“Is the rose off the bloom already?” Aphrodite asked haughtily.
One of these days, I’m going to kill her. That was the thought that went through Ares’ mind as he bit back the words on his lips and the urge to turn toward his former Lover and toss a hot fireball in her direction. Out of the corner of his eye, Ares saw Morpheus purse his lips and look down toward his transparent feet away from the scene playing out in front of him. Ares was not happy to see his Cousin here nor was he pleased to see Circe. The Nymphs were welcome, scantily clad beautiful women were always welcome in Ares’ world. “Alena? Do we have a problem?”
It had been such a long tiring few days and Alena was beginning to wonder if she could tell Up from Down anymore. She looked up and deep into those onyx eyes staring back at her, she let out a long breath and decided she could find the strength to hang on a little longer. “No, my Love. We don’t have a problem, I’m sorry, I just…”
Ares shook his head. “I know. A long vacation is in order when this is over.” He put his arm around her shoulders and turned toward the Olympians sitting on the other side of the long arced tabled watching them. “So this is what you’ve brought me?” he asked. “This is your army? An old hag.” He pointed at Circe. “A few wanton women.” The Nymphs giggled when he made eye contact with them. “A creature that can’t even hold a weapon.” Ares looked at Morpheus from over his shoulder. “And a band of bugs so small they can’t hold a butter knife, let alone a sword.”
Lord Elvin took exception to Ares’ last statement and fluttered out of Alena’s hand up the long distance to Ares’ eyes. “We are not bugs. Small we may be, Lord Ares, but our size is as much advantage as it is detriment. We’re discussing our home here. We prefer to fight for it but they,” he hitched an aged thumb toward the Olympians, “don’t seem to agree.”
“They don’t?” Ares asked, resisting the urge to swat the little Faery King like a fly. “Well, what a shocker, hmm?” They never agreed on anything, even now as their world crumbled down around them they couldn’t come to a mutual decision. “Let me guess, Eros, Aphrodite, Morpheus, Circe” he counted them off one by one and pointed at each cheekily. “Those are the cowards here. Where’d you dig him up anyway? Some filthy old mausoleum?”
“I’m not a cave dweller like you, Cousin.” Morpheus spoke up. “How you been sleeping lately? Good?”
Ares’ eyes narrowed on the transparent King of Dreams and he let out a long low growl.
“Back off, Ares,” Circe hissed and drew her wand from her sleeve to point it at him. “Or I’ll turn you into a cute little bunny rabbit, good prey for a wolf like you.”
“Point that stick somewhere else you old hag or I’ll rip it and your hand off your arm.”
“Stop it!” Poseidon thundered. Circe glared at Ares who glared back at her, but she tucked the wand back into her sleeve and then spoke again. “They seem to believe if we hand over your little bitch that Cernunnos will just go away and leave us alone.”
“No one ever said they were much on brains,” Ares returned. “Even less on courage.” He turned to meet Zeus’ gaze. “Don’t even think about it, Father. I won’t take her to him and I won’t let any of you do it, either.”
Zeus stood up and held up a hand in surrender as he leaned upon his own Staff. The moment they came into the room, even before Alena lit up with excitement, Zeus knew the curse upon Ares was broken. He didn’t know how the little Fey had managed it but it was gone and Ares was back to himself. Zeus could not use Alena against him and it was best not to try. “Agreed, Ares, agreed. Keep the…woman, if you want.”
“Why, thank you, Father, you’re so kind to me.” Ares cleared his throat and then continued in even a more cynical tone. “That is when you’re not exiling me for crimes I didn’t commit or allowing me to suffer under the grip of a dark curse in hopes that I would kill her.” Ares glanced down at Alena who looked up at him with eyes still tearful. “He knew,” Ares whispered to her. “Don’t fool yourself, Alena. He knew.”
“You did what?” Hera shrieked as her hand turned into talons and she reached out for Zeus’ neck. “How could you do this?”
Zeus batted her hands away with his Staff so harshly that Hera stumbled backward and she would have fallen if Poseidon hadn’t caught her. “It’s ancient history now, she broke it, didn’t she Ares? How?”
