I take off the goggles, leave them on the podium, walk out, and hang the earmuffs on their peg. He follows my movements and slips his hands in his pockets, looking around.
“This is my happy place when I’m here. I’ve always had a thing for weapons, and I guess I collect them?”
“You mean this isn’t a forge for your army? This is your personal collection?” I can’t keep the awe out of my voice. It’s not like I see a collection this big every day.
With renewed interest, I walk around, touching everything. He has close to five hundred swords of all different types and models. There are guns hung on the walls, but some are in a glass case.
I run my hands over a few swords that look like they’re from before the world burned. When I lift one, I almost drop it. Fuck, it’s heavy.
“It’s a Viking broadsword. Those fuckers were huge and brutal. I’ve never seen an angrier group of people. Always fighting and fucking.”
He bites his lip on the last ‘f’ sound, and I have to shake my head to look away. His face isn’t like anything I’ve seen before. He’s beautifully dark. His black hair curls at the ends, and his eyes are the color of the greenest grass. His beard is barely there, but it contrasts nicely with his pale skin.
Stop ogling the Death king! You have a mate, I chastise myself.
“How long have you been visiting the Mortal Realm?” I place the sword down on the table with a clang, then make my way over to the rocket launcher. It’s a beauty, all dark metals and power.
“Since he created the humans. I was the one who showed them magic; hence why I’m Fallen.”
He says it in a matter-of-fact tone as if it no longer causes him pain.
“That’s why you knew Tenebris magic in the vision. You created it.”
He nods as he picks up the rocket launcher. “Want to fire it?”
A glint of mischief lights his face, and I follow him out of the building. The sky has turned pitch black, and I stop for a moment before I follow him.
“I’m going to make those trees explode.” He points, but I can’t see anything beyond him. I can only see around him because his skin glows a little.
“I can’t see a thing. It’s like someone permanently shut my eyes.”
“Use a spell. The foresight spell works, or you can use Namir’s sight.”
I stumble on something, but he catches me before I fall. Shrugging out of his grip, I’m grateful it’s too dark to see his face.
I start the enchantment and my eyes light up with their silver, making everything around me glow for a moment. Then the spell takes hold, and I am in awe of everything around me.
It’s like the entire world has lit up. In the dark, where the normal eye can’t see, is another world. Plants, trees, and animals appear.
“How is this possible?”
“You see the true Deathlands before he cursed it. It wasn’t always this decimated, but when the Creator cast me out, he wanted to punish the ones I loved, too, so he turned the demons and land I protected into a wasteland. They can only show their true selves at night when he’s no longer looking. It’s a spell I cast; it’s meant to hide the obvious.”
I say nothing. Instead, I take a walk. For the first time, I see what this realm is all about. The trees look like they’re coated in lime-green skin. The purple flowers bloom with an explosion of color, and the dust-coated floor is a neon yellow. It’s like I’m stepping into Wonderland.
“Let’s fire this thing,” he says, taking off into the woods.
“No! You can’t damage any of this,” I say, trailing behind him. His long legs make it hard for me to keep up with him.
“Don’t worry. It will grow back. This isn’t like the Mortal Realm.”
“In that case, can I fire it? Please.” The last word is out of my mouth before I even know what the hell I’m saying. I said please to the Death king.
His eyes sparkle with something other than curiosity, and his cocky grin makes me feel like I may have said the wrong thing—or maybe the right one.
He hands me the launcher, and the weight is unexpected. That’s twice I’ve shown weakness, and my teeth grit with the thought. I hoist it on my shoulder, steadying my stance.
“That’s the tree,” he says, pointing his long arm. I look through the scope. The image comes in clear. I reposition the launcher, so the tree is in the crosshairs. With a deep breath, I squeeze the trigger, exhaling as I go.
The kickback throws me into Caedis, who pushes me right back up so I can see the boom.
And it’s enormous!
The heat from the explosion caresses my face, giving me a slight sunburn. I drop the bazooka and jump up, raising my hand in the air and screaming out into the night.
“That was fucking amazing!” My adrenaline is hyped. I want to do it seven more times. “Do you have another cartridge?”
The Death king’s face is lit up as much as the tree he’s standing next to. His smile is from ear to ear, and the surrounding forest highlights the sparkle of the green in his eyes. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone this happy.
“You’re amazing. So much more than I gave you credit for. It’s surreal seeing you after all these years and then finally talking to you.”
He crushes my mood with his segway into being a stalker again. I adjust my leather vest as I clear my throat.
“It’s still not cool, you keeping tabs on me. It violates my privacy. Why not try to talk to me?”
He picks up the bazooka, examining it. This is not the Death king I was expecting. He’s so normal, so human.
“It wasn’t the right time. If I told you all I saw before you knew for yourself, would
