Unbound

by Amber Lynn Natusch

Without further hesitation, I walked up the stairs and down the hall to Kierson’s room, where my mother lay waiting behind the partially open door. For once, Oz did not follow.

  “You asked to see me?” I said as I crept into the room. My mother lay on the bed, her face slick with sweat and paler than death, but her eyes sharp and keen. I quickly took up my post at her side and moved to heal her, but she pushed my hand away. “Mother, this needs to be done.”

  Begrudgingly, she allowed me to continue until her color returned and a shine brightened her gaze.

  “You are as stubborn as Ozereus,” she said with a small laugh that quickly became a cough. She rubbed her chest over her heart, then settled back against the headboard.

  “Did you need something else from me?” I asked.

  She nodded and shifted her body to better face me, though it took some effort. “I wanted to talk to you, but you’re a hard woman to corral.”

  I forced a smile. “What do you wish to discuss?”

  “Not everything is business, Khara. I do not wish to ‘discuss’ anything. I wish to talk to you. They are different.”

  “Perhaps that is a nuance I still do not fully understand.”

  Another tiny laugh. “I can see that. Your brothers must have had their hands full when you arrived here.”

  “They did, though they did not complain—except about my lack of fear and concern for my own well-being. They were not fans of either.”

  “I can imagine—I cannot say I wouldn’t have felt the same.” She leaned her head back and looked at me in silence for a moment. “They told me everything, you know…about your Unborn status and how Oz’s actions put you in danger.”

  “Did they?”

  “Yes—Kierson is quite the talker—but I knew I still hadn’t gotten the full story, so I guilted the rest from him. Sometimes being an invalid has its advantages.” She waved off the objection brewing on my tongue before it could be realized. Seeing the futility in arguing with her, I chose to let her continue. “It seems like you’ve had quite a few adventures with your brothers—”

  “I have.”

  “—and with Ozereus. Especially with him.”

  I hesitated for a moment. “It has been interesting”

  She smiled at my response. “I bet that’s the same word he used.”

  “He uses it to describe me often.”

  A genuine smile stretched across her face. “I’ll bet he does. But that’s not why I summoned you to my borrowed room.” She tried to sit up further, and I had to help her complete the movement. Once she was situated and had caught her breath, she fixed those emerald green eyes that I had inherited on me. “Khara, I wish to speak frankly with you in the interests of time.”

  “Go on…”

  “There are so many things I wish to say to you, and I fear that I may not get to if I do not say them now.” Again, I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she shot me down with an extended palm. “You do not yet know a mother’s regret, and I hope you never do, but there is much I feel I must say because I have not had the opportunity before now. I do not wish to waste my time with you like I did for your entire life.”

  “That was not your fault—”

  “But it was a result of my actions and therefore my doing, though I don’t wish to argue about that, either. I wish to talk to you and get to know more about you—not facts, but experiences. I want to know about your life. What finding your brothers and Sean has been like, because if it brought you even a fraction of the joy I have felt since finding you, then I will be happy.”

  “My brothers mean the world to me. As does Hades.”

  “And Ozereus…?”

  “Oz has become my world in the strangest way. I can barely remember what it was like before he was constantly at my side—for better or worse.”

  “Careful, Khara…I believe they use that phrasing in human matrimony.”

  “Yet they do not abide by it.”

  At that, she smiled. “True. Rules were never something they liked following.”

  “I do not imagine Oz did, either.”

  Her smile fell. “There was a time when he did. But fate and circumstance have been cruel to us both in many ways. My wish is that they have not—and will not—be as cruel to you and Sean.”

  A pang of guilt tugged at my heart. Whether it showed on my face, or her intuition was astute because of our shared blood, I could not be sure, but she noticed nonetheless. Her vibrant eyes narrowed. “What is it, Khara?”

  Lying seemed a poor option, given the situation, so I opted for the truth, though softened as much as I could manage. “They have not always been kind to either of us, but I hope that improves.”

  “Where is Sean?” she asked as her hand encircled mine. “Where is my son?”

  “Indisposed,” I answered quickly—perhaps too quickly. “There are PC matters that require his attention, but he did ask about you when we spoke.”

  She nodded as though she understood. “Do you speak often?”

  I hesitated only long enough to prepare a suitable answer. “It has been rather chaotic since I arrived in Detroit. At first, my brothers here did not recognize who I was, beyond a daughter of Ares. It was only later—once they realized that I was Unborn—that they notified Sean. He came at once.”

  A faint smile graced her lips. “I’ll bet he was excited beyond words…”

  “Once he ascertained the truth, he was indeed.”

  When I did not explain further, she leaned closer. “There’s something you’re not telling me. Something you don’t want to tell me…about Sean.”

  I nodded. “He endeavored to let Oz die the night he birthed my wings to save me from the Stealers,” I explained, much to her horror, “and again recently—not long before we found you. Had I not impaled myself with a blade and forced his hand, Oz would be no longer. He said so himself.”

