“What is his name?”
“Evander Ambermourn.”
“Let us see about this Ambermourn...” Peregrine’s eyes closed, and when they did, his eyelashes began to weave themselves in and out of his eyelids, sewing them together. A subtle light filled his palms before his mouth slowly opened, and that same light exploded from his throat. The throne room glowed from thelight he emitted, and his voice echoed from deep within himself. “Please keep your eyes on the light as I search for his soul,” he instructed.
“This part is always so fun!” a demon to my right cheered.
The light shimmered until Ambermourn’s image came into view. In the image, he stood with Isadora in front of theLiber Silentiumin the Fire Realm. The two marveled over Soren’s barrier, their hands dancing along the intense fire.
I gasped in horror and immediately pulled my cloak together to depart. “They’re going after theLiber Silentium! If he gets his hands on that...!” I shook my head wildly. “I need to get there, now!”
“I would move in haste. This is happening as we speak.” Peregrine closed his mouth, and his eyes unwound themselves so he could open them again. “Did I grant you the information you desired?”
“More than! Thank you!”
I hurried through a portal back to the Fire Realm, leaving Peregrine to close his hands and settle back into his seat. “Good luck to you, God of Death. We wait with bated breaths.”
The Fire Realm was hotter than anything I’d ever experienced, but I forged ahead to the obsidian castle in the distance. Flames soared through the sky, engulfing the landscape, as if to warn me of what lay ahead, but I ignored that warning. Amara, Asher, and Bodhi raced along the burning ground behind me, still in their Pomeranian forms, but on high alert. With Ambermourn going after theLiber Silentium, I could only imagine what he had planned for the book, and I was ready to do what was necessary to keep him from doing the impossible.
“Fuck! Send, send, send...! Gods damnit, Blaine!” I roared as I tried to get my message to send to our Gods group chat, but the rock walls were blocking the signal. Instead, I whistled for Hannah, who popped up immediately. “Go to the Shadow Realm and find Claude! Have him tell Nick to send everyone he can to my location!”
"On it!” She dissipated as I bolted down the steps into Blaine’s personal chambers.
I grabbed the first guard I could and shook them wildly. “Where are Ambermourn and Isadora?”
“Who?” she stammered amongst my shaking.
“How do you not know two highly dangerous people are in your Realm?” I shrieked.
“Dangerous?” Blaine’s second-in-command, Troy, roared as he took the steps two at a time. “How did they get passed us?”
“It doesn’t matter; where did Soren put theLiber Silentium?”
“Follow me!”
We took a specific route through the structure to a set of doors that led deeper into belly of the castle, where I told Troy to wait for Blaine while I confronted Ambermourn. I slid through the crack of the door as fluid smoke, hovering over the room in an ominous cloud so I could listen to their conversation. Ambermourn had his hands on Isadora’s back, coaxing her to drop the barrier around the book, which gleamed a brilliant gold under the flames that encased it. Isadora was hesitant, her fingers trembling. “You promise I can bring my sister back with this book?” she asked again to confirm his lie.
Ambermourn nodded eagerly. “I swear it! This book overrides all spells the Gods use, especially resurrection spells. I can perform a resurrection if I have the book.”
She cut him a disbelieving side glare. “Atlas said only he and Nick could resurrect people...?”
Ambermourn rolled his heavy eyes. “He said that to keep you from sticking your nose in his business. Atlas is a manipulative liar. He does not want to give you your freedoms… but I can.” He pushed her closer to the dome. “You are one of the only people alive who can touch a God’s fire, as a being from Gehenna and daughter of the Original Gods. Please, trust me, and I will bring your sister back to you.”
“O-...Ok...?”
“Isadora!” I yelled, materializing again. I fell to my knees just as she touched the barrier, which made it sizzle wildly before it collapsed into itself. She whipped around in astonishment when she heard my voice, shaking like a leaf. “What have you done...?” I whispered in disbelief.
“Atlas, I-...!”
Ambermourn took the book off the pedestal and opened it, which made the pages illuminate the dark hall. His smile grew ear to ear. “Looks like you’re not so powerful now, are you, Atlas?”
“I’ll kill you!” I raged, whipping my scythe free.
Ambermourn chuckled darkly.“Ruina Dei.”1
The moment he spoke the spell, my body turned so heavy that it felt as if I had swallowed cement. Every ounce of energy funneled from my body instantly, and I hit the ground with a loud thud. Isadora gasped into her hands, turning to Ambermourn. “What did you do to him?”
“Prove that no God is invincible.”
