by K. M. Scott
Theron had no idea what the fuck this thing was, but if it helped him defeat the god of the Underworld, he didn’t care.
“Hades, your time here is over,” the gigantic creature bellowed, shaking the remaining three walls.
The god shook his head, as if the thing standing there didn’t frighten him in the least. “Briareus, who let you out? Go back with your brothers and return to work.”
“Not this time, Hades.”
And with that, the monster launched at the god with its dozens of hands and heads flailing in all directions. Hades stared at him in shock and didn’t move, giving the creature an easier way to attack him. By the time he reacted, it was too late. The god teetered on his feet for a long moment and then crashed to the ground with a deafening boom.
“Theron, you must take the jewel from his throne!” Nyx screamed from across the room. “Take it and you take his kingdom!”
He quickly turned and rushed toward the throne to find a giant red ruby embedded in Hades’ throne. Looking around for anything to help him dislodge it, he saw a scepter nearby. He grabbed it and swung as hard as he could at the jewel, but it didn’t budge.
“Hurry! The hundred-hander can’t hold onto him forever. He’s a god, and if he gets to that ruby, you’ll lose!” she screamed as Hades tried to push the monster off him.
Finally, Theron noticed a tiny chip on one side of the throne next to the jewel. If he could remove it that way, he would defeat him. With all his strength, he pushed the scepter toward that weak spot in the throne. The end of it slammed into that spot, splintering the entire throne, and the ruby popped out and fell to the floor.
Hades heard it fall and pushed the monster off him. Theron rushed around the now-shattered throne and lifted the jewel into his arms. It weighed nearly as much as he did, but he had it.
“No! You can’t take over this place! This is my realm,” Hades screamed, and then in front of all of them, he shrunk down to his normal size.
“Not anymore,” Theron said as he held the ruby with every ounce of strength he possessed.
“Hades will be going down to Tartarus, Briareus. Can you do the honors? He’ll need a special cell all to his own,” Nyx said with a smile as she made her way over to where Theron stood barely hanging onto the stone.
The monster nodded and with one of his many hands, picked up the god of the Underworld, who continued to protest with every step his captor took from the throne room. As they descended into the depths of the Underworld, Theron heard him promise to one day regain his kingdom and make all vampires pay.
With Hades gone, he finally dropped the ruby onto the floor next to him and rushed over to his mother. She lay in the spot where she fell, deathly still. Crouching next to her, he touched her face and hoped against hope that she would open her eyes and look up at him.
“Mom, are you okay? Look at me,” he pleaded.
Slowly, her eyes opened and a tiny smile appeared on her lips. “Theron, why didn’t you leave?” she whispered in a soft voice.
“I couldn’t,” he said with a smile, happier at that moment to hear her speak than he’d ever been in his life. “I had no choice. This was my destiny. I was either going to defeat Hades or he was going to defeat me. Thanks to Nyx and that creature with the hundred hands and fifty heads, he lost. He doesn’t rule the Underworld anymore. I do.”
“My son, the ruler of the Underworld. Wait until your father hears that.” Suddenly, her smile faded. “I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you the truth about Thane and Ramiel, Theron. We never meant to lie to you. We just thought we’d have more time with you and then we’d talk to you about that. Don’t let it change how you feel about Ramiel. He’s been there since the moment you came into the world, and he would have given his life to protect us.”
Theron took her hand in his and smiled. “I know. It’s fine.” Looking up toward where the two males had been trapped in the wall, he continued, “For now, I need to find out what happened to him and Thane once Hades was defeated.”
From behind him, he heard his father call out, “Noele!”
Ramiel ran to her and fell to his knees. “You’re alive. I thought I’d lost you when he let go. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be okay. It’s not like I could die a second time, honey,” Noele said sweetly, bringing a smile to Ramiel’s worried face.
Nyx joined them, so Theron stood to thank her, but before he could, he saw Thane standing a few feet away. He looked like he was unsure if he should be there or not.
Theron walked up to him and extended his hand. “I guess we should formally meet since the cat’s out of the bag now. I’m Theron.”
Thane’s dark eyes grew wide and then he nodded. “I’m Thane. I know you never knew about me, but from the moment your mother told me we’d succeeded in getting her pregnant, I knew you’d be as wonderful as the prophecy predicted. It’s nice to meet you.”
They stood in silence sizing one another up, and Theron knew from his thoughts that Thane saw the resemblance between them now that whatever that red color was had faded away. That was okay. Ramiel would always be his father, but he didn’t mind Thane having a part in his existence too.
He had to thank someone else, though, so he turned to face Nyx and opened his arms to hug her. “I don’t know why nobody ever mentioned you in the prophecy. This wouldn’t have happened without your help. Thank you.”
She held him to her and rested her head on his chest as she sighed. “Promise me you’ll do right by this place and all the creatures who’ve been mistreated by the former ruler.”
“Like vampires?”
Lifting her head, she looked up at him and smiled. “Like vampires. We creatures of the night deserve better than we’ve gotten here.”
That he could promise.
