Suture (The Bleeding Worlds) (29 page)

Sounds of an ensuing battle echoed from outside the room. Woten acknowledged it with minimal interest.

"I'd hoped we would have more time to chat," Woten said. "Though I'm sure Heimdallr will keep them occupied long enough."

"What is this?" Gwynn tried in vain to free his arm again.

"This is the salvation of our world," Woten said. "I can't expect you to appreciate the centuries, no, millennia, this has taken to develop." Woten snapped his fingers and another chair appeared, which he sat down in. "You see, I entered the Veil long ago. Unlike other Anunnaki who have done the same, I didn't just lose myself looking at the grandeur of my own soul, I opened my eyes and took in the enormity of the Veil. I looked so long and so deep, I lost one of my own eyes in the process. But I learned something very valuable—the Veil is damaged. These multiple worlds and our souls stretched thin trying to accommodate numerous versions of ourselves, is not how creation was meant to function. All of this has happened because the universe had to compensate for a paradox. A paradox that you, coincidentally, helped create."

"You're not making any sense." Gwynn worked hard to keep his words from becoming unintelligible screams.

"Let me tell you a story. You see, Anunnaki exist to help repair damage to the Veil. The paradox is that the damage exists
because
of Anunnaki. If it weren't for the existence of Anunnaki, they never would have had the power to enter the Veil. If they'd never entered the Veil, they never would have damaged it, which means multiple worlds would've never existed. If multiple worlds didn't exist, then the root cause of the paradox would have been impossible."

"You're talking in circles," Sophia said.

Woten shot her a cutting look.

"Very well, let me tell you what happened. There were two boys, one in one world, the other in a different world. In the way these things work, they were the same boy. At the age of eight, their abilities as Anunnaki awakened. One of them fell into the Veil. The other remained in his own world. In that shared moment of awakening, their powers erupted in fear and anger and exploded out of control. The one boy acted as an anchor, while the other, falling through the Veil, tore at its innards ripping and tearing his way through it. Those scars never healed properly. They bled out, birthing multiple worlds and eventually requiring the creation of Anunnaki to heal the wounds. The paradox is, neither of those boys would've been Anunnaki if they hadn't caused the damage to the Veil. And there wouldn't have been two poles creating the damage if there had only been one world."

"How is that Gwynn's fault?" Sophia asked.

This time, Woten smiled.

"Tell her."

Tears streamed down Gwynn's face. The pain threatened to overwhelm all his senses. Despite that, he knew exactly what Woten was describing. His knees buckled, but the vortex's grip on his arm wouldn't allow him to fall.

"It was me," Gwynn said. "My powers awakened when my parents died. There was another Gwynn, Pridament's son, who disappeared into the Veil. He's saying it was us. We made all of this."

"That's not your fault. How could you control any of that?"
 

"Precisely," Woten said. "It wasn't their fault at all. They were victims. But I've created a way to fix the damage. And you, Gwynn, are the catalyst once more. Poetic, you started it, and now you can end it. Right now, on numerous worlds, crossroads have been created. I've ensured large amounts of Veil energy will be expended in those places. You, through the Bifrost, will act as a beacon. We will collapse all the false realities and create a single, unified world, here on Asgard. Imagine the society we can create when it isn't populated with people whose very souls are overburdened. We will set reality back on track."

"I guess I don't have a say in this?"

Woten shrugged.

"Your opinion is meaningless. I'm sorry, but there is more at stake. To be honest, I thought my plan would never work. Your other half proved elusive, and you appeared to have somehow lost your powers. It wasn't until
your
Sophia had a vision of your second awakening that I had hope. Of course, Justinian was a selfish bastard, so I had to make sure he thought the plan would benefit him. I took on a different face and voice and convinced him your awakening would create a world where he would be a central god. All it took was a jolt from an Ambrosia Ring in your English class and your little field trip to the Cameron house to set my plan on track."

"What about Fuyuko?" Gwynn asked. "Did you send her there to make her suffer?"

