“That blade from when Nain got attacked a few years back,” he said, and I nodded.
“Same metal, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’ve never seen anything like it?”
He shook his head. “There’s not a metal in this world that I haven’t worked with.”
“Wait. In this world?” Brennan asked.
We all went quiet, looking at the pile of beetle-sized machines as if they would jump up and attack us at any moment. And really, who knew? They might.
“Are you suggesting what I think you are, Hephaestus?” E asked.
Heph gave a slow nod. “I think Nyx’s warning about the barrier between realms falling is coming to pass. That being you described is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen or heard of, and I’ve seen some weird shit in my lifetime.”
“Same,” E agreed.
“If that thing existed in our world, we’d know about it. Something like that doesn’t hide,” Heph continued. “That blade, these robots… none of it is from this realm.”
“You’re absolutely sure, though?” I asked, stomach sinking. “Is it possible there’s just shit about this world you don’t know?”
Heph gave me a gentle smile. “You’ve seen more than any single being. You’ve seen into the minds of gods, not to mention countless vampires, shifters, and humans besides. Do you really think that if that thing existed here, you wouldn’t have gotten a hint of that before now?”
I blew out a breath. “Well, whatever the fuck it is, the AntiTheist guy claims it’s coming here, after me. I’m guessing it won’t be coming alone. I’m not letting this thing bring its grudge match with me here. Enough people have died because immortals are dickheads.”
“You’re saying you want to find this being first,” E said. “You want to take the fight to him.”
I nodded.
She gave a nod. “We’ll need to find where the barrier is weakening first. Obviously, our opponent already knows, which is how the blade and these robots made their way here.”
“And they might have something to do with whatever happened to Nyx,” I said slowly. “It’s too much of a coincidence, otherwise.”
E nodded, and we all went silent again, each of us thinking it through.
“It’s a safe bet they’re guarding their side of the barrier,” Brennan said. “It’s not like we’re just going to be able to walk in there once we find how he’s getting this stuff through.”
“Good thing I have an army of gods in my service, huh?” I asked. “E—”
“I’ll do what I do best,” she said, standing up.
“What you do best is just generally kicking ass,” I told her, and she gave me a smile, a flash of small white teeth, frightening unless you love her as much as I do.
“I’m called ‘Death’s Hunter’ for a reason, devil girl,” E said. “I’ll find the breach. I searched after Nyx predicted it, but I was unable to find anything. Perhaps it has grown larger or stronger since then.”
I nodded. Brennan stood up and E waved him back.
“I do not need your help, cub. She does,” she said. Then she smiled gently at him. “Not that I do not want you with me,” she said in a tone I never heard from her except when she was talking to Brennan. He nodded and got up, walking across the loft with her. I marveled, again, at how good E was for him. She understood him in ways I never had. She understood his need to protect, to hold on, and she didn’t get annoyed by it the way I always had.
E kissed Brennan, and then in the next instant, she was gone. Brennan came back to the kitchen and sat down with a loud sigh. “Where do you need me?” he asked.
“Assuming we find the breach before they attack, I don’t want to leave this realm unprotected when we all go through,” I said, and he nodded. “I need you to start preparing the vampires and shifters to be the first line of defense in our absence.”
“And if they refuse?”
I smiled. “Tell them to come and talk to me about it.”
Brennan gave a little snort of a laugh and shook his head. “What about the kids? If we’re all going…”
“I’ll talk to Rayna.”
Nain grimaced. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Vampires?”
I raised my eyebrow. “Shanti is a vampire. Zero is a vampire. Rayna and Ronan are both fucking terrifying. In lieu of one of the gods, there’s no one I trust more to keep them all safe.”
“And when your son decides to play hide the pepperoni with a vampire chick?” Nain asked.
“Uh… what?” Brennan asked.
“It’s nothing. Hades is having orgies, apparently,” I said with a sigh.
