Chapter Six
Khaos
“Wait, what?” Storm asks.
“The other princes are dead, Farren killed them all,” Reaper says, with a confused frown.
Hades nods, “Yes, but their souls are in the Underworld.”
I’m surprised when Kill’s grin widens, a deadly and vicious light entering his eyes.
“You mean that we can torture them the way that they tortured Farren?” He asks.
I definitely shouldn’t have been surprised that’s where his mind went first.
My eyes though are on Mayhem. His expression has become one that I am all too familiar with, and if I had to put money on someone who was most likely able to make the princes talk, or to torture them to the point of no return, then my money would be on Mayhem.
It’s always the quieter ones that you need to watch out for. I would be surprised if he hadn’t already come up with ways that he can make them wish that there were a way to end their torment.
Permanently.
Hades' smile is dark, “Yes, we can. It might be a good idea to question them and see what they know anyway. We’re not going to be able to question them or torture them for a while, there’s a kind of holding period that gods and Demi-Gods Souls have to go through, not even I can touch them while they’re in there. ”
Storm shrugs, “That’s fine. It will give us time to think of new and inventive ways to punish them for what they did to Farren.”
Hades nods, and his power swells, “And then I’ll unmake them.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. I knew that he had something pretty diabolical planned for them, but that is even more impressive than I had considered, and I’m not entirely sure that it’s possible.
“Can you do that?” I ask. “I know that you can unmake normal souls, but the princes are Demi-Gods, they’re part god, are you able to unmake their souls?”
“I’ve never had reason to try to unmake a demi-god before, so I don’t know, but I’m going to fucking find out.
They don’t deserve to be remade after their punishment is over, and I certainly can’t risk the God that hired them figuring out a way to get them out, and them becoming a problem again,” Hades replies, clearly having given in some thought.
Reaper narrows his eyes, “I understand all of your reasoning, and I agree with it, but don’t do it if there is going to be a risk to you. Farren wouldn’t want that. In fact, she would be absolutely fuming if you unmade them and ended up hurting yourself in the process.”
Kill smirks, “He’s right. She would kill you herself.”
“We also need to make sure that she knows about this,” I add. “I seriously doubt that she would appreciate being kept in the dark about it.”
“No, she wouldn’t, you’re right,” Hades agrees. “Okay, well we can tell her after we’ve eaten. Knowing Farren, she’s most likely going to want a second crack at them too.”
I can’t help the smile that tugs on my lips, “Seriously? She’s that bloodthirsty?”
“She rivals you,” Hades grins, giving me a knowing look.
“She did say that she didn’t get to torture them as much as she would have liked to,” Reaper points out with a smile that says he loves her bloodthirsty nature just as much as I do.
“Alright, let's get some food,” Storm says. “I have a feeling that Farren’s not going to be able to keep her eyes open for much longer.”
Reaper smiles, “Nope, her blinks were getting longer and longer, and we now need to have a conversation about the princes souls as well.”
We all grin and then busy ourselves grabbing food, and lots of it. The great thing about magical kitchens, especially Hades’ one, is that everything stays fresh no matter how long he’s disappeared for, and he can rustle up huge meals in a matter of moments.
We load ourselves up with trays of food, and then all head back through the castle and into the big sitting room that we first arrived in.
When we walk through the doors, I can’t help the soft smile that lifts my lips.
“It looks like we might have taken a little bit too long,” Mayhem mutters quietly.
“Definitely,” Reaper agrees, his smile soft.
We quietly put down the trays of food, trying not to wake up the sleeping pile of people on the sofa. I have to admit that I wish I were a part of that pile, but not because I’m jealous, just because I want to be close to her.
Always.
She actually seems like she may be able to handle all the parts of me that have made me too much for other people.
“I am suddenly so much more tired than I was a moment ago,” Storm yawns.
“Me too,” Mayhem agrees.
“Should we wake them to eat?” Reaper asks with a slight frown, clearly not liking his own idea.
I shake my head, “I think we should leave them. They’re probably going to be too tired to eat anyway, and this is the first time that they’ve managed to fall asleep easily, definitely for the guys, and I’m just going to assume for Farren as well. She was passing out from pain, not sleeping.”
“Fuck,” Kill growls, his eyes glued to Farren sleeping peacefully on the guys. “I mean, I knew. It’s not like they would have let her sleep, but hearing it is . . .”
“Really fucking hard,” Reaper finishes for him with a growl.
Kill swallows thickly and nods, “Yeah.”
I consider my next words carefully, but I think it’s important that they know, “The things that Ren has been through would break anyone else. I didn’t see it, but I felt her pain.
She is insanely strong in every way. She’s fucking incredible.
However, there is absolutely no way that she is going to come away from that completely unscathed, and we need to make sure that we’re there for her if she begins to crumble. ”
Hades nods, “Agreed. I think we can all agree that’s something that we can do for her easily.”
“Absolutely,” Storm says.
We all take a moment. I don’t know what the others are doing, but I’m watching Farren, making sure that she’s still here and that she’s okay. I have never felt this protective over anyone, not even Hades, and it was my job to protect him.
“Alright, let's eat and then get to bed,” Hades suggests after a moment.
“I’m going to sleep in here, just in case she needs us,” Reaper tells us, Ryu’s growl in his words.
“Me too,” I say, earning a smile from Hades.
“It’s agreed then, we’ll all stay here,” Storm says with a smile.
I don’t think it was really up for debate anyway. It never crossed any of our minds that we would be sleeping elsewhere. We all need to be close to Farren, and if I’m being honest, right now, having just come from where we have, and endured what we have, I want to keep the others close as well.
“I’ll make sure that the food has a spell on it to keep it hot, so if the others wake up, then they can eat,” Hades says.
