Page 72 of Demonic Division

M’s eyes flash with an emotion I’ve never seen before—one of disdain, or possibly even malice. “You are such a lovely, sweet little thing. But so, so very wrong,” he growls. “It was not written because it was notknown.Kaebl, Cyprien,me…none of us were meant to be alive right now. Abaddon's pieces were supposed to remain as they were—to rot. They would have if it were not for Varys?—”

“Varys?”

M’s smile widens. “Yes, Varys. Abaddon’s loyal adviser.”

“His name wasn’t in the book. What does he have to do with anything?”

“Everything,” he whispers, his tone a revered hush. “He was the one mistake Slaine made. In the chaos and adrenaline, his forces were too excited to check for survivors of their massacre. And while Slaine and his forces were flying back to their lands for a celebration, Varys was pulling his bloody corpse across the frozen ground toward his lord. Using the last moments of his life to try to save Abaddon.”

My eyes scan M’s face, traveling down his neck and locking on to the glowing red rune in the center of his chest—the same one pulsing above my own heart. I’m not sure why he couldn’t tell me this story in the dungeons, but something in my gut tells me it’s nothing good.

“Did he? Save him, I mean?”

M stretches his arms out, spinning in a slow circle as his eerie laugh echoes off the walls. “What does it look like, sweet Dagny? I am here, and Abbadon is not.”

My brow creases into a frown. “I don’t understand. I thought Varys saved him.”

“Tried.I never said he was successful. Once a being is sundered, it’s extremely hard to spare the integrity of theirsoul. Left apart for too long, the threads of it degrade and collapse. And a creature born of a shredded soul is no fun for anyone…”

“Is that what you are? Just a piece of a degraded soul?”

M smiles, but it’s not a happy one. “Partially.”

“Partially?”

He nods. “I am a piece born from Abaddon’s soul, that much is true. Just as Lir, and Cyprien, and Roark, and Fenryr are made up of pieces of him.”

“And Kaebl is the core?”

M’s mouth tightens into a thin line at the mention of the demon lord. “He thinks of himself as it, yes. But that hardly matters. Whatdoes,is how we all came to be and the sacrifice that made it so. You see, a soul must beboundto something in order to give it life—a tether, if you will.”

“And that’s what he did? Varys?”

M nods, his eyes clouding with a faraway memory. “Using the last of his strength, he gathered the pieces of Abaddon before moving to the heart, encasing the still-beating organ in ice. Sensing his strength failing, he buried it deep beneath the ice, hoping to keep it safe for his lord to retrieve once he was whole again. Once complete, he marked the location with his own blood on a piece of parchment and headed off into the blizzard. He walked and walked, never stopping to rest, not knowing where he was going or what he was looking for. Knowingitwould findhim.” At this, he stops, his red eye twinkling with an all-knowing look, a secret shared between just us two. “By the grace of the gods, Varys stumbled upon the space between worlds just as his body was failing. He threw himself into the void, and when he next opened his eyes, a green forest surrounded him. Living earth crunched beneath his feet as he walked, and sounds of life chittered from all sides. Notknowing what he was doing—but knowing it had to be done all the same—Varys called to the spirits of this mortal plane. And one by one, the creatures of the forest answered.”

“Your familiars,”I gasp, the pieces of the puzzle all falling into place as he speaks.

M’s smile widens, a silent chuckle shaking his chest. “Clever thing.”

“They’re your tethers… aren’t they?”

He nods, his clawed hand reaching up to grip my chin, holding me captive in his embrace. “With the last of the magic fleeing from his veins, Varys bound a soul to each piece of Abaddon, so that each fraction may be given life anew. The snake was the first to materialize, so Varys bonded it to the head—the core—gifting it with logic. The cat was next, which he gave to the chest, hoping the emotion tied to that part of the body would offset the cunning nature of the creature. The bear was bonded to the shoulders and neck, for grief settles there the heaviest. He gave the bunny to the stomach—believing this to be the place where joy originated—while the envious nature of the wolf was given to the pelvis. Last, he gave the fearful stag the legs, so it would always know when to flee and when to stay and fight. As the final threads of the bond snapped into place, Varys looked on in shock as six new demons materialized in the forest.”

