Kára nodded satisfactorily.
“Not now, Pandora,” I sighed, turning back to Prometheus. He was sitting up and glaring at us. “Do you promise you mean me no harm? That you will not betray my trust? The same for Kára and Pandora?” I asked.
He grunted, climbing to his feet. He repeated the promise, studying the door as he did so. I watched him for a few long seconds. I smiled and then nodded. “You may enter my Armory.”
He did so, wincing as he crossed the threshold. Once past it, he let out a sigh of relief and grinned at Pandora. “Girl, are you a sight for sore eyes.”
She smiled anxiously, her eyes brimming with hope. “Prometheus. You look well, considering.”
He grunted. “Thank Tainted Nipple for that. He busted me out of my imprisonment. Happiest day of my life.” She wrapped her arms around him in a tight squeeze and he let out a happy sigh.
Inwardly, I let out my own sigh—of relief. It was always a good day when you learned that a Titan didn’t want to kill you to death.
“He’s a special kind of asshole, but I won’t hold that against him. The best of us are.”
I strode past them, my mind already moving at full speed. My original plan had evolved upon running into Prometheus. Now that I knew Pandora was safe, I needed to find a way to convince them all that my plan wasn’t as crazy as it sounded.
41
Prometheus sat in a loveseat, filling it all by himself, sipping a comically small cup of tea so that he looked like a father at his daughter’s imaginary tea party. Been there, done that, I thought to myself. With Alice.
A flash of panic and fury raged through me at the thought. Was she okay? I didn’t have the power or the army capable of storming Olympus, so my only hope was to play this smart. Emotionless. Just keep moving my pieces and setting up the board for that last roll of the dice.
And hope for the best.
I sat on the end of the couch closest to Prometheus. Kára sat beside me, and I was doing my best not to see her in my peripheral vision. She had shed her armor in favor of her leather and fur pants and the loose canvas top. I was acutely aware of her hip’s proximity to mine and I tensed any time she shifted her weight. Our conversation in the tunnel had hit me deeply. Although she’d made solid points, I was finding it impossible to focus on anything but the Zeus and Alice problem. And Yahn and Carl were out there, risking their lives, too.
Pandora had rebraided Kára’s hair for her—using it as a ploy to trap the Valkyrie in place as she whispered in dark, mysterious, estrogen-laden tones. Finished with their primping, the magical librarian now sat on Kára’s other side, occasionally leaning towards the Valkyrie to whisper something she thought I couldn’t hear.
I could hear her—clearly—and it was making me blush and fidget.
I sipped my tea as I traded stories with Prometheus. As I spoke, Pandora’s focus shifted to me, listening intently, looking troubled but trying to hide it behind false confidence. Apparently, Prometheus had hit the base of the St. Louis arch like a feathered meteorite a week ago. He’d dented it all to hell, inciting a panic about terrorist attacks in the Midwest, and then he’d immediately gone to ground.
Meaning he’d snuck into Chateau Falco to wait outside the door to the Armory.
“How did you manage to get in?” I asked, still impressed that he’d inadvertently vandalized a staple of the St. Louis skyline. To be blunt, I was jealous. “The house doesn’t like strangers.”
Prometheus grunted. “The Beast, you mean. Falco always was a sucker for the underdogs and strays,” he said absently, slurping loudly at his tea.
I blinked, sloshing my drink. “You know Falco?” I demanded, stunned. Prometheus hadn’t been walking the world of man since the Greek era. How the hell would he know Falco?
He shrugged. “Sure. Ignus is secretly in love with her.” He snapped his fingers and a flaming specter the size of a matchstick appeared in his palm, staring back at us. He clapped a fist to his heart, emitting a burst of sparks. Prometheus cursed familiarly, swatting at his pants.
Despite his unassuming size, the power and heat radiating off that little matchstick man…
I leaned away, feeling like the skin over my face had been pulled tight. “A Beast,” I breathed. “You have a Beast.”
Prometheus nodded proudly, smirking at his tiny friend. “That’s why I came here. We sensed that Falco was in town—shocked the hell out of me, especially when I learned she was yours. We sought her out and claimed sanctuary. Almost soiled myself a second time when I realized that, on top of that, you had Pandora, here, locked up in her own private pocket dungeon.”
