by Sable Grace
Kyana swallowed, disgusted at the images his confession brought forth.
“She may not be as emotionally strong as you, lass, but physically . . . the moment her cell opened, I didn’t stand a chance.”
“I fought her. I won. I don’t intend to lose this time either.”
“Aye. I saw her when you brought her in, remember? Nay, Kyana. This Haven isn’t the same as that one, even. It was like she was made of steel.”
Teflon girl.
“I’ve seen it.” And she hadn’t been able to fight Haven in that state either.
“Then you know. Be careful. Don’t underestimate her. Don’t underestimate Cronos.”
“I won’t. There’s still time. She doesn’t have the trident, so even if she gets her hands on the other Eyes—”
“Aye, she does have it. It was here, hidden in the trees. If Poseidon hadn’t been so injured he would have felt how close it was, but I suspect that’s likely why she injured him in the first place. Cronos wouldn’t have wanted any of us dead unless he was alive to soak the power from us first. Injuring Poseidon just meant tracking the trident would be more difficult.”
“How the hell was it here?” But as soon as she asked the question, she answered it. “The attack on Beyond. She was left Below for hours. She must have put it here then . . .”
Kyana gripped her head in her hands, feeling like every kind of ass as she realized how well they’d all been played. “She let me catch her, Geoff. Maybe she wanted Nettles, maybe she didn’t. Regardless, she wanted to get caught. Wanted a way to stay Below where she’d be close to . . . you.” The prison sat right smack in the center of Below, only a few blocks from the cave that led directly to the Underworld. What a conniving bastard Cronos was. “We made it possible for her to get her hands on you. That’s exactly what she wanted. She played me like a damned poker game—wait. Silas is Poseidon now. Shouldn’t he have sensed the trident was so near?”
“He’s never put his hands on it before. Even if he felt something, Silas wouldn’t know what it was.” Geoff closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She could read all over his face that he thought she was right. “I’m so sorry. This . . . was about me. About getting to me so she could get to those conduits. I’m a fucking idjit.”
He craned his neck, revealing two puncture wounds on his jugular. “Drink, lass. If you’re to enter the Underworld, you’ll be needing my blood since I can’t escort you.”
She opened her mouth to protest but quickly shut it again. He was right. If she was going into that cave, there was no other way. And now more than ever, she wanted to get her hands on Haven. But whether it was to save her or kill her, Kyana couldn’t tell anymore.
She tongued her teeth, frustrated to feel her fangs gone. Tonight she would become a goddess, but right now she needed the trademark of her Dark Breed lineage and they were gone.
“I can’t,” she admitted.
He nodded, understanding as he too had been stripped of his fangs the moment he’d replaced Hades.
“There’ll be no need for that,” a Healer said, scooting to Geoffrey’s other side. “He’ll be good as new as soon as we can get to work on him. He’ll be able to escort you.”
The confidence on the woman’s face relieved the tension in Kyana’s shoulders. At least one thing had gone her way today. She could be thankful for that much.
As promised, Geoffrey was up on his feet again ten minutes later, though his color was still ghostly pale.
He shooed the Healers on their way and faced Hermes. “Have you checked on the Eyes of Power?”
He sighed and shook his head. “It’s as we feared.”
“She has them?” she guessed. “How could she have possibly gotten to them so quickly?”
The Underworld was massive, a realm unto itself. Haven would have had to know precisely where to go through the mazelike tunnels and stairways.
“More than likely, Cronos had somehow known where we’d placed them all,” Geoff said, taking a sip from the skin of water the Healer held out to him.
“That’s it, then,” Kyana said. “She has all the tools she needs to raise Cronos.”
Except one.
Her blood turned to ice water, chilling her from the inside out.
She scanned the copse of trees and the shores along the River Styx. Haven would still need to get Cronos’s bones, and only two people could take her there. One was safely tucked away on Olympus. The other . . . had disappeared from her side.
