“Work together?” My words drip with disbelief.
“Of course. We’re both killers, after all.”
My back stiffens. “I’m not a killer. I am a protector. I protect the world from the monsters that seek to hurt innocents.”
“Even though you yourself are a monster?” he asks, lifting a brow.
“Yes. I might be a monster, but I don’t act like a monster. Not like you.”
“Not yet,” he says, moving closer to me.
I pull back, not because I’m scared, but because I don’t want my baby anywhere near him.
He doesn’t seem to notice or care. He kneels down in front of me, too close, but I can’t get any further away. “Empusa, you don’t understand. You’re important to me.”
I feel sick. If he moves closer, maybe I could reach him with my claws, but it wouldn’t do more than piss him off, and then my baby and I would be dead. “You want to get to know me as your next victim?”
“No,” his gaze is cold as it rakes over me. “As my only child.”
Only child. The words roll through my mind. “No, you’re not… you can’t be.”
He actually looks surprised. “Your mother never told you? Of course, she didn’t. She always fought me when Hades gave her to me. She never understood how lucky she was that I wanted her more than I wanted her dead.”
His words make me sick. I want to hurl. Actually, I think I just might.
“But even if she didn’t tell you, you had to notice. We are creatures of fire, you and I. Creatures of blood and violence. From the fire in your hair and your eyes, to the lava beneath your skin, you are my flesh and blood.”
I lift my head, rage flowing through me. This is the demon that hurt my mother. This is the demon who forced himself on an imprisoned woman. We might both have fire in our blood, but we were not the same. “When I get free, I’m going to kill you.”
Anger flashes in his eyes. “Be reasonable.”
“Look at me. I am being reasonable. If I kill you quickly, that’s the only kindness you’ll receive from me.”
“You mean that,” he says, stapling his fingers. “Then, I guess it’s onto Plan B.”
“What the hell is Plan B?” I ask, tugging at my chains, and realize there’s no chance that I’ll snap the thick metal and then be able to snap his neck before he stops me.
He nods toward my belly. “I start over with my grandchild. I raise him the way that I wish I would’ve been able to raise you, and then I have a true partner.”
There’s nothing in this world he could have said that would’ve been worse.
“You’re not coming anywhere near my baby.”
He laughs. “Don’t worry, I know the baby isn’t done cooking. I won’t be forcing him out of you yet. But I do intend to keep you here until he’s born and kill you slowly when I’m sure he’s survivable.”
I feel sick. “I’m never going to let that happen.”
He leans closer, so close I can feel his hot breath on my face. “I don’t think you have a choice.”
To my shock, he leans closer to me, reaching for my belly. I react without thinking, my nails elongating, and I slash him across the throat. His eyes widen, and he falls backwards, away from me. He scrambles on his back, then tumbles into the fire. He grasps at his throat as black blood oozes out of it, and then he lifts his hands. The fire burns higher, consuming him in flames, and I fight against my chains, willing them to break free from the cave wall. I yank my hands over and over with all my might, but the chain remains anchored into the wall.
And then, the fire dies down, and Ceuthonymus lets his hands drop. His throat… it’s no longer injured.
“That was a mistake, Empusa,” he says, and his voice takes on a harsh note that makes my blood run cold. “I was going to let my grandbaby cook, but maybe he’s already ready to be done with your husk of a body.”
“No.” There’s desperation in the word. “If you take my baby now, he’ll die.”
“Or, he’ll live,” he says, shrugging. “Either way, I win.”
He climbs out of the fire and comes toward me. I back up until I hit the wall, and then I keep yanking on the chains, my pulse racing. Fear making every hair on my body stand on end.
When he gets close enough, I attack. But this time, he expects it. My claws slash out, and he knocks my hand away, unhurt, and punches me in the face. I smash back against the wall, and feel blood both on the back of my head and coming from my cheek.
Still, I slash out at him again, and another fist pounds into my face.
