His element had so much love, light… life, while mine was destruction, wrath, and… death. He gave beings new hope, happiness beyond their demise, and all I did was solidify their existence coming to an end. I was nothing more than the middleman who forced them to move on whether they were ready or not. I cut their lives short, split their families apart, and took them from Earth to a place where they had to wait in despair and darkness until I had time to ‘deal’ with them.
Odysseus opened his arms to every soul, to every being, and had the same loving touch for every creature he crossed. He was their new hope, their blessing for behaving while on Earth, and I their cruel punishment.
Yes, my job was harder. I had to deal with the emotional part of the journey. I had to listen to their agony, their suffering, their pain. I had to decide whether they deserved this shining beacon or the pits of evil, while all he had to do was accept them and make their dreams come true.
I realized at that moment how unfair our balance actually was. Odysseus was the good guy no matter the circumstance. He only had to deal with the ‘well-behaved’ souls, the ones who had already been flagged for their good behavior, and he was the one to reward them for it. I had to be the bad guy, the mean parent, the one who made them own up to their mistakes. Of course being a Life Elemental seemed fun; what real darkness did they have to face when Death took care of the dirty work for them?
Odysseus finished faster than I thought. He caught me off in my own world, my mind racing a thousand miles a minute, and frowned at the way I stared off into the distance. He closed the bag and took it from Avalon back to me, where he tugged on my sleeve to gain my attention. “Hey, you. You did such a great job organizing these guys. They were perfectly ready to go for me,” he praised as he fixed the bag back to my belt.
“Thanks,” I blandly retorted.
“You’ll have a scythe again soon. Griffin said he was dedicating the whole day to making one for you, so hopefully, you can ditch the bag!” he tried to cheerfully say.
“I suppose so.” I did not echo his enthusiasm, and this made him frown harder.
“You two did marvelous today. Why don’t you take a break for a little bit while we wait for Seraphine to bring us her batch of souls?” Avalon suggested, sensing the awkward air around me.
“Sounds like a grand idea. I have something to show Nick anyway.” Odysseus held his hand out to me eagerly, nervous I wouldn’t take it, but I did regardless of my pessimistic thoughts. He huffed in relief at that and tugged me back towards the palace. His energy was so sporadic that I could tell he was very anxious, so I told myself to behave for his sake if anything.
“What did you want to show me?” I asked, lifting my tone higher.
He saw right through me but decided not to say anything. “I’ve been playing around in the lab and thought you could test some things for me.”
“I don’t know if I’m in a testing mood…” I grumbled.
His mouth pulled upright. “I bet I can change your mind?”
“Oh, really?” I taunted, my heartbeat quickening with curiosity. He took up through the palace until we were at the door ofLux Domus, which welcomed me with a familiarity I desperately needed.
The room had been transformed quite a bit since our last visit. What once held the chaise we bled ourselves dry on was now a lavish bedroom. A large bed with golden canopies and silk sheets was placed on the far back wall, with fluffy white rugs and comfortable chairs deliberately styled around the space. The chaise itself had its own corner and now held fuzzy blankets and plush pillows to give it more life. The desk had an assortment of liquids and notes scattered across it, which Odysseus gravitated towards.
“My, this place has changed quite a bit. Did Ashlynn officially move you in?” I questioned as I fingered the golden canopies surrounding the bed.
“Yes. She wanted me to have my own space when I came here, and theLuxis my favorite spot. I felt bad taking the bedroom from her, but she insisted.” He plucked a vial of gold liquid from his organizer and spun it around. “Drink this.”
“What the heck is it?” I scoffed, peering through the glass at the odd substance.
“One of my quirks as Erasmus’s Successor is that I can pull pure Life energy from my blood and make some badass healing serums. I hate the extraction part, but it was worth it to know it will help you heal up.” He took my chin to prop my mouth open and tilt my head back. “Be a good boy and drink it all,” he whispered in my ear, biting it softly to drive the point across.
“You’re a fucking pervert,” I blurted in a high-pitched voice, as his comment had certainly flustered me.
“Get used to it.” He poured the liquid into my mouth, which I begrudgingly swallowed. As soon as it hit my stomach a warming feeling traveled through my veins and into my chest, where I could feel the deep pain I had been combating melt away. I let out a purely relieved sigh as my body finally began to bounce back and licked my lips to finish up the last drops. “Feel better?” he asked hopefully.
“A million times. Who knew your bodily fluids tasted so good,” I laughed.
That stupid side-smile lifted on his cheeks again. “You would know, actually.”
“Odysseus Levasseur, you better cut the crap!” I giggled out, pushing him away playfully. Instead of letting me push him, he grabbed my hand and spun me in a circle so he could hug me from behind. I felt incredibly safe in his arms and nestled into his chest, laying my cheek on his exposed neck. “Thank you for doing that for me. It helped tremendously.”
“Think you feel good enough to try something else for me?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“Well…” He pulled a new vial from the organizer. This one had a hazy purple liquid inside that looked like someone had dropped a glitter bomb into. It glistened like pure magic, a vibrantly beautiful hue that piqued my interest. “I’ve been trying to promote reproduction with Humans, since birth rates are so low, but I can’t find a balanced in hormone levels. I’ve only tested this on another couple, who said they didn’t feel much, so I amped up the dosage.”
“You just want an excuse to fuck me,” I accused, though I was far from complaining.
His eyes shifted to hunger. “While I’ll take any chance I can get, I am quite serious about this experiment. I figured, if it wastoo much, that it would be better to test it with someone I trust rather than some unsuspecting couple.”
