Releasing the Gods

by Leia Stone

  The creature reached out and tried to touch me, barely grazing his fingers across my arm when Cronus acted in an instant, his hands gathering both of us close, and we were zapped away before I could blink.

  Chapter 12

  When we landed again, my head was spinning, and I wondered if I might throw up. “Was that just—?”

  “The first sin,” Cronus said, his eyes shooting to Rhea, who looked pretty unruffled. “That particular sin has a close relationship with my ex-wife. He can track her, so we are not going to be safe staying put.”

  I shook my head. “I’m part human, I need to rest. I can’t go on like this. I need food and water and sleep. I need them or you’re going to be carting around an unconscious body really soon.”

  My stomach growled as if to prove that point and Hound gave a low bark of agreement.

  #FeedUs

  Rhea wrinkled her nose at me like I’d just announced I was dog shit, not a human. “I can block my energy from him. I didn't realize he would track me so quickly.”

  “How do you have such a close relationship with Sickness?” I asked her royal bitchiness. “I mean, girl … standards.”

  She started for me again, but Cronus got in the way. “Enough,” he said, his voice low and brimming with anger. “There is no time for this, we have to refuel and then continue with our task.”

  Finally taking note of where we were, all I could see was forest and trees. Fuck. He was going to make me wipe my ass with a leaf. I fucking knew it.

  “This is the best I can do for the night,” he told me softly, like he could read my thoughts. “These woods are ancient, filled with energy from the original creators. It will cloak us for a while if the sins or the gods are chasing us down.”

  I squeezed my eyes tightly, exhaustion pushing on me so hard that I almost sank to the ground. A strong arm wrapped around me. “Come on, I’ll make it nice for you,” he said, pulling my reluctant legs along. Why was he suddenly being so nice to me? It’s like the presence of his bitchy ex-wife had softened him toward me.

  Resigning myself to this fate, I didn’t put up any resistance, letting him lead me deeper and deeper into the forest. Under a canopy this heavy, it was next to impossible to tell if it was day or night, but Cronus seemed to know where he was going, so I didn’t say anything. Rhea and Hound remained close behind us, and I could practically feel the venomous glare from the bitch.

  “Can she kill me with her mind?” I whispered to Cronus, and his lips did that sexy twitch thing.

  “Rhea is the Titan of fertility and motherhood. Her powers are strong, but nothing like mine,” he said, in a low rumble.

  #StayHumble

  “She was the logical choice for the mother of my children,” he continued, making no effort to whisper. “However, she’s also a little unstable, and wants to bear children for as many Titans and gods that she can.”

  She made a disparaging sound from behind us and I knew she could hear everything.

  “It’s my duty to reproduce,” she said, sniffling. “You should have understood that from the start. An open marriage would have suited my lifestyle better.”

  Now who was the prostitute?

  Cronus shrugged. “I don’t share. That’s just how I’m made, how I feel, and I cannot compromise on that.”

  “And her powers?” I pushed, because I was nervous about sleeping near her, being that vulnerable.

  “They don’t nickname her the ice queen for nothing,” he whispered.

  “I heard that,” she growled behind us.

  “But she would have to physically attack you to hurt you, and I will not let her close enough for that.”

  I believed him, and that was a huge step forward in our relationship. Cronus would protect me until he no longer needed me, that was a given, so I’d be able to sleep soundly. Or as soundly as one could on the ground.

  When we finally reached the “perfect spot” as Cronus declared it, I all but collapsed into the somewhat cleared area. My head was throbbing, my stomach rumbled, and my throat was as dry as my fucking sex life.

  “Hound,” Cronus said, “find food and water.”

  The hellhound rushed off, disappearing into the dark forest in a second. My eyes closed of their own accord, and I sort of sprawled across my arms, not even caring that it was freezing under here in my leather shorts and silk top. I needed to start dressing like a fucking mountain climber. Clearly.

  “Just need five minutes to rest my eyes,” I mumbled.

