Yuri went to speak, but I held a hand up. “Yuri and I were discussing the impacts of Atlas’s attack on both ofour,” I said the word loudly as an extra layer of sass, “Realms.”
“I see…” Odysseus cut him a glare that made him shrink even further into himself. “Well, I was about to meet you anyway. Yuri: why don’t you go check in with Ashlynn? She has the first phase of our experiment ready for deployment, and I’d like you to spearhead that project.”
“Of course.” Yuri was surprised that I hid our disagreement from Odysseus but did not question me. Instead, he shuffled off back down the hallway, his tail tucked between his legs.
Once the doors shut behind him, Odysseus dropped his intimidating God stance and raised an eyebrow at me. “Ok, spill. What the heck was all that about?”
“I dunno, dude. He’s pissed about what Atlas did is all. He’ll get over it eventually.”
“You’re lying to me…” He reached forward to squeeze my lips together. “I know your lying face, and you’re making it.”
“Says who?” I bubbled between my pursed lips.
He chuckled sweetly and kissed me once before taking my hand and turning for the doors to the gates. “I’ll get the truth out of you eventually. For now, let’s go see Avalon. I want to get these souls organized so I can show you something.”
“Something?” I prompted.
“You’ll have to help me to find out,” he teased with a soft wink.
1. Septem Ostia: The Seven Doors
2. Silentium mihi aeternum affer: Bring me eternal silence
Chapter twenty-six
Call Me Narcissus
Nicodemus
Odysseus rolled his sleeves up and set his sword on a raised cloud beside the gates before cracking his knuckles and rotating his neck. His bronze skin illuminated against the golden gates, a tantalizing sight that was sucking me in the longer I stared at him. His long fingers moved through his dense hair to pull his ponytail tighter, and once he was situated, he held a hand out to Avalon. “Alright. I have exactly five hundred doorways created, so we should be able to run through these souls quickly.”
“What can I do to help?” I asked, hopeful he would find me useful.
He looked over his shoulder and cracked that sexy side-smile I dreamt about. “You get to stand there and look pretty, which shouldn’t be very hard for you.”
A raging blush crawled up my cheeks, bright enough that Avalon and Magnus snickered when they saw it. “I can help a little?” I peeped sheepishly.
“I got this covered, love. Just enjoy the view.” He flexed his right arm and planted a kiss to his bicep. “I’ve been working up a sweat all day to show off for you.”
“Gods, get a room!” Avalon laughed, shoving Odysseus before handing him his first soul. Magnus marked it on his clipboard, nodded once, then stepped back so Odysseus could begin his song and dance.
And sure enough, he was right; watching him work was breathtaking.
The first door rolled up and opened, revealing a blank landscape inside. It was a simple white on white void, yearning for someone to bless it with its true destiny. Odysseus cupped the soul and brought it to his ear, listening to her wishes for her forever. Once she told him, he brought his left hand up and went from a fist to an open palm, and when it opened, a flash of brilliant golden light exploded from the center. The light flooded the blank canvas, forming, at first, outlines of buildings, trees, and other shapes. These shapes began to morph into a beautiful farm, with multiple buildings stretching across acres upon acres. The soul squealed in excitement as she watched her forever form, and once Odysseus was finished with it, he curled his hands around the soul.
“Time for you to go off to your forever,” he crooned before blowing on the soul. His breath brought the soul from a white blob to a ghostly version of the young girl I had spoken to earlier. She was short, around 5’2, with shaggy brown hair and wide eyes. They were black, now that she was dead, but her rosy cheeks and pink lips were beautiful against her pale skin. “Have fun! We’ll come check on you soon!” Odysseus cheered with a wave.
Anne-Marie blew him a kiss. “Send all the pets you can to me!”
“I most certainly will,” he chuckled, closing the door. The last thing I saw was the girl racing in circles through the fields as her laughs perfumed the clear skies.
“How beautiful is that?” Avalon cooed.
“It never gets old,” Magnus agreed.
Odysseus flicked his finger, which made the next door appear, and simultaneously went into the bag to retrieve another soul. “Number twenty-six!” he called over his shoulder before repeating the same routine he had with the prior soul. Once he was in his rhythm, he was going so fast that I could barely keep up. Each doorway would be crafted into magnificent worlds for these souls, and he would breathe enough life into them that their souls would become beings once again, and they could enjoy their new homes.
Watching him made me incredibly jealous.
