Banished
Page 8
Lelantos came and stood before her and held out his sword toward the darkness.
“What is a Titan doing helping a daughter of Zeus? We should slay you along with her.”
The words seemed to hiss and elongate when pronounced. Chloe stood and pulled out a gun she’d found in Cian’s armory. Lelantos looked at her with a raised brow. “Why would I use a sword when I can use a gun,” she said, cocking the pistol.
“True,” he said, turning back toward the menacing dark. “Show yourself.”
The two hideous forms came into the light and Chloe stopped herself from gasping. Fear unlike she’d ever known crawled across her skin making her wish to run from the cave and never return. These women were evil and old. The fact they had lived for so long and survived the wrath of the gods was testament to how strong they were.
Chloe kept her gaze averted from their face and instead just listened to the many snakes covering their heads slither and hiss at them. “Like you I’ve been banished. As punishment, my father Zeus has killed the man I love. I need your help.” Their high-pitched laugh made her cringe.
“We will not help you. We do not help anyone.”
“Yes you will,” Chloe let her voice take on the commanding tone of a god who’d not be disobeyed. She hated herself for doing it. This wasn’t her. Not anymore. And yet, if it would return Cian from the dead she’d do anything to have him back.
“Your weapons are useless against us, goddess Chloe. You should know we’re immortal. Medusa was the Gorgon who was not and as you know she’s been dead a very long time.”
“I’ll do anything you wish but I need the blood from your right side. It’s the only way I’ll ever see the man I love once more.”
The two sisters looked at each other, seemingly to speak telepathically in some way. “Anything?” they hissed in unison.
“Anything,” Chloe repeated.
“What if what we wish is not possible from you?”
Lelantos stilled beside her and Chloe wondered what these two hideous beings could possibly want from the titan. Unless ... it was the same as she. “Name it.”
“We want to be free of this prison. No longer do we wish to hide away in the dark. We long for light.”
“Your souls are dark and dark is where you will stay.”
Chloe started at the menace she heard in Lelantos’s words. How had she managed to go from a Scottish holiday to being on a remote island in Italy, hidden in a dark, dank cave with an immortal titan and gorgons?
“True, titan but still this is what we wish.”
Lelantos turned and pulled Chloe toward the entrance. “They cannot be allowed to walk free on earth. Their whole existence is based around pain, killing and creating havoc.”
“Much like a titan’s,” Chloe said, instantly regretting her words as Lelantos’s gaze darkened with temper. “I’m sorry.”
“Do not cross me, Chloe.” His tone as sharp as a knife. “What do you want,” he said keeping his back to the sisters.
“We want the gift of the unseen.” The two sisters hissed.
Chloe met Lelantos’s dark gaze and knew he was furious with her getting him involved with the gods and their enemies once more. “We shall give you this gift in payment of your blood. But take heed you will never be allowed from this island. And after today where you live will no longer be seen by man.”
“What!” Lelantos yelled.
“I’ve never read anywhere that your powers were limited to flesh. Why can’t you make the island disappear,” she whispered so the gorgons couldn’t hear.
“Fine,” he said. “Now get this bloody blood so we can leave. They cannot be trusted.”
“You have our promise,” Chloe said. “Lelantos will give you the gift of the unseen and you’ll supply me with blood from the right side of your body.”
“We are in agreement.” The gorgons disappeared into the dark once more before returning with a vial of crimson blood. They sat it down on a boulder and stepped away.
“Careful Chloe,” Lelantos said, clasping her hand.
Chloe walked slowly toward the vial all the while looking at the floor.
“Do not touch her, gorgon, or your longed for freedom will be the least of your problems.”
Chloe bit back a smile at Lelantos’s protective spirit. For a titan, he was actually not that bad if you could limit the time you spent with him. She picked up the vial and slowly walked back toward the entrance.
Lelantos pulled her out into the sunshine. Chloe squinted in the bright light and smiled down at the blood clasped tight in her hand. She inwardly laughed at Zeus. The all-powerful god wouldn’t win this time. For the first time in one thousand years, she’d out-smarted him.
It was a heady feeling.
Lelantos waved his arm and Chloe grabbed hold of him when nothing but air and ocean sat beneath her feet. “Your powers are amazing.” She looked about and couldn’t believe the island seemed to no longer exist.
“Yes, aren’t they,” he drawled in a bored tone. “Now, get me the hell out of here before those gorgons change their mind and wish us to stay.”
“What about your reward?” she asked.
He smiled and the gesture instantly put her on guard. “When I need you, I know where to find you.”
Chloe wondered what she had agreed to. She nodded and clasped his hand. “So be it, titan.”
