“A—a prison?”

“Rey’azikeen, Eidolon, and I were prisoners. It was supposed to be inescapable. Eidolon and I spent centuries there, rotting away much like this body. Until…”

Kim’s eyes sparkled as he told the tale.

“Until?”

“Until Rey’azikeen was sent. Young. Rebellious. Absolutely brilliant.”

That was Reyes, all right.

“And this is where the irony of it all plays a part. For you, Elle-Ryn-Ahleethia, are the one who sent him there.”

“What?”

He was lying. How would that even be possible?

“You truly have no idea who he is. It is so lavish, so unprecedented, that you should fall in love with the very being you sent to rot in stink and decay. Into an agony that the seven original gods from your dimension, from Evuthwana, created.”

“I didn’t send him anywhere. I didn’t know him.”

“But you were, how do they say it? Tight? Yes, tight. You were tight with his brother. His real brother, for the day I am brothers with the likes of either of those two, I shall send myself back to Uzan.”

“His brother?”

“You know. The older brother left with the burden of taking care of the younger one. But youth these days. He was too rebellious. Too stubborn. Too irresponsible. And his older brother worried for the world he had created.”

“And what world would that be?”

“Why, you’re standing on it, my dear.”

27

Hearts are wild creatures.

That’s why our ribs are cages.

—AUTHOR UNKNOWN

The world that I was standing on started to spin. He was lying. He had to be.

“I would remember.”

“Ah, but Jehovah wanted you to reap his lost. You volunteered, yes, but not without some encouragement from the Man himself. And once you were in his realm under his laws, he must’ve plucked”—Kim acted like she plucked something out of the air—“the memory from your mind.”

“Why would he do that?”

“To control you, of course.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He took another mouthful of cotton candy. “Now that you know the memory is there, it will come back to you whenever you allow it to. But don’t feel too bad. His brother created an entire dimension just for him. A hell dimension, though how it could be worse than Uzan, I have no idea. He was going to lock Rey’azikeen in it and throw away the key, as they say. But you talked him out of it. You begged Jehovah to just send his brother away until he came around. Until he understood Jehovah’s vision.” He gasped as a thought dawned. “Were you in love with him, even then?”

“The god glass was meant for Reyes?” Stunned would’ve been an understatement.

“Ingenious instrument. A vault. Absolutely inescapable. Then again, we are talking about the only god ever to escape Uzan. If it could be done…”

“This is unreal.”

“Oh, don’t wallow, my dear. It is most unbecoming. Besides, if it makes you feel better, I am the one who helped Lucifer trap him. It’s like we’re on the same team.”

“You trapped him?”

“You did it first.”

“Why would you do that?”

“He didn’t exactly invite us to go with him when he escaped Uzan. We followed him. So, he went to big brother and begged for the god glass to trap us. To put us away like we were any worse than he. Well, that is a strong possibility, but it’s all in one’s perspective.”

“He went after you?”

“He came after us both. Arrogant fellow, Rey’azikeen. So, we hid in the hell dimension of this realm and discovered that Lucifer was champing at the bit for … what do you call it? Payback? We devised a plan and used the god glass against him. Two and a quarter—Lucifer isn’t the best fighter—against one? I like it best when the odds are in my favor.”

“You ganged up on him.”

“Of course. I’m not stupid. So, we trapped Jehovah’s brother in the very dimension that was made for him. When we got back to hell with him, little Rey’azikeen wasn’t quite his usual self. See, even a few seconds in that hell dimension is like years on this plane. He was so disoriented that by the time he figured out what was happening, Lucifer already had him in the rune. He didn’t stand a chance, really.”

“Why are you, a god, in cahoots with a fallen angel?”

“Boredom, mostly. It’s been fun watching this little feud play out between Jehovah and one of his children. And don’t get me started on the one between Jehovah and the boy. By the way, wherever is your light?”