"No, no. The girl's vision indicated Fuyuko needed to be involved, so I ensured she was there. You must understand, Gwynn, prophecy is a fickle creature. To see it come to fruition you must do everything right—whether that's making sure the right people are present," Woten chuckled a little, paying attention to the pink hoodie, "or you have the right wardrobe."

Loud explosions sounded from outside.

"Well, I'm afraid the time for our little chat is coming to a close," Woten said. "When this is over, I hope you'll be able to appreciate the improved world we've created. Perhaps you might even be able to forgive me."

Woten stood up, waved the chair back into oblivion, and folded away.

The chair Sophia sat in also disappeared, sending her crashing unceremoniously down to the floor.

"Gwynn, what do we do?"

"I don't know. But I can feel it—the worlds connecting, merging, and dying. Oh god, Sophia, I feel so much death."

The doors smashed open and Katsuro, Pridament, Jason, and only three remaining men charged into the room.

"Gwynn," Pridament said.

"Wait." Sophia stood in their way, arms outstretched to further block them. "Gwynn said to stay back."

"Is he destroying the gate?" Katsuro asked.

Sophia looked nervously toward Gwynn.

"I… He's trying. We can't do anything for him. If we interfere, we might hurt him."

Gwynn's chest hurt, hearing her defend him. Despite what Woten said, she still believed him capable of saving something.

Don't attract, push away. Stay separate. Don't come this way. Stop. Stop, stop, stop.

He ordered, begged, pleaded, with no result. Worlds blinked out of existence, but not before he heard every scream and felt every terror filled moment. Massive rips appeared in the Veil. Worlds collapsed together. The thing he called himself shattered into a million shards of glass, scattered across a multitude of Earths. Woten's intended convergence failed to develop—instead his plan turned to pure murder. Tears streamed down Gwynn's face, evaporating against the heat of his flesh.

"Pridament." The word tore from his throat. "Please, you have to kill me."

"No," Sophia cried. "I won't let any of you hurt him."

"Please, Sophia, I don't want this."

Katsuro's sword blazed to life, only to meet the steel of Mjolner in its path.

"Would you deny him?" Katsuro asked Pridament. "Don't you see what this is doing to him? Even if you don't care what happens to billions of lives, how can you stand there and watch his agony?"

Pridament's hand tightened on Mjolner.

"I've already lost one son. I won't lose another."

Katsuro pressed forward, coming to full blows with Pridament.

"Stop it." Tears filled Sophia's words.

The three remaining members of Fenrir raised their weapons to aid Katsuro, to have them torn from their hands by Jason's whip.

"Please," Gwynn sobbed, "someone help me."

Only Zeus' urging that wallowing in despair would waste her father's sacrifice kept Fuyuko on her feet.

"We don't have much further to go, but we must move quickly," Zeus said.

"Why didn't you just fold to where we needed to be?" Her words fell flat and emotionless. Sorrow and anger threatened her control. The only way to move forward was to cease all emotions. But, she promised herself, she would find time for all of them later.

"They've placed wards against it. We need to go. I can feel the wave approaching through the Veil. Thanks to your father, I think we secured this world, but I'd feel safer among my kin."

She felt him tear the Veil. Despite her current ban on emotions, her pulse quickened at the realization—she felt the Veil.

A winged horse soon stood waiting.

"Pegasus?"

Zeus wore a broad smile.

"What? Haven't they taught you all myths come from some truth?"

He ran his hand along the horse's mane and helped Fuyuko up. He flipped up onto Pegasus behind her and urged it into the sky.

Twenty minutes later, they circled a ruined stone structure. Zeus guided the horse down to a landing. He aided Fuyuko off and returned Pegasus to the Veil.

"Come on," he said.

Humidity soaked into her flesh. Lush green jungle rose around her at every turn. Before them a stepped pyramid rose into the sky.

They ascended the steps to the top of the temple. Once inside, Zeus paced around, tapping at various points in the wall.

"Damn, I always have an issue finding the right place."

One of his tappings was rewarded with the sound of machinery humming.

"Good, good." He guided her by the shoulders away from the center of room.

The floor split open and a platform lifted up to meet them.

