The Darkest Warrior

by Gena Showalter

  All part of the prophecy?

  Fury besieged him, battering at his skull. Urgency joined the fray. Raw lust and a soul-crushing frustration, too. Unending hopelessness. Loneliness and betrayal. Hatred. Love. Pride. Sorrow. Grief.

  He'd hated Sin for what he'd done. Mourned the loss of his brother. Needed to help...who? Who did he need to help?

  To figure this out, he had to find peace and quiet. And yet he couldn't bring himself to summon any more ice and disappoint Gillian.

  He ripped at his hair, his breaths churning with mounting aggression. Somehow he'd been stripped bare of his defenses, everything he'd felt before a mere blip compared to this.

  Gillian would--

  Her name spurred a new deluge of raw lust. Blistering waves of it. He was hard and throbbing. If William hadn't returned, Puck would be inside her.

  Rage, so much rage.

  Indifference scrabbled across the bond, leaving Puck's head eerily silent.

  Gillian noticed the intrusion and gasped.

  He wanted to go to her, offer comfort, but felt tethered in place by his emotional chains. How was he supposed to deal with this?

  Deep down, he'd known this day would come. Had known the things he'd buried would resurface; though Gillian had filtered out a good portion of it, what remained made mincemeat of his legendary control.

  How was he supposed to survive this?

  Arms spread, Puck threw back his head and roared at the sky. No relief.

  He wanted his woman, and he would have her. If necessary, he would move mountains to reach her. He would kill anyone who dared step between them.

  He needed to ensure her unhappy ending with William--and establish her happy ending with Puck. He wanted his friends safe and sound. Wanted Sin defeated and dying under his hand, the Connacht crown on another's head. But Puck also wanted Sin...alive. How could he harm the man who used to be his beloved little brother? More rage. Can't contain it...

  Helplessness. Puck was going to have to leave Cameron and Winter behind. His friends, abandoned when they needed him most. In the coming hours, the two would worsen. Winter would cease her ramblings and attack anyone nearby. Cameron would come out of his comatose state and attack himself. Blood would pour. Lives could be lost.

  Still Puck couldn't stay behind. If he failed to kill Sin within the next fourteen days--a mere three hundred and thirty six hours--everyone in Amaranthia would die.

  Too much, too much. With a roar, Puck charged forward and rammed into a tree trunk, horns first. Impact jarred him, bits of bark and insects flying. Once he'd wrenched the horns free, he backed up and rammed again. And again, until the tree toppled.

  Short, choppy breaths razed his sternum. Red dotted his line of sight as he rammed another tree, then another. He would fell the entire forest! Nothing would stop him.

  "Enough." Gillian's voice cut through his thoughts. Her trembling voice.

  My woman fears me?

  Puck spun, facing her. Her eyes were wide, her arms crisscrossed over her torso, creating an X--a shield--her fingers anchored on her hips.

  William stood at her side, a pillar of protection.

  He thinks to take her from me.

  Chin down, horns forward, Puck sprinted closer. Faster and faster. William stepped in front of Gillian. A mistake. His last. Faster still. The bastard braced for a brutal collision, only to fly out of the way when Gillian shoved him from behind. She stood at the ready, intending to meet Puck head-on.

  He skidded to a stop just in front of her, panting, unable to catch his breath. She didn't hesitate to reach up and cup his face, then brush her thumbs over the rise of his cheeks.

  "Never thought I'd have to say this to you, Pucky, but I need you to calm down."

  Inside, the sharp edge of his emotions blunted, her touch, her very nearness, soothing him as nothing else could. "Do not...fear me." The words emerged broken, ragged.

  "Never."

  "You are mine," he said.

  "I am yours."

  Calmer still...

  Her gaze slipped over his shoulder, and she frowned. "Someone's coming."

  He whipped around, noticed tree limbs slapping together in the distance as a massive shadow moved over the land.

  Must protect. Puck decided to deal with the threat in the sky first. A blond male with enormous white wings flew into the camp and landed only a handful of yards away.

  The newcomer's identity clicked. Galen, keeper of Jealousy and False Hope, as well as Hades's helper. He was the world's most despised immortal. For centuries, he led a human army with the sole purpose of slaughtering his own kind. He'd betrayed friends and enemies alike and couldn't be trusted.

