Page 137 of Damned and Broken Gods
The voice was an echoing sound, deep and gravelly, overlaid with a drawl that I recognized. But it wasn’t Araz…
I stilled, goosebumps pricking my arms.
Araz sighed. “I’ll let you keep her. For now.” He fixed his gaze on me, topaz eyes flaring to orange. “Blood of Vijayroodra.” His lips curled in disgust. “You owe me a debt, and I will collect.”
Light burst from his body—flame and fire consuming him, remaking him. Larger, taller, his face still Araz, and yet…not. And his eyes. His beautiful topaz eyes burned orange, then settled to a midnight hue filled with starlight.
Something inside me fractured and fell away. An emptiness expanding beneath my ribs.
I caught movement around us, silvery nets descending toward Araz. “Watch out!”
His gaze whipped up, and wings of flame burst from his back. He shot up into the sky, burning through the sliver nets and vanishing like a comet in reverse.
“Get him!” Chandra cried. “Don’t let him escape or we’re all doomed.”
Shadow figures materialized out of thin air and rocketed into the sky after Araz.
I turned to Chandra and grabbed hold of his shirt. “What’s happening? What did you do to Araz?”
Chandra’s expression softened, his eyes filling with pity. “Araz is dead.”
“What? What are you talking about? He was just here. The Authority sent a serpent to kill me, and they…they changed him. They did something to him.” A sickly feeling spread in my belly.
“The Authoritydidsend the serpent, but they didn’t hurt Araz. Something else got to him. Something ancient.”
The nausea climbed up my throat. “No…” I tried to back away from him, but he gripped my shoulders and held me firm.
“He’s gone, Leela.”
“No.” I blinked back tears, trying to ignore the burgeoning panic in my chest.
“The being that just escaped from the labyrinth, the thing wearing Araz like a pretty suit, that…” He took a shuddering breath. “That’s the being that controls the devouring force.”
“No…” He couldn’t be saying what I thought he was saying.
“Yes, Leela. That was the primordial evil. And now that it’s free, we’re all doomed.”
Chapter 52
Is This The Fade?
PASHIM
The road stretches into forever. It cuts through forests and mountains, through barren lakes and crimson rivers.
I walk it alone.
Endlessly.
Tirelessly.
Stopping only to hide and drift.
When I sleep, I dream of Leela. Her laughter lifts my spirits. Her smile warms the icy core of me.
Those memories call to me now as the light dims.
The shadows will hunt soon.
