Though now that I think of it, a couple days ago and such a slip would have sent me into a raging blackout. She’d slowly been carving slices off of my power, and with each jab the pain was a little less, and I was a little more in control.
She frowned. “I wasn’t worshipping you.”
I’ll show you how you can worship me, sweetheart.
While I could not take her fealty and prayers, I wanted to make her moan and scream to the heavens as I fell to my knees before her.
My hands slid up and down the smooth metal while thinking of her warm, pliable body. Miranda tracked the movement, her mouth parting slightly. For a moment, I thought I caught a trace of lust in her eyes, but it was gone in an instant.
I dropped my arms and took a couple steps away. “To answer your question as to how I got here, I died of course.”
“How?” She neared the bars once again.
“By the hands of my enemy.” A snarl sprang to my lips.
“Was he a vampire? A sekhor?”
I shook my head. “He was another god, a sun god. He burned me to death.”
“Who was it?” Miranda suddenly asked in a demanding tone. “Is he here? In Vegas? Running one of the hotels while you sit down here and rot in pain?”
When I looked up at her, I saw fire in her eyes. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
“No. He’s long dead and gone.” I nodded to her. “By the very blade you hold in your hand there.”
Miranda studied her sword with renewed interest, as if she could see the ghost of my nemesis there.
My tone turned dark as I paced along the edge of my cage. “He was insane, out of his mind, the power hungry son of a bitch. I tried to warn the others, but no one believed me. I told them he would burn everything to the ground until he was the last one standing.” I opened my mouth to say his name, but then closed it shut. Ancient names held too much power, even though he’d been vanquished by the very blade I was trying to end my existence on. The irony was not lost on me. It was like he was still here, sending me to my death for a second time. Winning after he was long dead and gone.
“I faced him alone, and we battled. I tried to drown him, he boiled my seas, and in the end, he was the victor.”
I fell silent, the echo of my last words lingering in the air. Then, with a sigh, I continued, “But my death was the catalyst for the uprising against him. Timothy regaled me with the events after my godly essence returned to the cradle of life. Gods, fae, and man fought him alike, until he was finally vanquished with the blade of bane.”
Miranda had listened intently, but now she asked. “But why are you here? Why are you like this?”
I shrugged. “Like I said, I was killed and returned to the cradle of life. But my repose was cut short. I don’t know why. I don’t know how. It was far too soon. I had not lain long enough.”
Miranda expanded on the issue. “Gods need to lay in there for years, even hundreds of years before they can emerge again.”
I nodded. “At first, our energies are too volatile which is why we must rest until we are in control again.”
“But Vivien called Grim out from the cradle within a matter of days and he wasn’t…out of control. Or at least not after a while.”
I stopped my pacing, my heart thumping wildly with anger over the injustice. I knew he’d been revived along with some of the details. “Indeed,” I said in a dark voice. “He did not suffer the same effects as me.” My words came out crisp and bitter.
“Why?”
I shrugged, trying to bury my anger and resentment in indifference. “Who knows? Perhaps he is more controlled than me. Perhaps I am being punished.”
“Is that what you think?” She came within arm's reach.
I stepped back up to the bars again, inhaling her scent. It both calmed and infuriated me. I wanted her. I could never have her, if for nothing other than the fact I was a monster.
“Look at me, Miranda,” I said, my words harsh. “Do you see where I am? I am far from any ocean because my simple presence makes them boil. Grim moved to the desert of North America to help sequester me. I am kept behind bars. There is nothing but endless pain and solitude for me. I am not an omniscient god, but I understand punishment when I’m in the midst of it. Osiris cannot or will not account for my current state. So perhaps some even larger entity rules us all and saw fit to make me suffer. Perhaps my enemy is still somehow pulling the strings on my pain long after his demise. Either way, will you do me the kindness of running me through and giving me a modicum of relief until I am finally dead and gone for good.” It was then I realized I’d yelled the last bit.
Miranda’s lip trembled as she shrank away from me.
At first, I thought it was my power flaring, hurting her. But no, I hadn’t unleashed anything for once. She was simply experiencing some strong emotion. From the look in her eyes, I couldn’t guess if it was pity, fear, or maybe disgust. I was a monster last night, but most of all, I hated the bitter creature I was right now. It almost made me long to return to my gnarled, deformed god-likeness so she wouldn’t see me like this.
