The Brimstone Chronicles - The Book of Eternity (Book 3)

CHAPTER 10 - Nexus

Is this really happening, or is this someone's idea of a really twisted prank? Alexander's thoughts were answered by a quick jolt of reality with Arianne shoving him off and slapping him.

"Get your hands off me!" Arianne backed two steps away, "And keep your lips and thoughts to yourself!" Her face was flushed, but Alexander couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger.

"I... wait a second, you heard my thoughts?" Now Alexander was the one feeling embarrassed.

"Oh yeah, every last one of them." Arianne looked disgusted, but then she smiled, "I'm flattered to be the cause of those thoughts." And then her mood went right back into anger, "But the next time you're gonna kiss me, a warning would be actually nice of you!"

"I didn't... you kissed me!" Though Alexander couldn't deny that the thought had crossed his mind a few times, he wasn't sure who had made the first move. They were arguing, like now.

"Ugh!" Arianne outstretched her hands, turned her open palms upwards, then downwards and pushed, causing an invisible force to knock Alexander flat on his back and hold him there, "Acantha!" With the tone Arianne had used, Alexander thought it was a spell, but then a dark violet-colored portal opened up behind her to her right and a huge black Scottish terrier jumped out, landing its reddish-brown paws right beside her.

The terrier tilted its head at the sight of Alexander lying spread-eagled on the ground then looked up to Arianne, whose eyes were still burning with fury, "Rip his arm off!" The terrier launched itself at Alexander, opening its jaws to reveal two rows of unrealistically sharp and bloodstained teeth.

Alexander braced himself, preparing to scream in agony, but found he was laughing uncontrollably instead. Looking to his left arm, Alexander found the terrier licking his palm. As oddly amusing as it was however, it did not entertain Arianne's mood, who stormed over to the two and shoved the terrier aside with her powers, "I told you to rip his arm off, not lick his arm off. Has everything male gone mad?!"

The terrier trotted back over to Arianne and Alexander then looked up to her. Its jaws did not move, but Alexander could hear when it spoke, reminding him of when James had been talking to an unusually large wolf named Sirius. "It's not my fault, Love. You're the one sending me to sink my teeth into an Arch Mage. I'd chew into anything for you, Lady Arianne, you know that. But this guy's off limits. This hellhound is not about to be the end of the world."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Arianne dropped the bind she had on Alexander.

"Only something every demon and the rest of world knows, Love."

"You say it like it's something I'm supposed to know." Arianne's frustration was now targeting the hellhound she'd summoned, "And I really don't need your sarcastic shit right now, Acantha."

"Well you should know, given who your father is and all. Anyway you can't kill an Arch Mage."

"You can't?" Now Alexander was intrigued as he joined the conversation after getting up and dusting off his clothes, Araneth REALLY shouldn't have chosen white.

"You're kidding me right?" Acantha seemed to have thought Alexander was joking, but realized he really had no clue what he was talking about. The hellhound shook its head and continued, "You know why a mortal can't kill a God?"

"Cuz their all powerful." Alexander was convinced he was right.

"Not really." Arianne was the one who corrected him, "There's no such thing as being all powerful. There's just power. A mortal can't kill a God cuz when a God dies their powers are released from their body. And if those powers aren't absorbed, as in by another God or something, then they'll rip into the Cosmos and rupture the entire Universe."