Lord of Chaos (The Dragon Demigods Book 7)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “Damn! This is bad,” Tri mutters. I can feel him bristle next to me.

  My hands clench into fists as I walk outside. I’m trying to keep my cool. I need to stay in control. The lives of my friends are in my hands. Possibly, the lives of innocent humans, too. I can’t make the same mistake twice. I won’t!

  Gaire is looking at Nia, even though I’m sure he can hear us approach. He laughs as she convulses harder. The sides of her mouth are now coated with bloody froth. “Leave her alone!” I shout.

  “You were supposed to call me,” he says, eyes still on Nia.

  “Let her go,” I say more forcefully.

  “I told you that the hellhound is mine. She’s leaving with me. I would be happy to leave it at that if you don’t interfere.” His eyes lift. They are like cold shards of ice. He smiles. It’s chilling.

  “Fuck that!” Trident snarls. “You heard Rage…let her go. Leave her alone. Get the fuck off my property.”

  It happens so quickly, I barely register. Gaire closes the short distance and is on Tri in a split second. One hit. One hard motherfucker of a hit and Tri goes flying. He must fly back about eight or ten feet. He lands hard on his back and is out cold. I’ve never seen anything like it.

  I try to shift, but I’m only halfway there when Gaire aims a punch at me. I’m expecting it, so I manage to move to the side just in time. I’m not sure how I make it. I feel the air displace right next to my skin. I don’t even see his fist. He’s that fast.

  Fuck!

  Then I’m moving backward. I do this on pure instinct because there’s no tell. Normally when a person throws a kick or a punch, they’ll give themselves away by dropping their left when they hit right. They might move slightly away before the hit. I don’t see him so much as flinch. I just miss getting nailed by his right knee.

  I drive upwards with my fist, but Gaire is too quick. He ducks and strikes. I pull back, but I’m too late. He makes contact with my stomach, the strike glancing off me. I grunt loudly, in awe of how hard the impact is despite not taking the full brunt of the blow.

  I stagger back, working hard to regain my footing. Gaire disappears. Fuck! No! Has he left or— I take a right hook and taste blood as I fall. I think two or three of my teeth loosen from the extreme power behind the blow.

  I fall hard, seeing white flecks in my vision. I feel dizzy as I— Gaire appears. He’s grinning. For the first time, I see real humor etched in his features. He unsheathes a sword on his back. It’s long, gleaming, and I’ll bet it’s made from silver. “I’m going to enjoy carving you up,” he says as he disappears.

  I jump up, looking around me. Trying to use my other senses to determine where he is. I hear a footfall to my right and jump away as I hear the blade sing through the air.

  Shit! This asshole is hard enough to fight when he’s visible, let alone— I feel searing pain across my chest, and Gaire reappears. “You should have called me,” he taunts. I see blood on his blade. My blood. I feel the buzzing inside me. I feel the power making my hair stand on end. I wish I could let it all out and obliterate him. I wish I had more control.

  Gaire gets this strange look. It’s confusion, I realize in the next instant. “What the fuck?” he mutters, looking around us.

  Nia.

  She’s gone.

  “Where did she go?” I feel someone grip my hand, and I am jerked off of my feet. My stomach rolls. My head feels like it’s going to explode. I’m flying and yet not. It lasts for about ten seconds.

  I land hard on my knees. I fall over onto my side. I feel something lick my face. Nia. I put my hand out and touch her fur. My stomach is still rolling. My mouth feels full of cotton wool. My head is pounding. It takes a few more moments before I am able to orientate myself. “Death,” I croak. “Is that you?”

  “You might have knocked your head, but you can see just fine.”

  I sit up. “Where are we?”

  Tri is grinning at me. He has a shiner. His left eye is almost completely shut.

  I look around. The garden is big and manicured. It’s all hedges, lavender, and roses. The house isn’t a house; it’s a castle. Like something from a storybook. “What the hell?” I whisper. “Where are we?” I stand, tasting blood. My head pounds, so I close my eyes for a few seconds until another wave of nausea passes.

