To say I was horrified was an understatement, I worried about my unborn child, I worried about the person I'd married for the creature before us was a hodge podge of the man I loved and a justice-seeking warlord unleashed. 

Something neither of us had considered had seemingly occurred, entirely on accident. 

Tiberius and I, even Anubis, had all been born or created with otherworldly abilities. Conjuring, skipping from place to place, and even remedial tasks such as mild levitation of objects, all were something that were written into our very makeup. 

My husband, on the other hand, had lived a mortal life beyond the change. He experienced a heightened sense of smell, and the pain associated with his body being forced to turn into a beast through humanity and then again through his own will when becoming a lycan. Nothing about his experience had been like mine, a magic user of a different breed. 

Often time I'd described magic as using, as if it were a drug, and in a way it was. The euphoria that came with the expulsion of pure energy, the way conjuring sent a ripple of ecstasy through one's very veins, was intoxicating. 

While I was quick to damn my father and sister, there were parts of myself that could see the appeal. Using felt good, too good, and I had not considered the repercussions of the recovering addict unleashed with an unlimited supply. 

It's as if his very presence was enough to cause the earth to stand still. The lights flickered, as if holding flames instead of bulbs, before ultimately going out. The house fell dark, save from the eerie glow of his light eyes, illuminating the highest details of his face. My eyes quickly adjust, I resist the urge to close the gap between me and Tiberius, this was my husband, yet I felt the need to guard myself from him. 

Slowly, he rises to his feet, never taking those light eyes off us. My hand reluctantly touches the Siren's elbow to steady the tremble. Verando was too distant, too jerky in his movements, to make me comfortable that he'd entirely returned to us. 

Tiberius takes a hesitant step back. "You really are Death." He exhales, his hand instinctively coming up to cover his throat, knowing he could be next at any moment if the job was truly to settle the score. 

Bringing all these immortals back into balance had to start somewhere, why not with soul suckers? 

"Did you figure it was a farce?" Verando questions stiffly, "An exaggeration?" 

Turning to face us, lightning flickers outside and I hope the boys had managed to get into Legardo's car before all of this unfolded. I imagined them safely nearing Legardo's house, maybe giggling at the rain and their wet clothes, or maybe Xavier was crying and wanting to come home. 

I shudder at the thought, earning a sharp glance as his eyes shift towards me. When the lightning flashes again, I see that his shadow cast on the wall is one of nightmares. A taller, lilith creature that belonged behind hell's gates, in the form of a wolf, all fangs and jaws, only to see my husband standing there unchanged. His head cocks, regarding me quietly, taking assessment of whatever expression I dared to make. 

Unable to think through it, I shut my eyes for a moment to attempt to collect myself. My wolf was banging on the doors, barking in my ears, snarling and snapping at me to get out of there. My body was tightened like a coiled spring, rejecting this beast who had slashed into our home. 

When I opened them, Verando was still soaked in blood, but my eyes refused to leave the redness around his mouth and chin, so much deeper than mere staining. Our time with Caspian had proved to me how potent Fenrir's influence was, that the desire to consume was a hard instinct to resist. "Randy.. how many people...? It's ok, I'm not upset with you, I just need to know where to start."

How could I ask him to count for me the lives he'd taken tonight? How did he find them, was he able to see the deaths of our friends and track those responsible? This was a side effect we hadn't planned, our righteous leader armed with the truth of who committed such heinous crimes. 

"Does it matter?" He retorts lowly, yet his voice is devoid of any emotion. 

Tiberius choked on the retort, horrified, "Of course it does. Verando, we have to think of a story, something to come up with to guard from the backlash of this. What are we going to tell people? Anubis isn't going to stand for this."

In a blink, Verando stands before us, hand outstretched, meer inches from Tiberius's throat as his fingers twitch at the temptation. In a slow recoil, he closes each digit one by one, cracking his knuckles sickeningly as he brings his hand back to his body. "Did you expect me to do nothing? Those were our people, a dozen of our people, gunned down in cold blood by a radical group. Do you have any idea what it took for me to judge them?" 

His voice hangs in the air, desperation on the back end of every word, agony and regret. My heart threatens to fracture as I tighten my grip on Tiberius's sleeve. Our warlord was in shock, lost in the high of using, yet fractured at the reality of what he'd witnessed. 

