Kane sulking behind me, I make for the door, my heart pounding like the drumbeats of war beneath my breast. But now is not the time for me to die my hero's death. Apparently, fate has other plans.
Standing in the open doorway are a very disheveled Ratu and Arno. And standing between them...
That son of a bitch.
"Hello, little sand fly." A yellow-toothed grin, that same, disgusting leer from the Contests, "Your grunts here saved me from the Pit. Gods be praised."
Kane, perhaps sensing my discomfort, comes closer. "Why'd you bring this..." Alef's name tastes sour in my mouth, "scum here?"
Ratu presses her cheek against me in an embrace, whispering in my ear. "We found the secret to how to get the demons out of the Emperor and the Advisor." Her eyes flick towards Alef. "A human sacrifice. So, we took this one from the execution block."
I pull away from her, glaring accusingly towards the Blind God. "You knew how to fix Elio and Ryu's condition, Kane, and you didn't tell me?"
Kane's jaw tenses, reaching his hand out toward me, yet dropping it again. "We were otherwise occupied this evening, weren't we Champion Ode?"
My cheeks flush with embarrassment, heat spilling towards my collar. I will it to die down before this scum of a human sacrifice notes anything peculiar. This complicates things. Maybe I won't have to go out in a blaze of glory after all.
Maybe Kane and I...
No.
Don't get ahead of yourself, Ode.
"Who are you talking to, Ode?" Arno looks directly at Kane, but doesn't seem to notice anything there.
Great, now only I can see him. An invisible annoyance.
Kane drops his chin onto my shoulder. I startle a little, quelling my nerves before I lash out in front of my friends and the lowlife. "You'll need to smear the sacrifice's blood on the one you want to cure from godly possession, Ode." Kane runs his hands along my neck, "just..." his fingers edge toward the tender hollow at my throat, "like..." and finally, he leaves his hand resting over my heart, his skin pressed against mine, fingertips curled against the cloth, "this."
I spin out of his grasp. It's too hard thinking with Kane around. Kane laughs. The bastard probably knows this.
Focus, Ode...
We only have one human to sacrifice here. And I don't feel much sympathy at ending this murderous wretch. Then again, I've been killing so much lately.
Maybe I really am a monster.
No, can't wallow in self-pity.
I should think.
Who should I save first, the Emperor or Ryu?
What did Elio say...
"Ryu will always be first, even before me."
"We'll meet with the Advisor, then." I smile towards Alef, and he smiles dumbly back, "perhaps we'll even get you a pardon, Alef. Surely, Elio was mistaken in putting you into the Pit. A good bodyguard like you, so honorable."
Alef smiles.
He won't for long...
***
Hey Champions,
Looks like Ode's going to try and rescue someone.
I hope that's wise.
I wonder about things being so tense between her and Kane... huh.
-Sophia
YOU ARE READING
A Priestess for the Blind God (Legends of Rahasia Book 1)
Fantasy"The Blind God walks around me, and I feel my mind prodded again like it was in the cavern, a spider weaving a tangled web. "Would you do anything to be remembered, Ode, even play a villain, the one who rises against the Chosen One?" In answer, I dr...
