“Don’t worry, she’s on board,” Dorian assured.
Jake’s phone rang in his pocket. He quickly put it to his ear. “Good. Send me the map. His vital signs are still…? Excellent. And you’re…? Okay. Good. I’ll meet you at the airport.”
Before he could hang up, both Marduk and Dorian were quickly by his side.
“No, you will not,” Marduk reminded him. “You’re a god, and the last thing we need is for any demons to trail you and find out about your men. They’ll rent a van and go right to Ken’s location.”
Jake nodded his head. He hated sending his guys in without him, but he couldn’t risk the mission. Jake quickly filled Gramps in about the cats, and bless his trusting heart, the agent didn’t complain once. He just said they’d watch out for the furry protectors. The agents would rent a van and go after Ken. Jake hung up, tapped a few buttons and pulled up the map he’d been sent. There. They’d taken Ken to a remote spot in the Berkshires.
Dorian took a good long look to fix his coordinates. While he concentrated, the older witch, Addie, who’d once been the warlock’s wife came up and put a hand on his arm. Dorian’s jaw tightened.
“Be careful.” She sent an imploring look into the warlock’s face. Jake knew the tension that existed between the two, and how dangerous Dorian could be. He gave props to the older woman for daring to address her ex. Jake looked around. It seemed he wasn’t the only one holding his breath, waiting for Dorian’s response.
“I will,” the warlock finally said, then smiled with everything but his eyes. “Because we have unfinished business.” He disappeared with no fanfare. The cats followed.
****
Dorian arrived at what looked to be a dilapidated hunting lodge, old and long-abandoned. It still had a roof and a floor, but not much more. Every window had been broken out, and as he entered, he saw large holes in the walls that had been letting in the outside elements and rodents for years, if the water stains and plethora of droppings stood testament.
Besides Matthew and Ken, a table with chairs stood in the center of the room and a sturdy pine bed with a mattress sat off to one side; obviously recent additions acquired by the new residents. Dorian could tell some kind of barrier currently lay in place that made the structure weather tight, but the pair hadn’t thought to erect protection against immortals yet. Or perhaps Matthew had lowered those barriers to come back in with Ken, forgetting to fortify them again. Whatever. Lucky for Dorian.
From what the warlock knew of Beletseri, the pair couldn’t have lived here long. No way the fussy goddess would put up with these bleak accommodations for any period of time. If she planned on staying, a newer and more luxurious headquarters would be in the offing.
His ears attuned to a lot of noise from outside. Perhaps she had demons enlisted to erect a new building even now.
Dorian chose to remain invisible and get the lay of the land. Matthew paced the floor, limping and cursing, bleeding freely from a wound in his leg. The warlock sensed that the god waited for his consort. Ken lay tied up on the floor in the corner, still unconscious.
Dorian had a quick chat with his invisible cats, and ascertained that no demons lingered in the structure. Good. He wondered if he could take advantage of that and somehow incapacitate the god. It would be difficult. Any magic would bring the outside demons scurrying in. On second thought, his best bet would be to wait, and listen.
“Fucking gods.” Matthew swore and punched a wall that presented full of holes already. “And where is she?” He obviously spoke of Beletseri. “Always taking off and leaving me to do the dirty work,” he groused, and spit in the direction of Ken. “Well, at least I brought her a hostage. Maybe she can get the information she wants out of him.”
Dorian wondered what kind of information Bel wanted, and grimaced. It didn’t bode well for the agent who wouldn’t give up anything willingly. Before he could think further, the evil goddess misted in.
“Matthew my love, how is…” She stopped when she got a look at the blood he trailed all across the dusty floor. “What happened?” Dorian was surprised at her tone. It sounded like she actually cared. Beletseri led a grimacing Matthew over to the bed and had him sit down.
He answered her, sullenly. “I went to check on things in the Blue Hills, and as I traveled in, I noticed a car leaving. I dropped down to investigate and found one of the Plymouth witches and him.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the bound Ken, “They were attempting to gain the main road.” Dorian could see that Matthew enjoyed the goddess’s “what-the-fuck” surprise as when she noticed the downed agent.
