Page 9 of Merciless
“The general’s council,” I blurted out, remembering the transcription from Andrea’s first letter. “If the Sha is the one in power, the ones who carry out his orders are the ones closest to him.”
All of which are in the fortress in New Ireland,Freyja was quick to point out.You have seen the extent of our abilities, dear daughter. Horus’ sight reaches far, but we cannot get you past the Sha’s army undetected.
“Well maybe we can lure the council out.” I stood up from the floor to shake out the numbness settling into my legs. “They still need the rest of us, right? What if we set a trap?”
Hades growled irritably.I would not advise that.
Your husbands would never allow it.Freyja was quick to agree.
I stabbed my fingers through my hair with a groan of frustration. “Well it seems I’m the only one coming up with ideas, so if you have anything, I’m all ears.”
Silence stretched on for much longer than I was comfortable.
If it is any comfort, we are still bonded to Reaper and Shadow,Hades said.We can feel the force of the Sha’s power threatening to unravel our bond so that it can penetrate their minds and control them. However, it has not yet succeeded. As long as Reaper and Shadow remain bonded to us, there is hope.
“You can…feel them?” I fell to my knees, eyes locked onto the ancient depths of Hades’ gaze. “Are they okay? Can you talk to them?”
They are holding on for now. But no, communication has not been possible. The Sha is not controlling them, but he may have cut off that aspect of our bond.
I closed my eyes, my whole body feeling heavy as my gaze lowered to the floor. “Is there anything…anything at all that we can do?” Wearily, I brought my gaze up to plead with the gods in front of me. “Please. They are bonded to you, bonded to gods! Doesn’t that mean anything?”
I’m sorry,Hades said.We have lost many bonded humans over the millenia, to other gods or even simple human violence. It’s always painful on a cosmic level.
“No.” I shook my head and even let out a soft humorless laugh, I was that firmly in denial. “Not you too. You aregods,you can’t be giving up on them!” My eyes widened as a sudden idea hit my brain with a bright spark. “Can you possess humans like you do animals?”
Hades growled, baring white teeth before he snapped,No.
He hesitated long enough in answering that I knew it wasn’t as cut-and-dry as that. “Why not?”
We simply don’t. It is not done.
“But youcan!”
Hades barked a warning. His whole body was in warning mode—ears back, hackles raised, and low growl rumbling from his throat. But it was too late. NowIwas the dog with a bone.
We will not inhabit you or the others. It is out of the question.
“But why?” I demanded. “If there’s no chance of it helping, then fine. But it doesn’t sound like that’s the answer.”
Inhabiting human bodies is incredibly dangerous to those we possess,Freyja explained.It has not been done for nearly a thousand years. Such an occupation has grave consequences.
“Like what?”
Like losing your humanity,Hades snapped.You will turn into an empty, used-up husk like those the Sha has discarded. Is that what you want for you and your men?
My chest deflated, the initial rush of a new idea gone as quickly as it came. “So that’s what the Sha is doing?”
In a sense,Freyja said.He is not possessing vessels in the exact same way we would.Think of his method as reaching with hundreds of thousands of hands. Each hand grabs someone by the mind and forces submission. That is how he is able to control so many.
I perked up slightly. “So the way you possess is different? It doesn’t have to be harmful?”
It still is.Hades turned his head to direct a growl at Freyja, who arched and hissed in response.We inhabit animals because their brains are instinctual. They are simpler, and do not object to our occupation.
“I would not object to you if it meant saving Reaper and Shadow,” I insisted. “Neither would the other two. You’d have our full permission.”
That does not matter,Hades growled irritably.Human minds are too complex to house another being for long. It doesn’t matter if you knowingly permit us, your brain will unravel itself trying to process that a foreign entity is occupying the same space. We are meant to guide humans, not control them.
Thousands of years ago,Freyja added softly,gods would possess human prophets to communicate their commands. They could only do so for short periods of time, and the human would be wrung-out, never the same again after multiple instances of this.
