Bedeviled

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Bedeviled Page 14

by Sable Grace


  Silas’s eyes bulged. “Seers.”

  She nodded, her pulse picking up an even more rapid rhythm. “And there’s only one Seer left in this region. I have to go.”

  As Kyana hurried off in search of Ryker, her head began to swim. Haven had used the fight at the portal to Olympus to throw them off. Another bait and switch. While they were looking left, Haven had taken advantage of the lack of guards patrolling Below. That was why she’d made her presence known on Olympus. She’d wanted Zeus to seal off the portals. She’d wanted free access to Below. To the Seer.

  Kyana’s thoughts were a muddled mess as she tried to work through them. So much to do. So little time to do them. In three days, her life was going to change forever. She needed to finish this before then—before she no longer knew her skills and powers as comfortably as she knew her Vampyric and Lychen abilities. They fit her like a second skin, but these goddess powers that were growing inside her felt far too big for her size ten pants.

  Her boots slapped on the marble floor as she made her way down the temple steps. It felt good to be in her own leather again. Her feet were burning. They’d been sliced and diced from her sprints. And it had been hard to do anything effectively when the clothes she was wearing felt as though they weighed a ton and her pants slid down her hips every five minutes. Now, dressed completely in the leather she preferred and a brand-new pair of boots, she at least looked like her old self, even if she didn’t come close to feeling like it.

  Exiting Zeus’s temple, she scanned the grounds. Spotting Ryker talking to Ares, she stormed toward them and was nearly on top of them before she realized they were in some kind of heated argument.

  “We need to go.”

  Ryker’s eyes locked on her and she took a step back.

  Slowly, his tension calmed. The red in his eyes dissipated until only the silver swirled. “We need to talk.”

  Ares grabbed for Ryker but he easily sidestepped his father’s reach.

  “You gave me your word. I granted your request. You must pay the price as agreed.”

  “And I’ve honored that vow,” Ryker said through clenched teeth. “Your payment has been received.”

  Ryker took Kyana’s arm and led her away from the God of War. When they were alone, she pulled to a stop. “What was that all about? What agreement did you make with Ares?”

  Ryker shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Yeah, me first, though.” She led the way toward the alcove being raised for the new portals. They stopped just outside, out of hearing range from the Witches working there, and leaned close together for privacy. “I had Silas scry for me and I’m pretty sure we have to get to the Seer.”

  Ryker raised a brow. “You think she wants Nettles to replace the dead psychics in Cassadaga?”

  “It makes sense. Nettles is the most prized possession we have Below, and there was no way Haven could have believed she’d really have a shot at an Oracle. Nettles would be far easier to get her hands on. She made a racket here so Below would be left unguarded and the Seer would be easy pickings.”

  “Okay, I’ll play along with that idea. What now?”

  “If Haven hasn’t gotten to her yet, maybe the Seer can tell us where she is.”

  “You should definitely check it out.”

  She didn’t like the stress he put on the word you. “Yes, we should check it out.”

  “We’re not going anywhere, Ky. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  The look on Ryker’s face created a dread in her that weakened her knees. Something bad had happened. At least something bad for her. “You’re not coming with me?”

  He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers, and before she could lose herself to his kiss, he exhaled a heavy sigh and pulled away.

  “I can’t,” Ryker said, finally.

  She looked back to where they’d left Ares. Night was falling over Olympus, a gray mist forming over the massive cliffs to the east. “Does this have anything to do with your argument with your father?”

  Ryker cupped her cheek. “I owed Ares a debt.”

  “Just spit it out, Ryker.” She didn’t want to know, not really. More than that, she couldn’t stand not knowing.

  “I asked Ares for a favor a few days ago. In return, he requested that I become a Chosen.”

  She managed to choke down her shock. Of all the things she’d imagined, that hadn’t even made the list. “So when we find Haven and stop Cronos you’re going to be the next God of War?”

