“Behind you!” Nia screams.
I turn just as Gaire is about to plunge his sword into my back. I grab the blade. I feel it slice into skin and bone. Pain blossoms, and hot blood runs. I ignore it. I pull the knife from his grip.
I kick his right knee cap. I hear it pop. I grab Gaire before he can teleport. “Got you,” I whisper. “How does it feel to be powerless?” I ask him.
The whites of his eyes are huge. “Wait…what are…what?” He’s tugging against my hold. His eyes get even wider and move past me.
I realize that Nia is standing next to me. “You’ve got this,” she says. “You have control.”
I do. I’m in control. My power is rushing through me like a surging river, but I’ve got a handle on it. Then again…maybe it’s her, my calm in the chaos. Nia.
“I can’t…I…I…fuck…” Gaire is squirming. He’s trying to pull free from my grip. “Why can’t I teleport?” he shouts. “Let me go. Let me go!” he screams, sounding like a little girl.
“You can’t because I won’t let you,” I tell him. He’s like a fly to me. I can crush him whenever I want. My veins are buzzing. I could end him right now. I don’t. Nia can decide what she wants to do with him. I need to give her the chance to decide. This bastard has made her life a living hell. He’s used and abused her. “He’s all yours,” I tell her.
“What? No! Don’t! Bitch is crazy. She’ll kill me,” Gaire begs and pleads.
“Maybe you deserve it.” I’m vibrating with the need to end him myself, but I hold back.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Gaire tries to get away from me again. “I didn’t mean those things I said.” Tears stream down his cheeks. He’s pathetic. This asshole is the ultimate bully. He’ll pick on those weaker than him. He’ll delight in their terror and their pain. Yet, when the tables are turned, he’s like a blubbering baby. “Please,” he looks at Nia, “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m…so sorry. I’ll bring Warrick back,” he tells me. “I’ll do anything. What do you want? I’ll leave you alone. I swear. I did have feelings for you, Nia…that’s why I couldn’t let you go. Please believe that I’m sorry…please.”
“I believe you,” Nia says.
Gaire sags with relief. “Thank you, Nia.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. It looks like Gaire is getting to her.
Nia looks at me. “I can’t do it.” Tears gather in her eyes. “I can’t kill someone who’s begging for their life.” She wipes at her eyes. “What’s wrong with me?” More tears fall.
I realize that her inability to finish Gaire has nothing to do with that prick and everything to do with her.
“Thank you so much! I owe you, Nia,” Gaire is babbling. “You’re the best. I wanted you back because I missed you.” Such a lying bastard. There is such sincerity in his eyes. It makes me sick that he can lie with such a straight and honest face.
I know what I have to do. “I can’t believe it,” I spit, scowling at Nia. “You still have feelings for him. After everything I’ve done for you, you still want him? I can’t fucking believe it.”
“What—?” I see shock register on her face. “No,” she shakes her head, “that’s not—”
“Save it!” I tell her. “I can see it. You’re crying over him.” I point to Gaire, who looks like the cat who got the fucking cream.
“No! Rage I—” Nia splutters.
“Fucking save it!” I snarl again. “About that offer, I think I’m going to take you up on it. I want Warrick back. I can’t believe I chose her over my best friend.” I look over at Nia, who’s crying harder. “Without me, you are nothing.” I tell her. Then I look at Gaire. “You take her. Have her. Good fucking riddance.”
Once a snake, always a snake. “I’m glad you came to your senses, Rage.” Gaire grins.
I smile back and nod.
“I’ll help you find a bitch of your own.” Gaire winks at me. “Someone you can have your own fun with. Talking about fun…I believe you owe me a blow job, Nia.” That’s when he realizes that I’m still holding his arm. He can’t compel her while I have him in my grip. He can’t do anything. “Wait a minute.” He narrows his eyes. “You need to let me go.”
I don’t. Instead, I look over at Nia. She’s drying her eyes, which are filled with anger.
