“I also have about three million more souls to send off. Five hundred is merely a dent.”
He smoothed out a crinkle in my forehead. “Don’t be so serious all the time. Seraphine said she was taking a break at five hundred, so you should as well. I know you still don’t feel good after all that happened, so take it easy. The souls will always be waiting for you no matter how many you do in one day. People die constantly, Nicodemus. What’s a couple days when you have eternity ahead of you?” He waved me forward towards the golden palace up the hillside, and begrudgingly, I followed, snapping my cloak stubbornly so it would encase me once again.
I shuffled behind Magnus like a little soot ball, leaving puffs of black behind that mingled with the clouds below our feet and turned them a mute grey. I was satisfied that I left a little piece of my Realm scattered throughout this immaculate sanctuary, that I could ruin its perfection even slightly. I hated feeling like a lump of destruction compared to the shining beacons of hope that Life Elementals were. They got the credit for being such pristine beings, while we were the depressing waste of spaces that rained on their parade.
Well, take that, Life Realm; me and my soot clouds just made your immaculate white floors a little harder to clean.
Avalon was barking orders at two very nervous Life Elementals when Magnus and I entered the golden palace, though Magnus didn’t seem to care whatsoever about how busy Avalon seemed. He stormed right up to her and brushed the Elementals aside to hold the bag out to her like a child does a school drawing. “Look what Nick brought us!” he sang.
Avalon peered into the bag with her oval amber eyes. “My, my, quite a loot. Odysseus has been waiting ever-so-impatiently for these souls.”
“Seraphine hasn’t brought him any?” I questioned.
“Not yet, but she’s a bit rusty, so she asked for extra time.” She heaved the bag over her shoulder and nodded to the two Elementals. “Go find Odysseus and ask him to join us at the gates of Caelum. He should be in his office.”
“He has an office already?” I scoffed in surprise as they whisked away, happy to be free of her scolding.
“He needed a place to work. He’s been experimenting quite a bit with Yuri and Calyx.”
“Experimenting? On what?”
Avalon guided us through the busy hallways of the Life palace expertly, moving at an even speed, but still with hurried energy. “He’s always working on something. Right now, he’s trying to raise populations of the younger generations. Birth rates are down by thirty percent compared to last year, so we need to get Humans mating to sustain the species.”
“Wonder how he’ll pull that off,” Magnus said, reaching for my hand so I wouldn’t get lost in the sea of Life Elementals around us. I held his like a lost child, feeling completely exposed in the vibrant gold that surrounded us.
Avalon stopped us in a waiting room just before where the gates of Caelum began. “Why don’t you grab a coffee, Nick, while Magnus and I prepare for Odysseus. He should be down any moment.”
“I, sure, yeah.” I watched them depart through the ten-foot glass doors leading to the gates, which gleamed under the incredible sun above them. Once the doors shut, I slumped into a spare chair and rolled my lips, craning my neck to make it pop. I was, admittedly, incredibly sore and stiff from my own workload, and a coffee didn’t sound too bad right now.
Before I could stand to make one, Yuri, one of my mother’s higher-ups, exploded from an opposite hallway. I jumped in surprise from his entrance, confused as to why he was so agitated. He paused when he saw me beside the coffee machine and cut me a side-eye I was certainly not expecting. “Hmm, if it isn’t Atlas’s pride and joy.”
“And Ashlynn’s,” I teased to try and break the tension, though that only made him suck his teeth and fold his arms. “I, uh, it’s been a while, Yuri. It’s good to see you?” I attempted.
“So it has. Is the Shadow Realm in a similar state to the Life Realm?”
“If you mean in total disarray and chaos, then yes, it is.” I popped a coffee pod in the machine and hit the ON button so it would start dispensing my drink. “Seraphine, Endymion, and I are trying our best to clean up the mess, for everyone’s sake.”
His tone darkened drastically. “I’m surprised you Death Elementals give a damn about everyone else involved in this situation.”
I was shocked by his words.
My blood ran cold at how sharp they were, making me pause pouring sugar into my mug. “Why wouldn’t we?” I shot back, offended highly.
He kept that curt tone with me, “Considering it wasyourfather who created this mess, I would have thought you’d be more concerned over his well-being than the destruction he left behind. That’s something you Death Elementals tend to do:cause destruction and leave the Life Elementals to clean up the mess for you.”
I stopped stirring. My eyes, already black, began to puff smoke rapidly as my anger burned deep within the pit of my stomach. “If you think I am unaware of what my father has done, or that I condone any of it, then you are mistaken. I did not interfere with his punishment, and trust me, after the day I’ve had… I’m starting to believe it was the right thing for him.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Yuri crossed the room to snatch my coffee cup and pour the substance into a potted plant. I watched in disbelief as it swirled into the dirt of the plant. “All you do is make more trouble for us, youandyour unstable father. You two go on a rampage and destroy thousands of lives, but no matter, because the Gods and your peasant Elementals will clean up after you, right? Gods forbid you ever considered yourfiancé, in this matter.” He said fiancé like a curse word. “You love him so dearly, yet have forced him to slave over millions of souls for days on end, trying to give them proper resting places. You selfish fucks don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself, and if it were up to me, you’dbothbe dropped in Gehenna to rot so you can’t harm anyone else.”
“What the fuck is your problem?” I turned and shoved him away from me, making him stumble. “You act like I can help that I was born this way! What my father did was absolutely unacceptable, and I am feeling the burden of it as much as, if notmorethan you; I’m the one who has to file every soul that perished, not just the good ones, but you forget that, don’t you? You only get the cute, little innocent ones, who have done no harm, while we have to slave around Gehenna and Purgatory all day. You think your life is so rough? HA! Step into my shoes for one fucking day, Yuri. I promise, you’ll burn them by sunset.”
Yuri grabbed my shirt and yanked me forward, his citrine eyes glossed over with fury. “Myproblemis that you are a tickingtime bomb the same as your father, and you’re going to take my entire Realm down with you, especiallymyfuture God.”
“What do you-…?”
“Odysseus has worked his ass off to be perfect for Ashlynn and us, and you’re throwing a wrench in all he has done to prove his worth as a God. You are going to completely ruin him, and I willnotstand by and watch it happen-…!”
“Enough, Yuri.” Odysseus’s booming command echoed through the waiting room, making Yuri tense up. He let go of my shirt immediately and tucked both hands behind his back, his head sinking in shame. Odysseus entered the room in his Elemental form, looking as majestic and gorgeous as a future God should. He had his glasses in his shirt pocket and his hair tied into a high ponytail, but his armor and sword glistened brilliantly under the sun cutting in through the windows. “What exactly is going on in here?” he scolded.
