Cities of the Gods (The Unbreakable Sword Series Book 2)

by S. M. Schmitz

  “This is a stupid weapon,” Cameron mumbled.

  “True,” Badb agreed, “but you don’t want the non-stupid option, so you’re stuck with a hammer.”

  “Fine,” Cameron sighed. “Go ahead. Send us to… some God forsaken cornhusker town in Nebraska.”

  Badb shook her head and smiled at him. “You’re sending yourselves. And make sure it’s morning on the same day you left. I’ll come find you as soon as Ninurta and his army have been kicked out of the Otherworld.”

  Goose bumps broke out across Selena’s skin as she realized what Badb would be facing here while she and Cameron were on Earth. Badb, as protector of the Tuatha Dé, would lead them into battle, with her sisters at her side, which meant she was in the most dangerous position and could easily get killed. And their healer, this demigoddess with the conflicted heart, wouldn’t be around to save her.

  “How…” Cameron started to protest but Badb cut him off.

  “You’ll manage, Cameron.” Badb’s eyes lingered on Selena and she quickly kissed her cheek then told Cameron, “Take care of her.”

  Selena reluctantly admitted that Badb somehow knew what she’d decided, this new future she’d chosen so that she could be with Cameron, and that Badb had no intention of arguing with her about it. She wanted to throw her arms around the war goddess and profess her love for her, her wish that their destinies could be far less complicated and her future far more clear. But Cameron grabbed her hand before she could even respond and the castle disappeared as the demigods returned to Earth.

  Chapter Eight

  Cameron and Selena found Anita Granger easily enough. Bakerton, Nebraska was another single motel town, but they both assumed Badb would have been smart enough to check her in under an alias so they walked by each room hoping to pick up the signature of another demigod. This time, Selena wasn’t worried about a woman old enough to be her Aunt Tara judging her so she wasn’t surprised that she recognized Anita’s presence as they passed by a room on the second floor. She was surprised, however, that there appeared to be another demigod in the room with her.

  Cameron blinked at the blue metal door for a few seconds then groaned.

  “What?” Selena asked.

  “I think it’s Jasper.”

  “Jasper?” Selena focused on the other signature then groaned, too. “If he’s hitting on poor, sweet Mrs. Granger, I will let you kick his ass.”

  Cameron nodded and smiled at her. “You’d make a much better leader than Quinn.”

  Apparently, their conversation had alerted Anita that the demigods were outside her door. She pulled it open without either of them having to knock and looked them over quickly. “You’re both all right?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Selena answered.

  Anita motioned them inside then locked the door even though locks would be useless against Ukko or the angry Norse gods looking for a stolen weapon and the three Irish demigods who’d run off with it. Cameron’s eyes immediately settled on Jasper, reclining lazily on one of the beds as he flipped through channels on the television.

  He didn’t even glance away from the screen as a smartass grin crept across his tanned, handsome face. “Nice to see you, too. Been having a good time with Selena, Cameron?”

  Cameron looked at Selena and begged, “Can I kick his ass for that?”

  Selena shook her head. “One of the Greeks must have brought him here to help out. We’re not really in a position to be pissing off our allies. We have enough gods who want us dead.”

  “Fine,” Cameron grunted, “but if we have to work together, try to be a slightly less obnoxious asshole.”

  “Likewise,” Jasper retorted.

  Cameron waved at the bed as if to say “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” but Selena was less concerned about their old rivalry than with Anita and how she’d escaped the motel in Iowa. She sat across from her at the small round table near the window and Anita handed her a paper cup of coffee.

  “As soon as Badb heard you and Cameron escaping out the back of the motel, she took me out the front. There were two gods up there, only one of whom I recognized from my days in the New Pantheon. The one with auburn hair and a thick beard. He’s another Finnish god, Pekko. It seemed like neither god wanted to risk a fight with Badb, not over me, and after exchanging a few threats, which seems second-nature to these gods, they didn’t fight her when she left with me.”

  Jasper yawned and flipped the channel. “Now that we’re all reunited, can we get out of this redneck sanctuary and back to civilization?”