“You almost had me fooled there for a moment.” I’m not sure if she’s talking to Gaire or to me. “You pretended to be someone you’re not. You used me. All so that you could have a hellhound ready to obey your every order.”
“That’s not it at all,” Gaire backpedals.
Nia rolls her eyes. “I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth. I know in my heart that if I let you walk away today, you will hurt innocent people. You’ll find another hellhound to enslave. I can’t let that happen.”
“I won’t. I promise!” Gaire begs, doing yet another one-eighty.
“We both know that isn’t true,” Nia’s voice is pure ice.
His eyes harden. For a second or two, the mask comes down. “Your place is at my heel, Nia.”
“My place is at someone’s side as a partner. People who love each other don’t abuse the power they have over one another.”
“Fuck that, and fuck you!” Gaire snarls, spittle flies.
I watch her change into her hellhound form. Fur pushes out from her skin. Her nails turn onto claws. A tail appears, and her jaw elongates. The shirt is ripped to shreds as her body morphs. The whole thing takes a mere second or two. Her eyes are bright red. She’s bigger than she was in her Doberman form. Her fur looks thicker, wiry even. It’s standing up on her back. She snarls, her lips curling away from her teeth. Saliva drips.
Fuck me! She’s terrifying. Formidable doesn’t even begin to describe her. My own power starts buzzing all over again. I keep a lid on it. I tighten my grip on Gaire.
“No!” he screams. “She’s going to kill me. The crazy bitch is going to kill me. Hades will want answers. You can’t do this. You—”
Nia crouches and leaps. She growls viciously. I see her whip her head from side to side. When she pulls back, she has Gaire’s windpipe in her mouth. Blood is squirting from the gaping wound where his throat used to be. Gaire is trying to hold back the blood. It’s impossible.
Nia attacks again. Gaire’s head rolls onto the ground. His mouth is wide in a silent scream. His unseeing eyes are open, and even in death, there’s evil there.
“Did you know that your eyes are glowing red?” Death pipes up. He’s appeared out of nowhere in his customary fashion. “Your whole body is glowing.” Everything is still slower than normal. That wind is still whipping around me. The buzzing is all through my body. Like I’m holding a live wire. I look over at Death. I frown when I see it…a shadow. There is a dark shadow hanging over him. I frown.
Death walks towards me. The shadow stays with him. When I look closer, I gasp. The shadow has horns, red eyes, and a tail. It’s wrapped around Death.
What. The. Fuck.
I work on tamping down my power. Death is saying something, but I don’t hear him.
23
Nia
“How long will he sleep for?” Death asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m not sure why he passed out in the first place.”
“Using that much power will sap a person of energy. Rage was electric. It was like he was on fire, but without any flames.” Death sounds like he is in awe.
I’m in awe, too, because electric is the right description. You could feel the power coming off of him. You could see it surrounding him. Like he was in the eye of a hurricane. He looked terrifying and devastatingly beautiful…all at once. We defeated Gaire. He’s gone! I’m free.
I thought I would be happier.
Rage has been asleep for the last hour. We moved him to his bed, and then I got cleaned up on account of being bloody…all over. Death disappeared for ten minutes a little while ago, but other than that, he’s been at Rage’s side. Maybe I will breathe easier once Rage wake
s up.
“I have a message for you.” Death looks up at me.
Dread wells. I had hoped this would be over once Gaire was dead, but I might have been wrong in that assumption. “A message from whom?” My stomach twists into knots.
“My father.” Death looks down at his lap.
“Oh, no!” I rub a hand over my face. “I’m in big trouble. I took out Hades’ Head Huntsman.” I push out a breath. I don’t want to hear what Death has to say. I want to bury my head in the sand. I want to run away. I also have this nagging suspicion about something else. It’s another thing I want to bury. I want to ask Death to take me home. I want to run away. I’m tired.
“Are you okay, Nia?” Death asks.
