Cities of the Gods (The Unbreakable Sword Series Book 2)
Page 17
“When?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
Cameron blinked at her then smiled again. “I assumed that was Ninurta, and I knew I didn’t have time to track him down on Earth so I came here to get Badb’s help. She panicked and let me tell you, you do not want to piss that woman off. When she finally calmed down, she came looking for me, because I wasn’t sitting around to get accidentally caught in her crossfire, and told me they’d decided the best thing to do is wait for Ninurta to show up here. He most likely intended to ransom you…”
“Wait,” Selena interrupted. “You traveled here on your own? How? I tried twice and both times, I only lost huge chunks of time!”
Cameron nodded. “Yeah, that happened to me the first time I tried it, too. I figured thinking about a memory the second time had worked, so it should work again, but instead, I lost like six hours and was just incredibly pissed off that all this time had passed, and you were still that asshole’s prisoner.”
Selena gave him her best so-how-the-hell-did-you-do-it? look and it must have worked because he continued. “I don’t actually know how I did it, Selena. I just remember thinking how badly I needed to get here and how desperately I wanted to be here, and the next thing I know, I’m standing outside the Dagda’s palace. I didn’t even have a chance to knock. Badb must have some demigod honing device or something, because she ran outside, and I swear to God…”
“Which god?” Selena teased.
Cameron pretended to think about it. “Can I swear to myself now? And I’ve always wanted to take my own name in vain.”
Selena laughed and told him she’d try to remember to only damn things in his name from now on. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him closer.
That smartass grin reappeared and he joked, “Think there’s any chance we can get it to catch on that women invoke my name in bed from now on, too?”
“Don’t push it,” Selena said. “You’ll get one woman invoking your name in bed from now on, and that’s it.”
“That works, considering you’re the only goddess in any world that matters to me.”
“Demigoddess,” Selena corrected.
“Close enough.”
“Cameron,” Selena breathed. “If we don’t find the Cauldron…”
“Hey,” he said, kissing her forehead and lips, “we will find it. Haven’t I already proven I’m not willing to lose you?”
Selena nodded and swallowed again, trying not to cry for what felt like the millionth time that day, but even with Cameron here, changed, perhaps, but here, her soul still felt just as impaled as Ninurta’s body had been by Cameron’s Spear.
“Cameron,” she whispered. “The not-a-secret secret I was going to tell you was only that I’d changed my mind. We were going to run away together and live as demigods. But the secret secret…”
Cameron’s expression turned serious again as he waited, but he held onto her hands and Selena watched them.
“Ninurta knew. I don’t know how he knew… he was psychic and somehow he pulled out this memory, this shameful truth I’ve carried with me almost my entire life. I told you my mother died from cancer when I was three. But I didn’t tell you, and I’ve never told anyone, that I’ve spent my entire life blaming myself for her death because I could have healed her. And Ninurta knew how guilty I still feel and told me it was my fault…”
Cameron’s hands twitched slightly and she lifted her eyes to meet his. Just as Badb’s had been able to convey an inhuman anger and hatred, so did Cameron’s at the mention of what Ninurta had done to her, but as soon as she met his eyes, he took a deep breath and his beautiful dark brown eyes were simply his again.
“Selena, you were three,” he said quietly. “I don’t even remember being that age. My parents told me I could start fires already, but it was always by accident and we had like a thousand fire extinguishers in the house.”
Selena’s laugh was just a breath. She had expected Cameron to tell her she couldn’t hold herself accountable for her failures as a toddler, but that didn’t bring her mother back.
Cameron sighed and she looked into his eyes again. “I have an idea,” he said. “Your mom… she was a demigoddess, too. Maybe she’s somewhere in Findias. What if we were able to find her? Do you think hearing it wasn’t your fault from her would help?”
Selena’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “Cameron,” she whispered.
It had never even occurred to her to even try to find her mother. She’d always just assumed that the dead were gone forever, and she hadn’t had much time to process all of the potential ramifications of their trip to Findias.
“Selena, I am positive your mother doesn’t want you living with this guilt. And after everything you’ve been through, you deserve something good to happen to you for once. I’ll annoy the hell out of Uscias until he tracks her down. I promise.”
Selena laughed and threw her arms around his neck again, reminding him how much she loved him and if there was one thing she had faith in, it was him. His lips had just touched hers again when she heard the palace doors swinging open and crashing against the wall then Badb’s voice yelling Cameron’s name. They looked at each other, puzzled and scared. Why was Badb here and not on the battlefield, and why was she calling for Cameron?
“No,” Selena said, grabbing his arms and holding on as tightly as she could. “You’re not going out there. You… can’t leave me here alone. If she takes you, I’m going, too.”
