by Larissa Ione
The man on the floor had probably been a good, loving father, but in his mindless rage, he’d slaughtered everyone he’d loved.
Thanatos had been fooling himself about his ability to control himself, hadn’t he? Yes, with Regan his needs morphed from kill to sex, but what if his son didn’t come equipped with some sort of Thanatos-proof safety feature?
And the very fact that Regan could bring him down … he liked it, needed it, but Christ, what she’d said back at his place was sitting on him like a log. Was he using her ability to calm him the way The Aegis had used her gifts? He’d fallen for her, had fallen for her generosity, her laugh, the way she could spar with him and hold her own, both physically and verbally. But if he was using her, he was no better than The Aegis.
Would he be using his son the same way? Putting an innocent baby in danger because Thanatos needed what a child could provide… love, someone to keep him company, someone to absolve Than of his sins?
“What’s the matter, brother? Did I say something to upset you?”
Thanatos turned away from the thing that used to be his brother, needing a second to get his head back in the game. He might be a danger to his own son, but Pestilence was a much greater one, and Than was pretty damned tired of being two moves behind the evil bastard.
Get him to talk.
“You don’t want me to kill my son,” Than said, putting a strangled note in his voice. “You want to do it yourself. Probably in some elaborate ritual.”
“I do love a good ritual.”
Than looked up, doing his best sorrowful brother imitation. “You love an audience. Even as Reseph you wanted people to pay attention to you. How many shrines have you built to yourself, Pest? How many idiots have you fooled into thinking that if they just attend the great sacrifice of Death’s son, they’ll gain power and wealth?”
Pestilence drew his finger through a splatter of blood on the granite counter separating the kitchen from the living room. “Only a select few will be in the chamber for your son’s slaying, but I’ll present his still-beating heart to tens of thousands.”
“Drinks and food for all, huh?”
“I’ll have a glass of your favorite champagne waiting for you to join us.”
“Even after my Seal is broken, you know I’ll want to see my son.”
“I’m counting on it.” Pestilence licked the blood off his finger. “You’ll be desperate to rid yourself of your past and of anything personal that made you humiliatingly soft. And when our forces of evil see you laughing over your son’s body as it grows cold on my altar…” He closed his eyes as if imagining the ecstasy of it all.
Than tightened his grip on his scythe and tensed to strike. But as he started the swing, a gate opened a few feet away, and Pestilence wheeled out of striking distance of both Thanatos and the gate. Ares emerged, followed by Limos, both armored, both spoiling for a fight.
“So we’re all here,” Pestilence snarled. “Ares, you must have found the gifts I left for you in Greece.”
“You twisted fuck.” Ares strode forward, the veins in his temples throbbing. “You sick goddamned son of a bitch.”
Limos shot a glance at Than. “Pestilence slaughtered all of Cara’s hellhounds on the island except the new pup, because he was with her, and Hal, because he was with Ares. Then he came to my place and killed the hounds there.” Her voice deepened, warping with rage. “And he hung every one of my staff from the trees.”
“Like Christmas ornaments,” Pestilence said. “You know how I love Christmas.” He turned back to Thanatos, who swore the bastard’s eyes went even blacker. “Did you all enjoy that Harrowgate trick?”
“How did you do that?” Ares demanded.
“I have grown stronger than you can even imagine.” The black in Pestilence’s eyes swirled now, mixing with crimson and flecks of white. “I can do almost anything with a spell and a blood sacrifice. To compromise your Harrowgates temporarily, all I needed was someone important to you all. Ares, did you notice any of your Ramreels missing? No? You might take roll call. Limos, remember that orphan werewolf boy you befriended in Argentina? The one you took shoes and books to last month?” He turned to Than. “And you… I know how much Orelia meant to you.”
Damn him. He’d seen her less than twelve hours ago with Viktor. She’d been fine, if not her usual creepy, eyeless self. She wasn’t a friend, for sure, but he’d known her for thousands of years, and he’d miss her. No doubt she didn’t deserve whatever hell Pestilence had put her through.
