The Game of Gods Box Set

by Lana Pecherczyk

  A muscle near Eve’s eyes twitched. “By him, I’m assuming you mean the hunter?”

  “Of course.” Boring, witch, this was getting rather tedious.

  “Yes, this is true. It was me.”

  “How. Why?”

  Eve left her seat at the chess table and strolled to the window with her hands clasped gently behind her back. As she got to the curtains and peered behind a drape, she sighed dramatically. I snorted. What an actress.

  “You see, this is where I would usually twist the truth to some version of it, but alas, in this instance, I have no benefit in lying. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. To understand the why and the how, I must first take you back to the beginning.”

  I stifled a yawn. I hated long winded stories. Much more of an action man myself. “Give me the Cliff’s Notes version, yeah?”

  Her eyebrow arched as she tilted her head my way. She had a way she wanted this to play out, and I wasn’t having a bar of it.

  “I haven’t got all day, witch,” I added, unable to hide the disdain dripping from my words.

  That got her cylinders firing. She rounded on me and used her power to take me in an invisible choke hold and squeezed. Her arm extended mimicking the action, hand outstretched, opening and closing in my direction.

  Pressure tightened around my neck. To anyone else, it may have suffocated them, broken their larynx, severed their spine. For me, it tickled. I shivered playfully and shimmied, pretending I’d just gotten the best feather massage a bloke had ever seen.

  “That all you got?”

  Her middle-aged face animated and contorted with fury. Her cheeks reddened, her eyes darkened. All in all, I thought things were going rather splendidly. Precisely according to plan.

  “There she is.” I laughed in a throaty voice, pretending to be affected by her strike. “C’mon, love, show me what you really think.”

  Her face trembled and her splayed fingers vibrated. Good. Give it up.

  “I’m thinking I won’t tell you anything anymore,” she spat. “I’m thinking you are a waste of space, Gamekeeper, and I’ll be doing the world a favor by getting rid of you.”

  Her wide fingers contracted as though she squeezed a rock, and the pressure on my neck tightened.

  I rolled my eyes, and then said with lackluster, “No. Please. No. Oh my, whatever will I do?”

  Her eyebrows darted upwards, betraying a flicker of surprise. Then they snapped downwards. She threw her second arm out in a slashing motion towards my body. Probably intending to slice me apart or something equally unimaginative.

  I had been monitoring her aura and expected this. I expected everything. My sixth sense was as good as reading minds. Now, the only question was whether to keep playing her game to get answers, or to try things my way.

  I decided on my way. Naturally.

  Instantly, I warped to a position behind her, slipped my fingers around her neck and gently squeezed. The action was more like a love-tap, a symbol of her entrapment than anything else because, while my fingers squeezed, my power engulfed her. All I had to do was take her through the in-between and she’d be lost, dispersed into chaos, nothing but a memory. Just like her black smoked friend.

  “I must admit, love, that was easier than I thought,” I said into her ear. “I mean, really.”

  She swallowed beneath the touch of my fingers.

  “Now,” I said, letting go of her neck, but not of her being. I made a show of wiping imaginary dust from my new clothing construct. “Tell me why you split the hunter’s soul and hid him from us.”

  She straightened her back and faced me.

  “Come now, love. You know I’m one of the most powerful beings in existence. No need to simper like that.”

  “If you are so powerful, why are you leashed to this planet as her lapdog?”

  Anger boiled beneath my skin. “I’m nobody’s lapdog.”

  But the truth of it was, I may as well be. I did everything Sephie wanted, and what did I get in return? The permission to bed and befriend only those destined to live and die in the blink of an eye, or the discarded miscreants left banished on this planet. No lasting friendships have been made, no enduring love, only memories of some that faded.

  “I did it to save his life,” she said.

  “And why would you go and do a thing like that?”

  “Because he saved mine.”

  “Are you telling me, that the bleeding hunter of witches actually spawned the whores of evolution himself?”

