by Amy Sumida
“Humph,” he sneered and looked at me triumphantly. “I thought your face looked familiar, so I did some research and guess what I found?”
Huitzilopochtli raised a brow. “You’ve ever bored me with your games, Lir. Just say what you must and have done with it.”
“She’s the Godhunter!” A thick, accusing finger pointed at me and Huitzilopochtli blinked once but none of the others even twitched. I guess I knew what the god huddle had been about earlier.
“Is it true, Vervain?” He looked at me as if I’d just morphed from a cute fuzzy caterpillar into a rare butterfly. I wanted caterpillar status back and fast. Where's a hookah when you needed one?
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“You disgusting little liar,” Lir evidently wasn’t as impressed with my charms as some of the other gods were.
“Whoa,” I held up my hands. “Ease up there, Daddy Dearest, at least I didn’t try to off my own offspring.”
“My offspring are my affair,” he stood up regally but I was satisfied to see that he was shaking. “And I will not be lectured by a human who dares to murder gods.”
“I’m rubber and you’re glue,” I sang out like a three-year-old, “whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.”
Lir turned a very unbecoming shade of red. For a second the whole table paused and I was sure we were all waiting to see if cartoon steam would start shooting out of his ears. Oh well, I guess it was a no go on braiding each other's hair later and gossiping over bonbons. He raised his hands toward me and began to chant something. I automatically went for my dagger but before anything happened, Huitzilopochtli stood up and walked over to him.
“You’re no longer welcome in my home,” Huitzilopochtli's dark fingers closed around Lir's neck, showing up starkly against the pale column. Lir's eyes rolled wildly but other than that he did nothing, his whole body going limp as Huitzilopochtli lifted him. Silent but angry footsteps reverberated through the room as Huitzilopochtli carried Lir to one of the large windows. It flew open as they approached. Drawing back a little like a professional pitcher, Huitzilopochtli flung Lir out into the dark, his bright shape dwindling until it simply blinked out like a dying star.
The rest of them immediately went back to eating with forced gaiety. I looked around me with wide eyes and felt like I was trapped in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Specifically, the story with the boy who could change reality and had terrorized his family until they turned into frightened sycophants. The remaining gods wore the same expressions as that tortured family had. In the episode a woman meets the boy and stands up to him in a maternal sort of way… you know, that whole kind but firm thing, and he goes off to live with her. I do seem to recall that he kills off his family first but oh well, the message is the same: power respects courage.
“Pray, do not fall in love with me,” I grabbed my glass and lifted it to Huitzilopochtli. “For I am falser than vows made in wine,” I took a big sip and smiled at him like I watched gods pitch each other like baseballs everyday. “Besides, I like you not.”
Huitzilopochtli laughed and it was his genuine laugh, loud and boisterous. It startled everyone, including me, but the gods looked truly shocked. They stared from him to me and I saw something I hadn’t expected to see in their eyes… hope. Maybe I should tell them what happened to the boy’s family on The Twilight Zone.
“And she quotes Shakespeare,” Huitzilopochtli smiled at me proudly, like I’d just shown my worth. Something I should have probably refrained from doing. “Eat, little witch. I don’t want you to fall ill.” He nudged my plate but I just stared at him. I was so tired, I wasn’t sure I could even get the food to my mouth.
“Please eat, my lady,” Kuan Ti whispered from my left and I looked over to see his eyes full of genuine concern. Was this the way the bad guys were supposed to act? I think Kuan Ti had missed a few memos.
“Okay, okay,” I forced myself to cut the chicken and take a bite.
“Now tell me why you just lied to me,” Huitzilopochtli’s voice was deceptively neutral.
“What?” I sputtered and nearly choked on my chicken.
“Lir is never mistaken when it comes to his research,” he sliced at his meal, severing meat from bone with surgical precision. “You’re the Godhunter. It makes sense of course. You being in the company of a god known to be a human-rights activist, your magic-filled weapons, your fierce fighting, you’re the God Slayer.”