  Puck had learned about him while researching William. Galen lusted for a woman named Legion--or Honey, or whatever she called herself nowadays. Her past was as fraught with pain and violence as Gillian's. Currently, Legion was being kept from him. Galen spent his time searching for her, warring in the underworld and attempting to regain lost friendships with the Lords of the Underworld--males he once tortured.

  Two others stepped from the line of trees, arriving on foot. Pandora, Hades's only daughter, had shoulder-length black hair that framed an arresting face with dramatic hazel eyes.

  Beside her stood a shirtless, muscular man with skin the color of blood, and eyes tattooed from neck to toe. "Red," the one who'd flashed Puck to the alley in Oklahoma City. His true identity crystalized: Rathbone the Only, another of Hades's allies, and a king of the underworld himself. Multiple piercings glinted in the sunlight and--

  Had one of those tattooed eyes blinked?

  "Reinforcements have arrived," William said.

  Puck should have rejoiced. The Ever Randy's motivation had just shifted; no longer was he invested in Puck's success in the name of Gillian's freedom. Now he fought for her life.

  If Amaranthia died, Puck would die. His magic--his very life force--was tied to the majestic realm. With Gillian's life force tied to him, she would perish with him.

  Indifference swooped back into Puck's mind and cackled with glee, as if he savored the thought of all those deaths. Especially Gillian's. And why not? She was the source of the demon's weakness and Puck's greatest strength.

  She is the source of my everything. Only moments ago, he'd thought their life together would be about Puck and Gillian. Now he saw the truth. It was all about her--his life revolved around Gillian. He would do what was best for her, always.

  If Puck hadn't defeated Sin in thirteen days, he would use the shears to release Gillian from their marriage. She would no longer have a bond to Puck, which meant she would no longer have a bond to Amaranthia. Of course, she would refuse to leave her clan behind, so he would have to force the issue.

  Let her go? A roar of denial beat at his lips, but he held it back. To save Gillian's life, he would let her go. No matter how terribly he suffered afterward.

  Defeat Sin in time, and all would be as Puck hoped. William would dethrone the Demented One. Puck would then kill Sin, despite their past. Puck would ensure the right Connacht soldier wore the crown, and keep Gillian at his side.

  He had his goals--Kill. Select. He had his time frame. Thirteen days. He would not fail.

  Kill Sin, not just dethrone him? Truly?

  Do not sweat the details now. In the meantime, he would show Gillian how good it could be between them. No more waiting. No more terms. No more interruptions. From now on, he took what he wanted, when he wanted it.

  "How did you find us?" he demanded.

  "Finding you was the least of our problems." Rathbone shapeshifted into Sin's form, then returned to his own. "There's a shield around the entire realm, preventing anyone other than Sin or those in his company from leaving or returning. I had to become your brother to gain entry."

  Sin must have erected the shield soon after Puck arrived with William. Or else Puck and company were an exception.

  "Looking good, Gillian." Galen gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "All grown
up now. I approve."

  "Well, thank goodness for that," she replied, her tone dry. "Life is finally worth living."

  Boom! Peanut head-butted Galen in the stomach with zero warning, knocking the winged male off his feet. Then the chimera chomped on Rathbone's hand, earning a pained yelp.

  A laugh bubbled at the back of Puck's throat as Rathbone cursed, the stoic Pandora scrambled out of reach and a grumbling Galen lumbered to a stand.

  Amusement? At a time like this?

  The fact that Indifference could do nothing but skitter across his mind in a huff made the moment so much sweeter.

  "How do we know you are who you say you are?" Gillian stepped forward, intending to approach the newcomers, but Puck held out his hand, blocking her. "Could be a trick," she muttered. "Another challenge, even."

  "Who would you like me to be, lovely?" Rathbone's image changed from a cute little puppy, to Puck, to William, to a jaguar, to Rick from The Walking Dead and finally back to his own. "Spoiler--it really doesn't matter. I'm a cold-blooded killer no matter what I look like."

  "I vouch for them," William said.