“I will be once Rage wakes up.” I look down at him sleeping. His lashes are so long they fan his cheeks. He looks at peace. I should leave him be, but I need to know. “Can you wake up for me, Rage?” I ask him.
Rage stirs. He frowns for a second and then is calm once again, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. “Wake up, Rage,” I say.
His eyes open instantly.
I smile at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Drained.” He yawns. “Like, if I slept for a year, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
“I’m not surprised,” Death chimes in. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ll leave the two of you.”
“Wait,” I tell him. “You have a message for me, and I have a question for you.” It’s been in the back of my mind. I need to know. It won’t change what I have to do, but…it could very well change my life…our life.
Death nods. “My father called me to him. He felt the power surge and suspected that Gaire was dead. I filled him on what happened. He has a proposal for you.”
“Me?” I frown.
Death chuckles, “Yes, you.”
“Um…okay. What did he have to say?”
“Nothing bad. You killed Gaire fair and square, but…” Death presses his lips together for a second, “he’s offering you Gaire’s position.”
“As Head Huntsman?” I can hardly believe it. My eyes are wide. I’m shaking my head in disbelief. This is the last thing I expected.
Death nods. “Yes, it’s a prestigious role. It comes with great power.”
“Are you going to take it?” Rage is frowning. His eyes are bloodshot. He looks a little worn.
“I would go from being Gaire’s bitch to being Hades’ bitch. No, thanks.”
Death pushes out a breath. “So you’re turning it down?”
I nod.
“You don’t have to think about it?” he adds. “I can go over all of the numerous benefits the position would—”
“She said that she doesn’t want it.” Rage sounds annoyed. “Why are you pushing this?”
“Death’s father told him to push it. He doesn’t have a choice,” I explain to Rage.
Death’s cheeks turn pink, and his jaw tightens.
“Oh…I see,” Rage says.
I shake my head, “You don’t have to go over the benefits. I don’t care about any of that. I don’t want the position. Please thank your father for the kind offer.”
“That’s good. You made the right decision.” Death looks relieved.
“You definitely don’t want Hades as your boss,” Rage says, his eyes blazing.
“What did you want to ask me?” Death says, looking at his watch. “I doubt I have much time left before I’m summoned.” He narrows his eyes, looking pissed off. “My life is a fucking toilet,” he mutters to himself.
Rage sits up, leaning against the headboard. “You and I need to have a talk,” he tells Death. “I saw something when I was in my power haze. Something crazy. Something that might explain some things.”
“Oh?” Death looks interested; he leans forward. “What did you see?”
“I think I know how your father is controlling you.” Rage tells Death how he saw an entity clinging onto him. He describes the eyes, the tail…it’s horrific.
“A demon,” Death whispers. “A fucking demon, and it’s here now.” I see his throat work. I see his eyes fill with disgust.
“That’s terrible,” I say. “Oh, Death...I’m so sorry.”
Death just sits there looking defeated.
Then I have a thought. “What about me?” I ask Rage. “Does it work the same with hellhounds? Did I have a demon too?”
Rage shakes his head. “No. You didn’t have anything that I could see.” He turns back to Death. “The demon is big. It’s like an inky black shadow. It’s clutching onto you tightly.”
“That’s disgusting! It’s…” He shivers. “I need to get rid of it.” His throat works again.
“I’ll help you if I can,” Rage tells Death. “We all will.”
“This is my father’s doing.” He roughs up his hair. “Fucking Hades.” He clutches his stomach, like talking badly about his father physically hurts him.
“Must be,” Rage says.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell Death. “I know how it feels to be controlled by someone else. To be under their thumb. In your case, it’s so much worse.”
“Forget the monster in the closet…or under your bed…I have one attached to my soul…to my lifeblood. I have one living inside of me.” He shivers again. His eyes look tortured. “I have to go.”
“Wait, I—” I start saying, but Death is gone an instant later.
“Poor guy,” Rage says, slumping back against the headboard. He looks at me.