The world goes back, and he’s got both my wrists in one hand. His skin begins to heat, and then I’m screaming and screaming as he burns the flesh on my wrists. His free hand reaches for my stomach, just above my belly, and I feel his claws sink into my skin, and my screaming takes on a more desperate note. He draws those claws across the area between my stomach and breasts, and I feel one moment when his grip on my wrists loosens.
And, I attack again.
I kick him as hard as I can in the groin and wrench my hands free. I punch him hard in the nose and lava springs from one of his hands, I roll, watching the lava melt part of my chain, and then I yank on it, excitement roaring through me when the chair breaks at the melted spot.
Turning, I start running for the exit, when he tackles me. I go crashing to the ground, just barely managing to put my hand out to keep my baby from being squished, and then he’s yanking me around to face him. He climbs on top of me, blood running from his claws, and I look down to see blood soaking through my entire white shirt.
He levels his claws just above my child and says, “Now, it’s over.”
“No!” I scream.
He grins and runs his claws lightly along my belly, leaving marks across my skin. My heart is in my throat. My baby is there, not much further from where he’s hurting me and Ceuthonymus will reach her. The demon laughs, then licks the blood from his claws.
“You’re losing a lot of blood, daughter. And being pregnant, you’re weakened. This might just be enough to do you in.”
“Get off of me,” I plead. And I hate myself for saying. “I’m your child. This is your grandchild. Maybe we need to start over.”
His claws go to my chest and then he digs them in as I scream and scream. His laughter fills the air and he digs deeper and deeper until I swear his claws have reached my heart. I feel my pulse slow. Colors explode in front of my eyes, and I know he’s going to tear my heart out of my chest.
And then Narath crashes into Ceuthonymus, rolling him off of me.
My head lolls to the side.
Narath is beating him and beating him, in his stone form, but then Ceuthonymus’s body glows golden, and Narath screams and leaps off of him. Suddenly, Conley and Lucas are at my side, and Rokad is racing toward Narath. They hold their swords out, pointing them at Ceuthonymus, but Ceuthonymus just laughs. The bastard points his hand at my men, and lava flows from his fingertips.
I think, this is it, the moment he kills them, but then Conley throws himself between the lava and Rokad and Conley. And it’s like we all hold a breath as the lava flows over the phoenix. Ceuthonymus stops the flow, grinning, but the lava falls away… and Conley is left standing.
Ceuthonymus’s eyes widen, and Conley leaps onto him with his sword, stabbing the demon in the chest. Blood flows, but the demon doesn’t seem to notice or care. He punches Conley in the face, sending him flying back against the wall.
I’m scared. I try to crawl toward them to help, but the instant I move, my vision waivers, and I look down to see myself surrounded by blood.
Suddenly, I’m in Lucas’s arms. “We need to get you out of here.”
“No,” I protest.
What if they need us? What if they fail?
Lucas hesitates, and Narath and Rokad attack. Their swords stab into the demon, but they have to constantly duck and move as he flings lava at them. Conley is back on his feet in an instant, trying to weave around to get behind Ceuth
onymus, but the demon is smart. He grins, constantly moving, constantly avoiding their trap.
“They need you,” I whisper to Lucas. “Please don’t let him kill one of the men I love.”
Lucas holds me a little tighter, then sets me down near the wall of the cave entrance. He glances back at me, seemingly trying to keep me in his sight, and him between Ceuthonymus and I, but I wish he wouldn’t. If Ceuthonymus walks away from this tonight, my child and I will never be safe.
It’s tonight, or we’ll never be safe.
Lava hits Narath’s shoulder, and he roars, rolling. His stone flesh has blackened, but I can’t tell if there’s any permanent damage. Ceuthonymus turns his lava onto Lucas, but Lucas throws his sword, and the tip goes straight through the demon’s forehead.
There’s half a second where we all seem to expect the demon to fall over. But he doesn’t, he straightens his head and grins, yanking the sword out of his head. He tosses the sword onto the ground, then dives at Lucas and toward me.
