Chapter Twenty-Five
Nico
“And we all know how easy it is to change history,” Mayhem adds.
“There’s more,” I say.
“Of course there is,” Reaper mutters.
“The compound leaders are trading people with the Others. We are kidnapping them, and the compound leaders are only giving them back if the Others give them spells and things that help to keep the compound running and the magic working. The magic that keeps the compounds lit and keeps things growing is good. It can’t be used by anyone who has stepped foot on the punishment side of the realm.
They don’t want to risk the truth coming out, so they would rather outsource the help instead of asking someone who hasn’t been on the punishment side to help,” I explain.
“So they’re thousands of years old, and souls,” Rival asks.
I nod, “Yes, and only more powerful. They absorb magic from those at the compound without any of them realising it. It sustains them and keeps the people weaker.”
“Fuck.” Zev curses.
“Pretty much. They’re also bribing the Abyss creatures to leave the compounds alone by feeding them the people who piss them off the most. They weren’t willing to risk that you would come back somehow to do that to you. Their Seer told them that killing you would only ensure their demise.”
“This is insane,” Rast comments. “So those people that we ran into, the ones that Farren immediately trusted, they’re actually the true inhabitants of the realm.”
“Yes,” I reply. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re being followed or tracked somehow by the compound elders.
You were really pissing them off, Rast. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they decided to try to end you and fuck the consequences.
Now that you’re the Ferryman though, which wasn’t supposed to happen, they’re even more cautious of you now than they were before. ”
“Good, that will hopefully play in our favour,” Storm says with a dangerous glint to his eye.
“Is no one going to talk about the giant creature that is currently guarding Nico and Farren?” Loki asks, throwing his arms up in the air dramatically and looking at the rest of us like we’re all crazy.
I glance up at the huge beast sat next to me, and my eyes widen as it looks back at me with intelligent eyes.
“Okay, for some reason that makes it so much more frightening,” Mayhem mutters.
“Does anyone know what kind of creature it is?” Killian asks, his eyes switching between watching the creature and me, or rather Farren.
The creature is enormous, but can clearly move around completely undetected, because no one, not even me, knew that it was following us.
“Was it following us?” I ask out loud without meaning to. I’ve got far too used to just saying what I’m thinking, and that’s going to get me in trouble.
Rast shakes his head, “I don’t think so.”
“I think Farren called it,” Hades says, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I think you’re right,” Reaper agrees. “I think Farren called on it.”
I glance back at the creature.
It has a similar shape to a big cat except seven or eight times the size of any of the big cats or even cat shifters that I know of.
Its fangs are bigger too. The two biggest ones have to be the same length as my forearm at least, possibly even longer, and they’re completely black.
Behind those two are two smaller ones, and then the rest of its mouth is filled with smaller, deadly sharp-looking teeth.
Its fur is so dark that it looks like shadow, which would explain why it can move around without being detected, although I can feel the magic coming off him, so I’m sure that he uses that to camouflage and move silently as well.
Who knows what else it’s capable of.
I continue studying it, while it’s still and allowing itself to be seen. It may be protecting me at the moment, but it's only at Farren’s request, and I have absolutely no doubts in my mind that it is only loyal to her.
That means that I need to study it properly. I need to see if it has any weaknesses and what it could be capable of, in case it turns on me and Farren isn’t around to call it off.
When I glance back at its face, my eyes moving on from its mouth, I’m surprised to notice that sitting on top of its giant head, next to its ears, are two horns that spiral backward away from its face.
These are the same colour as its fangs, but instead of being smooth like the teeth, they’re deeply grooved, they also aren’t completely black, although that is their main colour.
In the grooves is a copper vein that even looks metallic. Quite honestly, they’re stunning.
It knows that I’m studying it, and the fact that it’s allowing me to and most likely knows why I’m studying it tells me that it does not consider me a threat at all.
Why would it?
Out of the two of us, it’s clearly the bigger threat.
I get the feeling that it views me the same as a house cat would view a bug, something to play with when it’s bored, but not to actually eat.
I’m pretty sure that it would kill me for fun.
That thought is entirely unsettling.
That feral part of my magic that I keep tight control over at all times writhes and thrashes like it’s offended at my thoughts, and I roll my eyes. It’s a bit too arrogant for my liking.
It always has been.
Ignoring it, I refocus on the creature.
Its body is long, still reminiscent of a big cat, with coiled muscles and looking extremely strong, its paws are bigger than my head and tipped with razor-sharp claws.
It could definitely take my head in one swipe.
Easily.
It has a mane, the same colour as its fur, and two tails that are moving lazily behind him.
The longer that I study him, the more sure I am that he’s only allowing me to see what he wants me to and that there is actually a lot more to him than this.
“I think it’s a Mors-Fidelis,” Hades says, pulling me out of my thoughts and my attention away from the creature.
“It’s supposed to be extinct. I saw one when I was a child, but that was a long time ago, and it was supposed to have been the last living one.
They’re extremely dangerous and were considered ancient when I was a child. ”
Looking at Hades and the way that he interacts with everyone, it’s easy to forget just how old he is.
If I really think about it, it’s mind-blowing. There have already been several mind-blowing things that have happened, so I’m going to ignore this one.
