Page 26 of Distinctly Daray
“But you have also killed. It is part of who you are,” Mayhem argued.
“Yes, but I take no pleasure in it,” Death confided. “Unless, of course, the person deserves it. An evil soul I am happy to take. And torture. I do so willingly.”
“And gleefully,” Eternity added with a chuckle.
Life grinned. “An ability I envy. There are so many beings I wish I could torture for their actions.”
“Dear sister, you are supposed to revel in granting life, not causing pain to undead souls,” Death drawled.
“Think about it like this,” Life said. “I take my magic and use it to grant a life. One I infuse with purpose, thoughts, and feelings. Sometimes those beings are granted a special gift, like the ability to shift or conjure things, and Fate gives them a mate. That, too, takes sorcery. Together, Fate and I—and perhaps a few others in a collaboration—have invested so much into someone. Then they reward us by acting heinously. They murder someone or commit some other horrible act. Yet we can do nothing but hope death finds them.”
“Oh, I have zero patience for someone who is evil to their mate,” Fate added. “Especially if they are bound and it cannot be undone. The other soul is stuck. In those cases, I should be able to drag them into yourebirllobaand torture them.”
“But if I reach out to pluck a particular soul from a realm, I’m immediately accused of being power hungry and only wanting them here to increase my sorcery,” Death muttered.
“Keep a list of those goddesses, Death,” Mayhem insisted. “Those are the ones we must investigate. They are unlike us, who envy your abilities but have no desire to murder your undead like Folly tried to when you caught her.”
Death’s fingers turned to bone, and she curled them into fists as she recalled the day Folly had tried to ruin a parade by ending the lives of sentinels, fallen knights, and perhaps even the few reapers on Earth. “Although I understand the ramifications of Folly’s death gave her an unnatural level of power, I dearly wish I could have dragged her to my castle and shown her my favorite methods of torture.”
“Do you think in the end she will summon Mother?” Justice asked. “And that Mother will balance things so Folly can be brought here to theebirlloba?”
“We will deal with it if Mother is brought back before she is ready to return,” Death remarked. “But I will argue vigorously to keep Folly out of myebirlloba. As much as I wish to hurt her, I do not want her here. She does not deserve to be among the spirits. It is an insult to me and the spirits that are here because of her actions—either directly or indirectly. The last thing I wish to do is have to look atherfor eternity.”
“I shall champion your cause,” Eternity promised. “You are right. She does not deserve the beauty of your home.”
“Most assuredly not,” Mayhem said. “This is quite the loveliest of settings. Folly deserves a home which resembles a hot, fiery pit.”
“I say we suspend her in midair in some frozen realm for eternity,” Fate decreed.
“We could use a dummy to practice our weapon skills on,” Courage said. “Why not have Mother make Folly into one?”
“But keep her sentient so she is aware of being a punching bag,” Justice commented.
“Make her feel pain too,” Life said, rubbing her hands with what Death could only describe as glee. “Each blow stinging stronger than the last.”
“How diabolical,” Death drawled. “I love it.”
“Can we do that if we find her before Mother returns?” Mayhem asked thoughtfully.
“I believe by combining our magics, we could accomplish it,” Eternity replied.
“I love it when a plan comes together,” Death remarked.
“But first…we have to find the bitch,” Mayhem reminded them.
Death sighed. That was far easier said than done.
∞∞∞
The door closed behind the Lich Sentinel, and Keegan relaxed slightly. They’d already explained to Alaric and Victor their lack of success on the other side of the veil. Thankfully, no one appeared upset, which helped soothe Keegan. He was still unwilling to make a return trip, but at least he could release some of his guilt about failing to lead them to answers.
“How’s your dragon doing?” Victor asked Phillip.
“He finds being in the presence of you both soothing. It is the only time he has been completely silent in my head.” Phillip smiled. “It is why I would be willing to be around you both, even if I had no interest in being your mate.”
“You hear that, Victor? It sounds like Phillip is using us to quiet his dragon.”
“That’s definitely what I heard too.”
