CHAPTER 132

The laughter stopped. War's mouth hung open for several moments before he looked over at Murray. "They can't do that!"

"You must come to an agreement." Murray turned his head, but his skin remained in place, allowing Beth to see his skull through what were now empty eye sockets. His jaw moved inside the flesh of his neck as he spoke. If she had actually eaten anything, she would have puked. "Nobody leaves until both sides agree."

"That isn't fair!" Famine pushed his way forward. "You can't hold us to an eternal stalemate!"

"You must come to an agreement." Murray was surrounded by an intense aura of light, which caused Famine to back away.

"You all fucked up. Probably should have picked a better leader." Beth examined her nails, pretending to be interested in imaginary dirt. "If you win, the world ends and I die anyway, along with everyone I've ever loved. If you really are the incarnation of war, you should know better than to pin a human in the corner and give them nothing to lose."

War let out a yell and picked up his sword. With a cry, he stepped forward as if to swing it. Several eyes on Mehkhkahrel's body appeared and blazed with golden light. The sword froze in mid-air, yanked out of War's hands.

"Physical aggression by either party will result in forfeiture," Murray declared in a booming voice. Pressure from above forced Beth and the horsemen to their knees, then released them. The sword slammed into the ground, cracking the dirt. "You will never again attempt to attack the other party."

"Then what do we do?" Thick veins in War's neck appeared as his face twisted up in frustration. He picked his sword back up, careful to do so in a non-menacing way. "Would you have us quit? It isn't fair!"

"Brother." Famine put his hand on War's shoulder. "I have a better plan. We force mediation until this bitch dies, then let it go. That way, at least we don't stay trapped here forever, but she still gets to die for pissing us off."

"In that case..." Beth smiled and reached into Tick Tock to pull out the Grimoire. "What if I told you I had a way to become immortal using this book?" It was a deliberately vague statement. She didn't know if the Grimoire could do such a thing, but Mehkhkahrel couldn't call her out for lying. "This is perhaps the most powerful magical tome in existence. It contains Words of Creation."

"That is forbidden knowledge," Murray declared, his face going slack as his skull repositioned itself correctly.

"Not by the laws of my people," Beth responded.

"Is she correct? Does that book contain Words of Creation?" War's voice actually squeaked.

"It does." Murray sounded angry when he said this.

"How many?" This came from Famine.

Murray's forehead wrinkled up and a sneer formed on his face. "Enough to make me concerned."

The conversation was veering in an unexpected direction. Even though the Grimoire had no information on harming angels, Mehkhkahrel was clearly concerned that Beth had such a thing. The last thing she wanted was for the angel to decide to take away the book, so Beth stuffed it back inside Tick Tock. The horsemen were off-balance, so it was time for her next ploy.

"So it looks like we are at an impasse. We will never settle. If you had taken the time to make an actual list of demands, something like 'we want to be on Earth, only not as the horsemen of the Apocalypse,' we might have played ball with you."

"We are forces of nature," Famine hissed. "We do not 'play ball'."

"What if I offered you a way around this impasse?" Beth tilted her head in a conspiratorial manner toward War.

War chewed his bottom lip so hard that it split and bled. His muscles tensed for several moments before he let out a disgusted sigh. "I'll hear your idea, but we won't back down on our demands."

"Perish the thought." Satisfied that she had their attention, she grinned smugly. "I want to challenge you to a game of war. Winner takes all. If we win, you go back to wherever Mehkhkahrel summoned you from and will not return until the gods themselves decree that it's Apocalypse time. But if you win, you all get a one-way trip straight to Earth to do whatever the fuck you want."

"Heh. You assume you can challenge us to a game you can win?" War flexed his massive chest. "What game?"

Beth held up the Risk box.

"I'm not playing a fucking board game!" War tossed his sword onto the ground and groaned. "I demand a real challenge! I want my heart to race, to feel the blood of my enemies splash against my skin, to see the dying light fade from their eyes! You don't get that from a board game!"

She took a deep breath, then let it out. This had been an expected reaction, and she was properly prepared. "What if I told you that you could have all those things with this game?"

War rolled his eyes. "It's a cardboard box full of paper and plastic. Maybe, if things get really exciting, someone will choke to death on a piece."

Beth looked up at Mehkhkahrel. She hated looking at Murray. "As the mediator, it is your job to facilitate any sort of discussion or agreements we wish to pursue. Therefore, what I am about to suggest is dependent upon your abilities."

"I am listening," Murray replied.