“I will never complain about Sean sitting alone in his room reading again,” Brennan said, shaking his head.
“With shifters,” I added, and he raised his eyebrows.
“Well… he’s probably having a good time, at the very least,” Brennan said, and Nain laughed.
“This isn’t funny. He can’t just be nailing anything that moves. Plus, he’s fourteen years old, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered.
“Yeah, but fourteen and immortal,” Brennan pointed out. “He’s been killing since he was eleven. He reads minds and emotions, He’s learning to punish souls, right?”
I nodded.
“Okay. So I think it’s safe to say he’s not a typical fourteen-year-old,” Brennan said.
“You’re too easy on him. Nain, too,” I said, taking a gulp of my coffee. It was cold, and I grimaced.
“I was only a couple years older than that when I messed around for the first time,” Brennan said. “And I’d done some fighting, but not like what Hades has done.” He furrowed his brow. “Wait. He’s not messing around with girls his own age, is he?”
I shook my head. “Older.”
“Well, he looks and acts older,” Brennan said with a shrug.
“He’s going to be the goddamn god of death some day. He can’t act like some kind of lecherous playboy,” I said.
“Like your dad was a saint or something?” Nain asked with a laugh, and I glared at him.
“Obviously not. Which is why I want Hades to be better.”
“Easy with the expectations there, queenie,” Hephaestus said. He’d been quiet through our entire conversation, eyes on the little robots he was holding in his massive palm. “I’ve dealt with people’s expectations based on the fact that I’m Zeus’s son. I’m me, and Hades will be Hades, no matter whose blood runs through our veins. And speaking as the only one in this room who’s been a god for his entire existence… there’s nothing abnormal with the way Hades is acting. We mature faster than mortals do. He spoke like an adult when he was barely out of diapers. Battled like a fully-grown warrior by the time he was ten. You know this, but you’re still holding onto humanity’s example of what childhood is.”
“Sean’s not out whoring around,” I argued. Then I paused. “Is Michael?”
Hephaestus shook his head. “Michael spends most of his time in his workshop.”
“And Sean is too shy to even think about it. And Michael and Sean are both demigods. Not like Hades,” Brennan added, and Hephaestus nodded.
“Nain isn’t a god,” I said.
“Your blood is mingled with his because of the way you bonded. By the time you two created Hades, Nain was basically a god.”
“Finally, someone other than me admits it. I’m a god,” Nain deadpanned, and I rolled my eyes.
“Back to the topic at hand — do either of you have any objection to leaving the kids with the vampires?”
Brennan and Heph both shook their heads. “Artemis won’t go through with us. She’ll insist on staying, and I’m all for that idea,” Brennan said.
“Gaia won’t go, either. I don’t even know if she could leave this realm if she wanted to,” I said. Gaia was the Earth goddess, giver of life, protector of nature, all that. She’d created the Netherwoods trying to repair the pollution humans had caused in Detroit. The Nether energy present
in the city (because of me) melded with her Earth magic and created the Netherwoods. She was good and pissed about that for a long time.
“It’s probably for the best if a few immortals stay here,” I said. “Artemis, Gaia, Meg, and Poseidon can stay. Between the four of them and those they trust, it should be enough to protect the kids and anyone else if someone decides to act like an idiot.”
Nain, Brennan, and Heph nodded. “The rest of us are going through with you,” Heph said.
I nodded. “Assuming we can find out how to get through in the first place. If not, we’ll have to be ready to defend.”
Chapter Six
Three days after Brennan and I had come up against the AntiTheists and that thing had spoken to me, we still had no clue how the strange tech we’d confiscated at the scene had gotten through. E was still searching, along with a few of her Guardians in between their usual duties, but so far, we felt as far away from finding it as ever. I’d even sent my imps out along with my two Netherhounds. Still nothing.
I stood on the roof of the loft, waiting for Nain to finish his meeting with a few of the local shifters so we could go home. Nain still worked out of the loft, since everyone already knew to find us there, but we’d moved into our house, the one Nain had rebuilt, just like my old one.
