51
Charon cursed louder, obviously having overheard Hera’s plan. “I should have stayed with Anubis today,” he muttered. “Fucking Valkyries breaking the rules and now this shit.”
I glanced back, no longer able to hold a rational conversation with Hera the Lush. “What?”
“As I said, Quinn MacKenna paid me a visit recently. Figured lightning can’t strike the same place twice. I forgot that down here, the impossibilities are endless.” I dismissed the Quinn comment, deciding that I had plenty to worry about without getting roped into her messes. Charon was staring at me with a puzzled frown. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
I frowned, feeling like I’d missed something. “About what?”
“I agreed to do you a favor, but I failed. You didn’t call me out on it. I want to know why.”
I stared at him, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Making a distraction so I could safely dip the pups in the River Styx. I shrugged. “It didn’t seem to matter. I got it done.”
He cocked his head. Then he glanced at Hera. “Can you explain it to him?”
I stared at the two of them. “It’s not a big deal.”
Hera pursed her lips. “It is. If one says they will do you a favor, and then fails, they owe you a new favor of your choosing, no questions asked.”
Kára slowly turned to stare at Hera in disbelief. I felt the same way.
“And if you want to get into Hades’ office,” Charon said, “you will need a big favor.”
He was right. “How about we skip all the questions you know I have, and I simply tell you that I need you to get me the Scythe and the Helm?”
Charon smirked, his lips tugging at the twine as he spoke. Well, his voice invaded my mind much like a creaking door in the middle of the night made your heart explode. “A favor is a favor. Consider it done.” He pointed his strange, blade-like oar up ahead. Kára frowned at it suddenly, her eyes widening. She must not have noticed it until now. “They’re in a budget meeting at the office. It’s right around the corner.”
Hera gasped. “Zeus is here?” she hissed.
I almost leapt out of the boat on instinct. Charon gripped my arm, shaking his head. “Zeus never comes to the budget meetings. It’s usually just Hades, Poseidon, and Anubis.”
Hera narrowed her eyes. “That’s funny, because Zeus always tells me he’s going to the meetings. Even that they often run late, no matter how boring they are.”
I winced. Yeah. I’d heard that line used before.
“That son of a bitch. We’re doing this,” she snarled.
Charon nodded. “It’s about time the lightning struck somewhere else,” he said, pulling out an iPhone. I didn’t even have the mental energy to question how he had acquired it or how it was functional down here in the Underworld.
Or why a selfie stick fell out of his robes in his haste. Kára was grinning, having noticed the same thing. I shrugged.
“It just so happens that Anubis owes me a favor as well,” Charon said with a grim smile, lifting the phone to his ear. “I’ll be the proxy, using his favor to pay for your favor. This is going to be very, very fun…”
WE SHORED up on a beach behind a low hill, obscuring our vessel from a small, surprisingly modern office building on the edge of the River Styx. Charon had laid out the plan, so all Kára and I had to do was watch it unfold. Hera had assured me that she was aware of the consequences, and that she would obviously be their first suspect. She hadn’t seemed to be overly concerned about it, so I’d finally relented. I watched as Anubis slipped out of the building, looking suspicious as all hell before sneaking off into a boulder field behind it.
I turned to Hera and gave her the thumbs up once I was certain Anubis was well hidden.
She withdrew a bedazzled phone and made a call, peeking around the edge of the hill to watch the building as she put it on speaker. A gruff, no-nonsense voice answered. “Hello, Hera.”
“Don’t tell her he’s not here,” a different man’s voice hissed in the background. I rolled my eyes. Jesus.
The first speaker, presumably Hades, snapped something back at him, sounding as if he’d attempted to cover the phone with his hand. “What can I do for you, Hera?”
Hera looked as if their brotherly exchange had been all the additional fuel she needed to pull this off. “I don’t want to alarm you, but Charon and I were just cruising by Cell Block F, and I wanted to make sure they had the proper…construction permits for this monstrosity.”
I cocked my head curiously, glancing back at Charon. He shrugged, looking just as curious. He also looked alarmed at the location she’d mentioned.
