Strife: Hidden Book Four

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  “Hello, abomination,” Aphrodite said. How lovely that she’d adopted my stepmother’s nickname for me.

  “Good morning to you, bitch,” I said in as pleasant a voice as I could muster.

  Anger rolled off of her. “What did you call me?”

  “Aren’t we calling each other what we really are? I’m an abomination and you’re a bitch.”

  She just glared at me. “You are vile.”

  I grinned. “Thank you. If you believe that, then I must be doing something right.”

  Okay. So I’m not a huge fan of the goddess of love. She’s bitchy, walks around with her nose in the air, and she’s spent eternity screwing around on Hephaestus. I don’t have the world’s highest opinion of her.

  “Whatever. I am here to speak to my husband.”

  She hated me. I knew it. Part of it was that her husband had chosen to live with me instead of her. Never mind that the reason was that he’d felt spurned by the immortals over and over again, which made me want to kick every single one of their asses. He was a freaking genius. Loyal. Dependable. And I knew she wasn’t the only one. There had been whispers, and flat-out accusations about why exactly Heph was so devoted to me. I tried to ignore it, but clearly Aphrodite hadn’t.

  “I think he’s still asleep,” I said.

  “Well, I’ll just go wake him up,” she said.

  “You are not stepping foot in my house,” I snarled, and she glared at me.

  “And who’s going to stop me, abomination?”

  I just crossed my arms and smiled. “Remember that you’re calling me that for a reason.”

  I felt just a teensy bit of nervousness from her then.

  “Yeah. That’s what I thought,” I said.

  “Someday, you’ll get your comeuppance, Fury. And I will be first in line to cheer whoever takes you down.”

  “I’m sure you will be. Probably on your knees if the person is the right gender.”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock, and I did my best to keep my bored face in place and not start laughing. I felt a good dose of humor from behind me and turned to see Heph walking down the back steps.

  “Morning, queenie,” he said, grinning. “And to you too, Aphrodite.”

  “Good you’re here. You can go now, abomination.”

  At her words, Heph threw her a disgusted glare. “If you’re going to talk that way, you can take your ass back to the Aether.”

  “Oh, right. Can’t be insulting little miss perfect, can we?” Aphrodite sneered. “Speaking of knees, I wonder how often she’s been on her knees for you. You do get around, don’t you, Mollis? From your husband to his best friend, and now, what? Back to the husband?”

  Rage rolled of of Heph, and I nudged his arm with mine. “I never two-time. That’s more your thing, I think.”

  She smiled a vicious smile. “Ah, right. The shifter cheated on you, didn’t he? How did that feel?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “You can go now,” Heph said to Aphrodite.

  “Oh, right. Sure you want alone time with your little girlfriend. You know he wants you, don’t you? Even if you haven’t given him what he wants. The way he follows you around is embarrassing,” she said, glaring at me.

  “I think you need to leave now,” I said, starting to get pissed. I turned to Heph. “Unless you want to talk to her?”

  “Fuck no,” he grumbled.

  I produced my flamesword. “I’m in the mood to cause some pain. Are you volunteering?” I asked Aphrodite.

  “You wouldn’t,” she said, though I felt a wave of fear roll off of her.

  “Oh, I would. Definitely.”

  She snarled at me, and then she disappeared with a “crack.” When she was gone, I let my sword disappear and turned to Heph. “Well that was a shitty way to start the day,” I said to him, and he nodded.

  Heph walked toward the back porch, and I followed. He settled onto one of the steps, grimacing a little. I couldn’t imagine living with something that hurt you, for eternity, the way his leg did. I sat down next to him, sensing that he wanted to talk.

  We sat in silence for several long minutes.

  “You know nothing she said is right, yeah?” he finally asked. “That shit about me wanting you.”

  “You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself, Heph,” I said, and he laughed. “Yes. I know that,” I said. “But she’s not the only one who thinks that.”

  “Artemis,” he said, and I nodded.