“I knew the witch would do us no good, that she’s too old to be a Chosen, so I took him instead. With a little persuasion, you can probably get all your questions answered, or exchange him for his sister.” Now he really resembled a pouty little boy, but Bel seemed to be eating it up.
“My poor, brave baby,” the goddess crooned. “Let me see why you’re not healing.”
Dorian almost gagged, but Matthew only snorted. “I’m thinking by the amount it hurt, they were using osmium bullets. Luckily it’s just a graze.”
Dammit, thought Dorian. Just their luck. He hoped the bastard would need to get a bullet dug out and be incapacitated for a while.
Beletseri went to a large bag he hadn’t noticed before, and extracted food and plates, before grabbing a bottle of water and a couple of cloth napkins. She soaked one of the cloths on the way back to Matthew. “This isn’t the best, but it will have to do. As an immortal, you can’t get infected. We just need to stop the bleeding until you heal.” She gently lifted his pant leg and swabbed carefully at the long abrasion. Was this the same rabid woman Dorian had met before? Who knew she could be so tender. Her love for her companion became apparent while she wrapped his shin in the other napkin. Dorian needed to keep in mind what the god she tended meant to Bel. It could be used as leverage in the future.
The warlock’s attention shifted to Ken, who let out a loud groan.
“It looks like our guest is waking up.” Beletseri’s voice held glee. She strode across the room with the rest of the water bottle clutched in her hand, and poured its contents over Ken’s head. The agent gasped and spluttered, abruptly coming to.
“Wha…? Angie?” He shook, confused for a moment, and tried to sit up, but convulsed and grabbed his ribs. Then, involuntarily, he leaned over and emptied his stomach. The goddess watched in disgust until he finished.
“That’s sickening,” she grimaced, and walked over to the door. She yanked it open and took a deep breath. “I need two of you, right now.” She yelled for demons. Dorian shrank back deeper into the shadows. They couldn’t see him, but he didn’t want any of them tripping over his invisible self, either. Two ugly-ass, Hell-creatures wafted in. They weren’t cloaked, not sensing a need.
“Bring him to me,” Bel said to one, standing as far from the spewage as possible, “And you. Clean that up,” she added to the other.
The first grabbed Ken by the collar and dragged him across the room. Dorian could see the fragile grip the agent had on lucidity as the pain of what looked to be broken ribs and a concussion rolled through his body. It took all Ken’s strength to lock his teeth together and keep from screaming.
“What’s your name, human?” Bel didn’t get too close. The warlock knew she didn’t trust Ken to keep the rest of his stomach down. As Dorian had guessed, Ken wouldn’t give up a word.
“So you want to play it like that? Fine.” Now a more familiar, malevolent look graced the goddess’s countenance. Dorian felt like his feet were on firmer ground with the compassionate Bel at bay. “I do love a nice torture session,” she taunted. “What shall it be, hmmm?” She gave him a nudge with her shoe.
Ken turned cold, determined eyes to Bel, and she gave what could only be described as a delicious shiver.
“It looks like you’ll be able to withstand quite a bit,” she chortled, then turned and gave her brightest smile to Matthew. “Thank you so much for t
his.” She blew him a kiss. “I, for one, am going to have such fun.” She snapped her fingers at minion number one.
“Take him to the shed. Make sure he sees where we’ll hang his bound hands from one of those meat hooks on the ceiling. We’ll see just how much he can handle.”
Dorian flitted out the door, along with the two cats, while the bad guys remained busy. He’d be first to the shed. Maybe there was something he could do.
Chapter Twelve
Kulla woke to a noise that sounded familiar. He had to be dreaming. The divine architect could swear he heard the chink, chink of a stone mallet, but…impossible. He glanced at the clock. Damn. This healing business took a lot out of him. Huh. Nine in the morning, and normally he would have been up for three or four hours by now. Boredom sure had a way of screwing with your schedule; lying around with nothing to do except read books and watch talk shows. He moved the cover off his legs and took stock. Maybe three or four more days before he could walk. If he didn’t go out of his mind first.
He wondered that no one had come to bring him breakfast. Normally Bee-Dee would have woken him with the promise of bacon and pancakes. He speculated at what might be up. The noise came again. Tools on stone. Was someone messing with his ziggurat?
