“Wait,” Thor interrupted. “London? Like the city?”
London laughed and lifted a shoulder at him. “Go ahead. Ask me why I’m named after a city in England.”
Thor blinked at her then turned to Cameron. “Can I get my hammer back?”
“Depends,” Cameron answered. “You’re not going to kill her with it are you?”
Thor sighed and squinted at him. “She’s still far less annoying than you.”
Cameron waved him off. “Of course she is. Everyone is except for Jasper.”
“Have you two forgotten there’s a giant lion-snake with seven heads out there waiting to kill us?” Nemain asked.
“Nope,” Cameron said. “But so far, it hasn’t tried to come through my fire-igloo, so I figured we’d just hang out here and hope it goes back to Iraq.”
“Do you really think it was in Iraq?” Selena asked. “I mean, I don’t remember ever hearing about giant snake-lions wandering around Baghdad.”
“Fire igloo is an oxymoron,” London pointed out. She looked at the ceiling of fire again and added, “I like it.”
Nemain groaned and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. “Five gods can’t figure out how to kill one genetically confused animal.”
“Well,” Thor replied, “how did Ninurta supposedly kill it? Maybe instead of being the story of his actual exploits, it’s more like a how-to manual.”
Cameron gaped at the thunder god. “That’s… actually a smart idea.”
Thor flipped him off then said, “He had an enchanted mace called Sarur. Any chance you grabbed his weapon after killing him?”
“Do you normally grab the weapons of your dead enemies?” Cameron retorted. “Oh wait. You do… which is why Selena and I ended up having to track down a stolen Sword.”
Thor just blinked at him.
“Only the oldest gods fight with maces,” Nemain said slowly. “And we do happen to know a really old god who fights with one.”
“I’ll get him,” Cameron quickly responded.
The Dagda looked around, bewildered and confused, then arched an eyebrow at Cameron. “Why am I in a fire igloo?”
“See?” Cameron exclaimed, waving a hand at the Dagda, “even he thinks it’s a fire igloo!”
Nemain ignored him. “We might have a giant lion with seven snake heads outside trying to kill us. And our weapons apparently don’t hurt it.”
The Dagda glanced at London and jerked a thumb in her direction. “Who’s the new girl?”
“London,” she answered. “Jasper sent me.”
“Why?” the Dagda asked.
London just shrugged. Cameron suspected she knew exactly why Jasper had sent her though.
“You lost your hammer,” the good god of the Irish told Thor.
“No shit,” Thor told the good god of the Irish.
The Dagda nodded smartly. “Just wanted to make sure you knew.”
“Can you please just try to kill the damn thing with your mace?” Nemain begged.
The Dagda’s mace appeared in his hand and he glanced at the Irish Goddess of Healing. “Selena, do you think you can heal getting eaten by a seven-headed snake-lion?”
“Um…” Selena responded. “Let’s not find out.”
The Dagda sighed and pointed his mace toward the wall of fire in front of him. “Be prepared to put this thing back up if my mace is as useless as Thor’s hammer.”
“And my spear,” London added.
“Still think we shouldn’t carry guns?” Cameron mumbled, although he wasn’t sure whom he was asking.
Selena answered him anyway. “I’m starting to change my mind.”
Cameron nodded in agreement as he let the fire around them disappear.
The Dagda immediately lifted his mace and ran toward the serpent-lion. Those enormous mouths yawned above him and seven long tongues slithered between the curved, glistening fangs.
“I can’t watch,” Cameron murmured.
“You have to,” Selena reminded him. “If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to protect him with your fire again.”
Cameron groaned but kept his eyes on the Dagda, the first god he’d actually liked when he’d been dragged into their world so he could defend Selena. With Midir’s memories now, he had a far deeper friendship with the good god and like all of the Tuatha Dé, he would have died to defend him.
One of the giant serpent heads lurched toward the Dagda who lifted his mace and swung at its jaw. Cameron flinched as he anticipated one of his favorite gods getting swallowed whole by the monstrosity before them, but to his amazement, the serpent’s mouth closed and recoiled.
