For The Love Of A God

by Rosanna Leo

  Could Eryx...?

  No. She couldn't think about it. He'd asked her to trust him, and she'd sworn she would. If it was all she could do to help him in this bizarre quest, she'd do it wholeheartedly.

  They stalked through the museum in some sort of crazy ancient battle formation, with Eryx at her side and the others clustered around them. Just watching the gods as their keen eyes darted around the dark hallways made her head spin. And the whole time, Eryx whispered sweet words of encouragement to her, making her feel even guiltier.

  It was scary and surreal and gallant all at once, and Maia didn't know what to expect next.

  She certainly hadn't expected a mummy to attack.

  Maia recognized it first, her eyes growing wide. It was Princess Cleo, as museum staff had nicknamed her, and she was supposed to be slumbering forever, encased in glass in the Egyptian exhibit. In reality, the shriveled relic of the Egyptian princess seemed very much alive, and was shuffling toward them at an alarming speed. Her eyes, or rather the dead orbs which used to be her eyes, were white and focused on Maia. Her shrouded arms were outstretched, and a foul hiss emanated from her thin lips.

  Artemis jumped in front of the little group, her elegant hand reaching behind for an arrow, Robin Hood-style. “Really, Nemesis?” she called into the dark hallway. “A mummy? How predictable. What's next? A T-Rex?"

  The mummy reeled toward Maia, cursing and spitting through her ripped shroud. For a dead girl, she looked way too dangerous. She could only imagine what would happen if Cleo managed to get her stubby hands on her.

  Luckily, Artemis was poised and ready. “Stand aside, boys,” the goddess murmured. “This old girl's mine."

  She moved so quickly Maia didn't even see the arrow reach the bow. There was a zing as it flew through the air toward Princess Cleo, followed by several other lightning-like zings. The arrows thunked into the mummy, creating several puffs of dust. With a painful howl, she disintegrated before their eyes. Artemis then waved her hand, and her silver arrows flew back to her, like obedient boomerang puppies.

  Maia could only stare. The old Maia would have been horrified at the extermination of the age-old mummy. The new Maia looked at Artemis in awe. She was one tall chick, and she called Maia “little” way too much, but that goddess was butch.

  She was starting to wish she was a bit more like Artemis. Okay, a lot more.

  Eryx leaned down and kissed her cheek, warming her with his unique flames of love. “Are you okay?"

  "Better than the Egyptian curator is going to be tomorrow morning."

  "War brings casualties,” sniffed Artemis, tucking an already-perfect strand of hair behind her perfect ear.

  Once again, Maia marveled at the fact Eryx loved her at all. She felt like a three-toed sloth next to the silvery, shimmery goddess.

  But she didn't have time to contemplate her resemblance to the hairy mammal for much longer. Down the hall, a shriek echoed. Then another and another.

  "Something told me that was a little too easy,” grunted Eryx.

  It sounded as if banshees had been let loose in the museum. Horrible, female screeches reverberated off every marble wall, deafening Maia. Even Eryx and the others had to cover their ears for a moment. Maia paled, wondering what on earth could make such an unholy sound.

  Whatever it was, it was coming closer.

  Eryx signaled Artemis and thrust Maia into the embrace of the goddess while the three men drew their weapons and raced forward.

  "No!” Maia was shrieking now, reaching for Eryx. He couldn't leave her behind while he fought.

  "Hush,” Artemis shouted over the din. “Let him concentrate."

  "What is it? What's that noise?” Without wanting to, she turned and attempted to burrow against the silver chest armor of Artemis, but only succeeded in clunking her forehead against the cold metal.

  "Furies. I haven't seen one in centuries. Nemesis has probably bred them just for this fine occasion."

  "Please don't tell me they're immortal."

  "Not really,” said Artemis. “But they can be hard to kill when they're flapping their wings in your face. A scratch from their talons might hurt someone like me, but the same scratch would kill someone like you."

  The sound got nearer. And now the shrieks were accompanied by the sound of vicious flapping. They were around the corner, almost upon them. She could hear the swoosh of their massive wings from where she stood.

