Verando presses a button on his key fob, opening one of the doors to the car, and with a short whistle, Eve leaves our side to jump into the car. "Any chance you can be that obedient?"
I growl low in my throat, flashing my teeth at his audacity. With a scoff, he seemed to accept that there was little I would be willing to do if it involved leaving his side. "We don't need to meet with him, we can just go." I retort back, gripping his wrist firmly, feeling the tension building in his arms.
The power struggle of fighting off Fenrir was excruciating, I knew any chance of us leaving here would be minimal if it meant locking us together in the same car while we drove back home. Fenrir wanted out, he wanted to communicate with this creature, and while we both might live a firey crash... would our child? Would Verando's body recover?
It seemed like the god had a bad habit of pushing us into his will no matter how much we tried to suppress him, he wanted to meet with Anubis or he wouldn't of given Verando the god's eye.
"I don't think that's an option." He murmurs back, stiffly putting the keys in my hand. "Listen to me-"
"Don't you dare." I grip his face, blotting at the blood seeping from his nose. I can't help but curse, this damned creature was killing him, ripping him apart from the inside at every opportunity. He clutches my hands, focusing on me so intensely with the icy blue eye, waiting for my breathing to settle.
"If something happens you go. You do not fight this, you don't stay here, do you understand?"
I'm already shaking my head, clenching my hands so tightly into fists. Why couldn't it just go right? Why couldn't we just have a moment of peace? Was this our punishment for surviving, for coming to the future? "I can't. I won't.."
"You will. Nic, I'm not asking you. You run, do you understand?"
Yanking the keys out of his hand, I shove them into my pocket, fighting back the emotion welling up in my eyes, gritting my teeth with a shakey inhale. "Let's get this over with. The gods seem to have been mostly curious, maybe we're overreacting and it's just a conversation."
I had a sinking feeling that if that were the case, Fenrir wouldn't have pushed us to meet. My heart pounds wildly in my chest, but I'm better trained than my traitor of a body believes. I know how to pull this off, I know how to get us out of here safely if we could play our cards right. Yet my body was not my own, it belonged to this new space in which I was fragile and unpredictable in how I would feel.
I force myself to put space between me and Verando. It would be too obvious that we were the other's weakness if we went in clutching each other like star-crossed lovers. Verando guides me further into the depths of the heavily wooded area, following his nose to wherever the summoning force beckoned him from.
It'd be pleasant if I wasn't so on edge, the heavy humidity wasn't nearly as suffocating in the vegetation, it gave the woods a perfume that I found vaguely familiar. It was a scent that reminded me of those first shakey days together when I'd smell the woods on everything he owned.
Anger boils into my throat, threatening to bubble over as my wolf claws at the cage of my mental blockade. This would have been the perfect opportunity to try hunting or to enjoy time together as our inner beasts desired, I wouldn't be so quick to forgive this unwelcome intrusion.
I smell the man before I see him, the heavy scent of blood and ash, the smell of death and decay, a dark omen immitting from the darkening wood that seemed to converge on one spot of inky black where the man stood. His mask was dark, the canine head with its long tendrils cloaking his shoulders, yet as he lifted his gaze I could see the black eyes weeping with heavy strings of blood.
"Can't find a vessel, Anubis?" Verando snaps, positioning himself slightly in front of me. I resist the urge to cover my nose, noting the body seems to be coming apart at the seams.
"I don't wish to be here longer than is necessary. I've done much to rid the world of the wraith forests, but as you can imagine, I'm struggling with the burden of a world cast into darkness. It appears only the sinners still walk this plane, how it's different from the last time I stepped foot onto this putrid soil..." Lifting the ashy hand, he touches a leaf on a tree casually, as it withers and dies.
"To what do I owe the honor? If you're so busy, why have you come here? Or were you just hoping to see if a vessel really could be achieved, Fenrir seemed eager to meet you."
With black, ink-stained teeth, the vessel almost smiles but instead, the expression falls back into vacant staring as he observes the two of us. "Well, I suppose I was expecting to talk to Fenrir, not his vessel.. but it would appear that beast is not in complete control."
In the blink of an eye, the man is before us, his hand clutching Verando's throat and the inky black spreading like opened floodgates. My husband shoves him off with a snarl, I feel my magic rush to my fingertips yet it threatens to drain me all in one.
I should have left, I shouldn't have come for I'm a liability in this state. I'm so weak from trying to grow this child, from my body doing everything it can to keep us both alive, using would render me unconscious if I wasn't careful. My wolf backs off with a whimper in my mind's eye, Anubis was too powerful, we would not win if we fought back.
"Just under the surface. Fenrir... why are you placing nice with mortals?" Anubis tilts his head, black eyes overly wide as he watches curiously before exhaling a long, cold breath that feels much like an arctic chill. "Busy. I'm too busy for all of this, I've got a boat waiting for me. I am the escort of the underworld and all. I'll cut to the chase-"
"Please do." Verando snarls, I gasp as I feel the cold hand wrap around my throat, pulling me backward as I'm now suddenly facing my husband. It's as if the very life was being sucked out of my bones. Anubis grips the golden cuff, I spy his reflection as he sniffs it only to suddenly produce a staff to point at Verando and halt the male's approach.