Chapter Thirty-Five
When the Healers had arrived to tend Geoffrey, the chaos gave Haven the perfect opportunity to snatch Ryker like he was nothing more than a two-year-old kid. Her unnatural strength hadn’t even belonged to her Dark Breed halves. It had belonged to Cronos.
But whatever Illusion Charm she’d placed on them both to get them through the streets undetected still hung over them like a small bubble making the outside world oblivious to his plight.
“You’ll either do what’s asked of you or you will die. The choice is yours.”
“Easy decision,” Ryker managed. “Kill me if you can.”
The Binding Charm Haven had shackled around his neck, after she’d thrown a muting spell on him, cut into his skin with each breath and made talking difficult.
As much as the woman standing before him looked like Haven, he knew it wasn’t. Her dark eyes and menacing smile belonged to Cronos. And the disdain in Ryker’s voice was aimed solely at him.
Haven’s laughter, much like her strength, her voice, and her eyes, wasn’t her own. “Then I’ll kill you and make your father port me to my destination.”
She gripped Ryker’s hair and dragged him forward. He managed to get his feet beneath him and pull them to a stop. His strength dissipated with each passing second the Binding Charm remained around his neck, but he fought against Haven’s attempts to carry out her possessed orders.
It wouldn’t take long for Ky to figure out that he was missing and come looking for him. If he could just last that long . . . or at least outlast the Binding Charm, maybe he’d get out of this alive.
“Ares will never give you what you want.”
Haven tugged again. “Perhaps he will be more cooperative if it’s the only way to save his son.”
Ryker would have laughed if he could have. “I hope you have a backup plan. Protecting the Order, keeping the human world safe, and ensuring Cronos’s sorry ass never walks again are more important than an estranged son.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Haven prodded him through a small backstreet that led around the far side of the prison cave where she’d been held captive. A thatch of trees walled the easternmost side of the structure, changing the scenery from beach to mountain as though they’d stepped into a strange painting. It was a spot for worshipping, meant to appear secluded from the rest of Below.
As Haven pushed Ryker through the trees, he found himself staring down the side of the cliffs, his toes precariously close to the edge.
She caught him by the collar and yanked him backward as the wind shoved him toward a very painful death. Thankfully, he was thrown to his knees. It was easier to balance like this. Easier not to sway on his feet at the horrifyingly high fall he’d been faced with.
He craned his neck, watching the wildness in Haven’s eyes. It was hard to believe the mall-rat Barbie-doll Witch who refused to so much as say the word shit was hiding beneath the maniacal gaze staring down at him now.
“If I port you—if I give you what you want, someday when this is all over, you won’t be able to live with yourself.”
She laughed, quietly at first, until it crept to the crescendo of a chest-bouncing cackle. “As if I care. You could throw this Vessel off this cliff right now, and I would prevent her from breaking into a million pieces.”
It was the first time he’d heard Cronos speak through Haven as though they were separate entities. Cronos was definitely growing stronger, and that didn’t bode well for how today would turn
out.
“Look at her. She has already tried to stop me from using her. And failed.”
Thrusting out her arms, she shoved beneath his nose white skin that was marred by ugly red scars raking from palm to elbow. Dozens of slashes, horizontal and vertical. She lifted her filthy dress, baring her belly, and revealed a puckered wound between her ribs.
“Even piercing her heart with silver didn’t work,” she said. “I will not let her go.”
A new hope lit up inside Ryker. Haven wanted out. Wanted death. She hated what she’d become so much, she’d rather die than live with it. It was a good sign, a sign that somewhere under all this, she’d retained some of the Haven Kyana knew and loved.
“On your own you don’t stand a chance, Haven,” he said, hoping he could break through whatever hold Cronos had over her. “But if you help me, I can banish Cronos forever. He’ll never be able to hurt you again. I swear it.”
“You think she’d choose to let you take her in? To let you exile her to that desolate island as I once was? She wouldn’t. She’d never allow herself to become food for my children the way her boyfriend was.”
