I wait for them to put the pieces together, to realise just how monumental this is.
“The people in the darkness, the ones that we kill on sight, they’re the originals, they’re the natives of this realm, the ones who are supposed to be living and in charge of the realm. Instead they’ve been cast out and hunted,” Rast says, sounding utterly horrified and paling.
“Yes,” I admit.
I know what he’s going through, I went through the same thing when I realised.
“Fuck,” Kill curses. “Fry, Lock and the others, they aren’t the descendants of the escaped souls.”
“That’s why they didn’t feel like a threat to us,” Storm says.
“We are,” Rast says, paling. “We’re the descendants of the escaped souls.”
“How is it even possible?” Khaos asks. “Can souls procreate?”
I shrug. “Apparently. Although it’s the people in power who are the escaped souls, there are still a lot of the descendants of the natives that live within the compounds too.”
“I still don’t get how this could happen?” Loki says.
Surprisingly, Khaos is the one to answer, “It’s pretty simple when you get down to the bare bones of it. They’re criminals, they’re the worst of the worst, but all it took were a few intelligent and strategic ones to put their minds together, and it would be easy to get the others to follow. I’m sure not all of them did, and I’m sure that those ones were disposed of. If one of these criminals offered protection or showed remorse to someone who was running a compound, then that’s all it would take to get their foot in the door.Once they did, they could have easily spread like a poison. Everyone was in a panic it would have been easy to prey on that vulnerability.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nico
“And we all know how easy it is to change history,” Mayhem adds.
“There’s more,” I say.
“Of course there is,” Reaper mutters.
“The compound leaders are trading people with the Others. We are kidnapping them, and the compound leaders are only giving them back if the Others give them spells and things that help to keep the compound running and the magic working. The magic that keeps the compounds lit and keeps things growing is good. It can’t be used by anyone who has stepped foot on the punishment side of the realm. They don’t want to risk the truth coming out, so they would rather outsource the help instead of asking someone who hasn’t been on the punishment side to help,” I explain.
“So they’re thousands of years old, and souls,” Rival asks.
I nod, “Yes, and only more powerful. They absorb magic from those at the compound without any of them realising it. It sustains them and keeps the people weaker.”
“Fuck.” Zev curses.
“Pretty much. They’re also bribing the Abyss creatures to leave the compounds alone by feeding them the people who piss them off the most. They weren’t willing to risk that you would come back somehow to do that to you. Their Seer told them that killing you would only ensure their demise.”
“This is insane,” Rast comments. “So those people that we ran into, the ones that Farren immediately trusted, they’re actually the true inhabitants of the realm.”
“Yes,” I reply. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re being followed or tracked somehow by the compound elders. You were really pissing them off, Rast. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they decided to try to end you and fuck the consequences. Now that you’re the Ferryman though, which wasn’t supposed to happen, they’re even more cautious of you now than they were before.”
“Good, that will hopefully play in our favour,” Storm says with a dangerous glint to his eye.
“Is no one going to talk about the giant creature that is currently guarding Nico and Farren?” Loki asks, throwing his arms up in the air dramatically and looking at the rest of us like we’re all crazy.
I glance up at the huge beast sat next to me, and my eyes widen as it looks back at me with intelligent eyes.
“Okay, for some reason that makes it so much more frightening,” Mayhem mutters.
“Does anyone know what kind of creature it is?” Killian asks, his eyes switching between watching the creature and me, or rather Farren.
The creature is enormous, but can clearly move around completely undetected, because no one, not even me, knew that it was following us.
“Was it following us?” I ask out loud without meaning to. I’ve got far too used to just saying what I’m thinking, and that’s going to get me in trouble.