Not to mention that without her, he was going to be an emotional wreck. The tattoos that helped keep him sane would be a thing of the past.
In a high-speed surge, Than swung his scythe, but Pestilence leaped high, avoiding the wicked blade and simultaneously striking out with his foot to knock Limos to the ground.
Ares heaved his sword in a massive arc, but once again, Pestilence evaded the strike. Suddenly, his bow was in his clawed hand and he’d armored up, and before Than could so much as blink, an arrow punched through Limos’s armor and pinned her to the wall. Another arrow pierced Ares’s neck with such force that he tumbled across the floor.
Son of a—Pestilence’s strength and abilities had morphed to levels Than would have thought impossible.
Thanatos dove at him and hooked his knee with the scythe, but Pestilence remained on his feet. Something crunched down on the back of Than’s neck, and pain became an electric shock that knifed down his spine and up into his skull. Every bone seemed to shatter in a burst of white-hot agony.
He clenched his teeth against the pain, fighting to keep from going blind from the bright stars circling his vision. Warm, sticky blood bathed him, and around him, he heard grunts, shouts, curses. And then Pestilence’s voice was in his ear.
“Your female is going to watch your son die,” he whispered. “And then I’m going to fuck her and give her to my minions to use. When I’m tired of her screams, then I’ll kill her.”
Thanatos roared and struck out, but Pestilence was gone. Groggily, Than struggled to sit up, wondering why nothing was working right. Through the blood in his eyes, he saw Ares sprawled on the floor, his entire chest bashed in, his armor in pieces. How? How had Pestilence done that?
Thanatos jerked his head, which felt like it was hanging from his shoulders by a mere string, and looked to Limos, who was now pinned to the wall with a dozen arrows. She watched him, dazed, and reached weakly for one of the shafts. But her hand, slick with blood, slipped off.
A wave of nausea crashed over Thanatos as consciousness turned black.
Thirty-two
Thanatos regained consciousness with Limos crouched in front of him, her violet eyes bright with concern.
“Hey.” She smoothed a wet washcloth over his face, which seemed odd, given that she hadn’t cleaned herself up. “Your head is back on.”
“Back…on?” he croaked.
She winced. “Pestilence tried to decapitate you. And he hacked Ares’s chest wide open and scrambled his organs.”
“How…how is he?”
She shifted so he could look over at their brother, who was sitting up, his back against the blood-soaked couch. He was wearing only cargo pants, and although his chest had mostly healed, the flesh was still knitting together.
“How long…”
“An hour, maybe.”
He frowned. “Our injuries were too severe to heal in only an hour.”
“I know.”
“Someone healed us.”
“Clearly.” Standing, she tossed the cloth aside. “But who?”
Thanatos shoved to his feet, wobbled a little, and threw out his hand to steady himself on Limos’s shoulder. Every muscle, tendon, and joint protested as he went down on his haunches in front of his brother. This was going to suck.
“I owe you an apology,” he blurted before he changed his mind.
Ares’s mouth quirked in a pained smile. “I’m sure you do. But what, specifically, are you wanting to apologize fo
r?”
The smartass. Thanatos swallowed his pride and ’fessed up. “For being so damned pigheaded about trying to repair Reseph’s Seal back when he was trying to kill Cara. I protected him. I defended him. I swore that the only way we’d end Pestilence was if Reseph could come back.” He braced himself for the hardcore part of this apology. He hung his head. “I’m sorry Ares. I’m sorry I didn’t understand why you were so willing to destroy Pestilence. I get it now.” He lifted his gaze, drilling it into Ares so his brother would know how damned serious he was. “He’s fucked with our families and friends, and he’s threatened my woman and my son, and I swear, I will finish him.”
They all exchanged glances, no one uttering a word. But the understanding between them was there. They would give no quarter to Pestilence. There would be no more talk of repairing his Seal. Pestilence would die, because the truth was suddenly very clear.
Reseph was dead.
