“Witchcraft,” she said, watching me thoughtfully. “She’s the goddess of witchcraft.”
I leaned forward. “What kind of witch?” I asked slowly, fearing the answer. “Dark or white?”
Aphrodite blinked. “Yes. That. Have you not been listening? There aren’t really any good Olympians. We have powers and we use those powers however our mood suits us. Otherwise there would be two families—the good one and the bad one. Like the Christians with their angels and demons,” she said with a vague grimace of distaste. “We’re more like a reality tv show in comparison. We don’t pick good or bad. We just do whatever floats our boat.”
I shook my head. “How long has it been since Hecate involved herself with humanity? The Sisters of Mercy and the Cauldron are both giving me headaches. Could she be behind either? Both? Neither?”
Aphrodite shrugged. “I haven’t heard of her helping any human witches in centuries. Maybe longer. Back when everyone still used swords to make friends. Which was a long fucking time ago, so your current witches are likely being idiots all on their own.”
She had a point. If Hecate was involved with either group, I would have already heard about it from Izzy. Hell, the Sisters of Mercy were working for the church—one of the various schools of Christianity, since there were about a hundred different factions these days. I doubted Hecate would be involved with that conflict of interest. The Cauldron hadn’t mentioned having a goddess backing them up either, and I was certain they would have mentioned it—or that Izzy would have warned me about it.
“Who else?” I asked, wondering why she hadn’t mentioned the obvious name—Selene.
She shrugged. “Any name I give you is going to put a target on their spine, and in case you have forgotten, Artemis is a great fucking shot. The best. Literally.”
“My Greek mythology is rusty,” I lied. “I’m just asking for a rundown of the players, good and bad. I’m not asking you to give up allies.” Hopefully that statement would let her slip in a nugget of truth that I could use. “What is Ares up to? You spend time with him.”
She scoffed. “We fuck like wild animals, Sorin. We don’t cuddle. We don’t chat. We don’t braid each other’s hair. We share similar interests, in a way,” she said with a dark smile. “We both convince one subset of humans to penetrate another subset of humans with a phallic object. He prefers his followers to use a metal sword, I encourage mine to use their flesh sword—”
“I get it!” I snapped, quickly cutting her off before she could go into further detail.
She chuckled at my interruption. “Prude,” she teased. “Anyway, when I do see Ares, we don’t chat. We take out our frustrations on each other. He’s probably overseas, stirring up some human war of one type or another. He cares more about mortal wars than his fellow Olympians. Because we are much too refined to go to war, obviously,” she said. “Leaves him little to talk about at the dinner table.”
I stared at her intently. “Except now the Olympians are going to war…”
Her smile slipped and she blinked. “Oh. Maybe…I should reach out to him,” she murmured, sounding embarrassed. This kernel of insight seemed to encourage her. “Okay. Maybe there is a point to this feckless reverie.”
I blinked at her, surprised at her specific words. I’d thought that exact phrase just before confronting Zeus a few nights ago atop the Statue of Liberty. Had I said that out loud? Had she been there?
“What about Zeus?” I asked, assuming I already knew the answer. He’d told me he wasn’t coming near me until it was safe. What if safe meant dead?
“No one sees Zeus. No one sees Hera either. Unless they are about to die. That applies to both of them, by the way.” She wiggled absently, repositioning herself as she began idly combing her fingers through the bear rug’s furry head. I hid my smile to find that she was scratching behind the bear’s ears, not seeming to realize she was even doing it. Almost like she was petting the dead beast. “Hermes is running messages all over, but he never shares what he knows without payment. This is the busiest he’s been in a millennium. I see him all over the place,” she mused suspiciously. “Who else do you want to know about?” she asked, her eyes distant as she continued stroking the bear.
“SORIN!” Nosh shouted at the top of his lungs from what had to be the elevator. “Trouble!”
I jumped to my feet, already racing for the door.
10
Aphrodite grabbed me with a grip like iron. “No!” she snarled furiously, fighting against my forward advance. “I stopped fucking time for you to have some goddamned sex! Whatever he saw is not an immediate concern!”
