Nether: Hidden Book Five

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  "I am a true god, returned to Earth to save you from her and her kind."

  I noted several of my team members urging the humans to leave, directing traffic away from the parade route. My dogs came and stood beside me.

  "Netherhounds. How quaint. I remember you two," Hyperion roared. "You led them right to me, didn't you?"

  Kurt snarled, and both dogs shed their mortal disguises, showing their boulder-like, plated black bodies, their glowing red eyes.

  "Not now," I said, low. "Wait."

  They stood, snarling, practically quivering with bloodlust.

  He laughed, loud, full of good humor, and threw his sword at me. I ducked, and he laughed harder. I looked around to see where the sword had landed at the same instant I felt agony from Nain.

  He'd been coming up behind me, and Hyperion had planned his sword throw so perfectly that when I ducked, it was at the perfect trajectory to hit Nain. It stuck out of his shoulder.

  "I'm fine," he growled, eyes glowing. "Mess that fucker up, baby. I'll be right with you." He pulled the sword out of his shoulder with a growl, and agony flooded through our connection.

  "Yes. Do mess me up, Mollis Eth-Hades. Hurt me in front of all of these witnesses and cameras. Show the world what a monster you truly are," Hyperion said. He grinned, produced another sword out of nowhere.

  And threw it at Nain, who was bent over, healing his previous wound.

  It struck his lower back, and I screamed as Hyperon laughed.

  I'm fine, Nain said in my mind. Go.

  I drew my flamesword, and the crowd, what was left of it, cheered.

  I rose into the air, flew hard at Hyperion.

  "I've never pretended to be anything other than a monster," I snarled, and I struck down, hard. He had another sword (What the fucking hell? Did he have a limitless supply of them?) and met my slash with one of his own. We fought, slashing, stabbing, and every once in a while I'd shoot flames to distract him. He hit me with his shield, and my still-healing jaw snapped loose again.

  "There. That'll shut you up," he roared, laughing again.

  I struck out harder, trying my best to ignore the pain in my jaw.

  "Shall we get into it, then? Let us address your murders first," Hyperion said, voice booming over the crowd. "Clark Hanson was your first murder. You were seventeen. You set him on fire and walked away."

  I tried not to be affected. I couldn't say anything in defense of myself anyway, couldn't speak around my swollen, broken jaw.

  "And there were more, yes? Astaroth. Twenty-some men in a boarding house. A few dozen women elsewhere. Gods. Did you know your champion, your hero, has murdered gods? What's to stop her from killing you?" he boomed, and I focused on trying to kill him, my rage overtaking everything else. I struck harder, landed one at the side of his neck, and he roared. It wasn't enough, but it sure as hell made me feel better.

  "Do you see what she is? Murderous, vile. Bringer of death. Ares, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Hermes. Names you all know. Gods. She has murdered them all. She is the reason your city is the hellhole it is. She is the reason you can't sleep at night, wondering what monster will attack next. She is the monster, and she will destroy you all."

  "Lies," I snarled, hitting him again. I used flames, tried to keep them in contact with his armor the way Nether had. He screamed, hit me harder, and I dodged so he couldn't get full contact with me. I moved into the center of the street, trying to draw him away from the Normals, who stood watching now, their fear and confusion surrounding me.

  "Lies? That's rich coming from you, daughter of death," he said, his voice ridiculously amplified, bouncing off of the skyscrapers around us.

  I glanced around. My parents, Heph, Nain, Athena, E, and my aunt Meg had approached and were surrounding us.

  "Ask her how far into your government her taint extends. Ask how many of your lawmakers are her lapdogs. Sometimes literally," he smirked. "How does it feel to fuck an animal, daughter of death?"

  "I don't know. Lemme ask your girlfriend," I managed, talking around the swelling in my jaw. Blood streamed down my arms from the multiple slashes he'd landed.

  He laughed. "No need. You can just ask your mother how she liked it."

  That did it. Every single one of the Olympians assembled sprung for him then, slashing, hitting. My father released a bestial roar and his scythe cut another deep furrow across Hyperion's face as the Titan fended off the rest of the Olympians.