"How do you explain to someone you've helped that they're damned to hell's fire?" Speaking through his teeth, he runs a hand through his hair with a shakey exhale. The glint of his teeth in the dim light reflects the sharpness of his canines, accentuated by the deep redness of the blood on his lips. 

"How do I explain that it's not up to me?" Verando's voice cracks, as he takes a step back with a shaky exhale, as if taking the first breath he'd had all night. Shaking his head, he seems momentarily shocked at the blood drenching his hands. "Their judgment... was predetermined. Anubis expects me to just collect these souls, how can I not want justice for someone who was going to suffer an eternity of damnation? Someone who didn't bloody well deserve to die?" Speaking to himself, he slowly moves towards the massive mirror that rests on the headboard behind the liquor shelf. 

My heart is pounding in my ears, suddenly aware the weight of the necklace around my neck is immense, it's a draw that I was familiar with from my dealings with spellbooks. Tethered to me, it didn't matter what his outward intention was, I still hadn't successfully convinced him to stay here. Verando wanted to leave, to finish what he started, even if he was crumbling before us.

Tiberius offers me a glance, we dare not speak, knowing the lycan before us would hear. The siren shakes his head, minutely, confirming my fear that we were out of our league. 

The chuckle startles us both, we direct our eyes to the shivering shoulders as he practically giggles watching our faces in the mirror. Like a mask peeling away, the skull slowly begins to reappear on the right side of his face for only a moment as those icy eyes meet mine. "You're bloody terrified of me, aren't you?"

"No," I tell him firmly, flinching as he appears before me once more. Using out of pure instinct, the movements were jarring, wearing on me with the ferocity in his approach. My senses couldn't keep up, my wolf clawing at the mental cage for me to release it.

Verando's gaze flicks downward, only to frown deeply when he sees I'm holding onto Tiberius's arm. I hear Tiberius curse, the karambit moves so swiftly, slicing into the Siren's bicep but not achieving in severing the arm as Tiberius vanishes only to reappear on his hands and knees a few feet away, clutching his arm with a cry of agony. 

When I move to defend the siren, I'm met with the brick wall that is my husband, blocking my path with a low snarl. "God damn it, Verando! Snap out of it!" I plead, reaching to touch him only to yelp as he smacks my hand away. Flashing those sharpened fangs at me, his left hand grips my throat, lifting me off the ground. 

It was entirely unexpected, I grip his arm, gritting my teeth as I thrash against the steel-like grip of his fingers clutched around my throat. "Do not touch another man. Do you understand me?" His voice is harsh and low, I feel the tremble of restraint in his body yet I worry I'm going to black out. "I've already lost so much, I can't lose you, too."

The sharp exhale of a whistle caught my attention, a gentle hum against the back of my ears that wasn't comfortable but at the same time, was nothing beyond a mild annoyance. I drop to the ground, in a heap on my hands and knees before quickly crawling to Tiberius to look at the festering wound on his arm. 

"I don't want to die, Nic," Tiberius whispers, hoarse, desperate as he cries out at the agony of the wound. 

"You're not going to die." I manage to cough out, ignoring the taste of blood in the back of my throat as I shred his sleeve to look at the gash. "Damn it. It's like you've been struck by a wraith."

"It hurts so bad." He manages through his teeth, "I've never felt anything like it." 

Hovering my hand over the slash mark, I focus all my energy on healing it, yet I feel like I'm drawing from nothing. Choking out another cough, I cover my mouth with my hand, only to remove it and reveal a palmful of blood. 

"Nic." Tiberius grips my hand, cursing under his breath. "God damn it..."

Everything felt like it was spinning, I pant, ragged as I look over my shoulder to see my husband on the ground, covering his ears in a silent scream. 

A man stands between us, his back to us as he observes his charge. I recognize the smog and death rolling around the man, knowing it was Anubis who had decided to appear. Tapping a staff, the room gains light as if it were shrouded in a firey embrace, the flickering glimmer of a flame casts across the wall and our varied bodies and yet, I see no fire. 

"Do you have any idea the trouble you've caused?" Anubis demands of the grounded lycan. Sharply, he delivers a kick to his side, the boom of the impact is ear-splitting as if he'd kicked a boulder. It resembled a crack of thunder, sending him crashing through the wall and into the den. 

