Page 41 of Left Hand of the Divine
I just hadn’t expected her to put so much effort into trying to be my friend. She’d definitely been persistent, and it had been easier to agree just to shut her up than put up with the continuous attempts of her trying to trick me into doing something other than reaping souls.
The second thing that made me believe she was something other than a Reaper was the connection she had with her Hounds.Normally, Reapers and Hellhounds had a built-in barrier that stopped them from developing any kind of intimate connection. They could be friends, but it was instinctual, like they knew they wouldn’t be compatible. Roux and the twins shouldn’t even be able to contemplate a connection beyond friendship, yet there they were pining for each other. I had a distinct feeling that Erebus might actually be right. Although how Roux—or the woman who existedbeforeRoux—could contain some part of Nyx was beyond me. Erebus needed to impart whatever magic he employed before they were separated because there was no doubt in my mind that he did something to cause all of this.
“Did Lila tell you where we needed to go?” I asked as we headed into the building. Guards in the livery of Hades’ palace wandered around the entrance foyer, looking out of place. There was usually so much more activity. I’d never really noticed how busy the place usually was, but the absence of all the souls, Reapers and Hounds made GRIM HQ seem desolate.
“Your office,” Roux replied. “Well, I guess it’s still my office. When will your scythe go back to you?”
I wanted to know that too, but something was letting it remain with Roux. “Don’t you like carrying it?”
“No,” she blurted. “It’s fucking heavy.”
In more ways than one.
She fell into step with me and hooked her arm through mine. “It still feels temporary as well. I can still feel my own scythe weaved into my bones. Yours doesn’t feel like that.”
There was something easy about being in her company, and I liked that she was so comfortable around me. She had never cared that I was Death, unlike most people who just saw me as their demise. “You’ve done well looking after it, thank you.”
She shrugged nonchalantly. “I haven’t really done anything. It was fun to swing around, though.”
Rafe chuckled behind me. “And she looks badass.”
That I could believe. She normally looked intimidating in all the leather and harnesses that she wore with her long black coat whipping behind her in the wind. “Well, I appreciate it nonetheless.”
We stepped into the elevator together and rode to the top floor. Roux and I had this space to ourselves, with the rest of the Reapers spread out on the floors below and all the other departments below them.
The doors swung open, and Lila was there pacing the space in the open hallway. There was a small reception area, and then my office was to the left, and Roux’s was to the right. There were glass walls everywhere so we could all see the Guild members waiting for us in my office.
“Thank goodness,” Lila gasped. “I was beginning to think you’d run off.”
“Nope,” Roux replied as she wrapped her friend in a hug. “What are we looking at?”
Lila’s face paled, which was impressive since she was a ghost and already fairly pale. “Lazarra is here withher number two, Rory, plus three other high-ranking officials. I’m pretty sure one of them is an Incubus.”
“They’ve certainly sent the big guns then,” Atticus mused, his lips pursed and back ramrod straight.
“Whatever happens in there,” Rafe said as he rested his hand on Atticus’ shoulder. “We are in this together.”
Atticus nodded and took a deep breath, his body still clinging to the normal motions of life even when he no longer needed them.
“Come on. Let’s show them who we are,” I said as I squared my shoulders. I was Thanatos, God of Death, and I would not be intimidated by the Guild.
“Atta boy,” Roux cried out, slapping my ass as I walked past. “Let’s go get ‘em, tiger.”
“You’re such a dork,” Rayne scoffed as we all piled into my office to face whatever the Guild wanted to throw at us. Hopefully, we would come out unscathed, but only the Fates knew if we would or not.
Chapter Fourteen
Roux
“Thank you, Lila. You may leave,” the woman in the lavender suit said.
My best friend cast me a sympathetic look before exiting the room, closing the door softly behind her and leaving us at the mercy of the five Guild members.
“What happened to my couch?” Thane asked, and a flush of heat crept up my neck and along my cheekbones as I took in the piece of furniture. The legs of the couch lay broken beneath the seat, and the main body of it was snapped in half.
“That’s where I died the first time,” Atticus quipped.
Thane’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. “What?”
