1 | Gods & Monsters ✓

Chapter 31

Mika carefully stepped through and held out his hand for Ava to follow. She took it without hesitation and tiptoed over the jagged shards. The place was empty with experiments left unattended in the middle of their tests, and the sterile stench reminded her of the hospital. It gave her the shivers.

"You said he stole your blood. How many vials did he take?"

"Three. And he used a pair of blue gloves to collect my fingerprints and tears."

Separately, they each took a side of the laboratory and searched. Ava opened drawers and cabinets, shuffled through the workstations left haphazardly in their states. There were beakers, open jars of specimens about ready to fall off the tables, a few already did. Their alien parts mixed with the paperwork scattered on the ground.

A hidden door sat ajar by the wall. She hurried over and found a tall filing cabinet. One by one, Ava opened the drawers, then stopped in her tracks. Zephyrus had been collecting information on the other gods. 

With the folders marked by their titles and colored to fit them, she easily sifted through, counting ten files in total. Ava picked up the god of death's folder and found her registered UFE picture with personal details on her life, ranging from when she woke up in the morning to her fighting style to even her least favorite foods. No way an average soldier knew this information. The idea had her shaking.

Not wanting to think about it, Ava searched through the other folders. The god of desire had a whopping size that almost needed its own cabinet. Raz reawakened more than a hundred times. The god of war's folder was tiny in comparison.

Her name was Christine Jackeline, C.J. for short. Lived on Mars and had a high position in their government. Ava would never forget that name.

As she placed the crimson file back, a white file caught her eyes. She quickly snatched it out of the cabinet, yet hesitated to open it. God of life, the label read. When Ava opened it, everything came together as a missing puzzle piece was finally placed.

I fucking knew it.

"Hey! I think I found them," Mika said. Three vials were shoved in front of her face, but even then, she stared at the picture staring back at her.

"Did you know that Darious is the god of life?" Ava asked.

Mika took it from her fingers and glanced over the matted print, over the white hair and golden mask on Darious' face. "Yes. I've known for a long time."

Her mouth fell open. "You just told me Amaranthine doesn't trust the gods. Then how is it okay for Darious to live with you? To be your planet's ambassador!"

"Amaranthine doesn't trust them, but I never said my grandparents don't," he said and tossed the picture back on the pile of papers. "It doesn't matter what the planet thinks. If they decree Darious will live with us, then he will live with us, and the planet will obey their wishes. That's how we operate."

Ava should have listened to her instincts and exposed him for the god he was. For all she knew Darious leaked information to Zephyrus these past few weeks.

She finally looked at the vials in Mika's hand. Sure enough, these were the ones, they even stuck a label on the side with her name. Ava threw them on the ground and smashed them under her heel. The glass crunched under each fierce stomp and spread blood across the white marble floor. It helped ease her anger, knowing Zephyrus wouldn't get his way.

Her eyes scanned the laboratory. There were three pairs of blue gloves lying around on different tables. She dumped them all in separate canister's containing liquid from abandoned experiments. That should get rid of my DNA altogether.