by Hati Bell
“I can’t let you go. We belong together.” His hand slipped to her hip.
She slowly turned around. “Sorry, Macan. This is going to hurt you more than me.” She pulled back her fist and punched him hard on the chin.
Macan dropped to the floor like a rock. She stepped over him and hurried off.
7
LEROY
Leroy parked his car in front of his house and glanced at his unwanted passenger. The engine had barely died when Kellsey stepped out of the car. As if she was afraid he’d change his mind and wouldn’t take her with him.
He knew he should tell her that she hadn’t killed him, at least not permanently. But then he’d have to tell her everything. He’d rather jump into a pool with hydras than see the disappointed look in Kellsey’s eyes.
As they walked to the front yard, his thoughts wandered back to the Blood Games. He’d always known that he would become upset at the thought of Kellsey in pain. But today, when those vampires went after her, his lion went feral. He wasn’t like other mythos shifters who were born with a human side. He was created as a lion. His only purpose to be an indestructible weapon for the Olympic gods. He usually had complete control over both his human side and his lion side. Today, however, when Kellsey had been in danger, his lion had scratched himself to the surface without any warning.
He was still pondering this when they were greeted by his nephew. Liam was washing his Harley in the yard. The kid was spending all his free time on his motorcycle.
“Kellsey, this is my nephew Liam.”
“Hi, Liam.”
“Hi,” Liam returned. Then he looked at him eagerly. “I’m ready to go.”
His nephew had just turned eighteen and Leroy had promised to take him to his first Blood Games. “Something came up. I’ve accepted a new job and can’t take you to the Games.”
Liam’s face fell. “But you promised I could go this time. I really wanna go. All mythos can go! I’m tired of always having to hide.”
Leroy frowned, feeling guilty. His nephew knew about the curse but had no idea about the Spartan who hunted them. He didn’t want Liam to watch over his shoulder for the rest of his life. He was still just a kid and shouldn’t have to carry such a weight upon his shoulders.
“You can still go to the Games,” he said. “In fact, you’re gonna be staying at the Callahan’s for a while.”
“I can stay at the Asylum?” Liam called excitedly.
“Yeah, until I get back.”
“I have to share this.” Liam pulled out his phone and started tapping frantically.
“Remember what I told you about the rules of the Asylum?” The Callahans were loyal to the bone but deadly when you got in their way.
“Never disrespect Riz. Never touch one of Kartal’s bikes without his permission.” Liam began to sum up a list. “Never get between Kuno and his prey when he’s a wolf. Never challenge Ronin to a sword fight. Not even as a joke.”
“His samurai honor obligates him to accept your challenge,” Kellsey explained. “He won’t stop until his sword has tasted blood. It’s his thing.”
“You forgot the most important rule,” Leroy growled. The one rule that could mean the difference between life and death.
“The two rules about Leviathan Callahan,” Liam said as if he were reciting a verse. “Never bet against him, because you will lose. Never touch him, because he’ll tear you apart. Has he really never lost a bet?”
“Not as far as I can remember,” Kellsey answered.
“And eh… what about the other thing?” he asked with the unquenchable curiosity of a teenager.
Leroy was curious about her reaction. Levi was the only person he knew who had more demons than himself.
Kellsey shrugged. “Levi has some issues. I don’t understand why everyone makes such a fuss about it. I can hug him whenever I want. It’s the rest of the world he has a problem with. Don’t worry. Just make sure you don’t touch him and you’ll survive fine at our place.”
“Okay then,” Liam said, and he put a chain and lock in his saddlebag.
“What are you doing?” Leroy asked.
Liam looked up when he’d tucked the lock away. “It will be busy during the Blood Games. I don’t want my Harley stolen. I’ve worked hard for it.”
“Worked hard for it, my furry ass,” Leroy snorted. “You got it for your birthday. I was so sick and tired of hearing the word Harley that I owe Kartal a marker now.” Kartal’s services were not cheap.
