Death in the Shadows - 35. Chapter 35: Deadly Decision

With his next blink, the world around him went white. He was neither warm nor cold. What was strange was his body. There was no more pain, and he had no open wounds. It was as if his battle with Stefan never happened. I… This is—

He heard distant bickering and squabbling. Looking behind him, an elderly woman stood before Vincent. She was frail and wrinkled but there were no blemishes on her skin. Her silver hair was tied back into a bun and she wore a simple black dress that ended at her ankles.

Vincent choked up. Remembering Mason’s face as he fell, it was obvious who he was facing. I failed. I couldn’t beat him. The eventuality of what was to come for the living came crashing down on his shoulders. What hurt him the most was the life he left behind. Mace… Mom and Dad. All of his friends and family rushed through his mind. He knew they would be emotionally torn to shreds.

He dropped to his knees and sobbed. The bond between him and his mate was gone. A dark pit sat in its place next to his heart.

The woman mimicked him. "Come, my son."

"I–" Vincent blubbered, "–I can't. I need to go back." Tears fell down his face, blending with his runny nose. "I can't—"

"Come," she repeated. "Let me help you."

Her hand barely grazed his, and a soothing wave of comfort washed through him. The thoughts of loss and the destruction of North America drifted away. Slowly, he rose with her. "Wha—"

"All will be well. The destiny has spoken."

Peering over her shoulder, he saw the people arguing. Clarity struck. There's Aliz! "Why is she here? L-Lady Ceresa?”

The goddess of death shook her head. “There seems to be turmoil. Until it’s solved, I can’t take you.”

Take? “As in…?”

“The beyond. Happiness, and everything your heart desires.”

The emptiness in his chest ached. He stepped away from Ceresa. “I… I don’t want that. I want to be with my mate. He’s everything to me.”

“You will be with him again. Time will—”

“Absolutely not!”

A shout came from the group. That sounded like Aliz.

Walking towards them, Vincent halted as he recognized Terik. Both of the goddesses were glaring at each other, clearly at odds. At the same time, all six turned to him. In addition to Terik and Ceresa, there were three men and one other woman. One of them, a stout man with broad shoulders barely smiled at Vincent. Like all of them, aside from Ceresa, he wore a thin, see-through veil that covered his nether regions. He stepped closer. “Brothers, sisters.”

The voice was familiar. “L-Lord Bol?”

Another of the men, the more portly one scoffed. “And now we include the beast? Ridiculous!"

"This man was subject to an intense destiny. One Aliz wasn't able to adjust."

"I expected more sense from you, Bol."

"Likewise, Yir. This crisis requires all of us."

Yir waved a hand, disinterested. "To those that survive, they will feel my grace."

Vincent tried to dissect the argument. They're talking about my destiny. There were clearly sides with impartial entities. Aliz and Ceresa. They're not involving themselves. Terik and Bol are standing with that skinny, muscled guy. Yir and the… He judged the lady with a dagger hovering at her hip. Rin.

He caught the skinny man's glances. Dinbe.

"Boys, boys!" The god of love squealed. "We are being rude! Arguing and bickering in front of someone we haven't met."

As Dinbe approached, Vincent was uncomfortable. He loved Mason, and since their mating, no one else had tempted him. Only covered by the celestial wrap, the god was stunning. Slender muscles lined his body. Not a hair was out of place, and while he was not Vincent's preferred type, the alpha had one thing on his mind. I… He's gorgeous.

"Thank you," Dinbe cooed. His voice was sultry and devilish. "It's been a long time since we had a visitor from the earthly realm. Er… Brothers? Sisters? Remember to tone it down. We don't want our guest to feel overwhelmed, do we?"

Vincent's wave of infatuation with Dinbe waned. The god was still handsome to him, but the mage no longer felt the need to be with him. "Wha… What was that?"

Dinbe looked at Ceresa. "May I? The little ones need to finish their screaming match."

She merely smiled. "Of course."

The god of love took Vincent's hand, and while they walked away, the urge to be closer to Dinbe returned. The crush was stomped out as an unnatural feeling of dread came from behind him. When he tried to look, Dinbe held Vincent's head and whispered, "Oh, I wouldn't do that. Big Sis is about to put them in their place."

Right. Goddess of death. Makes sense she's the big sister. She was probably the first around when humanity came about.

"Correct," Dinbe chirped.

Vincent couldn't help but smile as they distanced themselves from the others. "Sorry. Forgot you could read my mind."

"We all can. It was cute to see you putting the puzzle pieces together. I'm sorry for their behavior. It's almost always an argument with them."

"Always?"

"Since the dawn of time and when another one of us pops up."

Vincent was amazed. "There were fewer of you?"

"Of course! There wasn’t always a need for love, mischief, or luck. When time required us, we were created. Here," Dinbe reached out towards the blanket emptiness. Two gray, elegant chairs blinked into existence. "Sit. Let's talk for a few years."