  A low rumbling chuckle was my answer, and I wondered if I’d actually made Cronus laugh this time or was it my imagination. Everything went fuzzy as I napped for a bit, and when I managed to pry my eyes open, it was to the scent of cooking meat, a warm fire, and something softer than the ground under my head.

  I scrambled up, before realizing I’d been laid across a bed of leaves covered in a thick blanket. Another blanket was over top of me. “I don’t want to use too much power,” Cronus was saying to Rhea, “so we’ll have to make do with minimal comforts for now.”

  She did her infamous nose wrinkle. I could already tell it was a signature move. “Cronie, come on. You know I can’t sleep on the ground. Just bring some beds.”

  He shook his head. “My energy is strong enough to be tracked even in this forest. It’s one night. You’ll be fine.”

  I was distracted from my eavesdropping by a wooden bowl close to my head. It was filled with water, and I grabbed it, gulping the water down in one go. Not water, it was sweet like wine but super hydrating. I trusted that Cronus wouldn’t leave it here if I couldn’t drink it, so I chugged the whole thing. My throat burned a little and I felt exhausted, but the dehydration was pushed back a touch. Energy trickled across my skin, and Cronus was suddenly right in front of me. He crouched at my side, his hand coming out to brush some hair from my face. “You slept a long time. Are you feeling okay?”

  I nodded, pushing my tired, sore body up. “Yep, just human, you know.”

  He didn’t know, but whatever.

  “Do you have some food?” I asked, not even caring at this point if it was tree bark. I just needed to put something into my stomach.

  He handed me a steaming hunk of brown stuff. “Wild mushroom for my vegetarian.” He winked.

  I grinned and took it gratefully. Was Cronus on drugs? Why was he being so nice to me?

  “Vegetarian?” Rhea cackled. “That’s a great way to die in the wild.”

  I glared at her. “You’re the goddess of fertility and Mother Nature and yet you scoff at someone who doesn’t want to take a life to eat? No wonder you were sent to hell.”

  “Okay.” Cronus put his hands up. “Let’s just eat in silence.”

  Damn right, otherwise I was stabbing a bitch. Rhea needed to come “online” with her powers stat, because I was over this bitch.

  We munched in silence while I stared at the meat they were eating and tried not to think of what it once was. Forest rat? Rabbit?

  “You need to experience Taco Bell. It will change your life,” I told Cronus finally. I could eat six bean and cheese burritos right about now.

  Rhea frowned, picking at her meat. “Is taco the food? So you ring a bell and the servant brings you taco?”

  I actually snorted trying to hold in my laugh but turned it into a cough. “Yes, Rhea. Exactly that. We should take you with us so that you can try that.”

  She nodded curtly. “I’d like that.”

  Cronus and I locked gazes and his eyes were alight. A slow smirk pulled at his lips. “I’ll time jump and exchange the gold bars for paper money tomorrow. That way we can afford the luxuries of Taco Bell.”

  He’d read my mind; he knew Taco Bell was a cheap shithole with amazing food. He was being … sarcastic.

  I bit into the mushroom and was pleasantly surprised. It was earthy but salty and good considering it felt like I hadn’t eaten in like five weeks. Sure, we’d had pizza yesterday, but still … the lack of regular food was draining.

&nbs
p; “Tell me about this time jump?” I finally said, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence.

  Rhea placed a hand on Cronus’ chest, stopping him from speaking. “Don’t you know anything about us? He’s the father of time. He could time jump back to find the most luxurious bedding you’ve ever lain on and bring it here. But he won’t.” She glared at him.

  He reached up and removed her hand from his chest. “It depletes my power, and it’s also dangerous,” he snapped. “Messing with time can unravel the seams of the world. But you never cared about that.”

  Holy shit. There was so much more going on with these gods and their powers than I knew about. “Can you, like, go back and keep me from opening the box?”

  Rhea glared. “I knew it was your fault. Thanks for confirming that.”

  Fuck. I’d just incriminated myself. Now she thought I was an even bigger idiot than before.

