Demigod Down

by Kim Schubert

  Pulling out a metal chair, he shoved me into it before seating himself across the table.

  “We have much to discuss,” he began tapping the table with his long sculpted fingers.

  I was done playing games - done beating around bushes and so done playing politics with idiots, which is why I had sliced through the bonds at my wrist.

  Free hands made shoving the metal table into Nari’s solar plexus far more rewarding.

  “Bitch!” He hissed at me doubling over and holding his stomach.

  I smiled and I hoped the depravity of my enjoyment of beating the shit out of him shinned out clearly, the only way to fight psycho was with psycho.

  “So tell me Nari, as the God of Chaos and all that other crap what is your special power?” I asked, leaving my blade hidden. Sometimes I just needed to tear apart something or someone with my bare hands and Nari, he better be a fucking challenge.

  “My talents are more subtle,” Nari stated smiling, “Turning the shifters into beasts in under a day has been my crowning achievement. The vampires secret was just a hunch I played. Who would have guessed they would turn psychotic at such a simple things as eating human flesh?”

  He cracked his knuckles, saying, “You don’t really want to play with me kitten.”

  I smiled, circling him, “Oh sweetheart, there is nothing I want more.”

  We hit each other with the force of a train and the pain felt wonderful. Our shoulders slammed bone on bone with Nari pulling back, grimacing.

  I smiled lowering into my stance. He grunted before charging me again. This time I swung connecting solidly with the side of his face enjoying the sound of his cheek bone breaking under the force of my blow.

  Nari bellowed in pain before lashing out with his own fists, blocking him I stepped back with the strength of his blows guarding my head. He had no professional training. His hits came in wide and sloppy. Ducking under his last blow, I kicked out connecting with his knee relishing the sound of his bones breaking before I sent a punishing upper cut to his chin throwing him back onto the concrete.

  Nari dragged himself up, his body healing faster than my own, but still slower than a shifter or vampire. Interesting. The God of Chaos had healing powers.

  “I am a God!” he bellowed at me.

  “Demigod, sweet cheeks, half-human and completely able to be killed,” I gladly reminded him.

  The door behind me swung open and I turned, pulling my knife, two on one deserved a weapon.

  Logan stood in the doorway, breathing repressed anger and hostility.

  “About time you showed up,” I informed him, straightening up and turning back to Nari.

  “Where the hell did he go?” I asked, searching the room.

  “Have you seen Kass?” Logan asked and I swung back around to him, my skin growing cold.

  “Why would Kass be in Oklahoma?” I asked, terrified of the answer.

  Logan moved to the side to reveal a terrified Lorraine. “Because he took Lorraine and Kass from St Ann.”

  Lorraine fisted her small hands into Logan’s back.

  “Fuck,” I whispered.

  Logan nodded once, we turned as one as I heard the cages behind Logan unlocked.

  “Not good,” I whispered. “You need to get ready to shift,” I told Logan, securing my grip on my dagger.

  “He can’t,” Lorraine said between shakes.

  “What do you mean he can’t?” I hissed annoyed.

  “He is too unstable. He can’t control himself,” Lorraine said wiping the last tears away from her pristine makeup.

  “Good,” I said, not seeing the problem. “We have a small army of shifters who have been forced into beasts and vampires who now like the taste of flesh, being in control is going to get us killed.”

  Logan sighed as I rounded on him, running a hand through his sooty hair, “She’s right. I’ve been ignoring my lion’s instincts for too long. I can’t control them.”

  “You don’t control instinct, you hone it,” I forcefully informed him, stepping into his personal space. “We can survive this together or die separately. Choose,” I think I just quoted history.

  The answer was in his eyes, pretty sure that was a song. The clear caramel depths flecked with dark brown, rounding as his snout pushed forward and canines elongated.

  Smacking him on the shoulder, I smiled, “Now that is what I am talking about!”