“That’s our little secret,” Ares hissed. “Trust me, Father; I won’t forget what you did.” Ares’ eyes were fixed and smoldering so heatedly Zeus could almost smell smoke rising off him. “Will you give your word, here and now, in front of all them, that you will never interfere with my life or Alena’s or those of our children and their children and their children and so forth.”
Ares’ words were like a dagger through his Mother’s heart. “You still do not wish to return home?” Hera asked in a sad voice as she rose. She had hoped that once this was over, with a new baby on the way Ares would return to the safety of Olympus. He would raise his child here among his Family.
“In light of all of this,” Ares pointed at Zeus, “would you want to return here, Mother? I want nothing more from any of you than your absence from my life.”
“Even me?” The anguish was clear in Hera’s voice. “What of my Grandchild? Surely you do not believe I wish him harm, do you, my Son?”
No one has the power to make another feel so deeply guilty as quickly as one’s own Mother does and Ares was not immune. Still, Ares was no fool. In all the time he’d been exiled Hera did not attempt to visit him, to make contact with him. To visit or send word to him, she did nothing. Perhaps it was because she didn’t want to go against her husband, Ares was willing to give his mother that much. In the end, Hera was no one’s bitch, not even Zeus’. She was a very benevolent Goddess when she wanted to be and that was often. Hera showered those she loved with riches and gifts beyond imagination. She was also a vicious bitch when she was crossed. She would go to endless lengths to exact revenge and make the guilty party suffer even for the slightest perceived slight. “Do not think me cruel, Mother, my child and my woman are best off far away from here and those gathered in this room.” Ares let his eyes drift to his Father. “Some among us are not as kind as you.”
“I am a Mother yet my arms are empty, they yearn for a child to hold,” Hera began to plead, “I long to hear the laughter of a child fill these empty halls again. Has your punishment been so severe that you no longer have any desire to be among us? Have you forgotten what it is to be an Olympian?”
In spite of all the guilt she was tossing at him, Ares stood his ground and held his temper. “No, Mother, I have not forgotten. I have no use of this place and it has no use of me. Do we have a deal, Father?”
“To the End of Time?” Zeus mused. “We are agreed.” Let Ares have his little Fey and their freakish children if he wanted them. So long as Zeus didn’t have to be involved then he would abide by this. “You will go now, tonight, and take care of this mess.”
“I will bring you Cernunnos’ head in the morning and then our business will be done, Father.” Ares looked to Hades.
“I’m going,”
“No, I have a safe place for you,” Ares said through barely moving lips and then looked up again.
“The safest place for me is right behind you. I’m going.” Alena insisted.
6
With the sun going down and brilliant color lighting up the horizon, Ares and Alena appeared on the shore of his island. “I am going with you!” Alena cried. “You can’t leave me behind! He has my MOTHER!”
“Will you stop arguing with me over this, woman? You’re really pissing me off,” Ares warned. “I don’t want you anywhere near Cernunnos and I don’t need to worry about you while I’m locked in the heat of battle,” he hissed as spittle flew from his lips. “Listen to me! I forbid it! Do you understand? That’s the end of it.”
“You…you…you what?” Alena stormed off away from him several paces and leveled the Staff at him. “I’m going.”
“Are you threatening me? Are you out of your mind, woman?” Ares warned. “That Staff is no match for me and neither are you. Stop this foolishness before it gets out of hand.”
“It’s my right to be there,” Alena said, not backing off. “All that he’s done to me, my mother, my people! You can’t deny me this. I can hold my own, you know I can. With this,” she gazed up at the Staff, “I am even stronger.”
“Until it exhausts you and you fall flat on your face. So spent you can’t even move, never mind defend yourself. I can’t afford to babysit you while I slay Cernunnos.” Ares held out his hands to her. “In time Alena, you will be very strong, very powerful, but you’re just learning how to use this power. You’re not ready for battle.” Ares began to take slow steps toward her hoping she would calm down and let him embrace her.
“Get away from me.” Alena backed up with the setting sun behind her, blinding Ares with vibrant reds, oranges and violets. “You of all people, I can’t believe you would take this away from me.”
Suddenly the setting sun behind Alena grew brighter it flashed a brilliant pink, making Ares instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes.
“Sorry, Lover, but she has to go home now.”
“Aphrodite!” Ares thundered.