  Cronus ignored her. “I cannot go back and keep you from opening the box, no. There are a lot of rules. I cannot interfere with living beings such as humans or gods or animals. I can mostly deal only with inanimate objects. Unless I’m willing to completely destroy the world, of course. So since Pandora's Box contained gods and is technically alive, I cannot touch it in the past. Make sense?”

  I frowned. It did. Kind of.

  “So the sins were once upon a time gods?” I pressed, having deduced this already from a few things I’d heard.

  “Of course they were,” Rhea said, waving her hand like this was old news. “How do you think they got so powerful?” She dismissed my question, turning to her ex. “Cronie, I’m bored. Tell a story like the old days … something dramatic.”

  Cronus sucked in a long breath, like he was counting to ten in his head or something. “Why doesn’t Maisey share a story. Anything. Tell us of your childhood.”

  He leaned back; the fire danced shadows across his face.

  My childhood? Fuck that. My “mother” died when I was seven and then my “dad” started drinking. Drank himself into liver failure and a stroke. Passed away last year. And at this stage I still didn’t know how I was related to Selene or if one of my parents was not actually my parent. So, no, we would steer faaaar away from my childhood.

  Rhea glared at me. “Her life is too boring for dramatic stories, dear. Tell us of the time you almost slew Zeus on Mount—”

  “I was seven when my mother died. Car accident,” I blurted out.

  Fuck this bitch. She wanted a story. She’d get one.

  They both stilled and I stared at the ground. “It was raining when my dad told me. I remember that so clearly. Weird, right? I remember thinking the Earth was crying for her.”

  Silence.

  “My dad started drinking after that. Only at night, after work, but enough to make him pass out by 6 P.M. in front of the TV every night. He did the best he could.”

  #NotReally

  What was I doing?

  “For a long time I thought I didn’t belong. Had nothing that really felt like mine. I felt worthless. Then one day, I was thirteen and at the mall with a friend. A model scout gave me his card. He wanted me to do a big campaign for one of the local department stores. He told me I was special and beautiful and could make a career off my looks.”

  My eyes flicked up to see Cronus was watching me behind darkened eyes. We were at the end of our bond length, about eight feet from my guess. The distance was growing longer with time, which was interesting, if I had time to wonder about things like that.

  I continued. “Brought the card home to my dad and he said he’d take me to the casting call the next day.”

  My heart was pounding in my ears. Why was I telling this stupid story? I barely remembered it until now.

  “When I got home from school, I waited and waited but my dad never came home. Not until 7 P.M. fully drunk and dropped off by a taxi. I never made the casting call.”

  Cronus looked … angry, while Rhea clutched her chest. “I said dramatic, not tragic. Dear gods, how awful. Cronie, fix this mood.” She waved her hand again.

  Cronus didn’t say a word, he was still looking at me with smoky darkened eyes. “You’re not worthless.”

  My heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe in that moment. I’d never spoken that fear out loud.

  “The god’s mead is getting to you both!” Rhea snapped. “Cronie. A story. Now.”

  My eyes flicked to the bowl and I groaned. Great, I’d been drinking some powerful gods wine. No wonder I was spilling my soul all over the place.

  “Once upon a time I had a beautiful wife,” Cronus started. My jealous gaze raked over Rhea and I had to suppress a growl. She curled her lips into a smile and stroked his arm.

  “She cheated on me more times than I could count and deadened everything inside of me. The end,” he said.

  I grinned as Rhea made a choking sound, pulling her hand away from him as if she’d been burned. “You two are perfect for each other. Good night!” Turning away from the fire, she crouched below a tree and curled into a ball.

  It happened then: a full-blown smile lit up his face and butterflies took flight in my stomach. Holy fucking hell. The smile had transformed his face, making him look both darkly dangerous and absolutely gorgeous.

  Do me now, against the tree in the woods. I don’t care.

  But as quickly as the smile had been there, it faded away. “We should get some rest.”