Absu? He called to the god who took care of most of the cooking. What’s going on? Has Obedience picked up my breakfast yet?
She is making haste to your location as we speak, the god with proper English came back.
Thanks, man. Kulla thought that Absu seemed out of breath. Odd. Could that have something to do with the delay of breakfast? Had Absu slept in with his new bride, Charlie? Kulla couldn’t blame him. Once Kulla had his say, and mated Obedience, nothing would get him out of bed…for weeks.
His acute hearing detected noise at the far end of the exterior corridor, then voices.
“Fast. Fast.” Maity chortled in glee. Kulla wondered what had Charlie’s toddler so excited. He smiled. The tiny girl, one of the newest residents of the Blue Hills and irresistibly adorable, had a lot of grown-up-goddess powers. Without hesitation, Kulla made a mind-connection.
Hey Maity, baby. What’s got you so noisy this morning?
Prize Unca Kulla. No tell.
It sounds like you’re headed my way. He didn’t have a clue what Maity meant. Are you coming for a visit? He’d read her book after book about bunnies and kitties over the last few days, and figured he’d be in for more. She’d been relentless once she’d found out she had a captive audience, but he’d been happy for her joyous company, breaking up the monotony of the days.
She didn’t answer. Kulla heard laughter again from the hall. This time he recognized Bee-Dee’s chortle mixed with Maity’s giggle. Two bubbly girls? What were they up to?
He didn’t have to wait long to get his answer. The door burst open and Maity launched toward his bed. “Unca Kulla,” she squealed, being swept up in his arms and held aloft. “Go for ride.” He wiggled her back and forth in the air before settling her down by his side and taking a look over toward Bee-Dee, who’d followed Maity in.
“What the hell?” His face turned from puzzled to pleased in the second it took him to see their offering. “A wheelchair?” he grinned. “Why didn’t we think of that before?”
“We did,” Obedience assured him. “But Dr. Dani didn’t want you moving around. We just got special permission this morning.” She slid the chair close to the bed. “Maity’s tried it out and thinks it works just fine.”
“Ride. Unca, ride.” She tugged on his arm to get him to move, clearly impatient.
“Are you taking me down to breakfast?”
“No.” Maity shook her head in that exaggerated, goofy little kid way, and it looked like she would say more, but caught a shake of Bee-Dee’s head not lost on Kulla. The three year old clapped a hand over her mouth.
“What are you two up to?” Kulla questioned, poking Maity in the belly. But he didn’t get anything out of either of them as they broke into spontaneous laughter again.
“It’s a surprise Uncle Kulla,” the witch mocked. “Now be a good god and get in the chair.” It looked like he had no choice. Maity, behind him, shoved on his back while Obedience held the chair steady.
“Pants?” he questioned, pointing toward a bureau. “Top right hand drawer. Sweat shorts.” Bee-Dee found what he wanted, and threw them his way. He quickly tugged them on under the blankets, working them easily up his now semisolid legs.
“I have a request,” Kulla grunted as, using his hands, he shifted his weight from bed to chair. “Since I have this new mode of transportation, could I take a minute to roll into the bathroom?” He’d been using bed-pan facilities for far too long, and also really wanted to brush his teeth. He’d talk about an actual bath later. After the sponge/enticing one he’d received from Obedience, he’d denied her any more access to his body. His brothers, under duress, had been employed as sponge-bath-maids ever since. They’d be happy if and when he had the clearance to move, even if it meant they had to hold him up in the shower. Anything sounded better than having him lay out like a slab of beef for his friends to handle.
He could see Obedience mulling over his request. “Okay. We’ll give you five minutes.”
“Sold.” Kulla manned the wheels and rolled to the first privacy he’d had in days. Pure luxury.
Four and a half minutes later he wheeled out, feeling way more immortal than when he’d gone in. He’d even defied orders and put some pressure on his jelly legs with some success. It wouldn’t be long.
“Okay ladies,” he put his hands out to Maity. “I’m all yours.” The toddler leaped into his lap and Obedience took up the handles. “Mush,” he cried. His mood certainly improved with added mobility.
