Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Reid
I’m having the most amazing dream where I’m kissing Izzy, and she’s kissing me back.
Her lips are so damn soft on mine, and when she pulls back, her eyes are bright and happy.
Only, when I look around my room, we aren’t alone.
Van, Reid, and Wilder are all there too.
Not just with us in the room, but we’re all a unit together, an unbreakable force bound together by something stronger than blood.
And for the first time in my life, everything is perfect. Everything feels right.
“Only, it’s just a dream.”
I stiffen as the voice seems to echo around me. Deep down I know I’m still dreaming, but there’s just something about that soothing voice that seems...real. It feels like a part of me, like my own soul speaking to me.
Except, I realize that my blood seems to race in my ears and a tremor moves through my body, a wave of unrecognizable fear. Like something is awakening inside of me that I want to silence. I wish I could wake up, because my dream is starting to feel like a nightmare.
“Who said that?” I ask, but none of the guys nor Izzy seem to hear me. Instead, they seem frozen in time.
“Who said that?” I ask again, and I wonder if even my waking body is overcome by this strange terror.
The room around me shimmers away, fading into shadows then disappearing altogether, until I’m standing on a lonely hill above the grounds of the reform school.
Sitting in the grass is a woman who is as much a part of me as my own heart.
Hel. I recognize her immediately. And although Mercy had described her as being some kind of monstrous freak, abandoned by the other gods and tossed to hell, she’s not any of those things.
Yes, her skin is translucent on one side of her body.
Her bones are visible beneath the surface, but the sight is almost mesmerizing rather than horrific.
She has long black hair that flows around her like a cape, and eyes that are red ringed.
In my mind, she’s some kind of dark princess, but captivating, like a part of my soul I’ve been too afraid to acknowledge.
Somewhere inside of me I realize that she has two sides of herself that she shows, the one that conceals all the things she thinks will disturb people, and this side of herself, the real side.
“I’m sorry to disturb your dream,” she says, and her voice floats to me as if from far away.
“It’s okay,” I tell her, and I’m surprised that I mean it.
Somehow, as much as I fear Hel, I also know she isn’t innately evil. In so many ways I simply feel sorry for her. She has so much power, and yet she’s powerless. She spent so long trapped, a prisoner, and now she’s a prisoner inside of me too.
“I’ve come to warn you, young one.”
A shiver rolls down my spine. “Warn me about what?”
Her red eyes lock onto mine. “Not all your friends are what they seem.”
My hands curl into fists. “Don’t. Don’t try to ruin things between us just because we’re finally good.”
She lifts a hand that is somehow both delicate and strong.
“One of the gods has more control over your friend than you know. And that god? That god craves destruction. That god will create chaos in your world that will be blamed on you. And if you can’t discover who he is in time and free your friend, it will destroy us all. ”
My heart races. I’m not sure I believe her, but I also don’t think she’s lying. “Who? Which of my friends?”
A sad smile lifts her mouth. “I cannot say. Already I skirt the lines of betrayal among the gods. I can give you no more.”
I shake my head. “Then why are you telling me anything at all?”
“Because,” and her voice lowers to no louder than a whisper, “the destruction is already done, but if and your friends aren’t fast enough, the godslayers will kill you before you can even awaken.”
“Hel…”
“They come for you, Reid, even as we speak. So wake up. Wake up the others. And be prepared for anything.”
“I don’t--”
“Wake up, Reid!” Her voice rises. “Wake up! Wake up!”
I shoot awake in bed, covered in sweat. Struggling, I fall from the bed, tangled in my sheets. Wearing nothing but boxers, I race for my door, throw it open, and run down the hall, banging on the doors of my friends. All stumble out of their rooms within moments, and I look at them, heart racing.
“Something has happened. The godslayers are coming for us.”
“Reid,” Aiden groans my name. “You’ve had a bad dream.”
“No,” I say, shaking.
Or did I? Was that just a nightmare?
Down the hall a door is thrown open. As we gather closer, the godslayers enter our hallway, looks of grim determination on their face.
“Reid?” Izzy is at my side, her cold hands gripping my arm. “What’s happening?”
I open my mouth, but the godslayers lift their hands and a golden light pours from their palms. I know now, even if the others don’t, that this magic will end us if we can’t stop it now.
But how do we stop it?
