All Hallows' Satyr (The Cursed Satyroi Book 5)

by Rebekah Lewis

  "Ask him yourself," Pan said, but his tone wasn't harsh. When Adonis glanced up, Pan nodded his head toward the door where Daphne was ushering in Zale and Ariston. His twin stopped dead in his tracks, eyes locked on him, jaw tightening.

  "Hey," Adonis said stupidly. He hadn't seen or spoken to his brother since that night. Part of him wanted to run from the room while the other wanted to beg forgiveness. Instead, he stood there looking like a dumbass and sounding like one too.

  Ariston turned his scowl onto Pan and then Melancton. Daphne clutched the door frame, almost like she debated interfering or staying silent by the way she worried her bottom lip. "What. The. Fuck?" was all Ariston said once he finally found his voice.

  "We need all available hands right now," Pan bit out. To Adonis, he said, "I left him with Zale for as long as I was able." To Ariston, "He came to help find Jacen. He wants to make amends."

  Ariston shook his head, eyes narrowed. "He's lost my trust. How do we know he's not helping Theron by infiltrating us?"

  Beneath the surface, Adonis's temper began to boil. More was at stake here than their feelings. "First of all, I hate Theron, so I would rather eat nails. Second, I didn't bother any of the Arcadians until Hermes stopped answering his phone." He turned to Pan. "Any idea why? And don't give me some bullshit about an errand for Olympus. Is he in Tartarus?"

  Pan plucked at a loose thread on his jacket sleeve. "Not Tartarus…exactly. I'm sure he'll be back soon, driving us all crazy." His tone tried to remain aloof, but there was a strain around his mouth that said otherwise. Something was going on with Hermes, something that kept him from so much as answering a simple text. He couldn't be dead, because why would Pan hide it? Adonis wasn't sure if he should be concerned or not. Hermes was the only one who stood by him in the aftermath of his disgrace…until Sage.

  He wasn't given the opportunity to linger much longer before Pan cleared his throat. "Okay, we have time to catch up and bicker later. Right now, we must deal with the situation. Theron, Maron, and Elek are in Savannah, probably still here in the downtown historical district because they know we're here, and this is where Calix has been living until recently. They may not have come to the conclusion that Calix isn't here, but they will soon when he doesn't go storming out looking for Theron. Which means they'll probably leave town and disappear to who knows where."

  Ariston crossed his arms. "You said he poisoned humans?"

  Pan nodded. "Could be coincidence, but how many people die hours after being at the bar? I am convinced it's connected. And they took Jacen's panpipes, so at least one of them may be in human glamour."

  "And gods know what else they do with them," Zale said as he palmed the large hunting knife strapped to his belt. The Arcadian had been growing his dark hair back out after having shaved it off. It was in some weird stage of growth that was neither closely cut or long. "What do we do when we find them?"

  "What you must. Subdue them if possible. If it comes down to your life or theirs, do what has to be done." Pan leaned against the wall. "Oh, and Theron has the axe, though I doubt he'll bring that out until he finds Calix. So keep your eyes open and don't—" He looked at Ariston and then Adonis. "—get distracted."

  Ariston made a rude noise, and Adonis chose to ignore the comment. He needed to go get his shoes and one of those pills since it was too dangerous to take Sage with him. He hated leaving her behind, but she should be safe with the other women. Though Jacen was recovering, Adonis had no doubt, if there was a threat to London's life, the satyr would be on his feet in a heartbeat.

  "I'll be right back, and then we can leave." He didn't offer more of an explanation than that, turning away from Pan and his brother and disappearing down the stairs to the bedrooms. This night would be a real trial of his nerves, and if he didn't keep his temper in check, he'd be cast out on his own again in no time at all.

  He could do this. He would do this. If not for himself, for Sage.

  14

  "The nerve of him to come in here so smug." Sage smacked a fist into her palm and faced London, who sat in the chair in the room she'd slept in. Looking at the bed made her feel things she wasn't ready to think about, so she avoided putting it in her eyeline as much as possible. Instead, she stared at the floor while she ranted and faced London, unfazed by her temper at all.