I look away. I’m not ready to have this conversation. I don’t want to hurt Rage, but it’s inevitable.
“I think you’ve probably figured out that I’m in love with you,” he says.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurt. “I didn’t realize it. When I told you to use your power, I didn’t realize you would have to obey. That’s what happened…I’m right, aren’t I?”
Rage nods and gives me a half-smile. “It looks like this whole ‘fall in love with a hellhound’ thing works both ways after all. Even if the guy isn’t a hellhound as well. When did you know?”
“I suspected when you did the things I asked you to do. I told you to use your power, and you did. I told you that you were in control, and you were. The moment you grabbed him, I could feel his hold on me break, but I think that had to do with your powers.”
“I think part of my ability is suppressing other people’s power,” Rage says, “I can see things…I can see magic. I could see Gaire in his invisible form. I could see the door or portal from which Death teleported. I could probably tell you where he came from. I could see that demon.” His eyes are lifted in thought. “It was freaky.”
“I’m sure. I can’t imagine. I’m grateful you trusted me. That you didn’t try to fight it.”
“I do trust you, Nia.”
“You absolutely can. I won’t take any kind of advantage of you.” I shake my head.
He gives me a sad smile. “I wish you would.”
I choke out a laugh. It quickly dies a thousand deaths.
“I think that the way this love business is supposed to work is that two people are supposed to fall in love with one another. They become bound to one another. They give some of their control to the other person, but it’s supposed to be beautiful, equal, and balanced. We could be all of those things, Nia.”
I’m choking up. I want the things he’s saying. They make my heart feel lighter, but at the same time, I’m suffocating. “I…I can’t be bound to someone else so soon. I trusted Gaire, and I was wrong. I haven’t loved him for an age, but I only just escaped him. You are the kind of man I could easily fall in love with. I would fall so much harder…so much faster, but…” I chew on my bottom lip.
“You don’t want to,” he finishes the sentence for me.
“No, I’m sorry…I just can’t. Not right now. I’m not ready.”
“I understand.” Rage cups my chin and lifts my face so that my eyes meet his. He’s smiling. “You do you. Go find yourself. Do what you need to do. Know
that I will be here if you decide you want to try.”
I put my arms around him. I bury my head into his chest. I feel his hands on my back. I hear his heart beating. I wish so hard that I was ready. I pull back. “I need to go back home. I miss my family. I need to learn how to breathe again.”
He lets me go.
24
Rage
Later that day…
Storm clouds are gathering. It feels appropriate. The sky is becoming heavy with pending rain. I hear a crash of thunder in the distance. I look up as I push my hands into my pockets. Letting go is fucking hard.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay until you know for sure?” Death asks Nia.
She shakes her head, “I promise I will never keep something like that a secret. I would never keep your children from you.” Nia turns my way. Her beautiful eyes shine with sincerity.
“Children…” I run a hand through my hair, feeling my heart gallop in my chest.
“Don’t panic,” Nia reassures me. “The chances of me being pregnant are very small. I don’t feel any different. Surely I would know if I was?” I can see she’s not buying her own reasoning.
“You said that not many hellhounds are fertile,” I say.
She nods. “Exactly.”
“And we only had unprotected sex twice,” I say.
“All it takes is once. I hate to break it to the two of you.” Death is frowning. “Twelve became pregnant in that house. It’s not a part of the Underworld, even if it is in the Underworld. A lot of this magic stuff is complicated.” He rolls his eyes. “I’ll wait over there while you say your goodbyes. Don’t take too long. I might end up being summoned.” His face turns red. His whole stance becomes tense. I’m sure he is thinking about the demon.
“You have my number?” I say for the third or fourth time.
Nia nods. “Yes, and you have mine?”
I nod. “You’ll—”
“I’ll call you if…if there’s anything to report.”
I push at the dirt beneath my feet with the toe of my boot. “I wish you’d wait a few weeks. You don’t even have to stay here.”
Lord of Chaos (The Dragon Demigods Book 7) Page 19