  “That’s a gross overgeneralization but, yes, that’s fairly close.”

  A huff of air shot out of my mouth as I paced the room. Lies. As if the hunter created any of that. He was the one and only person who gave his life to destroy the bleeding darkness. Bloody brilliant. Just what I ordered. A bleeding pack of lies.

  As soon as I thought the word, I cast a sideways glance at the woman to inspect her aura more thoroughly. I made her repeat her sentence. The tiniest flicker of doubt rippled over her energy.

  Lie.

  “And where is his true body?” I continued, pretending to play along.

  “Gone.”

  “What do you mean, gone?”

  “I mean it was destroyed.” Her aura stayed steady. Truth.

  “All right. How do you know that?”

  “I was there, of course.” Truth.

  “And how did you do it, then? How did you split his soul?”

  This was where Eve’s aura faltered. She hesitated, took a deep breath and sat down heavily at the chair opposite the chess table.

  “Care to elaborate?” I prompted.

  “Not really, for if I do, my last and final secret will be out.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Do I look like I care?”

  “Fine. Being one of the Queen’s first successful creations, I was in a position of confidence. She allowed me within the confines of her laboratories. She showed me her precious book and the spells within it.”

  Truth. Interesting. “Boring. Get to the good bit.”

  Even spluttered and huffed. “You’re a pompous, egotistical, misogynistic—”

  I held up my other hand. “Spare me the theatrics, love. I’m out of patience.”

  “Fine. To cut the long story short, I wasn’t happy being confined to this planet. She thought I was ignorant, but I wasn’t. The Dark-Lord enlightened me. We were prisoners to be abused for the enjoyment of the elite. He convinced me to steal the book. I copied it. I used her opinion of me against her. She didn’t believe me capable of understanding, but I did. I thought I could use the book on myself, make myself immortal, but I got it wrong. Most of her soul-science only worked on Seraphim, those who were already immortal. It was useless to me. This was about that time I discovered the Dark-Lord planned to annihilate my people, to turn them dark to serve his own purpose. He wanted nothing more than to destroy the Queen’s pet project, and to use them against her to take the Empire for himself. By that stage, I was caught between a rock and a hard place. When the hunter found himself in a similar predicament, we bargained. He would set my complete soul lose and I would help him hide his soul using what I’d learned from the book.”

  “And by Dark-Lord, I’m assuming you mean the Prince.”

  “Don’t be daft. The Prince died. I meant Urser.”

  “Dead? I thought he was hiding. And Urser?”

  “Dead as a doorknob.”

  Well, that was unexpected. Still… I couldn’t tell if it was a lie or truth.

  “Love, now out with the truth.”

  She cast a wary eye at me. “That was the truth.”

  I inhaled deeply. I really was getting tired of this. Why did people even bother to argue with me? “Do I have to torture you, really?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You lied. About being the one who split his soul.”

  She was silent.

  I put pressure on her energy with mine.

  “Fine. He did it himself. You happy now? H
e set himself on fire and split his own soul, all by himself.”

  I was right, of course I was happy. Sort of. A queasy feeling rolled in my stomach. I didn’t want to ask the next question. “How do we tie his soul back to his original body if it’s gone?”

  A slow, evil smile curved up Eve’s face, but she stayed silent.

  “You know don’t you?” I accused. “With all the experiments you’ve done to our kind, you know.”

  Her smile grew.

  Air rushed out of my lungs. “Fine. What do you want?”

  “You know what I want.”

  “Deal.” We shook hands. “But I take no responsibility for what happens to your soul after you arrive in the Empire.”

  “You need his blood,” Eve conceded. “Or her blood. I heard they were soulmates. That meant they had similar genetic markers.”

  “Are you fucking having a laugh?”

  At that moment she did, but she continued, “If you have the blood from his original body, and with the help of an Alchemist, fuse it with his current one, then you create a new Seraphim body.”

  “And that’s it? Nothing you need to say, no chanty chant, or hocus-pocus?”

