Hi Guys!

I know it's been a long time. But book two is finally here! Instead of presenting it as a new fiction, I decided to create a separate volume. Check out the main page of the story here https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/58502/deals-with-deities-a-beginners-guide

Then you can select the second volume for the updated chapters! I thought that would be easier!

I'm so sorry that it's been so long. Life has gotten very complicated as of late, but I'm finally back.

Enjoy and stay awesome!

InkEscape

Book 2 is where we will explore more of the world in general. Here's a hint. There's a good deal of foreshadowing in this scene right here. Can you guess why?

"As far I'm concerned, my lovely, you are always welcome within this establishment," she said, her eyes straying to the patrons around us, "However, many of the others know at least one person, you have murdered, arrested, or terrorized."

Her voice lifted as she spoke, attracting the attention of others around us. I narrowed my gaze at her and every face that was now locked on me.

"Then it's a good thing there's no violence allowed within your walls," I said, returning my full attention to her, "And I told you I wanted to forget who I was for a while."

"Darling, I have given you time to forget, and now that time is at an end," she said in the tone one would use with a child throwing a tantrum. I started, but she held up a manicured hand, small claws peeking out from the fingers.

"And, for the record, I disagree with you. You didn't come here to forget. You came here to remember what drives you,"

"You're in an oddly talkative mood," I said tersely, rolling my eyes. Levira's own eyes suddenly carried the weight of centuries, her posture unmoving.

"All of us who taste immortality need it from time to time. And right now, I see that need in your eyes. I would be a poor friend indeed if I failed to remind you that, though time has passed, the underworld of Luradia has not forgotten you."

She leaned closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, even as her eyes looked over my shoulder to a figure I felt coming.

"And no matter where you go, no matter how fast you run--"

"I'm not running--"

"You will never outpace your sins."

A significant look at the Marks on my neck.

"As long as you live."

I ground my jaw, setting my glass on the bar with too much force. Levira gave me a wry smile as she tracked someone over my shoulder.

"And maybe that underworld, that past, is closer than you would like to think."

A meaty hand landed hard on my shoulder in a crushing grip.

"You. What's your name?" came a man's growl from behind my back. I took a moment to shake my head disapprovingly at Levira, whose eyes were dancing.

Damn. She meant that last part literally.

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I shrugged the hand off before replying to him, turning in my stool as I did so.

"I've been called many names, right Levira?"

Levira reclined in her stool.

"Oh yes. They include bitch...whore.."

I opened my hands in an "oh well" gesture to the dark-haired man who glared down at me with black eyes. He had the brand of a hawk on his muscular forearm. The Sky Sharks. Not on par with the Pumas, but a formidable gang nonetheless.

"A lot of my names are inappropriate for polite company," I said as Levira continued to recite the various insults I had endured over the years.

"...harpy...banshee..."

The man's face twisted in a wide grin, revealing cracked bricks for teeth.

"There's a heavy price on your head," he said, curling and uncurling his fingers.

I stood as the man reached for me again, side stepping him easily with my hands in my pockets. He narrowly avoided crashing into Levira, who hadn't so much as paused in her listing.

"...carrion crone... shadow slut..."

I faced him fully as he rounded on me again. He had the look of a man who knew he had errored, but now the die was cast.

"Trust me friend," I said gravely as more and more people noticed the disturbance. I kept my posture nonthreatening, my hands still shoved in my pockets.

"...horse hag...cu--"

"This isn't the place to settle old scores," I said. Levira was cut off as the man kicked a stool at me.

I'll never know what he would have done next.

Before I could blink, an Incubus had caught the stool before it collided with anyone. An additional Incubus had the Sky Shark pinned to the floor at Levira's feet in a blur of swearing and limbs. The man writhed, but the Incubus held him with startling efficiency. Thankfully, the man redirected his ire at Levira and his captor.

"You'll regret this! You don't know who you're messing with! We were just talking!" he yelled. It was a testament to the discipline of the Incubi that they waited for Levira's order. The ancient Succubus looked at the man like a wolf would look at a gnat.

"Oh? You think so, Samuel?" she asked, amusement in her voice. The man, Samuel apparently, went still at his name. Levira took a long pull on her drink, eyeing the liquid ebbing and flowing within as she continued.

"Samuel Bloodless. A desperate and lonely boy that fled to the first gang that was willing to take you without asking too many questions."

A quiet laugh escaped from Levira even as my ears perked with interest. Bloodless? That was the name given to all bastard-born children in Luradia. Interesting.

Levira, with the mastery of a lead actress on a stage, allowed her words to take effect as everyone in proximity listened attentively.

"I will exercise patience since you apparently are new. After all, every young pup thinks they're invincible once they join a gang."

She inclined her head, her eyes two pieces of golden flame.

"Here's your first lesson about the underworld, pup. Within these walls, I am the sole law and authority," she said, tapping her left index finger against her jaw, the claws retracting.

"But in case you're tempted to forget..." she trailed off, her eye's flecking to the incubus holding him. In a blur of metal, a blade appeared in his hand. Samuel didn't have time to process what happened before his left trigger finger was detached in a bloody spray.

His dismembered digit rolled away, oozing blood onto the polished wood floor. He watched it, mouth open in a silent scream and his face paler than snow. Without further prompting, the Incubi hauled the man out of the Blue Flame, a finger short.

Gradually everyone went back to their business, drinks being ordered from every direction. Myra glanced my way, her companion still nearby.

"Well then," I said, trying to calm my racing heart, "I guess he won't be giving any high-fives anytime soon, will he?"

Levira let out a low laugh as Myra sputtered in indignation.

"What?" I asked, as a muscle feathered in Myra's jaw, "Too soon?"

A few more chuckles went out around the bar as people settled down. I meandered back to my stool, my thoughts already moving back to Oblivion Dew, when I heard a pretty female voice humming a small song. She wasn't humming it loud at all, as if she intended it only for my ears. A familiar song. A sad song.

A song that stopped me in my tracks.

Do you wish to speak,

of the unspoken night?

of voices made silent,

of eyes robbed of light,

a nameless fear named

We call her the Blight,

I closed my eyes as I listened, rooted to the spot. I had heard the song before. It was sung in all seedy taverns as a warning, and to let everyone who lurked in the underbelly of society what had happened three years ago. A song about the night a certain person had murdered nine hundred people in Grimwater. The melody was eerie, but not histrionic. Without the words, it could almost have been a lullaby.

Come all ye sinners,

Don't bother to hide,

Death's reaper has come,

You've had your last rights,

What is that claims your life?

We call her the Blight,