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The ground scraped my hands, but the burn filled me with life again. When I breathed, I could feel the ice in my core start to melt. My legs gave out beneath me and sent me sliding down the ravine wall. I managed to catch myself. The recoil of the sudden stop jerked my shoulder.
I would worry about the painful popping sound later. Right now, I had to get to my feet.
Maddox and I would do this together. If he had to spill blood, I would do it with him. He didn’t have to do anything alone. I refused to let him bear any burden by himself.
I collapsed once I reached Vince’s side. He thrashed under Maddox’s maw. The soul-torn wolf’s eyes flashed wide as the shades surrounded us. They glared down at him with accusing stares. One by one, they lifted their hands to point at him.
“Would you like me to undo you completely?” I asked softly. “You’ll cease to exist, but it might be easier that way. You won’t ever have to think about the monster you’ve become again.”
Vince didn’t acknowledge my voice at first. He was too far gone, too panicked by his situation, to understand. I put a hand to his forehead, which dragged a warning growl out of Maddox. Vince couldn’t hurt me while Maddox had him pinned.
But Vince could hurt Maddox. I noticed the smoke curling out from between Maddox’s jaws. The acrid smell on the air burned my nose. I swallowed hard and turned back to Vince.
“Maria isn’t on the other side. She won’t be there if you choose to pass on. But if you choose true death, then you will be free of the pain you can no longer heal.” I offered to tear Vince’s soul apart once and for all.
The idea of ending someone so permanently left a bitter taste in my mouth, but this wasn’t about me. This was about the man Vince could have been had he not been used.
I reached for him with my arcana, the pure power dredged from the deepest parts of my being, and was shocked when it didn’t collapse near Vince. This was what it meant to be godkin, apparently. I had more power than I knew what to do with.
More than Vince could negate. I wondered if this was what Vi felt like. Born from Lucifer, himself, Vi was as close to godkin as I knew. Did she have this deep well of power that grew more and more frightening the deeper she dug? The void inside me felt like the void of nothingness that’d tried to consume me in limbo.
I was nothingness, incarnate.
So, when I saw the sigils of evil magic still clinging to Vince’s soul, I was able to tear them into nothing. They cracked and fell apart right before me. I could have spared a moment to study them, but time was of the essence right now.
As soon as the sigils vanished, more of Vince’s soul came unraveled. However, he collapsed with a deep sigh, too. The magic binding him to his madness had been banished. I wished I could have done that sooner. Maybe we could have saved lives, including Vince’s.
“I’m so sorry for what I have to do,” I whispered.
Vince locked eyes with me. In his expression, I saw acceptance. He closed his eyes and embraced the fate I’d decided for him. This was for his own sake, and he knew it.
“Bite down,” I told Maddox. “Snap his neck and let go before his blood hurts you any more than it already has.”
Maddox followed my orders without question. I would never forget the meaty crack of Vince’s neck breaking. It sent a shudder through me that I had to ignore while I reached for what was left of Vince’s soul.
My heart ached, but Maddox came around and pressed against my side. All around us, the Pack watched. They surrounded the quarry and kept the undead things from getting out while I handled Vince.
“Ignore them,” Maddox said under his breath so only I could hear. “Don’t worry about everyone else. Focus on what you have to do.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. The shades around us sighed in unison. Their voices drifted away as they, too, dissolved. Their anguish was no more. Vince had been stopped. There was no reason for the shades to stay anymore, so I said a small goodbye to them under my breath.
Vince’s soul sat placid in my hands. He trusted me, now. I felt a twinge of relief and gratitude. He was grateful that he never got the chance to kill me, though I could see glimpses of how he’d hunted me this whole time. The small, torn soul sent a quick apology out to me before I let the nothingness end him.
Then, there was nothing.
A sob escaped me. Maddox quickly pulled me into his arms.
I would have leaned into him if Hel hadn’t chosen that exact moment to pluck me out of reality.
* * *
The momentmy ass hit the cold hard earth of Hel’s underworld, I let out a hollow scream. I covered my face and wailed until my throat was raw. Hel stood over me the whole time. She could have at least offered an apology.
Instead, the goddess crouched and pulled my hands away from my face. Her cold, hard look of determination warned me that I would not like what she was about to say.
“Your job is not over,” she declared.
I ripped my hands out of her grasp. “I’ll figure out how to heal reality on my own.”
