Fire and Fantasy: a Limited Edition Collection of Epic and Urban Fantasy

by CK Dawn

  “I appreciate that.” Smiling, she sniffed the mixture. “Hmm, turmeric and sage. Your friend knows her stuff.”

  “Yeah, she is pretty knowledgeable in this area.”

  “I thank you for getting this for me.” Asa adjusted herself in the bed.

  “Plus, I have some soup and tea for you.” He paused. “Also, the root of a Frankincense tree. Trust me, I understand if you do not want it, but she said it would be good for you.”

  “Has it been boiled with the leaves of the chaste tree?” Asa perked up at the mention of an old but true remedy.

  He nodded. “Yes, actually. You know it I’m assuming, considering the look on your face.”

  “Yes, I know of it. It’s perfect, I’ll take it.” She smiled. “If it was from the original, that would really be something.”

  “It is actually. There is a grove of them, back in Oikos. All grown from roots of the original.”

  “Well, I am really starting to have a hard time believing this is all coincidental, considering the story behind that tree.” Asa shook her head. Every moment added more validity to the conspiracy theory she’d been formulating in her mind.

  “A princess was made a tree, for loving a god. And you a sphinx. I see the parallels.” Carter shrugged. “I’m not sure that is cause for further suspicion though.”

  “Yes, that is the story, but you have to know that it is much more than that. She was buried alive for loving Sol, who was only in her life because of a revenge plot of Aphrodite, after he revealed her love affair to …” She trailed off, allowing him to connect the final dots.

  “Ares.”

  “Right, and we’ve come full circle.” Asa shook her head. “Now, tell me, what are the odds that that particular tree, connected to those particular gods, is what I need to recover? What are the odds that that tree would be growing in Oikos, growing from the roots of the original, harnessing all the power of that stolen love?”

  “I get what you mean.” He sighed. “We can discuss the conspiracy later. I’ll get your soup and stink bomb root.”

  “Yeah, the smell is that of wet dog ass, but it works wonders!”

  “I’m just glad you’re the one who has to eat it, and not me.” He laughed as he walked out of the room.

  Asa allowed Carter to care for her. The remedies worked to get her back to herself. Within twenty-four hours, she was strong enough to leave, but she stayed. They had two days until his group would arrive, the friends that would help them fend against Ares. Carter was a lot better at playing caregiver than she would have ever expected of him. He was attentive and took his time with her. He refused to let her overwork herself, even though she was more than combative with that. After a while, she layered on the resistance heavier, just to see how he would react. Just like in the ring, he rolled with the punches and pushed back on her when necessary.

  When nightfall came, she slept in his bed, and he dosed off in the chair. They’d been talking about the days of old, Asa’s memories of her island and times before Ares. It wasn’t all easy to recall; she wanted to forget more than she wanted to remember.

  “You can share the bed,” she whispered through the darkness, unable to really sleep and seeing how uncomfortable he was. “That chair cannot be comfortable.”

  “Are you sure?” He groaned and readjusted in the chair. Truth be told, his back was aching and his neck had a kink that was growing tighter with each passing minute. “I’m fine here.” He lied, clearly.

  “Yes, Carter, there really isn’t any reason for you to sleep there.”

  “If you’re sure.” He climbed into the bed, kicked off his shoes, and laid in a straight line as not to impose on her space.

  “Please relax, get comfortable.” She sighed and touched his shoulder. “I’m not the only one who needs rest. I won’t bite you, and I trust you.”

  “This is just weird.” He chuckled in the dark.

  “Weird?” she laughed. “You shared a bed with me before. Granted I was out of it, but still.”

  “Yes, but then, I didn’t know who you were.”

  “Who I am?” She paused. “Am I someone different now?”

  “No, and yes.”

  “Calypso.” She spoke the name through the darkness. “I’m not her, not anymore, Carter.”

  “How can you say that?” He turned to his side to look at her. There it was again, the sadness behind her eyes. She’d been so good at hiding it from him, but since she’d been ill, he’d picked it up quite a few times.