Her ex-boyfriend had been delivered a cruel fate for his crimes of murdering Chosen, it was true. He’d deserved no less than to be fed to the pure Vampyre on the penal isle. But Haven was different. Or at least she could be if she just took his offer for help. And he believed Cronos was wrong. Haven was good enough to accept that punishment if it was given to her. But none of this was her fault. She wouldn’t get sent anywhere if he had any say in the matter. Cronos, however, was going straight to Tartarus . . . as soon as Ryker could get the damned Binding Charm off.
He struggled to his feet. “Haven! Haven, if you can hear me . . . don’t stop fighting this prick. You have me and Ky and Geoff fighting for you out here, but I need you to fight even harder in there!”
She scratched at her throat. Her black eyes flickered to green and the stoniness left her face. “I don’t have Geoff anymore. He’s . . . I killed—”
Haven was back! He had to hang on to her, had to convince her to hang on to herself. “No he’s not. You didn’t. Didn’t you see him? When you grabbed me? The Healers were tending him. He’s fine, Haven.”
“He said I’d killed him.”
Right. She hadn’t seen that Geoff was okay because it had really been Cronos at the scene, not her. Ryker slowly reached out to her, but she stepped out of his reach.
“Geoff is going to be fine. Give me your hand and I’ll take you to him.”
Haven shook her head. Her tears fell faster. Her hands trembled. He watched her battle to hold on to her soul. And in the blink of an eye, the young woman slipped back into nothingness as the black, soulless eyes filled her watchful stare once again.
Cronos was back.
“You think you can save her with a few kind words.” Haven swung and hit Ryker in the jaw. He staggered but managed to keep his feet. “I’m done with the games. You either help her complete her mission or I’ll torture you until you do.”
“Give it your best shot,” Ryker spat. “I won’t grant her access to your bones.”
“You think because you carry the blood of my son that you can beat me? It didn’t save Hades.”
“You didn’t kill him and you won’t kill me either.” He swayed on his feet. If he didn’t reach Haven soon, have her unleash him, the Binding Charm would kill him without Cronos’s help, Zeus’s blood or no. With each passing second, it was draining him of his power, draining him of his life force. He had to get it off. Had to find a way to fight back.
“You’re weak,” he said. “And when I get this collar off, I’m going to that island, all right, but it will be to grind your fucking bones into ashes.”
Through Haven, Cronos struck Ryker four times in the ribs in rapid succession. Ryker stumbled, crashing to his knees. The Binding Charm intensified the pain of the beating, but he hid behind a mask of outrage.
“I wouldn’t count on that.” Haven’s body leaned forward and whispered, “Your father might not go against the Order to save you, but will you be able to do the same when it’s Kyana’s life on the line?” She tightened her fist in the binding collar and grinned. “I don’t think so.”
The thought of Cronos hurting Kyana sent a fire through his belly that made it difficult to tamp down his anger.
“Kyana can hold her own,” Ryker choked out in a harsh whisper. If he flew off the handle now, he’d do something rash and get himself tossed off the damned cliff. “She doesn’t want to kill Haven, but if it’s the only way to stop you, she’s prepared to do it.”
“Oh, if that were true, she would have done it already.” Ryker was jerked to his feet like a rag doll. “Draw your circle or I will test how immortal you’ve become.”
“Unbind me and I’ll show you.” Ryker shook his head in an attempt to clear the blood from his eyes. His head pounded, his body ached in every imaginable muscle and some unimaginable ones too.
He struggled to hold on to his strength, to stall Haven and Cronos long enough for Kyana to find them. “Come on, Haven. Fight it, damn you. You’re stronger than this piece of shit.”
“You can’t have her.” Cronos’s evil cackle sent birds scattering. “There’s only one option here. Port her and I’ll save your life.”
It took several failed attempts, but Ryker finally managed to get on his feet. He stared at Haven, not seeing the small blond, but the monster hiding within her. “I’ll see you in Hell first.”
