“It’s the hand we were dealt. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say we seem made for each other. So once we vanquish Hunger, we should probably, you know, have dinner, or catch a movie or something.”
“You’re asking me on a date?” Her expression lightened. “I believe I’d like that.”
The light in the room dimmed, as though a cloud scudded over the sun, masking it. Tension gripped the base of Ben’s neck, and a shudder swept across his shoulders.
Near the window, a fizzing noise crackled, reminding him of electricity sizzling along a power line. Under him, Lia’s body went insanely tense. Her heart raced against his chest.
He rolled from her and sat up, facing the window. Behind him, Lia rose on her knees, pressing against his back. The sharp tang of ozone filled the room, overwhelming the sweet scent they’d joked about earlier.
In the tree branches visible outside her room, sat Hunger. She appeared ablaze, her feathers rimmed in a radiant halo of red and yellow. The bitch’s eyes burned as garish blue-white, resembling lightning in a summer sky. She flapped her wings. The angry whooshing noise was audible in the quiet bedroom, pounding in Ben’s brain.
Lia gasped.
Ben surged out of bed, waving his arms wildly, a poor attempt to scare the immortal creature away. Hunger cackled in response and darted from her perch toward the window, as if she intended to fly through the glass to reach them.
A golden spider web burst over the pane of glass. Intense blue flared in the center. Hunger squawked, fell from sight, wings moving frantically as she disappeared. She emerged again and flew toward the window once more. The golden web stretching across the window bowed inward with the bird’s thrust, as if she’d made it past the glass into the room. Ben stumbled back, slapping into Lia, who dug her fingers into his waist and pushed. He stood his ground against her attempt to move him out of the way. It was his job to protect her.
Hunger’s feathers appeared to flame and smolder as she came into contact with the immortal obstacle. The barricade held fast, barring the beast’s entrance.
With an ear-piercing screech, the magpie speared toward the sky and disappeared.
“What the fuck was that?” Fear had seized his gut at the sight of Hunger’s freaky eyes and glowing feathers. He pushed it away, striving hard to stay calm. He was so fucking far out of his depth.
“That was a ward.” Lia clambered off the bed, wrapping a sheet around her body. She scooped up his jeans and tossed them to him. “Get dressed fast. The guardian spell is connected directly to SecCom. We’re about to have company.” She scampered toward the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
The air began to weigh on him. He’d felt the heaviness before. It signaled incoming immortals. The feeling had been intensified when he’d traveled the Hollow himself. He jammed one leg, then the other, into his jeans and yanked them up as pressure built uncomfortably in his ears. As he jerked up his zipper, his ears popped.
Six beefy Vikings shimmered into the room, floating above the pale yellow carpet. Fucking big blond men in tight black uniforms who lowered the remaining six inches to the ground with ballerina-style grace. They crouched into defensive positions, arms raised. Balls of blue flame seethed in their cupped palms. The room concussed again, and two more immortals blinked into the suddenly crowded room.
One was dressed like Steve Jobs. The deity jabbed his finger into Ben’s naked chest and demanded, “Where is my daughter?”
Fucking great! Lia’s dad stood in her bedroom, and him with his jeans still unbuttoned, no shirt, no shoes, and no way to hide what they’d been doing. Casting a glance toward the messy bed, Ben scrubbed his hand over his head hoping to tame what he knew was bedhead hair.
“Report!” The other guy barked.
The man’s voice blasted inside his skull, making Ben jump.
“Bloody hell!” Lia’s angry voice thundered from behind the bathroom door. “Can’t a girl enjoy a little afternoon delight without a freaking army showing up in her freaking bedroom?” A picture rattled on the wall when she slammed her way into the bedroom.
Holy hell! She was lovely every moment of the day. But pissed off Lia was magnificent. Eyes glowing the color of the sky before exiting the atmosphere, red-gold hair bouncing on her shoulders, shocking pink staining her cheeks. She jerked the white terry-cloth belt tight around her tiny waist. Above the vee of the robe’s opening, her chest heaved.
Ben clenched his fists and jammed them into his pockets to keep anyone from discovering the massive erection behind his zipper. He wanted to sprint across the room, tackle Lia to the ground and drive back into her tight, sweet heat. Sucking in his cheeks, he bit hard enough to draw blood and focused on easing his racing heart.