  Before the furies could whip around the corner of the gallery, Apollo let loose a volley of his deadly golden arrows. As the monster-women flew around the turn, two of them flew right into the arrows. There were feathers and blood everywhere, and they fell to the ground as so much dead meat.

  Which left about twenty furies behind. Angry ones.

  They ripped through the air, aiming for the heads of the three male gods on the front line, great talons outstretched. Scratching, screaming bags of muscle and madness. Out to maim, out to kill.

  Still covering her ears, Maia looked into the fray and tried to pick out Eryx's form. He was right in the thick of things, a shiny, powerful beast of a man. Swinging his sword and lopping off the heads of two furies at a time, stabbing into the blood-fouled air, and slicing through another. Grunting and growling, and fighting for her.

  Dionysus was on the floor, grappling with a couple of massive she-birds. Apollo was surrounded, stabbing with his arrows.

  For a moment, Maia wasn't sure her side was winning. There was so much blood.

  "Can these ... things kill gods?” she called to Artemis.

  "They can do us some damage, but that's not our concern. We need to keep them from you, little one,” Artemis replied, reaching for another arrow.

  In the same split second, two furies swooped down on Artemis, clawing at the goddess's lovely face. Artemis screamed and held up her hands to defend herself, losing her grip on her arrow and on Maia.

  It wasn't looking good.

  Unthinking, Maia backed up against the wall. One of the biggest furies landed right in front of her, flexing her great wings, and leering with her woman's face. She cocked her head to the side, eyeing Maia, and seethed something in an ancient, unknown language. Maia held her breath. The monster's breath was as vile as the grave.

  The fury seemed to be debating exactly how to eat Maia's face, because it didn't move for a moment. With only her instinct for self-preservation as her guide, Maia reached out and grabbed the only thing she could reach: one of Artemis's fallen arrows. Without stopping to plan her attack, she lunged, stabbing the creature in its downy chest over and over.

  The great bird squawked, and keeled over.

  "Yes,” she cried, wishing she could do a few cartwheels.

  Buoyed by her small victory, Maia clutched her arrow and launched herself at the furies still tormenting Artemis. She didn't manage to kill them, but she distracted them enough that Artemis was able to rally. Within seconds they were as dead as their feathery sisters.

  Artemis, her gorgeous face a mess of blood, seemed to be peering at Maia with new respect. Without wasting another moment, the two women raced to help the others.

  Eryx was on the floor, on his back, swinging wildly at a cluster of furies above him. He was surrounded by the bodies of the ones he'd already felled, but like an unwanted green salad, the blasted things seemed to increase in number each time one of them was dispatched. Upon seeing Maia fighting, he shouted out to her, “Don't! Maia!"

  But she wouldn't be dissuaded. She ran at one of the hideous beasts near him, but the thing turned on her, snarling and snapping. It raised its enormous claw.

  Eryx jumped to his feet like an acrobat, brandishing his sword. He sliced through the air, and struck the heads off three of the furies. His way clear, he ran toward Maia and her fluffy adversary. Before the fury's claw ever ripped into Maia's mortal flesh, Eryx ran his sword through it, and pulled up, viciously slaughtering the beast.

  His eyes wild, he turned and watched as Dionysus and the others killed off th
e remaining furies. Then he turned back to Maia and yanked her into his arms. Again and again, he ran his hands over her face, her back, and her arms. Convincing himself she was intact. “What were you thinking? You should have stayed put."

  She shrugged. “I told you I wanted to help."

  "You did,” he said, chuckling, tangling his hands in her blood-spattered hair. “But the shock almost killed me in the process. Please promise me you won't be quite so brave next time. I'm much happier with you hiding in the background."

  "No way, bucko,” she laughed, kissing him. “Any more wild bird women come your way, I'm all over it."

  They embraced, stopping only as the others regrouped after collecting their strewn weapons. The other gods approached, and Maia looked up.

  And screamed.

  Artemis was missing an eye. Rather, one of her perfect, dark eyes was hanging from its socket, leaving a bloody trail along her normally-unblemished cheek.

  "Ohmigod,” Maia uttered, choking back bile.

  "It's okay,” Artemis said in her soothing voice. “I've had worse.” And, as calm as a librarian at story time, she popped her eye back into its socket. She blinked once, and it was fixed.

