“Good,” he replied, “I am counting on it. Now, come closer, Khara.” With the snap of his finger, his army began closing in around my fallen brothers, wings extended toward them in a show of power. To my dead brothers’ credit, not one of them flinched, even in the face of their eternal demise. Amongst them I saw Drew, looking as confused as he had the day he had first arrived in the Elysian Fields.
My heart lurched in my chest.
Then my rage overwhelmed me.
The fire and lightning and vengeance once again ran rampant in my veins until I could no longer contain them.
“Khara,” Oz said, stepping closer, “Khara, you need to—”
I erupted before he could finish his sentence, flame and lightning shooting out from every part of me, aimed at everything and nothing.
“You will leave here now, Kaine, or you will die.” My voice rang out like a choir of a thousand demons, its omnipresence a foreboding omen. The Dark Ones stilled, as though they had only just understood the weapon in their presence.
Once again, my eyes fell on Drew.
“Khara?” he called, eyes narrowed and focused and full of confusion.
“You cannot kill me without losing him in the process,” Kaine said, taunting me as he placed an obsidian feather to Drew’s throat. The rest of the Dark Ones raised their wings, targeting my dead brothers. With one word from Kaine, they would attack, and though my brothers had once been the deadliest in the land, they would not survive.
I took to the air to hover over the Acheron, its roaring waves of fire growing bigger and wilder in my presence. So, too, grew the darkness within me; the void that had long been there, deep down, begging to be filled.
“I do not need to, Kaine.” I stared down at him and his army and smiled wickedly. “The Dark Ones will not move,” I boomed before turning to my dead brothers. “Fallen warriors of the PC, return to the Elysian Fields now,” I said in Drew’s commanding tone. “RUN…”
As the ghostly PC obeyed without question, the power I had absorbed from Drew giving them no choice, the Dark Ones struggled to go after them. Once my brothers were out of harm’s way, I flew into the center of Kaine’s army and turned slowly to face them all.
“You should have listened to me,” I told them before I exhaled long and hard, then sucked in a breath that tugged at the stolen souls that inhabited the Dark Ones around me. I kept that breath going until, one by one, bodies began to drop to the ground, limp and as close to death as Oz had once been, lying on the couch of the Victorian. The horror of realization that plagued those standing frozen, awaiting their fate, warmed me in a part of my soul that I had not known existed. A part that loved to punish. A part that craved justice for those who had dared to harm the ones I loved. I stoked that fire with every soul I freed...because stealing what had been stolen was exactly that. Justice.
Soon only Kaine remained, a testament to his stubbornness and strength, if nothing else. But I could feel it waning—his hold on his captured soul growing weaker by the moment. I stepped closer to see the fear in his eyes as he sensed death courting him.
“Perhaps it would be kinder to impale you with obsidian, as you did Oz,” I said, leaning in close to wipe the sweat from his brow. “But that is not the death you deserve, Kaine. You are without honor—a corruptor of souls. So you shall suffer, your penance for the suffering you have caused so many others.” I looked at the stone floor, covered in bodies devoid of what had made them alive. They would perish in a slow, torturous end. “You all will.”
“Khara, stop!” My mother’s voice cut through my anger, and I turned to find her standing beside Hades, looking on in terror. “Do not become what they are, my love. Please. Don’t go down that dark path.”
“You wish for me to spare him?”
Silence.
“Yes—”
“But he betrayed you once.”
The hesitation in her bright green eyes was plain. “It isn’t that simple, Khara.”
I turned back to Kaine, who stood staring at my mother, the same expression on his face.
“He would have slain my fallen brothers just to force my hand—to make me do something wholly evil.”
“Because that is who he has become,” she argued. “But there is still good in him. I can see it. Feel it. Do you not see it in Ozereus?”
“Oz is something altogether different. And Kaine stabbed him in the back, quite literally. Have you an excuse for that, too?”
Her silence was response enough.
“You think you can bring him back…” Oz called as he flew to my mother’s side. “Like Raze and the others did for you.”
She nodded, the hope in her eyes impossible to ignore.
“You love him.”
“I loved who he once was. Who I feel he can be again.”
“But the Light are gone,” I told her. “We have slain them all.”
Oz looked over his shoulder at me. “Not all, but most.”
“And the Light betrayed her,” I argued. “She cannot return.”
“And I won’t,” she said, running toward me. “I cannot go back there, but I think I can save Kaine.”
“And if I don’t want to be saved?” he asked.
“I feel the answer to that is pretty clear,” Oz replied in her stead as he looked at the soon-to-be-corpses of the Dark Ones covering the floor.
“This will not end well,” I said, taking a step back from Kaine.
“It has to,” she whispered under her breath like a prayer.
“Where will you go?”
“To the in-between,” Deimos said, joining us, “and I will make certain that nothing happens to her there—and that the Dark One does not make a move for you again.” His heavy stare fell on me, and I awaited the shiver that always came. But this time, it did not. The gift of his ability had apparently made me immune to it. “But it will cost you, vasilissa mou.”
“Of course it will,” Oz exhaled sharply.