Stalking past the Viking marauders, Lia’s dad gripped her shoulders. “This freaking army is here for your protection.” His voice carried an edge of anger, softened by a note of concern. The guy pressed his forehead against Lia’s smooth skin and both fell silent.
“I’m Mars.” The barrel-chested god who’d popped in with Zeus stepped into Ben’s sightline, hand extended expectantly.
“Like bringer of war Mars?” Ben found his forearm gripped in the man’s powerful paw. Kind of made him feel like a gladiator of old.
“I’ve been called that.” Mars raked his cold, calculated stare over Ben. “What happened?”
Ben gestured to the Viking army, still crouched with energy balls flaming in their hands. “Can they extinguish those? The immediate threat is gone.”
Mars waved his arm and the powerful orbs diminished then winked out entirely. The mini-battalion shimmered again. In the blink of Ben’s eyes all but one disappeared.
“Hey, Stewart,” Ben greeted the remaining guard.
Stewart tipped his chin up, but remained silent.
“Hunger decided to try to enter my home.” Lia left Zeus’s side and pressed in under Ben’s arm. His bare chest warmed under her small hand. “Shelly’s wards worked perfectly to keep her out.”
“I do not like this.” Mars’s cheeks hollowed out as he sucked in a deep breath. It was blown out hard, sounding like an explosion of frustration. “Hunger is a brazen, audacious bitch.”
“Makes me think she believes she’s won. That makes me feel like the other shoe is about to drop.” A tremor ran through Lia’s frame and Ben firmed his grip on her, drawing her closer.
“If their timeframe has escalated, so must ours. Lia and Ben, please be at Olympus in fifteen minutes.” Zeus regarded them, his gaze pointedly zeroed in on the united front they presented, then swept to the bed. Pursing his lips, he faced them, eyes boring into Ben. “You’ll do.”
Zeus snapped his fingers, and he, Mars, and Stewart blinked out of the room.
Lia tried to move away from Ben, but he circled his arms around her, pulling her close. He held her quietly and for long enough to calm her trembling. “We’ll survive this, Lia. I’ll do everything in my power to defeat this enemy.”
“With the help of a lot of our friends.” She leaned back to smile up into his eyes.
Ben skimmed her lips with his, then lifted his head and held her gaze, a smirk dancing on his lips. “So I’ve met your dad now. I guess that makes us officially a couple.”
Chapter 13
The dreamlike quality of the transport through the Hollow continued to play tricks on Ben’s mind. He’d traveled through it by himself to get to Lia’s house. It had been a fast trip, since they were geographically close to one another. And he’d been there before, so there was no chance of getting lost in the soup-like cloudiness.
But he hadn’t been to Olympus before, so with a hand on his shoulder, Lia guided him to their destination. For the last three minutes, they’d been in the freaky mist form necessary for movement. He had a feeling the corporate headquarters they were racing to wasn’t the building situated on the park-like acreage on the outskirts of Delphi.
Lia’s Hollow form glowed orange, with a lime green pulsing central core w
here her lifeblood pumped. The colors suited her sunny disposition. Ben knew his heartbeat showed up as cobalt in his silver form, which Lia had explained was typical for mortals with certain immortal gifts. He also knew he was about to meet the other three men whose appearance in the Hollow would be similar.
Repeatedly during their journey, pressure mounted in his head, and his ears had popped regularly. He resisted the urge to pinch his nostrils and blow.
“You’ll get used to the change in atmosphere.” Lia’s soft words whispered directly into his head. Again, he had a sense of her voice as delicate bells. The world around him might be fuzzy and unfocused, but her voice was crystal clear.
“Once the challenge is over, will Zeus remove the gifts?” he asked.
She hesitated. “He gave the gifts to Jax and Thomas after the Clio and Nia defeated their magpies. Polly’s partisan gave the communication gift to Ian during the challenge, but Zeus didn’t strip it away once it was over. But they’re in love. Don’t know what will happen with you.”
If love were the only requirement, Ben would be in possession of these gifts for his lifetime. He edged closer to Lia’s aura. It felt as if they were climbing now, instead of moving horizontally through the darkened void. The sensation of speed lessened as well.
