Page 127 of Mortis

“My entire family was slaughtered by your beast,” he bellowed, pointing a finger at me. “And still, I rebuilt this cult. I spent decades studying everything I needed to know to worship you. I used my own money to retrieve your artefacts. I recruited new followers. I tracked him down to some tiny fucking town in the middle of nowhere!”

His chest heaved with anger, his mismatched eyes wild.

Mammon tilted his head. “I didn’t ask you to do any of that.”

“I did it for you anyway!”

My master leaned forward and rested his hands on his thighs. “Actually, that sounds like a you problem.”

Sebastian lurched forward, curving his spine into something that almost resembled a bow. But he wasn’t deferring to Mammon. He covered his face with both hands and roared into his palms. When he ripped them away, he closed the distance between himself and my master, blowing hot, angry breaths into his face.

“You will give me what I’m owed.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

I immediately pulled Teddy and Arlo behind me as the air changed. It grew colder. Heavier. A violent gust tore through the cemetery, whipping my hair across my face. The bitter scent of fear carried on the gale as red cloaks snapped like bloody flags, and members of the congregation began huddling together in frightened groups.

Mammon slowly rose from the altar. He towered over Sebastian, forcing the mortal to crane his neck back to meet his narrowed gaze. And when my master spoke, his voice was little more than a rumble. Quiet and deadly. Yet somehow, it carried across the entire cemetery.

“I owe you?”

Finally, Sebastian faltered.

“I didn’t—I—” He raised his hands in surrender. “That’s not what I meant.”

Mammon’s mouth twisted into something cold and cruel. “No. I think it was.”

Sebastian shook his head so vigorously his cheeks wobbled. “M-my Lord, I—I swear! I would never mean⁠—”

Mammon sighed. “Kael.”

I immediately straightened, my master’s ingrained compulsion ringing through my mind. Teddy and Arlo peeked out from either side of my back, watching the exchange.

“Yes, Master?”

“Were they always this irritating?”

I tilted my head, considering the question. But it wasn’t particularly difficult to answer. “Yes, Master.”

Mammon tipped his head back and hummed.

“I thought so.” Then his gaze returned to Sebastian. He raised one hand, bringing his middle finger and thumb together. “Very well. I’m bored now.”

Snap.

One of the cult members exploded.

Blood and viscera erupted into the air, splattering across the grass and leaving little more than a gloopy puddle where the person had stood seconds before.

Nobody moved or spoke.

Pop.

Another exploded, and someone screamed.

Pop. Pop.

Chaos erupted. One after another, red-cloaked mortals burst into horrifying clouds of blood and gore. Some ran for the iron fence, only to explode before making it more than a few steps. Others dropped to their knees and prayed to a God they had long since abandoned.