God, that had felt like lifetimes ago now. We owned the block around our house, and the area was constantly monitored by my imps and Netherhounds, when they weren’t out searching for breaches into our realm, that is. Currently, we were relying on shifters and a few of Rayna’s vampires.
It was nice living away from the craziness of where we worked. We didn’t get to spend nearly enough time there, and now that our kids were growing up, they weren’t there as often, either. Left to her own choices, Zoe stayed in the Netherwoods with my mom and aunt, and Hades did… whatever Hades does.
Speak of the devil. I felt his presence behind me, and I quickly put my glasses back on and turned to look at my son. I always wear the glasses Heph made for me when I’m around my kids. I don’t want to see the things they want hidden. I want them to have a healthy sense of boundaries, and that starts with my. My mother considers the whole concept of boundaries to be “modern garbage,” but considering that she abandoned me for the first twenty-four years of my life, I take her parenting advice with a grain of salt.
I studied Hades. Hephaestus hadn’t been wrong. No matter how much I told myself that he was still a baby, immortals age differently. He looked like he was about twenty, and he towered over me the same way Nain did. He had Nain’s deep blue eyes, Nain’s build, but he had the long, narrow nose I’d inherited from my father, as well as the pale complexion those of us of the Nether seem to share.
“Mother,” he said in a voice that sounded almost exactly like my dad’s. It killed my mom a little every time she heard it, I knew. Hades bent and kissed my cheek, and I glared up at him.
He gave me a crooked grin. “I’m in deep shit again, I guess.”
“Your father caught you in an orgy.”
He rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t an orgy yet. He has the worst timing ever.”
“Hades.”
“Mother.”
“I expect better than that.”
He gave me another smile. “Uncle Heph warned me you were pissed.”
“Your uncle Heph is too easy on you.”
“He told me to remind you what he said, that we age differently.”
I glanced away. “I just want you to keep in mind that there are already people who hate you because you’re mine. Because you’re Hades’ blood. Don’t give them more reasons to.”
“I’m a god. What are they gonna do?” Hades asked, and I shook my head. “Besides, believe me, none of them were complaining, until we were interrupted.”
He paused, squinting his eyes as if thinking. “You’re worried about me,” he finally said. Ah. He’d been sensing for my emotions. I grimaced. I hated it when he did that.
“Yeah. It’s kinda my job to do that.” I blew out a breath. “And you blew off your training with your grandmother. I need you to be better about that. I’m counting on you.”
“I don’t want to be a Fury, Mother,” he said tiredly. An old argument, already.
“What else would you do with your powers? You can’t spend eternity sleeping around and partying.”
“So, what? I’m supposed to be like you? Fighting all the time? Not enjoying a single thing because I’m waiting for the next battle I have to fight? A waste of eternity,” he said, and then his eyes widened. “I’m sorry.”
I didn’t answer, looked back out over the city.
He came up beside me and slung his arm over my shoulders. The little shit could be charming when he wanted to, and he knew it.
“I know what you do is important. I get it. But I don’t want to live your life,” he said. “I’m not a warrior. I’m not going to be out there fighting the good fight.”
I studied him. “Then maybe you’re unworthy of the power within you,” I said quietly.
He straightened.
Easy, my Prison, Nether whispered in my mind. Some things, you cannot come back from.
I acknowledged her. She’d been awake, more alert since the thing with the AntiTheists and whatever that thing had been. I wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse. She had a fucking opinion about everything.
“I never asked for power,” Hades said quietly. “Never wanted it.” He started walking away. “You can train Zoe to be a good little soldier. Sean, Michael, Rose. But not me.”
“Hades…”
He turned back around, and I studied him. For all the ways we were similar — our powers, our appearance, our tendency to be more short with people than we should be — Hades was far less like me than Zoe was. Like me, she’d felt the call to serve fairly young, to help those who couldn’t help themselves. Hades had always been more introverted, more quiet and sensitive.
