Where had it all gone wrong?
How did it get this bad so fast?
Oh, right. They had summoned a god.
Fuck.
Thirty minutes earlier, none of them could have imagined the carnage that was about to unfold. They stood in a perfect circle, hands joined, hearts pounding with the anticipation of a miracle. Each of them wore white robes as the invocation demanded: purity, acceptance, a willingness to receive.
The first to notice was Anya. Her lips parted, trembling, as light bloomed in the center of their circle. They all gasped, awed into silence, as She appeared in their midst. The Lady Underground.
She was beautiful in ways the human mind struggled to hold, her features soft but endless, her presence was vast yet intimate. They felt her voice reverberate before they heard it, a melody vibrating in their bones, each word tender as a lullaby. She drifted from one person to the next, eyes shimmering with impossible depth, speaking promises in that silken cadence.
Menolly wept when the Lady touched her cheek, whispering hope for her cancer-stricken body.
Bendy fell to his knees, clutching her hand, believing his lifelong burdens would finally lift.
Silver trembled, smiling through tears, certain her whispered words meant a future free of struggle.
And Richard, poor Richard shivered with uncontainable joy at the thought of reuniting with his lost love.
They had all been ecstatic, glowing, their dreams dangling within reach.
But then…
It went wrong. Horribly and brutally wrong.
The Lady's smile had shifted, twisting like smoke unraveling itself. Before any of them could process it, her hand slipped into Richard's chest with surgical precision. His eyes bulged at the sudden intrusion, his mouth open in a silent scream as she ripped his heart free from his body and before their eyes she phased into his bod. The Lady stood straighter inside her new body, her voice turning to that of Richard's. It was no longer soft, but laced with venomous glee.
"Oh," he purred, "How quaint."
"My name is Raynard," the thing said with a toothy smile, blood dripping from its hands as it bowed before them. "Raynard the Fox. The Trickster God. And you—" his eyes glimmered, sharp as knives, "—you little mortals are the stupidest things I've ever seen."
Before panic could fully set in, he moved. No one even saw it happen. One moment Bendy stood gasping, the next his head rolled across the floor. Silver tried to scream, but her body was already cut in half from the waist down. Menolly's prayer ended in a choking gasp as Raynard's hand tore her heart out, savoring the heat as it pulsed once before stilling in his palm.
Anya and Kady froze as the blood splattered on their robes.
"The best way to deal with mortals who demand too much," Raynard mused, licking the gore from his fingers, "is to remove them entirely. Send them straight to Hades.
He turned his predatory gaze on the two remaining women. Both trembled and horror-stricken.
"Oh, shhh, shhhh, shhh." He crouched, voice mockingly soothing. "Don't cry. Don't worry. I wouldn't kill you both… not yet. There's still so much fun to be had."
Anya snapped, forcing her trembling hands to cast a spell, hoping to distract him long enough to escape. But when she teleported, she reappeared in the exact same spot.
Raynard laughed, delighted.
"Oh no, no, no. The door's locked, little dove. I sealed this place myself. You're not leaving" his grin widened into something wolfish "—not before we've had our fun."
He blurred, appearing above her in an instant, slamming her into the ground. Her breath whooshed out with blood speckling her lips as his weight pinned her down. He lowered his face, sniffing like a beast.
"Ohhh," he moaned. "It's been ages since I smelled the sweet fear of mortal women."
Kady screamed and unleashed a battle magic, but Raynard deflected it back effortlessly. The blast flung her into the counter with such force a rib cracked and pierced her lung. She gagged and coughed up blood.
"Wait your turn, darling," Raynard sneered, eyes glittering with cruelty. "I'll need to take my time—"
A sudden thud cracked the air in the room. A concrete rod slammed into his face, sending him flying across the room into the far wall. The sound echoed with a clang.
Raynard howled in pain, clutching his jaw. For the first time, his grin faltered.
Chanting filled the room.
"Phasmatos superous en animi…"
Through her haze of agony, Kady blinked and saw them. Seven men, standing in formation. Six chanted with unyielding focus, while the seventh gripped the concrete rod like a weapon.
Her eyes widened. "Kai?" she rasped.
He turned to her and her breath caught. He had fangs, his eyes were bloodshot with veins crawling beneath them, hungry and inhuman.
"Nice to see you again," Kai said, voice dripping with sarcasm as his gaze swept over the carnage. His smile dropped at the scene. "Well… mostly nice. Can't say I love the décor. Bit messy."