Ben glanced at his new surroundings as the world solidified once again. Lia had navigated to a miniature amphitheater, like one he’d sat in for his botany classes at Penn State. A short flight of marble steps led to plush seating, arranged in tiers. The floor was creamy marble streaked with veins of grayish silver. Columns rose toward a sky-high ceiling. The result was a very gothic looking Greek coliseum. A high-tech display at the front of the room instantly negated the sense of going back through time. The inactive video screen was made up of sixteen individual monitors, combined together to display the familiar laurel wreath of the Olympus logo. A separate bank of computers was set in a small alcove to the right and staffed by a team of muscular men. Their tight black T-shirts, camouflage trousers and shiny black combat boots reminded Ben of special ops forces or Navy SEALs. They were definitely more like a battalion of soldiers than a bunch of tech geeks.
Lia laid a hand on his now solid arm, and his spine jolted a bit as she lowered them the last six inches to the ground. “Okay?” she asked in a low voice.
Laying a palm over her hand, he squeezed. “Still weirded out, but yeah, I’m fine.”
“Good. Come on. I’ll introduce you to my family.” She gestured to the upper corner of the room, where a group of people clustered. Every woman had some shade of red hair. What were the chances?
Ben drew a deep breath. Just sisters and brothers. No sign of Zeus. “Lead on.”
His footsteps echoed Lia’s on the stone steps, worn smooth in the middle, like any good ancient site.
As they approached, one of the women separated and hurtled toward Lia, flying into her arms with a sobbing laugh. “Sister!” she squealed. “I’m so happy to see you in mortal form, instead of as a magpie.”
“Goddess, Mel. Ease off a little. Not a stinky bird yet.” Lia gripped the forearms locked around her neck. She caught Ben’s gaze and rolled her eyes. Breaking free of Mel’s stranglehold, Lia sidestepped away and straight into Ben’s chest. He gripped her hips to steady her. “Ben, this is my twin, Melpomene.”
“Oh, Ben! So wonderful to meet you. It’s great the way you agreed so quickly to help,” Mel gushed, wringing her hands together.
Ben found himself smothered in a similar bear hug to the one Lia had just freed herself from. He awkwardly patted Mel’s back. “It’s good to meet you as well.”
Lia grasped Mel’s arm and yanked it back. “Don’t damage the goods, Mel.”
Ben did a double take when Mel faced him. She and Lia were identical in every way, size, form, down to the burnished red of their hair. When Mel smiled, Ben realized a small difference in the pair, other than their demeanor. Lia’s sexy dimple showed up on her left cheek. Standing side-by-side, he noted Mel’s was on the right.
The rest of the group moved toward him. His gut clenched. Sure, he’d been in the presence of the king of gods, Zeus, and one of the primary deities, Mars. Their interaction seemed nearly normal because the conversation was all about how he could help Lia save the world. It had been like he was talking to her dad and stern, warlike uncle, not timeless beings who’d guided mortals over the eons. But this was a whole bunch of timeless beings. A big whopping dose of what he’d call supernatural.
“I’m Nia.” The woman with copper-penny colored curls extended her hand in greeting. She drew the man hovering behind her forward. “This is my fiancé, Thomas.” The guy had a very familiar face. Ben couldn’t shake the idea they’d met before.
One by one each sister stepped forward to introduce herself to him. Ben’s head spun by the time the last one, another familiar face, introduced herself and her mate. “I’m Polly and this is Ian Sommers. We’ll be working closely with you and Lia. Ian is the president of Demeter Sciences.”
“Really?” Ben gripped the guy’s hand. “I’ve followed the information about the start-up.” The company, only in business a few weeks, had attracted his attention due to their mission statement to find organic solutions to real world problems and their focus on plants.
Ian’s brown eyes lit with a smile. “Nice to know at least one person is paying attention to us.”
Polly tugged the ends of the man’s shaggy blond hair then tucked the strand behind his ear. “Hey now. I’m working to get as much press as I can for you on Channel Seven.”
That’s why Ben recognized her. She was an investigative reporter on a local television station.
