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The woman at Halak’s feet screamed. She fell to her back, kicking and clawing at the ground as her skin began to dissolve. The screeching sounds turned to gurgling as black blood bubbled from her mouth.
Halak stared on, oblivious to the macabre events befalling the woman at his feet
Deruthel hissed. “She was our only prospect. I don’t understand why the breeders are failing.” He touched his claw to his head and focused on Halak.
Halak grunted and grabbed his head with both hands, staggering away from the portal. “Stop.”
He shook his head and approached Deruthel. “The king is desperate. He is bringing over the sicklings, so you can’t sever the worlds. He fears your power. His body is too large to pass. He has consumed all that can sustain him in the fallen world.”
Deruthel smiled. “He can no longer overtake my body. We must sever the worlds before he brings over more weaklings. He is using them as a stall tactic. His fear is unbecoming a king.”
Halak nodded, but there was real fear in his eyes. “You are unwise to take on the king. You are the most powerful besides Ashkara, but do not underestimate him.”
“I never underestimate my father,” Deruthel said. “Tell me why the breeders are failing. Our species will fall without breeders.”
Halak glanced at Riley. “We have been forced to breed the first generation to the female inhabitants once before.”
Deruthel growled. “Only Dannika and Riley are viable breeders for us.”
Halak nodded. “We have been trying to create demon women. I suggest we create shadow women. If we create twenty to thirty, their female offspring will create a stable breeding pool.”
Colton growled. “That will not happen.”
Deruthel held up one hand. “I have made a temporary truce with Riley. We will focus on my father’s banishment and then we will proceed with our original plan... with some modifications.”
Halak’s eyes narrowed. “We never deviate from our plans.”
“Our ability to infect other realms is coming to an end. We must create a sustainable ecosystem in this or a nearby world.”
Halak nodded. “Ashkara has come to the same conclusion.”
Deruthel growled. “He would never diminish himself willingly.”
“He has no choice. He has outgrown the ability to pass. I believe he arrived at the same conclusion as you, but there is only one vessel strong enough to absorb his mind.”
“I am aware he seeks to overtake my consciousness, but he would lose much of his power.”
Halak nodded. “With you gone, there is no one to oppose him if he restructures this world to a sustainable ecosystem.”
Deruthel glanced around the cavern. “He gained access to the locked section of my mind. He has seen the blueprint I wish to create.”
Halak nodded. “Whatever you plan to do. You are running out of time. I am second to you in power. Claiming my mind to force this portal opening has weakened him temporarily.”
Deruthel nodded approvingly. “You fought him.”
“The sicklings are a waste of resources. We will need to kill them before they feed.”
Deruthel turned toward Breck as he escorted a whimpering teenager from the tunnel. Her hands were bound and her long, dark hair was matted to her forehead. “Please don’t hurt me,” she wailed as her wild eyes darted to Riley and Colton. She pleaded for help from the only two beings in the room who looked human.
Breck stopped and dropped the girl at Deruthel’s feet. “Do you wish me to retrieve the serum?”
Deruthel touched the girl’s hair with one claw. “The females of this world are weak, but they hold a certain appeal. This one must be sacrificed to close the portal. I need virgin blood.”
The girl wailed and bowed down, covering her head with her hands.
Riley stepped up to Deruthel. “She can’t sever the worlds. Why kill her?”
“I require female blood and death to close what Ashkara started.”