“I prefer the term Human Liberator, thank you.”
He exhaled sharply. “You humans love to justify things by giving them pretty names.”
“I don’t have to justify anything, especially not to you.”
“Don’t you?” He took a sip from his goblet and the liquid looked thicker than my wine. It clung to his lips until he licked it away. “I’m a god you’d like to kill. Don’t I deserve to know why you want me dead?”
“You know why,” I watched the thick liquid drip slowly down the side of his glass.
“I know what you’ve said. You don't like gods who try to get your people to kill each other. This is my crime then? Instigating? It’s hardly a crime worthy of the death sentence.”
“Millions die because of your instigating.”
“I don’t kill them personally,” he smiled serenely.
“So humans aren’t the only ones who like to justify.” I shot him a smug look that wiped the smile clean off his face.
“I think you’ve had enough to eat,” his chair crashed back as he stood and grabbed my arm in one swift movement.
“Well I’ve had a lovely time, thank you everyone for such an entertaining meal,” I waved the Miss America wave as Huitzilopochtli dragged me from the room. Elbow-elbow, wrist-wrist, elbow-elbow, wrist-wrist.
“My lady,” Kuan Ti got to his feet and bowed gallantly.
Huitzilopochtli yanked me down the hall and pushed me into the bedroom. He slammed the door in my face without another word. Coward.
“Humph, I just wanted to go back to bed anyway,” I stuck my tongue out at the closed door.
Chapter Eight
I was home, on the beach at midnight, and there was lightning dancing on the waves.
I loved storms and the sight of all that power spread out before me was both humbling and intoxicating. I wasn’t even cold, thick arms held me to a chest radiating heat. Long hair trailed down from above and hung around me like a comforting veil. I sighed and snuggled deeper into the embrace.
“Vervain,” a voice tickled my ear. “I need you to listen and remember what I say.”
I knew that voice but I couldn’t place it. I turned my head to look up at the speaker but all I could make out was the flash of lightning in his eyes. The darkness swallowed everything else.
“I’ll remember,” I said and reached out to touch his face, maybe if I could feel him, I’d remember.
He took my hand and pressed it to his lips. “You’re trapped Vervain, there’s only one place to trace in and out of Huitzilopochtli’s home. You must leave where you came in. Do you understand me?”
“Leave where I came in,” my fingers moved against the softness of his lips. “Yes, I understand.”
“I can’t get to you, this was the only way, through our blood link,” emotion fought with the lightning in his eyes… fear, sadness? I wasn’t sure.
“Don’t be sad,” I stroked the hair back from his face and heard the breath catch in his throat.
“Vervain,” my name was a groan on his lips before they descended. I felt a spark leap between us and heat crept through me on questing tendrils. His tongue tingled in my mouth, stroking me and thrusting till I was dizzy with electric wanting. I pulled at his clothes but he stopped me with another groan. “We can’t do this here.”
“Why not?” I looked across the deserted beach and then back to him.
“We’re not really here, darling.” My heart fluttered with the endearment but I calmed it, maybe I’d
misheard him. “You have to listen and remember.”
“Right, I got that, listen and remember,” my voice came out a little sharp in my frustration and his sudden laughter chased away my irritation.
“Only you could make me laugh in a dreaming,” he shook his head and I strained to see his face but the shadows followed him. “You know the chant to take you home, right?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” What did it matter now? Why wouldn’t he just kiss me again?
“You need to get out of there, Vervain,” his arms tightened around me. “I promised to protect you but he’s taken you to a place I can’t go and he’s dangerous. Don’t believe what he tells you.” I felt him kiss the top of my head and I sighed. I’d always loved it when a man did that, it was a gesture of something beyond lust.
“I can protect myself,” I smiled at him and then turned away.
“Please, Vervain,” he turned my face around to his again, “Remember. Don’t trust the Aztec. Promise me you won’t fall for his lies.”
“I promise,” I met his gaze with my own solemn one and he nodded.
