Death Never Scared Me

Chapter 6- Damien

I look down at the man who betrayed me hundreds of years ago. "Arioch," I acknowledge him.

"It's been a few hundred years," he laughs. His striking blue eyes stare at me with madness. I had not seen Arioch since he was banished down here hundreds of years ago.

I sigh. I can't believe I'm doing this. I swore to myself that I'd never speak to this man again, yet here I am. I take a long look at the face of the man I had onced loved. He got the scars on his face from the first time he fought Mundrich. Arioch's brother didn't have the heart to kill him so he left him with three scars: one on his lip, one across his left eye, and one on his right cheek. When he was killed and sent down here, he was cursed to have his wounds reopened, so the scars never healed right. His square jaw and wide stance made him look intimidating. It gave him confidence. He still had all the muscle he had when he was alive. He really was a strong, handsome man. It's just a shame he let his jealousy get the best of him.

"I need to talk to you," I spit out. "About a mortal."

He raises his eyebrows and scoffs. "Am I not good enough for you anymore?" he jokes.

I respond with a cold glare. "You were able to summon me easily. How?"

Arioch sighs and rolls his eyes. "I was determined to have power," he responds. "I was able to use that lust for power as a way to dedicate myself to you. Once I gained your trust, you came to me," he shrugs his shoulders. At least he's open to using me for his own personal gain.

I begin to pace back and forth. "So none of the dedication was from actual love for me?" I ask.

"Are you still going on about that?" Arioch cackles.

"No, I'm not!" I shout, towering over him. I take a deep breath and sigh. "There's a mortal that's in love with me. She's been trying to summon me."

Arioch's smile grows wider. "Oh, this is too good," he laughs. "Big, scary Damien, God of Death, Ruler of Varlden, is afraid of a stupid, little mortal having a crush on them."

"Shut up!" I scream. "I am not afraid!"

But I really was afraid, I was terrified. I used to think that no mortal could ever love me and the one I thought really did love me was just using me. I lost my trust in mortals. They made me a monster, an unlovable beast that will destroy everything they loved. But Faun, she is the first mortal to show true kindness to me. I can see it in her eyes, she doesn't want to use me for my spells, she just wants to love me.

"This was worthless," I mumble. Why did I even come down here? He hasn't changed since the last time I saw him. He's the same arrogant man. Why did I think he would help me?

I begin to feel a slight tingling in my fingers. Oh, gods no. How is she doing this? How could she have found the strength to do this? My hands and arms begin to glow and I start breathing rapidly.

Arioch takes notice and smirks. "Looks like someone's summoning you," he jokes. Gods, I hate him.

"Shut the hell up!" I scream as I am pulled out of Varlden and into the mortal realm. I squeeze my eyes shut as everything goes white.

The tingling stops and the bright light dims. I open my eyes to see I am in the temple. I fall to the floor. I can't believe she did this. I told her to stop and she takes that as an invitation to fully summon me into the mortal realm. I'm going to be in so much shit with the other gods. They'll find a way to make this my fault. They always do. Just like with Arioch. None of them believed me when I said he tricked me, so why would they believe me this time?

I try to shake the thoughts out of my head and focus on the current situation. I look up to see Faun, covered in blood and holding a dagger.