Chapter Twelve
Chloe knelt on the floor at the base of Cian’s bed and stared at the pile of ash. It was all she had left of him and she prayed what she was about to do worked. Of course it would work, there wasn’t any other option allowed.
After dropping Lelantos back in the New York bar she’d found him in, she traveled straight back to Scotland. Having been so frantic to get Cian back, she hadn’t even thought of a maid coming into his room and cleaning up, sweeping up Cian’s ashes. At the sight of them where they’d said goodbye, relief flowed through her veins like a drug.
This would work.
The vial was warm and she pulled out the cork before pouring it onto Cian. The blood seemed thick and almost paste-like in texture. Chloe watched as the dark crimson fluid started to bubble before her eyes. She scuttled back and prayed her plan for resurrection would work.
The ash started to rise and swirl like a small storm before twisting higher into the room. Chloe could see the image of a body taking shape and hope rose in her chest. Within moments what once was lost stood before her; Cian.
He stood there silent and unmoving, his gaze unfocused and confused. Chloe leapt into his arms and welcomed his closing tight embrace around her back. “Oh, Cian thank god you’re back. I thought I’d lost you.”
The rumble of his laugh was music to her ears. She snuggled harder against him. “I thought it was the end too, lass.” He paused. “How did you do it?”
Chloe sighed and told him what she’d done. About finding Lelantos and the gorgons in Italy.
“For a woman who’s only known herself to be a god for a few days you’ve certainly taken to its perks very well.”
Chloe laughed. “With the knowledge comes the memories of everything I was capable of and who I knew as a goddess. The divine walk among men all the time without them knowing and I’m one of them. But there is something else you must know.” Chloe pulled Cian over to the chair before the fire and sat him down.
He sat and for the first time since having him back Chloe realized Cian was naked. She pulled a throw rug off the bed and placed it over his lap, before she had the urge to welcome him home as he truly deserved.
“What is it?” he asked, pulling her down to sit beside him.
Chloe smiled and pushed a lock of hair from his brow. How she loved him. Wouldn’t allow anyone to take what she cared for most in the world. “I’ve ensured the gods can no longer see us. The mortal world can, but no one from up there,” Chloe said, pointing skyward.
Cian shook his head. “And this will keep us safe, how?”
“Zeus’s power
is useless against us now. Obsolete even. Zeus cannot attack what he cannot see.”
“How?” Cian kissed a line down her neck, and for a moment Chloe lost all train of thought. His lips were soft yet insistent and always left her yearning for more.
“I mentioned before I found a Titan, Lelantos who hates my father as much as I hate his decree. We have an agreement.”
“Chloe ...”
The warning in Cian’s tone made her cringe. Lelantos wasn’t trustworthy. She knew that more than anyone. Gods, no matter they be Greek or Roman were not to be trusted. Yet, she had no choice. Zeus was too powerful to go up against again. The next time she may not be as lucky.
“I have you back thanks to the gorgons so let’s not worry about what has been and what could never come. Can we just enjoy life and live each day as if it was our last.”
Chloe wiggled and came to straddle his legs. She felt along his chest before feathering kisses down his neck. Heat pooled at her core when she slipped her hand inside the throw rug and stroked along his hardened length.
“Do I even want to know what a gorgon is?” Cian groaned and, throwing his head back, closed his eyes.
Chloe laughed. “Do Medusa and her sisters mean anything to you?” She stopped her ministrations and waited for Cian to look at her.
“You saw them.” Cian looked at her with utter wonderment and she nodded.
“They are the reason I have you back. They had something I could give them and in exchange they helped me.” She smiled.
“Marry me, lass.”
Chloe gasped and wondered if she’d heard right. Never had she thought such words would mean so much to her. As a god, marriage had always meant advancement, strategy, a way in which you brought more power and influence within the hallowed halls of Mt Olympus.
But at Cian’s heartfelt question, tears pricked her eyes. Having lived in the mortal world had changed her. It had given her the opportunity to feel emotion. To care. To love.
“Yes,” she said, swallowing the lump wedged in her throat. “I’ll marry you.”
Cian leaned forward and captured her mouth with the lightest kiss. A kiss that was the start of forever.
For eternity.
Coming Soon
GUARDIAN
Daughters of the Gods
Book II
Lelantos & Caitlin
About Tamara Gill
Tamara Gill's love of history started from an early age, but her reading of historical romances only began when home on maternity leave with her second son. Her writing career started as a hobby but soon turned into an obsession that is still going strong. Member of Romance Writers of Australia, Romance Writers of America, South Australian Romance Authors and The Beau Monde keep her occupied and focused on her craft and the changing trends of readers. Tamara lives in the beautiful Barossa Valley in South Australia and enjoys hearing from readers and writers alike.
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