  Selena squinted at him and snapped, “You’re from Louisiana. Don’t pretend like you’re so different.”

  “Hey!” Cameron protested. “I’m also from Louisiana, remember?”

  “Yeah, but I’m from Villa Rica, Georgia. Pot and kettle and all that.”

  Cameron squinted back at her and said, “This is because I like to fish, isn’t it?”

  “I’m just saying… I’ve never been fishing.”

  Anita watched them, an amused smile playing at her lips. When Selena caught her, Anita tilted her head and studied her. “Something’s different about you.”

  Cameron immediately stood up straighter and looked between them. “What? Is it something good or bad?”

  “A bit of both. It has something to do with her…”

  “Anita!” Selena hissed. “Isn’t there some code of ethics among psychics that you keep this shit to yourself?”

  Anita blushed and pressed her lips together. She nodded and stared into her coffee cup and Selena immediately felt horrible for speaking that way to her, but she’d panicked.

  Cameron wasn’t appeased though. “What is it? What’s going on? Selena, let me help.”

  Selena tried to force a smile in his direction, but she felt too guilty for humiliating the woman who had been nothing but kind to both of them. “I will. When the time comes, I will tell you, I swear. It’s nothing major and it can wait. We have enough to deal with right now.”

  Cameron shifted his feet as his eyebrows pulled together. “If it’s important to you, it shouldn’t have to wait. You do everything for everyone else first and always put what you want second. That’s not fair to you.”

  “God,” Jasper groaned, “you two are sickeningly sweet.”

  “They’re friends,” Anita scolded. “And that’s what friends do. You should try putting someone’s feelings ahead of your own for once. You might discover the reward is far more satisfying than whatever momentary gratification you get from being selfish.”

  Jasper didn’t bother looking away from the television and lifted a shoulder at her. “I’ve been plenty happy.”

  Selena shook her head and offered Anita a sheepish smile, hoping the woman knew how sorry she was already. “He’s Greek. I’m not sure he can help it. Although I have to admit: I like Athena and Ares. They’re nothing like some of the other Greeks I’ve read about.”

  Jasper sat up and grimaced. “You like her?”

  “Athena? Yes, of course.”

  Jasper shook his head and grimaced again. “That woman scares the shit out of me,” he mumbled.

  “Guess we know who brought him here now,” Cameron said.

  “Yeah, I thought our own gods were genetically required to like us,” Jasper complained.

  “She’s genetically required to defend you, Jasper,” Selena corrected. “But you kinda represent everything about men Athena is known for hating.”

  “So why did they send her?” he whined.

  Cameron snickered and told him, “That’s probably why they sent her.”

  Jasper flipped him off and insisted they could have sent Himeros.

  “I don’t think he’s still alive,” Selena pointed out.

  “Even Ares would have been better then,” Jasper persisted.

  “Probably not. He and his sister are close and if she told him to give you a hard time, he’d do it,” Cameron said.

  Jasper narrowed his dark eyes as he studied Camer
on and his face contorted in a kind of voyeuristic disgust. “How close?”

  “Jasper,” Selena berated.

  But Jasper waved her off. “These are the Greeks. Hell, Zeus married his sister.”

  “Um… not that close,” Cameron said. “And after learning from Badb that so much of what we know about mythology is inaccurate, I wouldn’t trust your own history either. Hera probably wasn’t really Zeus’s sister.”

  Jasper turned his attention back to the TV and said, “That may be the only interesting thing you’ve ever told me.”

  Cameron turned to Selena and begged, “Can I kill him?”

  She shook her head. “No way. I like Athena, and I don’t want her to come back here and kill us.”

  Cameron glared at Jasper one last time then turned his attention to Anita. “Any chance Badb gave you any instructions on what we are supposed to do now? Did the Norse seriously bury the Unbreakable Sword in a cornfield or something?”

  “Backstabbing assholes,” Jasper muttered.

  Cameron didn’t bother turning around. “And for the first time, you finally said something I agree with.”

  “Badb only told me she was pretty sure she thought Nuada’s heir is also American. Strange how you’re all American. Maybe it’s because of all of the Irish immigrants.”