“Honestly, I’m not even surprised that Farren managed to command an ancient creature and that even while she’s passed out it is still doing as she’s commanded it to,” Mayhem says with a smile.
“Do you know anything else? Its origins, what realm it was originally from, anything like that?” Rival asks the important questions as always.
Hades frowns, “It’s native to the God Realm.”
“Awesome,” Zev replies.
“Why do I feel like it’s not, in actual fact, awesome?” Rast asks.
“Because it rarely is,” Loki replies drily.
“It is definitely concerning that an ancient god native creature is obeying Farren, but at least it is obeying her,” Khaos points out.
Storm nods and then looks at Farren with a frown. “She hasn’t moved or snored recently. Is she okay?”
I nod, “My magic is keeping a constant watch on her vitals, if they even dip slightly, I’ll know. At the moment, they’re staying steady, and for all intents and purposes, she’s just in a really deep sleep. She’s here, and this is the best place for her to heal, right?”
Kill narrows his eyes, “Just how long have you been with us?”
I shrug, “I caught back up to Rast at Ignatius’ place. I knew he had crossed back over, but I had no idea that you were all with him that was a surprise. No one could hear or see me, so I listened and learned things instead.”
“Wait, the muttering, it’s gone,” Rast suddenly exclaims.
I raise my eyebrows.
“You were hearing muttering?” Rival asks. Rast nods, and Rival levels him with a look, “Dude, I don’t know how families have worked for you in the past, but in this one, you share shit like that so you don’t have to try to figure it out on your own.”
I smirk.
Rast’s eyes go wide, “Family?”
“Oh yeah, man, we’ve been through shit now. You’re in,” Loki grins.
“You mean, this whole fucking time you could hear me, and you were ignoring me?” I ask incredulously.
Rast swallows thickly and then looks at me, shaking his head. “No. I could hear muttering, I couldn’t hear any words, not even one. I got chills as well. Did you poke me in the cheek, a lot?”
I try not to laugh, but as soon as the others catch my expression and start to chuckle, I can’t help but laugh.
Farren grumbles in my arms and smacks me on my chest, making everyone stop.
“Bad pillow, stop wriggling . . .” she mutters before trailing off again and letting out another snore.
The others burst out laughing again while I try to stay still so I don’t disturb her again.
“She’s brilliant,” Rast grins, and then looks at me with his eyebrow raised. “I’m assuming from your reaction that you did, in fact, poke my face a lot?”
I shrug, “It was really boring and really fucking frustrating. I was trying to warn you about the compound, trying to tell you not to go back there, trying to warn you of approaching threats, trying to tell you what they had planned with the ritual, and you couldn’t fucking hear any of it.
So occasionally I poked your face like I used to do when we were kids. ”
“That actually makes sense,” Rival says.
“It does?” Rast asks.
“Yeah. I probably would have done the same thing. You would have to break up the monotony and frustration somehow, otherwise, you would go insane,” Rival explains his reasoning.
“True,” Rast concedes.
Laikynn cautiously steps out of the darkness. “I’m sorry. We have given you as much time as we can. Considering the amount of magic that Farren kicked off to resurrect Nico, it would be wise to move.”
“Creatures are going to be curious and come to check out the cause,” Rival suggests.
“Exactly,” Laikynn agrees.
“Fuck, that’s what she did, isn’t it? I mean, I know that, but knowing it and hearing it out loud, that she resurrected you is insane,” Rast says, his eyes glued to Farren.
“It is,” Khaos adds. “As Hades said, he can’t even do that.”
Hades shrugs, “My duty is to know the dead and ensure that they receive the right welcome when they cross over it has never been to bring them back. The fact that Farren brought Nico back is huge and could have a knock-on effect on many things.”
“Shit, I hadn’t thought about that,” Rival curses.
Zev tilts his head slightly and looks at me, “You have though, haven’t you?”
I pause for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to explain.
“When you die, you gain knowledge simply by dying. I lost a lot of knowledge when I left wherever it was that the souls who die here go, but I did keep some of it. Part of what I kept is that messing with the dead, and Fate's plan has consequences,” I explain.
“We’re actually all taught that,” Rast explains.
He immediately got how bad this situation was when I first came back.
“Usually, the consequence is that it’s a life for a life, even though Farren technically restored the balance by bringing Nico back because he shouldn’t have died when he did, it would still be a life for a life for anyone else.
For some reason that hasn’t happened to Farren. ”
“And it won’t,” Laikynn comments with knowledge and finality.
Mayhem levels his gaze on the creature, “You seem to know an awful lot about this situation. Care to share why you’re so certain that she won’t die?”
Laikynn nods, and opens his mouth, but all that comes out is a choking noise. With an angry growl, he adds, “Apparently, I cannot. If I continue to not be able to share with you my knowledge, which is my job, then throats are going to be ripped out.”
“You aren’t talking to us, are you?” Hades asks knowingly.
“No, I am not,” Laikynn replies.
“Could it be because her mother is a goddess?” Hades asks.
“She’s a what?” I ask with pure shock.
Because what the hell?
Laikynn doesn’t say anything he just stares.
“We still need to look out for consequences then,” Storm says thoughtfully with a worried crease between his eyebrows.