Page 20 of The Other Side

Tuft shrugged. “I truly hope so. She promised them to me before I came here. In exchange for helping you succeed, she said she would return them to me, alongside my soul.” He chucked the plucked weed aside. “All I want is to return to the heavens, Iris-Marie, to fly back into the arms of my demi-god, wings and soul intact, and never leave the clouds again. I want to forget all about the Underworld, all the torture I’ve endured, and that fucking demon goddess who resides within it.” He sighed. “But to do so, I must help you fulfill your favor. I have to help you kill Ozias.”

“But—” I scooted closer. “If you help me, won’t that mean by killing Ozias, the father of the very man you love…won’t that hurt him?” He nodded in shame. “Tuft, you can’t do that.”

“I don’t have a choice, Iris!” I flinched in response to his temper. “Don’t you see? If I fail to deliver Ozias to her again—”

“Wait—so she’s tried to use a human to defeat her brother before?”

Tuft smirked “No offense, but you really don’t listen, do you? I mean, Iris, you didn’t think you were the first human she’s tried to use to get her revenge, did you?”

Of course not. The idea of being Cypress’ first human she entrusted to seek her revenge was a bit of a stretch to expect, but that didn’t mean the idea of her using another, especially in a sexual way, didn’t sting. The bigger concern was how I felt. Why did the thought of Cypress and someone else bother me?

“Oh, you did.” He made me sound so pathetic.

“No! I mean—shut up!” Tuft made a face as I smacked his arm. “What happened to the others anyways? Obviously, they didn’t succeed. But did she—” I stopped as my throat began to burn. “Did Cypress use them all the same?” Tuft eyed me closely.

“Cypress can’t love anyone but herself, Iris. No one that evil can possess a heart. I told you before, she uses humans to do her bidding, in every way you can imagine and more. Don’t let her spell drag you down like the rest. You are stronger, and you have to remain strong to fight back. Trust me, the last thing you want is to belong to her more than you already do. You don’t want to become one of her pets, tossed into the Abyss or stuck in the Underworld until time collapses in on itself. It’s a fate far worse than death.”

Tuft was right. I needed to remain strong and keep my wits about me. But how? How could I even succeed, let alone escape our deal without losing my soul? Or my life?

“What are we going to do?” My whispered question left us both in silence as we observed the stars, twinkling in the night sky above.

“I guess we do what she wants. We use that potion on Ozias and make him mortal—a human, just like you.” Anxiety began to build in my chest.

“Andif,by some miracle, I do succeed in using the potion on the great god of the heavens, what am I supposed to do next? Do I let Cypress take over? Or am I supposed to…” I stopped, dreading the thought.

“You must be the one to kill him.” Tuft’s words were empty and hollow.

“I can’t do that, Tuft. I can’t just kill another person, let alone a fucking god, even if he is mortal!”

“You’re a witch, Iris. If killing a human bothers you, why not just use your magic and Cypress’ power to change him into something else? Like a frog—”

“A frog? Really? Because that’s so much easier.” I rolled my eyes.

“Hey, my job isn’t to make yours easier or ease your consciousness. My job—my only job—is to make sure you get Ozias to drink that potion. And once he does, you must kill him. If you don’t, Cypress will kill us both. It’s kill or be killed, Iris-Marie.” I scoffed at his words, despising what was expected of me. I dragged my knees to my chest and rested my head across them as the anxiety and pressure of everything built in my chest.

“I don’t want to fucking do this,” I whispered to myself, loud enough for Tuft to hear.

“Neither do I, but we made our deals. Now, it’s time to face the consequences.” He touched my shoulder gently. “But you’re not alone. We’re in this together.”

“What’re we going to do?” I breathed. “How do we even lure a god back to us?” Tuft sat quiet for a minute, thinking.

“I guess you keep doing what you’ve been doing. Summon souls, perform tricks, use Cypress’ power. You’ve already caught his attention once, enough to drag him down here to your shop. Maybe, if you keep performing, he’ll be forced to confront you as his ethereal self. And when he does, I’ll do everything I can to make sure he drinks that potion.” I leaned over to Tuft, the twoof us stuck in this sick game between gods. He rubbed my back and released another heavy sigh.

“You’re not alone. I’m here, Iris-Marie, and I'll do everything I can to save your soul.”

Chapter

Eight

CYPRESS

My fiery glimpses into the human world flickered as I grit my teeth and glared through the rippled view with disdain. The hellfire that dripped from my fingers and burned along my hair turned white with anger as I growled, shaking the underworld with my rapture.

“What is my bayou witch doing?” My eyes squinted as I peered deeper, watching her perform her familiar tricks as though nothing had changed. Iris-Marie had continued business as usual, the only difference being, Tuft and Bastien were now by her side. My three pets seemed to have bonded over their time together, despite the clear objective I had given them. “What are any of you doing?” My hand clawed the glimpse, cutting through it like smoke before it returned to its undisturbed appearance. “Ozias knows what you are up to, dear witch. You cannot keep going as though everything is the same. He is no fool.”

Iris had continued to retrieve souls from my underworld, summoning them to the townsfolk without any proactiveness on my favor. It had been days of myself watching this spectacle, impatiently waiting for her to make her move.

She is acting as though nothing has occurred, as if I hadn’t presented my favor! Does she think I would just forget or leaveher be? Even after our night together, does she still think she can ignore me and pretend I do not exist! Stubborn trickster!

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