“I’m not…”
The door to the bedroom opened and Badb rushed in, breathless and disheveled. Her long golden hair had fallen out of the twist behind her head and lay in wild tendrils across her shoulders and chest. Her dress was stained with the dirt and blood of battle, but her eyes screamed a kind of fear that made Selena cower against Cameron’s side. Whatever had Badb so frightened must be truly terrifying.
Badb leaned against the wall next to Cameron’s Spear and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath so she could speak. “He’s out,” she moaned. “When Ninurta’s army began to lose, they did the unthinkable.”
“What?” Cameron asked. “Badb, you have to explain. We weren’t out there. Who’s out of what and why is this so tragic?”
Badb’s pale gray eyes settled on Selena, and her fear mixed with so much compassion and love for her that it made Selena want to jump off the bed and hug the goddess, reassure her that they could make everything right again, even though she had no idea what was so wrong.
“The glass castle,” Badb whispered. “They broke into the glass castle and let him out and, oh Cameron, we could lose everything now.”
Cameron put his arm around Selena and pulled her closer. “Who, Badb? Who was in that prison?”
Badb turned her eyes on Cameron and sighed, the sound of a goddess who was so close to losing hope. She took a deep breath and let her eyes linger on the future of the Tuatha Dé.
“Odin.”
Treasures of the Gods, Book Three of The Unbreakable Sword series, now available
Also by S.M. Schmitz
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Sample Chapter from Treasures of the Gods
Chapter 1
Treasures of the Gods, Book Three of The Unbreakable Sword series
Cameron and Selena reached the glass castle, which had appeared so impenetrable the first and only time they’d ever been near it. Now, a jagged hole in the side of the wall allowed Selena to reach inside and feel the cool air within. Cameron pulled her away from the glass castle and eyed the prison suspiciously.
“I’m not convinced this isn’t some sort of a trap,” he told her. “Just… stay by me, ok?”
“They’re gone,” Badb insisted. “They’re all gone. If anyone were inside, you would sense them.”
Cameron slipped his fingers around Selena’s hand and said, “I don’t care. I don’t want her near this place.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m leaving you,” Selena shot back.
Cameron smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. “I’m counting on that.”
Badb sighed and Selena glanced at her. The war goddess rolled her gray eyes and put a hand on her hip. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you two have figured out how stupid you were being, but we kind of have a huge problem on our hands here.”
Cameron eyed the castle again and the gaping hole in its side. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just kill Odin? Why imprison him?”
Badb threw her hands in the air and shouted, “You think he’s so easy to kill? It’s Odin! I did the best I could. I injured him but the bastard wouldn’t die, so we decided to imprison him here and tell the Norse he died on the battlefield. Normally, if no rules of war have been broken, the losers are allowed to collect their dead, but with Ninurta’s coup erupting on the heels of the armistice, the Norse and most of their allies left quickly. When they finally asked about collecting their war dead, we told them it was too late: the bodies had either been destroyed or disposed of along with Ninurta’s followers.”
“And… now he’s out and presumably reunited with the A-Team,” Cameron said. “At least I still have Mjölnir. Any chance you have Odin’s spear?”
Cameron pretended to think about it then nodded. “This is your area of expertise, Sweet Goddess. Help me out here.”
Selena grinned at him and offered, “Alliance of Evil? The Dark Riders? The Hellfire Club?”
“Nice,” Cameron said. “I like that one. Think Marvel will sue us if we start calling the Norse The Hellfire Club?”
“Would you both shut up!” Badb yelled. “If we don’t do something to find Odin before he’s reunited with his pantheon, we won’t live long enough for it to matter!”
“Why are you so convinced Odin is going to be the downfall of the Tuatha Dé? Is this part of our mysterious prophecy, too?” Cameron asked.
Badb waved him off and peered inside the glass castle as if Odin’s phantom form would reappear if she only looked hard enough. Selena felt Cameron’s fingers tense around her hand as he scowled at the war goddess.
“Isn’t there some rule that you have to stop hiding shit from me once I’m a god? I took the Spear. I’m your new sun god. Stop playing games with us, Badb.”
Badb’s gray eyes flickered away from the glass castle toward Cameron, and Selena thought she actually looked nervous. And that made Selena nervous, too.
“Yes,” she answered quietly. “The druid told me that Odin could be responsible for the death of the Dagda.”
“Oh,” Selena whispered. “But he said could. That means it may not happen right?”
Badb inhaled slowly and turned toward her new sun god and the hope of the Tuatha Dé. “Prophecies are always dependent on the decisions people make and the way our circumstances change. The druid foresaw two wars. In one, our new sun god and our new healer join us in battle and we are invincible. In the other, Odin leads a raid on the Otherworld, on all of our cities, and we lose everything. For many of us, that includes our lives.”