"After you, my dear," Zeus said.

The platform descended into the earth. The floor closed above them, sealing them in complete darkness. Several minutes passed before a bright light assaulted them. The platform came to a shuddering halt.

A large room, decorated with several thrones—most of which were occupied—awaited them.

Zeus nodded to each of the assembled.

"I have brought the girl. Are the preparations complete?"

"This world should survive the coming storm," a man with skin etched by centuries of sun and wind answered.

"I hope you're right," Zeus said. "Because it's already begun."

"Indeed." The man smiled. "Soon the gods will resume their rightful place as the saviours of this world."

Grendel lay in heaps of shredded flesh.

"What the fuck are you?" Brandt asked.

"It doesn't matter," Adrastia said. "What matters is we are in danger. Something is happening in the Veil. It won't be long before this entire city collapses into itself."

"What can we do?" Wade asked. "We can't get out with all those Curses, and even if we did, there's the small matter of our missing Tethers."

"There's only one place to go. We'll need to cross the Veil," Adrastia said.

Marie held up her hands in protest.

"Whoa. Cross the Veil? But I thought…"

"Yes," Adrastia said. "You might lose your mind, or have it entirely burned away and be left an empty shell. There's a chance of that happening. But if we stay here, we will certainly die. So take a chance, or choose to die for sure?" She held out her hands to them.

"Shit," Brandt said, but he slapped his hand firmly into Adrastia's.

The others followed.

Adrastia smiled.

"Thank you for trusting me. I'll do everything I can to keep us safe."

She opened the Veil and pulled them inside.

A familiar ebony blade snaked out from the darkness.

Gwynn screamed.

Blood geysered from below his elbow where his right arm had been severed.

Pridament rushed to Gwynn's aid. Jason turned toward the shadows, his whip ready. A chill ran down his spine, but sweat poured from his forehead. He'd faced a variety of foes with his whip, and it had yet to fail him. But he had seen what Xanthe was capable of, and if this sword was the same—God, it seemed identical—he'd be no match for it.

Jason hazarded a glance back at Gwynn.
Please, would he just stop screaming.
Pridament held his war hammer aloft and called out words Jason couldn't recognize. Sparks jumped and electricity arced across its surface. Pridament pressed the metal against the bloody stump of Gwynn's arm. The smell of burning flesh filled the room. Jason choked down rising sick. Gwynn just kept screaming. When would mercy step in and allow him to lose consciousness?

A cloaked figure stepped from the shadows, a clone of Gwynn's Xanthe gripped in his right hand. He pushed back his black hood and lifted the demon mask from his face. Behind him, Jason heard Pridament say, "Oh God, no, it can't be." The words were heavy with horror and defeat, and Jason understood why. The features beneath the mask were older, the eyes much more so, but there was no denying it could only be one person.

"Gwynn?"

The man smiled and addressed Gwynn.

"I've heard your song, my other. I've come to grant your request for its end."

Most importantly, I need to thank Carolyn, Irene, and Dani for their invaluable input into the writing of this novel. It's so easy to be blinded by your darlings, it's good to have people you can depend on for a reality check.

I also want to thank all you wonderful people who purchased Harbinger. When I published book one, there was a real possibility it wouldn't sell a single copy. I didn't think I'd ever need to write a sequel, because not enough people would care. Having watched Harbinger outperform my expectations has been thrilling, humbling, and made me work all the harder on this novel.

Suture has been a bumpy ride. I'm pleased with the results and know the tougher decisions (like trashing half a novel) were the right ones. I hope you've found things to enjoy and that you'll join me for the conclusion in book three.

Until then, thank you for your continued support and all the best.

Justus R. Stone is just a guy who couldn’t let go of his one, undying, childhood dream–to be a writer. After years of filling his head with novels, comic books, video games, and anime, he finally let all the crazy ideas spill out through the keyboard.

At the same time, he tries his best not to go insane while working shift work as an ambulance calltaker/dispatcher, being a husband and father, and generally suffering from sleep deprivation.

The Bleeding Worlds novels are his first published works.