The Last Guardian of Tara (The Guardians of Tara Book 5)

by S. M. Schmitz

“Burn the fortress,” Badb exclaimed. “What else can we do?”

  “Wait!” Hanna yelled. “If the Sumerians used those scorpion men to destroy Olympus, they’ll destroy Enlil’s fortress if they keep striking the ground. I think he’s bluffing.”

  “You really want us to stand out here and take our chances with indestructible giant scorpions?” Ares yelled back.

  “Nothing’s indestructible,” Hanna insisted. “As soon as they show themselves, I’ll figure out a way to kill them.”

  Ares groaned and begged Cameron and Selena, “Reason with your daughter. We encountered them twice and nothing we did even slowed them down.”

  Cameron glanced at Hanna then shook his head. “Even combined, you weren’t as strong as Hanna. Give her a chance.”

  Black forms materialized on the sides of what Hanna assumed was the invisible fortress. Their tall torsos and heads vaguely resembled the shape of a man, but their bodies were completely scorpion, including the thick tails that whipped over their heads and struck the ground. As the deep vibrations that shook the earth caused the Guardians to fall, the scorpion men ran forward, remarkably fast for such enormous creatures.

  Hanna’s heart leapt into her throat and her mind raced, but a soothing, calming voice whispered in her ear, and her heartbeat slowed as her thoughts fixated on a solution. “If you’re Greek… sorry, guys.”

  “Wha—” Athena began to ask, but the roar of an equally monstrous lion broke off her question.

  Ares put his hands on his hips and shouted, “I thought that bastard was dead!”

  “Apparently, no mythological monster was ever killed by the hero that was supposed to have killed it,” Cameron pointed out. “Believe me, I’ve had to kill way more snakes than I should have because some demigod didn’t do his job like a million years ago.”

  The Nemean lion roared again and stalked toward the scorpion men, which had begun to retreat. Badb arched an eyebrow at Hanna who waved her off. “Cats are natural predators of scorpions, so we just needed an insanely huge and fierce cat.”

  So Badb turned her gaze on Athena and asked, “And why didn’t you think of this six hundred years ago? It’s your lion.”

  “It’s not my lion,” Athena protested. “And Heracles really did kill it. I was there. I’m the one who told him how to skin it, and I watched him do it. Hanna, did you somehow bring it back from the dead?”

  “Um… maybe?” She shrugged and watched the lion as it sprang toward one of the scorpion men, its massive jaws clamping down on the hard exoskeleton. The sharp crack as it broke between the lion’s teeth made Hanna cringe, but at the same time, she couldn’t look away.

  “Okay,” Thor said slowly, “so your daughter can bring monsters back to life after they’ve been dead for thousands of years. I’m not sure if I should be enormously impressed or enormously terrified.”

  “I’m thinking both,” Cameron told him. “I’m also thinking once this ridiculously huge lion has eaten all the scorpions or forced them into hiding, we’ve got a new problem on our hands. We have to rekill the Nemean lion, and unless Hanna can bring back Heracles, too, we’re going to do it ourselves.”

  “It’s not impossible to kill it, obviously,” Athena said, watching the lion as it pounced on another scorpion man. “Its hide is impenetrable, but if we aim our weapons at its mouth, we can kill it that way. The only thing that can penetrate its hide is its own claw, but I don’t suggest we get close enough to remove one of its claws.”

  “Can’t we just burn it?” Cameron asked. “Why doesn’t fire kill any of these bastards?”

  “Get Artemis and Apollo,” Athena suggested. “Have them shoot their arrows into its mouth. Cameron, your Spear will always return to your hand, so you and Thor can throw your weapons at it.”

  “Is that the Nemean lion?” Artemis asked, her voice incredulous and a bit shrill given her surprise.

  “Oh, we’re getting them right now,” Cameron said smartly.

  “I don’t think Hanna even knows how she resurrected a monster that’s been dead for thousands of years, but yeah,” Athena answered. “Turns out, it’s remarkably good at killing scorpion men though.”