“I wonder what?” I asked. His devious smile was not comforting. “Whatever the price, it will not be paid now.”
The god of terror nodded, then took my mother in his arms and disappeared from sight. Kaine, weakened but not beaten, tested the strength of his wings, then flew across the Acheron, headed for the gates.
“What is the meaning of this?” My father’s voice cut through the air with all the authority one would expect from the King of the Dead. He paused at my side to take in the fading Dark Ones. I opened my mouth to explain, but he cut me short with his raised palm. “Release their souls to me, Khara—I will place them where they belong.” The power and strength in his command washed over me and I smiled. The King of the Dead was finally back.
With a focused exhale, I strategically released the souls of the Dark Ones. They writhed in an inky mass, hesitating between my father and me. But with one sharp command, they drifted to him, encircling him like an obedient pet.
“I will put these in the Oudeis,” he said before his eyes drifted to their fallen bodies. “And I will keep their vessels here until death finds them—however long you wish for that to take.”
“As long as possible,” I said before heading down the hall. Oz fell in line behind me.
“Where are you going?” Hades called.
“I have matters to attend to in the Elysian Fields. But fear not, Father. This will not take long.”
27
I entered the Elysian Fields to find my dead brothers awaiting my arrival. Front and center stood Drew, looking at me with a smile as wide as the day he had found me in that Detroit alleyway.
“Khara…you’re all right!”
“Of course I am,” I replied. “I am not the one who was slain by Phobos.”
“Is that who did it?” His confusion was clear, and I wondered if not all of his memory had returned yet. “I was so worried about you. We didn’t know where you’d disappeared to in the middle of the night.” His expression fell as my brow furrowed.
“Drew,” I said, t
aking a step toward him, “what is the last thing you remember?”
He frowned. “Waking up to your note in the living room and losing my mind trying to find you. Then something happened—something strange. I felt this weird pressure in my head and then woke up here.”
I swallowed back my rising hope. “May I?” I asked, reaching toward his head. “I want to see something…” He stepped forward, his smile returning. “This will only take a moment.”
I placed my hands on his head and searched the flashes of memory, all of which were from before he had fallen at the hands of Phobos the first time. I concentrated, doing all I could to find something more recent, but I could not. Whether that was because his memories had not yet returned or would not, I could not be certain, but what I did know was that the brother I had once known was back. In death, we had found him again.
My hands fell to my sides and I stared at him, tears sliding down my cheeks. One look at them and Drew went stiff, suddenly searching the Elysian Fields for an enemy that did not exist—a reason for my reaction.
“Khara? What’s wrong? You never show emotion...”
“I fear that is no longer true,” I said, smiling through my sadness, “but I will tell you all about it once we are home, if you wish.”
“But I’m dead, Khara. I can’t go home.”
The smile that slid from his expression soon found itself in mine. “We shall see about that.”
A hand fell on my back, and I turned to find Oz standing there, concern in his stare.
“You,” Drew growled at my dark-winged companion.
Oz ignored him entirely. “Remember what Casey said about this. What Hades once did cannot be done again.”
“What are you talking about?” Drew asked.
I looked back at the anger in my brother’s eyes and smiled wider. “Do you trust me, Brother?”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course, but—”
“Then we are going home.”
I looked past him at the others—all the fallen PC honored by their place in the Elysian Fields—a place for the noblest warriors. Those who had fought with honor. Those who had kept the balance without letting that power corrupt them.
I knew then what I must do.
With yet another great inhale, I drew their souls inside me, their expressions a mixture of concern and elation. Oz said nothing, but I could feel his unease with the decision I had made. But they were my brothers—my family—and I had already decided that they deserved another chance above.
Once I was finished, I looked to Oz, who merely shook his head.
“C’mon, new girl. Let’s go unleash them on Detroit.”
Together, we made our way to the Acheron, where the others waited on the far side. Kierson, Pierson, Casey, and the Dragon watched our approach as though they feared an ambush would occur at any moment. Given our history, their concern was valid.
“Did you do what you needed to do?” Casey called, eyes narrowed with suspicion. With his connection to the dead, I wondered if he already knew the course of action I had taken.
“I did.”
“Was he okay?” Kierson asked, voice filled with sadness.
“He was.” I looked over at Oz and smiled. “And he will be even better once we get him home…” With that, I took to the air. “You will let me take them,” I warned the Underworld as I crossed its threshold. It obliged me without a fight.
“Let you take who?” Kierson asked as I landed next to him.
My smile turned to a grin. “You will soon see.”
I continued toward the gates, Oz and the others not far behind. As we neared the threshold, I could see a formidable figure standing in the center of the light at the end. His silhouette was familiar, one I had grown to recognize. I slowed to a stop just before the exit. Oz and the others joined us moments later.
“I will have my answer now, Daughter.”
There was no warmth in Ares’ tone, no love to be found in his words.
“Then you shall have it, Ares,” I said as I stepped toward him. “I may have been born of you, but my allegiance is to the PC—to my brothers. I have no part in your feud with my twin, and therefore will not accept your offer.”
