victims decaying but recognizable.
“A zombie,” I confirm, veering off for another section of endless tunnel.
“I hate bloody necromancy.” Snatch’s legs give out sending him tumbling sideways taking me with him.
Bracing for the impact of concrete, I’m surprised to find springy grass cushioning my fall instead. Heaving in a breath of fresh air, I lay sprawled staring up at the darkening sky above me. Rolling over, I find Illusions and Nightmares sitting close by watching me with concern. The house is on a well-manicured lawn. Off in the distance, the sound of the waves hitting the beach can be heard.
“Well that didn’t work,” Gabriel tells Thanatos flatly.
The god of death itches the end of his nose with a calloused finger while leaning back in his chair, legs up on the railing crossed at the ankles. “It was worth a shot.”
“What was worth a shot? Wait I thought that was all a dream?” Snatch questions shakily unmoving from his position flat on the grass. Eyes screwed shut, his mouth is drawn back from his teeth in a grimace. A visible tremor trembles through his tortured burn marked form.
“You two are a couple of assholes!” I yell at the top of my lungs sending them both a hostile scowl. “You knew exactly where we were, didn’t you? You used us as bait, let us get taken and tortured! Do you even realize how fucked up that is? They could have killed us.”
Thanatos clucks his tongue. “Now don’t go losing your temper, girly. You said you’d do anything it takes. We thought maybe you could coax Morpheus to take control, but I guess the crazy side is too strong.”
“That settles it then. If he can’t be saved, we’ll have to destroy him,” My boss announces, taking the steps up onto the porch.
“Wait! What?” Panic has me struggling up on to my feet. “You can’t kill him. This isn’t his fault, and he fought it long enough to tell me to escape. He’s inside there trapped; that has to count for something.”
Pausing at the door, he doesn’t bother to make eye contact with me. “He’s too powerful to be left roaming around. He could shift the balance of things that, right now, are already dangerously in flux…”
“I thought he needed to exist for mankind to sleep and dream. If you kill him, then you’re condemning us all to death too.”
“Give me some credit. I ain’t that stupid.” Thanatos’ tone is smooth and perfectly in control like he doesn’t care that his nephew is being condemned to die. “Nightmares and Illusions will still exist. They’ll be sufficient enough to keep the island going.”
“But won’t they be destroyed too?” I reason. The thought of Morpheus annihilated leaves me sick to my stomach. A man who at one moment can be so ruthlessly fierce and the next gently protective. It’s the reason I love him. Love them all. My mind cries out at the knowledge. I can’t lose them. Not like this. There has to be away to break the hold over him.
“Nope,” Thanatos continues unaware of my turmoil.
Clutching the post at the bottom of the steps until my knuckles turn white with my leashed emotions, I shake my head in denial. “And you’re certain of that, how?”
“Because I’m only half the God I used to be.”
“Care to elaborate on that, please? I’m all for killing that son of a bitch, but I don’t want to be talked into a death sentence doing it.” Snatch joins in still slouched on the lawn wounded.
“People think Hypnos, Morpheus’s father, and I were twins. The truth is we were the same being split in two by the weight of our powers. One soul divided with dominion over sleep and death.”
Snatch huffs shakily. “Well that would explain why the Doll Maker has the power of necromancy. Obviously, that was inherited from your side and makes you his daddy. Way to go death for fathering something that has probably mentally scarred me for the rest of my life and will bring about Armageddon.”
“Morpheus’ parents are dead,” I reply tonelessly, the revelation making my heart ache.
Thanatos stands facing me, his tall, muscled body completely still. “And I’m still here, so that proves Nightmares and Illusions can survive without him. I’m guessing we don’t have long before they arrive. Illusions, take these two somewhere out of harm’s way. They can’t fight for shit and Gabriel doesn’t want to see the girl any more traumatized than she is already.”
Obeying, the younger man grabs my arm forcefully