His arms twitched as he looked around us quickly. “He’s here, I have to go.”
His lips brushed mine and started to pull away but I deepened the kiss. I slid my hands around his neck and hauled him against me. I felt that electricity ignite again, vibrating through his deep groan, but then it was suddenly gone. His lips changed, becoming more demanding, and losing their softness.
I tried to pull back but I wasn’t supported in his arms anymore, I was lying in a bed and he was above me, pushing me down. I opened my eyes and the beach was gone, the man above me was dark, his eyes glowed red as blood and I suddenly knew where I was, where I’d been, and who I’d been with. I pulled away from Huitzilopochtli with a strength I didn’t know I had, the name I’d been trying to recall pouring from my lips.
“Thor.”
Huitzilopochtli hissed and pushed away from me. “You kiss me like that, then dare to speak another’s name? Do not think to play with me, witch!”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. I was so confused, I couldn’t even form an answer. He left the bed with a growl and went into the bathroom. I heard water running and sighed, my head spinning a little in relief. Maybe now I could think.
Thor was in my dream. What had he said? It had felt important, something about the Aether. I could only leave in the same place I'd come in. That was the stone room, so I had to make my way back to the stone room… without Huitzilopochtli noticing. I got up and padded over to the door. The rush of water from the bathroom was reassuring but I took a quick look over my shoulder anyway before trying the handle on the door out to the hallway. When I pushed against it, I felt the power immediately pushing back. It was still warded. Shit.
Seconds after I let go, a wet, iron grip circled my arm and spun me around. Huitzilopochtli glowered and dripped all over the carpet in breathtaking nudity. To say he had a fine form would not only be an understatement but a crime. He shimmered in the adoring moonlight like a merman given legs. The sheen of water emphasized every hard curve, every dimple and flat plane. There wasn’t a single hair to mar the perfection of his chest, and he had a sexy dip on each side of his hips where the bones protruded. Water collected in the small indentations, clinging to him desperately. I was weak and allowed my gaze to wander lower. What a stupid mistake. I almost groaned aloud, he was perfect and growing more so as I watched. I tore my eyes away with supreme effort and looked back at his face.
His initial anger had melted under my hot stare. He looked at me with hard, intense eyes, glittering red in the soft light, as my heart thudded in my throat. His hand loosened slightly to stroke my skin before pulling me forward. I hit his chest, the water on his skin soaking into my clothes and sending a shiver through me.
“What's your game, little witch?” His palm cupped my face as he stared at me intently. “You kiss me and then reject me, you try to escape and then look at me with open lust. These are dangerous tactics and I've ceased being amused by them. Do you want me or the Viking?”
“I don’t know what I want,” I pushed as far away from him as I could, “but it's not you.”
A drop of water fell slowly down the side of his face, rippling over his clenched jaw as his eyes narrowed. My own eyes widened as I realized my mistake. I should have played along. He might have lowered his guard if I'd pretended to want him. Instead, he backhanded me, dropping me to the thick carpet. I ran my tongue along the cut inside my mouth, swallowing blood as I twisted to look up at him.
“You will,” he vowed viciously, towering over me like an angel of vengeance. “You’ll learn to trust me. You’ll learn to love me.”
“Trust my jailor? Love a monster?” I sat up and rubbed my jaw. “Yeah, you're doing a phenomenal job of convincing me. You're a fucking lunatic.”
Huitzilopochtli’s eyes hardened a little but he didn’t say anything. He just bent down and lifted me into his arms like a child. I felt my muscles tighten angrily but I tamped down the feeling. The last thing I needed to do was push him when he was barely containing his own rage. He walked over to the bed and laid me back down. I laid perfectly still as he crawled in, still a little damp, and pulled the covers over us before curling his body around mine. As if we were a normal happy couple. Can you say insane? I felt the heavy weight of his leg fall over mine and his breath tickle along my neck. The sound of his even breathing surrounded me as I clenched my teeth and tried to hold back my tears.