Pandora leaned forward, rolling her eyes. “So overprotective. It’s not a pocket dungeon. It’s a pocket dimension. And I like it here. I have hope,” she said, pointing at me.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as everyone turned to stare.
Falco purred warmly and the flaming matchstick man waved up at the ceiling before blowing her a kiss of fiery lips that floated up into the air like an ember before puffing out. Prometheus grunted. “Enough of that, Ignus. Kai swooned her, first. The world isn’t fair,” he said softly, nudging Ignus with a finger. The little fire specter hung his head sadly and hugged Prometheus’ finger in silent misery.
I felt a tiny hole burn its way through my heart, realizing what Prometheus had meant. Falco had found another man while Ignus had been chained up on the mountain with Prometheus.
The Titan looked over at me and shrugged. “Okay, maybe Ignus’ feelings are not so secret,” he admitted.
I stared at the Titan, shaking my head. I felt a migraine coming on. “You knew Kai, too?”
He shrugged. “Beasts are a close-knit group. Well, they used to be. The ones who landed on this rock, anyway. They’re not so affectionate with those back home, from what I gather.”
Ignus lifted his fists and began shadow boxing atop Prometheus’ palm, sending out sparks and hair-thin tendrils of smoke with each blow. Falco let out an ominous growl that I felt in my boots. Ignus pumped his fist, backing up Falco’s ire. I smiled at the little guy’s attempts to win her over. Ignus was into big beautiful women. Big beautiful Beasts, technically.
“All right,” Prometheus grumbled affectionately. “Get some rest, pal. I’ll let you out once the dust settles.” He glanced over at me. “If Tainted Nipple and Falco permit it, of course.”
I rolled my eyes at his repeated use of my nickname, realizing now why it bothered everyone else when I did it to them. Ignus turned to me and did the fist clap to heart thing again—with another burst of sparks—and then snuffed out of view with a tendril of smoke. Prometheus’ palm was covered in black soot, but it wasn’t burned.
Kára studied me out of the corner of my eye, but I pretended not to notice. I did notice that her hip was touching mine now, and my heart skipped a beat. “Who else knows about all this Beast lore?” I asked the Titan, my voice cracking sharply at the end. Smooth, Nate, I chastised myself. Puberty suave is really making a comeback this year...for middle-schoolers.
Prometheus was frowning at me curiously. “You are an odd little man, Tainted Nipple. Why are your cheeks red? Did Ignus make it too hot in here for you?”
Pandora choked on her tea and I felt Kára’s body shake in silent laughter.
I sipped at my tea and cleared my throat before repeating my question.
“Beasts are one of the original forms of magic, Nipple. Everyone knows about them. Where do you think us godly types got our powers in the first place? And why do you think most of us hate Tiny Gods so much? Why we make them think they’re just dirt under our boots?” He laughed harshly. “We were all Tiny Gods, once. A fact that some gods—like Zeus—do everything possible to hide. Like, oh, I don’t know, chaining a poor bastard to a mountain.”
I grimaced. “Why didn’t Ignus help you break free of your chains?” I asked, frowning.
Prometheus shuddered at the thought, shaking his head adamantly. “That’s what Zeus wanted. He
wanted to take Ignus for himself. Didn’t think an irresponsible Titan like me deserved to keep him any longer. If I let him out on that cursed rock, Zeus would have taken him from me. The whole mountain was covered in runes to trap Beasts. Zeus is a bit of a collector. Not that he can do anything with them, no matter how much he tries. He has poor Hephaestus tortured every time one of his contraptions fails to solve Zeus’ desire to harness the control of more Beasts. Zeus can’t accept the fact that if the Beasts don’t want to work with you, they won’t work with you. So, Zeus thinks that if he can’t have them all, no one else should have even one.”
I stared at the Titan, feeling like my brain was a carton of smashed eggs. In ten minutes, I’d learned more about Beasts than I had over the last few years. And he acted so nonchalant about it. Most everyone else had been terrified to discuss Beasts.
Then again, they had been gods. Prometheus was a Titan.
