Tributes

Chapter Forty Six

Tyreol roamed. Each step exploded against the senses of those nearby, everything attuning to the predator striding through their midst. Tyreol wore no armour. The God walked in plain clothes in the forest, and not a single thing dared to approach him. His armour was not needed for everything to understand his powers. It wormed into every nook and cranny, tightened around every neck it passed, it was undeniable, and it hunted for any who dared try.

Breathing was not easy for Luke. Tyreol stalked him, growing closer with every step. Everything focused on the God able to look away, and Luke fell back against the tree bark as standing become far too hard. This was why Tyreol kept to the material plane. Here, in the netherworlds, it was almost frightfully clear just how powerful this ancient creature was. And it was hunting him.

The tree creaked around him, the branches shifting in the wind. It would hold him as long as it could but even hidden within the tree, Tyreol could find him. Luke was trapped. He couldn't move as the rope around his neck, tightened further. An urge to beg sparked in his chest, but it was far too late for that. For now, all he could do was hide and wait. Fate, herself, had the God to him. The wolf was going to find him, it was only a matter of time. His eyes watered. He should reveal himself. Tyreol would be less furious if Luke came to him. Yet he couldn't move.

Tyreol paused. Not more than a few steps from Luke's tree. The world was silence for a moment, not a creak from the tree, cry of an animal or bird, nothing for one tense second.

"Hearts pounds, human or immortal, Luke," Tyreol declared.

Air thumped with vibrations as the God spoke. Sound returned, a whoosh of leaves as the wind blew through the area. Luke was blind. He could not see out of the tree. A claw ran across the bark of the tree, the sound of scrapping filling his ears. Light reappeared as the tree pushed him out, not in front of Tyreol. Luke found himself in a small gap where two trees were merging. He was mostly caged in, but he could see the forest now. They were trying to help him. Luke should climb out, but the icy numbness chained him down far too firmly.

"I can taste your fear of me," Tyreol continued, his voice echoing in the small space, dark and foreboding. "I do not approve of that. Nor do I approve of you running, precious one." The light fled. One white eye burned in front of him and fire burned as the heat from Tyreol rushed against him. "Mine."

The air he was holding left his lungs, and it hurt. He couldn't breathe back in. He couldn't breathe or scream. His body pulsed with heat, the loose connection to the tree disintegrating in the face of something with far more claim over him. Tyreol did not smile at him. He didn't yank him from the gap in the tree either. Instead, he took a step forward, so he was pressing up against Luke. A firm weight to rest on as Luke's body lost the ability to stand on its own.

Tyreol nuzzled close his ear. His breath was boiling and moist against his ear. "Breathe." The word was sharp. Tyreol entire being fierce and unbowing, the word alone enough to force reality to be the way he desired.

Air flowed back into Luke's lungs. Luke's gasped, sucking it in before his knees collapsed and fell forward. Tyreol's arms caught him before he fell to the floor, wrapping around tight and engulfing him. The arms drew him close to the God's chest. Lips kissed the top of his head gently, and Tyreol rumbled against him. Not an angry rumble though. Luke couldn't tell what kind of noise it was. All he knew was, Tyreol's grip was crushing, but he couldn't have fought against it even if he wanted too.