Page 106 of A Kiss From Death
Nodding to myself, I squeeze the dice a little tighter. If I can win against Zale, I could potentially get an answer to the question burning a hole in my brain since the start of the Crucible. It could potentially save my life.
“Do you still want to play, my catalyst?”
Yes, I want to play, I think immediately.
“And what secret would you like to offer me in payment?”it hisses loudly.
I involuntarily tense, thinking over what I could offer the dice that I wouldn’t mind being reshared. I doubt anyone would be asking anything about me anyways, but I’m still hesitant. Gulping, I set my heart on a silver platter.
I am afraid of living. I think the heavy thought that is always nagging my brain at all times of the day, as permanent as the tattoos marking Hade’s skin.
“Explain,” it hisses calmly.
Taking a deep breath, I decide to let one thing inside the impenetrable force field around my aching heart.I am afraid to live without him. I am afraid to move on when he can no longer move with me. I am afraid if I open my heart again, he could be forgotten and left behind. I am afraid to live and be happy without him, because it makes me feel guilty. It should be him here still walking these lands instead of me. So yes, I am deathly afraid of living because that means he’s really gone.
“Do you truly believe those words, my spark?”
I don’t know,I sigh back.
“I think you know deep down, but you need to forgive yourself before you can truly answer truthfully. Thank you for your secret, young one. Enjoy playing with my magic.”
The dice glow in my hand, a tendril of magic looping itself around my wrist, linking me to the game. Zale smiles at the glowing magic, clearly happy with my decision to play. Hade gives my shoulder a squeeze as I settle into my chair, ready to destroy Zale in a game of Jezzle so I can win an answer.
“It is time to roll for the number of rounds played, my players,”the dice hisses between us, and I assume Zale can now hear its voice in his head too, since he leans forward and scoops up the dice.
“Ladies first,” he shouts at the same time he chucks me the numbered die.
Catching it, I close my fist around the die, shaking it around a few times before launching it across the wooden table. It tumbles loudly until it lands in the center of the table. Leaning forward, I read the number aloud.
“Three!” I shout with a smirk. I just need to have three better rolls than him, and I’m one step closer to solving the riddle.
“Kick his ass,” Hade whispers maliciously into my ear.
Gesturing to the Jezzle die, Zale says smoothly, “Have at it, darlin’. Let’s see what those hands can do.”
Taking a swig of my ale for liquid courage, I hold back the wince as I scoop up the die, looking it over more closely. “Let’s see if the die loves you as much as you claim it does,darlin’.”
“Round one, commence,”the die hisses at the same time a thin magical barrier appears between us on the table top. Closing my eyes, I give the Jezzle die a good shake and open my eyes right as it explodes out of my hand, barreling onto the table. It flips many times, clanking the whole way until it finally lands right in front of the barrier, so Zale can’t see.
A buzzing hums from the die at the same time a bright blue light explodes from the top, where a glowing blue orb in the shape of a…miniature octopus crawls across the table, using its tentacles to glide while a thin blue light acting like a rope tethers it to my wrist.
Staring at the creation in front of me, I’m frozen in astonishment. Now I understand what the Jezzle die meant when it said have fun playing with my magic. The little octopus sits ready and waiting at the magical barrier, bouncing up and down on its tentacles.
Shaking myself from the initial shock, I pick up the die and toss it over the barrier to Zale to roll. I hear the die tumble on the other side of the table as it leaves his hand, and a faint humming vibrates from just beyond the barrier, the magic making his eyes glow.
The barrier melts away to nothing, showing us the entirety of the table again. A faint giggle accidently slips up my throat that I have to quickly muffle with my palm as I take in the adorable purple miniature Pegasus tethered to Zale’s wrist. The thing doesn’t look like it could hurt a fly, and to prove my point, a burst of glitter shoots from its nose.
The smile falters on my face when my octopus’ tentacle lashes out, stretching longer then should be possible, making me understand why it symbolizes shapeshifting magic. It wraps around thePegasus’ neck, choking it to death. Zale’s Pegasus tries to use its wings to fly away to safety, but as soon as my octopus wraps its entire body for the fourth loop around its neck, its head falls to the side, completing the first round.
I gasp in shock, suddenly not in the mood to laugh. Zale’s cute magical creature lies limp and dead on the table. Sensing my unease, Hade moves a little closer behind me, sharing his body heat with me in comfort.
“It’s only magic. It’s not real, and it doesn’t hurt them,” Zale says softly, also noticing my shock. On cue, both creatures fizzle away into a blue and purple mass of magic, until they are sucked back into the Jezzle die, ready for the start of round two as the magical barrier settles itself between us.
That seems to relax my shoulders again, knowing this is just a fun game and no one is actually dying or being harmed here. My life has too much death in it for my liking, and it’s nice to know this isn’t permanent for once.
“One point, Nyxi.” The die’s snakey voice slithers up my spine. “Round two, commence.”
“I’ll go first this time, and we will rotate starting each round,” Zale states. “You ready to see what these hands are actually capable of now that they are warmed up?” He shoots me a wink and then lets the die float through the air down to the table. He lets the magic explode out of the die before tossing it over to me for my turn.