  Artemis gaped at the lion, which had just crunched its way through a third scorpion man. The remaining two darted behind the invisible barrier and as the lion finished eating the third scorpion man and had no more meals within its reach, it finally turned toward the gods.

  “Now’s a good time to send it back to wherever you found it,” Cameron told Hanna.

  “Hades,” she said. “Apparently, there’s an entire ward there for the creatures of the gods. But I can’t send it back as long as it’s still alive.”

  Cameron sighed as his Spear appeared in his hand, the blue flames barely visible in the bright sunlight. “Honestly, it’s not as bad as giant serpents, so I’ll take monster lions any day.”

  Thor nodded in complete agreement and lifted Mjölnir, ready to throw it as soon as the lion roared again. Its long tongue licked its mouth as if it were already imagining the taste of its next meal. “Question,” Apollo said.

  “Better make it quick,” Cameron told him.

  “What if it doesn’t open its mouth?”

  “I can see how that would be a problem.”

  “Cameron,” Badb groaned, “we need a solution then!”

  “We piss it off,” he decided. “It can’t curse at us, so it’ll roar instead to let us know how incredibly annoying we are.”

  “And… it’s running,” Prometheus sighed. “I really wonder sometimes why I ever left Tartarus.”

  “Its mouth is closed,” Apollo pointed out helpfully.

  “And it’s awfully fast,” Macha pointed out just as helpfully.

  A wall of fire erupted in front of the lion but before any of the gods could ask him what that was for, Cameron shouted, “It’ll leap through, and probably roar at us when it does. Get ready.”

  Artemis and Apollo immediately pulled on their bowstrings, while Cameron and Thor lifted their weapons. London glanced at her spear then shrugged and lifted hers as well. “I’ll just get another one.”

  Cameron’s prediction played out, and the lion jumped through the wall of fire, completely unscathed, but he had pissed it off, and it roared loudly at the gods. Arrows, spears, and one surprisingly useful hammer let loose at the same time, each hitting their mark, and the Nemean lion dropped to the ground, shaking its head and stumbling. They’d badly wounded it, but the lion wasn’t that easily killed.

  “Thor, help me strangle it!” Cameron yelled.

  “Are you kidding me?” Thor yelled back, but he ran by his best friend’s side anyway.

  Hanna gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She’d never intended her father to get so close to this deadly beast. She couldn’t watch, and yet, she couldn’t look away. She’d heard every story, every exploit, every battle he’d won. But nothing could have prepared her for watching him approach something so deadly. An arm draped around her shoulders and a voice gently told her, “He’ll be fine, Hanna. Nothing can hurt your father.”

  At first, she didn’t even recognize that voice, but she didn’t pull away. She cowered next to the god’s side and kept her eyes on her dad as he and Thor jumped on the lion, wrapping their strong arms around its throat to choke the remaining life from one of the fiercest creatures to stalk the Greek world.

  “Still not as bad as having to strangle that snake in Hel,” Cameron yelled down at Thor, who’d stayed on the ground to keep the lion pinned down.

  Thor nodded. “Probably not as bad as kamikaze hummingbirds either.”

  Cameron grunted at the lion and snapped, “Would you die already?”

  Finally, the lion stilled and both Cameron and Thor waited a few moments to make sure it was really dead before Cameron jumped from its back and plucked his Spear from its open mouth. Thor retrieved Mjölnir and London’s spear for her, and as they made their way back to the Guardians, Hanna let her hands fall and became much mor
e aware of who had comforted her when she’d been so worried her attempt to get rid of the scorpion men had endangered her own father. She glanced up into the emerald eyes of Prometheus who moved his arm and looked away, clearing his throat nervously.

  And, of course, her father noticed, so Hanna just knew he’d have something to say about it. But for once, he didn’t make a smartass comment about whatever might be developing between his daughter and the Titan. Instead, he pointed his Spear toward the invisible fortress and said, “Let’s see what else that bastard is going to throw at us. Because the next time I have to choke the life out of something, it’s going to be him.”