  "You see what they are, mortals of Detroit. Animals."

  And then he was gone, all of us hitting at nothing, then trying hard not to hit one another with our swords and knives.

  "Where did he go? I'll flay him alive and feed—"

  "Hades, shush," my mom said, clamping a hand over Hades' mouth.

  I turned away from the group, let my flamesword disappear. I went to my husband. Jamie was looking at his back.

  "It's fine," he told her irritably. She saw me coming and backed away. He tried pulling his shirt back down over it and I shot him a glare and pushed it back up. There was a long, gaping cut across his lower back, blood still weeping from the wound.

  "It's healing," he told me.

  "I can help it along." He shook his head. "Not now. It's healing, and you need to stay as strong as you can."

  "He knew. Take you out of the fight and he gets to me. And then I can't feed off you, can't focus, can't…" I broke off in irritation.

  "He knew a whole lot of shit," Nain said as the rest of our team approached. The Normals were all standing still, watching us. Unsure. "How did he know that? Who fucking blabbed?" He glared around the circle. "Nobody knows about all that shit beyond a few people standing right here, and not even all of you knew everything. How'd he fucking know?"

  "Any other secrets you've been keeping from Queenie, shifter?" Heph asked mildly.

  "It wasn't him," I said quietly, hoping I was right. I kept my eye on my dad, who was studying Brennan closely. He turned his gaze to me, gave a short nod.

  I felt a weight lift. "Thanks."

  Hades nodded again, and even Brennan looked surprised that I stuck up for him.

  "You never know. He might have bargained information about you for safety for his son," Heph pressed. "It wouldn't be the first time he's sold you out."

  "Heph, I love you, but shut up. It wasn't him," I said. "There is someone who knows it all, including the name of the first guy I killed. I've only told that name to Nain."

  Now everyone just looked confused.

  "I told it to him when I was Nether's prison," I finished, hating it, but knowing that it was the only answer that made sense.

  "I told you you should have—" my dad began.

  "You know what, old man?" Nain roared, standing up and getting right in Hades' face. "You are not in her shoes. You don't fight the battles she fights. And maybe she knows Nether better than you do. Get off her back. Now."

  Both Nain's and my father's eyes were glowing red as they faced off, nose-to-nose, neither one backing down.

  "I am the god of death, demon. Do not even begin to assume that you can disrespect me," Hades said.

  "Oh, for fuck's sake," I muttered.

  "Hades," Tisiphone said, putting a hand on his arm.

  "Fine. I'll be in the Netherwoods," Hades said, and then he disappeared.

  Tisiphone gave me a hug, as did my aunt, and then they were gone, too.

  "I need to get back to Meaghan," Heph said. "Unless you need me here." I shook my head, and Heph hugged me, then gave Brennan a sheepish apology, which Brennan waved off. And then, he was gone.

  Athena, E, Brennan, Nain, Jamie, and I were all that were left. Well, us and several thousand Normals, who were watching us like they were worried we would sprout horns and then follow that up by eating their intestines or something. I looked around. The street was completely silent. Whatever else Hyperion was, he was a devious planner. He'd set out to make them fear me, constructed this spectacle on a day when millions of people would be watching. And it
had worked. They were terrified. And not so much of him.

  Of me.

  And that fucking hurt. I couldn't pretend it didn't. I didn't blame them, because I'd be afraid in their shoes, too. Years of trying to protect them, of trying to earn their trust, erased with nothing more than a few words from Hyperion.

  I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. I noticed two women to my left step off the curb and start walking toward us. They were both older, and looked alike enough to be sisters, long white hair braided down their backs.

  The taller one gave me a smile when they reached us, the corners of her warm brown eyes crinkling as she did.

  "You're bleeding, Angel," she said, her voice loud enough that the nearest Normals could hear.

  I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream, anything to release all of the emotions running through me. I bit my lip to keep the tears back, and she seemed to get it. She opened her arms, and I let her hug me, and hugged her back. Her sister joined in, and then I did cry.

  It's hard to explain. I deal with so many assholes in my life, both mortal and immortal. When someone is genuinely kind and accepting, it never fails to throw me for a loop. When the two women released me, I noticed that they were both crying, too.

