“They are guardians and harbingers..."
My jaw clenches with impatience. “Dear god, Azrael...Of what?”
His throat dips.
“Necessary death.”
My brows knit together as my heart begins to thump, and a sickening melange of guilt, frustration, and disbelief settles on my chest.
“Ok... So we turn around.”
Azrael shakes his head. “That’s not how it works. It doesn’t matter where we go now; fate will follow us.”
Despite his words, the urge to go straight back to the Catskills is overwhelming, but now that we’ve begunsurvival,I fear that if Violette uses her portal magic to get us back home, her life will be at risk for breaking her vow.
Fat, fluttering snowflakes begin to drift from the heavens as if heralding an inescapable fate.
The cervahnith is gone.
The steps leading across the river await.
If this creature plans to lead us to an early grave, I will not go easily or unarmed.
Azrael curses, growling under his breath. “I hate feeling like this.”
“Like what?”
He shakes his head, scowling as he stands. “So fucking helpless. So fuckinghuman.”
Violette stands to console him.
With their backs turned, I sneak my hand beneath the packed snow, grab the first knife my hand wraps around, and stand, tucking it in the back of my belt.
Lowering my head, I close my eyes to whisper a prayer—an apology— to theaersyanand anyone else who is listening.
I’m sorry for breaking your rules. You know my intentions. I will bring no harm to others, so long as they bring no harm to us.
VIOLETTE
After crossing the river’s steps, we find the cervahnith waiting for us. I’ve only ever read about them in lore—something so ancient and elusive that eventually everyone assumes they’ve either vanished from existence or never existed in the first place. From what little I’ve read about them and seen depicted, they represent death in all its forms, although they never do the killing themselves.
They simply lead one to it, and the realms beyond.
It can’t possibly be a mere coincidence that we are greeted by a cervahnith with a borderline suicidal god of death who’s also lost his powers and his incorporeal form... ?
Levi stalks in front of us, beside the cervahnith, maintaining his usual stoic ambience, but I canfeelthe tension radiating down our tether.
It makes me want to hug him.
Reassure him that no matter what comes to pass?—
My skin prickles with awareness, drawing my gaze in multiple directions. I lock eyes with another cervahnith several dozen feet away—a female—before I see another, and another.
A great yawn sounds from above, and I crane my neck upwards to see asphynxperched on a nearby, moss-coveredboulder that’s taller than a house. Another appears from behind her, tilting her head at me in clear curiosity. Both of luminous, iridescent fur and black eyes, completely void of sclera. They both offer me soft, albeit surprised smiles, revealing their fangs before lowering their heads in a bow.
The distinct sound of a uniquely caninehuffreaches my ears, and I shift to see a blacklykanthrosin its giant wolven form now walking beside us.
They’re allliminarchs.
