Authors: Gena Showalter
Relief speared him so intensely he almost dove into his friend for a bear hug. "I hate you, man. You don't know that, right?"
Torin grinned, all pearly whites. "Now that I have no trouble deciphering. I hate you, too. But get all thoughts of hugging me out of your head. Yeah, I can tell you want to. I'm not the hugging type. I really will kill you with kindness."
Might be worth it. "I wouldn't, you know," he said in all seriousness. "Hug you, I mean. Wouldn't plant a big wet one right on your lips, either." Which meant he totally would. Because really, he would still be able to kiss Scarlet. Yeah, he'd be infected and that would infect her, but neither of them would die from it, and then neither of them would ever be able to touch anyone else.
He liked the thought of having Scarlet all to himself.
The keeper of Disease puckered up. "In that case, don't let me stop you. It's been a while, so I'm desperate. Even you look good at this point."
Gideon wasn't sure Torin had ever been kissed, but found himself grinning, as well. "You are--"
"Lies!" a hard voice shouted from outside, echoing from Torin's speakers. "Lies! I know you're in there. Come out right now. Come out and face me, you mangy coward!"
Amusement fading, Torin swung around and eyed the computer monitors. Gideon edged in beside him for a closer look and what he saw astonished him. Galen, keeper of Hope, leader of the Hunters, was hovering outside the fortress, white wings flapping frantically.
Usually the warrior wore a pristine white robe. To better match the angels and gods, Gideon suspected. Today, that robe was covered in soot and blood and frayed at the hem.
"You won't kill me," the keeper of Hope shouted, arms splayed, blades gleaming in both hands. His pale hair stood on end, and his sky-blue eyes were wild. There was a fanatical glint in his eyes. "I'll make sure of it."
Was this a dream? Nothing like this had ever happened before. Galen operated in the shadows, always sending humans to do his dirty work. But the warrior had never, never openly challenged the Lords.
"He's completely sane, right?" Gideon asked. The guy was batshit crazy.
"I don't know why he's singled you out." Torin typed furiously at his keyboard. "There aren't any Hunters on the ground that I can see. Still, I wouldn't trust him not to have backup hiding somewhere."
"Lies! Either you come out here and fight me or I burn your home to the ground."
"This has to be a trick," Torin insisted. "Or he would have already tried to burn us to the ground, rather than simply threatening to do so."
Trick or not, Gideon couldn't miss this opportunity. Capturing Galen could end the war with the Hunters. Successfully. And ultimately, that would eliminate one of the threats against Scarlet.
"I can try to shoot him down," Torin said, "and you can--"
"Yes." If Torin missed, the bastard might run away. Again. "Don't let me do it. My aim's not better."
"Lies!"
Torin nodded. "Just to be safe, I'm texting Kane and Cameo. I'm telling them to head into the forest and ensure you aren't ambushed."
"No, thanks. Now don't tell our friend I'll be out in five."
Torin nodded again and rushed to comply.
Gideon raced to his bedroom. He was already swathed in weapons since a warrior could never be too careful, but he grabbed his RPG and a grenade and grinned. He hadn't gotten to use this baby in a long, long time, Sabin having deemed it too dangerous to fire off with innocents around.
Today, there were no innocents around.
He sprinted to the side of the fortress that Galen occupied and hunkered down at the highest window, placing him above the Hunter. Galen was watching the ground, expecting him to emerge from the front door. Fool. As quietly as possible, Gideon raised the window-pane and edged the end of the barrel between the slit in the curtains.
"Lies!" the frantic immortal shouted. "Coward! Face me, damn you!"
Coward? No. He was smart. Gideon loaded the grenade in front, rested the heavy launcher on his shoulder, aimed, held steady, held, grinned again as Galen appeared in the crosshairs, and squeezed the trigger.
Boom!
Strong as Gideon was, he was propelled backward with the force of the grenade, but he straightened quickly and surveyed his handiwork through the smoke left behind.
He'd hit his target, tossing Galen several yards, spinning him through the air, and causing an explosion of fire and soot in the sky. That would have killed a mortal. Galen, however, was cut and bruised and now missing a hand--payback was a bitch--but he wasn't out for the count.
He just looked pissed.
With a roar, the now-flaming warrior propelled himself through the window in the next room over. Glass shattered, and there was a grunt, then pounding footsteps rained. Gideon palmed two daggers and darted into the hall, the portraits and freshly polished tables blurring at his sides.
He met his enemy in the middle of the walkway, flying to the ground in a punching, kicking, stabbing heap. Galen's wings were broken, and his mangled wrist was gushing blood that soaked into Gideon's clothes, warm and wet. There was a smoking hole in his shoulder where the rocket must have hit first, yet his strength was undisturbed. Determination would do that.
