Timeless Doors and Captured Gods (Hidden Realms #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Riley

“Explain this to me again,” Torin says. “So first, you have to sacrifice three adult males. And then you have to chant what again?”

I glance over at him. “‘Please don’t eat my testicles!’ The last person to shout it loses their testicles.”

“What if they don’t have testicles?”

“Then if they want testicles, they can fight over the ones that are sacrificed,” I explain.

Torin slowly nods as he stares up at the behemoth. “And tell me again, what is the purpose of this?”

“It’s a human ritual. A requirement, actually. This is how we humans are reminded that death could happen at any second, so we’d better appreciate every moment of life.”

“So you risk your life to appreciate your life?” Torin asks, sounding uncertain that he’s understanding this correctly, but honestly, he’s doing a fantastic job of it.

“Exactly.”

“And we wait in line for this because?”

“It’s like a coming-of-age ceremony. You have to be this tall and your body can’t be this broken,” I say as I point to the sign which declares that anyone with any ailment should not ride.

Torin scrutinizes it. “And… where does this hell ride end?”

“Right back here.”

“So you… willingly get on this thing… not to go anywhere, but to arrive right back here?”

“Well, you go through many stages. Grief, terror, horror, contemplating life, and then the thrill that you’re still alive at the end. Ooh, look, we’re up next,” I say, pushing him toward the roller coaster.

Mickey, who suggested coming to the theme park, nods. “I approve, Riley.”

“Thank you,” I say as I lead Torin, the god who fell into my life, onto the roller coaster, which I feel like is an appropriate activity to toss a god onto.

He’s a handsome man who is tall enough that he struggles to get into the seat.

It’s definitely not made for people who are about six foot seven…

oh, and people who are also contemplating their life choices.

He sits down between me and Mickey, our necromancer friend who is along for the ride.

And because Mickey is pushing five foot four, he looks even shorter when placed next to Torin.

But while Torin seems mildly concerned, Mickey appears absolutely relaxed.

He even closes his eyes as the wind blows his curly hair into his face.

After last week’s events, all three of us need a bit of a break. Not only did we find out that a god was using the four horsemen of the apocalypse to destroy four realms for some reason we’re still not quite sure of, but I was also informed that I’m the reincarnation of the horseman “Death.”

How delightful.

Really, I just want to romp around with my new sex god and continue to play the game of “are we dating, are we not?” while the god learns what it means to be in a relationship after a thousand years of spreading his love and spreading legs.

But instead, I got smacked with the title of Death, told that the reason my body is falling apart is likely because I’ve been separated from my horse—which I do not want—and handed the realization that Torin and I might be the only two who can stop this god from destroying any more realms.

And to top it all off, the horseman who I reincarnated from is the same one who destroyed Torin’s world and was the reason all of his people died. Oh, and Torin also killed him (or is it me?) which is (somehow) the least of our worries.

It’s been a lot.

Like… a lot.

Not only that, but the souls of those who’d been affected by the horseman Conquest appear to be enamored with me, which is why the white orbs are currently floating around me and confusing the ride security.

We got a lot of looks when we arrived at the theme park, but I really couldn’t tell whether it was the god of war and love, the souls bounding after me like a herd of puppies who don’t want to get left behind, or the necromancer—Mickey—who was being carried by two undead because the “Walk from the parking lot was just too far and they hadn’t fetched the wagon yet. ”

Like I said… it’s been a lot.

And instead of facing any of it, we decided to go to a theme park. As long as Lt. Lindsey, my boss, doesn’t find out, it’ll be fine.

“Pull this down,” I say as I grab the over-shoulder restraints and pull mine down to show him what to do.

Kit hops off to wait for us to return since there is no real way to strap her down, but I really don’t think she minds.

She seems as thrilled about the idea of riding the roller coaster as Torin is, and I can’t help but notice the way Torin has locked eyes with her, like he’s jealous she gets to stay behind.

Ever since losing my eyesight, I’ve had to rely on my familiar, Kit, for my vision.

I can see through her eyes, which can be a bit disorienting depending on where she is.

Since she’s off on the platform, I can still see the three of us, but from her point of view.

The genet avidly watches us and is probably just happy she’s not getting suckered in for a ride.