  She probably sounded like an utter lunatic. She didn't know these people, and she was already bitching about the freaking Greek god who led them. Well, sort of led them. Apparently, a satyr named Evander was the one officially in charge around here, but he was on vacation with a vampire Amazon lady. Sage had to give them some credit: satyrs weren't boring by any means.

  Male voices carried up the stairs and past her broken door. "Ah," London said, rising to her feet. "They are getting ready to go out and hunt for the Boeotians. With any luck, they can find them before sunset."

  "Why sunset?" she asked dumbly then laughed at herself as she followed her out into the hall. "Oh, right the horns and what not. It's Halloween though, so people probably wouldn't look twice at them." Man, who knew Halloween would be the night satyrs roamed the night instead of ghosts and ghouls. The thought nearly made her smile. And here she'd thought she was a witch.

  London didn't smile as they descended the stairs. "Except the police are still searching for Jacen's attackers—who had horns and hooves. But you're probably right. With Cyprian's band doing so hot on the charts, satyr costumes are pretty popular this year."

  Sage held up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait…Cyprian Agrios from A Mythical Dilemma is for real? Like… for real?" She freaking loved that band. Ever since the original singer left and Cyprian stepped in to replace him on vocals, the songs had gotten increasingly better.

  "Uh, yeah." London grinned. "He got in a bit of trouble for throwing it all out there, but it has worked out for him quite well. Hopefully it doesn't bite him and the others in the ass if his secret comes out."

  Sage could see where that could be a problem. Thinking about the many ways that could go wrong, she wasn't really paying attention to the happenings around her when Adonis walked out into the lobby. He'd changed clothes, black jeans and a green sweater with a leather jacket—much different from his band-shirt aesthetic—and didn't seem to notice London or her as they approached.

  "Hey, sorry for losing my temper earlier," Sage said as she came to a stop in front of him. "I was so mad on your behalf and couldn't bite my tongue, you know?"

  Adonis looked down at her with surprise and—confusion?

  "When I snapped at Pan," she clarified.

  His expression didn't change.

  "Ah, well, I'll be here learning some more control over my abilities with Daphne. I'd rather be with you though." She grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him toward her. As her lips landed on his, someone cleared their throat from behind her. Maybe if she ignored whoever it was, they'd go away.

  Adonis went rigid, his lips tightly clamped shut. This was as unresponsive as he'd ever been. Sage opened her eyes. She couldn't fathom what she had done to produce this reaction. He placed his hands on hers and removed her grip from his clothing, then took several steps back.

  "What's going on?" She turned in the direction of the throat-clearing from earlier. There, in the doorway, Adonis glared at her, still dressed in his clothing from earlier aside from a new jacket and in human glamour. London and Daphne looked intensely uncomfortable from where they stood beside him. "What the hell?"

  She whipped her head back in the direction of the Adonis she'd kissed. Now that she paid full attention, his hair had a slight wave to it Adonis' didn't. That was literally the only difference she could spot between them. Sage turned back to Adonis, slowly recalling mention of his brother, Ariston—a twin brother.

  "Oh my goddess. I am so sorry." She didn't know which twin she was apologizing to. She gawked at Ariston. "I-I didn't realize, I thought you were…" Her gaze met Adonis' furious gaze. "I thought he was you. I wanted to kiss you goodbye, not cause more
problems." Sage tried to race from the room back to the stairs, but Adonis darted in front of her and blocked her path.

  "Are you all right?" Concern had replaced the anger she'd seen on his face before. She might never scrub that image from her mind. Christ, did he think she was choosing Ariston over him? That she thought the way Aphrodite had and wanted both? "Hey, now. No need to cry." He thumbed moisture away from her cheek.

  She hadn't even noticed her eyes watering. "I should have been paying better attention. I didn't even know he was here, I—"

  "Sage," he interrupted calmly.

  But she couldn't find the will to shut up. "I'm so embarrassed. I—"

  "Sage!" Adonis didn't shout. Not really. He'd merely raised his voice enough to get through to her. "I'm not upset."

  "You looked mad."