Thanatos strode into his keep and made a beeline toward the voices in the library, but what he heard stopped him in his tracks as if he’d been roped and hogtied.
“I’m afraid, Decker.” Regan’s voice held a husky note, the way it got when she was upset.
Or aroused.
Logically, Than knew she wasn’t turned on. But still, sharing that intimate tone with Decker didn’t sit well. At all. And where was Kynan? If he were here, Regan and Decker wouldn’t be alone.
“Well, you’re about to have a baby that could prevent the Apocalypse,” the fucker said. “I’m thinking you have reason to be afraid.”
I’m thinking you have reason to be afraid, Than mimicked in his head. Yeah, real mature. So what.
“It’s not that. I mean, yeah, it’s that, but … I didn’t prepare for this baby. I tried not to get attached, but I did, and now I love it. If anything happens to him … so much can go wrong with the birth and with his life, and—”
“Hey,” Decker broke in. “I know this won’t help, but try not to worry. I’m pretty sure you’re going through the same feelings every parent has. You’ll be fine. And you know I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
Thanatos barely held back a growl. He didn’t hold back his fangs from slicing down in preparation for ripping out the human’s throat.
“I know. I’ve always known.” She paused for so long all Than could hear was the thud of his racing pulse in his ears. “I’m sorry if I was ever a bitch to you. I was a bitch to everyone.”
“Sweetheart, no one ever gave you a reason to be nice.” Decker’s voice was low, intimate, and Thanatos saw red. Blood red. Decker’s blood. “The Aegis treated you like an asset, not a person. I’m sorry for that.”
“You and Kynan never did,” she said.
“I can’t speak for Ky, but my mama raised me right.” Decker’s teasing tone was akin to cocking a loaded pistol. Than struggled to keep his trigger from tripping, because killing the human in front of Regan would probably piss her off.
“Thanks, Deck. You’re a good friend.”
Thanatos heard the rustle of clothing, and now seemed like a good time to break up this little party. He strode into the library just as Regan and Decker pulled out of an embrace.
When she saw him, she gasped. “My God, Than, what happened to you?”
Right. He’d forgotten that he was covered in blood and looked like he’d spent a week in a slaughterhouse. “I had a minor confrontation with Pestilence.”
“Minor?” Decker drawled. “You look like you tangled with a gator and lost. You got your supernatural ass kicked, didn’t you.”
The souls in Than’s armor writhed, and with a smirk, he sought out the nastiest one, the spirit of a Cruentus demon he’d killed before he kidnapped Regan. The shadowy thing shot out of his armor and went straight for Decker, but with nothing more than a mental “no,” Than stopped it a foot away from the guy. The demon’s soul screeched in frustration, teeth gnashing.
“Ah, Decker?” Regan said. “Maybe you should go.”
Swallowing hard, Decker didn’t take his eyes off the spirit. “I’ll be outside.” He scooted around the soul and toward the doorway. “Been trying to teach one of those hellhounds how to roll over. The stupid mutt only wants to eat.”
“Be careful,” Thanatos warned—with relish. “He might eat you.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Thanatos smiled and called the soul back. “Yes.”
Decker muttered something about underworld trash as he strode out of the library. As soon as the bastard was gone, Than allowed himself to relax—but not much. He was about to make the hardest decision of his life, and he couldn’t afford to go soft.
“That was a little uncalled for, don’t you think?” Regan scolded.
“No. And where’s Kynan?”
“He’s patrolling outside.” She moved toward him, looking beautiful and perfect and like she belonged here. “Are you okay?”
Steeling himself for what needed to be done, he stepped out of her reach. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t bullshit me. Something’s wrong.”
Very wrong. He wanted to grab her, hold her tight, and make love to her until everything was right. But he’d be using her again, to make himself feel better, and nothing would ever be right again.