  Death is handing Nia his jacket when I open my eyes. He’s keeping his eyes averted. I glance at Tri, who is also looking away. Prick had better mind his manners. Nia is in her human form. All long legs and even longer hair. Even cut and bleeding, I can still find her beautiful. I avert my eyes until the jacket is on and zipped up.

  “Come,” Death says. “Quick,” he urges as he walks to the enormous double doors. They’re about a floor high and made from solid wood. Death knocks using a large iron knocker shaped like a wolf’s head.

  “Hi!” a noticeably pregnant woman says as she opens the door.

  “Hey…Twelve, can we come in?” Death asks, looking around us.

  “I told you to call me mom.” She beams, giving Death a quick hug.

  Mom.

  “Um…yeah…ah…” Death looks at a loss for words. I don’t blame him. This woman doesn’t look more than a few years older than him. Not old enough to be his mom. I think I can guess who she is.

  “You brought friends.” Her eyes widen. “You’re hurt,” she says as her eyes land on me. “You’re…practically naked,” she says to Nia. “You’d better come in. I’ll get you some clothes, you poor thing. My name is Twelve,” she tells us.

  “Interesting name,” Tri remarks. By his smirk, I know he has put two and two together.

  “Who is it, my sweets?” a man’s voice booms.

  “You haven’t brought us where I think you’ve brought us?” I whisper to Death.

  Nia looks petrified. She’s pale, wide-eyed. In short, she looks ready to bolt. I grab her hand to keep her from doing that. Death has a plan. I’m sure of it. I trust him even if she doesn’t.

  “It’s safe here,” Death says. “I promise,” he adds, more to Nia than to us.

  Nia’s eyes widen even more, and she gives a small shake of her head. “I would rather not. Take me back,” she whispers.

  “No,” Death says. “Go inside. The house is cloaked. He can’t find us here. We need to go inside now.”

  I put my arm around Nia. It’s not something I would normally do. She’s petrified. I feel her trembling. “It’ll be okay,” I say. I trust Death. He’s one of us.

  Nia allows herself to be led. I think she does it because she doesn’t have much of a choice.

  “What can I get you? A first aid kit? A cloth to clean up? Clothes?” she says to Nia.

  None of us says anything.

  “Who is it?” Hades walks into the reception area, which is bigger than my entire house. He folds his arms and narrows his eyes on Death. “That hellhound shouldn’t be here.” He growls.

  “I invited them in,” Twelve says.

  “Gaire is looking for you, Helgwn. You need to go to him and stop this bull immediately.” He doesn’t look happy.

  “Dad,” Death says. Hades doesn’t look his way.

  “Now, sweetheart…they’ve just got here. Come inside,” Twelve says. I get the distinct impression that she’s lonely. “Would you like something to eat? Drink?”

  “We’re starving.” Death smiles at Twelve.

  “I could murder a steak…or a pizza…just about anything you put in front of me.” Tri winks at Twelve. He can’t help himself.

  “You should leave,” Hades says, sounding gruff. “Especially you.” He points at Trident.

  I have a feeling this could go belly-up, and quickly. I hope Death knows what he’s doing.

  “Don’t listen to my grumpy husband. You’re all guests in my house.” Twelve hooks her arms with Nia. “What do you say we go and get you something to wear?”

  “Okay.” Nia looks up at me.

  I look at Death, and he gives an almost indiscernible nod.

>   I let Nia go. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Her eyes are huge. Her honey-colored irises are locked on me. Even as Twelve puts her hand on Nia’s arm to lead her away, her eyes stay on mine.

  “You’re gorgeous,” Twelve says. “What’s your name, hon’?”

  “You have some explaining to do,” Hades says to Death as soon as the women are out of earshot. “You’re putting me in the middle of something I don’t want to be in the middle of.”

  I understand the sentiment, even if I no longer share it.

  “You have an amazing home,” Tri says, looking around. “It’s good to meet you. I’m Trident.” He grins at Hades like we’re in a bar. We’re not, not even close. We’re in the Underworld, about to have a drink with Hades.

  “I know who you are. Son of Poseidon.” He gives Trident the once-over. “The spitting image of your father, who is also a prick.”

