I shake my head as I run back toward the main prison sector. Can’t investigate who just arrived now, have to get to Shaye. Why the fuck is Hades interested in her? She can’t be a threat to him, she’s a freaking demigod. My stomach churns... or does he want her dead and in his realm for another purpose? A vendetta for taking out Anubis the Egyptian god of death. Would Dad torment her and have fun making her eternity worse than this fucking place?
My boots pound on the cement floor and I turn the corner, crashing into five blue uniforms.
“Going somewhere, Xanth?” one asks, slapping his baton against his palm.
“Get out of my way,” I shove against him, “I don’t have time for your bullshit.”
“Assaulting an officer?” another asshole asks. “Careful, Xanth, you might end up in one of these cells like the rest of the vermin where you belong.”
I clench my fists, darkness swirling in my head, and all I could think about is Shaye. “Let me pass, please.”
“Oooh, think we’re scared of you?”
“If you knew anything about my power, then yes.” I open myself up to death.
They jump back, paling. I know my eyes are as black as the grave and magic ebbs and flows around me like a storm.
“Now get out of my fucking way or hell is going to get five new visitors.”
Like terrified chickens, they climb over each other to get away from me. I take a step forward and my smile would probably give anyone a heart attack who sees it. Now I need to get to Shaye, warn her when something heavy strikes the back of my head.
I stumble onto my knees, my vision blurring. Oh, fuck!
Chapter Nineteen
Rowan
The runes glow, making my blood appear neon-red. All this would be simpler if the prison and the gods had cell phones. The walls shake and the lights flicker, but my father fails to appear.
“Come on, I don’t have all fucking day.” No doubt my father is toying with me and getting on my last shitty nerve. No grand entrance. I stare back at the runes. Have I done one wrong?
I retrace them all in my head, focusing on each. It has been a while since I did this, and it brings back memories of when I’d call him with the simple need to try to connect with him. That was so fucking long ago, and I still loath how often he dismissed me. I learned long ago that the big gods had no time for even their children unless it brought them some benefit. It fucking sucks, but I’ve accepted this bullshit.
So, a lack of communication from my father is something I’m used to. Last time I called him, my human mother had been sick and dying in the hospital. He hadn’t shown up then either until after her death. I’d raged at him, throwing my fists into his face and stomach without him even flinching. Then he’d complained that my runes hadn’t summoned him in time. The Yggdrasil one didn’t have the branches evenly spaced.
Fucking bastard had heard me, crooked runes, and all, he just didn’t want to have to deal with a dying human. Didn’t want to have to feel any negative emotion and rather blame it on a ten-year-old kid.
This has been a fucking waste of time. I scuff at the diamond rune of inguz and X of gebo with my sandals.
Thunder booms again, and when no one appears in my cell, I punch the wall, and a cement piece scuffs off the front, falling onto the stone floor.
Should’ve fucking known better to even try this. Now I look desperate and I hate that. Hate that I depended on anyone other than myself.
A tsk sounds from the doorway and I glance up. Loki leans against the metal bars with disappointment in his gaze. He’s sporting a short beard, hair short, and looks somehow older than his normal self. But those eyes… dark as midnight haven’t changed one bit.
“You know, I’d have thought all this time in here would’ve taught yo—”
I yell and race forward, plowing my fist into his face. But he dodges me and reappears inside my cell.
“Did you call me here to dance around or for another reason? Because honestly, I know some trolls are better at that than you at the moment.”
All of me wants to pound into him. But that won’t do any good. It won’t help Shaye. I squeeze my hands into fists, letting my nails dig into my palms, pulling myself back for my slight error of judgment and lunging at him. This isn’t fucking about me.
“Intriguing.” Loki grins and waves a hand, the runes all vanish from the floor. “For your mastery of control over your emotions, I will grant you one truth.”
“You’re not a fucking genie.” I grit out, focusing on picturing Shaye’s face instead of the anger.
“True.” He winks. “Which is why I will answer any one question you want with truth. Think carefully though. One-time offer.”
Thousands of questions burn on the back of my tongue. Why he left me and my mother as soon as I was born. Why he didn’t come to her deathbed until she was cold and lifeless. How he left me to see to myself all those years when I could’ve been at his side in Asgard.
Instead, I force a deep inhale and think of Shaye. I want to ask him who her god-parent is, but what if he doesn’t know? Then I’ve wasted this opportunity. Besides, when did any demigod knowing who sired them have anything good besides vanity come from it.
“What do you know of Project X?”
Loki’s grin brightened his eyes. “Clever. If you had asked who was behind this Project X, I might not know. Or if you believed I was guilty, you could’ve asked if I was behind it.”
“Stop stalling and answer the fucking question.” Should’ve used him as a punching bag. Even if I couldn’t really hurt him, I’d feel a shit ton better.
“You will find out the truth of Project X soon enough. But it goes deeper than you know.”
“What the holy fuck does that mean?”
But Loki shrugs.
“You didn’t give me shit. I should’ve known not to trust you— even at your word.”
