Tomorrow … hell would be unleashed, along with its spawns. The green ground would be soaked red with the blood of friend and foe alike. And tomorrow, it would all be over. They would face the storm together and fight for a new beginning. They would win. They would be victorious, Lita was certain of it, but at what cost? Who among them would not be making the trip back home? How many of them would they have to bury?
The drums continued to sound rhythmically in the distance. With each moment, the hum was coming closer. With each step, with each second, the war was inching even closer.
Lita closed her eyes and settled into Asher’s chest to get some rest. Before she drifted to sleep, she reached out to the Moon Goddess.Please, protect my children. I’ve lived my life, take mine if you must, but spare theirs … please, shield my children.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
“We have reports that the vampires have joined the army in front of Elysia.” Leoric said as he walked at Mephisto’s side.
“It doesn’t matter if they’ve joined. Is it still only Leviathan? He’s the only upper-tiered deity there?”
“Yes, he’s the only tier-one deity that appears to be there.” Leoric watched as a cruel smile rose over his father’s lips.
“Perfect,” Mephisto said in haughty arrogance. “Once Leviathan is out of the way, I’ll be able to flatten all the others. He’s the only one who is a threat against me.” He grabbed something hidden in his shirt and smirked. The time had finally come when he would use the ace he had up his sleeve. It would only give him a few moments of time, but that was all he needed. He only needed to freeze Leviathan for a few minutes … just long enough to kill the deity. With Leviathan dead, there was no one who could stop him. He would ravage all of those who opposed him and take the little fairy princess for himself.
“Make sure you secure the princess for me after I take care of Leviathan,” Mephisto ordered Leoric.
Leoric scowled and rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand it at all. Wouldn’t your offspring be stronger with another demon? Imean, look at me. Look at my strength. Why waste your time on a weak fairy?”
Mephisto growled and glared at his son with disgust. “You are too narrow-minded to understand, aren’t you? That or perhaps too stupid. Fairy magic is unlike any other magic of this world. It’s different from witch magic and demon magic. It’s different from deity magic. It’s a magic that has a life force of its own. It’s a power that develops within you over time. It never stops growing. Can you imagine mixing a power like that? The possibilities …” He looked at Leoric. “Besides …” He licked his lips as a smirk rose over his face. “You know how much fun it is to tame a willful bride?”
Leoric almost choked. “I’m sorry … did you say ‘bride’?”
“Why not?” Mephisto looked at his son, all but daring him to object.
Leoric didn’t get it. It was like his half-brother and father had become obsessed with a weaker race. Honestly, it disgusted him. The idea of touching one of those sweet, floral-scented fairies was revolting. In his eyes, it was counterproductive. How did they know they would create a more powerful species for their side? The child would be part fairy and could easily rise up against them. His father could very well be sealing their doom. Whatever. He wanted no part of it. Even the idea of it was repulsive.
“Do you think the Moon Goddess will sit idly by after you kill Leviathan?” Leoric decided to change the topic. There were not a lot of things that could turn his stomach, but procreating with a fairy was one of them.
Mephisto stopped walking, allowing the horde of demons to slowly march away. He turned and looked at Leoric. “We have to play their game in order to win. Selene and Kali won’t do anything as long as there’s hope to bring their precious Endymion back. We only need to make sure the Gemini soulssurvive. The fairy princess is one of them. The other will be the one staying close to her side. We only need to avoid killing those two. So make sure that happens.”
He looked at Leoric darkly. “If one of the Gemini twins dies,” Mephisto curled his lip up angrily, “that damn goddess will make sure the world suffers for her mistakes.” He then smirked slightly. “Not sure how that goddess is much different from us demons.” He chuckled at this and looked at the perplexed look on Leoric’s face. He obviously wasn’t following along, and this frustrated him. “The goddess will suck this world into the black hole if she doesn’t get her way. That is the true nature of the perfect Moon Goddess. She is childish and petty. She is so stuck on one man that she ignores everyone else’s existence. She refuses to look at anyone else … so focused on what she lost that she can’t try something new.”
“Oh. My.” Leoric held his hands up and then stared his father down. “I have never been more disappointed in you than I am at this moment,” Leoric said coldly. “You might be an original demon, but you have gone soft.”
Mephisto scoffed and stared at his son. “Would you like me to teach you a painful lesson in the difference between us?”
“You are in love with the damn Moon Goddess. That’s what all of this is about, isn’t it? Damnit. I knew you agreed to this too easily. You’re doing it to be spiteful. She never showed interest in you after Endymion was gone. That’s the problem here, the reason you’ve gone down this road. It’s because of the Moon Goddess, isn’t it?”
“You can’t understand, son. You’ll never understand. Demons are supposed to take what they desire. It’s what we do. Instead, I’m mocked for wanting something that’s considered unobtainable. Am I doing all of this to piss off Selene? Sure, why the hell not? And to make sure I really hit her where it’ll hurt, I’m taking that fairy princess she favors so much. I’m going to makea mess of her. Selene won’t be able to interfere, because she will still be holding out for damn hope.”
Mephisto started walking again, to catch up to the horde. Leoric met his pace and stayed by his side.
“What are you doing, Dad? You’re better than this,” Leoric whispered out.
“When you have a craving for something, until you get it, you’re never satisfied. No matter how many different substitutions you try, they will never be what you’ve been craving. You never focus on the bigger picture, son. You’re so focused on world domination that you’re not thinking ahead. If you want to be on top, you must plan for the present and the future.” Mephisto looked ahead and continued walking slowly.
“And what future do you want now?” Leoric asked, looking up at his father.
“One where Selene will know despair.” Mephisto smirked. A cloud covered over the moonlight as they walked in the darkness. He glanced upward and sneered at the diminishing light. “What’s the matter, my lady? Don’t wish to see how this ends?”
The tapping of drums continued. No other sound was heard. There were no crickets or tree frogs making themselves known on this night. Instead, darkness overtook the area as the cloud remained, covering the moon.
The drums were louder now, and they could now hear the sounds of marching. Everyone was slowly moving into positions to brace for the incoming demon army.
Hunter hugged Reiya tight. “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I will. You’re the one I’m more worried about,” Reiya said, arching her brow at him.