  Chapter Five

  Finding the entrance to an invisible fortress proved to be more challenging than any of the gods originally thought. They could feel the walls, but as they dragged their hands along the outside of the building, they found no windows or doors or anything to indicate there was a way in or out of the fortress. Thor finally got tired of searching for an entrance that might not even exist and pulled Mjölnir from his belt. “I’m going to try breaking a hole in the wall.”

  “If it’s anything like the glass castle,” Cameron argued, “only a Sumerian can open it. Even your hammer will be useless.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” Thor asked.

  Cameron seemed to think about it for a few seconds then relented. “I don’t have any ideas, to be honest. Short of summoning another Sumerian god and threatening him with mortality, I think we’re at an impasse here.”

  Hanna shrugged and told Thor, “Try breaking in, and if that doesn’t work, I will summon another god and force him to let us in or make him mortal.”

  Cameron pulled his phone from his pocket and announced, “On it.”

  Thor sighed in his direction then approached the wall with his hammer raised. The other gods who’d still been looking for an entrance joined them to see if Thor’s attempt to break into the fortress would work. The Norse god of thunder struck the wall and stumbled backwards as the fortress wall refused to shatter under the impact.

  Cameron glanced up from his phone and said, “Didn’t work.”

  “Shut up, Sun God,” Thor replied.

  Cameron held up his phone and asked, “Utu?”

  “Killed his sister,” Badb told him.

  “It’s going to be impossible to find a Sumerian god without a relative one of us has killed,” Cameron decided.

  “Probably,” Badb agreed.

  “Girra?” Cameron tried.

  “Killed his father,” Athena said.

  Cameron grunted in frustration but went back to his list. “Iškur?”

  Thor shook his head. “Definitely out. Not exactly sure who his father is, but either possibility is bad news for us considering he’s descended from either An, whom Perses killed, or Enlil, whom we’re trying to kill now.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Cameron complained.

  Hanna held out her hand and said, “Give me your phone. This is taking too long, and it’s like eight hundred degrees out here.”

  “Pretty sure it’s not,” Cameron argued, but he handed his phone to her anyway.

  Hanna read over the list, and when one name, which she’d never heard before, jumped out at her, she handed the phone back to her father. “I’m summoning Marduk.”

  “Not that bastard,” Badb groaned.

  “I don’t think it’ll take much convincing to get him to cooperate,” Hanna countered. “I have a feeling there’s a stormy past with him and Enlil, and he might see this as a chance to finally oust his competition.”

  Badb snorted and asked, “He’s at least three thousand years too late.”

  “Maybe,” Hanna agreed. “But it’s not like gods have a reputation for letting go of the past.”

  “Besides,” Selena added, “he’s not going to give up his immortality for Enlil. Grab him.”

  A surprised god appeared in their midst before anyone else could argue with Hanna’s decision to summon Marduk. The blistering heat had sapped any patience she might have had for dealing with gods who thought they could somehow overpower or outwit her, and Marduk already had the expression of a god who thought he could do both.

  Hanna gestured toward the fortress and ordered, “Get us inside.”

  Marduk crossed his arms and scowled at her. “Inside where?”

  “Why do they always pretend to be so stupid?” Cameron asked.

  “I’m betting on him actually being that stupid,” London replied.

  Marduk turned his scowl toward them.

  Hanna glanced at the sand beneath his feet, and it began to crawl up his legs like ants marching toward their hill. Marduk uncrossed his arms to swipe at the sand covering his legs, but the more he brushed off, the more it covered him until he was surrounded by a mound of sand that enclosed his body, leaving only his upper torso exposed. With him trapped just as she’d trapped Nabu, she asked him one more time to open the fortress, and he again refused, although the bravado he’d initially had seemed to be cracking.

  She reached out to touch his arm, and Cameron immediately grabbed the god’s other arm and warned him that if he even thought about striking his daughter, he’d burn him alive. As Hanna’s fingers grazed his bare skin, the familiar essence of supernatural power stirred and responded to her command to leave Marduk’s body.

  The Sumerian god who’d once been hailed as the patron deity of the great city of Babylon panicked, just as Nabu had earlier, and squirmed and fought against his confinement, but the sand wouldn’t budge. He was helpless, and soon, he’d be powerless.

