Authors: Gabrielle Evans
Then Eyce would vanish the water from the indentations on their heads, paralyzing them so they could transport them back to the pond behind their house.
The kappas all seemed rather pleasant and polite once they’d replaced the water and allowed them movement. Echo still wasn’t taking any chances.
The hairs on the back his neck stood on end, and a shiver raced down his spine. The air suddenly seemed thick, humid, and suffocating. “I think we need to go.”
“What’s wrong?” Eyce asked immediately.
“I don’t know. It feels like someone’s watching us. I can’t explain it right, but we need to leave. Now!”
“He’s right.” Onyx rose gracefully and scanned the trees around them. “Something or someone is out there.”
“The Collector?” Syx suggested. “Gage said he was coming. I expected him a lot sooner than this to tell the truth.”
“None of this makes any sense,” Eyce growled. He pointed a finger at Onyx. “Why did they attack you guys on the way to Heavens Peak, but didn’t even follow you? No one has come looking for Echo. They’re playing with us.”
“Well, I don’t like this game. I vote for checkers.” Echo took Eyce’s hand and tugged. “We’re too exposed out here. Let’s go.”
Eyce dipped his head in assent and started off toward the direction of home, holding Echo’s hand and pulling him along. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing one-handed, and pressed the device to his ear.
“Hex,” he spoke a moment later. “Round everyone up and meet us at home. We need to have a meeting.”
A tingle of desire raced up Echo’s spine at the deep, commanding tone of Eyce’s voice. He licked his lips, staring up at his lover as they stepped into the darkness of the forest. He understood the need for a meeting, but he really hoped they’d be able to have it in the nude.
“Echo,” Syx groaned from behind him.
His ears and cheeks heated as his face flushed with embarrassment. He’d completely forgotten that Syx could hear his thoughts. Oh well, judging from the slight growl rumbling in his chest, the man seemed to like the idea of a naked powwow as much as Echo.
Looking over his shoulder, Echo smiled at the warrior, then puckered his lips to give him air kisses. Syx growled again, swatting Echo on the ass and eliciting a quiet yelp from him. “Behave.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Something doesn’t feel right.” Echo sat sandwiched between Onyx and Eyce on the couch as they tried to watch some stupid movie on television. They’d been home for over an hour, and he still couldn’t shake the feeling he’d had out by the pond.
Myst and Fiero had the love seat, while Gage and his mates were cuddled on the floor. Syx, Hex, and Vapre had disappeared a while ago, and judging by moans and panting that followed them out of the room, they were having a lot more fun than Echo.
“Like what?” Sony asked over his shoulder. “Nothing has happened in days.”
Echo bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Oh, if the guy only knew what had been happening right under his nose. Then he sobered quickly, wrinkling his brow as he tried to find the words to explain. “I don’t know. I feel nervous, anxious, kind of jittery.” Tension settled over him like a palpable force, making him fidget where you sat.
“I agree,” Eyce said softly. “I feel it, too. Almost like a charge in the air.”
“He’s coming,” Mac whispered harshly. He sat up, shaking his head and blinking his eyes. He looked at Echo for a long time before he scrambled to his feet, grabbing Gage’s hand and tugging on it insistently. “We have to go. He’s coming!”
“Who’s coming?” Onyx looked like his eyes would bug out of his head. “What was that?”
“Mac is psychic,” Echo explained. “He sees things. Usually things that haven’t happened yet, but sometimes he can see things that are happening in the present. Very rarely can he see events of the past.”
“Peachy,” Fiero grumbled. “Another damn Oracle.”
“Who’s coming?” Eyce repeated Onyx’s question as he pulled Echo closer, wrapping his arms around him protectively. “The Collector? Right now?”
“Yes!” Mac cried, still jerking on Gage’s arm. “We have to go! Why the hell are you all just sitting there?”
Fiero and Myst jumped to their feet, and Myst sprinted toward the staircase, presumably to go warn the others. “How long do we have?”
“I don’t know.” Mac shook his head frantically. “It doesn’t work that way. I can’t pinpoint it, but I know he’ll be here soon. Like really fucking soon. Can we go, please?”
Eyce gave Echo a tight squeeze then released him and stood from the sofa. “Gage, go hide them. Take Echo and do not let him leave your sight. No matter what happens, take care of them.”
“No!” Echo struggled out of the blanket around him and stood up on the cushions so he looked Eyce right in the eyes. “I’m not fucking hiding this time. I can help!”
“Echo.” Onyx sighed in exasperation. “We won’t be able to concentrate if we’re worried about you getting hurt. I know you have power, but you need to stay out of this.”
Echo opened his mouth to argue again, but Eyce’s hand on his hip stopped him. “No. He’s right.”
His mouth hanging open in shock, Echo just stared at the warrior.
“What’s the point of building this army if we’re not going to let them help?”
A very loud, though purely human roar sounded from outside, and Echo jumped, whirling around on the couch to face the front door. “He’s here,” he whispered.
“Guys, we have a problem,” Hex called as he barreled down the stairs, the others following on his heels.
“No. I don’t like problems. Tell me this is going to be easy,” Echo demanded. He crossed his arms over his chest and wrinkled his nose. “Do it.”