I skidded to a halt, frowning back at her. “Truly?”
“Yes!” she snapped, trying to fix the tangled robe back into place since my rush to the door had ripped it wide open. “You moron.”
Nosh appeared at the far end of the hall, running as fast as he could. “Sorin!”
“Calm your tits!” Aphrodite snapped at him, obviously annoyed.
He halted before us, bending at the waist to place his hands on his knees and catch his breath. “There’s a fight. A big one,” he wheezed.
Aphrodite sniffed angrily. “And tell me, shaman, are any of them actually moving?”
Nosh straightened, seeming to lose some of the wind in his sails. “Well, no. They’re all frozen in place.”
“Exactly,” Aphrodite snapped. She folded her arms beneath her breasts and began tapping her foot impatiently. She had obviously given up on fixing her robe; I’d torn it too severely to repair. Which meant Nosh was staring—once again—at a very pleasant display of female breasts. Add that to the fact that Aphrodite had sent him away so we could have some privacy, and that she now looked frustrated and annoyed by his interruption, and my situation with Aphrodite took on a whole new meaning. “Now, go back outside and wait until we’re finished.”
There it was. My saving grace. All wrapped up in cryptic words that alluded to the opposite.
Nosh arched an eyebrow at me, his eyes swiftly taking in the Olympian’s state of undress as he processed her last comment. I narrowed my eyes. “We were just talking, Nosh. Not the other thing,” I growled, scowling at Aphrodite’s complete lack of assistance or shame at the suspicion.
Instead, my sweet sister smirked. She fucking smirked. “Sorin has other business that he must finish before going outside to see the motionless battle,” she said, mocking Nosh’s concern.
“Who is fighting the Sisters of Mercy, Nosh?” I asked warily, fearing the answer. “And where is Izzy?”
Nosh clenched his jaw. “The Cauldron showed up—most likely while we were in the elevator before she froze time,” he said, pointing at Aphrodite. I felt a cold sweat break out over my shoulders. The Cauldron? Damn it all. “They attacked the Sisters. Thankfully, Izzy was safe from immediate harm. I considered dragging her back inside, but I wasn’t sure if that would break Aphrodite’s magic and resume the flow of time.” Aphrodite sighed wearily, muttering under her breath about incompetence. He pursed his lips, obviously hearing her. “Witches are lobbing magic around like Mardi Gras beads.”
I let out a sigh of relief to hear that Izzy was okay and assumed—judging by Aphrodite’s grumblings—that dragging her inside would have been perfectly safe. “What do beads have to do with magic?”
Aphrodite chuckled huskily. “Oh, trust me, Sorin. Certain beads can be the back door into a truly magical world.”
Nosh’s face grew the darkest shade of purple I’d seen on him yet. He even stopped to stare at her, his mouth working wordlessly. She arched an eyebrow at him, flashing her teeth in a malevolent grin.
Finally, he shook his head, turning back to me. “Forget the beads. They are throwing around a lot of deadly potions.”
“About to throw around,” Aphrodite corrected, “because nothing is moving.”
He ignored her. “It’s like someone paused the last fight in a John Wick film. But there’s fire everywhere and I saw a Sister frozen in midair—in
two pieces.”
Aphrodite didn’t even bat an eye at that. “See, Sorin? He’s overreacting. The poor lamb doesn’t even know she’s dead yet.”
I blinked at her incredulously. “Who cares if she knows she’s dead? She’s dead.”
She shrugged resentfully, conceding my point. “A little, I guess. Tell me about your brilliant plan to save the day. You run out there and, what, get a front row seat to watch her body parts splat to the ground?”
Nosh stared at her, shaking his head in disbelief. “She can’t be serious.”
I held up a hand, cutting him off as I eyed Aphrodite. “Why don’t you want me to go out there?” I asked suspiciously.
