“You have taken the souls of some of my friends. They’re people I care about. You know this feeling?” I drew up from within me images and sensations of Trey and Quinn and Ayaz – their kisses, their secret smiles, their broken hearts. The god groaned as I drew him into my head through my dreams and showed him the depth of what I felt for the guys.
I know it. Their souls were given to me some time ago – but there was little for me to enjoy. They didn’t know pain like the others that came later. When you show me your feelingsss, I have a… feeling of my own. It’s not pleasant. I don’t want it.
“I don’t want you to have it, either. Because you took their souls, my friends are prisoners, too. I want them to be free. Can you give their souls back?”
I do not have that ability. But my wardens… they are masters of the energy that sustains me. They can manipulate and make new what has been destroyed. They woke me from my death-sleep. They may have that answer.
“I believe you.” I balled my hands into fists. “If I find a way, will you help me? It might hurt you, but then we could all be free.”
I will. I will free your… friends, if you tell me how. My servants will remain with you. They will do your bidding. They will keep you safe while you search. On one condition.
“Whatever you want.”
You will join with me. Your soul would be my companion.
Fuck.
Um, what?
I opened my mouth to reply, to tell the god thanks but no thanks, but the darkness grabbed me, dragging me backward. I fell through the ground, toppling over myself until I slammed into something hard.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Did I just agree to that?
Did I just agree to spend eternity with a cosmic soul-eating deity?
“Hazy!” Quinn’s voice was frantic, his eyes wild with fear as he shook me like a near-empty ketchup bottle. My head wrenched, slamming into the stone and sending a jolt of pain through me. “What happened? Are you okay?”
I rubbed the back of my head where it had hit the wall. It was nothing on the screams of the god. “Of course.”
My gaze flicked between the two of them – Trey’s cruel mouth twisted in concern, Quinn’s eyes so wide and innocent.
Innocent.
They were innocent. Not like me.
I knew when I entered Derleth there was a timer ticking down on my freedom. I’d known all along that when I left this school I’d likely replace one prison with another. I’d allowed my feelings for them to take over my practical side, and I’d indulged in dreams of what the future might be. I’d even told Trey I might become a scientist like Deborah.
It was just that – a dream. A career, a family, a life – that wasn’t in my future.
But it could be in theirs.
In that moment, I made a pact with myself. I wouldn’t reveal the deal I made with the god. I’d promised myself that I would free the Kings of Miskatonic Prep at whatever cost. That was my pact, my mission – I would give back what was taken. If that meant I had to hang with the god for the rest of existence, then so be it.
“You were crying,” Trey said. “And mumbling these strangling sounds. They weren’t words, just random guttural noises. It washorrible. What happened?”
“I spoke to the god,” I said, sitting up. Quinn’s grip tightened. I placed my hand over his, noticing that I didn’t tremble. I wasn’t afraid. I knew what I had to do. “It’s okay. He’s actually kind of a cool dude. He’s going to help us.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The god could give me everything I wanted.
The students… free. Check.
The Eldritch Club stripped of its power. Check.
The god no longer a threat to humanity. Check, check, and motherfucking check.
