“Hecate?” Orion touches my cheek.
“I’m fine...but I hit the ground pretty hard. And...and the baby.”
His eyes widen.
He says nothing. Blaise says nothing. Silence seems to swallow us whole.
“You’re...pregnant?” Orion finally manages.
I nod. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you. I didn’t want you to feel...stuck with me.”
A strange look comes over his face, and he slides me into his arms and stands. I look at Blaise. There’s uncertainty in his face, but as Orion starts forward, Blaise is forced to continue walking.
The silence between us now is charged, but I’m not sure how. Is Orion angry with me? He seems angry, and he won’t even look in my direction. And Blaise? He keeps glancing back as if concerned about Orion, so I know I’m not the only one thinking this isn’t a good sign.
Still, Orion continues to carry me through the tunnels, neither slowing or stopping. I look between Blaise’s back and Orion, trying to gauge how they are feeling. But after a time, I feel too damned tired. Resting my hands on my baby, hoping and praying that the child inside is safe, I let myself drift off to sleep.
When I startle awake, I have no idea how much time has passed, but we’ve reached another resting place. They undo my cloak, and Orion gently sets me down on top of it. I sit up, strangely wide awake now, and feeling lost and confused.
“Are you upset?” I blurt out.
Both men look surprised.
“Andros and I didn’t plan this. It just happened.”
Orion hesitates, and then says, “And you’re certain the child is my brother’s?”
Fury unleashes inside of me. “Are you suggesting I was with someone else?”
“Gargoyle pregnancies are rare. And given the circumstances, almost impossible in this situation.”
I’m blinded by rage. I stand, grab my cloak, and say, “I’ll finish the rest of the journey alone,” before marching toward the tunnels.
Blaise blocks my escape. “You can’t go alone. It isn’t safe.”
“Watch me!” I say, trying to get around him.
But he won’t move.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I growl.
“I’m sorry,” Orion says behind me, and there’s something so raw and vulnerable in his voice, that I can’t help but turn back around. “It’s just so...wonderful. It’s hard to believe that something this good could happen.”
“You think it’s good?” I say, heart hammering.
He smiles. “Of course it’s good! We’re going to have a child.”
“Well, you’re an ass for implying it wasn’t your brother’s,” I say, mad even though I’m starting to calm down.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
“I’ve always liked kids,” Blaise blurts out. “I kind of pictured myself as more of the fun uncle than a dad, but if Orion is the strict, grumpy one, and Andros actually knows how to take care of a kid, then I can keep the baby smiling.”
I look back at him. “You paint a beautiful picture.”
Blaise takes my hand, and we walk back to the ring of stones. Orion hugs me, and then Blaise hugs me too. When I draw back, they’re both looking at my stomach.
I can’t help but laugh. “I’m not far along. Just a few weeks.”
Orion’s gaze snaps back up to my face. “And you’re sure?”
I nod. “A doctor told me and everything.”
I swear Orion gets the silliest grin on his face, and Blaise smiles while he goes around and picks up firewood. I lay my cloak back down and sit down, touching my stomach and chest where it struck the ground. Everything feels okay. I only hope that means everything is okay.
Before a few minutes pass, Blaise has a fire going, and Orion sets out to make soup in a pot over the fire. I go back to the small lake where the falling water has pooled, drink, then undress and bathe. The two men join me after a few minutes, and it’s kind of cute when they can’t seem to decide what to look at, my stomach or my boobs.
When the soup smells too delicious to ignore any longer, we all dry and dress, then return to the fire. Orion spoons out food to everyone, and I notice he gives me a bigger helping than usual.
I lift a brow and look in his direction.
“What?” he replies grumpily. “You should have told us before. A pregnant woman needs certain things...like more food and water, and more breaks. We shouldn’t have been pushing you at this pace.”
I laugh. “I’m pregnant, not broken.”
His frown deepens. “We should’ve been more gentle with you. Even the sex…” His eyes widen and his gaze goes to my stomach. “Could we have hurt the baby when we were...when we were?”
I laugh until I’m crying, my bowl of soup in my lap. “You’ve seriously lived this long and know that little about how a woman’s body works?”
He glares.
I try to stop laughing, but can’t. My words come out broken between laughter and gasps for breath. “You’re both well-endowed, but the baby’s too far for you to hurt.”
Blaise starts to laugh too, then eats his soup, grinning between us.
Orion gives an angry humph, but he’s trying to hide a smile.
We all eat, and the conversation moves to other things. By the time the soup pot is empty, we’re all yawning. Orion cleans out our pot and the plates, then puts them away. When he’s done, he hesitates, then glances at me, looking nervous.
“What is it?” I say, lying on the cloak by the fire.
These guys might not realize it, but even grumpy, they have a way of treating me like a princess. If I have to spend the rest of my life with three men cooking, cleaning, and caring for me like I’m someone special, I think I’ll be the happiest woman alive. And that thought creates such a sense of relief inside of me.
Orion clears his throat. “Would it be okay if I laid by you tonight?”
“Me too,” Blaise says, perking up.
