Page 50 of Curse of Darkness
“My apologies for the brash entrance, my Lord of Death.” I give the faintest of curtsies before I straighten. “I ask only for the same respect.”
“Speak your piece then.”
“I am here on behalf of the Mother of Night.” I force strength into my voice. “I am here because the Horned One has been freed from his prison, and she has told me I might be able to kill him, once and for all, but I will need Death at my side if I am to have any hope of defeating him.”
Kato’s lips quirk. “That does not explain what you are doing here.”
Tugging the amulet from within my neckline, I show it to him. “She gave me this soul-trap. With it, I can return my husband’s soul to his body and resurrect him.”
“Your husband is gone, vanished into the Darkness.” Kato gestures to his guards with a pair of fingers. “Remove her.”
“Wait!” I push forward two steps. “Please. Just listen to me. He’s not gone. Iknowhe’s not gone. He said he would wait for me in the Darkness. And I need him. The Mother of Night said I would need him to slay the Horned One.”
The enormous figure on the throne leans forward, pale gray eyes gleaming behind his mask. “The Mother of Night is trapped in a prison world. She has no power here.”
“She has the power to meddle in this world. Through me. And Thiago is the only one who can reap the Horned One’s soul. Would you condemn the world to darkness? True darkness?”
Kato pushes to his feet, vibrating with anger. “You dare come here and demand such of me? I spent the lives of everyone I know just to tear that creature apart. I gave up an eternity of freedom merely to guard this domain, toprotectthe fae of this world. The Shadow Sinister cannot be resurrected. Itmustnot be resurrected.”
“Then you’re too late,” I cry. “Malakhai of the Black Reaches is a mere handful of souls away from resurrecting Death. If he comes for my daughter, he will have themall. No one will be able to stop him.”
Kato stills. “There are two others.”
“There were. Word has reached us from foreign shores of a pair of murders in the night. Coincidentally, around the same time Malakhai vanished for a year or two.”
If anything, Kato appears to pale. He glances to the side, and one of the guards beside his throne cocks their head.
They slowly nod.
“My daughter, Amaya, holds the last known vestige of Death’s soul. What you fear is already close to coming to pass. If left free….” I swallow. “I cannot stop this Malakhai. My fellow queen, Lucere, is of the belief that there are none left alive who may stop him. Only Thiago had the strength. This is our only hope.”
“No. A thousand times no.”
The guard beside him clears his throat.
Kato’s nostrils flare as he cuts them a hard look.
They seem to silently commune, before Kato eases back onto his throne. “I will allow you through the gates on one condition. Once your husband has all the pieces of Death’s soul, you will bring them to me. And I will banish them to the Darkness, once and for all.”
All the pieces….
Amaya.
I can’t help taking a half step back. “Butmy daughter…. How do we….?”
“There is a means to cleave Death’s soul from your own,” he says coldly. “The dark flame can be taken from her without harming her.”
“How?”
“Death must will it. He must be willing to leave behind a living host and re-enter the Darkness. He must willingly give himself over.”
“Has anyone ever done it before?” I whisper.
Kato’s smile is chilling. “No, little queen. Death takes all he resides within. Eventually.”
I stare down at the small amulet in front of me, swallowing hard. Time. This buys us time. And it’s not the first attempt we’ve had dancing with impossible odds. “So shall I swear, so shall it be done.”
“On a blood oath,” he says, drawing a knife. “The second the Horned One is dead, you will bring me Death and bring him whole, and in return, I will allow you eternity in your husband’s arms.”