  Tri’s mouth falls open, but he has the good sense not to retaliate for once in his life.

  “And you’re the son of Ares…” He smiles at me. “It’s uncanny.”

  Death and Night look a lot like their father too. Come to think of it, Gaire has the same look. The same eyes. Where Night and Death still have some warmth within their depths, Gaire does not. “Don’t bleed on my carpet.” Hades’ eyes narrow on mine before lowering to my chest.

  I look down. My shirt is sliced open. My skin too. The wound is still bleeding. My shirt is sticking to my skin. It’s wet and sticky with my blood. The cut isn’t bad. It would have been healing by now if it hadn’t had been made with a silver blade. It’s not like that fucker needs silver. He can fight well enough without it. Gaire is a bully, just as Nia warned. He’s also strong; like nothing I have ever experienced before. I think he was toying with us, which makes it even worse. I think he could’ve killed me in a few seconds.

  “That doesn’t look great,” Tri remarks.

  “Your eye is swollen shut.”

  “It’ll be halfway back to normal in ten minutes.” Tri waves his hand.

  “Back to my original question…what are you doing here?” Hades’ eyes are blazing. He directs the question to Death before turning his eyes on the two of us as well.

  “My friends needed help,” Death says. “I’m helping them.”

  “No! The hellhound does not need your help,” Hades bites back. “She needs to go back to her master…where she belongs. End of discussion.”

  “What about what Nia wants?” I ask, feeling irritated.

  “It doesn’t matter what she wants. Gaire is her master, and that is the end of that. She was stupid enough to fall in love with a Huntsman.” He snorts. “She should have known better. You need to take her back immediately.”

  “That’s not the end of that,” I snap. I know I should watch my step, but fuck that! “Gaire treats Nia like shit. Less than shit. He doesn’t deserve to be her master. What’s up with this master bullshit, anyway?”

  “It’s not bullshit,” Hades says. “It’s order. I will have a word with Gaire about his treatment of the dog.” I can see that he won’t. It’s clear as day.

  “She’s a hellhound shifter…not a dog.” My voice is low.

  “If it barks like a dog. Wags its tail like a dog…” Hades shrugs. He’s smiling. What a prick! No wonder Night has cut him out of his life. I think Death would do the same if he wasn’t beholden to Hades in that weird way. I wonder for the hundredth time how that happened. “I would suggest you leave. That you take Nia…back.” He says her name with emphasis. Like he’s doing me a favor or something.

  I think Death must see the way I’m glaring at Hades because he intervenes. “Your wife would be upset if we left early,” he says. “I know you like to keep her happy. Us being here is doing that right now.”

  Hades glowers at Death. He shakes his head. “A drink and a snack, and then you’re leaving. I can make your life hell.”

  I notice that Death doesn’t say anything.

  Hades takes our drink requests. It’s surreal. I ask for a whiskey because it’s been one hell of a day. Tri wants a beer. Death asks for a frozen margarita. Hades rolls his eyes and mumbles something about a cocktail being a drink for a pussy, but heads to the bar, which is outside next to the biggest swimming pool I’ve ever seen. It has water spouting from all angles. Like a fountain and a pool all in one. There are more roses and lavender.

  “How did you know Gaire had found us?” I ask Death.

  “What the fuck was that?” Tri asks, looking unusually freaked out. “I didn’t even see him coming.” He’s talking about Gaire. He touches his eye. “One minute we were… I don’t even remember what we were doing. I remember being fine and then waking up on the lawn outside a castle with the mother of all headaches. Are you sure you’re okay? That fucker flayed you like a fish.” His eyes are on my chest.

  It’s throbbing a little. “Hardly flayed me. I’m fine. It’ll heal soon enough. I can’t believe he used a silver blade on me…and that invisibility bullshit.”

  “Invisibility?” Tri is frowning hard.

  “Gaire can make himself invisible,” Death says.

  “That’s a separate power to being able to teleport?” Tri asks.

  “I told you he has the ability,” I deadpan.

  “You did?” Tri frowns. He obviously took a harder knock than I thought.

  “It’s separate from teleporting.” Death nods his head.

