AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s not like they’re doing anything else.”
Vicious, winged demons with a mouth full of jagged teeth, the Keres thrived on death and destruction. The more violent, the better. In bygone days, they had swarmed battlefields stained with blood, ripping souls from the dying and feasting on what remained.
Modern wars, while still savage and brutal, were no longer fought face-to-face with swords, cleavers, spears, and arrows. As such, the Keres had abandoned their hunt for dying soldiers, and had instead, turned their attention to mass tragedies, usually caused by natural disasters.
It wasn’t like it had ever been an actual job. In a way, Erus had actually helped them. He had given them purpose. He had—
“Did you tell them they could eat souls?”
Erus ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Only the ones trying to escape.”
Lighting slashed across the sky, and thunder boomed overhead as a dark mask fell over Hades’ face. “We don’t fucking eat people!”
Well, they didn’t, but the Keres certainly did. Besides, it wasn’t like they were killing anyone. The so-called “people” they consumed were already dead. And it wouldn’t even be an issue if those souls weren’t breaking the rules anyway.
“I’ll talk to them.”
“I already have.” The muscles in Hades’ shoulders relaxed, and he blew out a long breath. “It’s time to come back.”
Yeah…no. “I have responsibilities topside.”
That wasn’t even a lie. As the OG—Original Guardian—he considered himself fairly knowledgeable when it came to protecting shit. When he had left the Underworld, the move to training and overseeing Guardians to protect the royal families had been a natural transition.
Things had been going pretty well, too, until Orrin Nightstar had come along. He had never met the elf prince, but the guy was a thorn in his fucking side who kept screwing with the system. He still didn’t know where the hell things had gone sideways, but he intended to find out, even if that meant he had to travel to Ireland himself.
“You have thirty days.” Hades’ tone invited no argument or negotiation.
Fighting back a growl, Erus asked through gritted teeth, “Here or there?”
Time worked much differently in the Underworld than it did in the mortal realm. A single minute topside equated to approximately an entire day in the Underworld. The main reason for that was to control the arrival of the dearly departed so that they didn’t have a couple hundred thousand souls showing up on the riverbank every day.
As such, what he really wanted to know was if he had thirty days or thirty minutes topside to get his affairs in order. With Hades, it could go either way.
“There,” Hades allowed.
It still didn’t feel like enough time, but he knew better than to push his luck. While thirty days would pass in the blink of an eye in California, at least it meant he would escape another century or so in the Underworld.
“Deal with it.”
With that parting line, Hades vanished, leaving Erus alone on the pier to contemplate where everything had gone so damn wrong.
Chapter Two
In recent years, Prince Orrin Nightstar had witnessed more changes to his Royal Guard than there had been in the entire previous century.
It had all started when Thorne McIver—friend and former head of his Guard—had met a tiny menace at the infamous Blackhaven Manor hotel. Orrin didn’t begrudge him, and he actually envied the shifter in many ways, but the situation wasn’t without its complications.
While Thorne was living his best life of mated bliss, his departure had triggered a chain of events that still caused Orrin headaches almost three years later.
Naturally, the Ministry of Otherling Affairs had sent a replacement. Sita had been a strong, capable Guardian who had managed to do her job well while still allowing Orrin some level of freedom. Then, four months after joining the Guard, she had met her mate.
Again, Orrin was happy for her, but that meant more changes.
Next had come Penn. A wolf hybrid with compulsive tendencies, he had been a skilled Guardian. He had also been a giant pain in the ass. He’d followed Orrin everywhere, and he did mean everywhere, including the bathroom. The shifter had even sat right beside his bed every night to watch him sleep.
Orrin had tolerated the obsessive behavior for a little over six months, until he just couldn’t do it anymore. On the day of his dismissal, he had met his mate in the village that surrounded the castle.
Then, there had been Kel. Arrogant and condescending, in the short time he had been part of Orrin’s Guard, he had made enemies of the entire staff. The final straw had come eight short weeks after his appointment, when he had insulted Orrin’s friends during a holiday party at Blackhaven Manor.