"Let. Him. Go." Verando's voice is a low rumble, I see his body trembling, threatening to implode despite the chain digging into his neck under the collar of his shirt.
"Well, you see, I need your help; and you, mortal, owe me no favors. This feels like a quicker way to get my point across. So-" Shaking his staff, he encourages Verando to back up. "Step back, and I won't hurt him or.. whatever curse Bast has decided to put upon him. Or, would you rather I offer you a favor instead? I weigh hearts you know, good and evil... desires and fore thoughts, you.. might like this more?"
Gripping my cuff, I nearly scream as he squeezes it. "Stop!" I plead, feeling my insides threaten to shred.
Verando lifts his hands, "Stop. Hurt a damned hair on his head and any deal you hope to gain will be impossible. What do you want? You have my attention, now spit it out."
"Rumor has it that you both harbor the reincarnation of the unicorn. Is this the truth?" He demands, at my husband's hesitation he squeezes the band again and I feel my knees threatening to buckle. The pain is indescribable as if removing the cuff would rip the gift right out of me. It'd been told me too many times before, that it would take a god to remove the band, and in my research, Anubis was immensely powerful.
"Yes." Verando manages.
"Don't tell him anything, Randy-"
"Hush." Anubis spits, crossing his staff over my throat and pressing the back of my head into his rigid chest. Mulling this over, muttering to himself for a moment, Anubis seems to accept this as true. "The balance of the world is thrown out of order-"
"No shit." Verando spits, making the god flinch in disgust at his nature.
"You will do just fine. I went to the scales and spoke with the others who were on our side of this arrangement. The ones who wish to live here on earth, I really couldn't care, but it would make my job considerably easier if those in the realm weren't always mettling with the afterlife. They're bored in purgatory.. besides, I do have an invested interest in all these new beings and souls wondering about your plain."
Our side? I sort through the possible meanings, struggling to overcome the overwhelming stench of death surrounding me.
"You are one of the three, a reincarnation of Whitewind, a god.. a servant of the people. Fenrir might have chosen the darker male but here you are, hosting him and all of these accessories to keep him at bay, yet still ready to come rip my throat out if it so suits your purpose. Yes, I really do think you'll do nicely..."
Verando wrinkles his nose, scowling at the rambling man, "If you're hoping to get your dick sucked for compliments, I'm happily married. Get on with it, I'm a busy man, myself."
"The Unicorn's absence means that all those pillars put into place by Fergus were eliminated once your child came into existence. Never before has a human been cast as a unicorn, it reset the board so to speak.. it's a free-for-all, and the world needs rebuilding. I'm merely the guide to the underworld, I can not control this realm the way that others can.. the way that... Death can. The unicorn will need his horsemen, it only seems right that someone close to him who can advise him should be at the head of the Calvery."
My heart begins to pound, I shake my head only for him to tighten his staff into my throat and squeeze my cuff harder to keep me still.
"You, with the power to consume gifted by Fenrir, can send those on my list to me and make my job exceptionally easier. In the meantime, it might satisfy that nasty... hunger.. creeping into that bottomless pit of a belly."
With a disgusted laugh, my warlord seems less than impressed. "So you'd like me to run around, eating people, at will?"
Anubis growls, the first hint of anger. "No, sir, this will be a horrendously difficult task. You will judge creatures at the end of life and should you consume them their fate will undoubtedly be cast into hell's fire. But should you reap them, they could be judged. I'm asking you to sort through sinners and dearly departed, sir. Be the Unicorns hell hound, become Death. I want to sick you on the most disgusting people, and I want you to judge those who might be worthy of some sort of redemption."
"Randy don't do it!" I plead, flinching as Anubis hits me behind the knees to drop me one step lower, holding me upright by my cuff. My body felt drained, weakened by the man's sheer presence.
"You want me to become Death? Why on earth would I do that?" He'd dropped all emotion, it was his warlord face on full display, ready to hear the man out and make negotiations. The object of our arrangement was clear, Anubis had us by the throat.
He was stronger than Fenrir, stronger than Verando by far, there would be no winning this fight unscathed and he was willing to rip my cuff off if we didn't yield. "The truth is before you, you'll do as I ask because you can't kill me, sir. Every dog must have its master, I suppose mine would be Ra. And your master would be me, and eventually your Unicorn. If you become Death, it would be even harder for the Unicorn to banish gods from this realm. That protects all of those who have my interests at heart, we're all just playing the game."
I hear my cuff let out a twang, and I clutch my stomach with a cry of agony. "Mr.Mercer, I'm not giving you a choice. You've been dealt a rough hand, much like I was. I didn't want to become this.. yet here I am. You, too, must pay the toll. I will kill your husband, and your unborn child-" With a sniff, he hesitates, pulling me off the ground by my wrist to sniff my neck. "You clever bastard."