As vitally important as this information was, I didn’t have the time or the mental energy to add another issue to my plate. I needed to maintain focus on Zeus or the distraction might cost me—everyone—the game. If Zeus had his way, the world would be a much darker place in about twenty-four hours. Alice was in danger right now. I closed my eyes, biting back my sudden panic. Pandora was whispering to Kára again, and I heard her mention the healing hot tub. She’d only brought it up six times or so in the last twenty minutes—she was about as subtle as a frying pan to the nose.
“Oh, Kára,” Pandora whispered, “you simply must go try it. Nate could show you where it is. A long soak is just what you two need, taking a few private moments from battle and stress to relax and heal, gathering your thoughts and rejuvenating your bodies. Think of how much more productive this conversation would be after a nice long soak—”
I cleared my throat, cutting her off. “We’re on the clock, Pandora. This is serious.”
“So is this hot tub,” she fired back in a smugly sweet tone. “Truly,” she added, placing a hand on the Valkyrie’s thigh and pointedly shoving her against me. Kára did not resist as she turned to look at me—now all up in my personal bubble. She blinked slowly, arching an eyebrow, the question obvious. Pandora saved me. Kind of. “And you are not on any clock. Time is fluid here, remember? I could easily lock down the outside world for a day or two while you plan your war and…scrub each other’s backs.”
She smiled like a tiger, with the innocent eyes of a lamb.
I clenched my jaw defiantly, clutching tightly to my crown of abstinence since I didn’t trust myself to be anywhere near Kára and hot water. Not without a chaperone. “Thank you, Pandora. Truly,” I managed with genuine gratitude—because she wasn’t wrong. The tension between me and Kára was heavy in the air. “But no. Zeus wants you. And he has taken Alice prisoner. I want to stop him. That’s why we’re here. Not for your hot tub.”
I may as well have thrown a vase on the ground for how quickly my words silenced the Armory. Prometheus clenched his fist and shattered his cup. He winced apologetically. “Sorry, Pandora,” he mumbled, bending down to scoop up the shards.
His fingers were not bleeding—or embering, I guessed—from the cup’s shards, because he was a Titan. Pandora stared back at me, pursing her lips nervously, and I wondered if her earlier carefree attitude had been outright stubborn denial.
“He wants you more than anything,” I continued, realizing that I finally had the upper hand on her. “He’s already kidnapped Alice and freed Peter. He wants to control you and me for the Omega War. To use us to win while he takes all the credit.”
She slowly turned to scan the piles of weapons surrounding us, grimacing as if she were envisioning Zeus sauntering by with a squeaking shopping cart and a grocery list. Then she sighed dejectedly, knowing the store of weapons would be of little help against Zeus and his cronies. I wasn’t even sure how many items in here had the power to make a god bleed. Judging by her reaction, not enough. Because it wasn’t just Zeus. Ares and Apollo were out there. Maybe Hermes and, depending on Aphrodite’s devotion to her husband, she could fall back on her family’s side as well.
“He has Hephaestus locked up, too, Pandora.” She flinched. “He made you, right?”
She nodded sadly. “The only father I ever had. The only man who genuinely cared about me as a person over what I could do for him. Well, other than you, my host.” Prometheus grunted and she smiled reassuring. “And you, Prometheus, of course.” He settled back into his chair.
With the pain on her face, I didn’t mention what Zeus had said about Hope being locked up in the box to keep her safe. I feared it would be enough to make her break down. We both knew it. She’d already hinted at it when she’d told Prometheus she liked it here because she had hope.
Pandora settled her focus on my Titan Thorns and her frown deepened. “You can’t do anything with those blocking your power, my host,” she said sadly. “Even with all these toys.”
“I’m working on that angle,” I muttered angrily, feeling too frustrated to get in touch with my emotional storm at the moment. Right now, it was better to seek shelter and wait for it to pass.
She shook her head, studying my manacles. “No. That’s what I was trying to do,” she said, lifting her gaze to meet mine. “Two words. Hot tub.”
I flung my hands up. “NO! Leave it alone already!”
Kára rose to her feet and calmly left the room. Pandora shot me an accusatory scowl and then left to go comfort her.
Prometheus was watching me, his eyes flicking towards Kára and Pandora’s departure. “Well, that was poorly handled. Just go diddle her already.”
