Page 7 of Dead End

“Just out of curiosity, who else is in your secret I Hate The Corporation club?”

Nabu hesitated. “There’s no official group.”

Oh, there was definitely an official group.

“Zhi Peng,” Libby volunteered. “Well, I don’t know if he hates them, but he certainly resents them.”

A memory sparked. “One of the Tien-Wang. I met him at that first cocktail party. He ran to the food table when I asked how he liked it here.”

Libby laughed. “Oh, yes. I remember that.”

“Why does he resent The Corporation?”

“They separated him from his brothers,” Libby explained. “He doesn’t even know where they are. Can you imagine being separated from your family for an eternity?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “What a stupid question. Of course you do.”

“Many of us have suffered as a result of their thirst for power,” Nabu said.

“If that’s how you feel, then why are you here?”

Nabu splayed his hands. “Like Libitina, I have nowhere else to go.”

“Sounds like an excuse.”

“I suppose it is. Believe me, if I had the option to dwell in Dilmun for eternity, that’s where I’d be.”

“Dilmun,” I repeated. “Why do I know that name?”

“It’s the garden of paradise for my people.” His face pinched with pain. “Or at least it was.”

“What happened to it?”

“The Corporation happened to it. That’s how I ended up here. I was initially a captive, until they decided I had more value without a collar.”

“They kidnapped you?” I asked.

“Not quite.” He cut a glance at Libby, who nodded. “Why don’t I show you?”

I frowned at the closed door. “I think Ademir might object.”

“He’ll never know.” Nabu held out his hand. “We don’t need to use the door.”

I set down my mug on a nearby coaster and felt a jolt of energy as his skin brushed mine. Libby and the hut fell away, and I found myself standing in an unfamiliar land amidst a pile of rubble.

“This is where my home once stood,” Nabu said. “It was destroyed by the gods of The Corporation. The black marks are courtesy of Fafnir.”

I recognized the name of the dragon deity. “He burned the place to the ground?”

“Oh, it wasn’t down to one thing. There was burning, smashing, shaking. All the verbs.” Nabu pointed to a section of broken stones. “That’s where I fought Bossu himself. The fight was only a distraction to allow Dis and Mars to capture me. Once the collar was on, I was powerless to stop them.” He worked the lump in his throat. “That day continues to haunt my dreams. We were woefully unprepared. I saw eight of them and assumed the fight would be easier than it was.”

“I’m sorry.” An unpleasant thought occurred to me. “If The Corporation took over, why does it still look like this?”

“Theytriedto take over Dilmun. When their initial plan failed, they chose to destroy the place they coveted. The godly equivalent of ‘if I can’t have you, no one else can.’”

I held my breath as my gaze traveled over the devastation. “How did you fight them off?”

“We put up a good fight. When they realized it would be a more protracted battle than they anticipated, they decided a scorched earth approach was preferable. They pretended to retreat, let us believe we’d won, and then they turned around and…” He waved a hand at the results.

“And then they took you with them?”

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