"Orcus!"

Corrine's eyes were filled with tears when she scrambled for the stone rat. She picked it up and hugged it close, tears falling onto it.

The statue was detailed down to the very last hair. The whiskers were still there, the nose was mid twitch, and its eyes looked focused and alert.

"How could you do this?" she screamed at Turan.

She didn't respond.

"You never cared about him, did you? You wouldn't care if he died!" Her hands were trembling and her voice was horse. "You don't care about me either! You only care about saving The Concord no matter what blood is spilled along the way!"

"Corrine, I-"

"Shut up!" she roared.

Kroni flew over the fence and landed beside Corrine, giving the statue in her hand a strange look. "Shame isn't?"

Corrine gave him a dirty look then turned away from him, tightening the grip on the statue. "Get rid of him," she ordered, not caring if he heard.

"What?" Turan asked, hoping it was a joke.

"Get rid of him!"

"I can't. You'll need his help."

She slammed her hand on the ground and screamed, "I am not working with the thing that got rid of Orcus!" Her voiced turned into an angry whisper. "Either you get rid of him, or you don't get my help."

Turan sighed in defeat. Kroni gave Corrine an angry look when his feet hardened into stone. The stone crept up him until his expression was frozen.

She set Orcus down gently and picked up her sword. Walked toward the statue of Kroni, tears running down her face. With a stiff scream she beat the statue with her sword. Bits of stone flew off and scatted around the ground. With a few more screams and beats Kroni's stone head was laying on the ground, the rest of his body only a few feet away.

She wailed in agony, fell to her knees, and grabbed Orcus again. She shut her eyes and let her tears fall, not just for Orcus, but for all the others who were dragged into this mess. She feared for Brooke, Theodor, and Caleb. She feared for Buka, Gaki, Eligos, and Orcus, of what would happen to them when each of the forms were dead or Berstuk was defeated. She feared for what would come of her.

A hand rested on her shoulder. She jumped up and picked up her sword. Standing behind her was a woman in her early twenties. She had light blond hair that was pulled into a bun, grey eyes, and a tan completion. She wore a long grey skirt and a navy-blue blouse. Her nails her painted dark red, despite the cool colors she wore now.

"Calm down," she said.

"Who are you?" Corrine asked, holding her sword out between them.

The woman took a small step back and brought her hands up to show open palms. "My name is Eris, and I think I can help you."

"Corrine, you need to run. She's a goddess of chaos, she's here for the book!"

Her blood boiled at the mention of the book. She glanced at the linen package that was laying on the ground. She looked back at the woman and dived for the book. Orcus dropped to the floor, but she had the book and her sword. Eris gave the statue a pitiful look then walked over and picked it up.

"Give it back!" she ordered.

"I don't intend it or you any harm."

"Give. It. Back," she said through gritted teeth.

Eris gave her a patience smiled and set the statue on the ground. "I hope you know they won't help you."

She didn't take her eyes off the stone pika. "Who?"

"The gods."

Corrine sighed. "I know."

"Then you know they only want to save The Concord, not humans or the earth."

She gave a slight nod.

"And of course you know that they don't care what carnage they leave behind. That they'd destroy the world to save The Concord."

She didn't respond.

Eris slowly walked over to Corrine and rested her hands on her shoulders. Corrine kept her sword between the two of them.

"Berstuk and the others want the earth to stay as it is. Most of us are gods of earth's wanders, we wish it no harm. We just want freedom, and I'm sure that's what you want too." She gave her another smile.

Corrine broke from her grasp and held her sword up high, clutching the book to her chest. "You gods can burn in hell for all I care."

"Not freedom for us, freedom for yourself." She sighed and sat down on a rock, motioning Corrine to do the same. "What is your name?"

"Corrine," she muttered, not sure if she should be honest or not.

"And who are you a form for, Corrine?"

"Don't tell her," Turan ordered.

Corrine glanced back down to the stone pika and clenched her fists. "Turan, goddess health, vitality, and a guardian of Velch."

"Corrine!"

Eris sighed and gave her a pitiful look. "Turan is the worst offender. She has made life for all her forms something much worse than hell."

She shifted her gaze to Eris. "And why should I believe you? You are a goddess of chaos, and I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to cause chaos. Messing up Turan and I seems like a sure fire way to do it."

"Chaos is the flavor of life, Corrine," she said with a smile. "No one can live a life that holds no challenge, or at least no one would want to. Though some, like you, would like a little less challenge, a little less chaos."

"You know nothing about me!" she spat.

"Are you saying you enjoy having Turan around, having her drag you into a war you never wanted to be apart of?"

She didn't answer.

Eris took a few cautions steps towards Corrine. "I'll make you a deal. If you give me The Book of Thoth then I will get rid of Turan. You can go home, live your life in peace, and I can have my freedom."

"You can do that?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course I can." She rested her hands on her shoulders.

Corrine furrowed her brow. "How?"

"There is a little spell inside that book." She pointed to the package in Corrine's hand. "It can separate a god from a body. I believe it was used to expel us all from our forms, but I'm sure it will work for you."

Corrine looked down at the book in her hand. It had the power to free her from Turan. She could go home. She thought about what would happen if she got back. She's been missing for a week, everyone thought she had been kidnapped. There was no way things could go back to how they were, but she'd be home.

"Do we have a deal?" Eris asked, eager for an answer.

"Don't do it! We could lose everything if you go with her!" Turan screamed.

Corrine took another look at the stone pika. She shoved her sword in its sheath and looked at Eris. She wore a slight encouraging smile, but she was tapping her foot anxiously. Corrine gave a heavy sigh, closed her eyes tight, and held the book out in front of her. In the second of the book leaving her hands she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

She opened her eyes and looked down. Eris' hand was dug inside a new hole in her side. She looked back up at the woman, fear in her eyes. She fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

Eris examined her hand and then shook it, splashing blood everywhere. "Oh, did I not mention that you're only free from Turan once you're nothing more than a corpse." She didn't look back at Corrine and spoke with a monotone voice. She adjusted her grip on the book and walked off.

Corrine laid a hand on her stomach. The hole was bleeding fast, she knew she wouldn't make it. Her head was spinning and she looked up to the sky. It was blue and bright, there was hardly a cloud in sight.

Her vision started to fade to black, but she managed to feel around the ground and find the statue of a pike. She let a tear fall down her cheek. The screams of Turan rang in her ears along with the screams of something else, but she didn't care. She muttered an apology before her vision faded.

I didn't want to update this yet, so I wouldn't lead you to believe that I update a lot, but I've had a lot of free time lately. Anyhow... Thanks for reading!