“By strengthening Atlas Crawford again, you have strengthened the entirety of the Four Horsemen. Any semblance of resistance to their prophecy has been shattered.” His voice grew deep and commanding, a true warning, “If Atlas Crawford were to go off the deep end, or if someone should speak the archaic spell to awaken the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse, the world as we know it would be destroyed. It is our job to conceal his powers, to keep him from reaching that insatiability, to keep the Horsemen at bay. As the next God of Death, you need to ensure this happens.”
I shook my head rapidly. “You-... this is insane. I-... Dad would never-...?”
Ambermourn was not amused by my panic. “Oh, but he would. Atlas is temperamental, as you know, and has gone off the deep end before. Plus, you factor in the spell...”
My eyes narrowed. “This spell you speak of... where is it, and who knows of it?”
Ambermourn pointed to the book Dad held in the painting. “There is a book that the Gods possess, called theLiber Silentium.It holds the spell to summon the apocalypse, and should that spell ever be spoken... you are in a world of trouble, Nicodemus.”
“I’ve heard of the book before, yes. It was used against my fiancé, to make his element burn him from the inside out. I heard it’s a book of spells to subdue the Gods, but was unaware it could be used as a weapon against them as well…” I murmured.
Ambermourn nodded firmly. “All I am saying, is that now that Pandora is at bay, you have new opportunities for someone to breach your forces and use something like this against you. I am not the only one aware of Atlas’s agreement with the Horsemen, and those who do know are hungry to get their hands on a world-altering power like that. He may not be Endymion’s successor, but the chaos Atlas can cause has put this universe in jeopardy before, and I fear it will do the same if we do not keep it in check.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and brushed my fingers over the painting in my hands as I thought to myself. Dad had hinted at this chaos within him multiple times, but I had been too blind, too naïve, to really notice. He told me how unstable his familiars were, told me how unstable he was at many points, but I brushed that under the rug because I had biased trust in my father to never become what I thought only I was capable of.
Another being that could rewrite the universe was lying dormant right under our noses, and now, the reality that the monster I should fear most might be my own father... it made me stomach sick to consider.
I exhaled softly before stuffing my hands under my arms. “Why are you telling me this, though? Why are you trying to help me? Better yet, what do you gain in relaying this information to me?”
His expression never changed as he spoke, as he was very confident in his words and message. “I am but a man worried for the collapse of the Earth. I tend to like this planet, and the beings who reside in it, and would hate to see it crushed by the hands of a man I once respected more than anything. I do not think Atlas is a monster, but he can be controlled by that spell the same as his familiars due to their soul-pact, so he needs to be treated as a very unstable and very unpredictable being.
This is why I wanted to meet you, to speak with you. You may be unstable yourself, but nothing like what the Horsemen would be. The havoc they would unleash... I don’t know if Earth would ever recover from it.” Ambermourn placed his hand on mine and gave it a gentle squeeze, his soulful eyes teeming with true seriousness. “Promise me you will keep that book in the right hands? That you won’t let anyone use it against you?”
“I will do my best,” I offered.
He stood abruptly while checking his watch. “I must return home. In case you lost it...” he slid me another card with his contact information on it, “you know where to find me. I would be happy to relay all I know in helping you keep Earth safe from this unstable force.”
I stuck this card into my pocket this time, determined to keep it by my side. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ll talk about this with the other Gods-to-be, see if we can make up a gameplan. I appreciate your warning, to say the least.” I reachedout to shake his hand; he took mine fluidly and gave it a good pull before dissipating into the night sky. I exhaled through my nose before sliding the painting of Dad back into my pocket. “Seems me and the old man need to have a serious talk,” I whispered to myself.
1. Tibi facultatem do regna transeundi, inter vivos sis. Cum illis move, inter eos vive, donec tempus tuum iterum adveniat: I grant you the power to pass between realms and remain among the living. Move among them, live among them, until your time comes again.
Chapter five
Father of Darkness
Nicodemus
Odysseus was relaxing in our dorm when I made my way back home that night. He had a sitcom playing on the television, but he was more occupied with his caramel popcorn than the show. He picked his head up when he heard me rematerialize, his smile illuminating the room as I shook my limbs out and sighed to myself. “Welcome back, love. I was wondering when you would be home.”
“What did I miss?” I prompted as I moved to collect some pajamas to change into.
He popped another candied kernel into his mouth, munching happily as he flicked through channels. “Nothing much, really. Everyone's taking the night to themselves for now.”
I opened the dorm door. “I see. I’m going to shower quickly, then we can catch up on that horror movie we started last night.”
“I’ll get more popcorn!” he adorably called, springing up to get the room together as I went towards the bathroom.
The hot water settled my nerves immensely as I washed away my sins from the day, letting it cascade over my face and head for as long as I could stand it. I lathered the soap on thick to moisturize my skin, as it had become dry from running about the cold evening back on Earth. I had to wipe the mirror with some paper towels since the steam had fogged it up, and when my face came into view, I frowned at how dejected and pale I looked in the reflection of the mirror. I had deep bags circling my eyes, making me look like a corpse from the deep stress and lack of sleep. Odysseus would absolutely say something to me, I was sure of it, but maybe I could get through the night unscathed if I played my cards right.
My tattoos perked up a bit when I rubbed lotion over them, and once I was satisfied with myself, I came back to the room and slid into bed. Odysseus automatically pulled me into his arms and let his salt covered lips trail my cheeks before he reached my own, where a soft kiss silenced my worries further. “You look like you have a lot on your mind. Is there anything I can do to ease your thoughts?” he murmured in between our gesture.
I let my tongue travel across his bottom lip, as he tasted like that sweet caramel popcorn, and I was enjoying the taste. “You could let me kiss you for a little longer?”
He chuckled sweetly and complied, and after five or so minutes of our passionate twining, he broke the kiss to slide his hand under my hair and tilt my face up. “I wanted to talk to you about something, now that we have a quiet night.”
“Sure?” I said, though I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t want to continue.
He let his fingers glide through my wet hair so he could lace them in the curls and twirl them around his hand. Lost in thought like this, his head fell onto the pillow, so our foreheadswere pressed together. “When do you want to get married?” he finally asked.