I laugh. “Of course.”
We readjust our blankets so that I’m sleeping in the middle of the two guys, and it’s absolutely wonderful. If Andros had been lying there with us, it would’ve been perfect. But I sigh and close my eyes, loving how safe I feel between. Loving how we all seem to fit together.
“We should have done this from day one,” Blaise says, wrapping his arm around my waist.
I snuggle closer to them. “Yeah, we should have.”
“So is this all your spell?” Orion asks, his voice sleepy.
“No.” I smile against his back. “This is just us.”
Sleep tugs at my thoughts. I feel warm and safe in a way I only ever dreamed of back in that cold cell. This cavern between the Underworld and the surface could really be some strange kind of paradise for us, if not for the uncertainty of Andros.
Just the thought of it makes my muscles tense. What if we get to the surface and he’s not there? What if all of this is for nothing? I don’t want to think about what it could mean if Andros could never come to the surface. Because at any other time, I’d simply go back to be with him. But with the child inside of me, I couldn’t condemn him or her to a life in the Underworld.
Which means...I can’t think about it.
Blaise’s hands are suddenly on my shoulders, and those magical hands of his begin to rub the tension away. I feel my body relax. If I wasn’t so exhausted, I might ask him to let those perfect hands of his wander to other places on my body. But instead, I feel sleep’s call and move towards it.
Which is exactly when I feel the magic inside of me go wild.
I jerk, sitting up.
“What’s wrong?” Blaise asks.
Orion turns around and frowns at me.
My heart races. I stretch my magic out and feel something dark and evil. Something far too close.
“It’s come for us,” I say, my voice trembling.
It isn’t just that the mysterious enemy Persephone’s lover warned us about is here. I
t’s that my magic can sense the evil and power that radiates from it, and the strength of it is more than I expected.
After everything we’ve been through, I’m not sure this force is something we can defeat.
21
Gary
Reports are coming in from various Brotherhoods. Monsters that were long dead are found alive. Some are causing unimaginable chaos. But some seem to be smarter. We hear strange reports of missing people and unexplainable deaths, but no one else would suspect it’s tied to whatever the hell had been led out of the Underworld.
“There’s so much wrong with this,” Elizabeth says beside me. “Someone had to lead those souls back out. But who? And they came at a record pace. What allowed them to travel so fast?”
The answer is simple. “There must have been creatures that weren’t dead...that were simply taken by Hades and brought to the Underworld. Not even souls, but flesh and blood creatures. And they must have had the will to lead the rest of them out, and the power to do it quickly.”
“My Gods,” Elizabeth whispers.
Charles, a rather new Elite, speaks from Elizabeth’s other side. “Gargoyles are being hurt. No one has died yet, but it’s only a matter of time. The only Brotherhood that seems to be successful across the board is Rokad’s group, but the reports of what they’re doing...they don’t make sense.”
I had heard the tales too. That damned mixed breed group is fighting like demons rather than gargoyles. They have no mercy, no honor. They simply kill and kill. I have some doubts about who is more dangerous: the monsters or that band of brothers.
Unfortunately, as much as my people have been filling my time with dealing with this shit, I have a more important task. A task that means keeping my head firmly in place.
I stand. “Well, let me know if you hear anything more.”
As I climb down the steps from the dais, Charles’s voice stops me. “If we keep fighting like this, there will be no gargoyles left.”
I look back at him, irritated. “So what? We stop being gargoyles? We stop being protectors and just let the humans die?”
“No,” he says, then draws himself up taller. “But maybe we find an ally to help us with our task.”
I instantly knew what he’s thinking. My nose wrinkles. “Not a chance in hell. Not while I rule the gargoyles.”
And then I turn and storm out of the building. I walk through the town, where there’s an air of fear. Wounded men stride past. Women gather together with the few children in the village. But none of the female monsters and their men are to be seen. I don’t know whether they’re out fighting, getting themselves killed, or if they’ve left us all behind and may be the final gargoyles on earth before this is over.
I think of my cripple son and sneer. No, not gargoyles: outcasts with their freak wives and mixed-breed children.
People try to stop me, as they have done over and over again, but this time I risk being rude or making enemies and leave them all behind. The noise of the town grows quieter. I push between the leaves and branches of the woods of the sanctuary and start my search for Andros’s body. It’s true that I have never actually gone to their house, but I know that with enough time, I’ll find it.
And then? Then I will remove the gargoyle’s head. Hades will be happy. And I’ll be free from the ghosts of my past.
It will be easy.
Time passes, and I begin to curse Orion and his miserable brother. The sanctuary had been built as a peaceful place. There is no need to hide their home, at least no reason they could’ve known. I have other things to do. Eventually, people might notice I’m missing, and when Orion returns, I could be blamed. I can’t just keep putting off finding the body, but I need to find it now, or start again in the morning.
I keep going, my irritation growing. I glance up at the sun and realize I’ve definitely been gone too long. Feeling angry, I start to turn to go, and I spot it. The little house nestled in the woods.
