I slowly turned to face him, but seeing the concern in his eyes, I suddenly felt very, very concerned myself. “That… wasn’t you…” I whispered.
“I just arrived after Talon interrupted a meal I was sharing with Othello,” he said, walking closer, eyes troubled at the look on my face.
I raked my hands through my hair, replaying the encounter with Odin and the hooded figure. Then I told Death about it. He blinked a few times, and then let out a breath. “That wasn’t me.”
I wanted to hit something. “Of course,” I muttered. “How many hooded guys do I kn—” I cut off, shooting him a sharp look.
“Let me check with my brothers,” Death said, and was suddenly gone.
I paced as I waited, hoping he was about to return laughing about Famine playing a joke or something. He returned without fanfare a minute later, shoulders tense. “They didn’t visit you.”
“Great…” I growled. “Since when has Odin been able to just waltz in here? And how did he get a free guest pass?” I said, more to myself than anything.
Death didn’t answer, so I turned to look at him. He was staring at one of the upper levels, where a depiction of my family crest was carved into a large wooden shield that hung on the wall, easily ten feet tall. A jagged lightning bolt split the shield in half, and one side of the shield showed a feather, the other two mountain peaks.
Two polearms – one a scythe and the other a glaive, or sword-bladed spear – angled out from the top corners, and each had a ribbon below the blades. The scythe’s ribbon said Memento Mori – remember you are mortal – and the spear’s ribbon said Arete – become the best possible form of a thing. A large fist rose above the shield, symbolizing mastery over all, and the words Non Serviam sat below it – Latin for I will never serve.
But I knew what Death was staring at.
On the butt of each weapon sat a large raven, and their names were even written underneath.
Hugin and Munin. Thought and Memory. Odin’s ravens.
I stared at it harshly, and then glanced at Death. “What does it mean?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “Not sure. But I don’t like coincidences…” His eyes noticed the hammer on the table with a studious frown, but he didn’t comment.
“Looks like I need to bake a raven pie…” I promised.
Death winced uncomfortably. “Or you could just talk to them first. Don’t start off with the pie idea,” he offered.
“Any idea who was with Odin?” I asked.
Death was very, very still, considering. “It could have been anyone. Hoods aren’t very specific. But it was obviously someone recognizable if they wished to conceal their identity.”
I decided not to comment on that, since Death was most often found in a hooded cloak. He and his brothers. Which reminded me. “Conquest swung by before I left…”
Death nodded absently. “About time. They all want to get to know you better. War won’t stop talking about you,” he muttered, sounding amused.
“Right. Any particular reason? You guys already offered me the job.”
Death nodded, eyes distant, considering how he wanted to answer. “One should know one’s brother. And you must remember, we’ve spent millennia around each other. We very soon learned what we were, and once the fourth was chosen, we pretty much closed our circle. No one ever said anything about a Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse…”
I frowned. “It wasn’t like I applied for the job. You guys offered it!” I argued.
Death nodded slowly. “Yes, well… we’re not quite sure where that idea came from. It was almost as if someone spoke through us. Everything says Four Horsemen, so why would we all suddenly agree that we should consider a Fifth Rider?” he asked, sounding deeply philosophical.
I shrugged, my temples beginning to ache. “You should think on that. I don’t have the brain power to add another question to my list. If you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of drowning in them.”
He nodded, eyes drifting to the Round Table and its contents again. Then he turned back to me, waiting patiently. I waved him on to inspect them. “Feel before you touch. Just in case one blows you up and solves our Four Horsemen conundrum,” I grouched.
His hand stilled before the hourglass, as if very seriously considering my comment. I frowned at that. Death was scared of… Death?
On that note, I decided I deserved a drink. I had a lot I wanted to talk to Death about, and one big old demand, but it all depended on what he gleaned from the items spread out on the table. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
Chapter 44
I scowled as I stormed through the halls of Chateau Falco, shouting for Dean as Bob Marley played on full blast through the entire house. The music had woken me up from a dead sleep that I had sorely needed. Thankfully, I had woken to find my burns gone. Pan was good at healing, whatever that balm had been.
Since when had Dean listened to Bob Marley first thing in the morning? I knew no one else did. Techno or something European would have meant Yahn, but reggae?
“Dean!” I shouted, nearing my office, already annoyed about my conversation last night with Death. I wasn’t pleased with his answer, but it wasn’t like I could do anything about it.
Rules were rules.
“Dean!” I shouted again.
“Right here, Master Temple. I’ve been searching for you,” he called out, hustling up the steps with a black package in his arms.
I frowned, forgetting my anger at the music as he reached me. “What’s that?”
He slowly held it out to me. “I… don’t know. It was on the front steps.”
I smiled instinctively, shaking my head as I took it. “Callie again?” I asked, untying the silver ribbon wrapped in a bow around the package. I opened it and found a single card inside.
Meet at the Arch tonight or thousands will die.
I blinked, dropping the box. “Who sent this?” I rasped.
Dean’s face went pale at my tone. “I do not know.”
My hand shook. It had to be one of the Makers. Castor or Matthias. “Get the others. Have them meet me in my office. Now,” I said in a cold voice, walking past him, my mind racing.