The legs of the lion’s body stepped backwards, momentarily stunned that it had been hurt.
“Holy shit,” Cameron muttered.
“We need more maces,” Nemain said. “Who else fights with a mace?”
“Uh, Vishnu?” Thor replied. “But we don’t know the Hindu gods. I don’t recommend dragging them into our battles.”
“We have to do something!” Nemain yelled.
The Dagda swung his mace at another serpent’s head attempting to swallow him and like the first one, it recoiled and hissed angrily at the only god able to hurt it. Nemain was right: the Dagda couldn’t possibly kill the beast on his own.
“Selena,” Cameron said hurriedly, “give me some names! I don’t care who they are. They can help the Dagda, or I’ll banish them permanently.”
“I can’t think of any!” she yelled.
“Please don’t let us start another Battle of the Gods,” he whispered as a strange god with beautiful blue skin and four arms appeared beside him. The god looked around him as he apparently tried to place his new location, his forehead wrinkled in confusion, then shot a questioning glance at Cameron who nodded toward the beast and the Dagda.
“Only maces can hurt it, and the rest of us are powerless. He’s like a father to us, and we can’t help him,” Cameron explained. He was prepared to do a lot more begging, but Vishnu never gave him the chance to finish. His equally blue eyes turned toward the giant monster in the distance and the lone god attempting to kill it. A huge mace appeared in one of his hands and Vishnu walked calmly toward the serpent-lion and the Dagda without saying a word to the god who had summoned him to a swamp in south Louisiana.
“I really hope he’s going after Mašmuh,” Cameron mumbled.
Selena nodded. “In Hinduism, Vishnu is a god of protection. It’s instilled within him to protect others against evil. And that snake-lion is definitely evil… right?”
“It’s a snake,” Cameron said. “Of course it’s evil.”
He fell silent as Vishnu reached the monstrosity and the Dagda who tirelessly swung his mace at the beast. Vishnu wrapped another hand around the huge mace he carried and lifted it above his head then swung it at one of the seven heads of Mašmuh. A small croaking sound escaped Cameron’s throat as he watched the snake’s head detach from its long body and roll across the basin floor.
“Holy shit,” he murmured again.
And again, Selena just nodded.
The Hindu god’s skin seemed to darken then glow as he raised his mace above his head again, swinging it toward another of the serpents as they hissed and retracted in anger. A second massive reptilian head fell to the basin floor, sending swirls of leaves and dried Spanish moss into the air.
Cameron pulled Selena farther away from the battle between the two gods and the increasingly pissed off snake-lion. Her fingers tightened around his hand and he felt her sudden panic and surprise before she could voice it.
Enlil…
Cameron turned his attention away from the fight and saw the Sumerian god in the distance watching him. His arms were folded defiantly across his chest as he glared at the young sun god who had evaded him twice now. London touched his arm to get his attention and nodded toward the Sumerian god.
“I can go after him,” she offered.
“Alone?” Cameron asked.
“You think I can’
t handle him?” she retorted.
Cameron lifted a shoulder but kept his eyes on the god who wanted revenge. “It’s not your fight,” he finally said. “I’m not actually sure what is. Why is any of this the New Pantheon’s business?”
Another giant snake head rolled across the basin floor and came perilously close to his feet, which forced him to look away from the vengeful Sumerian god. He thought about setting the whole forest on fire again.
He backed away from the decapitated serpent’s head and glanced in Enlil’s direction, but the Sumerian god was gone.
Selena silently reminded him not to despair over Enlil’s second escape from them because Vishnu and the Dagda were quickly killing the freakish hybrid, and he didn’t even have to fight it this time.
London’s eyes sparkled again as she smiled at him. “Well, there’s an evil goddess out there trying to usurp power in the Finnish pantheon and will almost certainly drag innocent humans and demigods into her quest for domination. There’s Huitzilopochtli who wants to rule the world, which is kind of a big security concern for the United States, so go figure… the CIA wants him dead.”
