I did the same to Adam. He groaned with pleasure as more golden light screamed out of my ring, crackling across the surface of his crimson and blue orb, making him swell with power.
The storm above roared down upon us and instantly struck an invisible dome of power over Adam and Eve. The skies and clouds evaporated, and I saw a distant red glow on the horizon.
Sunrise was coming to this dark world. I smiled at my Nephilim.
“Do not utter a word of this to anyone.”
“Yes, Master Ambrogio,” they said in unison. “We live to serve.”
And then I told them my plan for tonight.
41
I stared at the fire, trying to ignore the pain in my side and the already spreading wet sensation in the new bandages Izzy had just replaced. At least my fingers were back to normal, no longer swollen and tender. I felt almost back to my usual self, but I knew that would rapidly change once I began moving and using my powers.
I had woken up from my bizarre dream with the Nephilim to find Nosh, Nero, Izzy, and Lucian waiting for me, sprawled out on the couches around the fire. Izzy had immediately forced me to consume thirty bags of blood; the entire museum had donated while I slept, amassing a large store of blood to help heal me. Izzy had then changed my bandages again, checking me over to make sure that I was as ready as possible for tonight’s events.
As she had worked, I had gone back over my dream. As concerning as the situation seemed, I felt only a calm sense of peace over my decision. That I had done a good thing.
The right thing.
And I could not tell anyone about it. I needed this secret up my sleeve in order to stand a chance against Artemis and Apollo later tonight. I would need Adam and Eve’s newly increased strength.
Because Titans were the only beings strong enough to help me take on Mount Olympus.
Hades had known it. He was banking everything on it.
Nero sat in the chair across from me, staring into the fireplace, lost in his own thoughts. He absently flexed his skeletal fingers, marveling at the new hand. Lucian was lightly dozing before the fireplace at our feet, but his ears twitched at every little sound, letting me know he was ready for violence at a moment’s notice. Nosh and Izzy were cuddled up together on the couch, smiling contentedly. I couldn’t blame them. They had survived near death in the early hours of this very morning.
I leaned forward, watching Izzy and Nosh as I subtly slid the soulcatcher from my thumb, pretending to dry wash my hands in an idle, distracted manner. Neither of them looked over.
I dropped the ring on table, the soulcatcher making a dull clinking sound. They didn’t seem to notice the sound, and they definitely didn’t notice the strange visual effect of the shadows rolling outward from it and then sucking back inward to reform the ring. Lucian and Nero remained oblivious as well.
“What are you doing?” Nosh asked, frowning at my hands absently.
I held the ring in my palm in full view, but he didn’t seem to notice it. “Fidgeting. It’s not polite to point out nervous tics,” I said sternly.
He shrugged, turning back to the fire. I put the ring back on with a thoughtful frown. Nero was shaking his head absently, muttering under his breath.
“Do your fingers hurt again?” Izzy asked.
I shook my head. “They are fine. Just restless with all this…resting.”
Nosh indicated Lucian, pointing his chin at the massive wolf. “I’m glad you finally believe I’m your son,” he said, smiling. I could tell that it wasn’t a bitter comment. He meant it. “What’s a son have to do to earn his father’s attention?” he added, chuckling. “Befriend his dog.”
I glanced down at Lucian with a fond smile, nodding. “It’s reassuring to see him recognize your scent. So many people have lied over the years that I can’t trust my heart. The skinwalker aspect really threw a wrench into the truth,” I added.
Nosh nodded, still looking at Lucian. “Do you think he’ll return to normal anytime soon?”
I nodded. “Pretty sure he’s just milking it so he can take naps while we do all the hard work.”
Nero chuckled, nodding his agreement. “Lucian always was a lazy bastard.”
Lucian chuffed and lifted his head, glaring at Nero and me with those chilling golden eyes. Izzy grinned brightly.
“I think it’s incredibly sweet that he made such a strong oath. And I’m all for an extra set of eyes to keep watch on Nosh. He makes terrible decisions when left unattended.” I winced. Unattended, like him being raised without parents? That hurt, even though she hadn’t meant any such thing.