“The Underworld will no longer be a punishment for my kind. And now that I’ve decided that, I remember you saying something about standing by me as I ruled this place. Is that offer still good?”
Nyx nodded and sighed. “Are you sure you want the goddess of the night by your side, my lord? I suspect this new title comes with a lot of perks. At least it used to for Hades. Will one woman be enough for the god of the Underworld?”
Theron chuckled at her misuse of his title. “I’m not a god, so I think one woman will be just fine.”
She tilted her head and with a shrug said, “Give it time. This place does things to all who stay here long enough. You may not be a god now, but I suspect a change is underway already.”
The idea of being a god settled into Theron’s mind, and he considered the possibility of what that might mean. He’d been many things and possessed many powers in his short lifetime. How would being a god suit him?
It didn’t take long for him to decide it would suit him just fine. Damn fucking fine, in fact.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The sound of footsteps rhythmically hitting off the sidewalk for the last three blocks told Vasilije he’d have a guest tonight. For the past few nights, he’d sensed he wasn’t alone as he walked the streets of New Orleans, lost in his memories of a time long past but still so fresh in his mind. The interruption irritated him, but it wasn’t wholly unexpected. He’d let his guard down lately, and now he’d pay the price.
He took a deep breath into his lungs and exhaled slowly. Heavy and muggy, the air tonight practically blanketed the skin, but to him, it felt like the kind of night she’d say was quintessential New Orleans.
The steps grew faster even as he slowed his pace to take in the beauty of City Park. He methodically walked up the steps of the stone arch bridge over the lagoon. A few ducks swam in the water, making ripples that spread out from them to the opposite shore. Vasilije watched them for a few moments and then let his gaze drift up to admire the Spanish moss that hung from ancient live oak trees. He’d fallen in love with this area when he returned to the city a few months before, a trip meant to heal his heart even now years after he lost her.
For the first months after s
he was gone, he would have been happy to let a hunter stake him. It would have put him out of his misery that threatened to devour him whole. But no one came to do it, so he continued to exist. Night after night, he silently wished to be relieved of all the pain that subsided.
One night turned into one week which turned into one month. Then before he knew it, he’d lived a year without her. He couldn’t remember anything about all those nights. They simply passed one after another as he struggled to find a reason to go on.
Nearly twelve years had passed now since that night at the dragons’ castle, but not a moment went by when he didn’t replay the last precious moments of his time with Sasa. He clung to that memory of her dark eyes filled with love as she promised to wait for him. It tore him up while at the same time gave him a feeling of happiness he hadn’t found anywhere else since.
His life had become a series of events to continue his existence without him making much effort. He found blood where he could, whether it was from humans he hypnotized or animals like chickens or rats. He consumed food and alcohol with little zest or enjoyment. They served their purpose and nothing else.
Although he had opportunities to spend time with his own kind, he avoided other vampires. He wanted nothing resembling community after he lost her. He lived alone as penance for his life before. Every so often, a tidbit of information about his old friends and fellow warriors floated into his life. He listened and filed it away, not interested in seeing any of them again.
That part of his world had ceased to be the moment he drove that stake into Sasa’s heart. He’d fought enough. He’d killed enough. He didn’t want to do either anymore.
So he didn’t. He walked away and never looked back.
They’d tried to find him a few times. One time a few years ago Theron even succeeded, but he had nothing to say to the new leader of the vampire world. The others had joined with him, becoming his deputies and lieutenants, but that wasn’t for him. He had nothing left for that kind of life anymore.
Vasilije closed his eyes and listened for the footsteps. Was the one following him alone, or did he have someone with him? His shoes tapped off the sidewalk, one shoe and then the other, telling the vampire it would be a one-on-one meeting tonight.
It would occur where he chose, so he walked over the bridge toward a group of live oaks. The swampy smell of the area filled his nose, making him feel as close to nature as possible. He reveled in the sensations this place brought out in him and waited for his guest.
The footsteps stopped on the bridge, and he turned to see the man who’d trailed him for the past few nights. A typical vampire hunter, he was human with round eyes that seemed too close to his nose and hair that needed a decent cut. He’d noticed both features when he first saw him at a café earlier in the week. Other than those distinctive traits, he looked like every other hunter Vasilije had ever encountered.
Years earlier, he would have slashed through his throat by now and feasted on his blood, but those times were long gone. He suspected his disinterest in the man confused him, but he’d soon understand.
“There’s no point in running. I’ll just keep tracking you,” the man said with a bit too much bravado for the Romanian’s taste.
“I’m vampire. I don’t have to run. I can just disappear in front of your eyes and you’ll never see me again.”
This answer left him speechless, which Vasilije liked. Cockiness had no place in their meeting tonight.
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t want to do that?” the hunter asked. “You’ve seen me following you all night. Why haven’t you disappeared already?”
“I’ve seen you all week,” Vasilije answered with a chuckle.
“And still you’re standing here talking to me.”
“Do you know who I am?”
The hunter shook his head. “Other than vampire?”
“I am Vasilije.”