“Cell Block F,” Hades murmured, shuffling papers. “Wait. Temple Island?” he demanded in a louder, troubled voice. “What do you mean, construction permits? What did they build?”
Hera let out a dramatic breath. “Well, it seems to be a work in progress of Anubis and you having…relations.” She paused, biting back a laugh. “I’ll just say the dog isn’t the one catching the frisbee and leave the rest to your imagination.”
Hades roared in outrage. I stared at her, horrified.
Hera held the phone away as she laughed into her elbow. Luckily, Hades was too busy screaming at Poseidon to stop laughing that he hadn’t heard her. I stared incredulously. Both at her story, and at the location mentioned. Temple Island. My parents had made a goddamned island? The last I’d seen them, they’d turned their little corner of Hell into a prosperous little mining operation, but a fucking island with construction capabilities?
I stared at Charon and he winced, nodding apologetically.
“I’m not even supposed to be down here,” Hera continued once the shouting had died down, “so consider this an anonymous tip.”
Hades grumbled something vaguely affirmative and then hung up. We watched from the safety of our cove as Hades and a large, handsome man with a beautiful trident raced out of the office building.
Hades was short and squat, looking like a professional strong man. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out in a deep, baritone cry. “ANUBIS!” I hung my head in my lap, muttering under my breath. Kára fell over, covering her mouth to hide her laughter. It sounded like Hades was calling for his dog.
Poseidon waved him down, shouting something that caused Hades to stiffen. A darkening scowl covered his face as Poseidon no doubt told him how bad the optics would look if anyone caught Hades calling out for Anubis before he raced over to axe the apparent construction project featuring him and his dog-faced lover.
The two gods turned and raced towards a boat tied up to a nearby dock. Poseidon turned the ignition and the boat roared to life. They backed out at a respectable speed, and then took off at full throttle.
I watched their boat disappear around a distant bend before I turned to the boulder field. Anubis was leaning around a jagged spire, waiting for our signal. I waved at him to let him know the coast was clear.
He shot us a grim scowl and then loped over to the small office building. He reappeared moments later with a golden helmet tucked under one shoulder and a wicked scythe seemingly made of dark gray stone over the other. He flung them both onto the boat, more or less in my general direction, as if hoping to poke me with one of the pointy bits.
Calvin and Makayla snarled at him, leaping up onto the seats and gnashing their teeth at the man-sized jackal god of the dead. He stepped back with a wary frown, sniffing at the air as if attempting to make out what the hell the mist wolves actually were. He obviously knew they weren’t regular werewolves. He took one look at their wet fur and rounded on me.
“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind!” he snapped. “You owe me, Temple—”
Charon coughed, interrupting Anubis. “He does not.” Calvin and Makayla flickered into pale mist for a moment and Anubis leapt back with a start. He curled his lips at them and then took off, racing back towards the boulder field.
I turned to my crew of thieves and shook my head. H
era and Kára burst out laughing. Calvin and Makayla wagged their tails happily, content to join in the revelry despite having no idea what it was about.
I shared a long look with Charon. “You should burn the boat and head over to another realm. Anubis will obviously vouch for you if he wants to save his own ass from Hades.” I paused. “Heh-heh,” I chuckled, considering the monument Hera had made up.
Kára shook her head, hiding her grin at my adolescent humor. Charon pondered my suggestion in silence, eyeing the golden helm and scythe thoughtfully. Finally, he looked back up at me. “I’ve never been one to run from consequences. I embrace them.”
I studied the surprisingly philosophical boatman, nodding in understanding. Oddly, it echoed Pandora’s sentiments that I was still trying to process. “That makes you both brave and honorable.”
He shrugged. “It also makes me an alcoholic,” he said, cracking open another beer and dumping it on his face.
I sighed. Well. That was something to consider. Pandora’s advice might not be as helpful as I’d begun to believe. I turned to Kára. “We should probably get back.”
She nodded, turning to Hera. She curtsied. “Someday, I will share this story with my Valkyries. I think they would get a real kick out of it.”