  "Well,” said Maia. “That was neat."

  "You,” said Dionysus, pointing to Maia's chest, “were fucking awesome out there. Who taught you to fight?"

  She let out a nervous giggle. “The only thing I've ever fought over is the last donut in the box."

  Eryx was still frowning at her, as proud as he was. “You, my love, will not be fighting again, do you hear me?"

  "The girl's a natural, Eryx,” said Apollo, wiping his bloody arrows on a nearby fury corpse.

  "I said no."

  "I'm not going to stand around while all of you risk your lives, or whatever, for me,” Maia insisted.

  "You will not fight,” he insisted.

  She was about to argue, was about to protest, but the words were cut off in her throat as another sound echoed from inside the museum. They all stopped and listened. It wasn't a fury shriek or a hissing mummy. This sound was different. Darker and more insidious. A fear with no name. An enemy they could not envision.

  It sounded as if hell itself was coming for them.

  It terrified Maia, shook her to the bone until her body rattled with it. She looked at Eryx, saw the fear in his eyes, and knew even he wasn't sure what was coming. He turned white, which was amazing for someone so naturally golden. And then he and the other gods turned and stared into the dark hallway.

  As she waited for death to show itself, Maia uttered a quick prayer to her own God. At that moment, she was distracted by a movement coming from a nearby dead fury. Its body twitched in a post-mortem contraction. The massive wing jerked, a violent spasm of tough muscle, and hit Maia across the head. She was knocked out cold.

  Somewhere in the black hole of her unconsciousness, she wondered if she could die in such a way.

  Death by chicken wing seemed like such a strange way to go.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Seventeen

  It wasn't the first time Maia gave thanks for Eryx's strong arms, but as she awoke encircled by them, she gave thanks again. As well as for the fact she wasn't drowning in buffalo wing sauce, which she'd been dreaming.

  Groggy, she stared up at him. It was quiet in the museum now. Too quiet. And he was gazing at her with such sadness in his eyes that her own eyes started to water. “What happened? Did I miss the battle?"

  He ignored her question. “I wish you'd stayed asleep. I was tempted, you know, to make you sleep through this."

  "Sleep through what? Eryx?” She tried to sit up, but he was hugging her too tightly. And why was he staring so wistfully at her, as if he were somehow saying good-bye?

  "I love you, Maia. Don't ever forget."

  She stared up at him, petrified. Too scared to move or talk or say “I love you” back. All she could do was cry, damn her tears, and look at his beautiful face. And something horrible tugged at her heart, telling her she had to remember his face. Had to remember each exquisite detail.

  A velvety woman's voice cut through the tension in the hall. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Who shall I kill first?” Her voice erupted with tinkly laughter. “Sorry, folks. I've never been one for rhymes."

  From her place on the floor, Maia looked past the broad expanse of Eryx's chest. The other gods were standing in front of them, weapons drawn. But beyond them, taking up much of the space in the dark hallway, was a strange figure.

  It had to be almost twenty feet tall, so tall it just about grazed the ceiling. It had the body of a man, but every part was elongated, exaggerated. Hideous. Its fingernails were claws. Its hair was bristly and long. Every wrinkle, every fold was caked in some sort of otherworld grime, and it smelled moldy. It had great black eyes which blinked incessantly at Maia. But its mouth scared her most of all. Rather than having two rows of teeth, it had four, and each razor-sharp tooth looked sharper than the last.

  And the worst part of all was the two people the creature held in its gnarled hands, its fingers closed around two very human necks.

  Those of Dino and Sheila.

  Their eyes were glazed, and their faces were white, as if they'd witnessed great horror. But they already looked as dead as her father had in his hospice bed.

  "No,” Maia whispered, pushing past Eryx and standing with the others.

  The woman's voice rang out again, although Nemesis was nowhere to be seen. “Do you like my pet, Maia Douglas? He'll do anything I say. If I tell him to, he'll gobble your friends in one gulp."

  She turned to Eryx, desperate. “If they die, can you bring them back?"

  Nemesis laughed from her hiding place in the darkness. “Didn't he tell you? We Greek gods don't do resurrection. It's a big no-no. You never know what you'll get. If I kill your friends, they're dead. Plain and simple."