  “Aphrodite already hates me because of the Ares thing (Ares, her former lover who I’d imprisoned for all eternity) and then to have you living in my house it’s just a little too much for her ego to handle.”

  “It is. I just feel like we need that spelled out between us, the way people’s jaws flap. I don’t feel that way about you. I mean, you’re a good-looking woman and all that, and I like you a lot, but I’m not interested in you that way.”

  I smiled at how uncomfortable he seemed. “I know. I can sense emotions, Heph,” I reminded him.

  “I know. I just wanted to say it so there would be no doubt.” He took a breath. “I like you. A lot. You’re probably the best friend I’ve ever had. No one’s ever showed me as much kindness as you have. You appreciate the shit I can do. I’ve never had anything like this before.”

  I looked over at him. “I’d be stupid not to appreciate all the help you give me. You’re a fucking genius and an artist. Not shabby in a fight either. And you curse almost as much as I do.”

  He laughed. “I’ll admit. The first time we met, I had a moment or two where I thought, what if? But the longer I know you, you’re like a sister to me. I want to protect you. I want to kick the ass of anyone who hurts you. She said I’m loyal to you, and I am. Completely. But that’s because you’re the only one who’s ever made me feel worthwhile.”

  “The immortals are a bunch of assholes,” I muttered. “You’ve given them so much. Weapons. Hades’ nifty little invisibility helmet.”

  “I’m imperfect,” he said, shrugging.

  I looked over at him and grinned. “All the best people are.”

  He smiled then. “That is why I like you so much, queenie.”

  “We’re good, Heph. It’s kind of nice having a brother-type person in my life. Never had one of those before.”

  “We tend to be overprotective,” he said. “I still want to kick that fuckin’ shifter’s ass.”

  “I know. Shit happens,” I said. “He said he needed someone who needs him. Someone who needs him to protect her and make her feel safe. I don’t need anyone that way.”

  “What do you need, queenie?”

  “I need someone who loves me for me. Not for what they think I should be. Someone who gets that I can’t stop fighting, that whatever else I am, I’m Tisiphone’s daughter. It’s not in me to turn away from a fight.”

  “Can I say something?”

  “Sure.”

  “You already have that. You know what I mean.”

  I glanced at him. “How much did Nain pay you to say that?” I knew the immortal and my ex-husband were becoming fast friends. It made sense. Similar personalities. Both of them badasses with chips on their shoulders.

  He laughed then. “As an impartial observer, that’s all I’m saying, queenie. A blind man could see how much he cares about you. And your mom likes him.”

  “I know she does,” I said. “That’s only because he’s so much like my dad with the whole angry demon thing he has going.”

  He was quiet for a while. Then he laughed. “When word spread that your parents had done what they were definitely fuckin’ not supposed to do, and that you existed, the Aether and the Nether were in an absolute uproar. There’s never been a baby born that caused as much fear as you did. Of course, you were a grown woman by the time we all heard about it.”

  I smiled. “My mom probably did a good thing by hiding me the way she did.”

  “Oh, hell yeah,” he said, nodding. “By the time everyone knew
about you, they didn’t have a chance in hell of destroying or using you.”

  “They tried, though.”

  “They tried. And I think you taught them how pointless that is,” he said. “And despite the shit they put you through, you’re still here, and you’re still strong. I know you doubt yourself. Stop doing that shit. Trust yourself. I know I trust you, and I don’t trust anybody.”

  He got up then, and I looked up at him. “Thanks Heph.”

  “Anytime, queenie,” he said, going back into the house and leaving me alone to sort through my thoughts.

  Chapter Ten

  The rest of the day was mostly just me being frustrated over my inability to find Strife, me trying not to think about Nain, me thinking about Nain and then hating myself for it, and me listening to Heph and Levitt debate whether they were watching boxing or wrestling on their night off.

  Honestly, I was ready to throw both of their asses out of my house if they didn’t shut up.

  A big part of it was that having everyone around me all the time, as much as I adored them, was starting to wear on my nerves. I was actually relieved when my mom arrived that night to sit with me so I could maybe, hopefully sleep.

