Page 4 of The Demigod

But I was trying to put my partially human sentimentality onto godly beings—ones who weren’t burdened by pesky things like a conscience.

The group made their way to the sprawling stone steps of the mansion. Within moments, the music and laughter spilled out of the building.

What were they celebrating, exactly? The capture of that creature?

What was he?

What did they want him for?

Was he simply a being strong enough to withstand more torment than a human, so they could ‘play’ with him more? It wasn’t like they struggled to find more humans to torture when their minds and bodies eventually broke.

Could they want him for something else?

If so, what?

And if he was that valuable to the gods, could he possibly be even more valuable to me?

I drifted back into the shadows, then started to move once again, slipping around the side of the building.

No one would be looking out, not with all the frivolity going on inside the manse. But this was too important to slip up, to get too cocky.

I always, always had to be on guard, to be watching out for myself.

Because if something happened to me, everything was going to go straight to hell.

It was already partially there.

Things were getting worse by the day.

Not just the ‘natural’ disasters that weren’t natural at all. But the little wars that were breaking out. The bigger ones that would be to come.

Bloodshed, screaming.

I was already hearing too much of it. My heart ached at the idea of more.

But maybe, just maybe, I could find an ally in this strange creature in the basement.

He was clearly strong.

If he wasn’t directly under the control of one of the gods, he might be just what I needed to assist me.

Sure, there was just enough of a chance that he would turn on me. But, well, I had to assume that he was going to be furiouswhen he realized he was being held captive, that he’d been subjected to so much internal torment at their hands. Maybe his resentment would be enough to make him want to help me.

I had to try, at least.

I couldn’t keep going on my own. I mean, I would if I had to. But I’d been doing so for weeks with no signs of an end. I needed help.

Before this whole damn world gets destroyed. And all of the people in it.

The door groaned as I slid it open, making me wince as I looked around, sure someone was about to come running, finally catch me, and torture me for what I’d been trying to do.

But no one came, and I carefully slipped down the steps, making sure not to let the door close completely.

The air grew colder as I descended. Down here, the air was thick with dust, mold, and earth as my feet moved across the dirt floor.

I pulled my coat tighter around my body to fight the chill down there as my gaze scanned the room.

There wasn’t much to write home about. Stone walls, barred windows that were too high and too small for anyone to escape from anyway.

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