  “No.” Ryker shook his head. “When we made our bargain, I just promised to become a Chosen. I didn’t say anything about becoming his. And last night, I volunteered to be Zeus’s.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Ryker watched the emotions flickering across Kyana’s face. The very air of Olympus seemed to absorb her outrage, and he was pretty sure she didn’t realize what she was doing. The sky darkened. The air became thick. The wind shifted from a gentle breeze to a gust that whipped her black and amber curls about her face.

  “Ky, you need to calm down before Olympus sees its first lightning storm in centuries.”

  She blinked.

  He pointed skyward where a jet black cloud had gathered directly over their heads. “Your temper. You’re doing this.”

  Lightning danced in her eyes then flashed overhead.

  “Let me explain.”

  “Explain?” She crossed her arms and glared. “By all means, please explain how abandoning me and Haven in order to get some twisted revenge on your father should make me calm down.”

  Ryker glanced around, wishing for a secluded place for them to talk. He could feel Ares watching them. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have in front of his father. While this wasn’t about revenge as Kyana thought, he’d be lying if he said that Ares’s outrage wasn’t an added benefit.

  But mostly, this had been about not having to become Ares, as well as his fierce belief that Zeus needed a replacement pronto. Very few people, even a Chosen, had the ability to contain the power of Zeus. But Ryker was already a demigod. He could hold those powers and learn to wield them effectively.

  That it was making Ares so mad only made his decision that much more satisfying.

  Moving them around the temple to the elaborate labyrinths on the north side, Ryker maneuvered easily through the maze. When they reached the center, he motioned for Kyana to sit, and waited while she contemplated whether she would. He knew his relationship with Ares was driving her nuts, but he wasn’t any more ready to explain that catastrophe to her than she was willing to talk about her human life with him. Hell, he didn’t even like to think about most of it himself, let alone share the details.

  Finally, she placed herself beside him, but the anger in her eyes didn’t calm.

  “The day of your trial,” he started. “When you needed to go to Haven’s quarters, I wanted to give you what I thought—what we all thought—was your final request. There was only one way I could make that happen for you.”

  “The deal you made with Ares.”

  Ryker nodded.

  She’d been so devastated that day, knowing she was facing the possibility of death for turning Haven. He’d only wanted to give her peace of mind before her hearing. He’d known that she could never go to trial with enough fight left in her to win unless she knew first that Haven was going to be okay. He would have agreed to anything to grant Kyana that wish. And he had.

  “Ares does nothing for free, not even for his son, so I vowed to pay whatever price he demanded to let you go to Haven before your trial.”

  He knew there was only one thing that Ares wanted and that was for Ryker to acknowledge him as his father before the Ancients. It was a wish Ryker had sworn never to grant. But for Ky, he’d agreed. However, Ares had thrown him a curveball.

  “Ares demanded that I become a Chosen.”

  “Yeah, I gathered that already. What I don’t get is how you went from being the next God
of War to being the next freakin’ God of Gods.”

  “The price for granting your wish was for me to become a Chosen. I knew what he really wanted, but wasn’t fool enough to point out that he’d provided me with a loophole. So when I learned of Poseidon’s and Zeus’s need for hosts, I offered my services.”

  “But why the hell did you pick Zeus?”

  “Your friend beat me out on the duty I wanted.”

  She flinched, but the tension around her mouth eased. The wind calmed and the clouds lightened. “Oh.”

  He knew she understood. Her loyalty to the Order was secondary only to her loyalty to Haven and Geoffrey.

  “If you’d asked, Silas would’ve gladly given it to you, Surfer Boy. You might be the only soul in existence who loves his waters as much as Poseidon does.”

  “Yeah, but that would’ve left us with another dilemma. Silas isn’t strong enough to hold Zeus’s power.” Ryker knelt in front of her and rested his hands on her knees. “Ky, I had to honor my word to Ares, and Zeus needs a Chosen now. This was the only way.”

