AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once, the gods had cared about humans. That affection had been destroyed long ago. This time things would be different.
This time the gods would win.
Unlike Gustaine, Balor had changed, as had his method of exploiting his—he chuckled dryly at the pun—God-given gift. And why not? With such enormous power, it was a wonder he’d ever been kind.
He’d watched long enough. This was the master he would serve. A gargantuan, ruthless deity who shared his own grievances, goals, and desires. Who’d already begun drawing other powerful gods near, as even now the devilish, bloodthirsty, wish-granting AOZ danced devious attendance. Balor had a plan, and a fine one. Gustaine was more than ready to see the human race wiped out. And when it was, Balor would be powerful enough to kill even the Faerie.
Gustaine scattered into a sea of insects, scuttling over the grooves and crevices, making his way across the enormous cavern in a dark, glistening wave. He approached the god, where he stood near the black mirror and mound of bodies. Though many were maimed, they were not beyond repair or prolonged use.
He waited respectfully while Balor finished removing the paralysis spell from a tumble of bodies before assembling a precarious form and grinding out a formal troth, “I am at your service, great and powerful Balor.”
The immense god whirled from the bodies in a rustle of long black robes, his limp barely noticeable. Ah, yes, he was stronger than before!
Half his magnificent face curved in a blindingly beautiful smile, the other half was completely concealed behind an elaborately embellished glossy raven mask.
As he glanced down at the roach god’s squat form, he laughed. “Ah, Gustaine, my dear old friend, I’d hoped you’d survived and would find me here. Your skills have always been invaluable.”
“It is a pleasure to see you,” Gustaine said. “How may I serve?” One day he would never say those words again.
“AOZ has just apprised me of a human who has something that should belong to me. Scour Dublin and find her.”
“I would be honored to aid your cause. Who do I seek?”
“AOZ will give you the description. When you locate her, return to me with her location. Take no action. I will collect this body myself.”
“Have you a name?” Gustaine eavesdropped everywhere, on everyone, invisible at their feet, in crevices and refuse. A name would help.
“She calls herself Dani O’Malley.”
I’m awfully underrated but came here to correct it
SURE ENOUGH, THE BASTARD was rebuilding Chester’s.
I stood on the sidewalk, hands fisted, a muscle working in my jaw, assaulted by such acute duality that I’d locked my limbs to keep them from ripping me apart, as they attempted to obey polar opposite desires.
Conflicted is not my natural state.
I’m an arrow to the goal, focused, unwavering. I pick a side and stick with it where every single facet of my life is concerned.
Except for one.
That. Man.
Half of me wanted to punch my fist into the air and shout, “Bloody hell, my sidekick’s back and it looks like he plans to stick around for a while this time!” while I dashed below to confirm the auspicious event with my own eyes.
The other half of me wanted to slam my fist into Ryodan’s face and break bones.
No, I reevaluated my percentages, half wasn’t quite right. Thirty-eight percent of me was in favor of caving to an idiotically happy smile, while sixty-two percent of me was in
censed, infuriated, enraged, with thick plumes of steam threatening to erupt from my ears.
I don’t get headaches often but I was about to have one. There was too much pressure in my body and no way to vent it.
While he’d kept me out of commission without my consent, he’d made mind-boggling progress. A framed structure now stood on the previously empty lot above Chester’s underground nightclub. Several hundred workers were rushing to and fro, prepping for the next phase of the project.
Footers had been poured and were curing, there were steel beams and girders waiting to be placed. Bobcats growled, there was even a small crane maneuvering stuff around. Here, piles of lumber rested on pallets, there, enormous blocks of smoky stone were stacked high.
He had to be running three shifts a day, working through the night. Ryodan was like that. Once he wanted something, he wanted it yesterday. He’d wait if he had to, with the true patience of an immortal, but if he could bypass that waiting he would.