Nosh frowned, pinching her side playfully. She giggled, nuzzling her cheek against his.
Lucian lowered his head back to the floor with a tired groan.
“You know,” I said, turning to Nosh, “I was an orphan, too. Lived on the streets for most of my childhood.”
He stared down at Lucian with a distant smile. “I lived in the woods, and for much longer than my childhood. Solitude was preferable.”
“Is Nosh even your real name?” I asked, genuinely curious.
He shrugged. “I’ve had many throughout my life.” I nodded, waiting. “Nosh means father. It’s what I was always looking for. It was the first name I thought of when filling out the orphanage paperwork for my adoption to the Griffins.”
I let out a pained sigh, shifting my weight to lessen the pain in my side. “I wish it could have been different, Nosh. We missed a lot that we can never replace.”
He nodded his agreement, but then shrugged. “We are together now. That is better than what we had before. And it is almost time for Dracula to die.” He glanced over at me and then the wound in my side. “Are you going to be okay?”
I waved off his concern. Nero shifted in his seat but didn’t look over, pretending he was just getting more comfortable. He was very concerned about my wound.
I was, too.
“Why did you tear those pages out of Deganawida’s journal?” I asked, thinking back on his time spent with his shaman grandfather. Nero glanced up sharply, curious to hear the answer.
“He was researching stories about a creature in the woods killing vampires. And bad humans,” he added with a shrug. “He came closer to learning the truth than I ever knew. I didn’t want anyone finding out about our blood relationship that way. I wanted to tell you myself.”
I nodded, having expected as much. “If you knew all along who I was, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
He averted his eyes, staring down at Lucian. “I wanted to see what kind of man you really were. Just because we were related didn’t mean I wanted a relationship. Especially if you were like Dracula. There were no real stories to go on other than the ones I learned from Deganawida—and I couldn’t ask too many questions of him without making him suspicious. I figured I would get to know you myself. As a man.”
Nero eyed Nosh. “You’re one brave son of a bitch, Nosh. Mind telling us how you came to the brilliant conclusion that it would be wise to confront the Cauldron all by yourself?”
He sighed, kicking his boots up onto the table. “Because Sorin was right. I failed Natalie and Victoria. I failed with Izzy. I didn’t see Benjamin’s true colors until it was too late.”
I winced, feeling like shit. He’d needed to hear the admonition in order to rise above it. Not to go sacrifice himself. I wisely kept silent, sensing that I had done quite enough already.
Nero grunted. “No one saw that coming.”
Nosh shrugged. “But it wasn’t up to anyone else at that moment. It was up to me. I’d already hurt enough people with my mistake. I wasn’t going to add to the toll. Sorin was wounded and needed his strength to save Natalie and Victoria.” He slowly looked up. “And…even though it’s obvious that you all had full faith in my abilities,” he said dryly, “I had a plan. I might have even been able to pull it off by calling the tomahawks to me at the right moment. Maybe. You guys might have shown up to find Rowan wrapped up in a silk bow,” he sai
d, flicking his gaze at me in a meaningful way when no one else was looking.
I frowned. Silk bow…
I managed to keep my face composed when it hit me. Aphrodite’s ribbons. How she’d gotten him to say bonds and trapped Nosh. He still had them. If he could have found a way to get Rowan to say the word, he very well might have pulled it off all by himself. There had to be more to it than someone saying the word, otherwise the ribbons would have been flying all over the place with this crowd and their constant abductions.
I cast him an approving, but subtle, nod. “Well, don’t do anything that stupid ever again,” I said pompously.
He grunted and Izzy smirked, staring into the fire. I could tell that she didn’t like the topic of Nosh’s heroic act, even though it was a testament to how deeply he cared for her. Everyone liked to hear that their partner would walk through hell to save them.
Until they lived up to their words.
“For the record,” Izzy said, “if you had told me that I could actually use the tomahawk, I might have just saved myself. You heroic idiots.”
The three of us males turned to look at each other, frowning as if she had said the sun was black. She rolled her eyes.