"Hate to seem like the idiot, but years?"

"Time works differently than your world. What may be a minute on Earth is a decade for us. It gives us time to get something accomplished."

Barely hearing the yelling, Vincent looked back to the other gods and goddesses. "Why do I feel like I'm being babysat?"

Dinbe shrugged. "Because you are. That, and I need Bolie and Rikki to get Yir's planetary plug out."

The alpha chuckled, then laughed harder. "I'm sorry. Just thought of a funny joke."

"Tell me!" Swiveling in his seat, Dinbe crossed a leg, clearly eager.

"Can… Can Yir hear from here?"

Dinbe waved a hand towards the others. The air rippled slightly before the god answered, "Go for it."

"So his butt plug's a planet? Is it called Yiranus?"

The handsome man's mouth opened as he kicked wildly. Dinbe cackled and slapped a knee. "Yes! Oh my…" He gasped, then turned to Vincent. "You have got to tell Terik when this all blows over. She's going to die!"

"Blows over, huh? You make it sound like we'll be here for a bit."

Slouching, Dinbe stuck his tongue out. "Blegh! Last time we dealt with something like this, we were at this for a couple of Earth years. Although, I think this one's going to be worse. It's been a while since Rikki's been involved. She likes you, you know?"

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome. Brought my parents to my wedding."

The god patted his heart. "I did not know that! What a sneaky… Resa's going to… Well, I don't know the English translation for what she'll do."

There was a lull in conversation. Vincent recounted the fight leading to his death. What could've I done differently? I was focused. After Stefan attacked, I was ready to…

He sighed. I wasn't ready to kill him. I can say it all I want, but I couldn't fuckin' do it!

"No, that's not it," Dinbe quipped. "You weren't looking at it from anyone else's perspective. You and that Steffy guy are equally matched. The fight you put up… It was like a tango of fire and ice."

"But it shouldn't have been a dance! One of us had to die, and now there's going to be—"

A finger pressed to his lips. "You're so concerned. To put the weight of their survival on your shoulders. Why worry about that?"

"Because they have lives too. They have family just like me." Vincent teared up. "I couldn't live with myself if I caused pain like the kind I'm feeling."

"The pain of loss," Dinbe assumed. The man sat silently as Vincent sobbed. When he rose, he whispered, "Pardon me."

Rubbing his eyes, he watched the god walk toward the others. Was he supposed to sit and wait? Why was he even here? Shouldn't he be in the afterlife? That's why Ceresa was here, but something stopped her. One of them? Is there a reason?

Dinbe wagged a finger at both Rin and Yir. When he was laughed at by luck himself, Vincent bubbled in irritation. This is…

This is just stupid!

All seven turned to look at him. They heard his thoughts. Nervousness blended with his anger. All they do is freaking argue. It's not helping anything. Vincent blinked and he was halfway between the chair and the celestials. Storming up to them, he continued, You're in charge of the world's balance and key attributes of life. Now that I see your pompous asses at work, I can't blame Earth for going to Hell!

Yir scoffed. "This animal—"

"Shut it!" Vincent shouted. When the god scowled at him, the alpha rolled his eyes. "What? Gonna smite me? I'm already dead."

"Vincent," muttered Aliz.

"And you!" He spun and pointed. "You're in charge of destiny. How can you not see one in its entirety?"

Vincent stopped and stared at every one of them. "The only ones that seem to be doing anything are Bol and Terik. They're trying to help people. All you seem to do is bitch and moan!

"You tell me I have to kill the man who murdered my parents. I had to. Well, I don't want to!" Vincent seethed as he wiped his eyes. "You're making me do something I don't want to do. Because of all this, I… I'm dead, and my mate watched me die."

His emotions were overwhelming. He fell, only to be caught by Terik and Dinbe. Vincent clutched onto the god of love's arm. "You gave me my perfect person. My soul mate. How can you take me away from him?"

"I'm sorry," he responded weakly. Tears were threatening to fall from the man's eyes.

Vincent refused the apology. "N-no, you're not. If you were, you would've done something."

"We couldn't," Aliz stated. "The destiny could not be altered. I tried."

Slamming a fist on the floor, Vincent snarled. "Then why am I here? Take me to wherever I'm supposed to go and be done with it."

Someone touched his shoulder. "That is another issue, son." Ceresa lowered herself. "I do not know why, but I'm unable to escort you to the afterlife. Something is prohibiting me from doing so."

I swear to— Vincent screamed in frustration. "Are you fucking kidding me? Then, what? You're going to kick rocks until you figure it out?"

No one answered.

"Fuck this," Vincent said to himself. He got up and stormed away. Not caring how far he had to go, he would rather sit and be lonely than listen to any more excuses. The Divine Seven, my ass!