Even in the dim light of the moon shining through the Spanish moss, he saw the shock register on the man’s face. That he enjoyed.
“The final Son of Navarus?” the hunter said, his voice hitching on the word Navarus.
Final Son?
Vasilije’s chest tightened at those words. So of all the Sons, he’d outlasted them all.
“I didn’t realize I held that distinction.”
The hunter took a few steps toward him and stopped. “You’re the last. Saint was staked by an Archon supporter two years after the end of the war. Terek lasted for a while, but once the born vampire he raised grew up and left him, he was easy for us to finish off. One of us got Sion a few years ago in Germany, which seemed appropriate, I guess. And the clyten Dante I got a few months ago. He was a big catch considering how important he’d become in the vampire world. He was a two-for-one deal since I got his girl too that night. Now you’re the only one left, the last of the Sons of Navarus.”
His rundown of the demise of the rest of the Sons made Vasilije nostalgic for a moment. Saint gone so soon after the war? All that waiting to have his life with Solenne, and those Archons won in the end anyway.
He’d thought about Terek so many times after walking out of that room that night. He’d lost as much as Vasilije had, but he couldn’t bring himself to find him throughout the years. Seeing him would open too many emotional wounds.
Sion had made a name for himself with those mechanical contraptions of his that had helped them defeat the daemons. It made Vasilije smile when he thought of all those human nerds working with a vampire. Did they even know what Sion was?
And Dante gone just a few months before. Vasilije knew he’d risen in the vampire world after the war when he joined Theron to reorganize the magistrate system.
“Your name and reputation are legendary among hunters. You’re practically a myth.”
“A myth?”
The hunter nodded and took a few more steps toward him. “Oh, yeah. The story goes that you disappeared after the war. Most of us thought you were long gone. Others put your name with Theron as just symbols of the old vampire world.”
He stood just a few feet away from Vasilije now, his stake pushed into the waistband of his pants. Back when he was a vampire to be reckoned with, the Romanian would have drained him and snapped his neck for being so poor at his job.
But not tonight.
For a moment, he considered telling him about how Theron wasn’t just part of some long-told story. That he was real and had become as much a god as he was vampire over time.
But he decided not to. Humans believed what they wanted to believe, and he doubted he’d be able to convince this guy that a vampire born to fulfill a prophecy had become a god like the one he likely worshipped.
“I expected a fight. Even before I knew you were a Son, I thought you’d make me chase you at least.”
Vasilije shook his head. He had no more interest in putting off the inevitable. Closing his eyes, he took one more deep breath of New Orleans air and slowly let it out of his lungs as he thought about Sasa and how much he missed her.
No more words. No more staving off the inevitable. His time had come.
A second later, the hunter’s stake tore through his chest and pierced his heart. It stung for a moment, and then he felt nothing as the life he’d lived for over five hundred years came to an end there under the live oak trees and Spanish moss and he disappeared from what had become his favorite place in the world because of her.
Vasilije opened his eyes and slowly focused his gaze on all the vampires standing in front of him. Saint and Solenne held hands and smiled, and he had to admit he’d never seen that Son happier. Terek and Ilona were reunited again, along with Ramiel and Noele. They all appeared content. As his eyes scanned the room, he saw Sion and Kali standing with Dante and Scarlett, and he began to wonder if that hunter had missed his mark and he was simply dreaming.
“You had to make sure you outlasted all of us, didn’t you? Let me guess. You dared a hunter to get you, and he finally did,” Saint teased.
&nb
sp; Still the same vampire as always.
“Something like that.”
Terek stepped toward him and opened his arms to embrace him. “It’s good to see you again, my friend. We were starting to think you might be immortal.”
With a laugh, Vasilije hugged him close, pleased to see his old friend finally happy with the one he loved. “That’s what happens when you lay low. Nobody cares to come find you.”
One by one, the former Sons of Navarus shook his hand and hugged him as they welcomed the last of their kind to the Underworld. Vasilije made light of the whole thing, joking around about how they’d all had to wait for him, but as he scanned the souls in that room, he didn’t see a few and wondered what had happened to them.
When Ramiel came forward to shake his hand, Vasilije asked, “I don’t see Nico. Where is he?”
Having little knowledge of the layout of the Underworld, he couldn’t help but wonder. Had Theron found a special place to punish the one who betrayed them all?
Ramiel looked at Noele standing by his side and frowned before turning his focus back to Vasilije. “When Theron took over, he sent Hades to the prison here in Tartarus. That seemed like the right place to put Nico too, along with all his Archon and magistrate friends, once he admitted that it was him that tipped off the hunters to where Noele was that night they got her.”
Still, all these years later, the Romanian had a hard time reconciling the vampire he’d known for centuries with the one he’d become in those last, crucial years before the Archon War. Stunned by what Ramiel said, he shook his head in disbelief at how Nico could have turned his back so brutally on her.
“I’m so sorry, you two. I didn’t believe Nico could ever do that to any of us.”
Noele smiled and brushed it off. “It was a long time ago, and we’re together again, thankfully. As for Nico, he’s where he belongs for what he did to the Sons.”