Loki’s fist punches me in the gut and I double-over. “You’ve gotten bigger balls since I saw you last,” he whispers in my ear while I struggle to breathe. “Next time I won’t be as nice. There are powers at play here, boy, that you can’t possibly understand. Just don’t get in my way or Shaye’s when her time comes.”
I fall to my knees as the pain intensifies over my body.
“Remember what we talked about. Have Shaye in that fighting ring so I can collect my money. I don’t care how you do it, get it done.”
“Why?” I wheeze out. “Why not kill her now instead of in front of everyone. Like when you set her up to get killed by Nelos.”
“Who?” He laughs. “Get my fight or you’ll be next in the ring.”
I cough and choke, feeling like he punched my insides up into my lungs. But when I catch my breath, Loki is gone. He’s told me a lot though. No way is he the one that sent that note to Nelos and sent Shaye in there too. He wants the entertainment, the money from winning his bet.
Whoever did this is a different kinda scum than Loki. He might know something and as usual, using it to his advantage to win a bet. Nothing more because that’s the scum my father is.
I push up from the floor and storm out to find Nelos and Shaye.
“So you don’t think Loki is involved in Project X?” Shaye asks me as we finish our dinner and have the precious few moments before we have to be back in our cells.
“No. I think he knows or suspects who is involved but is keeping his neck safe.” I wad up my napkin and throw it on my empty tray. “My guess is it’s bigger than all of us... even the Warden.”
“What?” Shaye pales and lowers her voice. “Like a god?”
I nod.
“Why?” Nelos asks, looking between me and Shaye. “I get with Shaye killing Anubis, they might be scared of her, but she’s stuck here. She can’t do a fucking thing to them.”
“Unless I can suck the water from their bodies like I did their cups in the arena.” Shaye glances down at her hands.
“You did that?” I ask, my impression of her shooting up a hundred
points and into the stratosphere.
“I didn’t do it on purpose.” She blinks up at me. “I was trying not to die at the time, but I have no damn clue how to call that power at will.”
“That’s fucking wicked.” I smile and haul my arm around her. “I knew there was another reason besides your beauty and sweetness that drew me to you.”
“Knock it off.” But she laughs and leans into my touch. She takes Nelos’ hand. “It’s getting late. Can we regroup in the morning?”
“Of course.” Nelos pulls her hand to his mouth and kisses it.
“And we can touch base with Xanth too.” She frowns and shivers. “I don’t know why he disappeared like that.”
“Probably had some stupid guard thing to attend to.” I nuzzle her neck. My dad’s words echo in my mind. One thing about my god-father, nothing he says is ever the simple truth and I wonder at the hidden message.
Chapter Twenty
Shaye
After everything of late, that night I fall asleep fast, even crunched up on the floor, my eyes couldn’t wait to slip closed.
“Shaye,” a male’s voice calls me.
I slide open my eyes but I’m no longer in the prison cell but an open field and grass cushioning me. A faint breeze blows past, bringing with it a strong burning smell, and I somehow know this is a dream.
That is the strange part though. I’ve never been able to tell before, yet here I just knew without a shadow of a doubt that I still dreamt. But this field felt familiar somehow. Like I should know where I am.
Rather than ponder what is going on and the question of something I can’t answer, I climb to my feet, only to find myself dressed in a black nightdress, the fabric so thin, it’s practically transparent. And I’m naked beneath.
Again, this should bother me, but it doesn’t. After all, if it’s a dream, who the hell cares. It’s all in my head, right?
I turn around to find my bearing and behind me stands a man. Except he’s not a man, is he?
Tall, dressed in all black with a long coat and raven-colored hair blowing in the wind. He is a handsome man, even if he appears to be much older than me.
“Hello, Shaye,” he says, and a shadow runs behind his gaze, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Do I know you?” I ask and just as the words leave my mouth, the world behind him seems to move as if it has a mind of its own. The landscape descends while a Goliath black castle rises as if it’s climbing out of the earth itself. Towers and so many windows, the walls glint which is strange seeing the sky is painted in thick, heavy gray clouds.
“Not yet, but you will,” he promises me like I ought to know what this man is going on about.
“Look, all great that you’ve got the tall, dark and mysterious thing going for you, but where are we and is there a purpose to this dream?”
He laughs, the sound like a crack of thunder, and to say it scared me was an understatement.
“Welcome to my realm, the Underworld. Consider it a preview of your new home.”
My veins fill with ice, and it takes me a long pause to let his words sink in.
“Get the fuck out of here. You’re telling me you’re Hades?” I have no idea where I found the bravery to talk to him like this if he was the real deal. I blame it on the knowledge that this is a dream, so it’s made up. It’s not real… it can’t be real. That’s all that makes sense right now.
In a flash, he’s standing next to me. His hands snatch my throat, and he hauls me against him. I’m starved of breath, while my heart drums in my chest at how fast he moved. How I didn’t have a chance to react, to defend myself.
“Listen very careful to me, little sparrow, before I snap that delicate neck. That would be the easy way out, but what fun would that be?” Hades went on, his face inches from mine, his breath was like fire, burning and suffocating.
I clawed at his hand, grasping just enough to let me suck in thin threads of breath… just enough so I didn’t pass out.
