“But notbillions!” Another golden lightning strike flash above Lux’s head. “Do you understand math? Do you know how much a billion is? They’ll be unstoppable. They’ll conquer this world just as they’ve conquered all the others. You’re committing suicide if you don’t let us do as we’ve planned. This is how we defeat them once and for all. This is how it ends. This is how we save every world in every galaxy from the bastards. If we let them take these souls, we’re fucked. We’reallfucked.”
“You’ll be.” A woman four rows up glared down at him, sipping her wine. “They’re many things, but always loyal to their word. You are not. They don’t appreciate that.”
Lux’s jaw hit the floor.
It was true that Lux was a traitor, but a traitor to the enemy was a hero. He didn’t see himself that way, but the fact remained. They’d only made this agreement because ultimately, when it was all said and done, it’d save the entire universe from an unspeakably evil army.
“You’re mad.” Lux shook his head, backing away slowly. “You’re all bloody mad.”
“So are you,” the woman said. “You never should’ve made a deal like that.”
He wasn’t going to defend it. He wasn’t going to argue with idiots.
“We’ll see what my brother thinks.” Lux spun and started for the door. “Then we’ll see who the fool here is.”
Before he could make it half a dozen steps, a small army stood before him.
“Nix doesn’t need to know about this.” A man from the throng of people stepped closer to him. Lux didn’t know him personally, but he looked familiar. Like his however many greats grandfather, Chasan. A man who had power over death, like Lux had power over death. Meaning he was one of the few who could kill Lux. “We’re going to keep this between us for the time being.”
Lux began backing away slowly, only to hit another body, a wall of a man. He didn’t turn to look at him.
He lapsed.
Or at least, he tried to.
But he only vibrated.
There must have been a spell in place to keep him from escaping, likely cast while he was arguing.
“Let’s get those memories out of your head before you go running out of here.” A hand fell on Lux’s shoulder.
Fuck no.
Nix needed to know this. The par animarum needed to know.
A fire was burning deep in Lux’s gut. These people, what they wanted, was to kill his children. To kill the children of the par animarum. They’d created those souls from nothing. Together, they’d brought them into existence from the merging of their own souls. Parts of themselves existed within those billions of lives on the little blue rock.
Lux loved those people like he loved the children he’d conceived. They werehis. They were hisbabies. He’d do anything to protect them, and now, knowing they all were at risk, he was about to explode.
So much so that he lost control over the lightning in the dark gray clouds. It cracked and thundered every other heartbeat, illuminating the Conclave Hall to the brightest it’d ever been.
He needed out. He needed to get to his brother, and he needed to tell him his children were at risk. He needed to tell all the par animarum that their babies’ lives were close to being eradicated by the most ruthless creatures to have ever traveled the galaxies.
Lux lapsed again. He couldn’t break through the border, but he could move around within it.
He was up against the door, shaking his head furiously. “Absolutely not.”
“Either that”—Chasan’s grandson stood just before him again, and he began yanking on Lux’s soul— “or you die here.”
It was without thought.
One of those golden flashes of lightning struck through the ceiling, raining glass over everyone in the hall.
And then another, and another.
Lightning touched down everywhere.
Suddenly, it was a blood bath.