"You won't take my head," the keeper of Hope roared, swinging with his good hand. He'd managed to maintain a hold on his blade and now sliced the side of Gideon's face. His cheek split open, and his own blood began to gush.
With a roar of his own, Gideon slashed his knives forward. One cut at Galen's neck, slicing to spine, and the other at his uninjured shoulder. This man had been his friend for many years, yet he'd been Gideon's enemy for thousands more. No love remained. No fond memories.
They would end this. Here, now.
Galen flailed for breath, clutching at his now-open neck. Gideon disengaged and stood, panting, sweating, bleeding, staring down at the man responsible for so much of his suffering.
Had Galen not existed, he never would have thought to steal and open Pandora's box. He would have remained in the heavens, a soldier to Zeus. Perhaps he would have finally noticed Scarlet and freed her as she'd dreamed. Perhaps they would have lived happily ever after.
Or perhaps he would have been locked away when the Titans escaped Tartarus. Then again, perhaps the Titans wouldn't have escaped if he and the other warriors had been there. But that didn't matter. What was done, was done. Now, he had a chance to make things right.
In the background, Gideon could hear the thump of two pairs of boots and knew Kane and Cameo were running to help him. He laughed. So simple, so easy this seemed. This man had eluded him, caused trouble from afar, but had been taken down in a matter of minutes.
Life just didn't get any better than that.
He raised his blade. One more strike, and Galen would be out for a long, long time. Time the Lords could use to decide whether or to not kill him and free his demon. Time for Gwen, his daughter, to say goodbye.
Of course, that was when Rhea, the god queen, suddenly appeared in a flash of bright azure light. She was pale and shaky, her face tight with a scowl. Had she been watching the entire time?
"How dare you!" she cried. "He is my warrior. Mine. You were not to hurt him. But now...now you will pay."
In the next instant, Gideon found himself swept from the fortress and imprisoned inside a four-by-four cage, bars on every side, above and below, and looking into a palatial bedroom of velvet and marble. Ambrosia scented the air, and paintings of Titan gods decorated the walls. There was a four-poster bed with a lacy pink canopy, and a crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling by a single vine of ivy. That ceiling, however, was clear and domed, and peered into a lovely blue sky.
Shit! Victory, gone. Defeat, his. All in a blink. He almost couldn't believe it. Hoped this was only a dream. A nightmare of Scarlet's creating. But deep down he knew she wouldn't do that to him. This was real. He had lost.
Be careful what you wish for, he thought bitterly. He'd wanted someone to take him back to the heavens so that he might search for Scarlet, and now he was there. Only, he was at the god queen's mercy.
Not that she had any.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GIDEON WAS left alone in the cage for several hours. Alone in the bedroom, too. He didn't have to wonder where Rhea was, though; he could guess. She was with Galen, seeing to his health. He's my warrior, she'd cried. Mine. You were not to hurt him.
What he did wonder about was whether or not he was trapped in something akin to the Cage of Compulsion that Lucien was in the process of hiding, where the prisoner was compelled to do whatever the owner of said cage wanted. He'd rather cut out his heart than become Rhea's slave.
He wanted her head on a platter. A platter he would then gift to Scarlet as a token of his affection. Scarlet...
Where was she? What was she doing? He would speculate every day until he saw her. It wasn't that he was worried about her, either. The girl could take care of herself better than anyone he'd ever met. He simply missed her. She was a part of his life now. The best part.
He wanted to create new memories with her. Real memories, better than the ones she'd woven herself. He wanted to be there for her and make up for all the years he'd ignored her while she rotted in Tartarus.
First, though, he had to escape this fucking hell hole.
"Ray!" he shouted, shaking the bars. Gods, he reminded himself of Galen. Frantic, desperate. "Ray!"
Once again, a bright azure light filled his line of vision. Gideon remained on his knees, though he hated to do so. But there was no room in the cage, and standing wasn't an option.
Rhea appeared in the center of the bedroom, her pretty features tired and tight, her dark hair in tangles. No more gray, he realized. She wore a white robe that was stained with blood and soot. So yep, she'd been with Galen.
"You rang?" Hate and smugness mixed in her tone, creating a timbre that scraped at his ears. "So eager for your punishment?"
He knew no one would be swooping in to rescue him. He'd tried to remove his butterfly necklace, which blocked his whereabouts from all immortals, but somehow, some way, the metal had been fused together and now refused to part. He couldn't even lift the links over his head.
Rhea's doing, he was sure.
His guess? She didn't want Cronus finding him or even knowing what she did to him.
She waved her hand through the air and, shockingly, the bars around him disappeared. Since the bars behind him had been holding him up, he fell to his ass. Gideon was quick to recover, though, and jumped to his feet. He didn't have a weapon, as those had been magically removed.
"Smart of you," he remarked. She was as much a fool as Galen.