“Have it your way.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kyana raced through Below looking for some sign of Ryker even though her gut told her she wouldn’t find him there. Not alone anyway. Haven might have all four pieces of the Eyes of Power, but she still needed Cronos’s bones to complete the resurrection ceremony. Ryker was one of only two who could port her to that island where the bones had lain for so long. It didn’t matter what threats they used; he would never let Haven get within spitting distance of Cronos’s corpse.
Which meant she’d kill him when he refused.
As Kyana knelt beside several droplets of blood, fear tripped over itself, causing her hands to tremble. Whatever spells Haven had cast to snatch Ryker so deftly, she hadn’t, thankfully, used a Scent Removing Charm. Not even the infusion of Zeus’s blood had caused the scent of sunshine and ocean to change. However, hanging in the air like a storm cloud were the base pheromones of Haven and Cronos.
Maybe Haven wanted Kyana to follow. Maybe deep down . . .
Frantic, she followed their trail, determined to get to Ryker before it was too late. He would never unleash evil onto the world. Never port Haven and allow her to raise Cronos. He’d rather die than hurt the humans he valued so much.
She couldn’t let that happen.
She raced along the path to the cliffs. Footsteps pounded behind her, but guessing they belonged to Geoffrey, she didn’t turn. When she entered a wide clearing on the cliff’s edge, she froze. Haven had Ryker on his knees. Even from this distance, she could see the blood and bruises. As Haven’s fist came down on Ryker’s jaw, Kyana flinched for him. It took all her willpower not to leap into action and keep hold of what little calm she’d retained. Being hasty could cost Ryker his life, and his life had become too valuable for her to risk.
That revelation tore at her chest until a faint sob escaped her. She cupped her hand over her mouth and ducked behind the trees, her mind spinning with ways to pull him away from that cliff before she made her move.
As she watched Haven strike him again, Kyana couldn’t comprehend why he wasn’t defending himself, or why he hadn’t sent Haven flying over the cliff’s edge, ending Cronos’s attempts to regain power once and for all.
What the hell are you doing? she wanted to shout at him, but her voice refused to cooperate. Thankfully, though, her feet were no longer immobile. If she revealed herself slowly, she might distract Haven enough for Ryker to make a move. She closed the distance, stopping only when Haven pulled Ryke
r to his feet and shoved him closer to the cliff’s edge.
“Take one more step and I’ll let him fall.”
The sound of rocks breaking free from their precarious hold kept Kyana rooted.
“Kill him, Cronos, and you’ll never get what you want.” She shifted half a step closer. “If he goes over, I’ll make damned sure Haven goes with him. There’ll be no one to bring you back.”
She looked at Ryker. His face was so swollen that he was barely recognizable. It was then that she saw the binding cuffs linked around Haven’s wrist and Ryker’s throat. That was why he wasn’t fighting back. He was under her spell.
His crisp, clear, ice blue eyes penetrated the pulp that had become his face, eyes that spoke words his battered lips couldn’t form. He slowly lifted his hand to grip the Binding Charm around his neck. Though he pulled with enough force to make the muscles in his arms bulge, the necklace refused to release him. His gaze shifted from Kyana, to Haven, to the cliff, then back to Kyana.
Her heart stopped. He was prepared to sacrifice himself to stop this. She couldn’t let him do it. Kyana kept her gaze on Ryker, but spoke to Haven. “I’m sorry I let that bastard get his hands on you.”
Haven turned to glare at her, giving her the opportunity she’d been waiting for. She threw herself at Ryker. The instant she collided with his back, she jerked sideways, forcing them away from the edge and into Haven, knocking her on her ass. Their breaths escaped in a whoosh of agony. Then Haven shoved Ryker aside and scrambled to her feet.
Before Kyana could regain her breath or find a way to free Ryker from the bond that was killing him, Haven’s foot connected with her ribs, sending her careening toward nothingness.
She dug her hands into the rocky soil, her nails ripping in an attempt to find a handhold. She slipped over the edge before finding a root that would support her weight. Grasping the thorny vein with bloody fingers, she pulled herself up to find Haven standing over her. The maniac inside Haven laughed and ground her heel into Kyana’s hand.