A grin spreads my lips. I call my sword to me and feel it shimmer onto my back. Reaching behind me, I grab the hilt of my weapon and step forward.
This is one secret that will stay dead.
22
Blaise
The fire still burns in the ring of stones, but our gear has been packed up. We all sit with our backs pressed against the wall. Orion and I hold our swords, and we all stare toward the entrance to this cave.
At first, Hecate had seemed on the edge of hysteria as she described some terrible force that was closing in on us. She’s muttered about the magic, about how our enemy was too strong, stronger than even us, and then she’d seemed to pull herself together. She’d pressed a hand to her stomach and swore that she would get her child free, and then we’d set to preparing.
I think both Orion and I hadn’t been entirely sure she was right about the force closing in on us. As time ticked away, we’d regarded each other over her head and said nothing. I already care more for this woman than I’d cared for any woman in my lifetime, but her being pregnant makes me see her as somehow both more precious and more fragile. Orion, on the other hand, is doing his best not to show just how panicked he is.
He cares for her. He might even already be in love with her. But the fact that she carries our child means that she is more important to him than anything in this world. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at her. But what’s more, I think he’s finally able to picture a happy future after so long being miserable, and that’s incredible.
And we both know it.
But as time passes, a strange feeling comes over me. One like a cold breeze sweeping over my skin. But it’s not just cold. It holds a dangerous air...almost a scent. Definitely a feeling. And I, too, know that something bad is coming for us.
And based on the way Orion has lifted his sword, he feels it too.
“What is it?” I finally ask, the feeling crawling down my spine and making every hair on my body stand on end.
Neither of them answer for a moment before Hecate slowly does. “I don’t know. I’m familiar with all kinds of magic, but this magic stinks of a god’s power too. It’s like something new and disturbing has been created, so strange that even my magic fears it.”
“That can’t be good,” I say. If Hecate doesn’t know what this magic is, it has to be something rare.
Orion surprises both of us by speaking. “Whatever it is, Blaise and I will kill it, and you will stay safe.”
Hecate laughs. “I’m the first witch. I’m powerful as fuck. I’m not going to just sit back and let you guys fight it.”
“You also have a child to consider,” Orion says slowly.
She gives him a look. “You think I don’t know that? So yeah, I won’t dive in the way of any swords, but I will be using my magic to make sure we don’t all die here.”
I can see Orion is about to argue more, so I interrupt. “So is all your magic just murmured spells over fires?”
She flashes me a smirk. “No. My magic could have wreaked havoc on the Underworld. And in the beginning, it did. But Hades used his powers against me, and defeated me each time. The magic inside of me could’ve kept fighting, but it was hurting every time I brought it down to that terrible place. When I finally accepted that I might be a match for a god on the surface, but I wasn’t in the Underworld, I stopped using my magic and just waited. Waited for the right moment. But this thing, it isn’t a god. It has something that feels like a god, but it’s not. So you two will get to see what else my magic can do.”
“Well, if there is a right moment to use those stronger powers of yours, it’ll be when we face this thing,” I tell her. I mean to keep things light, but my words come out strangely dark.
She nods, and her gaze hardens as she glances back at the door.
Suddenly, the fire is quenched, leaving behind nothing but burning coals. Smoke rises above it and the shadows close in around us. I alight my wings, but it’s like seeing through smoke. The light from my wings bounces off dark, unnatural clouds. An
d the fact that we can’t see most of the room… it makes the whole thing more frightening.
We’re all tense. All waiting.
From out of the shadows come two figures. They aren’t like the lost souls or Andros. They’re not like the illusions of people in the bar. They’re more like dark, shadowy figures. I can see both their faces, and even clear eyes peeking out from the darkness. I can see their strong forms, and the necklaces at their throats. Both wear red gems that glow, seeming impossibly bright against their shadows. They’re almost like people that have had all the light inside of them sucked out.
Orion and I stand. We hold out our swords, and our stances are those of warriors. I tell myself that this is like all the monsters we’d fought. If we work together, we will prevail.
One of the figures smiles, then spreads out wings behind him. They’re black and sickly, but they suddenly flare with flames.
“A phoenix?” And then it hits me. “Conley?”
It’s like all the air is sucked from the room. A phoenix was the source of the evil I’d been feeling? A phoenix I knew? He’s even the man who’d found the children’s bodies on that terrible day.
“And that’s Peter, a human liaison with the gargoyles,” Orion says.
“Neither of them are what they were before,” Hecate explains, and I can tell she’s standing not far behind us. “Be careful. They’ve been given unnatural abilities.”
Conley’s smile is eerie, sending a shiver rolling down my spine. He lifts a hand toward me, and I act without thinking, springing toward him with my sword. The metal blade stabs straight into his chest, but the blade passes through like air.
His smile widens, and red magic rushes from his hand, slamming right into me. I hit the back wall. My sword is left behind, and it takes me a second to catch my breath before I spring from the wall once more.
Orion attacks the other enemy beside me. His body is in its stone form. But from the corner of my eye, I see his sword passing through the Peter man like it had done with my enemy.
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