  "We believe in you," the shorter sister said. "You've been here for us."

  More Normals had joined the sisters. Many, many more had stayed back, still watching in concern. I was hugged by several other people, and I let it happen.

  "You're our hero," a young woman said. "I don't care what some jerky gold freak says."

  This was met with cheers and applause. I noticed the other Normals, the more fearful ones, getting antsy, unsure how to handle what was happening.

  "Thank you," I said "I'm sorry about what happened here. Thank you."

  I met Nain's eyes, Athena's, E's. Then we each grabbed a team member and blinked out of sight, leaving the destruction and chaos behind us.

  We ended up back at our rented house, where Heph, Meaghan, Demeter, and Persephone had agreed to meet us.

  "Oh, jeez," Meaghan exclaimed when she saw us. She didn't seem to know whether to look at me or Nain. "What can I do, Molly?" she asked, and I shook my head.

  "You've done more than enough. Thank you. I hope she wasn't too crazy," I said, leaning over the side of the crib and picking Zoe up. She was wide awake, her tiny fists clenched, red from crying. As soon as she was in my arms, she closed her eyes.

  "She was all right. She cried a bit every now and then, but she seemed happier when she was near Sean, so we let them lay together in the playpen for a while, and that gave us a break," she said.

  "Thank you." I cuddled Zoe close to me.

  "We saw it all on the television," Persephone said. "What a mess."

  I nodded. "Many people there seemed to take what he said to heart," I finally said.

  "That was what we gathered from some of the interviews on the news," Persephone said, and E glared at her. "Well, it's true. And she should know that," Persephone shot at her.

  I shook my head. "It's not a surprise. He knew that for the majority of the city, their trust in me is weak at best. Fear is high, and he capitalized on that. It was only a matter of time."

  I looked down at Zoe, pressed my lips to her forehead. Nain came up behind me and rested his hands on my hips.

  "Turn the TV on, please," I said to Heph.

  "You don't need to watch that shit, Queenie," he argued.

  "Please," I repeated.

  He gave me a helpless look, then he turned it back on. The mayor of Detroit was on.

  "The fact of the matter is that this has been a danger, a live bomb living among us for a long time. Look at all of the destruction we've had. That insanity in midtown a few weeks back. That fight near Grand Circus Park last week. All of those murders, and fires. As far as the accusations of the Angel having infiltrators in our local government, I am setting up an investigation now. We may not be able to control her, but we can sure the hell ensure that she is not running our city departments from behind the scenes."

  "What would you like to say to the Angel?" the interviewer asked.

  "I'd like to ask her to leave. I know she's done a lot of good. There is no denying that. But things are just getting worse, and I think it's clear that she's the reason. She has powerful enemies, and our city is paying the price."

  "Fucking weasel," Nain growled.

  I didn't answer, just kept watching. They ended the interview with the mayor, went back out to the scene of the attack on the parade. Debris from some of the floats still littered the area, and crowds were still milling around. The reporter was talking to people at the scene, and almost to a one, they seemed to be in agreement about one thing: I was a menace.

  By the fifth person, I couldn't take it anymore. I sent a blast of power at the television. It sparked, and the screen blew out. The room went silent around us.

  "It's okay. I didn't like that TV anyway, baby," Nain said.

  "I need to be alone with Nain and Zoe for a while," I told my friends. Everyone left, patting or hugging me on the way out. I heard Nain thank Meaghan for watching Zoe, and then, finally, it was just him and me, and our daughter.

  Nain sat on the couch and held his arms out. I settled myself onto his lap, rested my head on his shoulder. I still held Zoe, who was blissfully sleeping, a tiny, sleepy smile on her face.

  "Are you still hurt?" I asked Nain.

  "I'm okay," he said, holding me tight. "How about you?"

  "I'm healed," I told him. The dogs came into the room, settled themselves with groans onto the floor in front of the couch, and watched us with those too-knowing eyes. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes. "I'm so tired," I said.

  "I know, baby."

  "I gotta find Nether."

  He didn't answer.

