She steps carefully down the last couple of steps and glances up at me before we begin to walk forward toward my corpse. She hesitates as we approach, but I stroke the top of her soft hand, and stop a couple of feet away. She watches me curiously as I walk up to my body and pull the cloth from my corpse. She gasps and turns her head ready to flee. I wave my arm, putting up an invisible wall. She runs right into it and looks around with fear.
"Calm yourself," I command. "You told me that you want to be part of my plans and now I will tell you what they are. Come, stand before me."
She hangs her head and walks back over, keeping her eyes on the ground. She doesn't say a word, and that's perfect because I don't want to hear her boring plea for mortal safety. "After you came to me about Willem, last night, I went and retrieved him from the prisoner cells and brought him here."
Her head lifts and she looks all around. "Where is he?"
I wave my hand down the long corridor. "Down there in one of the tombs, awaiting his justice. Anyway, when I was leaving, I realized that it was time to bring you in on what is happening. You showed your loyalty last night, and in return, I will show you mine."
I watch her head slowly rises, and her eyes meet with mine. I can see it's worth it to her, to face my rotting corpse in order to appease me, to be part of me. This mortal may not be as bad as I originally thought her to be. All mortals have the ability to be cunning and nefarious and she is no different. "Thank you, Kane."
"Drogaem was a wise God, a ruler that seized what he wanted and did what he wanted," I explained. "People feared him, and they stayed in line with what he wished. I will resurrect Drogaem using the transfer of souls, and when I do, I will use him to enslave all mortals in the Mortal Realm. I will be their King and their God. I will control the Underworld and the Mortal Realm. There will be no more trickery from the mortals. And you…" I walk over toward her and lift her chin so her eyes meet mine. "You will be a powerful force by my side."
* * *
Briar
I can see it in his eyes, the darkness that clouds them, the void that seems to go on and on forever. I mean nothing to him. I'm only precious to him because he will use me as a weapon, a tool to control the whole of the Mortal Realm. It's hard to keep my emotions at bay when I stand in front of him listening to the words that he is saying. I try to push the visions of my sisters and my father controlled by this imposter out of my head. Who am I fooling? My father is a King, and Drogaem will never let him live. All of the mortals will become toys and tools for his pleasure.
I should've known from the beginning, even before the imposter took over Kane that I could never be an equal here. The Underworld is not for mortals, and now the very worst of my fears is coming true. I had finally realize that Kane, the old Kane, still had loving kindness in his heart. I truly feel that if he were here, and I could continue on with my life with him, that eventually, he would treat me as an equal. Just like anything else, I have to prove myself. But not with this imposter, this evil and cruel man.
I stare down at Drogaem's body, the flaps of flesh peeling back from the bone, the smell wafting through the air. Even beneath the rot and grime I can see a glimpse of the God he used to be. The heat begins to surge through my belly and I close my eyes, everything around me going quiet as echoing voices scream out in my head. At first, they're muffled, unrecognizable even, but as I breathe deeply, trying to understand what is vibrating through my very being, the light flashes and I can hear Drogaem's voice loud and clear. I don't know whether it's a vision, or a memory, but I do know that it's not mine.
"We will rule together," his echoing voice rings out in my head. "You and I, forever. You will be a powerful force by my side."
With Kane's touch, all the light that is built up inside of me quickly dissipates. My eyes shoot open and I stare at him. He is looking at me curiously. It's as if he can leech the light right from me. "Do not be afraid, sweet Briar. You will be a fearsome Queen, one whose name lives on in infamy."
My throat feels swollen, and I'm afraid to move but I don't dare show as much fear as I'm feeling anywhere on my face. He is calm right now, and though I want to fight against him, to scream and claw him, I don't. I watch as he reaches into the pocket of his black jacket and pulls something out. He looks down at his hand and then back up at me as he slowly pulls a shimmering gold chain from his other palm. At the end of it is a crystalline white orb with a small piece of black metal inside.
He walks toward me, undoing the clasp and holding it open. I don't want it, but I know not to refuse. I turn and lift up the wispy pieces of hair on my neck as he lifts the necklace up and over my head and clasps it on the back of my neck. I press my palm to the orb and turn back toward him, smiling sweetly. "Why thank you.