  “That’s… really at the bottom of my mysteries-to-solve list,” Cameron replied.

  Anita smiled at him and took off her glasses so she could rub the lenses between the cotton fabric of her t-shirt. She put them back on and tapped her fingers against the side of her coffee cup. “The only other thing she could tell me is that you and Selena should decide what we do first: look for Nuada’s descendant or the Unbreakable Sword. It’s likely Nuada’s heir is powerful and could be a great help to us, but if we can’t find the Sword, then he or she won’t become the deity the Tuatha Dé need in this next war, which is apparently coming faster than anyone anticipated.”

  Cameron glanced at the golden hammer he’d thrown on the bed and cursed every Norse god he could think of, except for those they knew were dead because there really didn’t seem to be a point. When he was finished he looked at Selena and arched an eyebrow at her. “Ok, Sweet Goddess. Sword or demigod first?”

  Selena licked her lips and gave Anita a beseeching look, hoping the psychic had something else to offer her, but she seemed to be waiting for Selena’s answer, too. Even Jasper had turned down the television, most likely anxious to get out of this room and do something, even if it really was just digging around in a cornfield.

  “Demigod,” she decided. “You have Mjölnir, so Thor may still decide to negotiate for it. It’ll eventually drive him crazy to be separated from it for too long, especially since they are planning another war.”

  “Or,” Jasper said, “he’ll just try to kill us all then take it back.”

  “Have I told you lately that you’re an obnoxious asshole?” Cameron asked.

  Anita sighed and asked Selena, “Are they always like this?”

  Selena nodded. “Afraid so. Badb seemed to think you’d be able to help us track down Nuada’s descendant, so any… psychic senses as to where we should start?”

  “Spidey senses,” Cameron corrected.

  “No,” Anita answered slowly. “Neither my psychic nor Spidey senses are any help right now.”

  Jasper turned the television off and tossed the remote on the bed. “You two found us somehow. If we have to walk all over this god-forsaken town, it’s better than sitting around here.”

  “Which god?” Cameron asked. He grinned at Selena and asked her, “Is there a god of corn?”

  Selena nodded. “I know of Centeotl because he came up when I was reading about Quetzalcoatl, but let’s not invoke any more Aztec gods. We have enough problems.”

  Jasper rolled his eyes and held the door open, gesturing toward the walkway impatiently, but Cameron ignored him.

  “Maybe it’s Centeotl who’s hiding out in the cornfields then. If he’s anything like the other Aztec gods, that would make sense actually.”

  “Great,” Selena said. “You’ve just ensured I really won’t be searching in any cornfield for the Unbreakable Sword.”

  “For God’s sake,” Jasper interrupted. “I will search the whole damn cornfield myself if it means you two will shut up so we can leave.”

  “Deal,” Cameron agreed. He grabbed Mjölnir off the bed and stepped onto the walkway and Selena followed him, giving Jasper her best “I’m totally holding you to this bargain” glance as she passed him.

  As they descended the stairs, Selena felt something unnerving, as if she’d stepped into another world in which she didn’t belong. Cameron grabbed her arm and stopped her and by the expression on his face, he’d sensed it, too.

  “That’s… not a pleasant feeling,” he murmured.

  Selena slowly shook her head and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place in this motel parking lot. Empty parked cars, traffic on the nearby street, occasional guests lugging their bags out of their rooms as they prepared to check out. Anita turned in a slow circle as she helped them search the motel grounds.

  “I don’t sense anything,” she said quietly. “Of course… demigods aren’t supposed to be able to sense gods or demigods like you can.”

  “Gods,” Selena breathed. “It’s the Norse.”

  Cameron just nodded and pulled her between him and Jasper, whose eyes had narrowed at the mention of the Norse appearing.

  “Where are they?” Jasper growled.

  “I don’t know,” Cameron answered. “They…”

  Selena heard heavy footsteps on the concrete behind her and jerked around, expecting to see Thor returning for his weapon. But Thor wasn’t among the Norse gods who had already found Cameron and Selena. She wondered if Mjölnir were some sort of lightning rod or if the Norse were really that much better at tracking demigods down than Ukko and the New Pantheon.