His neutral expression twisted with rage—rage that he could not take out on me. Not directly, anyway.
“I don’t know what you two are talking about, but I think what our sister is trying to say, Dad, is fuck off.”
Kierson’s lack of eloquence did not disappoint in that moment.
“Yep. Sounded like a big ‘fuck you’ to me, too, bro,” Casey said as he slung his arm around my shoulder. “And I couldn’t agree more.”
“She does not require your assistance,” Pierson added. “We are all she needs.”
“Left out again,” Oz said, doing his best to feign exasperation. “I’m hurt, Pierson. Really.”
“Do as you wish, Ares. Send Phobos for me again if that is your desire. Even if he succeeds in acquiring me—even if I die—know that I will not regret this decision. Not even with my dying breath.”
“We shall see about that.”
He turned on his heel and stormed toward the trees. Shadows seemed to absorb him when he entered, and he soon disappeared.
“Not sure you needed to chuck the gauntlet at him, Khara,” Kierson said nervously. “Ares won’t take that well.”
“No,” I said with a smile, “I don’t imagine he will.”
My brothers’ eyes went wide at my response. At first, I could not fathom why. Then Casey’s dark laughter broke the growing tension.
“Did you just say ‘don’t’?”
I canted my head at him. “Did I?”
“Holy shit, Khara used a contraction!” Kierson shouted with a sense of victory the moment did not warrant.
Oz turned to face me. “It’s like I don’t even know you anymore, new girl.”
“You know me well enough,” I countered, quirking my brow for good measure. “Now, shall we go home? To the Victorian? We have slain two enemies in one evening. The others will find us eventually, and I would prefer to face them from my home above if that is agreeable to you.”
“To the Vic?” Kierson asked, as though taking a vote.
“Fuck it,” Casey said with a shrug. “I’m down.”
“I’m coming, too!” A sweet voice drifted down the tunnel toward us, and we turned to find Aery racing toward the gates. “I have a bone to pick with that fear asshole,” she said as she dropped elegantly to her feet next to Kierson, “and a bone to ride with this one.” She ribbed him with her elbow, and his childlike grin was exactly the response she had expected.
“Well, let’s stop talking and get the fuck out of here before that asshole shows up,” Oz said. The Dragon grabbed Casey as Aery lifted Kierson into her arms and I took Pierson in mine.
We simultaneously shot into the air, headed for home.
“Khara?” Kierson called. “What were you talking about when we crossed the Acheron? You said, ‘you will let me take them’. Who’s them?”
“As I said, you will soon see.”
Oz’s laughter drew our collective attention as we broke through the clouds. “Hey, Pierson,” Oz called, “how many of the houses in the neighborhood do you think you can ward at once—and maintain?”
My intellectual brother looked over at him and frowned. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Because they’re not going to be abandoned much longer. Your sister did something crazy, as always.”
Pierson turned his suspicious gaze to me. I stared into the sky ahead and shrugged.
“I said that I would bring Drew back, but it seemed rude to leave the others behind…”
After a pregnant pause, Pierson spoke. “You brought all of our brothers back?” He stared at me, disbelief in his eyes as he sorted through just how many homes he would have to ward to house the released souls—intentionally released, this time.
“All that resided in the Elysian Fields, yes.”
“Hades
is going to shit a brick!” Kierson yelled, doubled over and gripping his stomach. “Ares, too!”
“Don’t forget her twin,” Oz added with a wry smile.
“They will do as they wish, as will I,” I replied, no humor in my tone. “We may need an army to defeat the fear god. Now we have one that he cannot control.”
“Well fucking played,” Casey said. “I can’t wait to see their faces once he realizes what you’ve done…”
“It will be worth it, I am sure.”
Once the excitement at my insubordination wore off, we flew home in relative silence and arrived at the Victorian without incident. Azriel awaited us there, a stone statue on the porch keeping watch. As he briefed the others, I stole away to the roof to enjoy a quiet moment before I unleashed the fallen brothers of the PC into the world above.
But as always, I was not alone for long.
The Dark One found me, as he always did.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked as he stepped up behind me. “Hades will not be pleased.”
“I love my father, but I cannot live my life under his rule anymore. I am no longer that being.”
“He might not see it that way.”
“He might not, but that is not my problem. I saved his life and restored his throne. I do not owe him anything beyond that.” I turned to face Oz. “Hades made his choice long ago. Now, I am making mine.” I leaned in until our bodies were pressed together tightly. “What was it you said to me once…on the rooftop of that art deco building? That nothing is sweeter than freedom—and if you want it, you have to take it?” He nodded, his chest tightening as my breasts brushed against it. “Hades could never give me that, but you did. You and my brothers. And now, I am returning that favor.”
“Consequences be damned?”
At that, I smiled. “I do not suspect Hades will come above to scold me for my actions, do you?”
He grinned in return. “I can see you’ve finally learned something from me.”
I pressed up onto my toes and caught his bottom lip between my teeth, pulling it until he growled in response.
“More than I ever thought possible.”
Unmade (Unborn Book 4) Page 20