I heard him stammer a response, but my thoughts were elsewhere. I remembered hearing about some big event at the Arch, but since I hadn’t expected to be in town, I hadn’t paid much attention. Some kind of fundraiser with the mayor. Shit. That meant crowds.
Thousands will die, the note had said.
I reached my office, throwing open the doors to shut the damned music off since the stereo was housed there. Which meant I was caught totally off guard to find a naked Egyptian-looking dude sitting in my favorite Chesterfield leather chair, grinning as he faced me with legs spread wide.
“Gah! Who the hell are you?” I snapped, trying to keep him in view without staring at his twig and giggleberries. “That used to be my favorite chair…”
His bronze skin glistened faintly as he nodded in time to the beat. “I am Kai.”
And I froze, dropping the card. I studied him warily. His dark hair brushed his shoulders, and light gray eyes only seemed to draw you in. He was handsome, well-chiseled, and not overly large, but something about him was very… imposing.
And I’m not talking about his flagpole.
“Why are you out of the tree?” I asked, closing the doors behind me and picking up the card.
“I wanted to listen to some nice music,” he said, pointing a thumb behind him. “Took me a bit to figure it out, but this is pretty cool. Way better than my tree.”
I nodded dumbly. I thought he had been kind of restrained to the tree. Not permanently, but I hadn’t expected him to just start walking around in the flesh, either.
“A warning would have been nice,” I said, walking closer. “You… okay?” I asked, sitting opposite him on the couch, my shoulders tense.
Because I was sitting face-to-face with a Beast – a creature of unimaginable power. And he was free. Just plopping his nake
d, immortal ass in my favorite chair, listening to Bob Marley.
He leaned forward. “I think we have a problem…” he said.
“I have a lot of problems, Kai. The biggest one being that two Makers want me dead so badly that they’re willing to kill—” I cut off abruptly at his smile. And then he gave me a slow nod.
A small shiver shot down my spine, but it wasn’t all fear. It was also anticipation.
“You have any ideas about that?” I asked tentatively.
His grin was wolfish. “Thought you would never ask…”
Chapter 45
I studied my assembled friends, idly clicking a pen open and closed, waiting for the backlash.
“This is the stupidest idea you’ve ever had,” Gunnar grumbled, giving me a very slow clap.
I shrugged, not rising to the bait. I hadn’t told them everything. Not much, in fact, but enough to get their hackles up. Alex stood beside the Huntress, watching everyone. No one had attacked overnight, or in the whopping seventeen minutes we had been in Fae. But we had really been gone for quite a while, and had encountered so much that it was hard to come to grips with the fact that we had returned so soon. I had spent weeks fearing for their safety in my planned absence.
But everyone was fine. In fact, they seemed more startled that we had returned so soon than we were to find everyone safe. But the sight of Ashley soon had everyone in tears. Especially their wolves, who had been discreetly brought into the mansion by Gateway, so as not to alert anyone possibly watching Chateau Falco.
Because the wolves had needed to see their leaders.
But we needn’t have bothered, because the Makers obviously knew we were here, or had assumed we never left. Which sent an icy shiver down my spine. What if we had still been gone? Would I have returned from Fae only to hear that thousands had been killed at the Arch?
Both the mysterious package and my talk with Kai had made up my mind. I was playing things differently this time. I was handling this alone.
I had brought my friends into every fight lately, and dozens had died or been injured as a result. Hell, I had asked them to fight a war not even a month ago, and then I sat back to watch them die. Even though it was against my ex-fiancée. That had been important, though, to keep them safe in the long run, because the world had needed to learn to fear my friends, not just me.
Like in jail. Pick a fight with the biggest person on your first day, and hope that you made enough of an impression that others would think twice about bothering you.
And it had worked. My friends had made names for themselves during the war. Especially Ashley, who had slain Hercules. And now she was back.
Still, my friends weren’t too keen on my plan right now. You could say I had given them a taste for chaos, and part of them kind of liked it, or were at least addicted to it.
Ashley cleared her throat as the murmur of protests began to lean towards Gunnar’s view. She was back in human form, as was Gunnar, but they both had that faint glimmer in their eyes, as if only a heartbeat away from turning into savages. Gunnar, surprisingly, wore this look well.
When I had met him, he had been the noblest, calmest, most honorable person in the world.
It wasn’t that he no longer had those traits, but… he had definitely changed.
The wolves forming a small semicircle around her backed her up in a warning growl, and the room quieted. They were not in human form, and had decided amongst themselves that Gunnar and Ashley would have permanent bodyguards from now on. I knew Gunnar didn’t like it, but Ashley had nodded in approval, because she could understand the tactical reasons better than Gunnar. She didn’t let her pride get in the way like he did. Gunnar was more concerned about watching over his people, and was confident in his own abilities to protect himself, and considered having bodyguards as only placing his subjects in danger.
Ashley saw them as a shield.
For the good of the pack.
And she was the only wolf that could successfully argue with him.
When all was silent, she spoke. “Nate is right. Much like we had to prove ourselves in the war, now it is Nate’s turn to make a point. Not that he hasn’t numerous times already, but these two… men,” she said with a look of disgust on her face, “will destroy everything in their way to get to him. Even use those nearby as distractions.”