“Wait,” Cameron interrupted. “You’re here because Jasper doesn’t think we can handle this on our own?”
London just shrugged and kept smiling at him.
“Obnoxious asshole,” Cameron muttered.
“I’ll relay that message next time I see him,” London promised.
“Good,” Cameron said.
A loud ear-splitting shriek pulled their attention back toward the dying creature. Vishnu and the Dagda raised their maces high above their heads and struck the monster’s chest at the same time, splitting the golden brown hide open. The same bluish-gray fluid that had filled Bašmu gushed out, and Mašmuh staggered then fell on its side. Vishnu struck the beast one more time, his mace sinking into its flank. With one of his free hands, he reached into the gaping wound and pulled out a large gray orb and showed it to the gods who stood watching on the sidelines.
“Is that its heart?” Nemain whispered.
“How should I know?” Cameron whispered back.
Vishnu tossed it on the ground and glanced at the creature lying on the basin floor. Only two of its seven heads remained attached to its body, and its chest no longer heaved with heavy breaths.
Mašmuh, the terrifying mythological monstrosity, was dead.
Cameron’s eyes drifted back to the protector of life whose hands were now empty and who was watching him as well. He smiled and nodded at the young sun god then, without ever saying a word, disappeared.
Chapter Nine
Cameron collapsed onto his sofa and blew a frustrated breath through his lips. Sure, Vishnu and the Dagda had saved him from having to fight another giant serpent creature, but he was still pissed off that Enlil had more giant serpent creatures in the first place. At some point, he expected the gods who wanted to kill him to run out of giant snakes.
Selena smiled and sat beside him. “Don’t worry, love. According to Wikipedia, there’s only one more snake monster that Ninurta supposedly battled and killed.”
“True,” Nemain said, “but I was interrupted by the second snake monster and didn’t have a chance to finish telling you about Tlaloc.”
Cameron groaned and shook his head. “I’m going back to my original plan and burning down the whole state.”
“What is it with you and snakes?” London asked.
“They’re evil,” Cameron answered.
“Not evil,” Nemain argued. “Although Tlaloc might be.”
London snickered and raised an eyebrow at the Irish war goddess. “Rumor has it, Cameron is the most powerful god in the world, and yet, he can be brought down with a reptile.”
“Hey,” Cameron protested, “I’ve never been defeated, reptile or not. I just don’t like them.”
“You’re threatening to burn down an entire state over a serpent,” London insisted. “Sounds like you’re scared to me.”
Cameron threw his hands in the air and sighed loudly. “Of course I’m scared! They’re giant snakes with multiple heads!”
London’s eyes sparkled again and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “It didn’t scare me.”
Cameron narrowed his eyes at her and hissed, “I will get Jasper over here to order you back to Houston.”
“Go ahead,” London teased. “I’d rather fight alongside gods who can’t be cowed by zoo animals anyway.”
“I’ve never seen that thing in a zoo,” Thor interjected.
London ignored him and kept her eyes on Cameron.
What the hell is her problem? Selena asked. I think we need to get Jasper over here just to make sure he really sent her.
Yeah, Cameron agreed, although I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent her just to give me a hard time.
I’d believe that if we weren’t so busy trying to find asshole gods who want to take over the world.
“Would you knock it off?” Nemain snapped.
“Fine,” Cameron said as he summoned Jasper.
“Why am I here?” Jasper sighed.
Cameron pointed to London. “She’s mean.”
Jasper blinked at him then sighed again. “Can I go home now?”
“Are you taking her with you?” Cameron asked.
“No,” Jasper answered.
“Then no.”
Jasper grunted at him and crossed his arms. “I couldn’t even get an entire week away from you.”
“Not my fault you sent a spy to keep tabs on us,” Cameron argued.
“She’s not a spy,” Jasper said. “I sent her to help you since, as usual, this has blown up to be bigger than just one god-hunt. For some reason, you always seem to have half the supernatural world trying to kill you. Although I’m pretty sure I know why.”
“First of all, you’re an obnoxious asshole,” Cameron reminded him. “And secondly, we don’t need your help. Or hers.”