Ben pointed at Polly, then curled his finger into his palm. Who knew? It might be bad form to point at a goddess. “You exposed some shady dealings with Argran Industries recently. Like two weeks ago recent.”
“And thank goodness we did. That whole episode was another of Pierus’s challenges.” Polly’s expression was thoughtful, under-shadowed by concern. “If we’d failed, I’d be a magpie now. And you wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess. You’d be dealing with all kinds of other bad stuff.”
“But you couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with to defeat a megalomaniac.” Ian’s wry smirk made Ben think he’d actually enjoyed the challenge. Ian wrapped his arm around Polly’s shoulders. “Plus, it comes with some great perks, like automatic reincarnation and the ability to journey from this country to another continent in under ten minutes. Not the least of which is you always end up with the girl.”
“You are such a doofus.” Polly jabbed her elbow into Ian’s ribs. Ian grunted, but gazed at Polly with adoration.
Uncomfortable, since he didn’t know for certain if he’d actually end up with the girl, Ben glanced down.
At the bottom of the steps, a door whooshed open with an oddly musical gasp. Zeus and Mars strode into the room, followed by another contingent of super-soldiers. The phalanx of warriors dressed in arctic camouflage surrounded a powerful-looking man with a smooth shaven head, and a plaited beard that reached the center of his chest.
“Who is that?” Ben whispered to Lia. The man’s ornately embroidered robe swished along the tops of his gladiator style sandals.
“Enlil. He’s the Mesopotamian god who can grant kingships. Also, he’s Enki’s brother.” She grabbed his hand and led him behind her sisters to the second tier of seating.
“I’m afraid to ask who Enki is,” Ben mumbled as Lia pushed him onto the dark, leather chair. He scanned the room and discovered each of the Muses who had mates had clustered around Lia and him, while the unattached Muses had claimed the front row. Lia’s partisans had filled the seats on the riser behind them.
“We will begin now.” Zeus raised his hand and all noise in the room ceased.
Ben leaned forward, resting his elbows on the ebony counter before him, his gaze riveted on Enlil. Lia laid her hand on his thigh, the warmth of it grounding him in the midst of this surreal
experience. As the gentle glow spread along his nerve endings, he imagined what it would be like if he did win the girl in the end. He’d become part of this tight-knit cadre of people who inhabited a realm unlike anything he’d ever imagined.
He held back a snort when he paused to think he was sitting on Mt. Olympus, surrounded by immortals and deities he’d only read about or seen depicted in movies. Lia tightened her grip, drawing his eyes. Ben leaned back and rested his hand on hers, lacing their fingers together.
Enlil’s contingent marched to a second set of risers off on the left of the central platform, and settled into a parade rest stance, legs spread wide, hands clasped behind their backs, shoulders squared. But all remained standing. Enlil walked to an oversized chair on the dais and took a seat next to Mars. Zeus remained at the podium, and nodded to one of the tech geeks. The mammoth bank of monitors behind Zeus blinked on with two pictures adjacent to each other.
Ben gaped at the screen a moment before shooting a startled glance toward Lia. Her upper lip curled, looking a great deal like disgust. Directing his attention back to the display, Ben pondered the images while Zeus scowled at the screen above the podium.
One picture showed an alien looking fellow, brown eyes dominating a narrow face. He sported a beard similar to Enlil’s, but had a full head of hair that flared out from behind his ears. The picture of the other guy struck a chord of fear in Ben’s chest. It could be the deity’s cold, dead expression. Or it could be the freaky hat or crown or whatever perched atop the dude’s long flowing hair. It reminded Ben of the kind of headgear seen in hieroglyphics from ancient tombs.
“Okay, who are those guys?” he whispered to Lia.
“That’s Abu, on the right. God of plants and vegetation. He was created to ease Enki, the guy on the left’s, illness.”
“Was his illness insanity?”
Lia barely suppressed a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand and turning the amused sound into a strangled cough. Her eyes warmed to the color of a summer sky. “I knew you had it in you to be funny. He does look a little off kilter. We’re not really sure what ailed Enki that required eight nursemaids. We believe, however, that Enki and Abu are in cahoots with Pierus.”
Hunger: Goddesses of Delphi Page 12