She pointed a hand back towards the bedchambers. “Because I stopped fucking time so that you could have some goddamned sex! You could spend the next three hours romping and nothing would have changed by the time you finally decided to go see whatever has the shaman so riled up. There is absolutely no cost for you to go do your duty in there—because I paid the price for you. Until I snap my fingers, the world does not concern you. At all.”
Nosh shook his head in stunned disbelief. “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. Imagine a war between two pissed off factions of witches. There is fire and blood and death everywhere. As soon as she snaps her fingers, a dozen witches will instantly die. What could possibly be more important than addressing that?”
Aphrodite blinked at him as if he was daft. “Sex. Bumping uglies. Hide the milkman—”
I cleared my throat, cutting her off. I was surprised at how incredibly angry she looked. She really took her job seriously.
She aimed that fury directly at me. “You march into that shower before I make you. I will not be disrespected like this. I’m your big sister and I know what’s best for you. Our bastard siblings have given you enough pain already. Go to your women. Now. She wanted this for you.” I winced at the connotation for multiple reasons. She was obviously referring to Selene, and I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it.
“Death. Fire. Dismemberment,” Nosh reminded me, pointing up at the ceiling. “People are dying. Right now.”
Aphrodite snarled. “We already established this. They are between life and death, and they will remain so for a few hours. Or until I snap my fingers.”
I stared at her, unable to speak. She wasn’t just frustrated. She…was hurt. Offended.
Disappointed.
Part of me was right alongside Nosh, wondering how she could be so callous, but the other part of me knew she was exactly right in her claims. And that I was hurting her feelings by not honoring her gift. She had stopped time for me, truly. The goddess of sex was being dismissed, and it was tearing her up inside.
It was insanely heartwarming and endearing. And psychotic. And sweet.
I wasn’t sure that I’d ever seen someone so invested in giving me a gift before. Ever.
She noticed my attention and pointed towards the bathroom again. “Please, Sorin. I worked really hard to do this for you,” she said softly. “We worked really hard to do this for you,” she added in barely a whisper.
I stepped closer to place a hand on her shoulder. “The mood has been destroyed, Aphrodite. It would be impossible for me to focus on pleasure right now, and not even because of the fight outside. All the other things we discussed…I can’t just turn off that part of my brain. I wish I could—more than you know. I appreciate your gift and wish I was in the right state of mind to accept it, but I’m not. And if they heard any of what you and I discussed, they would feel the same. It would be a lie to walk in there and not immediately tell them everything. I won’t lie to them. They would never forgive me for it.”
“My brother is an idiot,” she breathed, dejectedly, but I could tell she sympathized with my answer. She definitely wasn’t pleased about it. “That’s the only explanation.”
I smiled tightly, just as frustrated about it as her. “Answer me this,” I said tiredly. “Why didn’t you wait to warn me about everything? You could have let me walk into that shower and told me about everything else later.”
She hung her head grumpily. “I thought about it, Sorin. I really did.” I waited, watching her intently. She let her breath out in a huff. “Anyone else and I would have. But it would have been a lie and it would have broken your trust—which I was trying to earn. I want a brother I actually like. One I can trust. You’re not tarnished by the games we’ve played for millennia.”
I nodded, lifting my palms. “Exactly.”
She sighed dejectedly. “I tried, brother. One day, your balls are going to pack up and leave.”
I extended my hand with a warm smile, realizing that I truly enjoyed Aphrodite’s company. It would be difficult to convince Adam and Eve not to attack her on sight, though. Perhaps she could give them pointers on their own amorous exploits.
Rather than accepting my offer, Aphrodite wrapped me up in a tight hug. She pulled back and kissed me on the forehead. “Don’t do anything stupid out there, Sorin. I only just met you, and you’re already my favorite brother. Remember that anything could be a set up. Maybe the twins are out there, hoping to draw you out.”
I nodded, having already considered it. “Thank you,” I said.
Aphrodite frowned suddenly, her face growing as pale as a sheet. “Something is wrong.”
“What?” I demanded.
“Someone is poking at my spell! That’s not even possible!” she breathed.
“How long do we have?” I demanded.