But it’s the chance Conley needed. He stabs his sword into Ceuthonymus’s back, and Lucas screams beneath the demon as his heated flesh traps him between the creature and the earth. My father looks at me, a smile in his eyes, and I crawl forward and slash the bastard’s throat.
His eyes widen. He tries to speak, but no words come out.
Narath grabs him, rolling him off of Lucas, and then he plunges his sword into the demon over and over again. Rokad moves around Narath with a calm anger I never imagined, and severs the demon’s head from his body. The head rolls across the floor, and Lucas brings his sword down, cutting the head in half.
Rokad walks slowly toward the body and tosses the black dust on it with a cold look on his face. Conley grabs a stick from the fire, and the body explodes into flames. For one terrible moment I think the fire might bring the creature back, but he disappears, leaving behind nothing but ash.
I sag. It’s over.
All eyes turn toward me.
I don’t expect the way my body starts to shake and my teeth chatter. I look down at myself and see blood everywhere.
“The baby,” I whisper.
And my men are racing toward me.
“You’re okay,” Narath whispers, but he sounds terrified.
“We need to reach Leo,” I tell them, the words chattering together. “She can help me. I have her number in my phone.”
Rokad pulls me into his arms. “Okay, we will.”
The world tilts around me, and I feel like I’m falling. Falling down a drain I can’t escape.
“I think… I think I’m dying.”
Chapter 19
Empusa
* * *
I’m covered in blood, but it’s not hot any longer. It feels cold against my skin as we fly and fly. I keep trying to stay awake. It seems like a bad idea to go to sleep, but staying conscious seems harder than I ever imagined. My hands wrap around my belly, and Rokad holds me like he never wants to let me go.
“Almost there?” I whisper, and the words sound strange.
“Almost,” he says, but there’s panic in his voice.
The world goes dark. I swear the moon flies across the sky. Always in a different place, every time my eyes open. And then the sun is rising, and it feels like I’m leaving this world. Entering into a golden place that’s warm and comforting.
“Come on, stay with me,” I hear Rokad pleading.
“How is she?” I hear Conley somewhere nearby.
After a minute that feels like a lifetime, Rokad says, “We need to go faster.”
Faster? To where? Oh, right. I’m bleeding. They called Leo. We must be going there. I hope the vet knows how to help a monster or else we’re screwed.
Darkness swallows me again, and I see flashes of light and darkness. Screams. Shouts. I swear there’s fire, and then I’m back in the Underworld, my mother hovering over me. She looks scared. In the Underworld, she rarely looked scared.
I struggle. Something is wrong.
Pain sears through me, and now it’s me screaming. Hands are pinning me down, but I fight them. I slash with my claws. But no matter what I do, I can’t get away from the hands or the pain.
And then it’s dark again. For a long time. For so long I’m sure I’m dead.
When I become aware of my surroundings, I struggle into a sitting position feeling like years have passed. My body feels stiff. My throat feels dry, and it’s almost as if I don’t remember what it’s like to be back in my own head.
Lucas is instantly there, his light brown eyes locked onto me. “It’s okay, you’re safe.”
Tears prick my eyes and I reach for my stomach. I’m wearing a bra, and my stomach is wrapped with bandages. “The baby!”
“The baby is okay,” Lucas promises.
I touch my stomach lightly. This feels real. “Am I really okay?”
“Yes,” he says, and tears fill his eyes.
“I’m not dead?”
“No,” he puts his hand softly on mine. “We got you help in time.”
His hand feels real. The uncomfortableness of my body feels real. The room I’m in, decorated like a cozy cabin? My memories? They feel more like a dream.
The door to the bedroom opens, and Rokad, Conley, and Narath are there, crowding in. All of them look like hell. They have day or two old beards, bags under their eyes, and wrinkled clothes. They’re also looking at me like I’m a miracle.
But my gaze goes back to my belly. “How do you know the baby’s okay? Are you sure?” I don’t even realize I’m crying until I see the teardrops on my chest.
