The following is a bonus chapter included in the Barnes & Noble exclusive hardcover version of War of the Pantheons. The following does contain spoilers. War of the Pantheons is available through Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.
THE BOOK OF BLOOD
Gabriel’s blood shot eyes shoot open, a gasp of air filling his lungs that inflate from the cuts on his back before deflating again. Pain shoots through his body as a result of the blood eagle given to him by the pagan gods and every breath is a stabbing, ripping reminder of his lord’s loss on this battlefield. He feels his angelic blood dripping from his wounds, covering his legs and falling to the ground, forming a puddle in the mud.
He looks over the devastation and carnage that the war has left. Stone soldiers, slaughtered monsters and burnt flesh cover the once beautifully untouched fields atop the Cliffs of Creation. With every breath he takes, a sickening wet wheeze escapes his mouth as he tries to survive.
His eyes look up and his vision starts to go black, he hears a gasp of breath that is not his own. His head falls forward, his eyes scanning the ground below until they fall on a man impaled through the stomach with a sword. The man on the ground looks up and their eyes meet. He speaks through gritted teeth to the angel hung high above him.
“They blood eagled you, did they?”
Gabriel says nothing and the man continues,
“I had a friend who was blood eagled once. He didn’t make one sound the entire time.”
Gabriel takes a painful breathe and rasps out,
“What happened to him?”
The man chuckles then coughs as more blood escapes his mouth.
“I actually got to finally see him again during this battle. He fell, but not before killing someone with a fork. Can you believe it?”
Another wheezing breath.
“And who are you?”
The man does his best to sit up, the extreme pain he feels
apparent in his face.
“My name is Ole, son of Knud.”
“And you were brought from the afterlife to fight?”
“Yes. I have been there for a very long time. It was nice to get
out and take a stroll.”
Gabriel feels his hatred well up inside him, the pain of his lungs that were viciously pulled through his flesh starting to increase.
“Your gods will not enjoy victory for long. They have always
been doomed to fall.”
Ole holds up a hand.
“There is no reason for us to quarrel. We are both fated to die. We might as well form peace in our last moments.”
Gabriel’s eyes move slowly to the rock where Sotíras was cut. Blood lingering and dripping down the side. He pulls at his bindings, burning hot pain filling every fiber of his body as his exposed lungs fill and empty quickly, his nubbed wings moving up and down. Ole looks on with interest, despite his pain, his right eyebrow raising up as he watches. One of Gabriel’s binds breaks, making him fall heavily to the ground. He releases himself from the other and reaches out his hands, dragging himself across the muddy grass. After what feels like forever, he finds himself laying in front of the rock. He turns himself onto his back and opens his mouth slowly. The taste of salt fills his mouth as one after another, drops of Sotíras’ blood land on his tongue. He consumes as much as he can, each drop filling him with divine nectar. He feels his pain fade as he stands. Blood shoots out of his nubbed wings and lungs forming the shape of new wings; ones cast in deep red divinity. His eyes, no longer filled with blood shot veins, but completely with blood, look for the one who spoke to him. He walks to Ole, standing directly over him. He looks down, cocking his head to the side as he watches Ole, son of Knud choke on his own blood. His hands wrapped around the blade that is shoved through his stomach and out of his back. His eyes look up at the angel.
“What have you done?”
Gabriel licks his dried, cracked lips.
“What I must to survive.”
Ole closes his eyes, leaning back.
“The war is over. I do not wish to survive any longer.”
His eyes shoot open as the angel standing above him starts to laugh. He leans down, wrapping his hand around the hilt of the blade in this ancient mortal.
“Trust me when I tell you, this war is far from over. There will be many more names in the Book of Blood and I will be the one to write them.”
He pulls out the sword hard and fast as blood spurts from Ole’s stomach. He gasps for a breath as his eyes grow milky and his life force fades. Gabriel drops the sword to the ground, turning and walking into the forest.