Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 146 (M)

Approaching, I'm tempted to snag the glass of whiskey but the warning glare from Verando and Adriam stops me in my tracks. Regardless, I join the conversation by placing myself centrally. "Verando has a list that he must fulfill, that comes from Anubis himself. We're reading the book to get a better understanding of how to reach the individuals in need of reaping."

"And keeping the law at bay?" Pascal questions, seeming exhausted already as she warms her hands. 

"They appear to die of natural causes. Verando can see them how they were when they were judged, but other than that, they look normal." I keep my voice relatively low, as if I was worried someone might hear us. How much of this were we allowed to reveal?

Checking in with my husband, he seemed to mirror my thoughts, glancing at me to indicate I was giving too much away as he took another drink. "Providing anyone with information means giving you value, which means to get to me they could go through you. A person who has nothing to tell has little to hide, and if a god approaches any of you, they could quite possibly sense that truth. I believe, for the well-being of everyone, we should keep this as brief as possible."

While this causes a small flicker of upset, Adriam eventually steps in to agree that they are better off not knowing. 

"We can help by supporting our friend." Touching my arm, Adriam offers me a glimmer of reassurance. "There's a baby to prepare for and a young unicorn to train, Verando is more than capable of handling this task on his own and I'm sure, if there was anyone he would seek help from, it would be Nic, not one of us. We're lycans and a botched Solomonari, we can't possibly think we could be all that useful on the intricate nature of becoming Death. Frankly, I'm too frightened to know."

With a shudder, his words seem to bring the group into an uncomfortable silence. They wanted to help, they wanted to be someone he could confide in, yet that was never in his nature before any of this happened. Even so, it touched me how much they worried for him, despite how it seemed to only irritate the warlord. 

"There is one thing I need your help with, potentially Victor as well." Verando manages after a long moment, downing the rest of the glass and then pouring himself another. "Tiberius is bringing it here in the morning, it's a sensory deprivation tank."

I stare, uncertain of what on earth he could be talking about yet it seems to make Adriam reach a whole new level of disbelief as the man contemplates violence or complete surrender. 

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Adriam responds, shortly. 

The glass in his hand clicks, then shatters, as my warlord locks eyes with the tiny french man. "Adam." His voice is hard and low. 

"You can fuck right off with that, I raised you, so I have the right to question your sanity. This is beyond-"

I get between the two, separating them with a quick press on Verando's chest for I dare not touch Adriam. "Can someone fill us ignorants in on what on earth you're talking about?"

While Adriam seethes, it seems to be Victor who's the voice of reason. "Is tank full of water. Locks from inside or out, close, dark, calm-" He forms the shape of a cylinder with his hands. "Big problem is, this one is afraid of water?"

"That's why I need your help to put me in it." Verando retorts, retrieving another glass from the shelves and refilling it. Pascal decides this is not a conversation she can help in, leaving to retrieve a broom to sweep up the shards of glass. Meanwhile, Legardo seems to be hanging on every word as if he were somehow a part of this conversation. 

Turning to face Verando, I can only note that he doesn't look at me because he wants us to force him into this crypt and lock him in. 

"And when you hate all of us for doing this to you?" I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. "How on earth does that do anything of benefit? Besides feeding into this need you have to be punished?"