“I’m not going to lie. This sucks balls.”
“What is it? What’s going on?” Eyce faced their leader, his blue eyes blazing with determination. Whatever awaited them, Echo knew Eyce would meet it head-on without any thought of retreat. Anyone of his men would do the same. The knowledge scared the hell out of him.
“The Collector?”
Eyce growled. “Spit it out, Hex.”
Instead of answering, Hex turned to Echo and held out a hand, palm up. Echo’s brow formed a shallow
V
, but he took his lover’s hand, yelping when Hex jerked him forward and flipped him over the back of the couch. “Go to the window and tell me if that’s the man you call The Collector.”
Swallowing hard, Echo tried not to show his fear as he nodded once and slowly made his way across the room to the window beside the door. Pushing the curtain aside just an inch, he peered out into the night and gasped.
Clad in only a pair of black leather pants, The Collector stood halfway between the dirt drive and their front steps, his head thrown back on his shoulders and his hands fisted at his sides. The chords in his next strained as his muscles bunched and flexed beneath his tanned skin. His massive chest heaved, rising and falling in huge movements as he screamed out to the stars.
Then his head snapped up, his eyes locking with Echo’s through the window, and Echo froze, paralyzed with fear. “It’s him,” he breathed, so quietly he didn’t know if anyone had actually heard him.
“Okay, so what’s the problem? We knew he was coming.” Echo couldn’t look away from The Collector long enough to even acknowledge Eyce’s words.
“Look for yourself.”
Echo heard Eyce’s growl of frustration then his heavy footsteps as he marched across the room and pushed Echo behind him. Instead of just peeking through the cracks of the curtains as Echo had, Eyce fisted each in his hands and threw them open wide.
“This is bad,” he groaned.
“That’s what I said,” Hex replied calmly. “We are royally fucked.”
“Do you know him?” Echo stepped a little further away from the window and looked over his shoulder at the men gathered in the living room. “Guys? You know The Collector?”
“That’s not The Collector,” Eyce snarled. “That’s Ares.”
“As in the son of Zeus?” Echo’s chin dropped to his chest as his mouth fell open and his eyes widened until they felt like they’d pop out of his skull.
Eyce let the curtains fall back into place and turned around slowly. “As in the bloodthirsty god of savage war.”
“Come out, warriors!” Ares called, his voice ringing inside the house as though he stood just next to them. “Come out and face me like men!”
“What do we do?” Echo didn’t want to go out there, but he had a feeling that’s exactly what his men were going to say.
Sure enough, as soon as Hex opened his mouth, before he even spoke, Echo closed his eyes and groaned. “We go out there.” Hex snorted. “What did you think I was going to say?”
“A guy can always hope.”
“I don’t think he’s here to fight.” Eyce’s eyebrows drew together, and he scowled down at the floor. “He’s not a fucking vampire. He doesn’t need an invitation to come inside. I think he’s just trying to intimidate us.”
“Well, he’s doing a really good job,” Sony piped up from his hiding place behind Gage.
“If he’s not here to smite us, then what the hell does he want?” Echo trembled where he stood, but he refused to back down. He would not duck his head and cower in fear when his men needed him.
“I guess we go find out.” Hex sounded much too calm considering a half-naked Olympian god intent on slaughtering them all currently stood in the middle of their front yard.
Taking a deep breath to steady his racing pulse, Echo nodded firmly and stepped up beside Eyce. “Try not to die, yeah?”
“We’re coming, too.” Mac released Gage’s hand and jerked his head for his mates to follow him. “Eyce said we’re part of this war. I have no idea what that means, but if I can help, then I will.”
Eyce’s hand landed on the smaller man’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “You already helped, Mac. You warned us that danger was coming. Stay inside with your mates.”
Mac didn’t argue, but nodded eagerly and rushed back across the room to stand beside Gage. Echo couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to the confrontation either. Giving his friends a little smile, he bobbed his head then returned his attention to the front door just as Hex turned the knob and pulled it open.
They all filed outside, descending the steps and spreading out in a line in front of Ares. Somehow, Echo had ended up in the middle, standing slightly behind Hex and Eyce. Peeking through the gap between their shoulders, he studied the god and waited.
“What do you want, Ares?”
“Is that any way to greet your commander, my young acolyte?”
“Not so young,” Hex growled. “We are commanded by no one, and you’ll find our devotions lie elsewhere now.”
Ares dropped his gaze, looking right into Echo’s eyes. “Ah, yes, I see.”
Echo had so many questions, but he knew it wasn’t the time for a spill-your-guts session. His men obviously knew Ares, though the relationship seemed strained, to put it mildly. The god said he’d been their commander. Had he trained them in battle to guard and defend the pits of Tartarus?
“We owe you nothing,” Eyce snarled. “Why have you come?”
“I simply wanted to extend my congratulations for successfully completing your first task.” Ares bowed, sweeping his arm in front of him and wrapping it around his torso as he chuckled. “I believe my dear uncle is losing his touch. Kappas,” he scoffed. “Honestly.”
“The red water?”
“His attempt at humor, I believe.” Ares shrugged. “He lives among the dead. I’m sure he found it a riot.”