  Her lips pressed to a thin line as she contemplated my words. “You are not going to like what I have to say now, Khara, but I must say it because there are few things I fear more than you and Sean not loving one another as siblings should, especially after all this lost time.” She leveled her sharp gaze on me. “There have been many times in my existence when I have had to make choices I did not wish to make. Sacrifices I have mourned for centuries. To lead is to bear the burden of responsibility and uphold something larger than yourself. For me, it was the Light. For Sean, it is the PC. And while I do not say this to demean your position in it, you are not the same. Whatever Sean’s reasons, I’m certain he did not do what he did to cause you pain.”

  “Perhaps you are right, but his history with Oz is far from amiable. I often wonder if he weighed his love for me against his hatred of the Dark One before he acted—”

  “Promise me that you will forgive him one day,” she said, her words a thinly veiled plea.

  “I have already forgiven him, but I have not forgotten—”

  “You must,” she said, her other hand darting to my arm. She held me in place with what little energy she had, and I swore I could see her efforts draining her right before my eyes. “I cannot leave you knowing that you harbor ill will toward him—”

  “You are not leaving—”

  “Khara, please!” she shouted before a coughing fit wracked her body. I handed her a glass of water, and she drank the tiniest sip. “I do not wish to spend this time with you arguing. Please, just promise me that you will consider all I’ve told you.”

  “I will—”

  “And I need you to trust Ozereus—in all things—”

  “I will—”

  “—because he would never do wrong by you.”

  “I know.”

  “He is loyal, Khara, even when he wants you to think otherwise. He will be loyal until the very end.”

  The double meaning in her words was not lost on me.

  “It will not come to that,” I said softly, leaning in closer.

  Her feeble hand released mine to graze my cheek. “I fear it ma
y have already…”

  Before I could respond, the door cracked open and Oz stepped inside. “You called for me, too?”

  “I did,” my mother replied. Then she winked at me. “Like I said: loyal.” Ice trailed down my spine. “Now Khara, will you please excuse us for a moment? There is a pressing matter I must discuss with Ozereus.”

  “There is no need for secrecy,” I said, not wanting to leave her side. Not wanting to leave them to discuss what I feared she had planned. “He will tell me once you have finished anyway.”

  My mother’s soft expression hardened slightly when she turned to Oz. “No. He will not.” The finality in her tone was far from comforting. Oz cast me a warning look before he stepped into the tiny bedroom, his wings filling most of it.

  I turned to my mother and took her hand in mine. “I will be back soon.”

  She squeezed it lightly, the weakness in her grip a painful reminder of just how frail she had become. How little help my healing ability was to her. I brushed past Oz, trying not to let my anger at their private meeting start a war with the Dark One.

  “Don’t go far,” he said as I slipped into the hall.

  I stopped to face him. “There is nowhere I can go that you cannot find me, remember?”

  I let the door close behind me with a touch more force than necessary before I stormed down the hall. The frustration and anger I felt at my inability to help her had gotten the better of me, and I knew that it needed an outlet.

  The Dark One was a poor option.

  I needed to find another.

  11

  “I wish to kill something,” I said as I walked into the living room. My brothers were dressed in black and strapped with weapons that would soon be concealed by jackets. They were going hunting.

  And I wanted to join them.

  “I think we can help with that,” Kierson said as he handed me a short sword and a halter to strap it to my back. I tested the weight of it in my hand before sheathing it.

  “We’re going after the final souls tonight—the remaining gods,” Casey added. “Figured we had nothing else to do since we didn’t find anything helpful in Hecate’s books.”

  “That will suffice,” I said, heading for the basement to grab my jacket. “Do you know where they are? We are long past due to pay them a visit.”

  “We’ve heard things—we’re going to start at The Tenth Circle. I’m meeting a shifter there who has information.”

  “Then lead the way.”

  I quickly ran downstairs and procured my coat. When I returned to the living room, they were waiting in the foyer.

  “Ready?” Drew asked, a hint of concern in his eyes. He, above the others, saw the darkness driving my actions—was worried about my mental state going out on the hunt. With no intention of discussing my mood, I simply nodded as I walked by.

  “Let us find them and return them to where they belong.”

  “And hope they resist in the process,” Casey added with a wink, his dark nature shining through.

  “What if Demeter is with them?” Pierson asked. His sobering sentiment cut through the anger clouding my mind and my judgment.

  I stopped to turn and face him. “Then I will greet her with the same enthusiasm she has always held for me.” I leveled my gaze on each of my brothers. “And if she causes a problem, she will meet the same fate as the others.”

  My harsh words hung in the air as I headed toward the black SUV parked down the road. I climbed in the back and waited for the others to follow. The twins settled in on either side of me, while Casey got behind the wheel and Drew into the passenger’s seat. The vehicle roared to life, and we were soon racing into the heart of the city, where The Tenth Circle resided; a den of sin for humans and supernaturals alike. With any luck, Casey’s informant would have information on the gods for us.

  It seemed that they, like all the other souls I had released, could not leave Detroit.

  While my brothers discussed strategy, I sat in silence, staring out the window at the city I now called home and wondering how long that would be the case. How long it might be before Phobos enacted his plan and stole me away. If he succeeded, my brothers would not stop until they found me or died trying. Oz would reduce the world to smoldering ash.

