“All living things are born with a set length of time. Each link in the chain is a year or a second.” He paused and sighed. “Unless you’re a god, and then each link is an eternity stretching on and on. But, when you’ve come to the end of your chain, you die. That’s it.”
“Was I at the end of my chain?”
Nyx smirked. “No. You pissed me off, and I stole your chain. You still had some time.”
“Can I have my chain, please?”
Nyx lifted a brow and repeated, “You pissed me off.”
Caelan swallowed his sigh of irritation and clenched his teeth against pointing out that he’d gotten fucked over by the gods on that one. He didn’t think it would help his case. Instead, he returned to his knees before the god. “Please, Great God of Time, may I have my chain so I can do the bidding of the gods and fulfill my destiny of protecting my people?” he begged.
Laughter filled the room, echoing off walls and a ceiling he could not see in the unrelenting darkness. At least he’d managed to amuse the God of Time.
“I almost want to give it to you for that load of bullshit.” Nyx cackled.
“I’m serious,” Caelan growled.
“I know! That’s what makes it funny. Destiny?” Nyx snorted and shook his head. “Your only destiny is this. The beginning and the end.” He pinched the floating chain in front of him, shook it at Caelan, and released it into the air again. “The only destiny humans have is death. That’s it.”
“Please, Nyx. If not for Thia, I have to go back for my friends. I can’t leave them.”
The god’s expression soured as if Caelan had bored him. “Well, at least that was honest. So, we’ll play a game.” Nyx grabbed Caelan’s chain and broke it in half with a bright spark of gold lighting the dark room for a heartbeat. He released one section, which immediately slithered away from the god. The other portion he returned to the pocket watch. “I will give you back half of your time.”
Some of the fear and tension in Caelan’s chest started to unwind. He could take a somewhat deep breath for the first time since waking to the Dead God. “How much time do I have? Will it be enough to defeat Safa and save Thia?”
Nyx chuckled. “Why would I tell you that? No human knows how much time they have. Just know that you have a lot less now than you did before.” The god paused and slid his tongue across his lower lip. “But…you can regain your missing years.”
And here was the trap. “How?”
“You steal them from other people.”
“What?”
“You steal their time and add it to yours.” Nyx reached out and made a plucking motion as if he were picking fruit and adding it to a basket. He held up one finger and wagged it at him. “But none of this claiming time when you’re planning to kill someone for whatever reason. That’s bullshit, and we both know it. You’re planning to kill them to save yourself or your friend or whatever. Their time is up. There’s nothing for you to claim.”
Caelan scrubbed a hand over his face. This was a nightmare. It was a trend he was seeing with the gods. Nothing was easy, and each one he met was nuttier than the last. “How will I know who has time to steal and who doesn’t?” he asked, his voice muffled behind his hand. Not that he wanted to play this game at all, but he needed to make sure he had enough time to at least defeat Safa and Zyros. After that, he could leave Erya in the safe hands of his friends.
“Hmmm…”
Caelan lowered his hand and looked up to see Nyx tapping his finger on his lips. Here it comes.
“I guess I’ll just have to bond with you. I can give you glimpses of their time and the ability to steal it.” He shrugged lightly. “Plus, I’ll help you defeat that Safa and Zyros to at least save my own neck.”
“With your gift, can I see my own chain?”
“Nope.” The god made a tsking noise with his tongue. “Cheater.”
“What if I take too much time? More time than I had left on the half of the chain you’re holding.”
Nyx’s expression was gleeful and wicked all at once. “Then you get to keep it. You could keep stealing time and live forever that way. Become a god. But you’ll never know how much time you have.”
Caelan was already shoving that thought away. He had no desire to live forever. He only needed to live long enough to defeat Safa. “Okay. I’ll play your game.”
The god smirked, because of course Caelan would play along. He had no other options. Nyx unfolded his body and stood. He walked over to where Caelan was still kneeling on throbbing knees and threaded his fingers through a chunk of Caelan’s hair in a surprisingly gentle caress. “We’re going to have so much fun together,” Nyx murmured. “But I think I’ll give you something to remind you that your time is slipping away. Just in case you think to spare people.”