The Goddess of Love wrapped her arms around Alena from behind, pinning Alena’s arms and the Staff to her side before they both disappeared from Ares’ sight.
“NO! Alena!” Ares ran to the spot where she’d stood just out of his reach and crashed to his knees in the sand. She’d been here. Right here only a moment ago. Now she was gone. The love of his life slipped right through his fingers like the grains of sand surrounding him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Home Coming
1
On her unexpected and short trip to Cernunnos, Alena was terrified. She didn’t know who had her or where she was going. She’d been so intent on telling Ares off that she hadn’t even sense her abductor until she was disappearing from the beach and Ares was fading from her sight. Then, for a terrifying moment, she was lost in that in-between place with the sensation of stretching out like a rubber band. She thought she felt arms around her shoulders but she wasn’t sure.
Like a distant mirage in the desert, the destination starting coming into view. At first the image was hazy, nothing more than a wavy blur of color. Then it grew a little clearer and a little clearer still until she could make out the outlines, especially at the top where long strange tendrils of a buff-tan color rose to sharp tips.
“Oh, no,” Alena gasped, still in the clutch of shifting between Ares’ island and Cernunnos’ throne room. The hands around her pinned her elbows to her side but Alena still held the Staff and as the image became more solid, she tried to raise it and ready herself to send out a roaring blast of energy. Enough to knock Cernunnos off his hooves and possibly allow her the chance to escape.
While Aphrodite could give herself a quick hair touch up while she zipped from one place to the other, stupid little Mortals and Feys like Alena were frozen in place. Bewildered and unamused by Alena’s ability to move while traveling and her audacity to attempt to go in fighting, Aphrodite grabbed a hold of Alena’s silver hair, wrapping it around her fist; she gave it a hard yank.
That did not deter Alena; she noticed Aphrodite was right handed; as such she’d used the hand that was pinning down the arm holding the Staff. When they fully formed inside the cold stone room, she cocked back her elbow and planted it in Aphrodite’s ribs as hard as she could. Feeling the sudden stab of pain and letting out a blow of air along with a deep groan of agony, Aphrodite stumbled backward but didn’t let go of Alena’s hair. Doing all she could to summon whatever energy she could find and stay on her feet as Aphrodite began to lose her balance and stumble behind her; Alena leveled the Staff at Cernunnos who was now solid before her.
Ares had been right; she should not have wanted to come here. If she ever got home, she’d have to tell him that. Tell him she should have listened to him, should have done what he said. After all, he had so much more experience in these matters than she did. She would tell him that she loved him, and she was so sorry they argued. The bolt of energy that ushered forth from the crystal at the top of the Staff was bright pure white light. But it was slow and weak. Grinning, Cernunnos sidestepped the bolt of light and watched it zip past him, crash into the stone behind where he’d stood, and burn a small hole.
As Cernunnos charged at her, his hooves making that horrible clop-clop-clop on the stone, Alena tried to summon up another burst of energy but it was no use. She was drained. Unable to hit him with magick she grabbed the Staff with both hands, held it out in front of her as she wriggled to be free of Aphrodite’s faltering hold. As he came in close, she brought the left end upward as quickly and sharply as she could, hoping to clip him in the face and maybe break that smug jaw.
Cernunnos knew his little Maggie well and he anticipated her move, and slid in under the blow to wrench the Staff out of her hand and return the favor. The thick wood met Alena’s jaw with the force of a hurricane, it sent her, and by osmosis Aphrodite, flying backward as Alena’s cheek and lip split open, gushing blood. “You always did have a lot of heart, Maggie,” he crooned as he loomed over her. “Welcome home my dear Wife. I’ve missed you.”
Lying on top of Aphrodite back-to-front, Alena looked up at her captor, out of sheer spite gathered enough strength to rise up partway and spit a wad of blood into his face. “Go to hell.”
“Always so….saucy. You know how much I like that.” Wiping the bloody spittle from his face, Cernunnos licked his lips, letting the salty taste of her blood roll around on his tongue. “I have to hand it to you, Aphrodite; I really didn’t believe you were going to come through on this one.”