He looked back to his men. "Don't let up, Larry. Keep the pressure steady."
Rushing forward, Kai knelt by Kady, biting into his wrist before she could protest. He pressed the bleeding wound to her lips.
She tried to push him away, coughing. "Stop, what the hell are you doing?"
Anya shouted, panicked. "Get away from her!"
"Pipe down, would you?" Kai snapped. "I'm healing her."
Warmth spread through Kady's chest as the blood hit her tongue. Her lungs unclenched and she felt her breathing smoothed out. The color rusher back to her cheeks and She gasped, stunned.
Before she could speak, a scream tore through the room. Raynard reappeared beside Michael and ripped his heart out in one clean motion.
"Shit!" Kai swore.
"Fuck!" Devan screamed.
"Maintain the barrier!" Kai barked.
Raynard slammed into the invisible wall, snarling when it held. He pounded it with his fists before chuckling and looking at Kai.
"What trickery is this?"
Kai stepped forward, smirking coldly. "Trickery, huh? That's rich coming from the Trickster God himself."
Raynard tilted his head, amused despite the slight pain. "Who are you? No… what are you? You reek of vampire, but there's something else. Something… wrong."
Kai snorted. "Oh, I didn't know you were the hound god now. All that sniffing. Do I need to throw you a bone?"
Raynard's grin soured. "Careful, little leech. I'll tear you apart piece by piece, the way I did your man."
Kai ignored him "Le specto tre colo ves bestia."
Silence. Nothing happened.
Kai blinked, then sighed. "Oh. Right. No heart anymore. Silly me." He glanced at Kady and Anya. "Don't mind me."
Turning back, he smirked at Raynard. "Let's try something else."
"Phasmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox."
Raynard's body flushed bright red. Veins bulged with his skin bubbling as though boiling from within. He shrieked and thrashed around.
Kai chuckled. "Well, that worked."
Kady gagged. "What the hell did you do?"
"Acidic Blood Spell," Kai said casually. "Turns your blood into acid."
"That's… morbid."
"Yes, it is."
Raynard screamed louder as Kai added another layer of soell into the mix, his visage warping in pain. In a desperate surge, Raynard achieved the impossible and teleported Devan into the barrier, nearly tearing out his heart before Kai rushed forward.
Without hesitation, Kai plunged his hand into Raynard's chest and began drinking in the divine magic itself. Raynard's eyes widened as he felt the drain.
"What are you doing?!" he roared. "How are you taking my essence?!"
"Trade secret," Kai muttered.
Raynard gripped his throat. A spell shot from him, crushing Kai's heart in his chest.
Kai wheezed in pain. "Ow."
Instead of falling, his body convulsed as a surge of divine energy exploded inside him, rebuilding and overclocking. Adrenaline rushed through his veins like fire.
"Ohhhhhh," Kai moaned, trembling. "That's… orgasmic."
Both hands snapped to Raynard's head.
"Thanks for the divine jumpstart," Kai hissed. "Now… have it back."
A blinding surge of power erupted as Kai used the divine energy to cast a petrification spell. Stone spread across Raynard's body, crawling over his flesh, locking muscle by muscle.
"ARRRRRRRGHHHHHH"
He screamed while flailing and trying to get free but his body couldn't as his muscles had turned to stone and after a moment his body was sealed in cold granite. His last roar echoed through the chamber before silence fell.
The Trickster god, had turned to stone.
Kai stumbled back, the petrified arm sliding out of his chest. His divine-boosted body rebuilt another heart, the final embers of magic sealing the wound.
The barrier dropped. Julius exhaled, stunned. "Did we… did we really just stop a god?"
Travis whistled. "Damn, boss."
The others muttered, half in awe, half in fear. But their celebration dimmed when they saw Devan kneeling by Michael's body. It had turned grey, desiccated as all signs of life drained from it.
Kai walked over and glanced at Larry. "Take him back. I'll be over shortly."
Larry nodded, scooping the body before vanishing at vampire speed. The others followed. Only Travis lingered, staring at the statue.
"So uh… what now?" he asked quietly. "What do we do with… that?"
Kai looked at the statue with blood drying on his lips. "That? That's a trophy. A fucking god statue. Might look good in the living room don't you think?."
Read an advance of 20 chapters on my Patreon🌚🌚🌚🌚
Patreon.com/Fredozy
And check out my new novel super soldier in the 100 and Fragmented dominion as well🥂show some love 🙂↔️🙂↔️