He blinks, clearing some of the haze coating his eyes. “I remember it like it was yesterday. We were all so confused.Scared.” He shakes his head, and some of the haze coating his vision fades away. “But that does not matter. Whatmattersis that, just like our souls, each of our memories were fractured—tied to the emotion that each of us represented. The other pieces wanted to remember the wholestory—how the sundering came to pass—so that they may recorrect the great wrong. To make Abaddon whole again was the sole aim of the group, one they thought held the utmost importance.” M looks off to the side as a sly smile creeps over his face, and his eyes light up with a sadistic glee. “Except, of course, for one of them…”

I don’t have to ask to know who—the emotion shining in M’s eyes tells me everything I need to know.It was him.

“Indeed, it was,” he murmurs, his eyes cutting back to me with a manic glint. “You see, Varys made a terrible mistake when he bonded the pieces of Abaddon to those creatures. Without a heart, the demon born of the chest had no empathy. And he was cunning—so cunning, that as soon as his consciousness snapped in place, he began scheming. Plotting to obtain his one desire—the one he held above all else.To live.”

M begins pacing, his fist clenching and unclenching at his side as his tone grows severe. “Before Varys could tell them of the heart, I attacked, ending his life with a swipe of his powerful claw. And as Varys fell, I pulled the map to the heart from his pocket. Realizing I could not win in a fight against all five, I ran off into the night, rejoicing in the knowledge that without Varys, the remaining pieces would have no knowledge of how to make Abaddon whole again. Without me, they were truly lost.”

M falls silent, gazing off to the side with that faraway look once more, all the anger and rage evaporating from his shoulders and face. I wait for more, for him to explain the rest, for him to tell mewhy—but I don’t expect him to look so sorrowful while doing so. “For twenty-one long years, Kaebl and his soldiers studied while I dreamed…” M continues, his tone softer than before, devoid of the hateful edge it once possessed. “I dreamed of a life of my own. A castle and lands to rule over. A family. A loving mate and little ones to watch over in the night.” M’s eyes flash, then narrow to thin slits. “But then, a terrible secret was revealed to me. Fenryr, the piece born of jealousy, had discovered a different way to put Abaddon back together. One that defied logic and the laws of the stars themselves.”

It’s at this moment that his gaze cuts to me, that all-knowing sheen lighting his eye once more. “It was found that his one true mate could work in place of a heart—could bind the pieces together stronger than any useless organ encased in ice—could make him whole, and more powerful than ever before.” A cold laugh pours from his open mouth, but it holds no joy. “This, of course, would not do.If there was such a creature—one perfectly suited for Abaddon’s soul, as he was hers—then I could not allow Kaebl and the others to take me away from Abaddon’s mate—mymate.” His eyes flash as he rakes his gaze down my torso, a ravenous sheen swirling with the red. “If I had a mate, Iwould live, and bond with her, and make her my own. And if the other pieces tried to stop me, I would gladly end their lives.Or so I wished,” he murmurs. “In reality, I’m not able to end the life of the core piece—and though the otherscandie, it would negatively impact my power. Regardless, Kaebl has to remain alive for me to exist. That fact posed a problem at the time, but it was one I was determined to overcome…” The expression lighting his face has my stomach churning, but despite everything in me that wants to run, to hide from what he’s about to tell me, I’m frozen to the spot. Forced to listen to the rest of this dark story.

“Before any information could be sent to Kaebl, I kidnapped Fenryr, locking him away deep in the ice tunnels. Unable to dispose of Fenryr, knowing Kaebl andthe others were hunting me down, I chained him someplace he would never be discovered and left to enact the rest of my plan. And while Kaebl searched for me, I was in Slaine’s throne room, weaving half-truths of Kaebl’s ability to resurrect Abaddon.” M throws back his head, and this time, the sounds peeling from his mouth are filled with pure glee. “Slaine listened to my story, and he believed, and that belief turned to worry, as the last thing he wanted was for Abaddon to come back and take his throne. Oh, but I soothed his worries. Promised him a guaranteed solution. A way to end his little problem. A path for him to stay in power forever, if only he allowed me my life and freedom. A small favor—one he didn’t have to think twice about. And he agreed.”

“You,” I whisper, my eyes going wide as horror settles in the pit of my gut. “Slaine… the battle… it was all because ofyou.”

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