“This is ridiculous. Why would I ever agree to be pinned in the maws of this creature? What have you done to me?” Torin asks me, like this is my fault.

Like I could have possibly strong-armed a god onto a roller coaster against his will.

All it really took was a smile and a “Won’t you please ride with me? ”

What a sexy sucker.

I make sure to put on my most innocent expression. “I didn’t do anything to you! You willingly came with me!”

“Then why did I get on this?” he asks.

“You’re smitten with him for some disgusting reason,” Mickey declares. “No idea why.”

Mickey looks back at the row behind us which is filled with his undead.

Since he’s a necromancer with extremely powerful magic, the people he brings back to life generally look alive.

Unless someone had high levels of magic like I do, they likely couldn’t even tell them apart from the other living beings enjoying the rides.

Of course, Mickey didn’t bring them out until he was inside the park so he didn’t have to pay for the group of them, but they sure eagerly got in line behind us.

The attendant checks our restraints and Torin turns to me.

“I have changed my mind. I would like to protect my testicles and get off—”

And that’s when the roller coaster shoots off. I get to see the look on Torin’s face from Kit’s viewpoint a moment before we’re out of sight from her.

And I absolutely love what I see.

The problem is, once I’m too far from Kit, I no longer get to see anything but what she’s fixated on.

What I once believed to be a curse started affecting my eyesight about four years ago.

After completely robbing me of my sight, it continued to progress as a black stain that has since spread over much of my body, causing me significant pain and tremors every time I use high-powered magic.

But luckily I ended up being able to use Kit as my eyes. My connection to my familiar allows me to see what she sees… and right now she’s seeing all of the food stands.

“Please don’t take my testicles!” Torin shouts. Even though I’m seventy percent sure he knows I was joking… he still wants to be safe. The roller coaster whips us around a bend before slowing down.

“Oh, it’s done. Thankfully,” Torin says as I feel it creeping straight up.

“Not exactly, it tends to slow before going really fast,” I inform him.

“I would like to kick this beast into submission,” he growls.

“It’s fine, at least you can see what’s happening,” I say, since my only view is now Kit staring at the popcorn booth. She seems to remember us just as we get to the very top and the roller coaster dips over the edge.

“Who the hell invented this stupid fucking thing!” Torin yells, clearly not a roller coaster fan.

Torin’s hand smacks down on my leg, squeezing it tightly while the roller coaster begins its steep descent.

I’m now laughing as it reaches a big loop, and suddenly, we’re upside down before whipping around another corner.

It’s both disorienting and exhilarating not being able to see where we’re headed next.

It does make it hard to brace myself and know which way I’ll be flung about, but I’m enjoying every second of it.

“I’ve reached the ‘contemplating my life’ section of this journey,” Torin shouts.

“Yeah? That’s good. Means there’s not much left but the ‘thrill that you’re still alive,’” I respond as we hit another drop, and all too soon the roller coaster is slowing to reach the end of the ride.

“That was amazing,” I say.

“Amazing, my ass!” Torin grumbles, smacking at the safety bars as they take their time to go up since it’s not quite done moving yet. Kit jumps onto my shoulder the instant they do go up, and Torin scrambles over Mickey’s lap to get off and grab the worker who is helping people get off the ride.

“I’m alive!” Torin announces to the startled man.

“Hey, aren’t you that god who saved our world?” the guy asks, not too concerned about our level of “alive” status.

Torin decides to try again. “I’m alive!”

“You sure are, dude. Can we get a picture?” he asks. Torin is too caught up in the thrill of being alive to care as the man snaps a selfie of them. Torin looks absolutely windblown, his hair is sticking straight up, his clothes are ruffled, and still, he looks extremely sexy.

“I want a picture too!” someone shouts, and then we’re having to usher him out while he’s walking like a wobbly colt trying his legs for the first time.

“Riley…” Torin begins.

“Yes, oh great God of War and Love, Conqueror of Roller Coasters?”

“Are you a sadist?”

“I might be. Will you still like me if I am and get on another roller coaster with me?”

He sighs and immediately nods, which makes me grin, and Mickey smacks the back of my head. “I hate you for finding a man who puts up with your shit. I want someone to put up with my shit.”

“You have a lot of shit to put up with,” I inform him.