  “Calypso was young, and full of hope. She was a lover, she wanted companionship. That’s all. She was naïve because she thought she could simply take it. She thought that being her, her beauty, her voice, she thought it was enough to get her all that she wanted without question. She was a fool. I am not her anymore. Centuries of life have changed me in a way that is irreversible. I am not Calypso. I’m flawed, jaded, angry, and in some ways, more lost than ever.” She rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling.

  “Asa, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “You haven’t. I understand, I am not who you thought I was.”

  His hand stretched across the bed to find hers. “Maybe not, maybe you aren’t who I thought you were. I am okay with that, if you let me figure out who you really are. You aren’t Calypso, I accept you, Asa. I just want to know who you are, really. Regardless of a name.”

  Hand in hand, silence filled the room as both gave in to sleep. When the sun returned to the sky, Asa was nuzzled into his chest. Carter smelled the top of her head, veil still in place, he realized he liked the mixed smell better than the one of the sea that came with Calypso. It was a stronger smell more of earth than of water. She moaned softly between snores and he stroked her hair. If he never had to move he would be happy, but unfortunately his phone rang, ending hopes of an endless session of deep breaths of earth and strokes of coarse, yet soft hair.

  “Hello?” he whispered into the phone as he tiptoed out of the room.

  “Yo, buddy! Sorry to call you so early, just wanted to give you a little status update.” The boisterous voice rang out across the line.

  “Jax, yeah, thanks. What’s it looking like?”

  “I’d say about another day or so. We’re just wrapping up a few more loose ends. Got into it with a local pack of jackals. You know how those bastards can be. It got messy.”

  “Damn, yeah, well be careful. Thanks for the update.” Though out of the room, he kept his voice low.

  “You good?” Jax questioned. “Why are you whispering?”

  “Yeah, I’m good, just … in mixed company.”

  “Ah, got ya! You dog, getting a little bit before the shit hits the fan. Good idea, maybe I’ll pay my lil lady a visit along the way.” Never missing a chance to be vulgar, his friend howled across the line.

  “Yeah, do what you need to.” Carter laughed as he disconnected the call.

  “Something funny?” Asa was standing in the hall looking on at him.

  “Yeah, an old friend on a fool’s errand.” He placed the phone on the counter.

  “Inside joke I suppose.”

  “Something like that. How are you feeling? Did you sleep okay?

  “Yes, I slept great.” She stretched. “Starving now.”

  “Oh, I can make something.”

  “I can do it myself, Carter. You took great care of me yesterday, but I am okay now. I can handle whipping up some eggs.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Please.” She shot him a stern glare over her shoulder as she sauntered to the kitchen.

  “Yeah, okay, sorry.” He sighed. “I think I’ll take a shower.”

  “Good. I promise not to burn the place down while you’re in there!”

  “Oh, that’s reassuring.” He laughed.

  The day was spent casually. Breakfast was simple—eggs and toast. Asa took a shower of her own after the meal and the two decided to take a walk to stretch their limbs and pass the time. Fresh air would be good for them
both. They spent the day strolling through Washington Square Park. There were families and tourists everywhere, crowding the space, enjoying the last bit of summer before school started and vacations ended. Afterwards, they picked up lunch and headed back to Carter’s place. Tired from hours of walking that took them from the park into the neighboring residential blocks, they spent rest of the evening on the couch, talking and sipping wine.

  Ares was the main topic of conversation, as it was impossible not to keep going back to him. After all, he would descend upon them soon. The wine provided, a sweet red titled Sweet Revenge, was the perfect drink to pair with their conversation. As they finished off the third bottle, the energy shifted. Standing in the kitchen together, cleaning up the mess from their food, Carter pulled Asa into his arms.

  “Let me see you,” he whispered.

  “What?” He was intoxicated, but so was she.

  “I know you aren’t Calypso, I get it. But this is a mask. I want to see you, Asa.”