“Is this just because she mocked your fear of snakes?” Thor asked. “Or am I missing something? Because I’d kinda like all the help we can get. In fact, you told me…”
“What is Thor doing here?” Jasper interrupted.
Thor squinted at the demigod and said, “Cameron’s right. You’re an obnoxious asshole.”
“You tried to kill me,” Jasper shot back.
Thor waved a large hand at him. “That was weeks ago,” he claimed as if attempted murder that was more than a couple weeks old was ancient history.
“I vote for forcing Jasper to stay with us just to see what happens between him and Thor,” Nemain said.
Cameron nodded then realized that would mean Jasper actually having to stick around. His nod morphed into a head shake. “Not only does Jasper need to return to Houston, he needs to take his employee with him. I don’t trust her, and I don’t want her here.”
“Oh, come on,” London laughed. “Surely your ego isn’t this fragile.”
“It is,” Jasper responded.
“Watch it,” Selena warned. “When he smites both of you, I won’t bring either one of you back to life.”
“Sure you will,” Jasper insisted. “It’s in your nature. You can’t help it.”
Selena arched an eyebrow at him. “Test me.”
“Do I ever get to find out what Nemain knows about Tlaloc?” Thor asked.
“Or why I think Enlil is really stalking the Basin?” London added.
Jasper shot a smug smile in Cameron’s direction and said, “And that’s why she’s here.”
Jasper disappeared from the living room and four gods shot Cameron a puzzled look. He just shrugged. “He was annoying me.”
“Can I tell you about Tlaloc now?” Nemain sighed.
“You can go second,” Cameron responded. “I thought we already knew why Enlil was in Louisiana. He said he wanted to avenge his son’s death.”
“Sure,” London agreed. “But I don’t think that’s the whole story. If he had all of these snake monsters to throw at you, why would he
send them one at a time instead of all at once? He’d stand a better chance of actually killing you if he sent every creature at his disposal at the same time.”
“Ok,” Cameron agreed slowly. “Why wouldn’t he want me dead then?”
“Oh, he wants you dead,” London corrected. “He just can’t kill you right away. I think he has some sort of deal with Huitzilopochtli who needs to capture you alive in order to harness your power. Enlil is trying to injure you and weaken you so he can drag you off to the creepy heart-harvester. Then you’ll die.”
“Why would Enlil form an alliance with Huitzilopochtli though?” Thor asked.
London gestured toward the young sun god and exclaimed, “Because it’s Cameron! Who among us hasn’t heard about him and who doesn’t fear him?”
Cameron winked at Selena and told her, “So much for being the wimp brought down by a zoo animal.”
“Yeah,” London said, “I have to admit: so far, I’ve been really disappointed.”
“I really don’t like you,” Cameron retorted.
“I’m really starting to understand why half the supernatural world wants to kill you,” London shot back.
“I’m really starting to miss construction work,” Thor sighed.
“That’s it,” Selena snapped. “I’m really not saving you when you get eaten by one of these genetically-confused monster snakes.”
London laughed and shook her head, sending those summer wheat waves over her shoulders. “Don’t worry, Selena. I’m just teasing. Ukko recruited me about a year ago so Jasper might be a new boss for me, but believe it or not, he speaks really highly of you both.”
Cameron choked on the surprised sound that had tried to escape his throat and he coughed instead. “Now I know she’s lying,” he finally said.
London opened her mouth, most likely to defend herself, but Cameron’s apartment door disintegrated, sending shards of wood flying inward toward the gods assembled in the living room.
“Again?” Cameron groaned.
This time, he was pretty sure Mithra wasn’t the god who’d just destroyed their door since that god was definitely dead.
Thor’s fingers tightened around the handle of Mjölnir, and Cameron rose from the sofa with his Spear already in hand. But the goddess who entered the apartment didn’t give any of the gods inside a chance to fight back. Her dark brown eyes scanned the room quickly, and she swiftly flicked her wrists toward them.
The Gatekeeper (The Guardians of Tara Book 1) Page 9