Page 85 of Darkening Truth
Makes sense, I suppose. This God is clearly power hungry.
“Anything else I should know?”
“The God has other gods working for him. There’s a hierarchy with the gods, and the one in charge is close to the top and extremely powerful. He has other gods in the tiers below him who do things for him in the other realms, amassing followers. The Order is run by Kronos, a lower-tier God. I worked for him. The Dragon Kings have made a deal with the God, which will give them power when the realms are under the God’s control.”
“How?” I ask.
He shakes his head, “I don’t know. I’m sorry. That’s all the information I have.”
He’s not lying, but I sever his leg anyway.
Once his screams of pain have faded to whimpers, I ask, “One more thing, where is the Leabhar Nam Marbh?”
He looks momentarily confused but answers me, “In the safe behind that painting. It’s just a worthless storybook. The only reason it’s in the safe is because it’s stolen.”
I grin, “Thank you.”
Keeping a hold of his soul, my hand closes around his heart more tightly, and I pull it free. Dropping it to the floor, I then use the same hand to pull his throat out and sever his head.
His soul struggles in my grip.
I could allow it to leave, and it should go to the Underworld, where Hades will be able to deal with it properly, but I can’t guarantee that. He shouldn’t have been able to come back as a Wraith, that’s not how Wraiths are supposed to work. Which means that the princes have somehow managed to find a way to create Wraiths out of souls, and I bet that the Dragons have something to do with it.
I’m going to risk that seeing me with a soul in my hand is a step too far for the others to ensure that he’s dealt with properly.
The door opens before I can tell anyone that they can come in, and Khaos grins at me proudly.
“I felt the physical pain stop,” he explains. “You have to be one of the best torturers that I have ever known. That was fucking impressive.”
I smile, “Thanks.”
I’m deliberately making sure that I don’t look at Farren. I know that she’s different from most people, but this room is covered in blood, I’m covered in blood, and I’m holding Godfrey’s soul.
I go just a bit beyond brutal, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to be disgusted by that.
It’s okay, I would do it again if it meant that she was going to be safe.
“Mayhem, look at me,” Farren says as she steps in front of me.
I hesitate, but look down at her.
Her expression shocks me. She’s smiling at me?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mayhem
Her hands reach up, and she rubs my lips, no doubt removing some blood that’s there, and then she cups my cheeks. I cautiously place my other, clean hand on her back, although I don’t want to pull her any closer because I’m covered in blood, and I keep my other arm extended out to the side, the soul still struggling in my grip.
Her eyes connect with mine, and I’m surprised to see no hate or disgust.
“Thank you, Mayhem,” she tells me softly as she moves up onto her tiptoes and her lips meet mine in a fierce kiss. When she pulls back, I’m momentarily dazed, as I smile like an idiot at her. Her expression becomes serious, and she adds, “You don’t ever need to hide any part of you from me. None of it will change the way that I feel about you. Got it?”
I nod, stunned by her easy acceptance of, well, all of me. “Got it.”
She grins, kisses me once more and then steps back, “Good.” Looking at my extended arm in confusion, she asks, “What is that?”
“It’s Godfrey’s soul,” Hades replies, sounding shocked.