“I had to beg hard to get you to do that,” Liam said with a grin.
Sometimes he almost forgot Liam was still just a teenager. “You don’t need a lock. No mythos in their right mind would steal from the Callahans.”
“You’re forgetting humans,” Liam claimed. “The Asylum is a paradise for vlogging ghost hunters. Every year there are nosy students who try to break into the Asylum hoping to see a ghost. They have a YouTube channel and everything.”
Kellsey grimaced. “Unfortunately, that’s true. Usually, Kuno’s growl scares them off and they flee. A few times Levi had to erase their memory. Then there was that time Krik dragged one into the sea. We only found a head and a University of Edinburgh cap. Krik doesn’t like skulls.”
Leroy shook his head at so much stupidity. How different it had been in his time. In Greek antiquity, one did not dare to hunt ghosts. Just as one didn’t dress like a ‘creature of the night’ to look for a vampire in a bar. Or go searching for werewolves during a full moon.
“See. And that’s why I won’t leave you unprotected, my wee nymph,” Liam said with a pat on the saddle of his Harley.
Great. He’d given the thing a pet name. “Speaking about leaving unprotected, don’t leave the Asylum without one of the Callahans. My visit to Satiros won’t take long.”
Liam perked up. “Satiros the nymph dealer?”
“You’re not getting a nymph,” Leroy said, shattering his dreams. A man had to have a huge bank account and quite a few tricks up his sleeve for a nymph to warm his bed. Nymphs were famous for their beauty and notorious for their love of jewelry. “Also, Satiros isn’t a nymph dealer, but an auctioneer who occasionally auctions nymphs. And no, your monthly allowance is nowhere near enough for you to afford one,” he said dryly.
“Well, I’ll just wait until I’ve saved as much as you have so I can afford one.”
“You bought a nymph?” Kellsey asked in a tone as if he’d fed a puppy to her Kraken.
“I didn’t buy her.” Technically. “Satiros gave her as collateral because he couldn’t pay me in diamonds.”
“Oh, so you just had to accept her?” she asked sarcastically.
“That’s right,” he said with a grin. He would never tell her that the nymph had been more of a burden than a prize. Nymphs were the most pampered women on Earth. After a few hours of hot sex, their first demands started. They were used to being waited on hand and foot. Men were literally enchanted by their beauty and gave them whatever they desired. Except for him, since he couldn’t fall under a spell. He got sick and tired of her after only a day, and had sent her away, much to her surprise.
“Well, I sure hope you enjoyed it,” she said tightly.
“I definitely enjoyed it,” he agreed.
Liam’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. “Are you… is she your girlfriend?”
“No!” Kellsey immediately denied.
Leroy was slightly taken aback by the vehemence in her voice. His lion gave a growl because she rejected him so quickly. “Kellsey’s seeing the bawbag guitarist of that rock band you like so much.”
This earned him a frown. “Macan’s no bawbag,” she said.
“Macan of Scarab?” Liam exclaimed.
“A man who uses that much hair product and eyeliner is a bawbag,” Leroy persisted, just to make her hackles rise.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend,” she told Liam, with a glare at Leroy. “They’re performing at Celtfest next week. I can get you tickets if you want.”
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“Brilliant!” Liam tapped further on his phone. Soon, the thing would grow attached to his hand.
Leroy sighed and walked past her, inside. Kellsey followed him closely and looked around his living room.
He realized it was the first time she was inside his house. Though to call it a “house” was a bit of an overstatement for the place where they lived. What was the point of properly decorating a place if at any moment they might have to flee again? She didn’t make the cliche “nice place you’ve got” comment, which he appreciated. Kellsey never said something she didn’t mean.
“Odd you never mentioned your nephew before.” She nibbled on her lower lip. A sign that she wouldn’t let the matter rest.
“I don’t like to talk about my family.”
“Why not?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.
