by Addison Fox
Kane drew her to him, his hand at the back of her neck as he pulled her close for a hard, welcoming kiss.
“Yes.” Kane nodded.
“Wait.” Ilsa pulled him close once more, and mimicked his movements with her hand on the back of his neck. The kiss was hard and unyielding at first, quickly giving way to something softer. Slightly desperate. And altogether wonderful.
Fortifying.
Ilsa nodded and smoothed the skirt at her waist. “Okay. Now it’s time.” Although the pants she hated would have been more practical, she didn’t want to deviate from her usual look.
Emmett was used to seeing her in skirts.
She wasn’t going to give him any visual clues all wasn’t as it seemed.
With one final glance at Kane, she whispered the words that filled her heart to bursting. “I love you.”
And then she turned and moved on ahead, her blood pumping in thick, heavy beats.
The gravel-strewn path up to the mouth of the cave looked as she remembered it. How was it possible? Sixteen thousand years of life had passed, yet she remembered this as if it had happened only yesterday. Last week. Last year.
How had time passed so quickly? And what had she done with all of it?
The question struck her like a slap, because she knew what she’d done with all her time. All the millions of days of her life that had passed since then.
She’d lived them with vengeance and anger, retaliation and hate.
But no more.
For a brief moment, Ilsa hesitated at the mouth of the cave. And then she stepped through.
Bold.
Confident.
Prepared.
Only to have all of it come crashing down in a pile of burning cinders.
What greeted her was something out of her worst nightmare.
Brody and Ava were attached to two guillotines. Flat on their stomachs, tied to the cross-board with heavy industrial chains. Callie stood in the center of the room, teetering on a chair, a hangman’s noose around her neck.
Emmett turned to greet her from where he stood next to the guillotine that held Brody, fiddling with a pulley system that held the blade aloft. To her horror, it appeared to tie in some fashion to the second guillotine blade that hovered over Ava’s neck. “Welcome, Ilsa. I’m so glad you’ve finally arrived.”
A second voice echoed through the chamber. As Ilsa spun around toward the direction of the sound, a tall woman clad in fine robes stepped out of the shadows.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the sainted woman that hid my father for all those years. I’m so delighted to meet you.” The woman’s long, slender fingers extended in welcome. “I’m Enyo. And you must be Nemesis.”
“I don’t like this. She’s been in there for a while and we still haven’t heard anything. Haven’t heard her signal.” Kane whispered so only his intended target—Quinn—could hear him.
The bull nodded, his own reply nearly silent. “Patience.”
Fuck patience.
And why had he listened to her?
Why wasn’t he in there himself instead of out here, sweating his ass off as the poison threatened to overwhelm him.
The venom had grown harsher over the last day, as they made plans for the final encounter with Emmett. Each night, Antares crept ever closer to its zenith. And with it, the poison’s strength grew.
Harder to ignore. Harder to hold out against.
Kane refused to tell anyone about it. He simply worked to ignore it—like tuning out a dripping faucet or a static-filled radio station—but he was losing his patience.
“Why hasn’t she given us the signal?”
On top of the poison, the damned Corybants were rattling around like those parade people he saw on New Year’s Day, dressed in costume and beating drums in a semidrunk fashion. They made so much noise, the voices from the cave were muted and hard to hear.
Could this place get any weirder? And did he dare enter the mouth of the cave?
Shit.
The stories of his ancestors—hiding babies from their parents and sending said parents to perpetual prison in the Underworld—had always read with a fair degree of inanity.
But to actually be here at the site of it all?
Surreal didn’t even begin to describe it.
He glanced back at Quinn again, then on down the line to Drake and Emerson.
Kane calculated the risks. Shift away toward Quinn, Drake and Emerson to have a brief discussion and miss hearing Ilsa give the signal. Or have the conversation and reset their plans.
As the drumming rose in ever-increasing cycles of beats, Kane made a decision.
And moved away from the mouth of the cave to discuss a regroup.
