AN: This is the sequel to "Voices" and book 3 of the "Cadence Of Their Fear" trilogy. This is a May/Drew romance series, with a touch of monsters, and now some other pairings. I suggest reading the first two books before starting this one. Enjoy the read!
"They're calling her Lilith, Mother of Demons."
Jericho Karvás narrowed his red eyes. "Who?"
"That May Maple," Ada Shard hissed, leaning back in her makeshift throne, which stood tall against the other thrones for the other heads of the Arbiter Corporation. She glared at the three seats that were empty, before her red-colored gaze shifted back to Jericho beside her. Her slender fingers curled into fists. "The other employees in the Hybrid Phase, I mean. They've become accustomed to calling that May woman 'Lilith'."
"I'm not surprised." Jericho looked at the empty seats. "Verdana is dead, because of May Maple. Alistair is, too, and Elena was stationed near Odysseus when the Resistance destroyed it. I can't tell if Elena's alive; her presence still exists within the Hivemind, but it's not moving. The Resistance probably caught her with May's help." He reached to his other side and patted the mightyena that sat by his throne, its pure red eyes glowing in the darkness of At Hell's End's meeting room. Apart from its eyes and the two bloody hand prints that coated the fur on the fusion's sides, it looked like a normal pokemon, stern and unmoving. "Now, May is a head," Jericho continued. "We've lost control over the Leviathan to her, and she's been smart enough to stay quiet about her locations through the Hivemind and teach the fusions she's probably controlling to do the same, so I won't find her and rip her to shreds. I should've made sure she was dead the first time."
Mathias Cruse sighed from the throne on Jericho's other side. He took off his glasses and shook his head. "It also won't be long before the Resistance finds this place and destroys it. Then, Kruismara will be their next target."
"It's been a few weeks since Emerald Harbor and Odysseus were destroyed," Ada said. "Though we don't need Kruismara anymore, he's still one of the strongest fusions, and he's still under our control through At Hell's End. If we can use him to land one final attack before the Resistance gets another play at being heroes, blows this place up, and kills him, it might turn things around."
"May Maple isn't going to win," Jericho said, looking toward the far glass wall, where, into the colossal room beyond it, Kruismara rested, his pitch-black eyes meeting Jericho's. "I don't know how the hell she became a hybrid, but I don't care. We've been winning this war for the past five years, and I'm not going to let her mess things up like she did in Enfer. Verdana's dream didn't die with Enfer. It won't die with Elena."
"It won't die with Alistair, either," Mathias added. "He was as vital a part to this organization as Verdana was." He frowned. "A good friend, too."
Ada rolled her eyes. "Please, Mathias. Everyone knows you two were fucking one another."
Mathias's face reddened. With a growl, he opened his mouth-
"Enough!" Jericho barked, his voice echoing across the room, startling everyone but the mightyena by his side. "I promised Verdana that fear would exist in this world like she wanted, that her fascination with the unknown and the vicious would bring forth a new era for the pokemon world. No matter who dies, that dream will be carried out. No matter what needs to be sacrificed, an empire ruled through fear will fight and govern in her name."
He stood up and walked toward the glass, the long end of his trench coat swaying behind him. Beneath him, the white, unbalanced judgement scale of the Arbiter Corporation rested within a green circle, painted perfectly in the center of the room. When he reached the glass, Kruismara growled beneath his stare. The mightyena from before came up and sat by Jericho's side, its face just as stern and its eyes just as red, looking ahead.
"May will die," Jericho said, never taking his eyes off Kruismara, "even if I have to kill her myself. And, this time, she'll stay dead."
Kruismara roared, his voice shaking the ground, and the mightyena by Jericho's side smiled, its human-like teeth covered in blood.