“I’m sorry about Stevie,” Nosh said, changing the topic as he studied Lucian at his feet. “The wolves silently mourn him, but it’s overshadowed by Benjamin’s betrayal and now Lucian’s return. Very mixed feelings as a result.”
I nodded, glancing down at Lucian. I sensed an opportunity—a chance that I didn’t want to take, but that I needed to know for certain. Hecate had flatly stated that the third recipient of her gifts was not Nosh. But…her skinwalker compliments were really bothering me. “I can’t be certain,” I said as if thinking out loud, “but Stevie’s fall might be tied to Benjamin’s betrayal.”
Nosh frowned. “How so?”
“The only other people to know about that mountain were Natalie and Benjamin. And suddenly Benjamin betrays us.” I watched his reaction very carefully—as did Nero. If Nosh really was the third person to go to that mountain to make a deal with Hecate, he wouldn’t be able to tell us. But I was hoping his body language would give something away.
Nosh frowned down at Lucian. “That’s where you found him?” he asked. I nodded. “I thought you were trying to get your soul back, not find Lucian.” He looked very confused.
Izzy’s eyebrows almost climbed off her forehead upon mention of me getting my soul back. She slowly turned to glare at me—and then my wound.
I pretended not to notice. “That’s taken care of. I’ll tell you about it later.”
Nosh studied me with a suspicious frown. “Right…” He took a calming breath, placing a palm on Izzy’s thigh to calm her obvious annoyance regarding the soul topic. “So, you found Lucian on this magic mountain when you were looking for an entrance to the Underworld.” I groaned at Izzy and her practically twitching glare. “Is that why only the top three werewolves knew about the spot? Because of Lucian?”
Nero cleared his throat. “I knew about the mountain as well, but not about Lucian.”
Nosh cocked his head, looking even more puzzled. “Why would you know about it?”
Nero studied him, flexing his claws. “Necromancy stuff. And they have good hiking trails there.”
“You hike?”
“Nope. But they have good mushrooms there, too.”
Izzy was practically quivering with anger and unasked questions, but she also looked suddenly uneasy at the strange new tension in the conversation brought on by Nero’s clipped, cryptic answers. Nosh finally began to pick up on it as well. “Mushrooms,” he repeated. “Are we talking about recreational mushrooms?” he asked.
Nero grunted. “You could say that.”
Try as I might, I sensed nothing but confusion on Nosh’s face. I knew he was a good liar when necessary, but he sounded genuine.
I cleared my throat. “Stop being creepy, Nero.”
He chuckled good naturedly. “Just feeling out the crowd’s take on hallucinogenic mushrooms. I only tried them twice,” he told Nosh. “And they gave me a hell of a trip. I wouldn’t advise it.”
Nosh pursed his lips. “No thanks. I don’t even like real vision quests, let alone hallucinogenic ones,” he said, crossing his ankles. “Thanks for the warning, though.”
He glanced over at me from the corner of his eye, and I could sense the unasked question. He knew we weren’t just talking about mushrooms or hiking trails. But it was also apparent that he assumed it had something to do with Lucian. The coincidence of Nero knowing a good mushroom spot and it being the same mountain coveted by the werewolves was an impossibility.
“Well, it’s sundown,” he finally said. “I’m going to go get ready. We have a long night ahead of us.” He rose to his feet. Izzy joined him.
I nodded. “I’ll be right out.”
The two of them made their way to the door, but Nosh paused at the threshold. “For the record, mushrooms usually grow in valleys, not on mountains. Whatever that was about, you should find a better story to go with it. A good cover needs enough truths to lend credibility.”
Then he left.
Nero grunted. “Clever little shit.”
I grunted, smiling proudly. “What do you think? Is he lucky number three?” I asked, referring to the third recipient of Hecate’s gift of choice.
Nero thought about it for a few moments and then sighed. “I would say no, but he just proved how good of a liar he is.”
“Yeah. That’s my take as well,” I admitted. “he has a point, though. It is time to end this.”
“You sure about your plan? The parts you haven’t blatantly lied to me about, anyway. And the parts you outright refuse to tell me,” he added with a humorless smirk.