  "My dad was right about that much. Me being so soft on her sure came back to bit me in the a— butt," I amended, remembering Zoe's presence.

  "Not now, though. You need to get your strength back up," he said, and I nodded. "Just stay with me, Molls."

  "Okay," I said sleepily. I forced myself to get up and set Zoe in her cradle. She was sleeping soundly.

  "Watch over her," I told Kurt and Courtney, and I got a quiet whine of acceptance in response.

  Nain took my hand and we went into our room, then stripped and stood under the hot water in the shower. I washed his body first, running a soapy washcloth lazily over his body, loving every single contour, every scar. I washed blood from his shoulder and back, laying kisses over his flesh as I cared for him. When I was finished, he did the same for me.

  When we were clean, he carried me to our bed, where he reminded me yet again what it meant to truly be mated, bonded to someone. He laid me down and settled himself between my thighs, claiming my lips at the same moment he sheathed himself deep inside me, capturing my cries with his lips.

  Feed, Molls. Take what you need, his voice, warm yet demanding, said in my mind.

  Nain.

  Do it, Molls. Let me do this for you.

  And I did. I let myself take strength from my mate as our bodies writhed, as his demanding, hoarse whispers turned my mind to mush, as I gave him everything I could, just as he gave everything he could to me. When we were together like this, there was no holding back.

  His hands were clasped with mine, pressing them into the mattress, his lips on mine, and when I cried out, I felt his release deep inside me, heard his satisfied groan. He just kept kissing me, holding me.

  I love you. You're perfect, baby. I'm yours for the rest of my life and I swear to whatever's out there that I will give you everything I fucking can. If you need my strength, it's yours. If you need me to hold you, I'll do it happily. And if what you need is to fuck so hard you forget anything but me, you can have that too. I'm yours.

  I kissed him harder, then let go of his hands so I could wrap my arms around him and run my hands over his muscled back.

  "I'm yours. For the rest of my existence," I
whispered to him. "It scared the hell out of me when you were hurt today." Then I let the tears come, able to really cry now that I'd let myself lose control with him. He held me, and nuzzled the side of my neck, and waited it out with me until I was able to get myself back together again.

  "It takes more than that to kill me, baby," he murmured. "Nothing is gonna take me away from you. You know damn well I don't do anything I don't want to do."

  I smiled a little, ran my hands up and down his back, and let his contented mood wash over me. It couldn't last, though. We had things that we had to talk about, no matter how much I wanted to ignore them.

  "This is going to be a mess," I said, and he nodded, face still pressed into the side of my neck. His hands were in my hair, his body still joined with mine. "It's starting to fall apart."

  "We'll figure it out," he said. "One thing at a time, Molls. We need to get rid of Hyperion's golden ass. Deal with Nether, get your imps back. We'll deal with the rest as it comes."

  "I don't think it's gonna be long before the Normals start calling for my head."

  "Well, they can't have it. Fuck them," Nain growled.

  "And then there's Brennan and Jamie. They're obviously involved with me and everyone knows it. They're going to hear it all."

  "So they can leave their jobs if they need to. They don't have to worry about money. We'll take care of them."

  "I know."

  "I'm gonna try to talk to Jamie tomorrow," I said. "And we need to make sure Meaghan is protected from all this shit."

  "You put Gaia there. And Demeter and Persephone rarely leave her side. Meaghan is as protected as she can be," he said. "Stop thinking for a while."

  I tried. I lay there beneath him and listened to his breathing slow as he fell asleep. I felt his entire body relax, and usually, it would have sent me right to sleep. Instead, my mind raced. Images of Nain getting hit with Hyperion's swords, the Normals running, as much from me as from Hyperion. The horror that had come from the crowd as he went through my past deeds. That was all for me.

  My whole point in going public was to comfort them. It wasn't working anymore, and it wouldn't now that he'd said what so many of them most feared. Even if there was a way to disprove what Hyperion had said (and there wasn't, because every single thing he'd said was true, even if he had left out the reasons why those beings all had to die) — the fact was that the things they'd heard about me couldn't be unheard. And he'd gotten right to the crux of why I scared them: who could tell when I might turn all of my power on them, instead of using it to protect them?