A Game of Gods by Scarlett St. Clair EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Authors: Scarlett St. Clair
- Language: English
- Genre: Fantasy Romance
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HADES
Hades stood a few feet from a burning farmhouse.
All that remained was the frame, a faint outline of what the house once
was, and yet the flames still raged, filling the night with smoke and ash. At
his feet was the corpse of an old man, the farmer who had lived within, his
back full of bullet holes. Nearby, his soul drifted, unaware that it had
departed his physical body, executing what Hades could only assume was his
nighttime routine. That was usual for any mortal who experienced sudden
death.
The old man had not seen this coming.
Not that he should have. The only thing this farmer was guilty of was
seeing the ophiotaurus, a half-bull, half-serpent monster that was also a
prophesied god killer. Someone had caught wind and visited the farmer to
learn more under the guise of authority, and once they had what they wanted,
they killed him.
Hades felt Thanatos’s magic flare as he manifested beside him, a slice of
shadow that blended in with the night. Even his pale hair and face caught the
reflection of the flame.
Neither of them spoke—there was no need. Nothing could be done
beyond guiding the farmer’s soul to the Underworld. Once he was settled in
Asphodel, it was possible he might be able to give them information on who
had murdered him, but Hades worried it would be too late. By then, there
would be more sightings of the ophiotaurus, and whoever was after it would
continue to leave a trail of bodies behind until they caught up with the
monster.
“I mourn deaths like these the most,” said the God of Death.
“Murders?” Hades asked.
“He did not have long left on this earth, and yet his life was taken
anyway.”
Hades said nothing, but he agreed.
This farmer’s death was not necessary. The only useful information he
might offer was confirmation that the ophiotaurus lived, but there were other
ways to validate that rumor, and they did not involve killing.
Hades would find whoever had done this, and their punishment would be
swift and fitting.
His eyes shifted from the fire to the farmer’s soul, which was now
frantically trying to enter the burning barn, likely attempting to reach the
animals within, but they were already gone.
“Give him peace,” Hades said.
At this point in his long life, he did not often feel sympathy for the dead,
but in these moments, when the cruelty of humanity was most evident, the
burden of granting relief weighed heavily.
Thanatos nodded, stretching his wings as he made his way toward the
soul.
Hades left the scene, wandering into the vast field beyond the farmer’s
home, far from the glow of the fire.
Overhead, the stars glimmered so bright, they cast shadows, his the
greatest among snow-dusted blades of grass. It was freezing, though it was
summer—an untimely gift from Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest.
There were no coincidences.
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