  She doubted it was the latter. They really needed to hide Thor’s hammer, just in case.

  Tyr, Dagr, and Freyja stopped when the demigods faced them, and Tyr’s good hand clinched into a fist. His eyes bore into Cameron, and Selena’s stomach heaved. Jasper was an ordinary demigod, and she couldn’t fight. Cameron was on his own against three powerful Norse gods.

  “Same deal,” Tyr said. “Give us Mjölnir, and we’ll give you a head start.”

  “Same deal,” Cameron answered. “You want it, come get it.”

  “Uh… Cameron?” Jasper said. For the first time since meeting him, Selena noticed his bravado faltering.

  Cameron didn’t let him finish though. “Don’t worry, Jasper. They’re only Norse. I mean, what kind of dumbass sticks his hand in a wolf’s mouth?”

  Tyr growled at him but Cameron kept talking, his dark brown eyes flickering to Freyja. “Or is so selfish and greedy, that she agrees to claim the lives of thousands of men in battle just to get a necklace back that she only got in the first place because she slept with four different dwarfs to acquire it?”

  Freyja’s delicate features contorted as she glared him, but Cameron didn’t give her a chance to speak either. “And… ok, I don’t actually know anything about Dagr, so I’m guessing you aren’t that important.”

  Dagr folded his arms across his chest and glanced at Tyr, most likely waiting to see if they would be ordered to do something about this impertinent demigod. Tyr’s fingers flexed then balled into a fist again as he continued to glare at Cameron. “I normally fight with honor,” Tyr spit out, “which would mean not ganging up on one man. But you’ve brought this on yourself, Cameron. Last chance. Give us Mjölnir.”

  “Sounds to me like you’re scared,” Cameron responded. “Because you’re giving me an awful lot of chances.”

  Selena wanted to shoot him a please-shut-up-now scowl, but he had his back to her. It would have been completely pointless. She tried it anyway, just in case his Spidey senses were working overtime.

  Tyr barked what sounded like orders in old Nors
e at his companions and they each drew a sword, their eyes fixed on Cameron and Cameron alone. They advanced on the demigod and Cameron, still not nearly as concerned as Selena thought he should be, called over his shoulder, “Jasper, now’s probably a good time to see if that pistol you’re hiding will kill a god.”

  The Norse stopped walking and blinked at him then blinked at Jasper. “You can’t…” Tyr stuttered. “You can’t bring a gun into a battle.”

  “Why not?” Cameron asked. “Dude, this isn’t the Dark Ages. Only gods have refused to modernize.”

  Freyja’s blue-green eyes settled on Jasper and widened. Selena risked peeking at him to see why. He held some sort of pistol in his hand, pointed directly at her chest. “Your brother’s dead, right? Ready to join him?” he asked.

  Her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of Freyr. “Only a coward would shoot someone armed with only a sword,” she hissed.

  Jasper and Cameron laughed, but Selena didn’t think it was funny. She didn’t think anything about their current situation was funny. “Says the goddess who was about to attack one guy with the help of two other gods,” Cameron retorted. “Besides, we’re demigods. We couldn’t care less what you assholes think about us.”

  “This may help you now, Cameron,” Tyr said, “but it won’t do you any good in the Otherworld. Modern weapons aren’t allowed there because of the carnage we’d cause. I’ll be looking for you on that battlefield.”

  “Sounds to me like I just need to stay out of the Otherworld then,” Cameron told him.

  Tyr’s thin pink lips pulled into a smile as his eyes darted past Cameron and settled on Selena. “But we both know you won’t.”

  Tyr issued what sounded like another order and the Norse gods vanished. If Selena hadn’t been able to sense them before, she would have wondered if they were still around but only hiding, but that unsettling feeling vanished with them. She took a few deep breaths before reaching up to Cameron’s shoulders and pushing him.

  He laughed and turned around, his dark brown eyes dancing at her. “What was that for?”

  “You scared the shit out of me! Taunting him like that!”