“To save Natalie and Victoria,” I whispered, thinking about how Nosh had been willing to sacrifice himself to save Izzy, “I would give up my revenge.” With no hope of Izzy healing me, my next best bet was to go to my castle and hope that the Soul Spring was there. And I wasn’t even sure if that would be enough—what if my soul also leaked back out of me from Artemis’ wound? If the well wasn’t there…I might just have to go back to the Underworld; that was my last option. Whatever Artemis’ arrow was capable of, only Hades seemed to know.
Thankfully, Artemis hadn’t realized I had gone to the Underworld. When she saw me handing over Dracula to the Sisters, she would be livid. Because she still thought he held value.
Dracula didn’t know it yet, but he was no longer valuable to anyone but the High Priestess for a very brutal lesson in scorning past lovers. That was good enough for me.
I needed to keep Olympian involvement a secret for a little while longer, per Hades’ warning. After tonight, I would make my own decisions on the matter. Hell, after giving the Nephilim Titan souls, maybe I’d already started making my own decisions. Hades had never specifically stated that he knew what my plan was.
“All that matters, is that Dracula dies. I don’t care who swings the blade.”
“In a way, you are still tricking someone into swinging the blade for you, so it’s still on your terms,” Nero said supportively.
“Second-hand vengeance. I’ll take it. Let’s get to work.”
42
I approached the fog surrounding Castle Ambrogio. Lucian and Nero walked a dozen feet back, sensing that I wasn’t in a talkative mood. I frowned to see Nosh walking towards me from the wall of fog. Behind him, right at the edge of the fog, Adam and Eve seemed to be arguing quietly but animatedly. I instantly tensed, fearing revealed secrets that would put him in danger.
Whoever learned about me giving them Titan souls would become a target of every Olympian. And my wound was evidence that one of them was an excellent archer.
I held up a hand, signaling Nero and Lucian. “Give me just a minute to figure out what the hell he’s up to. Damned kids and their curiosity,” I muttered.
“Ooooo, somebody’s in trouuuubble,” Nero chuckled.
I ap
proached Nosh alone, scowling. “What did you do? Why are they arguing?”
He scowled back, looking a lot angrier than when I had seen him in my rooms only minutes ago. “I asked them to at least let me hit Dracula after you brought him out,” he admitted, kicking an errant pebble into the nearby playground. It struck the metal slide with a loud clang and Lucian spun, glaring at it. “Before you give him up for good,” Nero finished. He was breathing heavily, and power was radiating from him, letting me know he was on the verge of losing his cool.
“You need to calm down, Nosh. This is about more than our vengeance. This is about saving Natalie and Victoria. There is no room for emotion in this. I can’t afford to indulge even my own emotions. And trust me,” I snarled, “it’s taking a toll on me as well. But adding another failure to my list won’t help,” I said meaningfully.
Nosh’s cheeks flushed red and he huffed remorsefully, kicking at a stick on the ground this time. “I put them in a tough spot. I’m sorry,” he said, lowering his eyes. “This whole thing just pisses me off. Handing him over to the Sisters after everything they’ve done—rewarding them for turning Benjamin. You and I should be the ones to kill Dracula.”
I shrugged, studying him thoughtfully. Was he really ready for tonight or was he going to be a liability? “What if they held Izzy captive right now?” I asked softly.
He froze, slowly looking up at me with a strangled look on his face. After a few moments, he gave me a stiff nod. “I know, you’re right,” he finally sighed. “I’m going to go take a walk.”
I nodded, stepping to the side. He stood there for a second, not moving, looking as if he had more to say. I waited. Finally, he walked past me. “I’m sorry, father,” he said, sounding much more sincere this time.
I shot a look at Nero, shaking my head so he didn’t try to antagonize or tease Nosh. Then I motioned them to follow me as I turned and walked the rest of the way over to the Nephilim. They grew silent at my approach, studiously staring at the ground, looking guilty as all hell. I rolled my eyes. “Did you tell him about the beach?” I asked cautiously.
Devil’s Blood: Shade of Devil Book 3 Page 26