Bee-Dee wheeled him down the hall to the elevator, where they traveled to the first floor. When the doors opened, Huxley and Enten were standing by, looking suspiciously dusty, and didn’t say a word before each grabbed a side of his chair, lifting him easily.
Kulla recognized stone dust when he saw it. “You two have been working this morning?” he questioned, and not waiting for any denial they might make, added, “I heard mallets.”
“Just be patient,” his little witch intervened. Kulla’s stomach growled when they were almost at the front door. “Shit. I forgot your food. Take him by way of the kitchen, guys. He needs breakfast to go.” The pair spun about, and headed toward the back.
“To go where?” Kulla grew impatient, and so did Maity. He shifted the squirming little girl in his arms. Obedience did a lock-her-lip motion and pocketed an invisible key.
Big. Maity squirmed to tell him, so much that the sneaky chit resorted to private mind speak.
What’s big, sweetness?
Rocks.
The one word didn’t give him much to go on, except with the added clue of stone-dust, and the absence of other residents. He looked around again. Nope. Nobody in the kitchen and adjoining rooms that he could see or hear. He had his suspicions.
Are the uncles and aunts working on my ziggurat? he asked Maity. She nodded her head then wiggled up under his arm, hiding her face in his side. Clear guilt. She knew she’d given something away she shouldn’t have.
I won’t tell, he assured her, assuaging her with a little tickle. He was rewarded with another giggle before she got down and ran outside, happy now that her mental burden had been relieved.
While he picked up a tray that held toast and eggs―not bacon and pancakes―he pondered. Kulla wondered why they would suddenly help him build. Before, it took all of his persuasion to get Jake and a couple of the Lauernley to lend him a hand.
And he’d get back to it in a few more days. Strange. The gods had better things to do…like looking for more Chosen. He took a bite of toast. He’d find out soon enough. The architect sat back and his chair-bearers picked him up again, heading outside.
“A god could get used to this,” he smirked. “But it doesn’t have the same impact if you’re not dressed as slaves.”
> “Fuck you,” Huxley said, pretending to stumble. “We could make you crawl.” His dimple popped out as he suppressed a smile.
Kulla shook his head with a mock sigh. “It would be a shame if you did damage to your wife’s star patient. She’d probably refuse to suck your cock.”
“He has a point.” Enten agreed, and turned up the cold, showing snow white teeth in a frosty smile. “You can’t take that chance. I’ll have to freeze his ‘nads off instead.” Kulla felt his balls getting chilled.
“Okay. I give. No more slave jokes.” They carried him down off the back terrace and across the yard, with Bee-Dee listening to their adolescent bantering as they went. She shook her head. Kulla laughed. Didn’t she understand that eternity wasn’t nearly long enough to keep dick-jokes out of their repertoire?
As soon as they cleared the main house, Kulla caught sight of his project.
“My gods.” he exclaimed. “How long have you been at it…and why?” The rise of four blocks had turned into seven and growing, right before his eyes.
Marduk approached, wiping his brow. He looked tired, yet sheepish. Obedience wandered off to join the crew while the boss explained.
“We’ve been at it most of yesterday, and all night. We needed to blow off some steam. None of us could sleep.” The thunder god said.
“Because…?” Kulla eyed the group suspiciously. They all stopped working and looked at him. He did a mental tally, and quickly noted the absence of Dorian and Ken. “Not all of you are here.” He stated and raised questioning brows to Marduk.
“We didn’t want you getting upset, so we blocked you from yesterday’s problems.”
Kulla watched the thunder god closely. Marduk never got this shaken unless someone in his charge came under danger.
“What happened to Ken and Dorian?” He asked flatly.
He then noted the large, imposing figure of Tiny coming around from in back of the ziggurat. “And I thought Angie left to visit Tiny,” he pointed, “not the other way around.”
Marduk clearly steeled to answer. “Ken and Angie ran into some difficulty while leaving the Blue Hills yesterday.” Marduk looked pained. “Ken was grabbed by Matthew and brought out to the Berkshires. He kept Angie safe, but not himself. Dorian being the only available non-traceable entity available followed and has been on site there ever since. In the meantime, Jake called his team from LA to come for a rescue and they brought Tiny with them. The agents dropped Tiny off on their way to the Pike.”
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