Suddenly, Wilder sends a black wave out of his palms. It smashes into the godslayers, sending them flying. The golden light fades, and we all stare on in shock.
“What the hell is going on?” Van demands. “The dean said you guys couldn’t attack without cause!”
Jessica, the female godslayer, climbs to her feet. She looks like she’s about to be sick. “Our cause? Our cause is simple…what you guys did to the school!”
Every hair on my body stands on end. Hel said one of us did this. She said the god within us did. But which of us is it? And can I even say that in front of the godslayers, or will they just kill us anyway?
“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” Izzy says, and she sounds terrified.
“Really?” the big blond godslayer says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Really,” Izzy throws back at him.
“Let’s show them.” Jessica’s voice is soft, almost afraid.
“After you,” Van tells her, his words dry.
We follow them slowly outside. They lead us across the school, and we notice that far too many lights are on. Students and teachers alike are starting to leave their buildings, and there’s a general sense that something is wrong. We walk until they lead us up a hill.
When we reach the top, we all stare in shock. The earth has been scorched, stretching out on one side of campus. A couple of lone buildings are nothing but burnt timber, and I swear pristine white bones are littered across the scorched earth like decorations.
My mouth drops. “What the hell…?”
“Exactly what we were thinking,” Clancy says.
I turn to see the godslayer with glasses. He runs a hand awkwardly through his auburn hair. It takes me a second to process what he’s implying.
“You’re saying I had something to do with this?” There’s an edge to my words.
Clancy meets my gaze. “You do have Hel herself within you, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t cause destruction like this.”
He lifts a brow. “Clearly you haven’t polished up on your history about the gods. Hel might not be as aggressive as the other gods, but she’s smart. And when she wants something, she’ll destroy hell and earth to get it.”
Was he right? A coldness moves through my veins. What if I’m the one who did this and Hel was simply tricking me?
I’m shaking. I don’t know what to think.
“Do none of you really know what’s happening?” Jessica asks, and I realize she’s staring at us.
We all shake our heads in unison.
Tuck, a massive godslayer, whirls on Jessica. “You can’t possibly believe them! The only thing capable of this kind of destruction, without us even knowing it, is a god. One of them had to have done it.”
“Unless they don’t know.”
“Jessica!” Tuck is almost shouting.
Clancy is suddenly standing between them, and the look he gives Tuck would scare even me. “Watch how you talk to her.”
“But this whole thing--!”
Jessica sets a hand on Clancy’s arm and draws him back. “There’s more going on here. Things we don’t understand. We need to get some answers before we go killing innocent people.”
“They’re not innocent!” Tuck shouts.
“You might be willing to kill just to get your old life back, but I’m not.”
Tuck’s anger fades away. “Jessica…”
“Tomorrow I’m going somewhere where I know I’ll find answers. You guys can come with me, or not, it’s your choice, but I’m going.” Then, Jessica whirls on us. “And you guys better make sure you’ve got control over your gods, or we’ll have to take care of you.”
She storms away, and the other godslayers follow slowly behind.
I watch them, my stomach turning. They might leave for answers tomorrow. But they’ll be back soon. And by the time they return, we better be in control, or we’re screwed.
“What could’ve done this?” Izzy asks, and she sounds frightened.
I swallow hard. “One of us.”
“What? Are you fucking crazy?” Van asks, glaring at me.
“No,” I state, and I’m certain now. “It was one of us. One of us who has allowed their god to take over too much.”
“That can’t be true,” Izzy says, but her words are soft.
“Don’t you guys feel it?” I ask.
We all stand in silence for a long moment. And I know they have to feel it, just as I do. This place smells of our magic. Of a power greater than any other on this planet.
“How is this possible?” Aiden finally asks, and there’s an edge to his words.
“They’re taking over when we aren’t aware. Maybe when we’re sleeping.”
“Then how do we fix this?” Izzy asks.
I draw in a harsh breath. “I don’t know. But we better figure it out. And quickly.”
We all turn back to the field of blackened earth, burnt buildings, and white bones. I wonder if they’re thinking the same thing I am. If they’re asking themselves who those bodies belong to, and which of us ended the peoples’ lives.
And maybe they’re even wondering the thing I’m trying to ignore…if this is what we’re capable of when we aren’t even aware of, what will happen if the gods really regain control?
Maybe everyone around us isn’t wrong.
Maybe they really should’ve already killed us.