  “I can understand why you’d jump at any chance to get one up on Ares, but would it have really made a difference if you’d given me a couple of days?”

  He shrugged. “Zeus’s power could fade tonight or it could linger for another year. There’s no way to tell. I’m the only one strong enough who could step up right away.”

  “But what about us?” She looked away. “Our mission, I mean.”

  A tiny part of him had accepted Zeus’s request because of her. He was becoming too used to being by her side, to being there in case she needed him. Hoping she might need him. Distance would help them both put things in perspective, and he could still assist her with finding Haven, even if he wasn’t working directly with her.

  “You don’t need anyone else, Ky.”

  That was half of the problem. She didn’t need him and likely never would.

  He wanted her to need him, to understand that he didn’t look at her and see Dark Breed. He saw a woman who cared so much for her friends that she continually risked her life for them. Saw a woman who could kick ass like a man and kiss like pure woman. Saw a woman he wanted to take care of and have it reciprocated.

  “Haven’s cloaked and I can’t see through her spells until I’m firmly entrenched in Artemis’s powers,” Kyana said, jolting Ryker’s stare to her mouth. He liked the way she suckled her bottom lip when she was worried and the way her eyes were flashing as she recounted all her problems to him now. “I don’t know if I can find her before she can complete her mission to raise Cronos. Or if I can do all this before I lose my Vamp/Lychen abilities.”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Or if I can bring her in before there’s no part of Haven worth saving.”

  “Yes, you can.” He sat beside her, but she moved away to pace in front of him.

  “Really?” She stopped pacing to stare at him. “I know almost nothing about Artemis’s powers or how to use them in a fight. Haven knows how to fight. She’s damned good. I told you yesterday that she might be more prepared for our confrontation than I am, and that was when I wasn’t flying solo.”

  She sighed. “Listen to me. A week ago, I was ready to fight for the right to fly solo. I feel weak. Inept. I feel . . . broken. I’m not sure I like what I’m becoming, Ryker.”

  He swallowed. He sure as hell did. He was falling hard for this softer side of Kyana and it made him uneasy as hell.

  He watched her walk away, her shoulders not as high as they usually were. He supposed it was difficult to keep them raised when the weight of the world was constantly pulling them down. He didn’t know what else he could say or do to fix things. He’d thought this through. Or so he’d believed.

  He hadn’t considered what this would do to Ky. He’d been entrusted with protecting her, and he’d walked away from that duty at the first opportunity to get out of his agreement with Ares. So what if his motives had truly been good? What did doing your duty serve when it meant letting down those you were closest to?

  She’d have to go it alone. And not just in figuring out what Haven might do next, but in stopping Cronos and protecting the Eyes of Power. In short, she was now alone in her duty to save them all.

  Ky was strong and smart. She could handle anything Haven threw at her if she believed in herself and her newfound abilities. Kyana, the Goddess of the Hunt, was unstoppable. However, the odds for Kyana, the Half-Breed tracer . . . weren’t nearly as good.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  As Kyana stalked around the back of Nettles’s townhouse Below, her gaze swept the dark, quiet streets. There was no one around that she could detect with her nose or eyes, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t being watched. By Haven? Possibly. The heat on the back of her neck made her shift uneasily where she stood, trying to peer into Nettles’s kitchen window. All she could see through the lacy curtains was the dim red light of a coffeepot.

  The itchy sensation of being observed nearly had her coming out of her skin. She wasn’t worried about a fight. She could handle herself. But it was hard to keep track of all four sides of a building solo. She didn’t want to be taken by surprise, and she certainly didn’t want Haven to catch her scent before Kyana could catch hers.

  She wished she had Geoffrey or Ryker . . . or even Silas.

  Silas. Damn. She’d forgotten to deliver his message to his sweet bimbo. Whatever. Helping appease his little girl toy wasn’t exactly high on Kyana’s priority list. She would deliver the message . . . when she got around to it.