Because he wanted to keep the nature of his nephew a secret. Not that it mattered anymore. Everyone knew now that he was a lion. Just like Kellsey, people would put together that he wasn’t just a lion, but a Nemean. It wouldn’t be long before it was discovered that he had a nephew. Though there was only one person in particular he was worried about.
“Where are Liam’s parents?”
“Dead,” he said curtly. “Let’s discuss the rules of our road trip,” he said, changing the subject.
“Rules?” She frowned, like he’d said a dirty word.
“Yes, rules, Kellsey. You’ll follow my directions and won’t do anything crazy-assed.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, feigning innocence.
“Well, let me think,” he mused as he took his travel bag out of the closet. “Oh, I know. Like that time when you went to Jotunheim to challenge a frost giant because he’d mistreated his harpy. And let’s not forget my personal experience with Kellsey Callahan: when you showed up naked in my bed. You know they call you Lust?” He understood why the mythos had bestowed that deadly sin upon her. The kumiho who’d made that comment had even explained that he lusted after Kellsey Callahan whenever he saw her. Right before Leroy had brought his fist down, smashing it into his face.
Kellsey’s cheeks flushed, but not from embarrassment. Nope. She was offended.
“First of all, I can’t help it that they named us after the Seven Deadly Sins. And I’d rather be called Lust than, say, Sloth. Secondly, the latter incident was ages ago,” she said indignantly.
As usual, she tried to play down disastrous events, which she usually caused herself.
“In exactly a month it will be eight years ago,” he pointed out.
“In exactly a month you say?” she asked in a sugary-sweet tone. “Seems like you’ve been counting down the days.”
He immediately regretted his words. He hadn’t meant to let that last part slip. Nobody, and especially not Kellsey, needed to know that that day was etched in his memory. The day he’d started to see her as a woman. An extraordinary woman who had more and more crawled under his skin.
8
KELLSEY
After they had dropped off Liam at the Asylum, Qasim traced them to the top of a mountain, or at least so it initially seemed. As she viewed her surroundings better, she noticed that they were standing on the side of a deserted road. The air smelled of exotic flowers and the last rays of sunshine disappeared behind a green wall of trees. In the distance loomed a temple in Asian style, and right next to it the dome of a mosque. She was glad she’d left her jacket at home and had put on a tank top. Accustomed as she was to the wet and windy weather in the Highlands, she already began to sweat.
“This doesn’t look like a place where Satiros would stay,” Leroy noted. “Unless that hedonistic goat suddenly lowered his standards and decided to live in the middle of the jungle.”
“I can’t trace closer without running the risk that a human sees us,” Qasim explained.
“I thought Satiros lived on Samos?” Kellsey asked.
“He did, but he’s fled head over heels to Indonesia after a quarrel with an Egyptian alchemist,” Qasim explained. “The alchemist put a curse on his villa. Which is now occupied by the Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, also known as giant sea scorpions.”
“So, Satiros is struck by a plague of scorpions?” Leroy said, gloating.
“Giant scorpions are not a plague,” Kellsey corrected him automatically. The poor animal got extinct on Earth and belonged on the endangered mythos animals list.
“Not to you,” Leroy admitted. “You’re immune to their poison.”
As opposed to Leroy. She swallowed and looked at his chest. “I’m sorry, Lee,” she said, feeling miserable, and she rubbed the spot where the poison had nestled.
He put his hand over hers. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that, Kellsey.”
She was no crybaby. But the thought that Leroy could die nearly tore her apart inside. What made it worse was that it was her fault. “I know.”
“It’s gonna be okay,” Leroy said, stroking her hand. She doubted whether he knew how tender he was.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but knew her lion wasn’t ready to hear that. Such a confession would only ensure that he ditched her on the spot.
“Indonesia has more than a hundred volcanoes, of which a lot are active. More than five million people are living in the danger zone of an active volcano,” Qasim said, totally oblivious of the moment between Leroy and Kellsey.