  It was just in time as well as eerie howls and cackling calls echoed off the walls to reach us. Using my dagger I sliced Logan’s belt off.

  “That was a gift!” Lorraine screeched to be heard over the growling coming at us.

  “You should never buy a shifter a real leather gift, it’s insulting for one, and second, they can’t shred it in a battle when a quick shift is needed,” I scolded her, cutting Logan room for his massive calves as his shoes were destroyed by the claws sprouting where his toes use to be. I had time for a few more quick cuts on his tie and dress shirt before the sounds were given form.

  Lorraine whimpered behind us. Logan moved slightly forward anticipation and glee in his half shifted head as he grinned back at me.

  “By all means,” I answered, shifting back slightly. The entryway wasn’t large enough for us to fight side by side and given Logan’s repressed beast, he needed to rip beings limb from limb. Really, who hasn’t been there?

  It took a few, long, painful moments of waiting until the deranged beasts realized fresh meat was only a jump and a skip away, once they made the connection they tore through each other’s limbs to get to us.

  Logan was impressive. Nothing made it past him with slashing claws and snapping teeth, he destroyed everything that came at us.

  I’m not going to lie, I was turned on by his ferocity.

  Lorraine just huddled in the corner making nonsense noises. Why was I always stuck with her when shit hit the fan?

  Lorraine screamed and I turned to see the baseball bat connect solidly with my head.

  Mother fucker.

  …

  Nari had me strapped with leather bands to the plain wooden chair. My wrists bound by my hips, my legs spread, and secured to each leg. It wasn’t a new torture technique for me as I watched him through lowered lids.

  The blow he had given me was beginning to wear off, but I wasn’t foolish enough to announce my lucidness. I made that mistake once, not again.

  To my left, I could see the water drops I could only hear earlier in the large cavern the Loki wanna be had deemed his liar. The child of the God of Chaos was bent over reading from a worn text support by an immense stone pedestal.

  Behind him there was a four poster bed with hand carved humans heads with varying facial expressions of love to pain stacked upon each other. Heavy tapestries enclosed the top from the cool air in the cave while thick black curtains hung tied back at each corner.

  A groan next to me caused Nari to jerk up with a wicked grin as he looked beside me. I recognized that groan.

  “What do you want with us?” I asked, diverting his attention away from Kass. That’s right psycho I am a much better play toy.

  He altered his direction coming towards me, the dagger in his hands gently resting against his cheek.

  “Why my dear girl, information of course,” he responded, bending at the waist to come even with me. “You are a divine specimen Olivia, well trained, homicidal, intelligent, and loyal. I want to know how to make more of you.”

  “I don’t know the answer to that,” I spat out, hating my past being brought up while I was tied up.

  “Who created you?” He asked, still toying with the dagger.

  I kept my mouth shut. The less information he had, the better.

  “Oh, come now,” He teased, strolling over to where Kass was still regaining consciousness and pulling her head up violently by her spiral hair, pressed the dagger against the soft flesh in her neck.

  The blood drained from my face as I watched him toy with Kass and her unborn child’s life. The psycho wa
s nothing if not observant.

  “Answer,” he demanded, his voice echoing in the cavern.

  “Selena,” I answered quickly.

  His mood changed quickly back into glee as he released Kass. I felt I could breathe again.

  “That wasn’t so hard,” he stated, pulling up an empty chair to straddle. “Now, where can I find Selena?” He continued, cleaning his nails with the dagger.

  “She is dust,” I replied softly.

  “Oh, dear that does portend a problem, who killed her?”

  “I did,” I answered.

  “Tell me about Selena,” he commanded, his eyes never leaving my own.

  Shifting as much as I could in the bonds, I wobbled the chair, testing its strength.

  “She was a bitch,” I informed his watchful face. “A clever, creative, powerful bitch.”

  He rested his head against his palm, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.

  “She claimed her start came in the dark ages, when magic and religion warred for answers, she was born to a worthless vampire with nothing. She learned from him all she could of her new lifestyle and killed him eternally once she was finished with him,” I continued, glad not to be talking about myself.