The Huntress was nodding absently, but I could tell she was secretly glad that her task was to watch over Alex. She had been attacked at the end of the war when Matthias tried to sucker punch me, and she hadn’t stood a chance. Alex was all that mattered to her now.
Well…
Tory sat in a chair before her, looking frustrated. She understood the point, but didn’t like the solution. The Huntress placed her fingers on Tory’s head, gently massaging the scalp, and a slow, pleased smile replaced Tory’s concern as her eyes rolled back into her head and she snuggled closer to the touch.
The Reds shot a smirk at their adopted mother, Tory, but their interest was soon switched to Yahn, who sat in my leather chair, legs wide open to reveal an impressive mooseknuckle. What was it about that chair that made one flaunt their magic stick? Alucard, watching the Reds like hawks, sensed their attention, and kicked Yahn’s knee hard enough to slam his legs closed.
He grunted, but a faint smile remained on his face.
He was like a new person. A bad boy.
The Reds liked this.
Alucard did not.
He continued to scowl at the dragon, not even bothering to voice his opinion on the subject at hand, which was just as well. I hadn’t wanted him to take me excluding him personally. I was excluding everyone.
“I’m glad that’s settled. But I want everyone on high alert. Secure behind doors with an escape plan in place. You should all have a handful of my tiny balls…” I said drily, waiting for their grins, “to get you out in a blink if necessary. If things go sour and I need help, I’ll know where to find you.” I leveled the room with a stare. “Because you will all be in your prearranged places, away from Chateau Falco. Don’t take any risks. These guys make Indie look like a joke. Because, well, she was,” I admitted, frowning to myself, remembering the glass pyramid sitting in my satchel. Ashley’s lips thinned, and Gunnar squeezed her thigh affectionately, nodding one time. “They’ve both had centuries to hone their skills,” I added. “And Castor, especially, doesn’t like to play fair. He will have a backup plan in place, which is why I need you all safe. I can’t deal with him or his goons kidnapping one or all of you.”
Gunnar shot me a look. “Are you trying to remind us of how stupid your plan is? Let me—”
I held up a hand, especially as I noticed Alucard suddenly paying attention, almost looking hopeful. “No, just me. If I took anyone it would be Alucard.” The vampire flinched, a wide grin suddenly splitting his cheeks as he leaned back into his chair self-importantly. Gunnar, on the other hand, looked hurt. “You have a pack to look out for.” A small smile crept onto my face. “And I’m disappointed in the lack of screams you two made back in Fae. You acted like it was your parents’ basement, when I had assumed you would wake all of Fae with your sexy time,” I muttered, winking at his suddenly crimson cheeks.
Ashley sighed, nodding faintly, which set the wolf bodyguards to chuckling softly. Gunnar shot them a look, silencing them. Ashley placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling. “We have time to practice…” she promised in a dark tone.
I clapped. “Not here! Don’t make me whip out a squirt bottle.”
The Reds burst out laughing.
“I have a few things to take care of before I leave,” I said, hoping they got the hint.
Really, I just wanted to clear my head and solidify my plan.
“You should go to the Academy. Make sure the Syndicate is locked up,” Tory said firmly.
I nodded. “I already called them. The Syndicate are safe.”
“You sure they’ll use the event at the Arch? It sounds too public, too obvious,” the Huntress asked,
ruffling Alex’s hair this time. Her eyes latched onto the black package on the desk.
I nodded. “Yes. They want a show. Not just to break me, but to let the city see it happen.”
The room grew very silent as that settled in, because it meant in all likelihood that their secret was out, too. If I fought these two with magic in downtown St. Louis, someone was bound to catch it on camera, and with all the coverage the event was going to get, that meant some of those cameras would be news crews.
“I don’t really have a say in the matter. If I don’t show tonight, they say they’ll kill thousands.”
“Do you have any idea which one sent you the message?” Tory asked.
I shook my head, wondering. I really had no idea.
“It doesn’t really matter, does it? I need to kill them both, unless by some miracle I can convince Matthias that I didn’t kill his son,” I said, knowing I had no chance of that.
Alucard stood, shooing the others from the room. Tory watched him curiously, sensing his new level of confidence, no longer a melancholy vampire. She shot me a brief smile, silently thanking me for whatever I had done.
I shrugged, returning the look.
All I had done was let him be a monster. Told him it was okay to be himself.
That we had loved him when we first met him, so he had never needed to change.
Still, I wasn’t going to stop teasing him. I just wished the religious thing was still a problem to him. That had been good times. I realized I was laughing in an empty room and cut off abruptly.
A form slithered off one of the bookshelves, hopping onto the back of a chair, purring with his tail arched up high. Then he suddenly shimmered into a bipedal cat. Talon the Devourer.
He sat facing me, silver eyes thoughtful and hungry. “You didn’t tell them.”
I shook my head, not speaking.
“Why?”
“They wouldn’t understand…” I sighed, shaking my head.
War Hammer: A Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Book 8 (The Temple Chronicles) Page 24