"You kill him, you kill me." Verando retorts shortly. He was running out of patience, I caught his gaze as I struggled against the man's grip. I plead with my warlord, begging him with every fiber of my being, to keep his cool, to not do this.
"Then let me sweeten the deal. I'm a kind god, I must be. I bear no resentment, for it's how I'm indifferent and only see things as fair and not. I will cut this lifeline, I will make you both separate once more. In exchange, you will be mine."
My lips part but no words come out, he drops me to the ground and lays the staff over my back, it feels like the universe crushes me to the ground.
The deal was too good for him to pass up, I could see it on his face. It's what he'd wanted, craved, was for his life to no longer be linked to mine. That I could live beyond him. "There has to be more to it, it's not as simple as an agreement."
Anubis shrugs once, "You would be dead. While I can't promote you to a horseman, you could act as a Reaper, to send me the souls of the damned and departed. I send you a list and you fulfill it."
Verando slowly nears us, never letting his eyes leave me for too long, "A lot of work for one man."
"Then I'd multiply quickly, you're a reaper. You'll find others who will meet your needs. You'll only make a mistake once before you'll see the weight of these decisions. Damning someone who doesn't deserve it to eternity.. there are no takebacks, what is done can not be undone. Pick the wrong reaper..." Anubis shrugs once more before tapping the watch on his wrist which seemed to have stood still. "Tick, Tock. Mr.Mercer. Do we have a deal?"
"How would I not be immediately framed for all these murders?"
"It's not murder, it's the work of Death. When you're acting as Death, nobody will be able to see you save for those you're hunting. The horsemen get a ring-"
"You said I wasn't a horseman." Verando snaps, making Anubis almost smile once more.
"A horseman I can't make you, but doesn't mean I can't give you the ring. Put it on when you're working, take it off when you're done. Avoid your duties... well, there will be consequences that you'll soon learn. I can't give away all my secrets. There's a boat I need to catch, do we have a deal, Mr.Mercer?"
I shake my head once more, I feel like I'm going to pass out, I can't breathe with the weight of the staff crushing me into the ground, but he had to know I wouldn't choose this. I'd rather lose my life than lose him. But, it wasn't just me anymore, it was this baby that he knew I wanted so desperately. He would do anything for me, even if that meant selling what little was left of his soul.
"Well. I'm already going to hell." Verando murmurs, resigned.
"I've already seen what is to be of your future, you're going to burn for eternity with Fenrir pinning you to the flames." Anubis ponders, "A death being murdered is truly gruesome, so I can assure you, the end won't be pretty. But, you'll probably go on for a good long while if you're good at what you do.
If you think Fenrir will play nicely just because you've gotten a promotion, I wouldn't get your hopes up. You'll be able to combat him better, and you'll have more control, but Fenrir is still a god and is still the bringer of the apocalypse. In fact, doing this, I could be getting myself into a lot of trouble..."
I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks, how could he consider this? How was this fair? Didn't he know how much I needed him? Surely he didn't think this would be a nine-to-five job? How could I ever forgive him, at the same time, how could I begrudge him for saving my child and my life over himself?
"Aren't you on a time frame? Let's get this over with, but first, let my husband go." My warlord demands, as quickly as the words leave his lips, the staff returns to Anubis's hand and I stand up to scramble into Verando's arms. Hugging him tightly, burying my face into his chest, I grip his shirt in my fists with a sob.
"Don't you dare do this."
"I don't have much of a choice, darling." He murmurs, holding onto me, and kissing the top of my head. "I will pick you over myself every time, it's a character flaw. So, how about you kiss me, and let me do this?"
"Once you die... there's no coming back," I murmur, pressing my cheek into his chest. "Even if we find a way to get rid of Fenrir..." My voice trails off, it was obvious by his silence that he'd given up on any possibility to rid us of the god. "You can't give up."
Taking my face in his hands, he bends to kiss me, catching my lips slowly and tenderly, savoring every moment as he kisses me. "If it means I can help Darrius, if it means I can keep you safe, I will do whatever it takes. No matter the cost." Kissing me once more, I feel myself threatening to hyperventilate. What did this all mean? Would he disappear? Would I ever even see him again? Spinning around, I glower at Anubis.
"You can't take him. You can use him, you can turn him into Death, but damn it I'll cut my own throat right now if you intend to take him from me. He stays with me, he stays in our home."
Anubis blinks, tilting his head as he considers me. "That's a selfish act."
"You're damn right it is."
"Noted. Anything else, before we proceed?"
I swallow hard, leaning back against the man, shielding him from this creature. "I've seen your armies, I know what you're capable of, when Verando is not around, you will protect my family." It was the only way I knew my warlord would ever feel comfortable leaving us, that I would ever feel even remotely safe without him.
"That's a high price you're putting on your head." Anubis muses, considering this with a careful tap of his finger on his staff.
"Do we have a deal or not?"
With a nod, Anubis gestures for me to move and Verando carefully shifts me to the side. "Deal. I'll do you one better, the only way to kill Death is to destroy his heart. Seems like I've found the perfect place to put it." Taking the tip of his staff, the god plunges the golden scepter into my warlord's chest.