Page 148 of Fated In Forever
His massive head swiveled back and forth, tracking their movement, and the souls moved with purpose, circling him like predators, the foul air filling with vague whispers, accusations I couldn't quite make out.
But I sensed their intent. Their hunger for justice. Their need to see the creature who had stolen their lives answer for his crimes.
That moment of distraction was all I needed.
My hand gripped the cold iron knife—the blade I knew could cut through that thick hide, the blade that might kill a god. The metal was warm from being pressed against my body, but as my fingers closed around the fabric-wrapped hilt, it grew colder, as if the weapon anticipated the coming kill.
I forced myself to my feet, every muscle screaming in protest. My shoulder was on fire where Ravok's claws had caught me, and I tasted blood with every breath. But years of training kicked in—all those hours Blake had drilled into me about finding strength when you had nothing left.
The souls continued their hypnotic dance around Ravok, and he swiped at them with those massive claws. But they were incorporeal, beyond his reach, and every failed attack only enraged him further. His roars echoed through the chamber, bringing down more debris from the unstable ceiling.
I lunged, plunging the tip of my knife between Ravok’s ribs, twisting until the tip hit his heart. I drove that blade home, puncturing that soft, beating organ, letting whatever was inside the knife poison the one thing that was keeping him alive.
At least, I hoped it was the only thing.
I stumbled away when he crashed to his knees, then forward onto his face, his monstrous form glistening beneath the circling souls, watching the crimson light fade from his eyes, replaced by a dull glaze.
“Who’s the fool now, Ravok?” I crouched down beside him. “Know this. Whenever you go, there is no escaping your penance.” My eyes lifted to the lost souls. “They came for their vengeance, and I suspect they will have it, once you reach their realm.”
His mouth moved, a spool of black draining between his vile teeth.
“The knife is buried deep inside your heart, which is still beating. Moving the poison in the cold iron blade through your system. In a minute, you’ll be dead, but there is something else you should know.”
I sensed them gathering behind me, my mate, my king, and Eldric.
Good, they needed to hear this.
“I am the queen of the Nocturne clan. I am going to make sure your name is struck from every record in every library of every clan in the world. Eldric will make sure of it. He will erase you from existence, and when he is done, no one will remember you were an Elder, or a monster, or that you existed at all. We will make it like you were never even born, and all your plans of greatness were for nothing, all your visions were nothing but a lie.”
Dust settled over us like the first winter snow as I watched him die.
Watched the cold iron do what magic and fire couldn’t—there would be no coming back from this, no supernatural resurrection or last-minute reprieve. Ravok was dead, truly and permanently dead.
I kept watching, until one small drop of light rose from his corpse to join the others.
In a swirl of light, they all converged, then exploded in a flash bright enough to blind.
The nightmare was over.
The silence that followed was profound. Even the souls had stopped, suspended in the air around me like dust motes caught in the sun.
I pulled the knife free and wiped it clean on my jacket, my hands steady, my mind clear for what I had to do next. To fulfill a promise I’d made.
I looked up at the souls, their gentle light filling the chamber with something that almost felt like peace. They had waited so long in the Underworld to find their own peace, and my heart twisted…would they find their peace now?
Or were they trapped here, like they’d been trapped below?
“Thank you,” I whispered, “I couldn't have done this without you.”
The souls pulsed brighter for a moment, and I felt something pass between us—not words, but some sort of understanding.
“I owe you a life debt,” I continued, inclining my head. “All of you. If I can help you cross over, if I can help you find your way home, you have only to ask.”
The souls began to fade then, their forms growing translucent as whatever force had brought them here finally released its hold. One by one, they winked out like candles being snuffed, until only the fading echoes of their light remained.
Ravok was gone.
The debt to the dead had been paid in full.