  I was restless, and my mom and I spent most of the night talking, mostly about nothing: stuff I’d done as a kid, places she’d been that she liked. She kept telling me to go to sleep, but I couldn’t.

  “Go to sleep, Mollis,” she finally said, and then she opened a magazine and proceeded to ignore me.

  She was sitting in the chair in my room and I was looking at the shadows of the trees outside playing across my bedroom wall. The sky was already lightening in the east; it would be light out within an hour or so.

  “I don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight. I know you have stuff to do,” I said.

  “But you might. I have no other plans, love,” she said as she leafed through one of the magazines she’d borrowed from Shanti.

  “I’m really not tired.”

  “I know.”

  I sighed in irritation. I felt like I should try to go to sleep so she wasn’t wasting her time, but I really wasn’t tired. Not just then anyway.

  “What’s Aunt Meg been up to?” I asked.

  Tisiphone laughed. “Are you trying to give me a taste of the things I missed when you were a toddler, avoiding your bedtime? Go to sleep.”

  I laughed a little, and listened to her turn pages for a few minutes. My mind kept straying to other things. Brennan. Nain. Nain again. I heard the dogs start barking from the fenced in area of the yard. Heph usually let them in for the night when he came home from patrol. I glanced at the clock. That should be just about any minute now.

  Sure enough, within ten minutes, I heard the immortal and Levitt walk in, talking loudly. I smirked when I heard them rattling through the kitchen cabinets.

  The dogs started barking again, and I was about to get out of bed and let them in myself. “Don’t they hear them?” I asked my mother.

  “What?”

  I was about to answer when my bedroom window, the one right above my bed, crashed in, and a ball of fire landed on my bed. There was shouting throughout the house, more windows crashing. I jumped out of my burning bed, and my mother and I rushed to the other rooms. I could smell gas. Whatever it was, they’d used some kind of accelerant. My bed was up in flames. The room across from mine, where Heph and Levitt usually slept, was also engulfed in flames. I followed my mom downstairs.

  “See if you can catch them. I have to get Shanti,” I shouted at her over the roar of flames. My eyes were already stinging from the smoke. Part of my living room was burning as well.

  Levitt and Heph came running in from the kitchen.

  “I’m getting Shanti out. Go outside,” I said, and Heph listened but Levitt ran for the basement. Groaning in irritation, I followed him.

  “You have the key for this?” he asked me, pounding his fist on Shanti’s door.

  “It was in my nightstand, which is on fire right now,” I said. We both bashed our bodies hard against the reinforced door. I was already pissed off at myself. We’d given her this door so she’d be safe while she slept. If she ended up dying because we couldn’t get in to save her I’d never forgive myself.

  Levitt and I both backed up and slammed against the door again, this time with me using a little extra power to back me up. It splintered more.

  “One more time,” I shouted at him. He nodded, and I listened in fear as the house groaned, creaked above us, flames crackling. The air was heavy with smoke, and Levitt was starting to cough. We both backed up and put our shoulders to the door, and I used as much of my power as I safely could without running the risk of hurting Levitt, who was standing inches from me. The door shattered into the room, and I grimaced as I became dizzy with the effects of smoke inhalation and using my powers. We leapt into the room and Levitt picked Shanti up off of the bed. Even trying to wake her at that point was useless. Vampires are like corpses when they’re asleep; cold, still. They don’t breathe, so they don’t snore. It’s eerie as hell, and the younger ones, especially, don’t even start feeling like moving until well after the sun has set. Shanti had just gone to sleep a couple hours earlier, so she was in deep sleep.

  Levitt slung Shanti over his shoulder and nodded at me, and we made our way back up the basement stairs. It was nearly impossible to see; the air was full of thick black smoke.

  “Back door,” I called to Levitt. I reached back and took his hand so we wouldn’t get separated in the darkness. He didn’t know my house as well as I did. I led him up into my kitchen. The wall near the living room was already engulfed in flames, and I had a moment of absolute rage, thinking of my house, my one solace for many years, being destroyed like this. I wanted to chase down whoever had done it. I wanted to destroy them, in every way I possibly could.