Welcome to my world, where the monsters don’t hide under your bed, they sleep in it beside you.
Chapter Nine
When I woke in the morning, it was to the sound of arguing.
“She deserves to die,” a woman was screaming. It was not a pleasant way to wake up, especially since I was pretty sure the “she” was me.
“She’s mine,” the male voice I recognized and I tried desperately to subdue the fear it sent spiraling through me. If I wanted to get out of there, I needed to put my big girl panties on and figure it out without letting my fear get the best of me.
“She’s bewitched my husband,” uh-oh, one guess who that was. It was turning out to be a bad day and I hadn’t even opened my eyes yet.
“He’s not your husband anymore, Sif,” Huitzilopochtli put no emotion into the words, merely stated a fact. Sif still didn’t like it and she wasn’t shy about letting everyone know it. She screamed, a sound of pure rage.
“Don’t tell me what is or is not between Thor and I!”
“You fought, divorced, and are now on opposing sides of a god war, so you’re still fighting,” he had a hell of a point there. “That’s not what I’d call a happy marriage.”
“It’s not for you to say,” Sif sniffed haughtily.
“It’s exactly for me to say,” I could feel his power rising, biting along my skin. I snuggled under the covers more; to escape it or enjoy it, I wasn’t completely sure. “You’re my guest here, so you’ll have the courtesy of a warning before I bleed you. Leave her be. Don’t even contemplate hurting her and then running because even beyond these walls, I’m stronger than you. Don’t fight me over Vervain. Don't fight me over anything. You won’t win.”
“You dare to threaten me?” She tried for scorn but even I heard the fear invading her voice.
Huitzilopochtli laughed and the breath caught in my throat. It was a laugh of cruel confidence. That laugh said I can kill you anytime, anyplace and there’s nothing you can do about it. I knew it was true. She was no match for him and neither was I. The thought was a wrench thrown right in the middle of my big girl panties. I barely kept from sucking my thumb and crying for my mommy.
“I don’t threaten,” his voice still held traces of laughter, “I merely state facts but maybe it’s not simple enough for you to understand. I’ll make it very clear so there can be no confusion between us. If you harm her, if you upset her, if you abuse her in any way, or try to turn her against me, I will torture you until you beg for d
eath. Then I will let her have you.”
A small choking sound was the only response from Sif. I responded by squeezing my eyes shut and wishing desperately that I could believe in gods the way others did. Then at least I could be praying instead of cowering under the covers like a child. Okay, so I’d probably be praying and cowering.
“Do you understand me, Sif?” I heard the rustle of hands crushing fabric. “You touch what's mine and not only is our alliance over but so is your immortality. Leave her be or just leave, those are the only choices you have that will keep you breathing.”
The sounds of a scuffle sent my heart racing, my whole body tensing for a fight, but the slam of the door shocked me out of my instincts. I had no idea if he’d left with her but I didn’t think I’d be that lucky. So when the covers lifted and the bed dipped beside me, I wasn’t too surprised. I was surprised at the warmth of his body as it slid along mine and by how good it felt when his arm pulled me against him gently. The only thing louder than the steady thumping of his heart was the frenzied pounding of my own.
“I know you’re awake, little witch,” he breathed into my ear. “Your heart beats like a trapped bird’s.” His hand slid between my breasts to lay flat against my sternum. “I don’t want your fear,” the fingers against my flesh started to swirl in lazy circles as the soft heat of his lips trailed down my bruised cheek.
“Would you really torture her for merely upsetting me?” I looked up at him finally; needing to hear him say it, to verify how much of a monster he was.
“Yes,” he said it softly, like a lover's vow, and my whole body went cold as I fought to keep my face blank. “You don’t approve.” He pulled back and looked down at me, tilting his head to the side.
“You sound surprised,” I tried to pull back as well but he pressed me down.
“I’ve just sworn to do great damage to an ally of mine, all for your safety and you not only fear me for it but you think less of me.” He sounded as if he couldn’t decide whether to be shocked, angry, or impressed.