  Eryx gazed at her, pained. “It's true, Maia. We can heal people, but we can't bring someone back from death."

  A low growl issued from the creature's massive mouth, and it sniffed Sheila. And then it licked her face.

  "Oh my God,” Maia murmured.

  The voice of Nemesis rang out again. “When I first decided I needed to keep an eye on you, Maia Douglas, I knew I couldn't show myself at the museum. My Eryx would have recognized me. So I had to pick a body. It's fun. Sort of like role playing."

  Eryx put himself in front of Maia, holding her behind him. “Show yourself, Nemesis!"

  She laughed again. “Oh, how sweet. He can't wait to see me."

  "So I can send you back to hell."

  "Now, now, Eryx. You know that's not how this works. I've never been overly fond of Hades anyway.” From far down the hallway, there was a noise. The sound of high heels on the marble floor. Walking toward them. “And you may think you can protect your little whore with your gang of Olympian rejects, but you all know I can kill her friends and father with a mere thought. We all know that would make our little Maia so very sad."

  "What do you want, Nemesis? Enough with your games,” Eryx shouted toward the sound of the high heels.

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, dearest. First tell me what you think of my borrowed body!"

  The heels advanced. Maia watched as the body wearing them strolled toward them. Long legs. Killer bod. Angel's face.

  Sarah.

  "Shit,” Dionysus muttered. “I slept with her."

  "Oh, admit it, cousin,” Nemesis growled out of Sarah's glossy mouth. “You loved it.” She turned to Eryx. “Stroke of genius, don't you think? Your own assistant? It's how I knew you loved Maia. I place the perfect woman, the perfect body, in front of you. Young, sexy, willing. And you wanted nothing to do with her. Barely even looked in my direction.” For a moment, Nemesis/Sarah actually looked sad. “Of course, I'm used to it."

  "Is she...?” Maia began.

  "Oh, Sarah's dead, all right,” Nemesis said. “You see, that's the tricky thing. When I borrow someone's
body, they sorta have to die. And now I'm tired of carrying this corpse, pretty as she is."

  Maia felt her stomach pitch in disgust as she watched Sarah's form quiver and crumple in front of her. From the fleshy rubble, Nemesis materialized as her true self. The gorgeous dark-haired woman who'd watched Eryx make love to her in her apartment. The villainess she'd seen in her nightmare. The one who'd butchered Chloe and so many others.

  Nemesis, clad in a brilliant golden robe and sandals like the others, strolled over to where Dino's and Sheila's bodies were suspended from the creature's hands. “What's it going to be, Maia? You, or them?"

  "Aren't you tired of this?” Artemis huffed.

  "Oh, hi, Artemis. I didn't notice you there,” the goddess of vengeance drawled in her mean-spirited way. “How's your eye? Sorry about the whole fury thing. My quarrel's not with you or your brother, or even Dionysus."

  Apollo grabbed his sister's hand, restraining her. “Don't. It won't help."

  "You're right. It won't,” Nemesis said, turning to Eryx again. “Give her to me. You can see it in her face. Maia's just dying to sacrifice herself for her friends. And I love a martyr."

  "Let me go,” Maia cried against Eryx's chest. “Let her have me. Then she'll leave you alone."

  "She'll never leave me alone, love. And I refuse to watch her hurt you."

  "Maia,” Nemesis trilled, laying a hand on Sheila and Dino's stiff figures, “I get a strange sense your dad isn't doing well. I can just hear his heart slowing down."

  She stared up into Eryx's eyes, pleading. Broken. Lost. “Please, Eryx. I can't bear this."

  He kissed her fiercely, and she felt fire shoot up her core. Searing her as his forever love. Their tears mingled, as their lips sought to remember what they knew they had to lose. No matter what, they had to lose.

  He pulled his mouth from hers, slowly, slowly, resting his forehead on hers. With a final, heated kiss on top of her head, he quickly pushed Maia into Dionysus's waiting arms. The god of wine held her back as Eryx ran to Nemesis.

  "You want me?” Eryx seethed at his enemy. “Then you take me, not Maia."

  "No!” Maia heard herself scream over and over, struggling to get out of Dionysus's unyielding grip.