“You know, I wondered for so long why my siblings and I were assigned our specific roles. But it all makes sense now. Ares was, and is, a warrior who will never quit fighting. War fits him. Limos is Famine because she’s always been hungry. First for recognition and power, and then for love and acceptance. Reseph … we used to joke that he was Pestilence because he was such a pest, but he’s proven to be a plague on mankind, hasn’t he?”
“And you?”
He paused, unsure how to go down this bumpy highway to hell.
“Is it because you want… you want to die?”
He dropped his gaze, and she stiffened at whatever it was she saw in his eyes. “In a way, I guess I want to see an end to this.”
Her vile curse astonished him, and then she was in his face, taking his hand and settling it on her belly. “Death isn’t all you are, Thanatos. You made this baby. You made life.”
God, his chest ached. “But there’s such a fine line, isn’t there?”
Regan clung to his hand. “Whatever is wrong, let me help you. If you need me to hold you close so the death vibes are muted, or if you need sex … whatever it is, I’ll help.”
Help? Yeah, she would. And he’d be using her. He’d be a bastard user who put his family in danger for his own selfish reasons. It was so tempting to drop to his knees and kiss the swell where his son grew, to feel the life inside and worship the woman who had given it. Instead, he tugged his hand away, took another step back, and made his words, his voice, harsh. Pitiless.
“I’m death, Regan. I can’t allow my son to grow up around it. Around me. And if we fail to kill Pestilence the moment our son is born, he’ll always be in danger. He needs to be hidden from Pestilence. You were right. You won, Aegi. Give the baby to someone who can keep him safe as planned.”
“What?” She looked shell-shocked. “Thanatos, this isn’t about winning. Is that what you think? I mean, it was about doing what The Aegis thought was best, but—”
“And you were right.” Fuck. He wanted to hold her, protect her, but he kept his distance. Barely. “I wasn’t meant for anything but killing. When the baby is born, take him to parents who will raise him properly. And never come back here, Regan. Never.” And then he struck the killing blow. Because he was so fucking good at that. “I don’t want you anymore.”
Thirty-three
I don’t want you anymore.
Regan’s chest caved in. Thanatos’s words stung like a million bee stings, cut like a million knives. He was serious about wanting her and the baby to leave, although how that could be, she didn’t know. After all his protests, after all he swore he wanted to be a father, now, when she needed him most, why would he decide to give up the rights to his son?
>
“Thanatos, don’t do this.”
The scorpion on his throat stabbed at his jugular with its stinger. “Why not? It’s what you wanted.”
“But it’s not anymore.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What is it you want now? To leave the baby with me and then run off to join your Aegis buddies? To hook up with Decker, unburdened by the inconvenience of an unwanted child?”
Her mouth fell open. Closed. Opened again. “Is that really what you think? Have I been that … awful?”
A mix of emotions cracked the hard mask of indifference on his face, and the scorpion’s tail became a rapid-fire jab into his throat.
“No,” he said roughly.
Okay, so he was holding anger up like a shield against emotions that would hurt. She got that. She so got that. Hell, she’d just apologized to Decker for spending years being an angry bitch to her colleagues. The more shielding she’d had in place, the less she thought they could hurt her.
Crippling helplessness had her searching her brain for words that could ease his fears and change his mind, but if she’d learned anything about the Horseman in her time here, it was that he was stubborn as the mules on her foster grandparents’ farm.
Ignoring the twinges in her lower back, she took his hand, frantic to set things straight. “You don’t need the anger. You need to listen to me. I don’t want to leave the baby with you and run off with Decker.” How ridiculous was that, anyway? “I want to stay here with you. I want to raise this child together.”
“Regan,” he croaked, “I can’t.”
“Please.” She flicked her finger over his armor scar and then put her palm over his heart, taking comfort in the strong beat. “I’ve lost the only family I’ve ever known. I’ve lost my job. My friends. I can’t lose you, too.”
“It’s impossible, Regan. As long as Pestilence lives, you and our son will be in danger.”
“Bullshit,” she snapped, and his head whipped back like she’d slapped him. “With the Apocalypse coming, there’s no safe place anymore. So what’s the real story?”