I flinch, shutting my eyes tightly as I look away. Anubis's gaze lands upon us, he wrinkles his nose, disgusted. 

The man had the head of a jackal, his maw twisted in into an expression of boredom as the yellow eyes glowered down at us. "I did not call upon this one, I do not wish to process a Siren."

I lift Tiberius's sleeve, spying that the wound had receded, appearing more like a gash and less like a mortal injury. There's no room for relief, I'm panting beyond my control as the Siren touches my clammy face, "He touched you." He warns me, his voice small. 

"Verando can't hurt me." I retort shortly, refusing the acknowledge the tightness in my throat or the discomfort pulling on my body.

Anubis scoffs, shaking his head at my stupidity as Verando straightens to stare at me. I'd cracked through the surface, more than anything else it was me who he cared about. "Death has no restraints. If you were able to ward him off, it is one of the others who inhabit that body. Nobody can escape death." Lifting his palm, he calls forth my husband's form, his throat lands firmly between Anubis's fingers. 

"What did you expect me to do when you commanded me to collect those whom I've trained?" Verando spits through his teeth, making the jackal scowl. The grip of Anubis had removed the facade that made him look mortal, lifting the right side of his face as if it were evaporating into dust. 

Slinging him once more, Verando slams into the mirror, shattering the shelves, and destroying the liquor cabinet with the weight of his body. Tiberius shields me as Anubis strides toward the downed lycan who puts up very little fight, or perhaps, he was unable to fight back against the man who truly owned him. 

"Deal with me how you wish.. but please. Help Nic."

As he slowly rises to his hands and knees, Anubis puts his sandal into the man's back, shoving hard to slam him down into the marble floor. The impact sends bits of marble flying, cracking the flooring, and melting it under the intensity of a punishment dubbed out by a god. 

Verando manages a strangled grunt, struggling against the foot only to be shoved deeper into the ground as if Anubis planned to bury him himself. 

"Your job is not to ask me what I expect of you or to give me commands. Your job is to receive your list and act accordingly. Your job is to make my life easier, not to go rogue and send me twenty new bodies with missed deadlines, and mountains of paperwork clogging my scales." The voice sounds disembodied, layered as if multiple beings were talking. "I expected someone like you to understand how to follow orders, like a good soldier."

"Lower your expectations, I'm too fucked up for this job." Verando shoots back, making the creature erupt in an earth-shattering roar of frustration. Every window around us explodes, and the house trembles as the lightning and thunder boom and crack outside. 

Lifting the man by the back of the neck, he throws him once more, like a ragdoll Verando crashes through the rear doors of our home out into the back deck. "Please stop!" I beg Anubis, clutching my stomach, doubled over from the discomfort racking my body. 

The god gives me a small side glance. "You've been touched by Death. You are dying. Do you not realize this?"

What?

"Your wolf is fighting to save you. Worry about yourself and leave my charge to me-"

"Verando wouldn't hurt me." I shoot back. 

Stiff, the jackal-headed god strides towards me, kneeling to look me in the eyes, I could gag on the scent of death and decay, coupled with oil and spice. "You'll die believing that." His voice is smooth and haunting, those soulless yellow orbs reflect my pale face. 

Before I can retort, Verando reappears, wet from the rain, dripping heavy, dark droplets of old blood mixed with new. Dropping to his knees before me, he extends his hand, desperate to see if I'm alright only to quickly retract it, "I touched you." He manages, searching my face, as if hoping that somehow it wasn't true.

"You've touched me plenty of times." I exhaled, struggling to hold my body together, my wolf was screaming at me and my head felt as if it would burst from the effort. 

"Not while wielding Death," Anubis says firmly. "How does it feel? Hmm? You lost control and you killed him. You did this, acting on your own, acting out of greed and malice instead of following a direct order. Your reluctance to take this seriously and master your craft will cost you dearly, it appears."

