Page 15 of Grave Devil
As I lie you down to sleep, I claim to you, your soul I’ll take. And when you wake, I claim to you, your pleasure and your pain. I take. I take. I take. I take…
I’m being pulled under, forced into a dreamless sleep. I cower in fear inside my very own mind while Aries and Draven lie content beside me, unaware of the darkness that lurks among us.
Thebefore, before.
Evigheden, early 1600s.
ATREUS GRAVES
This has been the harshest winter. My fingers frozen to the bone, as I work tirelessly on building our camp. Our village. My Lucy, she calls it Evigheden. It means eternity. An eternity of what? Cold? Darkness? I have suffered much, and I am grateful for my release… But I fear for the things that still lurk in the dark.
There are monsters in these woods. Devils. Like the Four Horsemen, with whom we share our fire.Whom share Lucy’s sister. Monsters like the one who held me captive for years. And so that is why I’ve brought everyone together tonight.
On our first Yule, free from the Wild Hunt with our new friends and neighbors, I have called for a meeting of souls. For we cannot let this happen to anyone ever again.
I look around at sweat-streaked faces paired with bodies exhausted from a hard day’s work. And some whose fingers are still bloody from the labor. We are under a fragile protection. While the Four Horsemen have sworn fealty to Imogen Bishopand her family, their loyalty to us is contingent upon our complacency and obedience.
A man should never put all his trust in false gods. There are nights like these, moments like this, where you must rise up and make a pact to protect yourself and those you care about. For all we have is each other.
My closest confidants—Cage Blackwell and Vale Wickford—flank me on either side. We survived the horrors together. And we share in its spoils. Lucy belongs to the three of us. She loves us the same, and we love her more. If it weren’t for her… we wouldn’t be standing here. So I motion for her to join us in the center.
Marked and protected by ancient runes, the Circle is our sacred altar for prayer and gratitude. But tonight it will also become our platform. Our stage where we shall announce our plans to claim a primal power that will change everything.
Lucy clasps my hand in hers and gives me a smile of encouragement. “Go on, Atreus. Let our people know how we will protect them.”
Smoke billows out from the torches, casting monstrous shadows as the flames flicker in the wind. The cold is biting. It slaps my face, stinging my cheeks and robbing my lips of moisture.
I meet each of their gazes head-on, reassuring them with my quiet strength. From the Harkers to the Cranes, who will soon join bloodlines when Enzo takes Willa for his bride, to the Thorns, the remaining Blackwells, Wickfords, and Bishops—Imogen with her horsemen, and of course, what’s left of my family, the Graves. We are the last families of Evigheden, the village that once burned at the hands of Krampus, now reborn and rising again under a new pact.
“Thank you all for coming. I know the wind chills to the bone, and our bellies growl at us. But I promise a feast worthyof the great celestial halls after.” My tongue feels like a heavy weight in my mouth. My nerves threatening to get the better of me. But I’m met with a chorus of encouragement from my fellow villagers.
Cage clasps my shoulder in solidarity while Vale wraps a protective arm around Lucy. Together, the four of us are fierce in our loyalty to each other. After what we’ve been through in the North…
I clear my throat. “I know you are tired of living in fear. As are we. Sick to death of being forced into sacrifice that gives nothing in return. How many of you have lost a daughter? A sister? A lover even? All to the Wild Hunt.” I cautiously glance at the horsemen for fear I’ve offended them. But their expressions remain stoic, unreadable. And their hands remain on their queen, Imogen Bishop.
Another onslaught of nods and mumbles of those in agreement ring out. We have all lost so much.No more.
“Thanks to the Bishop sisters, the Wild Hunt is over for good. At least it is here in these lands. But the reign of monsters hasn’t ended. They watch and lurk and wait for us to slip up. They plot and bide their time, hoping to tempt us with evil and sin. They are likely nearing us now, watching us at this very moment.” I almost lose them, their faces pale. They begin to look around at each other.
I hold up my hands. “Do not be afraid!”
The horsemen stand, and each takes a corner—North, South, East, and West—their hands on their swords. War, Famine, Death, and Conquest know better than anyone who lingers in these woods.
“What can we do?” Willa Harker’s cry breaks through the hushed whispers. The ache in her voice goes unnoticed by everyone except for me. And by the way Enzo shields her, theway she holds tight to her belly, I know in my gut that she’s had her own battle with monsters.
“Tonight, an order will be born. A coven of true believers. Those who wish to pledge an oath will be protected forever from those who dare to do us harm. Your bloodlines will be protected, those both current and future. Forever.” Sweat beads over my brow as the flames chase away the cold. Or perhaps it’s adrenaline.
“But how?” Astrid Thorn asks. “With what sorcery? We are simple farmers and botanists.”
I nod, prepared for all their curiosities as I once shared them. Until I wandered far into the forest one fateful night. When I answered the call. “We shall make one last sacrifice, an oath if you will. And in return, we shall be gifted great power. We will no longer be weak against the darkness. For we will hold the darkness within us. We will rule it, wield it, and bend it to our will.”
“Who, Atreus? Tell us to whom we must make this sacrifice.” Willa’s voice is steady now, her gaze fierce. Yes. She knows more about monsters than anyone here.
The others echo her question with their own cries of “hear, hear” and “tell us.”
Lucy holds tight to my hand. She whispers, “Show them, Atreus.”
I hold up the blade that’s been weighing heavy in my coat pocket. “Follow me to the Wishing Tree, and we shall set his ravens free. We shall worship them, and in return, they will feed us power. We’ll have the strength to fight many monsters. No one will steal away our kin from their beds ever again.”