“We’re sure. She’s perfect. You’re about five months along, and her growth is just what it should be for a supernatural baby. She’s moving and kicking, and--” Rokad cuts off, emotion lacing each of his words.
“And you’re okay too,” Narath says, his dark gaze meeting mine. “You need to rest and take it easy, but she reassured us that you’re okay.”
I brush tears away and then rest one hand on my belly. Sure enough, I feel the flutter of our child against my hand. And then, their other words filter to me. “She?”
Lucas smiles. “We’re having a daughter.”
I cry, big fat tears that roll down my cheeks, and my guys are suddenly sitting on all sides of me around the bed. Conley brushes my tears away. Lucas holds my hand, and Rokad and Narath warm me with the heat of their bodies, even though there’s space between us.
“We’re having a girl, and she’s safe and healthy,” I say.
My men nod, and Narath adds on, “and you’re safe and healthy too.”
“And that bastard Ceuthonymus is dead,” Rokad mutters.
I relax back against the pillows. “I owe all of you so much. I owe Leo so much. There was a time I was sure I was dying, and somehow she managed to pull me back from that dark place.”
They frown, but Conley is the one to speak. “We actually called Leo, but she said this was more than she could handle. She suggested we go to the first witch instead, Hecate, and that if anyone could save you, it would be her.”
“Hecate?”
“Yes,” Lucas says.
“Hecate?” I repeat, and I feel my eyes filling with tears again.
Everyone nods.
“You brought me to my mom? But, you can’t have. This isn’t the Underworld.”
Is it?
“She got free,” Lucas says, squeezing my hand. “And she made a home for herself and her family on earth. She tried to find you but couldn’t.”
“No,” I’m shaking my head, tears rolling down my face. “If my mom is here, then I must be dead. There’s no way she escaped. There’s just no way.”
There’s a soft knocking at the door. I freeze and slowly look up.
And there’s my mom, standing in the doorway. Her skin is pale blue and pale blue hair flows down her shoulders. She wears a white summer dress with flowers on it, and her eyes are tired but hopeful.
“Mom? Is it really you?” I ask, my words sound breath
less.
She breaks down, sobbing, and then runs to me. My guys move back, and her arms surround me. “I’ve missed you so much, and I’ve never stopped searching for you. I wanted you to be free and happy, but I also just wanted… you.”
I’m crying too, and we hold each other for a long time, saying everything, and nothing, all at once. When she finally draws back from me, she dries her eyes, and helps me dry my own.
My guys are no longer in the room. I don’t know where they are, but they’ve given me space that I’m grateful for. I feel like as much as they wanted to stay, they’re starting to figure out that they don’t always need to hover over me, even now.
“So, your boys seem nice,” she says. “Are they?”
I nod. “They are, but we’re still getting to know each other.”
She glances at my belly and laughs. “It seems quite well.”
I feel my cheeks heat. “It all happened pretty fast.”
“I had a similar experience,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
She shifts on the bed, frowns, and then tells me, “I’ll show you.” She goes to the door and calls for someone. A minute later, a huge man comes in holding the hand of a small child. A little boy with dark hair streaked with blue. His eyes are almost the same gold shade as my mother’s and my own, but they nod more toward hazel.
Even so, I instantly know who he is. “Do I have a brother?”
My mom nods, seeming nervous as the small child toddles over toward her, with the big man hovering just behind him, and then my mom picks him up and puts him in her lap. The kid can’t be… more than a year old.
“This is Ajax, and this big man is one of his fathers, Orion.”
The huge man gives me a smile. “So, you’re the great Empusa. Your mother has spoken of nothing but you since the moment I met her.”
I frown. “You remind me of someone.”
He looks confused for a minute, then surprised, “Oh, yes, you likely knew my brother Andros from the Underworld.”
Empusa's Hunger: A Reverse Harem Romance (Monsters and Gargoyles Book 8) Page 11
