Page 62 of Death is My BFF

The hooded creature stilled. “A demigod . . . ” Two vicious eyes glowed with a wrathful amber yellow beneath the creature’s hood.

“Ah, I know of your father. The young demigod general has a son?”

All I could do was nod, tears flooding my eyes. “I don’t understand what is happening. Where is Bastien?”

“Bastien is dead. One soul, gone, for another freed.”

I choked on a sob. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!”

“All gods are tricksters.” Ahrimad laughed under his breath.

“Your father, he deprives you of your greatness. He forces you to lie about your uniqueness. Such a shame.” His head angled as he analyzed me. “Tell me, how did you get that scar on your face, child?”

“A large wild cat. Father made me fight it for my training.”

“It almost killed you. Yes, I sense you were close to death indeed.

What has become of your damaged eye?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly.

The hooded creature released a chilling growl. “The truth, or I will twist your little neck.”

I trembled from head to toe, sweat soaking my underclothes. “The truth is . . . I am a monster,” I whispered. “Mama, when she healed my injured eye with black magic, it came with a dark consequence. I do not tell her of the pain I have carried. How I can see the evil parts in people, the twisted secrets they hide inside. I see the wrongs they have committed. Other times, I will see the light parts, the good.”

“It appears your power failed you this time,” Ahrimad noted, drawing his sword tighter to my throat. “Wipe your tears, boy. I want to know more of this uniqueness.”

I lifted my chin against the blade, willing my tears to stop.

“I am different than other children my age,” I said. “I learn fast, and what I learn, I never forget. I am faster than a man in his prime and I am strong. Strong enough to lift a horse. Father says these gifts will only get stronger. Because his blood runs through my veins. So when I enter gladiator school, and when I fight, I will win. This will satisfy our king as I will become Rome’s champion gladiator.”

“You do not want this fate,” said Ahrimad. “It will be challenging for you to hurt others, to kill, when you are able to see what makes every mortal an innocent. Your father is using you to gain political power.”

“Yes,” I breathed, relieved someone understood. “I dread my future at all times.”

Ahrimad harnessed his sword to his side. “You have saved me from a world of torment. I must offer you a gift in equivalence to my life. Do you understand this?”

I took a labored breath. I thought of Bastien and how quickly Ahrimad had taken his life, and I knew I had no other choice. “Yes, I understand.”

“No one, including your father or mother, can know I have escaped this prison. You are a child. Children do not keep secrets well. I will make you forget me, forget this day, for now.”

Panic laced my voice. “Please, I beg of you not to touch my memory. I would never tell a soul about you. I have nobody to tell!”

Ahrimad knelt to the ground beside me. My words fell away as I stared in horror at the darkness underneath his hood, where a face should have been.

“One day, not far from now,” Ahrimad began in a mighty voice, “you will fight who you hate the most inside the gladiator arena. With your gift, you will see both the dark and the light within their soul, and you will make a choice. Whether they live, or whether they die. If you should decide to kill them, then from that day forward, you will have a piece of my soul. You will cross into the shadows and evolve into the immortal creature I am. You will have all my power.”

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why are you giving me these choices?”

“You freed me, and now I must give you a gift in equivalence. This is how good and evil coexist, Alexandru. At a balance.” Ahrimad rose to his full height. “Nevertheless, I will not offer my power to a weak soul, which is why you must prove you are worthy. Creatures before me have ruled entire realms with my abilities. You could be a god.”

“A god,” I echoed in consternation. “Would I be loved?”

“Foolish child, you would be far greater thanloved. You would be feared. Feared by all.”

With a sharp jerk of my head, I wrenched myself back to the present. Faith’s silhouette stood in her bedroom window. She peered out into the night, the glow of a desk light haloing the slight curve to her feminine waist as she leaned forward to slam her window shut and close the blinds.

A mere mortal, invadingmymind, was not only humiliating, but potentially catastrophic for my reputation in Hell. I needed to know if she’d seen more. Maybe she had information against me now; maybe she’d seen the truth about my intentions. If she knew my true name . . .

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