Hera beamed happily. “Best wait until you two finish your job.” Her eyes turned to me, suddenly looking remarkably sober, and eerily malicious. The phrase Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned came to mind. “We don’t know how the story ends yet,” she said in a clear, non-slurring voice. A powerful, commanding, completely in control voice.
52
Kára had escorted us back from the Underworld to her bar in East St. Louis. Thankfully, there wasn’t an army of pissed off Valkyries waiting to bring her in for questioning or anything. She’d seemed amused by my concern. She had already called Carl and Yahn and they were on their way over.
Things had changed between us in the last few hours. She’d grown more distant and observing. But then she’d kissed me. And invited me to kiss her back.
Since then, nothing. Not a word. As if I’d imagined it.
At first, I’d thought that I had said something to upset her—or that someone else had. But, as time stretched on, I realized it didn’t necessarily feel like I was in the doghouse.
Of course, I was still in trouble somehow—as men always were—but I couldn’t place my finger on anything specific. Not knowing what else to do, I’d decided to give her some space.
I had plenty of my own problems to deal with. Namely, surviving my confrontation with my best friends soon. Surviving that, I would progress to the next tier of holy ass whoopings and go toe-to-toe with Zeus and his posse.
And without magic, all of that was going to be a very violent, one-sided experience, and not in my favor. Even with my new scythe and leverage, I only felt like I’d mitigated some of my weaknesses but not that I’d necessarily acquired a big shining weapon with an immediate impact factor.
So, as all of this was going on, my mind was constantly scouring over my visits with Aphrodite. The difficult conversation I needed to have with Callie. Pandora’s stern suggestions and reproachful critique of my moral code. My recently dredged up, painful thoughts about lost love with Othello.
And the intimidatingly beautiful, overly competent Valkyrie playing sidekick for the inept wizard. Who went from hot and heavy to ice cold quicker than you could say Valhalla.
To solve this conundrum, I sat at the bar, drinking straight from the bottle as we waited for Carl and Yahn to arrive with their prisoners. They’d been cagey about who they’d taken from Alucard, but they had confirmed having Ryuu in their rear cargo storage—because they’d picked up Yahn’s jeep from his apartment. They’d duct taped Roofie Ruxpin to Ryuu’s hands as an abundance of shuriken because he was a ninja. There was every possible chance that the ninja wasn’t even aware he’d been abducted, thinking only that he’d fallen asleep and was pleasantly dreaming. Or having terrifying nightmares, as Yahn proclaimed.
Maybe I hadn’t slept with it long enough. Or I was immune to the nightmare factor.
I took a hefty pull from the bottle and gargled the scotch swill before swallowing it. Calvin and Makayla glanced up at the bubbling sound, skewering their godfather with judgy eyes.
Kára leaned her head out from around the corner, eyeing the bottle in my hands. “That’s disgusting.”
I shrugged. “I was trying to see if I could numb all my taste buds at once so I could tolerate another drink. It’s not my fault this place has cheap booze.”
She gave me a flat stare. “We’re in East St. Louis, not the Central West End,” she grumbled. “I cater to my clients. The top-seller is Jager Bombs.” I shuddered and she smirked.
I lifted the bottle. “This is cheaper than gasoline and tastes worse.” I took another swig of the swill and she chuckled, shaking her head.
“Pace yourself, hero. I think they just pulled up,” she said, pumping a shotgun I hadn’t noticed her carrying around.
I hopped off my stool. “Then why do you have a shotgun?” I demanded. “Have you had that this whole time?” I asked, eyeing her armor suspiciously.
“I told you I had one under the bar,” she muttered. “And I’m carrying it in case I’m wrong and they’re Cubs fans,” she said in a solemn tone.
I grinned. “Nice.”
A jeep was parked out front, as close to the door as it could get without driving it inside. Carl, wearing a long trench coat, sunglasses, and a ten-gallon cowboy hat—for some inexplicable reason—strolled in, dragging a ninja by his feet.
I repeated that statement in my head a few times, wondering if it would make more sense.
