It was dark and smelt of mold and fire, but there were dimly lit sconces on the wall that were alight with flickering flames.The shadows danced across the floor, illuminating each step her boots had left behind. Each one like a bullet to my soul.
I could tell by the pattern of her walk it was deliberately done and not done out of panic or fear of being chased. The steps were even and unhurried. I knew because I’d spent my fair share tracking in another life. I was an expert hunter, and Odessa had just become my prey.
Chapter 32
The Pyro
Her voice called to me. Urging my steps forward and my power to surge with just one word on her heavenly lips,“Burn!” She demanded of me. And burn I did. I would burn them all to a crisp to please that sweet, angelic voice that rung out in my head over and over again.
“Burn, burn, burn!”
I was an inferno. A well of endless power that connected from me to her. And I would do her will no matter what.
Chapter 33
Odessa
So, this is how you watch us in the games? By using our masks?I asked the voice as I followed the flickering flames that lined the tunnel walls.
Figured that out, did you?Kage responded with a chuckle.
I didn’t know why I’d never considered the possibility that they’d be able to keep tabs on us through the masks. It was their power after all that we had access to because of it, but what else did that allow? So far, I knew that the gods could communicate through it, and they could see what we were doing through them.
Could they also control us through them? My stomach soured at that thought.
The tunnel began to narrow and become shorter as I walked on. I could still clear the ceiling, but it was a close fit.
Dex would have to duck if he were here, I thought.
That one thought of him sent a pang through my heart that I brushed away quickly. I made the right choice. Walking away when I did was the only smart option. If I let myself be around him until the end, then I’d be forced to fight against him, and I didn’t have it in me to do that.
So, what are you all gathered together drinking nectar, betting on our lives, or what?
Aren’t you a curious little thing?
That wasn’t an answer.I quip.
Gods he was irritating.
The tunnel dipped down at an angle. I was headed deeper underground when the tunnel came to an end, opening into a large room with stone bunk beds carved into the walls. I eyed them cautiously, but there were no bodies lying in them. There were, however, initials with hearts around them painted on the sides.
D+A, C+T, J+Z, and then one that had been scratched out.
The history of these tunnels was endlessly fascinating. So much of it seemed to span the time of the games, reaching back before they began governing us as a people. I wondered if these initials were the same. People from before that had used this place. My fingers lazily traced one of the hearts.
Keep moving, there isn’t time to dawdle.Kage instructed.
Jeeze, alright. I’m going.I didn’t know what to make of the god that spoke inside my head. Everything I knew about the god of shadows was mere myth. He was known to be almost as elusive as the god of death, but far more approachable. While the god of death was greatly feared, Kage, was respected by many for his use of shadows. He was favored by thieves who used those dark corners to hide their wicked dealings. He was also a favorite of the rich, who reveled in nighttime pleasures that were far too sinful for the daylight.
“There you are,” Dex said from behind me, startling me.
My mouth dropped open and I backed up, arms raised and ready for a fight.
I told you to keep moving,Kage said with a resigned sigh.
“Surprised to see me?”
“I guess I am,” I said, jutting my chin up.