  He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, and she sank into his comforting embrace. He was so warm, strong, and smelled of pine and citrus, and she never wanted him to let her go. "Not at you. I was annoyed before I even walked out there. I didn't know my brother was coming, or I would have warned you."

  Sage peeked around his shoulder at Ariston who was shooing everyone else back into the Staff area before following suit, leaving them alone in the lobby. "When I realized it was your brother, I panicked. I didn't know if you'd think I was like Aphrodite, because I am not."

  "I don't think that," he said softly.

  "Are you sure? Because I'd understand if there was some repressed fear that all women would treat you like she did."

  Adonis sighed heavily and dragged her over to a sofa. He sat and patted the seat next to him. When she plopped down beside him, he said, "Yes, I'm sure. Aphrodite and you are nothing alike. When she took you last night, and you came back pissed about it, I knew then you were a different kind of woman. A kind-hearted woman. A loyal one."

  "Truly?" Her confidence was improving finally. For some reason, slut-shaming never got under her skin too much, but being considered a two-timing homewrecker—wait, wasn't Ariston married? Oh God! Now she felt bad again—wasn't something she aspired to.

  Adonis leaned in and brushed his lips lightly over hers. He pulled back enough to whisper, "Truly," before claiming her lips in a real kiss, unlike the cold reaction she'd gotten from Ariston.

  The kiss deepened, and as her hormones flared, she pulled out of his grasp. Seeing him without the horns was different, but it didn't make him more or less attractive. She didn't understand how Aphrodite could be so shallow. Okay, sure…he didn't have hooves at the moment, but he was all man in the places that counted with or without those. "I'm keeping you from looking for Theron. You should go."

  "I'd rather stay with you," he confessed. "But yeah, I should."

  "Be careful." She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "I am starting to like you, old man." She winked.

  Adonis laughed as he stood up and stretched. "As long as you're here waiting on me when I return, little girl, I'll do my best to remain in one piece."

  As he marched ahead of her to the back room, Sage swallowed down her dread at his going out there. Something very bad was going to happen. She could feel it.

  Somewhere above him, a door closed, and the footsteps of multiple people echoed down the stairs to the sidewalk in front of the building. Jacen fumed at the window, blinds drawn. Encased in bars on the outside to prevent break-ins, that window added to the illusion of being held prisoner in his own room. He should be out there too, searching for Theron. His punk ass had jumped him in an alley like a common street criminal, Maron and Elek doing anything their leader asked of them. Made him sick. How Dionysus kept them reined in, he'd never know. They'd never been particularly controlled, but without the wine god around, they'd only become worse dangers to society.

  His bedroom door opened and London stepped in. The expression on her face betrayed that something had occurred upstairs. Worried, he tried to sit up straighter and winced at the movement as his mending ribs protested the effort. "What happened?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

  London ran a hand through her long dark hair and took a seat at the end of his bed. "No, just uncomfortable drama. Ariston's here. Sage kissed him thinking it was Adonis. It was…awkward."

  Jacen cringed. "Yikes." He was kind of glad he missed that even as his mood soured further. He wished Ariston had come to say hi at least. "Did Ariston come alone?"

  "Zale is with him. Lily stayed in New Jersey with Kat and the baby."

  Jacen nodded. He'd catch up with the others when they got back since they hadn't deigned to visit with him beforehand. He rubbed his eyes and huffed out a breath. He was being unfair. They needed to track down Theron, and that was more important than he was right now. However, Jacen was going out of his mind wanting to know what was going on, and he also wanted to call and touch base with Chrys again. The Boeotian hadn't answered the last few times he'd called. Dionysus' old job must take a lot of attention away from returning phone calls.

  He wasn't bitter. He wasn't… Jacen wanted to help, and being confined to a bed to heal grated every last one of his nerves. His ribs were doing much better, but he probably wouldn't be able to get up and walk around until tomorrow. Hopefully, as it would be just in time for the satyr moon.

  A knock rang out from the door.

  "Come in," he called out.

  A petite blonde woman in a long white dress stepped in and blinked big blue eyes at him. London crossed her arms and took a step between the woman and the bed. "Who the hell are you?"