  Puck curled a finger under Gillian's chin and gently lifted her face, ready to handle the situation however she preferred. "We need to hunt Sin, which means we need to leave Cameron and Winter behind. But," he added before she could protest, "one of Hades's people will stay here and stand guard." An order he expected to be obeyed. "Do you approve?"

  She closed her eyes for a moment, drew in a deep breath and nodded.

  "Then it's settled," William said. "Rathbone, you'll stay with the siblings from hell. Galen, you'll fly overhead and warn of us any impending danger. Pandora, you'll ride alongside us, your only task to protect the girl, and die in her place if you must."

  "Oh, that's all?" Pandora offered him a double-birded salute.

  "I agree with the Randy Man," Puck told her. "Die if you must."

  "No one dies for me," Gillian snapped.

  William waved to the chimeras. "Did no one hear me? Everything is settled, my word is law. Let's go."

  Puck, a born prince and once a future king, longed to attack this usurper who thought to take charge. No one ordered his troops but him!

  Jealous? Now? Over this?

  "Pandora is really attractive," Gillian said, her tone sharp enough to cut through steel. "Do you want her?"

  She battled jealousy, too?

  Clarity. Puck jabbed a finger in Galen's direction. "Control your demon."

  The male hiked a shoulder, unconcerned. "Counter offer. I do me. You do you. We both do the girls."

  Puck was in his face a second later, punching, breaking his nose. Gillian and Pandora cheered.

  Galen grinned as blood poured down his face. "What? Was it something I said?"

  William delivered the next punch, merely earning a laugh from Galen as he popped his jaw back into place.

  Crazy male! Puck ushered Gillian to the chimeras, helped her mount, then mounted Walnut.

  As William trotted past Puck to take the lead, he muttered, "Remember what I told you."

  Their group trekked through the forest, leaving Rathbone, Winter and Cameron behind. To circumvent a surge of guilt, Puck replayed the conversation he and William had earlier, as Puck set a thorny border around camp.

  "Fun fact," William had said. "I collect skulls. Pretty ones, ugly ones. Male, female. Young, old. Immortal, human. Those of my enemies and friends alike, and even a person I met in an elevator."

  "Is it story time?" Puck had been in a deep freeze at the time, and antagonizing the male had seemed like a wonderful idea. "Gee whiz, Willy. I wish you'd warned me. I would have dressed in my pj's and snuggled under my favorite blanket."

  The beloved son of Hades had continued on, unperturbed. "I have thousands of skulls. The only thing they have in common? I murdered the person they once belonged to."

  "Yawn. You're big and bad, and you do creepy things. Noted. Your point?" He'd spread his arms wide. "Wait. Let me guess. If I'm not careful, I'll end up as exhibit A in your collection."

  William had run his tongue over his teeth. "I hate those skulls. Every...single...one. They remind me of the worst deeds I've ever committed. Once, I considered getting rid of them. Before I'd made a decision, however, a friend stole my least favorite of the bunch. Do you know what I did?"

  "Bored him to death with this story?"

  "Tracked him down, cut off his head and turned his skull into a urinal. My point, as you so eloquently requested, is this--you do not steal from me."

  A fetid stench permeated the air, cutting into Puck's reprieve. He grimaced as he picked up notes of death, decay and sulfur.

  "Galen," Pandora bellowed. "I told you not to eat those burritos."

  "You're blaming me for this?" White-feathered wings gliding in a measured back and forth motion to keep pace with the chimeras, he said, "I thought you were to blame. I was going to be a gentleman for once, and not comment on your raging flatulence. My mistake."

  Puck scanned the area, and discovered four rotting bodies partly hidden by piles of leaves about a hundred yards away. Using magic for an up-close inspection, he realized the victims had been ripped to pieces.

  He slowed his pace, coming up beside Gillian. "See the bodies? They died badly. Whatever killed them could still be out here."

  "Don't worry," she said. "I'll protect you."

  He glanced at her, and she curved her lush red lips in a smile, setting Puck aflame with lust.

  Must have her. Soon.

  Pandora, who rode at Gillian's other side, withdrew a sword from a crisscross sheath on her back. "What kind of beast could we be dealing with here, Indifference?"