"Lunge at me, I dare you," she replied, remaining in place. Her teeth were bared, as if she couldn't wait to rip into him and work off a little steam.
He would have loved to accommodate her. He wanted her head on that platter, after all. But he wasn't Strider, and he didn't have to respond to every challenge. He didn't have to give the bitch what she wanted. Besides, he didn't know what powers she possessed, didn't know what she was capable of, but he did know what her husband could do and if she were anything like him...Gideon shuddered. He would lose before the fight even began.
"Well, coward? Just going to stand there?"
"Yes." He turned his back on her, heard her insulted gasp of breath and strode to the other side of the room as if he hadn't a care. He stopped in front of a vanity, lifted a perfume bottle to his nose and sniffed. Grimaced. Did she actually wear this shit? It was potent, like bat wings mixed with eye of newt.
"I have removed all the exits, so wipe all thoughts of escape from your puny mind. You're as trapped in this room as you were in the cage."
Truth. Lies hissed inside his head. "Sounds wonderful." He replaced the perfume and lifted a brush. Several strands of hair were intertwined in the bristles.
"What do you mean, wonderful? It's terrible, and you know it."
She knew he was possessed by the demon of Lies, she just hadn't connected the dots yet. Oh, the fun he could have with her, he thought, cutting off his grin before it could form.
"I'm not curious about why you brought me here and what you plan to do with me," he said.
"Ha! I know better. You're seething with curiosity."
He merely shrugged as he tossed the brush back onto the vanity surface, watching as it skidded and crashed into a jar of green paste. Clearly Rhea cared about her appearance. "Actually, I'm seething with worry for Galen. Please tell me he's recovered, oh, beautiful queen."
"Liar! You don't care about Galen." He never heard the woman move, but in the next instant, she was behind him, claws digging into his neck and whipping him around. "You hate him, want him dead. Well, guess what? You didn't get your wish. He's alive, and he will heal."
"Awesome."
She popped her jaw, eyes glittering. "He begged me to kill you. I told him no, that I had other plans for you."
Again, truth. Lies hissed at her. "Lucky me."
Scowling, she released him. But not for long. All too soon, she returned her hands to him, but this time, the action wasn't born of anger but of determination.
"Think yourself unflappable, do you? Well, let's see what we can do about that. Let's make you more comfortable." Her voice had become husky with sensual promise.
Hell. No. Scarlet was the only woman he wanted to bed. But he couldn't move away from Rhea. Somehow, she had pinned his feet in place. Relax your expression, boy. Don't let her know she's getting to you.
One of her fingers traced the center of his T-shirt and the material burned away, the cotton smoldering completely and leaving his chest bare. His skin remained cool to the touch.
Oh, yes, she was powerful.
"Wow. Thanks." Calm, smooth. No way would he let her know just how much he hated this. "This does feel better."
Bewildered, she stepped back, widening the distance between them. "I thought you liked my daughter."
"Wrong."
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What game do you play?"
"No game." A grin lifted the corners of his lips.
For a long while, she simply stared at him, gauging. Then she squared her shoulders. "You're lying. You love her. I can tell. But let's see how long that lasts, shall we?" Gaze never leaving him, she reached for the scooped bodice of her robe and tugged. The material split down the center, drooped from her arms and fell to the floor, leaving her utterly naked.
Gideon's molars ground together. He could just imagine his confession to Scarlet, because no way would he try and keep something like this a secret. He wanted no secrets between them. Ever. And besides, better she hear this from him than her bitch of a mother who would skew the facts. Hey, devil, your mom--you know, the woman you love so much--didn't disrobe in front of me and I didn't see her wax preference.
He'd deserve another fork to the chest.
"Gorgeous, aren't I?" Rhea smoothed her palms over the jagged butterfly tattoo gracing her breasts and shoulders, then down her sides, over her perfectly curved hips and then inched around to the apex of her thighs, where her fingers dabbled at the fine tuft of dark hair.
Every bit the coward she'd accused him of being, he peered up at the domed ceiling, watching as fluffy white clouds drifted by. Dread bloomed in his veins and spread through his entire body. He could guess where this was heading.
"Well?" she demanded.
"Yeah. Gorgeous."
"Tsk, tsk. Your tone suggests you're lying again, but we both know you desire me. And soon Scarlet will know it, too."
Motherfucker! His guess had been right, then. She planned to rape him. And it would be rape, because there was no way he'd consent. Then she would tattle to her daughter. Mother of the Year Award, meet Rhea. Or not.
Once again, Rhea reached out and touched him. Her fingers danced over the waist of his pants and those, too, burned away, smoldering as they fell, yet leaving his skin cool, unaffected.
"Isn't that so much bett...er." A growl of frustration escaped her.