“You have no business with them.” Ilsa flicked a hand at Brody, Ava and Callie. “They mean nothing to me. But if you harm them, you will unleash the wrath of Themis.”
The corners of Emmett’s mouth twisted up in a cruel smile, and a matching one lit up Enyo’s face.
“Such brave words from one who has nothing to bargain with.” Enyo moved closer, her steps measured. “Did you really think you’d get away with simply changing your bargain with Emmett? That a quick ‘Never mind. I’m no longer interested’ was all it would take?”
Ilsa pressed haughty and arrogant into her tone, even as she wanted to fall to the ground and beg for mercy. Beg them to let her friends go. And her sister. The woman she didn’t have a relationship with and now never would if Emmett had his way. “Hardly. I offered myself.”
Enyo leaned in and whispered, her words holding all the warmth of pythons as they slithered over Ilsa’s skin. “Did you really think you were worth more than a Warrior? Hades’s humble servant girl for a Warrior of Themis?”
Ilsa felt the goddess’s cold, calculating gaze traveling over her body and desperately yearned for sunshine.
On an inhale, Ilsa forced the bravado yet again. Leveling her own stare directly at Enyo, she nodded. “Frankly, yes, I did.”
Enyo leaned in closer, her voice a breathy whisper. “Then you thought wrong.”
Maintaining a steady, unwavering gaze, Ilsa thought through all she knew. Took stock of all she possessed as an immortal in her own right. As her mind whirled with ideas, each one discarded in turn, she had to acknowledge two facts.
This wasn’t the first sticky situation she’d gotten herself into.
But it was the first where her friends were in danger.
And that made all the difference.
“She’s been in there too long. Something’s wrong.”
“Monte. You have to calm down. It hasn’t been that long.” Quinn held up a hand. “I know it’s not easy, but you have to have a little patience. She knows what she’s doing. She’s not a mortal.”
“I don’t care if she’s immortal.” Kane pointed to the cave. “She’s in there all alone.”
Drake stepped in, his voice low, but pointed. “Quinn’s right. Ilsa’s spent sixteen thousand years in service to Hades. I’m sure she’s learned a few tricks over the years.”
“I’m telling you”—Kane shook his head—“something’s not right.”
Quinn mumbled something and reached for his BlackBerry. Flicking a quick glance at it, he did a double take and handed the phone to Kane. “Shit.”
“What?” Drake and Emerson asked in unison as Kane read the readout on the screen.
CAPTRD.
Captured.
Kane handed the device back to Quinn. “We’re going in. He’s got Brody and Ava in there, too.”
Ilsa purposely ignored the others as Enyo spoke to her, in hopes her unwillingness to look at them would be perceived as lack of interest.
“Now, Nemesis,” Enyo said, adding subtle pressure on her back to lead her farther into the cave. “There’s a little something I’d like to show you.”
Ilsa shook off the touch. She’d captured enough souls over the years to know how to dominate someone and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let Enyo have the
upper hand physically.
She clearly had it psychologically.
Ilsa saw a large table come into view as they moved toward the back of the cave. Try as she might, she was unable to avert her gave from Ava as she walked past.
The frightened look in her brown eyes was all Ilsa needed to renew herself against the despair. She would find a way out of this. For all of them.
She’d die before letting any of them suffer for her mistakes.
An odd mix of items sat on the table, but it wasn’t until they got closer that Ilsa could make sense of them.
A large glowing object that resembled a very thick spear.
A crown of gold.
A small wadded-up baby blanket.
Enyo picked up each in turn, playing with them, turning them over in her hands. One by one, she picked up each object, strategically embedding them with her prisoners.
The baby blanket lay at Callie’s feet, where she still teetered on the stool.
The crown of gold was placed on Ava’s head.
And the thick spear—nay, Zeus’s thunderbolt—was placed on the ground next to Brody.
As Ilsa watched Enyo carefully position each object, she realized their significance. Their horrifying, terrible significance.