  She reached up and dug her fingers between a row of bricks and crawled halfway up the two-story home, peered into an empty bedroom window, then swung her body around to the alley-side of the townhouse. She passed two more windows—a bathroom and another bedroom. Both were empty. If Nettles was here, she was downstairs in the front of the place, the only section Kyana hadn’t scoped.

  She didn’t want to bust out a window around back until she knew for sure whether Haven was inside. She dropped to the ground and inhaled deeply, but there was no scent of Haven. She could smell Nettles, but this was her home. The scent didn’t necessarily mean she was still here.

  Everything about this place felt off today. There was usually a line of people waiting for readings a mile long around Nettles’s home. There were also usually Witchy guards who protected the small Seer. Where was everyone?

  Kyana jogged down the alley and stopped at the front stoop where a chalkboard sign had been erected on her little porch, explaining the absence of customers.

  CLOSED TILL SATURDAY

  Frustrated that she’d hit a dead end already, Kyana thrust her boot against the door and smiled with satisfaction as the wood splintered and cracked down the middle. She tore the slabs apart and stepped inside Nettles’s sitting room. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe the Seer had boot-scoot boogied out of town.

  Starting with the basement and then working her way upstairs, there wasn’t a single sign that anything was amiss. She worked her way back down to stand in the small parlor Nettles used for her readings. The table was empty. No mirror or candles or burners.

  Her heart sank. Where was she? Surely Haven hadn’t already gotten her hands on her? No. Nettles had placed a sign out front, which meant she likely had something to do or somewhere to go.

  A shuffling sound coming from the front porch pulled Kyana from her thoughts. Pivoting, she pressed her back to the wall and vanished into the shadows, ready, waiting.

  Peering around the corner, she watched as a tiny face appeared in the gaping hole in the front door. Kyana exhaled and stepped into the hall. The face jerked back and let out a tiny squeak of alarm.

  “It’s all right, Nettles,” Kyana said. “It’s just me. Kyana.”

  The hobbit-looking woman plopped her hands on her hips and glared at her through the hole before stepping inside the house. “What took you so long?”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been hiding out at my neighbor’s watching for yo
u. I was beginning to think your friend would find me before you did.”

  “You knew— Never mind. Of course you did.” Kyana sighed, grateful to see she didn’t appear to be any worse for wear.

  “Did you do this to my door?”

  “Yeah. Sorry ’bout that.”

  Nettles shook her head. “Don’t fret. I appreciate your concern. That is why you’re here, isn’t it? Finally realize she would come for me?”

  Kyana nodded. “I take it you haven’t seen her, then?”

  “Not yet, but I will soon if you don’t get me somewhere safe.”

  “What exactly have you seen?”

  Nettles pinched her small mouth together in a thoughtful pucker. “She wants the location of the other Eyes of Power and she thinks I can show them to her, which I can. Can’t say you arrived a minute too soon.”

  Kyana raised a brow and pulled her away from the broken door. “You know where they all are?”

  Nodding, Nettles plopped onto a bench in the entryway and shivered. “Zeus still has his.”

  That much, she knew.

  “Of course, Haven already has the trident, so the only ones to be concerned about are the ring and the amulet. Both of which are in the possession of the new Hades. That handsome Irish Vampyre friend of yours.”

  “Geoffrey has his amulet. But I don’t think you’re right about the ring. Ryker had the ring.”

  And no way in hell would he have given it to Geoffrey. They didn’t like each other much at all. Why trust someone you dislike with something so powerful?

  Nettles shrugged. “I’ve seen them both in the Underworld. That is all I know.”

  Kyana hadn’t seen that one coming. It was further proof that Ryker cared more about duty than personal feelings, because he really didn’t care for Geoffrey at all. Giving him that ring meant, despite his dislike of the new Hades, he trusted him.

  “We’d best be leaving now before Haven gets her chance to snatch me up. She’s going to find a way to make me tell her even if it’s against my will. Mark my words.”

 

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