“Good idea,” I agree.
We tuck into the food, and I have to say that although the meal is relatively simple, nothing has tasted so damn good.
It’s the first proper meal that we have had since the pub and the stew.
It does make me so much more sleepy though, and it’s not long until we’re lying down at various locations throughout the room, and Hades is conjuring blankets for everyone.
Sleep comes surprisingly easily.
Farren
I have no idea where I am, but I’m not panicking, so it can’t be a nightmare. At least I really fucking hope that it’s not a nightmare. Haven’t I had enough nightmares in my awake life recently? Do they really need to follow me into the dreamworld too?
For a moment, I wonder if I have been pulled into a dreamscape with H again.
He will always be H in my dreams, but I have to admit that Khaos suits him more.
It’s a pretty fucking awesome name, and I would rather call him that while we’re awake.
Although I do hope that he carries on calling me Ren. It feels special, and I love it.
I quickly dismiss the idea of this being a dreamscape with him though, this doesn’t feel the same as one of them, and H would have appeared by now if it were one of our shared dreams.
Suddenly, the blurriness of the scenery lifts, and I find myself on a winding cobbled path.
As the scenery comes more into focus, I quickly realise that path is not quite the right word for what is before me.
It's broad enough for two carriages to go past each other comfortably, so it's definitely more of a road than a path.
Lining either side of the street are tall trees with twisting trunks embedded with a dark green, swirling pattern that matches the colour of the leaves that stretch far above me.
Huh.
I have never seen trees like this before, they’re beautiful.
Continuing to look around, I am instantly enchanted by my surroundings.
It’s absolutely beautiful.
The sun is setting, painting the sky beautiful purples and reds that are so vibrant I can’t help but stare in wonder for a few moments.
As I continue to look up, a winged beast flies past, silhouetted against the sky, and I have no way of knowing what it is or what it really looks like, since I am not able to see anything defining about them.
It’s big though, and I would assume that it was a Dragon since it looks to be about the right shape and size.
Maybe that’s where I am? The Dragon Realm.
It’s a lot prettier than I thought it would be.
I honestly thought that it would be a lot more desolate-looking.
Jagged mountains, and wet and miserable, or maybe super unbearably hot.
That’s the impression I’ve gotten from the way that people have spoken about it, although I suppose that no one has actually described the place to me, just the creatures who live there and the way that it is run, so there’s no reason why it can’t look like this.
Since nothing has burst out of the treeline to attack me, nor has anyone come along in the time that I have been standing here and studying the surroundings, I decide that I may as well explore, and the obvious choice would be to carry on up the cobbled road.
I’ve never really been one to do what is expected though, and something, I’m not sure what, is pulling me into the woods instead.
I’ll admit that there is a brief moment of hesitation, where I wonder if I really should follow the pull or whether it’s some kind of creature wanting to eat me.
It’s possible, but this is also a dream, and I am incredibly curious about why there’s a need for me to go in this direction and not the more obvious one.
I step off the road and into the trees, and as I walk past the soaring trees with the swirling pattern on their trunks, I can’t help but brush my fingers over them.
When I do, the swirling patterns begin to glow softly, and I pull my hand back, just in case it’s trying to drain my life force or something. I have read about trees in certain realms being able to do that, and it does not sound pleasant.
I would be concerned about how suspicious I am of everything, but I think I’ve earned the right to be after everything that I’ve gone through in my life.
Besides, I would rather be overly suspicious than dead.
With that thought heavy in my mind, I open a pocket in the Void and pull out one of the swords that I store there.
Just in case.
“Hey!”
I spin around, my sword lifted in preparation, and then sigh with a smile.
“Zev! You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing here? It’s a dream,” I reply with a slight frown, because I was one hundred percent sure that this was a dream, but seeing Zev here makes me wonder if I’m wrong. I add sounding a lot more unsure, “Isn’t it?”
Zev smiles and moves closer as I drop my sword, “I’m not sure.
I was dreaming about cookies, and then my magic stirred, and I got pulled in here.
” He looks around and then adds seriously, “I’d rather be here.
The cookies were looking at me like they wanted to eat me, and I do not want to experience that. ”
I blink at him for a moment before I burst out laughing at his horrified expression.
“Whoa,” he mutters as he looks around us, “the trees started glowing then.”
“They glow if you touch them as well,” I tell him with an excited smile. Exploring this place would have been fun on my own, but with him, it’s going to be even better.
He reaches out his hand and gently touches the tree closest to him, and nothing happens.
“Maybe this one is broken?” He says, with a small frown.
I reach out my hand, and as soon as it touches the bark of the trunk, the lines in the tree begin glowing.
Zev watches me closely, “Maybe it only works for you? This is your dream after all.”
I pull my hand back, “Yeah, maybe. Come on, I’m being pulled in this direction.”
“Well that doesn’t sound dodgy at all,” Zev replies with a sarcastic smile.
I grin, “It’ll be fine. I’ve got no bad feelings, and my instincts aren’t buzzing at me in warning.”
He shrugs, “That’s good enough for me. Lead the way.”
As we walk, I turn to look at him, “I didn’t know you could dream walk, that’s not a typical Seer thing.”
Zev shrugs, “No, apparently not. I honestly thought it was. The guys chewed me out for not telling them sooner. I tried to send Khaos back to you in the Underworld, not that we knew that it was you that he was dreaming about. A Goddess told us no and blocked me from sending him back to you. I’m wondering now if it was Verena, since she seems to be involved in a lot of what is going on. ”
“Probably, it wouldn’t surprise me. However, I don’t know why he wasn’t allowed to come back. He tried to come back?” I ask, my heart melting.