"No. I haven't-" Verando grits his teeth, but he knew as well as I did the predicament we were in. There was nothing left to barter with, Anubis already owned him, and there was no way to save me. "It was a mistake. I.. I was-"

"Out of your damn mind, acting on your own in disobedience. You gave in to Fenrir's torment, you succumbed to your darkness, and look where it got you, exactly where you belong... in damnation with the rest of us." Anubis snarls, baring his teeth. "Balance, the act of equal exchange, someone had to pay for your insubordination, it might as well be your husband that you cherish so much-"

"Anubis." He pleads, his eyes never leaving mine. "Take me. Take anyone else-"

"I already own you." He spits back, harshly. "What did that give me? Death who can't be controlled, a contract unfulfilled. This is not what you sold me, Sir. This instrument is broken, if this is the best you got, I have no use for you."

"I'll do better." It's a promise, a final declaration. "Help him. Please. I know I... I lost it... I made a mistake, I'm admitting to that mistake, please."

Tiberius flinches, reluctant to touch me, yet I can see he wants to speak. 

I crawl forward to stop my husband but nothing comes out, I can only collapse into his damp lap and he refuses to even touch me, afraid of worsening my condition. The bruising on my neck, marred with clear finger imprints, horrifies him as he curses through his teeth. 

"Anubis!" He shouts, pleading with the god who snorts in response. 

"This is the extent of my patience, it is my love for mortals that makes me pity your plight." Holding out his palm, my body feels odd as I see the shimmer of strange dust leaving my body to collect in the palm of the god's hand. "You will learn as you go along in this life that there are other ways of getting your vengeance and getting what you want, you should never take a life without reason using the power of Death. 

Act on your own accord and humanity will deal with you. But acting as Death directly affects the balance. Do I infuriate you? How does it feel to be so terrible at something that you're killing the ones you love?"

The burning hatred in Verando's eyes is a clear enough answer.

Closing his fist, he takes the dust, placing it in a small capsule on his belt. "When you master your ability, you come and get this from me. Simple really, all you have to do is use your ability. Until then, I just have one more bit of leverage on you. I hold Nicolas Mercer's death in the palm of my hand, and I can give it back whenever I so choose if you decide to cross me again. I'm reserving my judgment of this one, and I can make that decision final and put him so deep into hell's crevice that you could never hope to reach him. Do you understand me, Mr.Mercer?"

The words swim in my head, one more layer of depth, one more mistake to add to the lineup of misfortunes we'd managed to create. I know Verando had not meant this, yet as I begin to come to, my hand touches my throat and I can finally catch my breath; I feel the fear creeping in. 

"I understand." Verando manages, stiff, accepting of his fate. "This won't happen again."

"I guarantee it won't. Let this punishment be another brand on that battered body of yours, don't cross me, Mr.Mercer. I hope it motivates you to go forth and do great work for me, there's still so much that I need you for. I'd like to remind you that I own your contract, too, and the moment you are no longer useful to me-" Anubis snaps his fingers, and with that, he vanishes. 

Tiberius swallows hard as we sit in the darkness, the storm still raging outside, our house all but destroyed from the contention with a Death gone wild. As I straighten, Verando rocks back onto his hands, sliding away from me to put some distance between us. We were wary of each other, I wasn't exactly saddened by the space, needing time to think and come to terms with what had happened. 

It was the first time in our history when I couldn't successfully call him out of a state of berserker rage. All of us, in various states of shattered, sit in the overwhelming silence. Tiberius and I were out of our element, it was painfully obvious that what had occurred was something that would have killed us all if Anubis had not intervened. 

"Oh my god." Tiberius finally allows. "That..... Verando.. what the fuck?"

Verando was numb and distant, yet he couldn't take his eyes off of me, imagining the worst over and over again. "I don't know. I lost it." His words are raw, devoid of any desire to explain away what he'd done. "I want to say it was Fenrir, but... it wasn't. I killed those people, I wanted them to suffer for what they'd done, I would have hunted them until-" Shuddering, he forces himself to blink away the image. 

"I almost died." I finally acknowledge. 

"Nic- I..." But what could he say? "I'm so sorry." He exhales, not daring to go further, not imagining that begging could help. It was the reality that we were no longer bound, if he made a mistake, he could kill me. 

Standing, I wrap my arms around myself. "I think I want to be alone. Tiberius, take me-" Where?

Adriam slowly comes down the stairs, wide-eyed, horrified. "I'm getting us a hotel room. Verando. Clean up this mess." Collecting me, wrapping a coat around my shoulders, Victor escorts us out, as if somehow he could stand against my husband should he decide to act. 

But, Verando doesn't follow us.