I went to him and cupped his cheeks in my hands. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean that.”
“I know. And I get that you’re worried.” He blew out a breath, and I sensed frustration from him. “The stupid thing is, I wasn’t even into it when he caught us. I just feel like….”
“Like you have no idea what the hell you’re supposed to do with yourself, and you have all of eternity ahead of you,” I finished softly.
“Yeah. That.”
I stepped back a bit, giving him space, and he raked his fingers through his dark hair, making it stand a bit on end.
“I don’t want to spend my life fighting. I don’t want to spend my life judging people and hurting them. I know it’s necessary. I get it, and you know I love you and Aunt Meg and Grandma,” he said.
“I know.”
He shook his head and walked to the edge of the building, looking out over the city. “I’ve watched you do what you do since before I even realized what it was. I feel the emotions that go through you when you work, how much it messes with you, seeing what you see and knowing what you know. And yet, you enjoy it,” he turned to me. “You feel more complete when you’re doing that.”
I nodded. There was no point in trying to lie.
“You’ve been around me when I’m working with Grandma. Is there any sense at all that I enjoy any part of it?”
I didn’t answer for a few moments, and he watched me. I finally shook my head. “I thought you’d grow used to it.”
“I haven’t, Mother, and I don’t intend to. I’ll fight to protect you and Zoe and Father and Sean, but this whole…. everything. I don’t want it.”
I sat on the low wall surrounding the roof, and Hades sat beside me. “So what do you want to do?” I asked him.
He snorted, and it reminded me of Nain. “Do I actually have a choice?”
I shrugged. “I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to do. I feel like there’s more to this recent stubbornness on your behalf, and I hope you’ll tell me what it is in time, but I’m
not going to dictate what your life should be.” I paused. “But you have to do something other than have orgies.”
I glanced at him. Not even a hint of a smile. “I was trying to forget,” he said quietly. I could sense his sadness, the edge of anger.
“Forget what?”
“The things I’ve seen. Other shit,” he said, glancing away. His mind was closed to me, but that was nothing new. Since the moment he’d learned to shield his thoughts, my son had kept them to himself.
“I guess I can understand that,” I said. “Just… be careful. You know how some of these fathers are about their daughters. And you don’t want to get anyone pregnant—”
“We’ve had that talk already,” he interrupted.
“I know. I’m reminding you.”
“I’m careful. Like I said, I’ve lost my interest in… that stuff,” he finished, face reddening in embarrassment. For all of his bluster and increased maturity, he was still my son and talking about sex with his mom was hardly his idea of a good time.
I bit the inside of my cheek. He wasn’t telling me everything.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” I asked him. “Even if I initially act like an asshole sometimes, there’s nothing you could do or say that would make me love you any less.”
He glanced at me, then quickly glanced away. “I should get going.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay.”
He nodded, and in the next instant, he was gone and I looked up at the sky, wishing Nain had been there instead of me.
I hate this parenting shit. I’m not good at it. And I hate that there was a ring of truth to what Hades had said. Why should he train to fight when his father and I had fought so hard to be able to hand him a world free of strife? And the fact that there was clearly something else bothering him, something he didn’t feel like he could tell me…
I shook my head and stood up. I needed to check on Persephone again and by then, hopefully Nain would be ready to go home.
I was just stepping toward the door that led back into the loft when I heard a quiet scuffling sound and glanced toward the opposite side of the roof. A pair of bright yellow-green eyes glowed out at me from the darkness. I narrowed my eyes and took a step forward, willing my flamesword into my hand. I got a quick glimpse of the creature as it darted away. Small stature, larger than an imp, but not by much. It had looked like it was greenish in color, and I’d caught a glint, as if it was wearing armor.
Godkiller (Hidden: Godkiller Saga Book 1) Page 5