  “Okay, so Gaire’s fast as fuck. Can hit like a freight train. Then there’s his powers of teleportation and invisi-fucking-bility. What am I missing?” Tri runs a hand through his hair. His left eye is now slightly open. It’s a nasty shade of purple.

  “You missed the fact that he’s quite comfortable slicing opponents open with a silver sword,” I say. It’s an unspoken agreement among non-humans to stay away from silver. We tend to avoid weapons in general. It’s an unspoken rule. A gentleman’s agreement between non-humans. Gaire is no gentleman. It’s safe to say he’s a bastard of the first order.

  “Gaire doesn’t follow any rules,” Death says. “He plays dirty. He has a win-at-all-cost mentality. He gets a kick out of torturing and belittling any who come up against him. That’s why Hades loves him so much.”

  “What are we going to do now?” I say. “We can’t hang out in Hades’ castle indefinitely. How did you know we were getting our asses handed to us?” I ask Death again.

  “I was keeping tabs on you. I had to, in order to intervene. I overheard some of your conversation. Nia is right; she needs to lessen the bond between herself and Gaire.”

  “There has to be another alternative to sex,” I throw back.

  “I offered her as much sex as she wants,” Tri says.

  Death ignores Trident. “Gaire is a Huntsman. He hunts souls for a living. His skills are finely honed. His skill, together with his powers, make him almost unbeatable.” He looks towards the bar outside, where Hades is working the blender to make the margarita. I get the distinct impression he asked for that particular drink on purpose. “There are only two people I know of who stand a chance against him.”

  “Two?” I say. This is news to me. I’m wracking my brain as I try to think of who the other person could be.

  “Yes,” Death says. “Two.”

  “Based on my conversation with Nia, I am one of the two,” I say.

  Death nods. “You would need to unleash your power. All of it, and all at once.”

  I push out a breath. “I can’t go there. That’s not going to happen. We need to find this other person.”

  “It is understandable that you would feel that way.” Tri is serious for once. “No one would blame you after what happened.” He gives me a nod of understanding.

  If Death knows my sordid past, he doesn’t say. Instead, he smiles. “The other person is Nia.”

  I frown. Then again, she did say something along these lines. I didn’t actually think she could take him out.

  “Don’t look so shocked. Nia trained u
nder Gaire. Went with him on hunts. She knows him inside and out. Hellhounds are powerful creatures.”

  I feel my hackles go up at the thought. My jaw tightens, only because it’s all true. It’s not that I’m jealous. I just hate that fucker so much.

  “She’s spent the last year in hell…quite literally,” Death goes on, “Nia has had to fight for her survival. Day in and day out. Her skills are as honed as they get. She needs to weaken the bond enough to be able to stand up to Gaire when he compels her. At that point, there might be a chance.”

  “Someone needs to have sex with her to make that happen?” I say.

  “Not someone. It needs to be you.”

  “Why me?” I immediately retaliate. I don’t mean it to sound as hard as it comes out. “I know why,” I go on, calmer this time. “Gaire will want to kill whoever it is who does the deed.”

  “Yep, and since he already has you on his shit-list,” Death shrugs, “it may as well be you. Thing is, you and Nia together would stand the best chance against him.” Death’s eyes glint, and his mouth twitches. “Ideally, you need to get Nia to fall in love with you. That would work best. Then the two of you could—”

  “Not happening!” Nia and I say at once. In fact, I would go so far as to say that she sounds more animated than I do. She’s returned without us noticing.

  I look her way, and my eyes bug out of my skull. Her hands are on her hips, and her eyes are burning holes into Death. She’s wearing a dress. I’ve only ever seen her naked or in men’s wear. This is new. Holy shit, but she looks good. The dress has thin straps over her shoulders, with three straining buttons between her breasts. It’s a mustard-yellow color with red tulip-type flowers all over it. It’s long and flowing and—

  Tri bumps his elbow against my arm. “Pick up your jaw, bud,” he chuckles. “I hope you have a rubber in your wallet.” He winks at me.

  I give Tri a dirty look. “Don’t go there.”

  13