  “Carter.” She shook her head and softly pushed away, not really wanting to be free of his hold which felt familiar. She missed the feeling of familiarity.

  “Please,” he pleaded softly as he held on to her.

  “This is the wine talking.”

  “No, it isn’t. It’s me. I want to see you, Asa. Stop hiding from me.”

  “I—”

  “Asa.” Their eyes connected, hearts skipped a beat, and there was no more denying what existed between them. Asa knew it was planned, that the moment was crafted by someone else, but she didn’t care. She wanted that feeling to be real, that connection, she wanted it all to be real.

  “Okay.” She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. The veil that hid her true self fell and she looked up to him. “Here I am.”

  “There you are,” he murmured and pulled her closer to him, kissing her gently.

  “Carter.” His name was a breathy echo of her anxiety.

  “Asa,” he responded before kissing her again, this time with more urgency. As she leaned into him, feeding the kiss with her own passion, he lifted her from the floor and carried her to the bedroom.

  For the first time, in longer than she could remember, Asa allowed herself to be completely vulnerable with someone. With Carter, she was herself—no mask, no lies, no hidden agendas. She was open and honest with him in every possible way that she could be. When he pulled away the layers of her clothing, revealing her entirely to him, she didn’t pull back. She allowed herself to enjoy his appreciation of her. His touch was strong, his kiss soft. Everything about what transpired between them, flesh against flesh, the heat that rose from their passion, it was all that she had been missing.

  “Why do you hide yourself?” He spoke as he stared at the ceiling, stroking the dark locks of her hair. “Why do you not allow the world to see you?”

  “Carter …”

  “No, I get why you hid before. And I even understand that you are not the same person that you once were. I understand all of that, but what I don’t understand is why you still walk around with your mask on. Are you concerned someone will recognize you?”

  “Look at me. It is not as if I would easily blend in. I needed to be able to fade into the background. The best way to do that was to come up with a look that was … well, average.”

  “And after all this time, you still feel that you need that?”

  “I don’t know. I’m used to it, it’s just sort of who I am, it’s a part of me. To be honest, I like not being the center of attention. I like being able to walk around and to just be a normal woman. Well, as normal as I can be considered. It’s not as hard, it’s not as much pressure to be something other than who I want to be.”

  “Either way, I think you are stunning. I just wondered if it was a fear for your safety, if you had reason to believe that you could be compromised.”

  “At first, yes. But now, no. Although now that we know the gods are returning without our knowledge, I suppose its original purpose is necessary again.”

  “You want to put it back on?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Just saying.” He kissed her neck. “I’m interested to see if it will be different with the mask on.”

  “Only one way to find out.” She laughed and called her crafted appearance back before he covered her mouth with his.

  “Dammit,” Carter muttered to himself as he slid from the bed, gently removing himself so not to disturb the woman who slept contently by his side. The pounding at the door was relentless. Jax thought that was funny, but it was really just annoying. He glanced back at her—even in her sleep she sensed others were there and the veil, the woman he’d first met, was still in place.

  “You need your head checked,” Carter growled as he opened the door.

  “You tell me that every time I see you.” Jax punched Carter in the shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards and out of the way. He was the first person Carter met when he decided to leave Oikos. His first exit landed him on the streets of California where everything seemed too bright and the people seemed phony. Jax was riding by on a bike and nearly ran Carter off the road. After a few choice words, and then random laughter from the one who nearly killed him, the two actually found that they had a lot more in common. Jax took the lost boy—as he would call him for the months to follow—under his wing. Literally. It wasn’t long after their meeting that Jax would reveal to Carter that he was no normal human man, but a shifter, one who turned into a dragon. The first time Carter saw Jax shift to his large, scaled counterpart, he vomited. It was no easy feat to take in the sight of a monster ripping its way through the flesh of a man.