  Nari struck out forcefully an open palm against my cheek, rocking my head to the side.

  “I want to know how she made you,” he growled at me, slowly sitting back down.

  Cracking my neck, I tasted my own blood, as Kass’ fear skyrocketed. “I was lab created,” I replied. “Succubi were her favorite pets and she believed with the proper training, a pure blood, would be the perfect solider.”

  “Solider for what?” he asked.

  “World domination. She wanted everyone to kneel to her,” I responded, having heard her rant time and time again.

  “How were you able to defeat a semi-crazed, elder vampire?” he boomed, clearly stumped.

  “Simple,” I whispered through my bloody lip. “She confused obedience with patience,” I answered, my breathing ragged.

  “I tire of your games, succubus! Answer me!” he yelled.

  “That’s the trick, learning to play the game better than my enemies. No matter the battle, it’s always the same,” I answered, leaning heavily against my bonds.

  “That is ENOUGH!” He screamed, pulling on his hair coming at me with the dagger.

  One mistake Nari had made in tying me up was he left my long legs touching the ground. With a groan, I pushed on the balls of my feet, leaning my body backward to keep from toppling as I gained height before pushing forcefully with my quads and landing painfully on my hands and back.

  The chair I had been a prisoner in disintegrated under the pressure, releasing my hands and feet. Nari was still coming at me, the blade raised high, his eyes unstable I scrambled to my knees throwing off the leather bands around my wrists before launching myself into his torso.

  He was stronger than before, insanity heightening his powers and didn’t budge against my weight or momentum. Rolling away quickly, I avoided the downward thrust of the blade by inches.

  Shit.

  “You can’t kill me! I am the son of Loki!” He announced, holding the wide curved blade high over his head puffing his chest out.

  He was a demigod, I would grant him that, but he wasn’t the first psychotic child with an overabundance of power I had killed, nor would he be the last.

  Eyes glowing with a mad light, he charged me again. Light on my aching feet, I braced for him on the edge of the rock ledge, diving left as the blade went to cut across my torso, it nipped into the delicate skin of above my hip, cutting deep.

  Nari, unable to recognize the limits to his insanity-fueled fighting, tumbled over, the sword flying away from him.

  Grinding my teeth together, I leapt off after it, rolling once before I managed to drag my feet underneath me. I ran to close the distance between myself and the blade, my only way out of here.

  Nari latched onto my ankle twisting it painfully as I went down to my knees with a grunt, fingers stretching. I brushed the red leather hilt with just the tips before I latched onto it, flinging myself to my back and plunging it into his chest as he clamored on top of me.

  My breathing was labored as I watched the light in his eyes dull out blood sick between our bodies, “No, I am the son of a God!” He whispered.

  “You are also the son of a human,” I reminded him pushing him and the blade away with my last bit of strength.

  From the side of the caves, I could hear the shifters fighting to get to us, I considered for a brief moment just sitting there, but one look at Kass’s back and I changed my mind hauling myself up, limping on my injured ankle to the rock ledge, I pulled myself up carefully. I took a brief moment to let the dizziness of my blood loss equalize before pulling my legs underneath me.

  Freeing her hands first, I sat down as she rubbed her wrists fighting with my black spotted vision to get her feet free as well.

  “Who is coming?” she hissed at me.

  “The shifters.” I told her, releasing her other ankle as she stood striding closer to the door as two of the largest lions I had ever seen burst through the cavern walls.

  “Darren” Kass whispered as one of them leaped easily onto the stage nuzzling her close. Falling to her knees, she wrapped her arms around his neck burring her face deeply as she cried.

  The other lion, Logan sliced off Nari’s head with a claw, watching it roll across the dirt floor. “We need to burn the body as well,” I told him as he turned to me, stalking across the floor he cleared the ledge in one graceful leap. Damn cats.

