86. Kami

86

Kami

O z is dying. Blessed now with exceptional abilities, yet this one has been inside me for as long as I've known.

The rattle of death fills Oz's chest, his gaze glazing over as he looks at me with love.

A love I refuse to deny.

While Rilitar pulls me back from Oz and the Nyte Guard, who continue to stab at my orc, I struggle in his arms.

"Oh, feisty. I love that." He laughs, his evil like a filth I can never wash away.

He's been responsible for so much death.

I can still see him, in my mind's eye, beating Ahza to death. My brother and best friend. And now my lover and mate.

I know we have a job bigger than all of us, to take out the war god.

But I'm not losing Oz here. To Rilitar. No.

I know necromancers have the ability to transfer energy, but it has to be learned. Otherwise, I could have saved Ahza and I a lot of trouble throughout the years, killing anyone who threatened us.

I couldn't help Ahza then. But I know someone who can help Oz now.

Caethybdue, I need help. Now.

There's nothing.

Oz is bleeding out, so I call on the trees all around us for support.

They react faster than I'd hoped. They build a cage of roots around Oz, meyerbane rushing through to seal his open wounds.

Roots and branches turn blade sharp and stab at everyone not a friend.

Rilitar avoids them all, dragging me with him, a dagger at my throat.

"They touch me and you die," he growls.

"Again?" I laugh at him and impale myself on the dagger.

Probably not smart, because there's no guarantee I'll come back, but my actions spook Rilitar into dropping me and rushing back into the tower grounds.

Other guards are appearing, elves with staffs and bows, fae with magic aimed at me and Oz, whose bleeding has slowed but not stopped.

And then those guards are burning and screaming while Crash sets them all on fire.

Ries scoops me off the ground and seals the wound at my throat with water. But I'm already gone, my soul separating from my body.

Back soon. Help Oz, I send them.

"Ries, you've got Kami and Oz," Malkar yells before rushing into the royal palace after Crash.

All I hear is screaming and the sounds of fighting.

But I'm leaving this plane and heading back to the Veil.

Where I unfortunately see a shadow that looks like Oz.

"No. It's not his time yet." Something that I'm more than hoping is true. I can feel he's not meant to be here.

A girl who looks to be my age with blond hair and differently colored eyes, one blue and one gold, steps forward out of a mist. I glance around and see outlines of the palace we're in, yet it's fogged over. Here but not here.

"Leon sends his regards."

"Who are you?" I ask, concerned about Oz's shadow.

"Raine. But the more important question is, who is he?" She looks at Oz. "You're Kami, right?"

"Yeah. He's Oz, and he's not supposed to be dead yet. Where's Caethybdue?"

"Oh, her." Raine curls her lips in disdain. "She's tricky. And she doesn't help like she should."

"Like she can." Leon appears and curls a hand over Raine's shoulder.

There's something alike in both man and young woman, but then it's gone.

"Hey, Kami. Still working on stopping the war god, I see."

"Rilitar's trying to kill Oz."

"Nearly there," Raine says.

"But he's mine. I'm not giving him up." A bold claim, but it's the truth.

"I can't help you there. Sorry." Leon shrugs. "Raine can."

"Seriously? If you can't, I can't."

"Rules are rules."

"But—"

He just looks at her.

Raine snaps her mouth closed and looks at me. "Necromancer. Soul-taker? "

"I guess. Is that what you are?"

"Kind of. Look. If you want to heal the big guy before he dies, you need to take energy from another to fill him." She frowns. "You're a dryad. You deal with new growth all the time. So steal a little."

"I've never done that before. And I'm running out of time." I feel Oz slipping away.

"I'll help you. For a price." Caethybdue appears.

"Gotta go. See you soon." Leon kisses Caethybdue on the cheek. "Sebastian is running this one."

At Sebastian's name, Raine grimaces. "At least he's better than George."

"Right?" Leon makes a face and vanishes.

"Can someone please help me?" I nearly scream. I don't care about George, Leon, or Sebastian. I just want Oz back. I want my guys. I want the life Ahza should have had, one filled with laughter and happiness.

Raine shakes her head. She touches Oz, and he grows a little greener. "I gave you a little time, but the rest is up to you." She looks at Caethybdue, sighs, then vanishes.

I stare at the goddess of Death, my patron. The one who's rarely helped me unless it's to further her own cause.

"True, girl. But I have my reasons." She's both beautiful and cold. Dark yet full of promise.

"I'm trying to help stop the war god, but we need help. It's just the five of us against everyone, including a god."

Caethybdue sighs. "I know, child. Life isn't fair. Death rarely is either. But we must have Balance. A life for a life."

"Take mine," I say without hesitation. As much as I want to be with my new mates, I'll never enjoy it if I know I could have saved any of them but didn't.

"I already have yours, Kami. You're a soul-taker. And you've already died once. This, you here in the Veil, it'll become more common as you go about life, taking the souls meant for the afterlife."

I frown. There's something wrong with what she's saying, but I can't figure out what. "Oz isn't meant to die now. I feel it."

"Yes. But Rilitar is cheating. As is my brother." She says "brother" with so much loathing. "So I will cheat." Her smile is grim and more than a little scary.

"Okay."

"I have a deal for you."

Hadn't someone told me not to trust her?

"Allow me into your body, to take over as I fight my brother, and I will gift you this man." She touches Oz's shoulder, and her eyes soften. "Who loves you."

"You won't hurt the others either? They're mine. Crash, Ries, Malkar, and Oz."

"Quite a collection you've managed. Impressive. I find it oddly curious you've found so many god-touched, yet not full godlings."

What? "Look, Goddess, I would let you fight Beyrthnel for free. No bargain needed. I've been asking you to help us," I say, alarmed at the way she's phrasing all this. "Can't you help Oz because it's the right thing to do? For Balance?" Because he's not yet meant to die?

"Yes and no. Our bargain, a life for a life."

That's super vague. "Whose life for a life? I can't promise any that aren't mine to give."

"Yet you have four mates."

"I'll give you my life. Just mine. Just for n?—"

She cuts me off before I can finish "now" and kisses me on the lips, satisfaction gleaming in her dark gaze.

"The bargain is met. And now I return, as is foretold. Death comes for thee, brother."

I hear a scream of denial before my vision turns dark .

But as I enter a great sleep, I feel the brush of Oz's kiss on my forehead.

A thanks…or a good-bye?