“For now,” Lucius sighed. He wondered how things were going with Anubis and Morrigan, and if they had contacted Jacob’s spirit.
There was another knock at the door.
Lucius’s heart leapt and his body followed suit, throwing open the door without hesitation. He scowled when he realized it was only Cahira. “Where is she?” he demanded.
“Calm yourself, Romeo, we need to talk first.” Cahira breezed past him. She looked surprised to see Thomas seated at the table. “Oh, hello,” she said awkwardly, her confident demeanor slightly deflating.
Thomas rose from his chair, staring at her with a strange look on his face.
“I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to become acquainted, but this is Thomas, the reincarnated god Thoth,” Lucius introduced him. “I have known him well in this life.”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Thomas blinked, looking flustered. “Forgive me, I can see things that others can’t, like the pieces of matter that make up a human’s body—it’s why I can solve equations so quickly,” he hurriedly explained. “You—you have the same father as Anubis.”
Cahira looked at him askance as Lucius scoffed.
“That is not possible,” Lucius argued. “She was born out of the lineage started by Discordia and myself—there is no way David is her father. I refuse to believe it.” He paused his outburst when he caught the look on Thomas’s face. A shiver crawled down his back as he grew still. “Oh. You mean me.”
“How is that even possible?” Cahira put her hands on her hips.
“Superfecundation is rare in animals and extremely rare in humans,” Thomas explained, “but you weren’t human then; you were gods. There were really no set laws at the beginning.”
Lucius fell into his seat, stunned. “So we did have children together,” he murmured, trying to wrap his mind around it. The urge to see her overwhelmed his body and he took a deep, steadying breath to remain still.
“Look, I’m sorry to interrupt this moment for you,” Cahira broke in, “but they spoke to Jacob and he confirmed that you killed him.”
“Yes, and?” Lucius raised his eyebrow. “Does David know?”
“We decided not to tell him yet—to protect both of you.”
Lucius rose to his feet. “Fine. I need to talk to Morrigan.”
Cahira blocked his path. “She isn’t here right now,” she told him carefully.
He didn’t like the look on her face. “What do you mean she’s not here?”
“I was told she left right after they spoke with Jacob.”
“Yes, but the angel told them it was his idea, right? He asked me to end his suffering and returned my memories—did he tell them that?” Lucius felt his heartbeat climb in his chest. He smelled power rising that wasn’t his, realizing Cahira was preparing for him to explode. Then it dawned on him that this was the reason they sent her—they anticipated an outburst because something was wrong. He sensed Thomas slowly backing away from them.
“He did tell them the truth,” Cahira said, her voice taking on a slow and deliberate tone as she held him in the mirror of her eyes. “But she disappeared without telling us why, only insisting that no one come after her.”
“You let her run away?” His anger grabbed hold of him with blazing fists as it pushed rationality out of his mind and replaced it with frantic possibilities. A part of him tried to fight it, knowing he’d succeeded at keeping it at bay thus far, but the other part of him screamed to stop wasting time—I have to find her, she couldn’t be far, I could follow her scent … There was a loud pop and every single candle in the room burst to life, surprising Cahira enough that he pushed past her. He darted through the hall, picking up speed until he was blocked by Anubis. He’d reached the point of franticness, barely able to search his eyes for answers. “Where is she?” he demanded.
Anubis looked crestfallen, though he tried to present a strong facade. Lucius tried to quiet his racing heart and the blood rushing in his ears so he could focus on his words.
“We don’t know where she went,” Anubis told him. “She took off while I was still in a trance. Helena said she left and wanted no one to follow her. Come, let’s talk about this before we overreact—”
But then, in perhaps the worst timing conceivable, David appeared from behind him, wearing an angry scowl that revealed he had indeed discovered the truth about Jacob. But it was no matter, for Lucius could hear the calm part of him crying as it stumbled and fell, its pleas for peace stifled, while his rage stood above it as the proud victor, filling his eyes with a bright and blinding red before his entire world went black.
Lucius wrenched his eyes open to total darkness and a pounding headache. He felt pressure at his wrists, and realized he had been chained to the wall of what appeared to be an old cellar. He sat up as his eyes adjusted, discovering a single torch positioned far enough away that he couldn't use it to his advantage, but brightening the room so he could see a figure sitting smugly across the room. It was David.
“You can’t deny the irony,” he remarked. “As many times as you’ve set me up to die, now you’re the one at my mercy.”
“I only succeeded once, as did you,” Lucius pointed out dryly. “I would say we are even.”
“Ah, but you never really die, do you? This time will be different. After all these years of haunting my existence, you will finally be gone with no realm to return to.”
“What happened?”
“As usual, you let your anger get the best of you.” David leaned back in his chair. “You lunged at me, but before you or I could raise any power, Cahira caused the Earth to tremble so violently, it threw us all off balance. A statue hit the back of your head and I grabbed you, flying you here before anyone else could intervene. There are some things that need to be resolved just between brothers.”
Lucius surveyed the room, taking note of the dank mud that created the walls, and bits of crumbled brick and rat bones cluttering the corners. He felt the presence of deceased souls lingering nearby. “Where are we?”
David crossed his arms. “About a century ago, this was the site of King Haffon’s palace. After the plague swept through the village, the Africans who survived buried who they could, mainly their own people. They threw the rest, French settlers and unclaimed African villagers, together into the palace and burned it to the ground. It is rumored that the gods were so angry over the entire affair that they didn’t let the bodies burn, keeping them intact forever. Because of this, the souls could never move on, imprisoned in decrepit flesh that never fell away. It is rumored they rise from their graves at night, wandering the plains and feasting on the flesh of men.”
Lucius raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know if that story is actually true, but we are proof that the spirit world does not obey the rational laws of man.” David rose from his chair. “Nevertheless, I thought this would be a perfect place for you to meet your end. If you are not torn apart by the desperate souls trapped here, then you will rot here for the rest of your days. No one knows where this place is and no one will hear you scream. Morrigan has finally come to her senses and left you and when I find her to reconcile, I’ll let her know you are gone for good. I highly doubt you will be missed.”
Lucius narrowed his eyes. “If you want to keep playing David, love, you have to remember that he is the good brother and I am the bad one. He doesn’t taunt, no matter how mad he is over something I’ve done. And I am the one who pines relentlessly for Morrigan, he just broods and flirts with death. You’ve gotten your script wrong.”
“I had you all fooled for quite a while,” David said as his eyes snapped back to red. “You have to admit it was an incredible ruse.”
“I will give you that,” Lucius said. “Where is she truly?”
