Page 37 of Darkening Truth
“Oh,” Rival says. “I almost forgot. So I woke up last night and I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I went to the library. I had actually only just fallen back to sleep when everything happened with Farren.”
“Sorry,” Farren mutters.
“Don’t be,” Rival tells her.
Mayhem narrows his eyes at his brother, “I’m going to assume that you weren’t there reading for fun and that you were actually catching up on all of the research that you’ve wanted to do?”
Rival grins, “Yeah, pretty much.”
The rest of us chuckle.
“Did you find anything out?” Khaos asks curiously as he puts another piece of bacon in his mouth.
Rival’s expression lights up as he shifts excitedly in his seat, “Yeah, I did actually. I don’t know why, but I decided to look at the bracelets that were used to control Hades. I figured that if I could work out what they were made of, then it might give us a better idea of which God is trying to take over the Underworld.”
Farren
“That’s a really good idea, actually,” I say. “We need all the help we can get to figure out who is behind this. The gemstone can’t be that common, or the gods would always be getting controlled by each other, most likely. So, if we can find out what it is, and where it’s come from, then we might be able to follow the trail back and find who bought it, or something.”
Rival nods, “That’s exactly, what I thought.” His eyebrows rise as he smiles, “I’ll give you three guesses what realm the gemstone is from.”
Khaos shakes his head, “No way, seriously?”
Rival’s smile widens, and he nods, “Yep.”
“Care to fill the rest of us in?” Storm asks. “I think I’ve eaten too much food to make my brain work properly.”
“The Dragon Realm,” Rival says.
“The gemstone in the bracelet can be found in the Dragon Realm?” Reaper asks for clarification.
“Not just found. It’s the only place in all of the realms where the gemstone can be found, and it’s a highly prized and highly regulated thing. It is extremely difficult to get it outside of the Dragon Realm. In fact, it’s banned. The only way to get the gemstone outside of the Dragon Realm is through the black market, but even then, it is rarely available, and when it is, it’s only available in small quantities. There is absolutely no way that gemstones as big as the ones that are in the bracelets would be available in any other realm but the Dragon Realm,” Rival explains.
“So, what you’re saying is that the God got the gemstones from the Dragon Realm, which means that he is either working with someone there, which would be really bad, or he has a contact there that is willing to break the very strict dragon rules to give him the gemstones,” Storm replies. “I’m going to assume that it's Remeus and Crem, but if it’s as regulated as you said, then even them getting hold of it is questionable.”
Rival nods, “Yep, but they shouldn’t be there anyway, so they’ve obviously got contacts there who are helping them. It is also another reason why we need to go to the Dragon Realm. We need to figure out which god is trying to take down Hades and who is working with him in the Dragon Realm, other than the princes. The Dragons are a strong and formidable ally to have, especially since they don’t give their allegiance to many. We need to put an end to the allegiance if we can.”
Hades nods, “Yes, I agree. There appear to be several reasons why we need to go to the Dragon Realm now.”
“The key, the lost Dragon Souls, the princes, and now the origin of the gemstone bracelets that were used to control you, and the possible allegiancewith a Dragon, or the Dragons in general, which could be catastrophic,” Khaos summarises.
“Ah, I’m glad that you’re already on topic,” Monty says as he suddenly appears on the kitchen counter, crouched down and perched on one foot with his other leg resting on his knee, and his elbow balanced on his leg, his head resting in his hands like he has been there for a while.
“Monty, I swear, one of these days you’re going to make me jump and I’m going to take your head before I realise it’s you,” I curse, since he made me jump.
Khaos chuckles, “I like that plan.”
Monty levels Khaos with a look, “I would be nice to me if I were you, I know things regarding you and Hades that I’m not happy about, but I’m handling it quite well if I do say so myself.”
“Hey!” Hades starts to protest, “How did I get dragged into this?”
“Oh, you’ll figure it out soon,” Monty says, narrowing his eyes at Hades.
Hades throws his hands up in the air in exasperation.
“For the love of the gods, please don’t start talking in fucking riddles again,” Kill groans.
“Rude,” Monty mutters, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