"Yeah, we're pretty trash," Terik agreed.

Vincent flinched. "Holy hell! Don't do that!"

She sat next to him. "Sorry, not sorry. If it makes you feel any better, your little tizzy fit did something."

"I don't care. From what Dinbe said, this could take a few years."

"I mean—"

"Sorry, Terik. I don't want to hear it right now."

He could tell the goddess remained at his side for a while. From time to time, Vincent wallowed in pity and sadness, which earned him pats on the back. "Sorry."

"For what?" She asked. "You put up a fight. You kicked some sense into my siblings' heads. If anything, we should be thanking you. Hell, I'm proud of you, squirt. That stunt you pulled had me thinking you could be my apprentice or something."

Vincent smiled. "How's that?"

"You put Yir's ass in a sling and told Aliz she's incapable of her basic-ass job. That's some good shit!"

The two laughed, but Vincent saw the gears in her head spinning. "Spill it."

Terik raised an eyebrow. "Did you just demand a goddess to do something?"

"What're you gonna do, turn me into a chicken?"

She snorted. "You should make me a list. I can't now, but I’ve dabbled with reincarnation. Definitely doing that to some crappy world leader or something."

"You're avoiding the question."

"And you're annoying."

"And I think y'all need a deity of therapy. C'mon, let me have it."

Smirking, Terik scoffed as she stood. "I'm going for a burger. Want one?"

Vincent wasn't hungry. Sounds delicious though. "Might as well."

"Cool. Going with Five Guys. Mushrooms and A.1.?"

"I… Right, you've been in my mind."

Terik winked, vanished, then reappeared with a grease-stained doggy bag. Another table set materialized, and the two ate. Vincent noticed the goddess was savoring her food slowly. "You're up to something."

"Always," she responded with her mouth full. With her burger demolished, she dusted her hands and slapped the table. "Alright, come on."

"And where are we going?"

"Figured out the reason Resa can't take you to Happyville. Let's go, squirt. You're needed for this."

Unenthused, he followed. Guess this is it. Off to the rest of my unaliveness.

Rejoining the group, he noticed the celestials giving him space. "Hey, I'm… I'm sorry for how I acted."

"No," Aliz said, "we are the ones who are sorry. It is not often we rely on a non-deity. You spoke hard truths. We are required to handle humanity and maintain balance. Watching events happen and not striving to discover ways to prevent tragedies…"

"It is shameful," Yir finished. "I have never been in favor of your kind, shapeshifter. My brothers and sisters told me of your deeds on Earth. I will be watching over your species differently from now on."

"Yeah, yeah," Terik mocked, "where are we with everything?"

Aliz summoned a gray orb. "The destiny. It's unfulfilled."

Vincent grimaced. "How can that be? Stefan killed me."

"I don't know. Just as before, I can not peer into it. The color tells me something has yet to happen. If it were white, a key event has yet to happen. Black, and there are no important decisions in the destiny.”

“So gray means…”

“A key event is underway. I can see the history between you and Stefan, but everything up to your death is visible. If I were to guess, the destiny believes you and Stefan are still fighting.”

“How? I’m obviously dead.”

Ceresa hummed. “But you haven’t passed on. You are neither dead nor alive.”

Vincent closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. “I’m dead and alive at the same time, but I can’t leave to either go back to my body or actually die. Then what are we supposed to do?”

“That is the new goal,” answered Yir. “We need to discover a way to—”

“Just stop,” demanded Terik.

All eyes fell on her. A stone table appeared in front of her, and as she waved a hand over the surface, strange markings were etched onto it. What is sh—

“Terik,” Aliz harped, “is this really the time for a prank?”

“Not a prank, sister. I’m finally doing something productive with my existence.”

Seeing the focus on her face, Vincent tried to connect the dots. Finally? Does she not normally help out?

“No,” Bol murmured. The god of order stepped closer. “I have never seen her so dedicated. That’s no—”

Fire erupted on Terik’s table. “Damn it! Almost had it.”

Vincent blinked. “Is that normal?”

“Yes,” Bol said. “When one of her plans works out, it will glow green. She’s very capable, but this is the biggest plot I have seen her draw.”

“Can you tell what she’s doing?”

“No.”

Two more fires sparked, prompting Terik to expand her workspace. Despite their attempts, none of her brothers or sisters could squeeze an answer from her. Not even Vincent could elicit anything. Taking a seat, he recalled everything he knew about the celestial. Goddess of mischief. Frequently a nuisance to her siblings, her activity is considered necessary to everyday life. A loose shoestring leads to someone tripping, which prevents that person from running into oncoming traffic.

No, it can’t be anything based on what she does on a daily basis. She’s inspired. But by what? What’s different between now and any time before this? It’s gotta be me. Remembering their interactions and their impromptu last meal, he—

Vincent slumped. “No,” he whispered under his breath.