She thought about it, the purple and pink flecks in her eyes growing brighter as her gaze grew distant. “They’re testing it, looking for a weak point. I can hold them off for maybe ten minutes.”
“Wake the devils up!” I snapped, preferring to have them where I could see them—and knowing I could trust them more than anyone who might be outside.
She nodded, rushing into the bathroom. I began pacing back and forth, thinking furiously. Nosh did the same, preferring silence as well. Soon, the girls were rushed out of the bathroom, wild-eyed and hurriedly donning robes as they cast furtive glances at the semi-topless Aphrodite.
“Girls, meet Aphrodite. My sister.”
“She’s a real sweet-tart,” Nosh murmured dryly.
Aphrodite grinned, dipping her chin graciously. The devils stared at me wordlessly, struggling to comprehend the sudden change of events. I cleared my throat. “There’s a fight about to erupt upstairs. When you’re finished getting dressed, would you do me the honor of accompanying me—”
Victoria was already scooping up her clothes and tugging them on. Natalie tightened the sash on her robe, her face set in a stern frown as she eyed Aphrodite’s matching attire with a suspicious scowl.
Aphrodite pointed at me. “Blame him. I tried to buy you time for some fun, but he was adamant.”
“Come on!” Nosh urged, motioning for them to hurry.
Natalie stared at Aphrodite for a few more seconds before complying. The two of them ran ahead, not bothering to wait. Victoria tugged on a t-shirt and scooped up a holster with daggers and a pistol attached to it. She didn’t even bother with shoes. “What the hell is going on, Sorin?” she demanded, her voice muffled by the shirt she was trying to pull over her head.
“At least fifty witches are trying to kill each other on the steps of the museum,” I said, pulling her after me. “Neither seem friendly to us.”
“Be careful out there, Sorin,” Aphrodite said, her voice sounding strained. “I’m not sure how long I can maintain this, and my face out there might have unintended consequences,” she said meaningfully.
I nodded, bolting out the doors. Who was messing with her spell? Artemis and Apollo? Hera? I was doubly glad that I hadn’t taken Aphrodite up on her offer to spend time with my devils.
I might have been forced to kill someone if I had been interrupted in the middle of my pleasure. Then again, I was fairly certain that a healthy dose of murder was in my immediate future.
Nosh and Natalie had chosen
to take the stairs. “Izzy’s out there,” I told Victoria, noticing her frustrated frown. “Let’s hurry. Witches might be the least of our problems.”
“Olympians?” she asked warily.
I nodded grimly. “Welcome to the family.”
11
The elevator doors opened and we spilled out onto the main level, already running towards the front entrance. We rounded the final corner in time to see Nosh and Natalie slip out the center doors leading outside.
I stared, transfixed by a gaping hole in the massive, grate-covered windows above the entrance doors. A cloud of debris, glass, and a somersaulting werewolf hung suspended just within the newly-formed hole—frozen in time.
It was eerie to behold. Especially when I noticed that the werewolf’s side was in the process of catching flame, a perfect circle of unburning fire covering his ribs.
I shared a significant look with Victoria—this was bad. Very bad. A werewolf had already been harmed. It was no longer witch versus witch. And they’d damaged my building—a direct attack. My vampires would not stand for that. Neither would the werewolves.
Once time resumed its normal passing, of course.
We burst through the open door and out onto the steps of the museum. I skidded to a halt, my eyes widening in disbelief and wonder. Blood, bodies, projectiles, and eerily motionless flames portrayed a living exhibit of chaos that any museum would have begged to put on display. Nosh hadn’t done it justice. The statue of the museum’s founder astride his horse at the base of the steps was awash with frozen flame, and part of the stone foundation had been blown away, threatening the structural integrity of the pedestal. Would it hold or would the statue of Theodore Roosevelt fall?
A double line of motionless women in matching white coats stood in the center of the street, facing the museum like an invading army, and they were all frozen in the act of hurling glass vials, firing pistols, or wielding bared blades. Their faces were locked in grim determination; not a single one of them looked afraid.
Devil’s Blood: Shade of Devil Book 3 Page 7