“I wanted you out of the picture at first. An abomination like you shouldn’t exist. No one can kill gods. No one!” he growls, his eyes burning amber. “But then I changed my mind. You know the saying, keep your friends close and enemies in your pocket, well that’s where you come in.”
I paused my struggle, staring at him. Wait! This bastard is who is trying to get me killed?
As if seeing the realization in my gaze, he releases me. I stumble on my feet, sucking in air, filling my starved lungs. “Y-you… it was you who tried to set me up with Skul and sending Nelos the assassination note.” And fuck, if Nelos hadn’t been able to control his fire wolf, I’d be dead.
He smirks. “Didn’t quite go to plan, but no matter. It’s for the best really as I changed my mind. And you should be happy, Shaye. I’ve decided your death won’t be the end for you. Your lovers, I will scratch out of existence, but you, my dear.” He’s next to me so fast, I gasp. He grabs my chin and forces me to face him. “You will serve by my side.”
“You’re insane. I would never be loyal to you or move to Hell.”
He laughs again. “You are too cute to think you have any say in this.”
“Why do you want someone like me? What about Persephone and all of the dead?” I have to figure a way out of here.
His eyes darken and I press a hand to my throat as I feel like he’s still choking me.
“You know, watching you die in the arena will be the appetizer of your torture. I mean, I need you dead before you can join me, and what better way to leave the living than with a grand exit.” His grip tightens, the pain slicing across my jaw leaving me wincing. “Think about the legacy you leave behind. The God-killer finally falls. And then imagine the fear you will instill in people when they uncover you carry the power of death with me?” He laughs maniacally. “How does that sound?”
“You’re delusional. You want me to die?”
His grin has me shivering. “Would you rather I do it right now? Though I do prefer a bit of a show, a bit of entertainment.”
Panic grips me, and I can’t think straight, only fear controls me. This madman is so bored from living forever, that he toys with me like a cat does with a mouse. “W-what about Xanth? He will hate you forever if you do this.”
His upper lip curls, flames ignite in his eyes, and I’ve touched a soft spot.
Before I can respond, his lips are on mine, and my world blackens.
I’m falling, screaming.
Suddenly, I sit up back in my prison cell, sweat covering me, my throat stinging from my scream.
Gasping for air, I glance around the semi-dark room, my whole body trembling. My three roommates are fast asleep, not stirring which is strange they haven’t woken from my scream. Or was that in my dream? Maybe it was a vision. I don’t fucking know, but it’s left me folding in on myself as I curl up against the wall.
Whatever I’d just experienced wasn’t an illusion. It was real. I feel it deep in my bones, and Hades is at the bottom of all this.
I still don’t know why, but he’d orchestrated the setup with Skul with the hope I’d be blamed and killed. And his back-up plan was the fighting arena.
So what’s the deal with the Warden? Is he truly out of the loop, and is that why he’s so panicked about finding out about this Project X? If I find out this information and don’t end up in the arena, how long before Hades pulls another stunt or simply gets so frustrated, that he does it himself and claims me?
I hug myself, tears pricking my eyes at how deep in shit I am, how I don’t think even the three men I grasp onto like a lifeline can help me here.
What power does anyone have against a god? Especially one of the top tier of Olympian ones.
Hades is coming to collect, and I doubt anything will stop him from taking what he wants. Stealing my life.
Chapter Twenty-One
Rowan
The next morning, Shaye slides onto the bench next to me at breakfast, her face paler than I’ve ever seen it.
“Are
you okay?” I rub her back.
She pushes her food tray of fake eggs and half-eaten toast away. “No, I’m running out of time and I haven’t seen Xanth anywhere. I’m getting worried.”
“I’m sure he’s fine.” But I survey the cafeteria for the big guard and come up empty. I don’t like the idea of how possessive he is with Shaye. “Hey, how about some fight training this morning? Something to get your mind off your deadline for an hour.” Plus prepare her for the upcoming fight cause the way things are going, I don’t see how we can save her, and it eats me up inside.
“Okay.” She tucks her blonde hair behind her ear. “I need to do something—”
Her words stop and I feel like there’s more that she’s not saying. But there are too many prisoners and guards near us to press.
We finish our breakfast, me forcing Shaye to take another few bites of her toast after I scrape the burnt parts off.
Out in the training yard, I pull Shaye to a back corner. “We’re as alone as we can get right now, what’s going on with you?”
She licks her lips, her hands twisting in her prison shirt. “Hades forced me into a dream-vision thing.”
It takes everything in me not to roar and demand the bastard come here so I can tear his head off.
“H-He’s responsible for the assassination note for Skul and setting me up. He wants me to die, Rowan, so I can be with him.” She shudders and I haul her to me.
“It’s going to be okay, Shaye.” Though I have no fucking idea how to help her. Showing her some moves isn’t going to do shit against a god like Hades. He’ll do whatever he can to get what he wants. And my rage heats my blood. That’s what my damn father meant, he knew Hades was behind this and was saving his skin.
“How?” she sobs, crying into my shirt. “Everyone wants me dead and I can’t fight, I can’t defend myself. I’m powerless.”
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