  The rest of the gang all filed in, issuing their hellos and finding a spot to claim as their own. Dee was a giant man who came from a pack of bear shifters. Madelyn was a fae; everything about her was magical, including the way she shifted her look, sometimes mid conversation. Her hair color and length would change, along with her make-up, nail color, and sometimes even clothing choices. They joked that you could tell the mood she was in by the shade of her hair, like a mood ring. She didn’t enjoy that joke, and whenever it was made her hair would turn a bright red. Inda was a phoenix—new to Earth, but a fierce woman. She had a hard life, they could all tell it but no one would pry. In time, she would tell them … or she wouldn’t. Either way, she was a great person to have on their side.

  “Glad you all could come, but did you have to arrive before the sun?” Carter looked to the window where the backdrop was still a deep shade of blue.

  “Well, that doesn’t sound like appreciation to me! Perhaps we should gather our things and go. Hell, I hear Miami is nice this time of year, and they don’t have a big badass god to deal with right now,” Jax joked. “Come on, you know we travel at night, I’m damn sure not about to pay for a flight when I have wings that will get me there in half the time!”

  “You know what I mean. Damn, I was sleep.”

  “Looks like you were doing a lot more than sleeping.” Dee peeked his head around the corner at the arm of the woman lying in bed. He couldn’t see much through the cracked door, but he could see enough to understand why Carter was really upset.

  “Shut up.” Remembering that she hadn’t redressed, Carter moved to close the door to allow Asa privacy. The last thing he needed was for her to wake up and wander out into the room nude, with four new pairs of eyes to greet her.

  “Now I see why the cavalry was called in.” Jax laughed. “Pretty little lady in distress.”

  “Right, because the return of the God of War wasn’t enough of a reason,” Inda chimed in for no other reason than to disagree with Jax. It was their thing. The two poked at each other constantly, making the rest of the group wonder what really went on between them. Two birds of fire, if you counted a dragon as a bird, something was bound to ignite between them.

  “Yeah, yeah, sure. And saving that piece of tail in there had nothing to do with it,” Jax shot back.

  “Oh, shut up, Jax. Not everyone thi
nks with their lower half, like you.” Inda was quick with her retort.

  “Hey, when your lower half is as mighty as mine, it’s hard to ignore.”

  “Oh, gag me now!”

  “Okay, change of topic.” Madelyn spoke for everyone in the room. This conversation was on a quick descent to disturbing and sad.

  “Yes. Please.” Dee laughed and turned the conversation back to Carter who still wore a look of someone not happy to be awake. “How much longer do we have until our buddy shows up?”

  “According to Lehela, not very much at all.” Carter pulled out a folding chair from the closet as all seats were occupied. Dee took up half the couch by himself. “Look, we are in for some major shit, and to be perfectly honest with you, there is a chance that not all of us will make it back out of this alive. So, if you don’t want to take that risk … hell, I won’t blame you for walking away right now.”

  “Since when have we ever backed down from a fight?” Dee huffed. “Hell, it’s been plenty of times we’ve walked into a situation knowing death was hovering over us. That’s the type of shit we can’t dwell on. We all chose this life, defenders of good, if you will. That doesn’t stop just because shit gets real.”

  “Yeah, well, this isn’t your battle,” Carter offered. “This is mine, my people, so like I said, I understand if you don’t want to put your ass on the line.”

  “At the end of the day, yeah, it is. Hell, if those gods of yours take their thrones, I’m sure they’re going to rain hell on all of us, not just their human toys. I’ve read enough of the mythology to know that they were a lot more of a pain in the ass than anything. Especially for those of us who are more than human. Everyone thinks we are all in hiding because of humans, but that shit makes no sense! We aren’t afraid of humans. We’re stronger and much more powerful. We’re in hiding because our ancestors learned to hide from the gods, they had to. Just like your people, they knew the gods would return someday. If we have a chance to cut them down now, well, hell I say we better take it.” Madelyn looked at the others who nodded in agreement. The gods had affected much more than a few humans, their damage had a ripple effect. Anyone who offered anything of value was a target to them.