Page 102 of Mystique of the Fallen
“Death,” Justice shouted, appearing on the road beside her.
“Throw your power into me, Death,” Life ordered.
Shocked at the command, Death hesitated. To combine life magic with that of the undead would be horribly painful for them both. But she understood why. They had to stop the souls rapidly lifting toward Death’s realm.
Digging from the depths of her soul, Death shoved her power at her sister. It was too much. Life was thrown to the ground, but she offered no complaints. Gritting her teeth, Life threw out her own essence. Death wanted to scream at the pain, but she did not.
Eternity appeared and added her magic to the mix. Not to be outdone, Fate arrived, and together, they stopped the destruction. Or at least halted it for the moment.
“Stop time,” Justice demanded, throwing out another stream of sorcery. It took a combination of goddesses to do as she ordered, but again Death didn’t argue.
Instead, she gave her full attention to the still-cackling goddess. Death stalked toward her sister and cocked her head as her hands turned to bone. With skeletal fingers, she grasped Folly’s throat.
“You have broken your last rule,” Death growled.
Despite her precarious position, Folly laughed again. Her eyes were crimson. That was new. When they were last together, Folly had had pretty green irises.
“You can’t kill me,” Folly offered in a sing-song voice. “It would upset the balance of power and end this world. Or at least every magical element in it. Well, the resurrected ones beyond this street would live. But your sisters would lack the ability to create anything capable of standing near your creations.”
Death hated that Folly was right. Somehow, her sister had gained the ability to increase her sorcery to a level it should not have been able to reach. If Death killed her, it’d make her stronger than any other goddess by almost immeasurable means.
“Death does not want your power,” Justice said, summoning a golden lasso that she quickly twisted around Folly’s wrists. “She has no evil inside her. But she is not wrong. You will not break another rule. We will see to it.”
Folly smirked. “You say that as if I acted alone. I have allies. Some of them walk among you without you even knowing it. Your lovely sisters lying to your face as they plot with me behind your back. Do to me what you will, but this war is not over. And yourcreationswill all die.”
“We don’t have to listen to her shit,” Fate spat. “Take her crazy ass to theTier’llomenand figure out her punishment. Secrets do not stay hidden forever, Folly. You may have been stupid enough to waltz down this road decimating everything, but you had a purpose. Maybe you were tired of hiding. Perhaps you thought Death would kill you and upset the balance, which might summon Mother from her travels. I don’t know. But you miscalculated. Probably because you’re an idiot. And any goddess who aided you these past millennia is also stupid. Without you telling them what to do, what do you think is going to happen?”
Folly’s gaze narrowed, and she tried to wiggle out of Death’s hold, but her sister gave her no quarter. “We have people on this planet of yours aiding us too.”
“Yeah, a bunch of dumb, disgruntled wizards,” Fate said. “Good job, Folly.”
“You call them stupid, but they have outsmarted your people for years.”
Death tightened her hold and took great delight in Folly’s gasp for air. A lack of breathing could not kill a goddess, but it caused grave discomfort. Something Folly was due after all the people she’d hurt through the years. “Because goddesses like you have hidden them or helped them stay out of reach.”
“Just kill me,” Folly taunted. “That’s what you want, Death.”
“Can we get rid of this asshole so we can clean up this mess and have a damn parade?” Fate demanded with a toss of her red locks.
Eternity laughed so hard she bent over. “She really thought Death would do something to potentially summon Mother or to unbalance us. You’re right, Fate, she’s a moron.”
“Perhaps not,” Justice said, gently tugging Folly out of Death’s grasp. “I doubt she lacks intelligence. But she is short-sighted and a poor judge of character. Something far too common among our sisters. She counted on her belief that Death would strike without thought. Or that our sister is consumed with power. A misconception which has grown as Death’s sorcery has increased.”
“Exactly,” Folly shouted. “She grows stronger daily. That is not by accident. You stand by her side, yet you resent her. We all do. The wizards lack the power to hurt the undead. I don’t. Her people will die unless you five break the rules and undo my actions. You’re just as corrupt as you believe me to be. The joke is on you. I will summon all of you to theTier’llomenand make you stand before our sisters to be punished because I know you won’t let any of these people die.”
Fate slapped her hands on her hips and huffed out a breath. “Okay, so sparing people is bad, but letting them die is good. Each person you’ve had a hand in killing has added to Death’s power. You’re literally helping her become a stronger sorcerer, then warning us not to trust her. When did you lose your damn mind?”
“Fix this,” Justice said, waving her hand around the decimated parade and half-dead souls hanging in the air. “I’ll take Folly back.”
A second later, Justice and Folly were gone.
“How did she grow her power?” Fate asked.
“By breaking the biggest rule of them all,” Life answered. “She took power from other goddesses, either with or without their consent.”
“She will have to be put in stasis. Unless we can strip her power, she cannot die,” Death warned.
“The question is, what is she after?” Eternity asked. “As long as our sisters are alive, there will always be balance. Life readily takes from theebirllobato rebirth.”
