Page 100 of Barbi and the Villain

“I don’t see how washing clothes might be a worthy endeavor,” I grumble.

“Because patience is not your strongest suit, is it, Barbi?”

“Well… I suppose so,” I mutter under my breath.

He smiles, and we’re both silent for a moment before he speaks again.

“How did you know the answer to those riddles?” His voice is no longer playful or teasing, a dangerous gleam entering his gaze as he stops what he’s doing and turns to me.

“The same way I knew about the flower. From my books.”

“Those books again?” He frowns.

“Maybe now you will believe me. I really did read books about Akkaya and they contained all those riddles, together with the answers. It was all part of the lore of Akkaya. The loza is an ancient traditional Akkayan weapon. Mazu is the mythological river that surrounds the whole of Akkaya, and P’asala is?—”

“The intermediary realm all souls cross to reach the afterlife.”

“You know about that?” I blink.

“I did not know about the first two, nor have I ever heard about them, which is odd considering I have been in Akkaya for long enough to know its entire history. As far as P’asala goes, that is the intermediary realm under the control of Aperion. It is a long road all souls must cross before their merits are weighed and they are sent to the appropriate level of the House of Psyche in Aperion.”

“What?” I blurt out. Either I am dumb or he’s speaking in terms I’ve never heard about. “I did not understand anything of what you were saying.”

“Your concept of hell and heaven. The House of Psyche houses levels that would technically qualify as your understanding of heaven or hell.”

“Oh.” I nod. “But why would hell belong to Aperion? Shouldn’t it be in Tartareia? After all, you said the Sons of Tenebreis were the descendants of the Seven Primordial dark gods.”

Nykander smiles.

“You’re clever.”

My eyes widen at his compliment just as a deep blush stains my cheeks.

“Oh, thank you?—”

“That was the initial design of the afterlife according to the treaty between the light, nether, and dark gods. There was heaven, where the souls of good mortals went; purgatory, where the stained souls went, and lastly there was hell, where sinful souls went. Each one of the Primordial triad had control over one. But after the war, the light and nether gods fully took control of the afterlife. Tartareia was built in response to that. While Aperion is, indeed, the most common destination for souls, it is not the only one. The Sons of Tenebreis search for corrupted souls and turn them into their thralls before Aperion can send their messengers after them.”

“You mean you turn them into demons.”

“Correct.” He nods.

“Have you ever turned a soul into a demon?”

He shakes his head ruefully.

“I was not concerned with it. I had my kiyrayà and my vocation. That was enough for me.”

My brows furrow at the foreign term. But I have one more pressing curiosity.

“How come you were not in Tartareia when it got sealed off?”

His body freezes. A look of pure horror descends upon his face before he averts his gaze.

“Perhaps it was a blessing that I was not present,” he murmurs, his voice far away.

I take note of his body language and I don’t probe more. It seems to be a painful memory, perhaps because he was separated from his family for thousands of years—well, except his awful brother, whom PomPom, BonBon, and I have decided that we don’t like.

“Tell me more about those books of yours. It is intriguing that stories about Akkaya would reach your world,” he adds thoughtfully.

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