  And my twin and I would know no resolution, for which our mother wished.

  “Khara?” Kierson called, elbowing me gently as though he had been trying to get my attention for a while.

  “Yes?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Think of what?”

  He looked at me with a furrowed brow. “The plan.”

  “Do we have one?” My question was met with silence.

  “Were you listening to anything we said this whole time?” Drew asked.

  “I was thinking. Besides, I do not know how we can have a plan when we have not located the target as of yet.”

  “Not the attack,” Casey sighed in frustration, “the plan for the club. I’m going to meet my guy with Drew and Pierson. You and Kierson will scan the perimeter.”

  “Do you expect a trap?”

  “We’d be stupid not to be prepared for one, especially when our meeting involves the gods.”

  His assessment was not wrong.

  “All right,” Drew said as we pulled up next to the curb. “We all good?”

  A chorus of ‘yes’ echoed through the SUV.

  We climbed out and walked down the street to the club, descending the stairs deep underground until we arrived at the thick metal door hemming in the debauchery. Drew threw it open and led the way in, followed by Casey and Pierson. Kierson and I brought up the rear. The three meeting the informant peeled off together, headed for the bar, while Kierson led the way to the balcony that overlooked the vast space.

  “We can keep a better eye on them from here,” he said as he crested the top step. We walked over to the railing I had once endeavored to jump from and leaned on it to survey the crowd.

  As we searched the space for anything or anyone paying too much attention to the trio headed for the bar, I felt Kierson’s gaze rest on my face.

  “What’s up with you tonight?” he asked before resuming his job.

  “I am frustrated and angry, and I wish to take it out upon a deserving party.”

  “I get that. I’m just not sure why.”

  “Because my mother is fading, the fear god is lurking, and we are no closer to finding a solution to either dilemma than we were days ago. Because I have all these powers and abilities, and yet I cannot figure out how to use them to my advantage when it matters most. I can no more stop the fear god than I can heal my mother’s fractured soul.”

  His arm wrapped around my shoulders and he drew me closer. “But you know you aren’t alone in this, right? Like…it’s not all on you.”

  I let him hold me as his words washed over my mind. “It feels as though it is. It feels as though everything that has happened to me—everything I have acquired and learned—has led me to this moment in time.”

  “You think it’s fate?” he asked, his body going tight as he looked at the massive male headed toward Casey and the others. They greeted each other and huddled together to talk.

  “Possibly. But what that fate is, I do not know.”

  The two of us looked on as the bearded shifter leaned in close to Casey to tell him something. I bristled, prepared to jump off the balcony, lightning blasting from my hands, if he made a move I deemed unsuitable. But those measures proved unnecessary. Casey and the shifter shook hands, then parted ways. We tracked our brothers until they neared the bottom of the stairs. Kierson and I hurried down to meet them to learn the news.

  “Someone has been holing up at the old Metro station,” Casey said over the blaring noise that served as music. “We’re heading there now.”

  “With any luck, we can sneak up on them,” Drew added, “and be done with those shits once and for all.” He turned his tight expression to me. “And if Demeter is with them, what we do is u
p to you, Khara.”

  I nodded, and Casey shoved the massive door open and led the way back to the street. Before I knew it, we were back in the vehicle and racing through Detroit toward our destination. We pulled up in front of the Metro station; the very place where I had shared my first hunt with my brothers. The one where Oz had narrowly saved me from being taken by the Stealers. Memories flooded my mind as we walked up the front steps, silent as ghosts, then wove our way through the debris scattered about and up the main steps. I wondered if perhaps it would not have been better to fly ahead, but I knew neither Casey nor Drew would have approved. So together, we climbed the final set of stairs to the open space where my brothers and Oz had slaughtered the Stealers what seemed like an eternity ago. But in truth, it had been anything but.

  How quickly time seemed to pass when danger was ever-present.

  Weapons drawn, we broke through the doors into what we hoped would be the den of the former gods who still walked above, where they no longer belonged. But it only took a moment to realize that, even if they had been staying there, they were no longer. Makeshift beds with blankets strewn across them lay empty. Food wrappers littered the ground. And there was not a soul to be seen.

  “Someone’s been here,” Drew observed, stalking through the room to investigate further.

  “Any chance they’re just out to get food? I mean, if they’re corporeal again, they have to eat, right?” Kierson asked. His hopeful tone belied the resignation he felt, because even he knew there was no way they would risk exposure by going out together.

  “Now what?” Casey asked as he kicked over a stack of boxes that had been piled into shelves of a sort.

  “We post one of the fallen brothers up here to see if whoever’s been here comes back,” Drew suggested.

  Before he could continue, the scuff of stone on concrete echoed up the stairs. The five of us turned to find Azriel cresting the top step.

  “They will not be back,” he said as he walked toward us. “The godsss are too sssmart for that.”

  “Is that who has been here?” I asked, and the snaggletoothed gargoyle nodded.

  “I have been looking for them, Princesss—to help you, should you require it.”