  He shoved his overgrown nose at the wound in my side, bleeding freely around my fingers. “Yeah, I know, the fucker was faster than I thought,” I sighed, “Help me up.”

  Logan pushed his head under my ribcage and I stood, unsteadily, bracing my free hand against his shoulder.

  “Come on love birds,” I called to Darren and Kass as the other shifters filled in, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Kass rubbed her eyes clearing her tears, “Olie you need to ride Logan,” she informed me sliding easily on Darren’s wide back.

  “Not happening,” I informed her stumbling along slowly.

  “Olivia you are injured, losing blood, and limping heavily, you will get onto his back now,” she commanded me.

  “You are fucking lucky - all of that is true,” I muttered looking down at Logan who was looking up at me.

  “Not a word of this, to anyone,” I warned him.

  He chuffed in response, grinning. Carefully I hoisted myself onto his back and it wasn’t long before I found myself draped over him as my blood loss took its toll.

  Warm blankets wrapped around me as I rushed into a vehicle and I inhaled a familiar scent. “Blake,” I whispered, knowing it couldn’t possibly be.

  “Easy, Olie.” I heard his voice in my confused brain. “We are almost to the hospital.”

  …

  It took me three days to heal and it was an annoying three days of idleness. I refused to stay at the hospital and instead ended up parked on Darren and Kass’s couch.

  Kass was busying making dinner with the news turned on while Hannah and I played with her toys.

  “Olivia,” She called out, “You have to see this.”

  I padded into the kitchen watching the small TV she had set up. Governor Hash was being led away in handcuffs into a police cruiser.

  “It is unclear exactly how the Governor was caught on tape, but this footage shows him hiring the services of a prostitute and the use of illegal drugs.” The news reporter announced as grainy night vision footage of Hash and one of George’s girls filled the screen.

  I smiled widely, enjoying the show.

  “Grams is going to have a fit,” Kass said, returning to her cooking.

  I shrugged, not making a comment. It couldn’t have worked out better.

  …

  After dinner, I tagged along with them to the local shifter gathering for the full moon. I was
grateful for the distraction and fresh air.

  Kass stood on the edge of the clearing fidgeting with the hem of her soft shirt. The bump of the baby had just started to bulge out at ten weeks.

  Reaching out, I touched her arm gently. “You don’t have to do this,” I reminded her.

  She exhaled a broken sound, tears threatening, “Darren thinks it will be good for me to be with the pack on the full moon,” she said with a shrug.

  “You are filling an important role in their society as a mated pair. I understand his thoughts, but if you aren’t comfortable, we don’t have to,” I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

  “They’re all so beautiful,” she whispered a tear escaping down her cheek.

  I looked out to catch glimpses of the shifters chucking their clothing, laughing, and joking under the full moon glow. Their tan bodies were etched with muscle and not an ounce of fat on any of them.

  “Do you think Darren is only marrying me for the baby?” she asked softly, turning toward me.

  Shock blasted through my system, “He better not be,” I answered before I remembered myself. “Why would you say that?” I asked, trying to get myself together.

  She shrugged, “Everyone keeps saying that behind my back.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  Kass smiled, “You can’t kill them, Olie,” she reminded me.

  “HA, watch me,” I answered, wishing I had more than my silver knives hidden.

  “You really are my best friend,” She said leaning her head against my shoulder, soft tears shedding from her eyes, “Not even Darren would offer to kill someone for talking trash.”

  “Yes, but he also far more stable than I am,” I informed her.

  She shrugged, “Who the hell needs stable?”

  “I never seemed to,” I admitted, holding her close. The interaction was foreign to me, I cared for Kass and her wellbeing. I knew being a shifter/succubus pair was a difficult road, but I would stand beside them each and every step of the way. She was happy and maybe in some long dark corner of my heart, I thought someday I could have that same happiness.

  My mind drifted to Blake and I wished he was here, but two succubi, shifters, and a vampire was probably a bad combination.