Page 38 of Bound to Death

Thanatos

Fuck!

Wiping her forehead because sweat was already collecting over the surface, I bent over and kissed the fitful little human.Her skin seared the flesh of my lips, a fever that burned like the fires of Hell. She writhed and moaned in pain. It was like a blade to my heart every time knowing that I couldn’t do more for her.

She no longer heard or saw me, and she wouldn’t until the mark was removed, but she was thankfully not comatose yet. Unfortunately, the illness hit sooner than I expected. Perhaps the effect of my realm on her, but I couldn’t be sure. One fact remained. I was running out of time. I might be able to keep her soul here, but I couldn’t be certain it’d last if she didn’t want to stay. I couldn’t take that risk. I needed Michael to remove the mark. I needed more time to be sure she would stay. I needed more time to make her irrevocably mine.

I growled low in my throat and brushed my wild hair back in frustration. “Fucking Pest.”

The illness Zelus inflicted was torturous, and I’d be out for blood—his blood—after she was safely mine. Until then, I’d plot my revenge.

The ways I’d tear his flesh and break every fucking bone in that human body he loved so much would have the asshole begging for mercy I’d never give. I couldn’t kill him or remove his soul, not like those foul humans who attacked my little raven, but I could inflict endless torture and submerge the bastard in impenetrable darkness. What I did would make him wish he could die. I’d spend eternity tearing him apart again and again, then when I couldn’t be bothered anymore, I’d banish him to the shadows.

He'd crossed me for the very last time.

Several ravens flew in through the window, cawing their arrival. I’d summoned them to watch Asha while I was gone. They could take human form for short periods of time, but with how out of it she was with the sudden fever, she wouldn’t notice them.

It tore me apart to leave her. I’d rather keep her by my side, but Hades was more powerful than the other three Horsemen combined. Worst of all, he was unpredictable. Or as Morning Star referred to him, a moody bitch. Unless he was entertained or got something out of it, he couldn’t be bothered. Gaining his favor was difficult, but he and I shared more than most.

For whatever reason, he had a soft spot for me.

Still, should negotiations fall through, I didn’t want to worry he’d use Asha to subjugate me to his will. I couldn’t lose her to the Underworld. His realm would swallow her whole. So, I’d leave my suffering darling here with my ravens and shadows to protect her in my stead.

“Keep her comfortable. I don’t have to tell you what I'd do should anything happen to her, hmm?”

The ravens looked at each other, not used to the vicious venom I currently spat at them. I rarely took out my anger on anyone. Emotions were too…human, and they hadn’t expected to see anything close to it in my expression or dripping from the words I hissed. But they were an extension of me, so I knew they’d never fail me. They cawed their usual promise and got to work gathering things to keep her as comfortable as they could make her.

With one last fleeting glance at Asha, shadows swirled and enclosed around me, sending me straight to the Underworld. Straight to the only person I could ask for help.

A dark room rolled out and materialized in front of me. Sharp, jagged rocks grew into an endless black sky, glowing like crystals hit with light. A stretch of water reached both ends of the open cavern, serene and unmoving, but the moans of the dead echoed across the surface. White tendrils swirled and moved in a circle before disappearing into the deep, impenetrable darkness.

The souls of the abandoned, of the unfinished, of the placeless. Captives of Hades. Not the damned but close enough. Unlessthey were claimed, they’d stay in an endless darkness and were never permitted to reincarnate. Some may argue a fate worse than death. Destined to be nothing. Lost forever. Eternally forgotten by the realms.

I heard him before I saw him. “Little brother! I never thought I’d see that dark, emotionless face of yours again after the last time you cursed me out.”

I cringed. “An ear-lashing you deserved after stealing the souls I was meant to send to Hell.”

“Oh, Morning Star won’t miss those, will he? Why not let me play with them before he does?” he went on as if it hadn’t nearly started a war between the realms over a little prank.

Turning, I found him standing in the middle of the cavernous room, nothing but a pair of black pants on.

He’d stolen several hearts across the realms with that face of his. It didn’t matter that he’d condemned them the second they fell for his lies. People continued to fall for his terrifying charms. Every single one became his captive for eternity. Playthings condemned to his whims, and I’d seen a few powerful angels lose their wings to be with him.

He fed his boredom with the misery of others. Fed off their desperation to be adored. Not much separated him and the ruler of Hell. They were cut from the same cloth and enjoyed torturing anyone they could get their hands on. Just, Hades preferred his two-faced love approach to ensnare while Morning Star captured his victims with insurmountable fear.

Hades was a calculating bastard. I couldn’t let my guard down for a second.

Tattoos adorned his pure white skin. His blue hair floated away from his head as if we were underwater. His body was never truly solid, but he preferred a human’s shape to the beastly form he took sometimes. Like me, he could move withoutever fully forming. But unlike me, he couldn’t use shadows to consume, only his wits.

His dark, soulless eyes caught mine from across the space before he was in front of me. “You’ve been naughty, haven’t you, Dead? What’s this I hear about a human you’ve marked?”

With Hades, I knew better than to give too much away. My face remained entirely lax and unreadable. “How about we skip the pleasantries, Hades, and get to the deal you’ll force me to make in exchange for Mysra’s soul. I’m sure you know why I’m here. Your little spies would’ve told you seeing how much you enjoy taunting the angels. Bet you even have one working for you.”

Hades laughed into his fist and walked a circle around me. “I forgot how clever you are. Nothing gets past you, aye, Dead? But then again, there’d be no fun in it if it did. You and I are very similar in that way. As much as you hate that we are.”

“I don’t take pleasure in the pain of the dead.”

His smile grew. “Oh, I think you do. I heard all about the five humans you sent to Morning Star before they were called. Quite the fuss you made with the demons. Not that he minded. They were all very tasty, I’m sure. Their screams will be a great addition to the chorus of the damned.”

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