“Because if alphas and omegas are dead, then there is no one to empower the alpha and omega gods. They can’t return; they can’t come back. They are dead and gone. Dust, forgotten. The universe needs balance. Where the world supports alphas and omegas, then it keeps alive the hope of the gods, but without them, their power shrivels up and withers away. Only then can we have true freedom and peace.”
“I see.”
“You don’t, but I don’t expect a stupid human like you to understand.”
The conversation is an eerie perversion of the truth. A twisting of enough facts to make her sound credible. She’s twisted everything up and poisoned it, convincing these humans that she’s all-powerful with promises and threats. A bribe in one hand and a punishment in the other.
Jarek leans towards me. “Can we kill her now?”
I shift my weight, but then shake my head. “Too many,” I mouth.
But I’m caught by her words.
What if there’s something to that? That would mean that we wouldn’t be reborn again. No alpha or omega souls could come back. We’d all just disappear. I look at Jarek, staring at his face. We’d really die? Never be together again? What if there aren’t enough souls or bodies to bring everyone back; do they all die? And what about the dead gods? How does that work?
All the strings are there, but nothing is making sense.
Cadel gets us up, and we slip into an adjacent building through a window and a rusty ladder. The room is dark and smells of mold.
Legion explodes out of nowhere and grabs Cadel, yanking him in. He points at the ceiling and puts his finger to his lips. I look around and spot Mia sitting in the corner looking pale with her arms wrapped around her knees.
There is something so frail and human about this omega. I just want to protect her. The sour fear scent gets stronger the closer I get to her.
I reach out, taking one of her hands. She looks at me and tries to smile, but I can see she’s terrified. I hold her hand while the Beta’s Path run around above our heads. They don’t come down to this room, and after they go, Cadel turns to Legion, puts his lips to his ear, and whispers.
They talk back and forth for a while and then motion to us. I grab Mia and help her up, but she moves away from me, sticking close to Legion. I can’t be offended that she finds him safe.
For hours, we move through the buildings like rats, but our scents get stronger with stress.
And when they bring the sniffers, I know we’re screwed. It’s just a matter of time.
Cadel is almost frantic. He looks at me and just stares like he’s taking me all in. Like he’s trying to memorize every last part of me.
“It’s okay,” I say and shrug. “We tried.”
“Legion, if we kill her spare bodies and then kill her in the body that she’s in, we might be able to get rid of her forever,” Jarek announces.
Legion turns his head so he’s staring at me. His mouth opens and closes. “That will be hard. She’s always got so many people close to her.”
“I know, but it’s the only chance we’ve got. I want to try. We have to try,” I murmur.
Mordecai takes my hand, holding on tight. I stare at his profile, wishing things were different.
“Are you suggesting you voluntarily give yourselves up?” Mia hisses. “No! Just no!”
“It’s the best way,” Mordecai says with a helpless shrug.
Dust falls from the ceiling, spinning around in the wind that whips through the building.
“It would get us close to her,” Jarek agrees. “It would be a chance.”
The three of them look at me. We can’t keep running. We just can’t. I dip my head in agreement. We have to try.
I move towards them, and we collide together in a hug that has my eyes burning.
“No! We can’t do this,” Mia protests. “No, we need to live.”
“We have to save them, Mia. It’s not about us; it’s about the world, about our friends,” Legion says quietly.