She loved Qasim, but sometimes he didn’t know when to turn off his scientific mind. Like now, while time was running out because Leroy’s imaginary hourglass ran empty. “Q….”
“One of these volcanoes is the Rinjani, just a day trip from Satiros’ villa,” Qasim continued, unflustered. “According to myth, the island of Lombok came into existence when the water dragon who lived here, Rinji, was attacked by the fire dragon, Jani. From their battle, the island and the volcano emerged. A local contact has confirmed the rumors that in the crater of the volcano there’s a pond of both fire and water. A bath in this water would cure any disease.”
She took it all back! She loved Qasim’s scientific mind. “How do we get there?” she wanted to know.
Leroy looked skeptical. She didn’t understand how a man who had made it his profession to find legendary objects could be so skeptical.
“The Rinjani pond can’t be found unless you know where to look,” Qasim explained. “You can only reach it by an inlet that leads into the volcano. You will need a guide. Fortunately, I know someone who can help you out.”
“How well do you know him?” Leroy asked. “It can be dangerous to travel with an unfamiliar guide. I’m not going to take any risks with Kellsey.”
Kellsey smiled. “I can take care of myself, but it’s sweet that you think of me.”
This earned her a frown. “I just don’t want to run the risk of Riz stringing me up by the balls if something happens to you.”
“Riz only did that once and that vampire deserved it.” It was pretty funny to watch how Leroy tried his best to not show that he was worried about her. She wondered how long it would take before he acknowledged that he had feelings for her.
Qasim’s eyes darted from side to side as if he was watching a ping-pong match. It obviously began to dawn on him that something brewed between her and Leroy. Kellsey couldn’t suppress a smile.
“The guide, Q?” Leroy insisted.
“Zlatan is a kumiho.”
“A kumiho?” Leroy groaned. “Why don’t you just cut the rope we’re dangling on?”
Kellsey knew what he meant. She’d never met a kumiho that she could trust. It wasn’t that they deceived you per se, but their word only lasted until they got a better offer. Kumihos were loners. They didn’t live in clans, covens, or a tribe and had no sense of loyalty.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Qasim said quickly. “But you can’t judge all kumihos just by their bad reputation.”
He was right, of course. She was just as biased about kumihos as some mythos were about her own unusual clan. “I’m sorry, Q. You’re r
ight. So, where do you know him from?”
“I got in contact with Zlatan through my nomad network. He knows Lombok like the back of his hand. At dawn, he leaves for Rinjani’s lake. He’s waiting for you at the Happy Cafe in Senggigi.” Her brother disappeared and Kellsey glanced at Leroy questioningly when he didn’t move.
He looked at the path that led to Satiros’ villa. Why was he hesitating? Their mission was simple. They would buy the helmet, Qasim would flash the thing home and then they would cure Leroy.
“I don’t want you to be disappointed if the legend of the lake turns out to be bogus,” Leroy said all of a sudden.
He was the one who was poisoned, by her, and he was worried that she’d be disappointed? “You don’t have to worry about that. Besides, if the lake appears to be a myth, we’ll just continue searching until we find another cure.”
“Rule number two,” Leroy said.
“Exactly.” A Callahan never gives up.
He suddenly grabbed her arm and heat flowed through her body. “Some things are inevitable, Kellsey.”
“Yep. Like you and me,” she challenged.
He cursed and released her. “That’s not what I meant.”
“What do you mean then, Lee?”
“I mean that no one lives forever.” He looked like he’d wanted to say something else and she realized he was keeping something from her.
“That’s right,” she said. “We are mythos, not immortal. Only the gods live forever. That doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t take a pill when we’re in pain, or search for a cure if we’re poisoned. Or do you mean to tell me that you’re giving up before we’ve even started our search?” That would disappoint her so much. She didn’t understand why he put more effort into finding an object than into finding a cure. Well, she was just as determined to find an antidote.
“I’m not giving up,” he growled.
“Good.”
Leroy narrowed his eyes. “This changes nothing, you know.”