  It wasn’t even a “them.” I was pretty sure I knew who’d ordered this particular attack. Strife was a dead woman when I found her.

  Levitt and I managed to find the back door and made our way out into the pre-dawn darkness. Heph and E were there, and they helped us get farther away from the house. We were both coughing, and I felt like I’d never quite manage to get my breath again. My lungs and throat burned, my eyes stung. A glance at Levitt showed that his eyes were red and teary and I was sure mine looked the same. We both crouched on the grass, coughing up black phlegm, trying to catch our breath.

  “Dogs,” I said, jumping up. Heph grabbed me.

  “They’re okay, queenie, They’re in the garage with your car.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around. Strife or whoever she’d ordered to do this had been thorough. My house was a goner; flames leaping and roaring from every part of it. Levitt’s car had been torched as well and burned in the driveway. So we were down to my car, for five of us and my two huge German shepherds.

  “Where do we go now, demon girl?” E asked me, coming over to me and rubbing my back in her soothing way.

  I glanced at the sky, which was getting even lighter in the east, now. We had maybe a half hour until dawn.

  “We need to get Shanti somewhere now. We’re already cutting it close,” I said, and E followed my gaze and nodded.

  I took a deep breath. Knew where we had to go, even though it was the last thing I wanted. Spending time in the same house as both of my exes after I’d lost everything was probably bad for my mental well-being. I didn’t have many options.

  “Let’s go to the loft,” I said, heading toward the garage. I felt lucky that, unlike the keys to Shanti’s room, I’d been smart enough to keep a second set of keys to my car elsewhere. I turned over one of the patio stones outside of the garage, where I’d buried the second set of car keys in a ziplock bag. I pulled them out.

  “We probably need to put Shanti in the trunk,” I said. “It’s already getting light. I have a big blanket in there too. Cover her up with that,” I told Levitt, and he nodded. I unlocked the trunk and let the demon go to work getting Sha
nti settled. Eunomia and Heph climbed into the front seat with me, and once he had Shanti tucked into the trunk, Levitt sat in the back seat with my dogs.

  I pulled out of the garage and maneuvered around Levitt’s burning car. One of the nice things about living in a deserted neighborhood is that there are no pesky things like fences or other houses in your way. I drove across the lawn, then back down my driveway and into the street. I glanced at my poor house one more time. “Did anyone call the fire department?” I asked, knowing it was already a lost cause.

  “I called Jones,” Heph said. “He said he’d deal with it and talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.” I forced myself to look away from the flames, ignored the way every cell in my body wanted to be hunting down whoever had done it. I had responsibilities now, and my primary one was keeping my team safe and finding them a place to live.

  Suppressing a groan, I turned onto Gratiot and started heading toward the loft.

  The sky was already pinkish orange, the sun rising faster than I expected when I roared into the parking garage below Nain’s loft. I reminded myself to thank him for buying a place with underground parking.

  We climbed out of my car, all of us stinking of smoke, exhausted and tense. My main focus now was getting Shanti into her room before the sun came up. Too many damn windows in the loft. When we opened the trunk, she was laying there, awake.

  “Did you hit every pothole on the way here, Angel?” she asked me when she looked up. “What happened?” She was sluggish; the ride must have been rough to have woken her, especially this close to dawn.

  “Some jerk set my house on fire,” I said, trying to stay calm, Nether raging inside me, wanting control. I’d been fighting her since I’d woken up, and now that I wasn’t focused on getting everyone to safety, she was just getting stronger. I clenched my teeth and tried to stop feeling anything. Right. As if that was even possible.

  “I am so sorry, Molly. What a bunch of assholes,” Shanti said as I pulled her out of the trunk. I just nodded and we started heading toward the elevator. Levitt was supporting Shanti with an arm around her waist. She was barely awake now, and I tossed the heavy comforter Levitt had grabbed from her room over her head, leaving her face clear so she could see where she was going.