Just as he thought of the possible reason for Terik’s ambition, Vincent earned a glare from her.

“Terik,” Aliz said softly. “What's your plan?”

“Playing around with the rules to find a loophole, but…”

The stone was set ablaze, to which Terik whisked it away with a flick of a wrist.

Bol approached her station. “This is absurd. Why toy with the rules set before us?”

“Because I haven’t done it yet. Do you want progress or not?”

Looking at her work, Bol scowled. “You’re playing around with our rules. I can’t allow this!”

Green light shone from the table, lighting up Terik’s smile. “Too bad. I found one solution, but I’m going to keep digging.”

Vincent’s heart fluttered. “Solution?”

“Not a great one. Give me a little bit, squirt. I want to find a few more options.”

Hours passed, and fires were extinguished. Vincent tried to squeeze information out of Terik and the other deities involving the first finding. He was kept in the dark. It’s ridiculous. I’m the only one not in the know. I hope it’s not what I think it is. Terik’s not going to go for that. She’s insane but not stupid.

There was nothing to do. The Seven were obsessed with conversing with each other. Left to his own devices, Vincent kept his distance and thought of Mason. He missed the warm and strong embrace of his mate. Thinking of their last run through the woods and hunting the deer they shared, he imagined the wind rushing through his fur. He sighed. Will I ever feel that again? Will I ever feel anything? Hell, Terik had to bring me a fuckin’ burger! I didn’t need it, but it tasted great. There’s no wind, no smell… certainly nothing to look at!

Feeling tired, he laid down. Strange. I’ll never be hungry or thirsty here, but by the gods I can take a nap.

***

“Wake, Vincent.”

Opening his eyes, Vincent instantly shut them. “Ah!” Stupid white everything!

“Apologies,” uttered Bol. “Terik has found another solution to the destiny’s issue.”

Still sleepy, he groaned and smacked his lips. “Does coffee exist here?”

The god flickered out and in existence, now holding a tall cup with a lid. Taking a sip, Vincent snickered to himself. Having the Seven bring me things… This is cute. Bean juice in hand, he followed Bol back to Terik’s table. Her demeanor was not jovial as usual. “Okay, what’s up?”

She snorted. “Look at you. Got your coffee like a Ken and everything. All you need are some short shorts and flip-flops.”

Vincent rolled his eyes. “You got something?”

“There’s a few options to solve this destiny problem.” Terik’s table glowed green, illuminating her face. “Out of the four I found, only two result in an ideal ending. The divine remains in power over the many planes, Resa can take Vincent to the afterlife, and Stefan will die in an unfortunate accident before he causes the catastrophe.”

She swiped the aura off the surface, summoning a pink and black one in its place. “Or we can do this.”

Aliz, holding the grey destiny, recoiled. “What… What is that?”

“My decision. This is the outcome that makes everyone happy.”

Vincent felt the insidious energy coming from the table. “It doesn’t feel happy.”

“I agree,” Yir said lowly. “What plot have you crafted?”

When Terik didn’t answer, Vincent worried. What the hell’s going on? He panicked as the pink wisps floated toward him. “Terik, what is this?”

The black went to her. “My spell. It’ll activate when we join hands.”

“S-sister!” Aliz gasped. Everyone turned to face her. The gray orb was now fluctuating between white and black. “What have you done? Undo this. Now!”

“Can’t.”

“Can't, or won’t?”

Terik winked at Aliz before looking at Vincent. “Ready to see your boy-toy, squirt?”

***

Vincent knelt in front of him. Those beautiful hazel eyes lost their focus as they closed. The black spike pierced his heart.

“Vinnie!” Mason cried out.

His mate was skewered, and the bond in his heart was fading away. No… No!

It was his worst nightmare to come to life. In the past few days, this possible outcome crossed his mind. Every time he thought of it, Mason pushed it away. He knew Vincent would win. He knew Stefan would die. After it all, Vincent and him would go home and be together without a reason to look over their shoulder.

Instead, a chunk of his soul was ripped away.

Mason then looked at the expressionless Italian. An insurmountable rage boiled throughout his mind and body. The alpha had nothing to live for. I’ll kill—

Vincent gasped violently, stilling Mason. “Vin—”

He stopped.

The mage’s eyes were glowing white. Just like…

Vincent pressed his hand against the spike impaling him, immediately freeing and healing himself. Flesh and skin weaved with themselves in the span of seconds. The man was breathing heavily as he stood up.

“Impressive, Little Vinnie,” Stefan called out. “Did your divine affinity finally kick in?”

The white irises glanced at Stefan, then returned to Mason. Vincent smirked, winked, and walked toward Stefan again. “I’ve been wanting to kick your Italian ass for a hot minute…”

That voice. Mason couldn’t believe his ears. Lady Terik?