Page 42 of Outcast

“I’d definitely say I’m lucky,” I agreed.

“Things have a way of working out. Just you wait,” she said pointing at me. She leaned back in her chair and in seconds her eyes were drifting closed. She was still getting tired a lot but I think it had more to do with the constant prophecies she was getting than her medicine.

Sarah didn’t stir as Drake picked her up and tucked her into her bed. Hiro made sure she was comfortable before we snuck out of the room.

She was safe here, several gargoyles patrolled the halls, including Stravos who watched out for Layne. After the last demon attack, he’d gone in full-alpha mode.

We passed two of the guards on the way out, the gargoyles bowing, and I’d returned the gesture. It was nice to have them so openly accept me as their leader. The ones who remained in Helheim did the same, but the demons did not. They fell in line out of fear, not loyalty. At this point, I’d take the win.

Hiro’s hand wrapped around mine, squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry that she wasn’t able to give you more information. We’ll figure it out.”

“We will,” I agreed. “I just have to figure out what this even exchange is. I can’t exactly kill myself this time.” Then my steps faltered as those words sunk in.

“Wait, is it possible to kill yourself in Helheim?”

Drake’s face twisted in anger as he got in my face. “Don’t you fucking think about sacrificing yourself this time. You won’t come back this time.”

My hand went to his cheek to calm his anger. “I never said I was going to. Stop jumping to conclusions you psychopath,” I said. “Now answer the question. Is it possible?”

“No,” he answered. “As you’ve seen, if they’re created from Helheim, they regenerate.”

“Then how was Hel not an even exchange?” I demanded, throwing my hands up. “If not for Odin’s intervention and my stipulations, I would have been banished to Helheim while she was banished to Earth.”

“That exchange was to open the portal,” Hiro said. “You’d need another for this round.”

“You’d have to find someone willing to give up eternity, right? That’s what Hel gave up to go there, swapped her immortality for your lifespan,” Drake said, building off of the ideas we were throwing out there.

My head pounded at the thought. Who would be crazy enough to give up immortality? Especially for a queen who had just claimed the throne.

“I need to go check the barriers outside,” I said, grasping at any task that could lead me away from this conversation. The wheels in my head were turning now that I had a lead. Helheim wouldn’t let me go in someone’s place, and neither would the guys. I had to find a third option.

Helheim’s energy wrapped around me as if it were digging its heels in, refusing to let me even consider such a sacrifice.

I didn’t need the reassurance; I was selfish enough to cling to this new life. The guys had given up enough for Helheim and there was no one left to replace me. At least not at this point.

For it to be even, whoever gave up Helheim would have to be willing. Just as I had to be for the first exchange. Unless it was the opposite, an unwilling sacrifice to close the portal. The stakes were too high to risk that one. Gambling with someone’s life and eternal life was not my style.

Even as I fortified the flames outside of Dark Haven, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was onto something. This was the exact path I needed to figure out the final piece. We were closer than ever if I just focused.

My silence and brooding hadn’t gone unnoticed. When I glanced behind me, Hiro and Drake were whispering to Roman in the doorway. In moments, every one of my men would know what we had discussed. And among that group, Drake was the rational one. Monty and Kol would kick my ass for even mentioning sacrifices.

They could kick, scream, and fight me all they wanted but it was me who was responsible for the realm, and it was me who had to close this portal. Odin might have been forgiving and semi-patient the last time we spoke, or at least as patient as a god like him could be. But I doubted I’d get the same grace again.

“The demons are back.” Kol’s voice echoed from the rooftop. I turned in time to see the demons converging on the street behind us.

Drake and Hiro moved beside me as we turned to face them. They must have been waiting for the moment to strike, because as one they lunged forward.

It would be their last move.

“Kill them all.” My orders were clear and again they were no match for our blades. This time, Helheim rose to the challenge, power radiating through me and slicing through the crowd as swiftly as my blade.

I’d been angry before, but it had nothing on how I felt as I cut through the people that were once a part of the realm I now embodied. Helheim echoed the betrayal and sent a blast out that dropped the last of their army.

“Are you satisfied now, Crew?!” I screamed into the night. “If you keep this up you’ll be the only one left in this godsforasken town. Don’t think you’ll crawl back here after all the hell you’ve caused.”

Of course there was no response to my screams. At the end of the day, everything Crew had done, despite being twisted by demons, was cowardly. He’d hidden behind them like a shield, let them destroy everyone and everything around him, and put the only person he loved at risk.

This was only one of the battles raging across the country. We killed two hundred in the face of thousands upon thousands. So many humans were corrupted or dead now.

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