Page 33 of Another Damned Storm
“No one is forcing you.” I tipped my head to William who moved without a word to take over my position. Then I made my way down the steps, slowly, drawing out the tension. “You are welcome to leave here any time you wish,” I added, tapping my middle finger on the leather satchel on my belt.
Criton’s eyes locked on the small pouch as though he could smell the pixie dust inside. He licked his lips. “The human realm.”
“What about it,” I asked, being intentionally obtuse.
“That’s where your girlfriend is. A dude in a cloak escorted her to the demon realm, but she was only there for a little bit before she found her way out.”
Never was able to pullherselffrom the Alius? That had to mean the powers I’d shared with her were still intact. That or someone was helping her. Either way, it was an intriguing development.
“Who is paying attention to her movements?” I asked.
Criton shoved his hands in his pockets. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“I disagree.” I took a step toward him, savoring the way he inched back. We might both be gods and he might have certain advantages at the moment, but the imbalance of power was undeniable. “Our arrangement was that you would travel toOthrys to learn what you could about what was happening with Never. Understanding who is involved is part of that arrangement.”
He all but growled with frustration. “No one back home is watching, Atlas. You and I know what she’s done, throwing the realms into chaos, but as far as I could tell, the others either haven’t noticed or they don’t care.”
I bristled. “No one?” After the warnings Nerebis had leveled that seemed unlikely. “You’re wrong, Criton. Someone is manipulating something, and I aim to stop them.”
“This coming from a god who can’t even flash himself out of a puddle.”
The anger growing inside me sharpened. Never was the only soul in the realms who could get away with snarking at me. “And do you know why I was cursed to thispuddle, Demigod Criton?”
My sentence was handed down long before he was even a glimmer in his mother’s eye, and judging by the way he eased back another step, he’d heard the rumors. “I’m not looking for trouble,” he said quickly. “In fact, you know, you can just keep the dust. I really should be weaning myself off the stuff.”
Oh yes, he knew the story. Filled with blood and vengeance and betrayal.
I pulled in a deep breath to stabilize myself before untying the pouch from my belt and tossing it at him. “A deal is a deal.”
He caught it, fumbling the rich leather in his twitchy fingers. “There’s no way this is half.”
I shrugged. I had five other satchels just like it hidden away in my quarters. “It should be more than enough to sate the hunger gnawing at your insides. For a while.”
Depending on the depths of his addiction, that amount might last a week or it could sustain him for years. Were I to bet on it, I would put my gold much closer to a week.
“You promised me half,” Criton complained.
“And you promised me information. As I am unsatisfied with the quality of said information, I am only inclined to pay for what I have received.”
“I told you what I know. No one has even noticed that she’s back in the human realm.”
“And that doesn’t strike you as odd? According to Nerebis, a human being resurrected and gifted the power of a god has only occurred twice in the whole of history. It should have drawn attention.”
Criton’s eye twitched.
I knew it. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He shook his head.
It took everything in me not to reach out and throttle him. “Who is watching her?” It was the only thing that made sense.
His gaze shifted to the sky for a beat. “Look, I’d never even heard of this guy until you sent me up there, and I don’t know for sure that he is watching. If he is, he really doesn’t want anyone else up there noticing.”
“Give me a name, Criton.”
He rubbed his lips together. “Thrain.”
It took me a moment to sift through memories of my time before the Nassa. “An old Neolithic god of weather?” I asked.