“Get this bitch off of me!” Aphrodite cried as she writhed on the floor pinned down by Alena. She shoved upward with her hands to push Alena off, inadvertently giving Alena the support she needed to land another elbow in the Goddess’ flank. Letting out another low groan, Aphrodite began to roll over taking Alena with her. Both women on their sides on the floor, Aphrodite grabbed her aching flank with one hand and the scruff of Alena’s neck with the other. “You little bitch! I hate you!” she shrieked, pulling Alena’s head back as far as she could then shoving it forward as hard as she could, driving Alena’s head into the unforgiving stone.
The pain resounded but the echo of the thud her head made when it smacked the stone reverberated down to her toes. Alena saw stars as the world began to fade away to gray. She felt Aphrodite scramble to her feet but couldn’t turn around to see what was coming next. In a great whirl of pink organza, the Goddess of Love sprinted over Alena’s body and drove the flat of her sandal-clad foot into Alena’s flank. Alena curled up into a ball trying to protect the baby inside of her from Aphrodite’s furious kicks.
Holding the Staff in his hand, Cernunnos took a step back and laughed hardily as he watched Aphrodite take out her frustrations on the helpless woman.
“You bitch!” Aphrodite screamed as she pulled her foot up and brought it down with all the force she could muster. Alena screamed from the force of the impact as her ribs broke. “How dare you think you can take Ares from me? You’re NOTHING!” Another kick, this one landed on the side of Alena’s head as she tried to curl up into a tighter ball. “Ugly, savage, little whore!” Grabbing a handful of Alena’s silver hair, Aphrodite pulled her head back so she could stare into her eyes. “You think you can bear his child? YOU? You’re not even good enough to raise a DOG!” To make sure her point was clear she slapped Alena across the face, making her already wounded jaw sting. “You’re a shriveled up old crone!”
“Stop,” Alena begged, “please stop.”
“Not until that thing you’re carrying is DEAD!” Aphrodite kept up her assault until Alena was still and silent on the floor, bleeding from several places on her head and holding her broken ribs gingerly.
Cernunnos snatched out quickly, grab
bed Aphrodite by the arm and sharply turned her around to face him. “I’ll take that pleasure. That’s enough.”
“Enough?” Aphrodite shrieked. “It’s not nearly enough! Let go of me!” She pulled and wriggled but couldn’t get her arm free of his grasp.
“We have a deal,” Cernunnos reminded her. “So, I’ll take it from here.”
“And what am I to do?” she shot. Upon hearing that Ares didn’t intend to bring the little bitch with him into battle, Aphrodite had no other choice but to expose herself to Ares. Undoubtedly, right now, Ares was telling the others all about her treachery. She would never be able to return to Olympus, not until all of them were dead.
Cernunnos leaned in closer to her. “That’s not really my problem, my dear. Our deal doesn’t cover that.”
“You’re going to turn me out? After all I’ve done for you?” Aphrodite could take it no longer; she raised her foot high and stomped down on Cernunnos’ hoof while her free hand came up to slap him across that handsome face.
On the floor, Alena tried to catch her breath and to listen to their conversation.
“What you’ve done for me?” Cernunnos asked coyly. “I thought it was I who ridded you of that ugly Husband of yours.”
“That was centuries ago.” Cernunnos did rid her Hephaestus and for that Aphrodite had been very grateful, but that didn’t mean she was going to allow her sweet ass to swing in the breeze for him now. In her own defense at the time Aphrodite had no idea that Cernunnos was systematically killing off all the Gods. Had she known, she might have made a different choice when Cernunnos secretly summoned her to his Great Hall and began to offer his assistance in Aphrodite’s revenge. Fate had other plans and from that day to this, Aphrodite had been a silent and mostly willing conspirator in Cernunnos’ plan.
All she had to do was bring Hephaestus to Cernunnos’ Lands and then Cernunnos would take care of the rest. When he was ready, down the road Cernunnos would contact Aphrodite and when he asked she would bring Ares to him. In return, Cernunnos asked only what all of the others did, to lie in her bed for a few nights. Cernunnos was rather hideous himself; his face was handsome, but the whole half-man half-stag thing was unattractive. Still, she’d lain with worse. It was a small price to pay to exact revenge for this most embarrassing and humiliating moment of her life. After all, it was Hephaestus who set the trap for her and Ares, he who exposed her to all of the Gods and then laughed with them.
The Heart of War Page 49