  "You may call me Your Majesty." He wasn't the demon. Would never be the demon again.

  He forced the devastation to reclaim center stage in his mind. Limbs had not been cut from the bodies but ripped. There were bite marks on every visible patch of skin, but not fang marks. Scratches made by dull nails rather than claws.

  Considering each hand had blood and tissue caked under every nail bed...almost seemed like the people had attacked each other.

  Surely not. "The beast... I don't know."

  "I'm more concerned about the maze." Gillian pointed to the right. "I feel like I've seen that tree three times already."

  Maze...maze. The word poked and prodded at Puck's mind. Gillian had called Sin's creation a maze more than once, but he'd never treated the forest as anything more than, well, a forest.

  Had he erred? "Fly up, Galen, and tell us what you see."

  Galen obeyed, and the higher he went, the wider his eyes became. "You guys should see--"

  He smashed into an invisible ceiling, impact snapping one of his wings. Like a falling star, he streaked down, down, before crash landing a few feet from William, skidding across the ground and slamming into a tree.

  Both of his wings were now crimped and twisted at an odd angle. His shoulder was clearly out of its socket, and his ankle broken; bone cut through flesh. What had to be thousands of bugs swarmed from the tree trunk to glom on to him.

  In unison, everyone dismounted and rushed over to help. With a yell, Galen rolled away, knocking into Gillian, who fell.

  Cackle, cackle. Indifference enjoyed the show.

  Tensing, Puck hustled to his wife's side--but William flashed, reaching her first. He expected rage. The bastard touches what's mine. Instead, he experienced...gratitude. The bastard helped her when she needed him.

  "I'm fine," she said, and smiled. "Truly."

  All right, now he experienced rage. That is my smile.

  Galen jammed his fist into his dislocated shoulder, popping the joint back into place. Even though his ankle flopped uselessly, he stood and limped toward Puck. "Prick! Did you know I would--"

  Peanut head-butted his midsection. Once again, Galen slammed into a tree.

  "Well?" Puck prompted. "What did you see?"

  Galen stayed down. Glaring, he said, "I saw our doom."


  *

  Gillian listened, sick to her stomach as Galen described a nightmare of biblical proportions. Sections of the maze were trading places. Meaning, no matter how far the group traveled, or how new the landscape appeared, they might never reach Sin's fortress.

  "Do you know how I know we're going to escape this maze?" Pandora announced. "Because I'm here."

  Hey! That's my line.

  Gillian rubbed the back of her neck, only then noting the drop in temperature. From somewhat cool to welcome to the Arctic, so cold her teeth started chattering.

  The others noticed, too, frowning as snowflakes twirled from the sky, landed on exposed skin and were absorbed through pores.

  Inside her, blooming heat chased away the cold. Blooming...blistering. Her runes flickered on and off as her blood became lava, and her organs became ash.

  Magic?

  "Puck." She tried to say more, but searing agony suddenly and unequivocally consumed her. She whimpered--and then she screamed.

  "Help..." The bones in her face, chest and limbs elongated, thickened and rotated. Dark fur sprouted, overlaying every inch of her skin. Her gums developed a heartbeat of their own as tusks extended upward, past her upper lip. Claws grew from her fingers and toes.

  With the horrid change, she lost her center of gravity and toppled.

  Peanut swung around, screeched and backed away from her.

  Where was Puck? She needed him. Vision hazing. Where, where? Her gaze landed on--no! Her teammates were gone. In their place? Horned, fanged monsters.

  Thoughts devolving, almost indistinct, savage instincts taking over. Not my friends, but my enemies. Food. So hungry.

  Gillian reared back, readying herself...and then attacked.

  34

  Mind a war zone, Indifference's protests clattering, Puck struggled to make sense of what was happening around him. Gillian, William, Galen and Pandora had dropped to all fours and now prowled around each other, snipping and snarling.

  Foreboding deluged him. This will not end well.

  Appropriate. William launched at Galen, teeth bared. Locked in a battle to the death, the two males bowled over twigs and rocks.

  Gillian released a war cry and hurtled her body at Pandora, who met her midway. Biting, slashing. Blood spraying.