  “Your girl has the Book of the Dead. She’ll know.”

  Cash

  My two hands slipped behind Roo’s neck and held her still. She stared up at me, waiting. My heart beat rapidly against her palm on my chest and my lungs drew a ragged breath. A flicker of guilt over my absenteeism hit me, but that’s all it was, a flicker. My desire was too strong. It surged to the surface, wanting, needing to be closer to her. My fingers flexed on her nape, trying to be gentle. It was the neck I’d ruined days before, vulnerable again. I wanted to lay my lips on her, to remove the painful memory and replace it with something better. Need rippled through my body, leaving tremors in its wake. I couldn’t hold out.

  I bent and brushed my lips to the soft spot beneath her ear, and she melted into me. When I licked on her ear lobe, she moaned softly. She slid her palm around my chest to rest at my back and tugged me closer, a silent plea.

  “I missed you,” she whispered, her fingers twisted in my shirt.

  I pulled back and checked her eyes. They were sincere, glistening and wide, and they weakened me because I felt the same way.

  “There hasn’t been a day I didn’t think of you,” I said. “Hell, no, there wasn’t an hour, a minute, that went by without you in my thoughts. You’re all I think of, Roo, and I tried to deny it, but I can’t do it anymore.”

  “Why would you deny it?” Her breath hitched.

  “Because I’m no good for you. I know that’s a horrible cliché, but it’s all I’ve got.” I pulled my gaze from her. “The things I’ve done. Especially to you.”

  “Is that why you avoided me for the past week?” Her gentle touch on my chin pulled my gaze back to her hardened eyes. “There is nothing more despised in this universe than me. If there is anyone not worthy, it is me. I’m a Soul-Eater, Cash. Case in point.”

  “Yet, you’re new to this reality. I’ve got eons of sin dripping from me.”

  “If you were so bad, then your aura wouldn’t be so light. No. It’s me who is dark. It’s me who will taint you with what I am.”

  She stiffened beneath me, signaling she was about to pull away, but I held tight, hands fisting in her hair.

  “I’ve told you I don’t believe that.”

  “But it’s true, I’ve devoured souls.”

  “Perhaps we are made for each other,” I mumbled. “Because my soul is yours for the taking.”

  Before she could grumble about my second horrible cliché, I crushed my mouth to hers, moving her lips with a ferocious need that echoed in my heart. Her essence pushed into me, stroking my soul, setting it on fire. With her, it was more than a simple kiss. With her it was everything. Electricity and sensations I couldn’t explain traveled through our connection and amplified my entire being. I felt lighter and heavier with need at the same time. The scent of her swam through my senses, flooding me, drowning out every other thought. There was nothing but her.

  “Finally.” Roo pulled back and smiled. “You took long enough. Not about me taking your soul because I won’t do that. I mean, you took long enough about the—”

  I kissed her. “With this, I’ll take as long as I can.” I nipped at her neck, eliciting a long, drawn out moan from her. The sound tugged at my restraint and I doubted my words. I wanted her now. This instant. What this woman did to me was insane. I hadn’t felt like this since… since… Her.

  “You have no idea how much I want this, but we’re going to be late.” She patted my shoulder while my lips trailed down her neckline. I wasn’t done. On the way back up, I licked a line to her lobe and she shivered.

  “Fuck late,” I said and lifted her by the waist to sit on the kitchen bench.

  I gripped her above the knees and took a moment to appreciate her beauty. Red, tousled hair tumbling down her shoulders, rosy cheeks with kissable, swollen lips. Honey eyes that glistened for me. A possessive rumble erupted from the base of my throat. For me. Slowly my hands slid up her thighs until my fingers pushed at the hem of her skirt, reveling in the indecent vision I’d imagined earlier. I nudged in until she opened her legs to make room for me with an amused glint in her eyes.