Each of the items belonged to Zeus. And when he found out they were missing, his punishment would know no bounds.
Chapter Twenty-five
“This is your great idea?” More forcedbravado fell from her lips, but Ilsa found the attitude increasingly difficult to maintain. “A baby blanket?”
Enyo stood next to Brody’s prone form and finished positioning the thunderbolt with her foot. “Now. What was it we were talking about before? Oh yes. Why you really don’t matter to me. Why you’re just a means to an end.”
Keep her talking. That was the only thing Ilsa could think to do. There was no way she was uttering the words Kane waited for outside. No way she’d invite any more of them into the psychotic play that was unraveling within the walls of the cave.
Emmett roamed the cave like a restless cat, his avaricious gaze on Zeus’s belongings each time he made his circular path past the items.
As Ilsa watched him and the calculating gleam that lit his eyes, she wondered if he might be the answer to getting them out of this horrible mess.
Could she use his greed against him?
Shifting so she could keep an eye on Emmett with her peripheral vision, Ilsa turned her attention toward Enyo. “I’ll repeat it. This is your great idea? A baby blanket?”
“Not just any baby blanket. The blanket you wrapped my father in when he was an infant. The blanket you spirited him away in. That blanket has power. The power of immortal protection for any who possesses it. It’s why he keeps it locked up with his other protected items.”
“And you just waltzed in and stole all of it.”
“My father is the one who made that stupid bargain with Themis.” Enyo spat the words, each laced with the most spiteful venom. “But I’m the one who has to answer to it. When he finds out these are missing—and clearly in the possession of Themis’s Warriors—his willingness to maintain his bargain with that bitch won’t last.”
Ilsa shrugged, delighted to see Emmett edge closer to the blanket where it lay at Callie’s feet. “Awfully complicated, if you ask me. What if he doesn’t buy it?”
Emmett looked up at that. “Of course he’ll buy it. Won’t he, Enyo? You promised when we arrived here that you had it all taken care of.”
“And I do. Don’t worry yourself, Emmett.” Enyo ran a hand over Brody’s upper back and biceps. “I’ve got it all figured out.”
Emmett’s face—crinkled forehead, slashed lips and hunched back—suggested he wasn’t nearly as convinced as Enyo. Ilsa had read people for far too long not to know the signs.
Nope.
The sorcerer had “rat leaving a sinking ship” written all over him.
Add in the pure greed that swam in his eyes, and Emmett really might create the diversion she needed all on his own.
With slow, shifting movements, Ilsa kept up her conversation with Enyo while she positioned herself to port toward Brody and Ava.
The elaborate pulley system rigged on the guillotines, while appearing detrimental to both parties if either moved, might actually work in her favor. Because the rope that held each blade was strung together, all she needed was to port in between the two of them to grab the rope.
The fear she couldn’t get there in time was real, but at least she was positioned to try if the very worst happened.
Ilsa tuned back in to Enyo’s ire, the goddess’s continued pontification on her father’s shitty negotiation skills clearly a topic on which she felt strongly.
Is that what she’d sounded like for all these years? Ugly and unpleasant and whiny?
“It’s my turn to get what I want.” The finality of Enyo’s statement firmly pulled Ilsa from her thoughts.
“Well, then.” Ilsa pointed across the room, where Emmett had his hands on the blanket, fingering it with deliberate strokes. “You might want to bring him to heel, or he’ll be out of here with that blanket faster than you can say the word ‘warrior.’ ”
“What?”
The diversion was all she needed, especially as Emmett was doing his level best to take off with the blanket. Enyo bent over to grab the thunderbolt, aiming it at Emmett and firing off a round.
As Enyo focused on dealing with the sorcerer, Ilsa ported across the room to position herself between Brody and Ava, hoisting the pulley upward to ensure the blades locked in place. While she couldn’t ignore the fear in Callie’s eyes, the precarious angle of the blades ensured she needed to start with the Leo and his wife.
As she worked, the drama between Enyo and Emmett played out.
