“Yes, my lord.”
“Go. Await my messenger. Once Rhyn enters the underworld, you will follow him,” he said, looking over his creation with satisfaction.
The super-demon opened a portal and disappeared.
Darkyn held out his hand. An hour glass with streaming black sand appeared in his palm. He’d lost three days already. Four was cutting it close. Once the bond between the half-breed and its human re-emerged a mere seven days after it was severed, Rhyn could channel his power again. Death was waiting for that day, and Darkyn had to beat her at her game. That meant making it into the underworld in four days.
He glanced at the demon guards in the corner and motioned for them to leave. A moment later, a thin figure entered the room. The last of the shapeshifters created, this one was a mirror image of the mad scientist, Ully.
The Immortal cowering in the corner gasped. Darkyn circled the super demon in satisfaction.
“You have your instructions,” he said to the demon.
“Yes, my lord.”
“This is for the underworld, and this you will know when to use,” Darkyn said. He handed the shapeshifter a pouch identical to the one he’d given the other shapeshifting demon and a small talisman on a chain. “Go. Remind Jared what happens if he disobeys me.”
“Yes, my lord.” The Ully demon left.
“And now, Immortal, we wait,” Darkyn said to the mad scientist. “I want you to see the underworld fall and the Immortals destroyed as you die. Unless you’d like to take Sasha’s place in my lab.”
“Sasha was a traitor. I’m not,” Ully said in a quiet voice.
“When I take over Death’s domain and her army of souls, I’ll be invincible. By my side is the only place anyone will be safe.”
Ully shook his head again.
“Very well.” Darkyn suspected twisted Immortals like Sasha were rare. One of the brothers on the Council That Was Seven, Sasha had been strategically placed to provide Darkyn more information than he’d hoped for. Sasha’s only flaw had been his madness, which ultimately resulted in his death. Sasha had identified Ully, who was hand-selected by Andre. While Darkyn didn’t know the full details of how Andre had gotten Death to release the once-dead human, he did know Andre and Death wouldn’t have done something so important if Ully wasn’t the brilliant scientist he was.