No doubt she'd just seen his flaccid cock. Little Gid would not be responding to her in any way. He almost laughed. Almost. "I hope you feel really good about this," he said. "About what you're planning. After all, you haven't hurt Scarlet nearly enough over the years. And I'm sure she's deserved everything you've done to her. 'Cause she never loved you, did she? Yeah, you should be real proud of yourself, sweetheart."
With every word he uttered, the queen stiffened a little more. "Finished?" She scraped a nail down his chest, drawing blood this time. Red sparks lit her eyes, revealing the demon she tried so hard to hide.
"Yeah." Only a few weeks ago, Gideon had learned that Rhea was keeper of the demon of Strife, that she fed off conflict. She couldn't blame her demon, though. She'd been this much of a bitch before her possession. Look how she'd treated his beautiful Scarlet in prison. What's more, she could have controlled her darker impulses, but had simply chosen not to. He and his friends were proof of that.
Reyes's demon, Pain, had once wanted to hurt everyone it encountered. Reyes had learned to turn that desire inward, cutting himself to save others.
Maddox's demon, Violence, had once wanted to erupt at every cross word, every accidental touch. But Maddox had learned to hold the rage inside himself.
Lucien's demon, Death, had once wanted to steal the soul of every human it encountered. Lucien had learned to wait until those humans died before acting on the impulse.
Gideon could go on and on. Every demon-keeper had trials and struggles, but they'd done whatever was necessary to tame their beasts, to corral those darker urges. Rhea could've done the same, but she hadn't. She preferred to create discord, even among those she was supposed to love and protect.
"I've figured it out," Rhea suddenly said with a half smile. "You say the opposite of what you mean. You think Scarlet is innocent. You think I should coddle her. What you don't know is that she has plotted and planned to destroy me and take my crown. From the very beginning! She even slept with my husband. Your leader."
Lies. All lies. His demon purred with pleasure, even as Gideon fought a rage like he'd never known before. Not with Scarlet, never Scarlet, but with Rhea. How dare she utter such things about his woman. And yeah, Gideon totally got the irony.
He was tempted, so tempted, to yell at this woman, to tell her his true feelings about her and about his precious Scarlet. He wanted her to know and was more frustrated than ever that he couldn't say his thoughts outright. Had he not needed to keep his strength around her... But he did. For Scarlet.
Rhea's head slanted pensively as she reached up and dragged one of her nails along the curve of his jaw. He jerked away from her touch, but not before it burned him, searing his skin and leaving a raw, open wound.
"Well, well. Look who's willing to believe the best of such a disappointing brat. Stupid of you, but admirable. Perhaps one day you'll realize your mistake and give me that loyalty."
Never. "Totally possible."
She laced her arms around him and pressed her nakedness into his. His cock, of course, remained flaccid. That didn't deter her, though. She nipped at his bottom lip and rubbed against him, knee sliding up and down his thigh. "My daughter thinks to ruin me in my dreams, you know. I can feel her outside my mind, waiting. But she'll learn better than to challenge me. Do you want to know how, my darling boy?"
Gods help him.
"Every time she invades my dreams, you will make love to me." A slow, eager smile lifted her lips. "And believe me, you will."
He stiffened, though not the way she clearly wanted. "I wouldn't rather die." You raging psycho.
"Too bad. I'm not allowed to kill you, just as my husband isn't allowed to kill my Hunters. But there are other ways to ensure your cooperation."
He. Would. Fucking. Strangle. Her. With his feet still planted on the ground, he leaned into her, allowing his weight to hit her full force. Because she hadn't thought to pin his hands, he reached for her, intending to close his fingers around her fragile neck. His hands met some type of invisible block.
A tinkling laugh escaped her. "Silly demon. No harm can befall me inside this room. Why else would I stay here? Now, let me show you why you'll be making love to me whenever I wish...." One step, two, she backed away from him, forcing him to straighten.
Grinning, she spun in a quick circle. He would have laughed at her cluelessness--grinning? really?--but when she faced him again, she was no longer Rhea. She was Scarlet, and the shock was like a punch in the gut. Suddenly he was looking at Scarlet's lovely face. Scarlet's black eyes. Scarlet's bloodred lips. Scarlet's flawless skin. Scarlet's taller and stronger frame. And his body responded!
His horrified study intensified as he desperately searched for an imperfection. Shit, shit, shit. They were the same. Fuck, they were-- No. Wait. Rhea lacked Scarlet's tattoos. Those amazing, lick-right-here tattoos. So, okay. All right. Fine. He could deal with this. They weren't the same. Down, boy.
"What? You don't like?" She even spoke in Scarlet's raspy voice.
"No." He liked. Fuck, he liked. He'd been so hungry for Scarlet, so damn hungry. And now, here she was, his for the taking. No tattoos, no Scarlet. Don't forget.
"Not even when I do this?" Watching him as she moved, Rhea slid her fingers up the flat plane of her belly, cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples, hardening them to little pearls.