“I did as you asked!” the sorcerer screamed as his pant leg burned with flames.
“You were going to steal the blanket.”
“Not steal it. Bring it to you, my queen.”
Enyo fired off another shot, this one hitting Emmett at the knee and dropping him to the ground in a wail. “Do not lie to me. Do you think I can’t see what you are?”
Emmett still held the blanket tight in his grip, his eyes blazing with fury, his focus fully on Enyo. Before the goddess could react, he had the edges in his hands and spread the blanket out in front of him like a shield, ensuring Enyo would have to destroy the blanket in order to punish him with the thunderbolt. “Then you must be looking at yourself.”
Although oddly fascinating, she couldn’t spend much time watching as the fight between the two allowed Ilsa to continue working on Brody and Ava’s bonds.
“Underneath. They didn’t lock them, just slipped them into place,” Brody whispered. “Get Ava’s first.”
Ilsa reached down to unhook the chains where they wrapped under the board Ava lay on, then did the same for Brody.
“Get Callie,” Brody whispered urgently as he used his free hands to unhinge the head lock and leap off the board. “I’ll finish helping Ava.”
Ilsa was coming out of the port to Callie’s side when light flashed in the small space, flaring from the edge of the thunderbolt Enyo wielded. Emmett’s brief scream rent the air and then the distinct odor of brimstone filled the enclosed space. Where Emmett once stood there was now a heap of ash, a few feet from the stool where Callie still stood, her eyes wide with fear.
Kane, Quinn and Drake burst through the cave opening, followed on their heels by Emerson.
As the four of them reached the entrance to the room, all stopped short, taking in the scene before them. Without another glance for Emmett, Enyo hefted the thunderbolt and pointed it at Callie.
“Ah. The cavalry arrives. And it’s just the horsemen I’ve been waiting for.”
Kane took in the sight—Brody and Ava struggling out of bonds where they lay strapped on matched guillotines, Callie hovering precariously on a stool with a noose around her neck and Enyo pointing the business end of a very old, very p
owerful weapon—and had the fleeting thought that things couldn’t get any worse.
Big mistake.
The poison reached up and grabbed on to him, choking him from the inside out. The sensation of being unable to catch his breath, like after a long sprint, gripped his lungs, preventing him from taking in any air.
With swift, brutal kicks, the disease that lived under his skin began the process of decimating him.
Organ by organ, limb by limb, nerve ending by nerve ending. Agonizing waves of pain lashed his body. As Kane fought for breath, he reached for his head, desperately trying to keep it from rending in half.
Zeus ported into the room, a crack of thunder greeting his arrival, the sound deafening as it echoed off the thick walls of the cave. It echoed through Kane’s already-inflamed senses.
Zeus’s gaze took in the room in a heartbeat, his voice implacable. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Oh, Daddy. I’m so glad you’re here.” Enyo ran to him, the thunderbolt in her hands. “They stole your things. I thought you’d never come.”
Without hesitation, she handed the thunderbolt to her father and then pointed around the room.
“It’s Adrasteia, Daddy. She made a bargain with the Warriors to steal your things. In vengeance against you.”
Every muscle in Kane’s body quivered as he writhed on the floor, helpless to go to Ilsa. Helpless to stand by her side as Zeus walked toward her. Callie still teetered precariously, but he saw Ilsa move up to support her with a firm hand under her thigh, holding her still and ensuring her neck wouldn’t break if something happened to the stool.
“Adrasteia.”
Ilsa nodded, her eyes direct on the fierce god. “That is no longer my name. And your daughter tells you only lies.”
“You dare impertinence?”
“What of it? I’ve changed your soiled linens and held your hands as you took your first steps. You’ve no power over me. And if you don’t pay close attention, your daughter’s manipulations will bring down all you’ve built. Will force a real war with Themis and her Warriors.”
Zeus cocked his head, a slight sneer on his face. “And how is that, little nymph? You think I spend my days worried about Themis’s Warriors?”