It didn’t.
“I caught the ninja,” he said, carelessly bumping Ryuu’s head on the doorframe before dropping his feet. “You didn’t mention he had a Shadow Skin.”
I shrugged. “Life is all about new challenges.”
Kára was scowling at the empty air suspiciously. “Show yourself, Yahn, or I start shooting.”
Calvin and Makayla drifted into the room like specters, growling in warning. Yahn winked into view a few feet ahead of Carl, holding up his hands in surrender. He held a wrapped burger in each hand, and he was grinning at the mist wolves. They flickered back to their usual wolf forms, wagging their tails excitedly. “Hey, you two. I’m glad you’re all right,” he said kneeling before them and unwrapping the snacks.
Kára lowered her shotgun as Yahn tossed them each a burger and then straightened to his feet, brushing off his hands. He turned to me and then the pups. “You know, it’s very concerning how easily we abducted our best friends’ friends and children,” he said, grimacing.
I frowned at the two of them. “Where are the Reds? I’m meeting the Horsemen in less than an hour. Leverage only works when you actually have leverage.”
Yahn nodded, setting his lip. “We only have one Roofie Ruxpin, so trying to hold the Reds hostage puts us at a numbers disadvantage.” I took a drink from the bottle and folded my arms, waiting. “I went to their place and saw them freaking the hell out,” he said softly. “About me.” The last sentence was barely a whisper, and he was no longer staring at me. He was staring into the middle distance, shaking his head. “I never knew how much Alucard and Tory cared about me until that moment. And…I couldn’t do it.”
I clenched my jaw, understanding his sentiment, but not appreciating his initiative. “I understand that, Yahn. Really. But do you think it was easy for me to take Gunnar’s pups away from him?” I growled. “He immediately caught on and chased us through Chateau Falco. The look in his eye when he saw me fleeing with his pups,” I rasped, visibly shaking, “broke my damned heart, Yahn. I’ve known Gunnar my entire life, and I still did it. To protect him from Zeus!” I roared, hurling the bottle against the targets for the hatchets.
Yahn didn’t flinch as the bottle whipped past his head. Instead, he nodded calmly. “What you want is for the Horsemen to be rationally furious, no
t irrationally raging. Look at how they reacted to find me missing. If I’d then kidnapped the Reds, it would be too much for them to handle. They wouldn’t listen to a word you said. Did you know they almost destroyed the entire dragon estate? Even Raego? If Death hadn’t shown up to calm Alucard and Tory down, the Obsidian Son would be dead right now.” He stepped forward, jutting out his jaw. “And you wanted me to add the Reds to that? It was a bad call. I made a different one.”
Kára was suddenly between us, forcing me back in an unyielding shuffle until she had literally backed me up across the entire bar. The sheer ridiculousness of such a long walk snapped me out of my blinding rage. “If he fucked this up for me, I’ll kill him,” I snarled.
Kára gripped my chin in one hand and pressed her forehead against mine. Hard. “Okay.”
I blinked, caught off guard by her agreeable tone.
“How do you want to do it? I can hold him down while you stab him, but we’ll need to keep an eye on Carl in case he gets uppity,” she murmured thoughtfully. “Might have to kill them both so no one talks,” she said conversationally.
I blinked at her, confused. Wait. Was she really agreeing with me?
She finally leaned away but didn’t step out of my personal space. “Feel better now?” she asked in an entirely different tone, her features softening slightly as she set her palm on my chest. “You just proved his point, by the way. And I just saved your dignity.”
Then she turned her back on me and walked back towards Yahn. She didn’t say a word. Instead, she stepped back behind the bar and poured herself a drink. The three of us watched her warily, wondering what Valkyrie sorcery she’d used to diffuse the situation.
53
I pondered her words. She…
Was right. I’d almost lost what little grip I had on my sanity when Yahn challenged my authority by doing something that I believed would put my friends in greater danger. I’d been so angry that I might have done something incredibly stupid if I’d had access to my magic.
Carnage: Nate Temple Series Book 14 Page 34
