walls over the stacks of books, and everything echoes. How big is this place?
Endless, I would think.
Opening the cover, I spot the almost faded handwriting on the first page. “The birth, life, and history of the seven original, now fallen, gods.” Huh. I flip through the pages. There are drawings and endless scrawled notes. Did Book Daddy write this? If so, how does he know Khalid… He said he was old, but as I read, my jaw drops. He was born before anyone. One of seven brothers, it looks like, birthed from Titan parents who are described as cruel and demanding. They wanted their sons’ powers and to rule this world. Huh, no wonder he’s an ass. I stop on one page where there seems to be a family portrait. There are seven good-looking men—gods, but I don’t spot Khalid. Then, I remember his face changes. Is this before, or is he wearing a skin? Something pulls my attention to the lone figure to the right, and I stroke my finger down the angry-looking man. He seems so alone, and if he was wearing a skin then…how sad to not even be himself around his family. The portrait isn’t in colour, so his hair is long and black, his eyes too, but he’s tall and skinny and not how I would have imagined him.
Shaking my head, I keep going, wanting to know as much as I can about my enemy. Well, the man who used to be an enemy and still might be in the future. I pass names of unfamiliar men and what they are—a dragon, a vampire, a sea god, and a sun god before it lands on Khalid.
Khalid - Skinwalker.
Able to change his face at will, this god can easily fade into the background and infiltrate any army or group. He has toppled kingdoms posing as advisors, husbands, and even kings, poisoning and killing their leaders, stopping wars before they even began. Throughout history, he is woven into the fabric but never as himself, instead in the faces of others. However, let us begin at the very start…
I suck in a breath at the aching loneliness wafting through those words. All those years, he walked this world but never as himself. He must have kept everyone at arm’s length, never getting close…never having anyone. Like me. Maybe we are more similar than I thought. Shaking my head at the soft feeling invading my icy heart, I carry on reading the scrawling text.
Khalid is the second born son of their Titan parents. His powers, however, unlike those of his siblings, did not emerge until his seventh year when forced into battle by his parents to prove himself. Nearing defeat, he touched the other fighter, and his skin started to melt away.
Fuck, imagine doing that at seven years old! No wonder he’s messed up.
His parents were overjoyed, the only time they had been proud of their second son, who they feared would be no better than a human. After this battle, however, his powers did not re-emerge when tested. Filled with anger at their disappointment of a son when all of their other children were thriving, they unleashed their wrath upon him.
A sick feeling fills my stomach, and my head lifts, looking in Khalid’s direction. Oh god, what did they do to that poor boy? His own parents!
His mother entertained the idea of putting him into a stressful, near-death situation again to bring out his powers. Yet when his father fought and defeated him, it did not happen. Many speculated this was due to fear of harming his father, who was quick to anger and very cruel. Instead, his parents tried other approaches, torturing the boy. They drowned him in the river. He was hanged only for him to be reborn as gods are. Day after day of different torture techniques were used to try and pull these powers from him until, on their seventh day, they found a successful method.
My stomach rolls and images crowd my mind of a young, scared Khalid being beaten, drowned, and killed by the people who were supposed to love and protect him. And where were his brothers?
Unbeknown to his other siblings, Khalid was put through the most horrific pain and torture we have ever heard of or seen. His siblings thought him strange and quiet as he withdrew further and further into himself, barely speaking a word. It was only when the oldest of the brothers walked in to find their mother