Sacrificed by Nancy Corrigan

Author:Nancy Corrigan [Corrigan, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781946672995
Publisher: Cherokee House Publishing LLC
Published: 2020-06-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

The intense, pure light of the heavens blinded Arawn. He squeezed his eyelids shut, the most he dared do in order to counter the pain spreading through his body. Any more would be considered a weakness. None could be shown, not even to the being who knew his every flaw.

“Arawn, Lord of the Underworld, it is about time you came.”

The Triad’s voice surrounded Arawn. He cracked his eyelids, but only the endless expanse of white clouds greeted him. “You’ve been expecting me?”

Why he asked, he didn’t know. The answer seemed important, however. Doubt had hovered in his mind ever since Minerva had first appeared to him. Learning about her deal with Lucifer compounded it. Arawn couldn’t help but feel…played.

“Not played. Led.” The Triad responded to his unspoken thought, proving it could easily read Arawn’s mind.

The deity’s intrusion didn’t anger him. Its words did. Arawn remembered the games among the other gods in the early days of the world. He’d hated it. The isolation of the Underworld had been part of the reason he’d accepted the role he’d been offered. The segregation from the heavens hadn’t offered him peace, however.

He’d entered his eternal hell.

And Minerva saved him from it.

Arawn ground his jaw. “Manipulated, you mean.”

“No. You cannot be controlled. Even the gods have free will.”

“But you can take all my choices away save one, can’t you?”

Silence answered him.

“Well?” He knew better than to argue with the Triad. The tortured look in Minerva’s eyes pushed him to demand the truth.

“You always have two choices, Arawn god of Hell.”

Of course I do. He worked his jaw back and forth. “The right one and the wrong one.”

“Exactly. Which have you chosen?”

Doubt gripped him. Was there another option he’d missed?

“There is not. Approach and make your request. It is the one required of you, and the one you should have made a century ago.”

“First I must ask for a way to save the half-breed children Dagda is creating.”

“Half-breed or not, they are fairies and out of our realm of control. The only way to help them is to stop their father.”

“And the babe Minerva’s handmaiden carries? The child holds the power of the heavens. It cannot be lost.”

“The deal for her soul has already been made. Play the role meant for you, and the babe’s heavenly goodness will be secured until she can be claimed by the one meant to wield her power.”

The finality in the deity’s tone stopped Arawn from pressing for details. He’d learned what he needed to know. There were more lives on the line than just the humans if he failed.

Controlled breaths calmed the rage brewing within him. He leashed the last of his wrath, then nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Come closer. Your time is running out.”

A stark hall of marble and granite replaced the vast nothingness. He stepped out of the portal Minerva had erected. The moment his feet touched the floor, a pathway lined with flickering candles appeared. It led to another circle of green grass. He closed the distance, eager to leave the heavens.

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