I clenched my fists and my knuckles cracked. “Not like that. She is not a piece of meat and she’s not an item on my to do list that I need to check off. That would degrade her. I’d only be doing it to get these off. She’s more than that.”
Prometheus studied me, nodding thoughtfully. “Well, then what is she?”
I studied him in silence for a few long seconds. “If I knew that, I’d be diddling her in the magic hot tub, idiot.”
He grinned toothily, lifting up a hand in surrender. “I forget how touchy you mortals can be. Living with a Beast inside you leads you closer to a…” he frowned, questing for the proper word, “more primitive, simpler lifestyle. Latch onto what you want as soon as you can latch onto it, because a storm is always on the horizon.”
I took a calming breath, nodding. “I used to have a Beast inside me. I know what you mean.”
Prometheus blinked. “Bullshit.”
I frowned, looking up at him. “Kai was mine. I freed him.”
Prometheus lunged to his feet. “Now I know you’re fucking with me. Kai was the greatest—”
Falco growled warningly and Prometheus clammed up. I narrowed my eyes. “What? Kai was the greatest what?”
Prometheus was shaking his head adamantly. “Nope. Missus made her feelings on the matter clear. I’m not saying shit else.” With that, he quickly left the room. “I’m going for a walk.”
I frowned, studying him as he slowed his pace to a more leisurely stroll once safely away from me. I stared up at the ceiling. “What was that all about, Falco?” I asked, softly.
She did not answer me. I sat alone on the couch, holding my empty cup for what seemed like days, lost in my own thoughts. If Prometheus hadn’t believed that I freed Kai, what would he think when he learned that Kai had a son? What, exactly, was so special about Kai?
And what did that mean for Ruin?
It’s a dark day when you learn that even your house kept secrets from you. Possibly bigger secrets than your lying parents ever kept. At some point, sleep soon took me.
It wasn’t pleasant. Even my dreams were cruel. I blamed them on Roofie Ruxpin.
42
I woke to find Pandora laying a blanket over my lap. I smiled at the kind gesture, only to realize that Kára was fast asleep on the couch beside me, resting her head in my lap. My pulse abruptly skyrocketed and Kára let out a soft sound as my muscles
tensed. I forced myself to relax and set my palm on her shoulder. She instantly calmed, burrowing her cheek tightly against me.
I looked up to find Pandora smiling sadly at me. “Relax. It’s only been twenty minutes, but I didn’t want to wake you.” She shifted her sad smile to Kára, who tucked her chin beneath the blanket. I grinned. Lethal could still be cute and cuddly. “She won’t wake for some time yet. I gave her something that she desperately needed.”
My eyes widened. “You drugged her?” I hisspered—a sound between a hiss and a whisper that I had perfected over the course of thirty years of extreme stress.
Pandora smiled, shaking her head. “I gave her a shoulder to cry on, Nate.” Pandora smiled sadly at the Valkyrie in my lap. “She’s had a very rough time of it, I’m afraid. Whatever road she’s traveled to get to this point…” she stared down at the sleeping Valkyrie, shaking her head. “She’s given it all of her heart and soul. And then some. It won’t be long now.”
My thumb was making gentle circles on her bare shoulder, but it felt awkward the moment I noticed it. I turned back to Pandora and the gesture no longer felt as stiff. It became natural the moment I stopped thinking about it.
Aphrodite’s warning about letting Kára become a distraction haunted me, tortured me, scoured my skin raw. “Why do you say that so sadly?” I asked, realizing that I wanted to hit something. Whatever it was that gave Pandora that sad look on her face. “Wait. You’re not saying she’s dying, are you?” I breathed.
Pandora stiffened and shook her head. “No. Christ, Nate.” I let out a relieved breath.
“You don’t say shit like it won’t be long now, and expect a man not to freak out,” I hissed.
Pandora rolled her eyes. “She’s had a tough couple of days. Unlike men, women don’t go from tough days to instant death. There is a long spectrum of emotions between those two points called ‘holding your shit together.’” I narrowed my eyes at her but she wasn’t looking. “Do you always jump to the worst possible conclusion?”
Carnage: Nate Temple Series Book 14 Page 28