  Jacen scratched his head, unsure what was going on. He hadn't been too surprised to see a woman he didn't recognize since he hadn't yet met Sage or even knew what she looked like. But by London's reaction, this clearly wasn't the new nymph. So…who was she, and why was she here?

  The woman nonchalantly waved a hand. "Do not be alarmed. I'll only be here a moment before my sisters learn where I've gone."

  Jacen raised a brow and London took a step forward and said, "That tells us nothing." She balled her hands into fists at her sides. He admired the fierceness in his girl. Even when Apollo had captured them, she'd been fierce.

  The woman smiled and gestured toward her chest with both of her delicate hands. "I am Atropos, of the Moirai."

  London gasped, sitting down on the edge of the bed, and Jacen attempted to sit up a little straighter. His ribs throbbed with agony, but finally the Fates would give them an answer—or would they? What if she came to tell them what they wanted was impossible? The Fates probably wouldn't bother saying anything at all if that were the case, but still the possibility hovered like a dark cloud.

  "I'm not supposed to be here, yet I came to warn you." Atropos glanced around the corners of the room as though someone or something could be lingering there. Jacen turned his focus there himself, then felt ridiculous. Then again, Atropos and other gods could flash in with no warning. Pan had the place warded against threats, but gods could be non-threatening…until the mood struck. While Theron probably couldn't get in, a god could manipulate the wards if they were patient enough. Hell, Aphrodite had apparently snatched Adonis' nymph out of there the night before. Why have wards at all with that going on? Magic often hurt as well as it helped.

  "We appreciate you taking the time," Jacen said. "No matter what you have to tell us." London looked back at him and smiled sadly.

  Atropos clasped her hands together and bowed her head. "Bloodlines are tricky beasts, hard to track through weavings past. My sisters have little time to study each thread for the lineages. If love is true, do not hesitate. Play Pan's song and you shouldn't have to wait long as the Satyr Moon rises high into the night sky."

  London and he shared a glance. Jacen turned back to Atropos. "So, you're saying…you don't know if it will work but want us to try anyway."

  She shrugged one shoulder. "Love is a risk. Take it. If it doesn't work, try another way." Atropos winked and then she disappeared.

  He stared at the spot she'd previously occupied and flung an arm up in impati
ence, wincing at the sudden movement. The pain was far less than yesterday, but enough to remind him not to forget himself again. "Well, that…was unhelpful." Resentment coated his tongue, and he didn't know what to do. Then, London laughed and crawled up the bed to rest at his side. She clasped his hand into hers and smiled.

  "You're a moron, but I love you anyway."

  Baffled, Jacen started to ask what she meant but she cut him off with her fingertips pressed to his lips.

  "Shh. Atropos gave us advice that anyone who didn't have connections to the actual Fates would be given: take a leap of faith. We'll have Pan attempt to play the syrinx for me tomorrow, and if it doesn't work, we'll consider alternative methods."

  All those alternatives involved making her immortal and him remaining a satyr. He'd come to terms with his curse, but he didn't want to risk London. "Those are too dangerous."

  "We'll figure it out when we get there." She kissed him lightly on his lips, but that wasn't good enough for him. He wrapped his fingers into her hair and kissed her deeply. She sighed against him, and he groaned as her hands slid down his chest. When she pulled back, he tried to prevent it, but she giggled and crawled out of bed. "You need to heal up, and I am going to check on Daphne and Sage. I need you in tip-top shape tomorrow."

  Jacen watched the love of his life leave his room. Even though he was disappointed he wasn't making love to her right then and there, if Pan could really turn her into a nymph, and the curse could be lifted, not only would he live his human life out with this woman, but there was hope for the rest of them too. It all rested on them.

  No pressure at all…

  15

  "This is bullshit," Ariston muttered. Adonis couldn't agree more. Pan had split them up into teams: Melancton with Zale to the east, Ariston with Adonis to the west, and Pan overhead in his Jersey Devil form, invisible to the humans below. "He only put us together because he wants us to work things out."