Gods & Monsters

SEVEN

Aden

    "Sihaile is falling apart, Aden," Oran speaks to me in a low tone. We are the only ones in the room now, Kieran and Ciara have already excused themselves to bed.

    "I'm aware—"

    "No, you are not." He looks up at me with hardened eyes. "You left there years ago, I left last night. It's getting worse. There is no rule, everything is in anarchy. I fear the Gods have abandoned us after Balor took reign."

    How did it come to this? Why would the Gods give up on their people?

    "I don't think they've abandoned us, Oran," I say, the hope inside me still a weak flicker of a flame.

    "You have not witnessed what I have, a chara." My friend. He takes a sip of his drink, his eyes clouding in darkness and sadness, something I've never witnessed from him. "Sihaile is no longer beautiful, not full of mortals and demi-gods alike—it's desolate. People fear to walk the streets because the Sluagh are taking souls left and right. It's like our land has turned into Dubnos—" He glances at me and I flinch, pressing my lips together. "Sorry." I know the land of Dubnos more than any God besides my own father, and wish it wasn't talked about so grimly—but word travels and the word is that Dubnos is a desolate land full of evil creatures and lost souls—when it's anything but that. I keep my world private, not wanting to mingle the fragile souls of the dead with Gods.

    "So, you think it's her?" He asks, switching the topic as tension between us grows.

    "Without a doubt in my mind," I say, hissing through my teeth. The cold that encompasses her is that of her father. Her powers lay dormant, but I can see them starting to awaken with the presence of a God and demigods alike that share similar threads of fate. It won't be long until they awaken completely. "How did you manage to cross Maéithe?"

    "I made a bargain." He says, his eyes not lifting to meet my gaze. Oh gods, Oran. You fool.

    "With whom?"

    "With a Faí."

    "Oh Gods, why would you do that? What did you offer?"

    "My protection. Seems the Faí are quite afraid as well." He clenches his jaw and closes his eyes, shaking his head. "I had to see the woman with my own eyes. A demi born after the fall of the Gods? There's significance in that."

    He is not wrong, and I don't try to convince him or myself otherwise. Cordelia was born for a reason, a reason that we cannot yet explain. Mannon has not shown his face in centuries, and we believed them all to be dead, but she was proof that was not true.

    "I am quite tired from my travels, friend." Oran turns and pulls me into a hug, patting my back with certainty before he releases me and finishes his drink. "I'm going to head to bed."

    "As am I," I mutter, nodding at him. He stands and heads up the large staircase in search of a room with a bed. I turn back to my drink and finish off the rest, hissing through my teeth. The bitterness rests at the pit of my stomach and I feel warmth growing from within. I've found that I drank enough to actually feel the effects, which is a rare case, especially with the mortal's weak liquor they offer. Thankfully, I have an easy way to travel between Dubnos and here so I have access to my home where I keep all of my good whiskey, wine, and food. I wish this realm wasn't so dull, and for that, I'm thankful for the access to my home and the comfort it brings. All it takes for me to travel from realm to realm is a single thought—I thank my full-blood Gods as parents for that. Most born from a God are Demigods, since the Gods seem to hold a certain curiosity for the mortals, often finding themselves in bed with them, and thus, Demigods are born. My parents on the other hand, fell in love young and had me, the first born God from conception of our time. If only Lia knew just how powerful I am, she would run away without much of a second thought. But she's lucky, because I refuse to sway her mind, her pleasures, knowing the bond between us works just as well.