  That look. White hot want burst through me and, without ceremony, I swiped the papers and coffee cups from the bench behind her, letting them crash loudly to the floor. I wanted her to lay back, to let me—

  “What’s that?” she said.

  “The cups.”

  “No, that other sound.”

  “Don’t care.” I kissed her above her breast.

  “I heard a sound.” She straightened herself and pushed at my shoulders until I drew away. “And I can sense an aura. A familiar one. There.”

  Someone knocked at the door.

  Roo squeaked.

  The haze covering my mind cleared.

  Jed shouldn’t be back yet. How much time had passed? I checked the clock on the wall. Perhaps he had figured out I’d lied about the job. I’d only wanted him out of the house. Yes, I was a bastard, but I’d deal with that later.

  “I’ll get it,” Roo said, cheeks flushed, and slipped off the bench.

  I enjoyed watching her pull her dress down her lush curves as she walked to the door, taking pleasure in the knowledge that I’d roused her that way.

  A grin broke out on my face.

  I didn’t notice who was on the other side of the door until it was too late.

  Marc

  When the door opened, I did not expect what I found. The sight of Little Red’s flushed cheeks hit me squarely in the chest. I swallowed. She looked magnificent. I let my gaze travel down her body and delighted in the tight dress she wore.

  “You knocked.” Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

  “Well, I’m not a complete degenerate. I do have manners, you know. I thought that’s what you wanted.”

  “Yes, but, you never knock. You just”—she made a gesture with her fingers—“poof, you appear.”

  My eyebrow arched. “Love, please tell me you didn’t call me a poof.”

  “Ah…”

  “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I have no qualms with a well timed orgy from time to time, but I detest the word.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” She glanced over her shoulder, preoccupied. It was then I noticed her usually abundantly sensual and flowing hair was messed up.

  “Sorry, love, am I interrupting?” I peeked inside, hoping to have a gander of what was going on in there. Bloody hell. Doing this the right proper way was a pain in the ass, but she did harp on about my need to respect her privacy, so here I was, respecting her privacy. I sensed an aura in there, but it was slippery, evasive. Stuff and nonsense.

  A large hand appeared on her shoulder and pulled her to the side to reveal the even larger body of the hunter.

  Of course. Who else would have a slippery, sneaky aura?

&
nbsp; “What do you want, Marc?”

  The hunter’s stormy gaze was more clouded than usual and, if I focused, I noticed a surge in his aura that caused me to dart between him and Little Red. The evidence became clear. The energy between them turned opaque in its entanglement. Cloudy wisps of essence sought the other half out. Bollocks. I knew exactly what that meant.

  I took a sudden breath, irritation rising swiftly, painting my atoms red.

  They’d been… in flagrante delicto. I could tell. It was as clear as the day. Written all over their faces. Her messed up hair and his disheveled shirt. Bloody handsome devil in that shirt, he was. It sat rather nicely across his pectorals. Perhaps next time I visited, I’d wear something similar.

  I frowned again. I had no right to be, but the thought of them doing ‘it’ drove me mad. I didn’t want anyone touching her.

  She looked up at me all innocent and adorable, waiting for me to say something.

  I cleared my throat and met Cash’s hard stare. “I need to speak with you.”

  Cash checked the clock on the wall behind them and then sighed, stepping to the right. A gap opened up. “Come in.”

  I stepped across the threshold, walked near the kitchen bench, and noticed paper littered across the floor along with debris of some sort.

  “You said you had a third person living here, yeah?” I queried, choosing to ignore the mess.

  “He’s out,” Cash said and pulled up next to me where he folded his arms and leant a hip on the bench.

  “Right. So then, Little Red, I should probably let you know the spy has been dealt with. No need to proceed with Operation Scarab.” I touched the side of my nose with the tip of my finger as I looked at her.

  “Oh good. To be honest, I kind of forgot. Those notes were for Cash and something unrelated.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Because of his terminal condition, you mean?”

  “What?” Roo stepped back, away from Cash, away from me.

  Cash cursed under his breath.