  I nodded, wanting to ask him to join me in my leaf bed, but then remembering the gods wine and how it might be affecting me, figured I might not be in the right frame of mind for making that sort of decision. Hound nuzzled up to Cronus and I lay down on my makeshift mattress. I didn’t take my eyes off of Cronus, and he did the same. We stared at each other, watching through the dancing fire. Sleep started to pull at my consciousness, mixing with my thoughts. The last thing I thought of was his #DickGold and that he hadn’t slept with a woman in a thousand years.

  Chapter 13

  The first thing that woke me was a foul stench. Then Cronus was shaking my shoulders. “Maisey!”

  My eyes snapped open to see Cronus towering over me.

  “Sickness found us! That bastard!” Rhea shouted somewhere in the distance.

  I sat up, nearly cracking heads with the Titan of time.

  “I need to get to Romania. Can you handle him now?” Cronus had one hand on me and the other on Hound, but he was talking to the ex.

  Rhea looked back at us, eyes flashing as the green shone in the low light. “Yes. Fine. Go.”

  Without further delay, the blackness took us, and seconds later I was standing in an alleyway, between two stone buildings.

  “Where are we?” My head spun a little. All these rude awakenings and traveling was making me woozy.

  “At a catholic church in Cernica, Romania.”

  I frowned. “Do you know where all of the Titans’ remains are?”

  He shook his head. “Just four of them. We will figure out the rest later. Crius and Koios must be awoken soon or the second and third sins will ravage the Earth.”

  I gulped. “And those sins are...?”

  “Turmoil and Strife. One will create disturbances and confusion, and the second will take that confusion and turn it into conflict. This is the beginning of a world war.”

  I winced.

  Shit. Damn my stupid hair. Why did it have to fall on that box?

  He bent down low and rubbed Hound behind the ears. “Find Crius and Koios. Good boy.”

  Hound sniffed the air and then took off across the alley and into a back garden.

  I followed close behind him, coming out into the garden just in time to slam right into someone’s chest.

  “Fuck!” I shrieked, stumbling backward as I looked up at the bronzed god.

  “Zeus,” Cronus growled, murder in his tone.

  My eyes widened as I took in the specimen before me. He looked nothing like Cronus. Where Cronus was dark and sharp edged, Zeus was light with blond hair and a soft chin. He was still utt
erly gorgeous, but not my type. Thunder rolled overhead as Cronus calmly stepped in front of me and went chest to chest with the god of thunder.

  “I don’t have time for your petty bullshit right now,” Cronus growled.

  Zeus grinned, a maniacal thing that took all the handsomeness from his face. “Thanatos says you want a truce. That you’ve let the nine deadly sins free. I had to come and see for myself.”

  His eyes roamed over me and Cronus reached out, grabbing his jaw and jerking his face away from me. “Don’t look at her. I don’t have time for this, boy.” There was a flicker. One second Cronus and Zeus were standing there and the next it was just Cronus.

  What the…?

  “Where’d he go?” I stumbled after Cronus, stomping across the church garden and into a cemetery.

  “Sent him to the underworld for a bit. Hopefully Thanatos can keep him there. By the time he figures out how to leave, we’ll be on to the next stop.”

  Shit. Dude could be ruthless when he wanted. It was kind of hot. Okay, it was majorly hot. Hound gave a low howl and then we were standing over two graves. On the headstone was a bunch of symbols that made no sense to me.

  “Good boy.” Cronus pet hound behind the ears.

  “Yes. Good boy.” I gently tapped his butt.

  The beast turned his head around to glare at me so I retracted my fingers. #Asshole #ThisIsWhyIDon’tHaveaDog

  “Umm, so about last time. Ya know, when I helped you and then I passed out…”

  Cronus’ body went rigid and still. “Yeah, I didn’t think that would happen. You may have absorbed more of Pandora’s power then I originally thought.”

  Great. That was not what I wanted to hear.

  “Power that helps raise the dead?”

  I needed to be hit with it straight.

  “With my help and for the Titans only. Yes.”

  This was so far removed from my life that the Crab Shack I didn’t even know what to say.

  “It’s this or a world war,” Cronus told me.

  I sighed. “We’ve already had two world wars. It would be World War Three.”