromancer, right? If Hel is trapped in the land of the dead, then a necromancer must be the one to let her out.’

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