“I’m terribly sorry,” Evander said again. It seemed it was the only thing he knew how to say. “I… I must leave you now.”
His throat closed, cutting off any words. Even if hecouldspeak, he wouldn’t know what to say.
All he knew was he had to leave this area immediately before the sight of these demons completely destroyed him.
As Evander approached the Undead Wilds, that feeling of eerie emptiness surrounded him. And, strangely, he felt more at ease. More at home.
How odd that this haunted place would feel like a comfort to him.
Something is very wrong with me,he thought.
Whispers and murmurs floated around him like a hissing breeze. A chill raced down his spine, and he suppressed a shudder.
“You have returned,” breathed a voice.
Evander froze, his feet coming to a halt on the ground. Leaves swirled in the air around him. He glanced around the trees, but no figures appeared.
Even so, they were there. He could sense them.
“Yes,” Evander said. “I have.”
A silvery form appeared before him—the same woman from before. Her long hair flowed down her back, thestrands floating in the wind. “And were you successful?” she asked.
A lump formed in his throat as he thought of the demons’ grief over losing their friend. He could hardly call it asuccesswhen Lagos had lost his life.
“The goddesses were rescued,” Evander said. “Thank you for your help.”
The woman smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “It was not given freely. You owe us payment, death god.”
“I know. I am here to pay my debt. Just tell me what I must do.”
The woman tilted her head at him, her gaze sweeping over him slowly. “I am afraid the process is… unpleasant.” She didn’t sound at all unhappy about this; if anything, she soundedeager.
Unease rippled over Evander, but he could hardly turn away. He had agreed to this. “I understand.”
“Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to know how painful it will be?” She seemed positively gleeful.
“It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s painful or not, it is inevitable. I cannot run from it.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Brave words, even for a death god. But they all try to run from it in the end.”
Evander’s brow furrowed. Who was she referring to?
Had other people made similar bargains with these souls?
Something tugged at Evander’s wrist. He yelped, turning to find one of the souls tying a thin cord around his arm. Another soul appeared and did the same thing to his other wrist.
“I—What—” Evander’s protests were cut off as thefemale soul shoved his chest hard enough to knock him flat on his back. The air whooshed from him, and pain split through the back of his skull.
The restraints on his wrists tightened. More cords were tied on his ankles. He shifted, trying to move, but the tethers must have been anchored into the ground. He was stuck.
“I… I offer myselfwillingly,” he insisted. “You don’t have to tie me down!”
The woman hovered over him, her pearly form translucent enough to reveal the canopy of trees behind her. “There is great need for this, death god. For when we bleed every drop of that precious god blood from your body, youwillfight. And we can’t have that.”
Evander’s stomach hollowed.Every drop of blood….
Gods above, what had he gotten himself into?