  “All right!” Marduk cried.

  Hanna released his arm and pointed toward the invisible fortress again. Marduk’s eyes darted between her and Cameron, and he finally beat on the sand that kept him tethered to the ground. “You’ll have to release me. I can’t reach.”

  “If you trick us, I will drain all of your power,” Hanna warned.

  Marduk narrowed his eyes at her but acknowledged he had no intention of deceiving his captors. Hanna let the sand fall back to the Earth, and the Sumerian god slowly reached for the wall they all knew was there but couldn’t see. His eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder at Hanna. “I’m trying,” he insisted. “I can see the palace, but the walls won’t open for me.”

  “God, I hate this asshole,” Cameron mumbled then immediately held up a hand. “I mean Enlil. Obviously.”

  “It’s a special enchantment,” Prometheus guessed. “A powerful one if it can only be controlled by specific gods.”

  “Can we even destroy it then?” Hanna asked.

  Prometheus ran his fingers through his hair and blew a frustrated breath through his lips. “I’m not sure. I haven’t found anything Perses can’t destroy, but if we call on him for this and the vessels, it’s going to take one hell of a bribe.”

  “Tell him he can have Badb,” Cameron offered.

  Badb grunted at him and flipped him off.

  But Prometheus played along and nodded thoughtfully. “Any god would be lucky to have one of the Mórrígna at his side, but those tempers together? I thought we were trying to save the world.”

  So Cameron nodded thoughtfully, too. “Good point.”

  And then, for some reason Hanna would probably never understand, Badb joined in as well. “What if I showed up looking like this?” she asked as she transformed into an old woman in a long black robe.

  Cameron looked her over quickly then said, “It’s a big improvement. This might actually work now.”

  So, of course, Badb flipped him off again.

  And, of course, all of their friends sighed impatiently as they waited for Cameron and Badb to shut up.

  “May I go now?” Marduk asked.

  “Not exactly,” Hanna replied. “I’ll free you when Enlil has been killed or captured.”

  “You’ll free me?” he replied, but Hanna sent him to Hel then put her hands on her hips as she tried to figure out what their next move should be.

/>   “There are humans inside,” she announced. “I can feel them. But this fortress is too well protected for it to just house a mortal army. He’s guarding something.”

  “Let’s try combining our fires,” Cameron suggested. “We can easily create fires hot enough to melt steel. The enchantment may protect the building, but if we compromise its structural integrity, it may weaken the enchantment, too.”

  Hanna smiled up at her father who smiled back at her and asked, “What? It’s just an idea.”

  “It’s a brilliant idea,” Hanna said. “I’m so glad you’re with me for this. I wish…” She trailed off and pretended to study the fortress again even though there was nothing for her to see.

  Cameron put an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. “You will never be alone. You may live on Earth from now on, but your mom and I will never be far away.”

  “And you won’t be the only goddess who lives on Earth,” Prometheus added. Hanna thought he’d wanted to say something else, but Cameron had shot him a look that she was almost certain meant, “Stop hitting on my daughter,” so Prometheus blushed and also pretended to study a fortress he couldn’t see.

  “Fire,” Hanna said. “And maybe everyone else can offer some prayers and sacrifices to Danu.”

  “What kind of sacrifice?” Thor asked. “I’d do just about anything for you, Hanna, but I’m going to have to draw the line at finding snakes to offer as a sacrifice or any reason, for that matter.”

  “Don’t blame you,” Cameron quickly added.

  “Just stick with the prayers,” Hanna sighed.

  “Good call,” Cameron agreed.

  “Fire, Dad.”

  Cameron grinned at her and ignited a fire at the base of the fortress. Hanna added her own flames and they forced the heat to increase until the entire fire raged in white and blue tendrils that licked the walls of a palace they could only see now because the flames followed the length and height of the building.

  The Guardians stepped back even though Cameron and Hanna would never allow their fires to harm their friends, but even witnessing a fire that burned this hot seemed to scare them all anyway—everyone, that is, except Selena. She stayed by her husband’s side, watching the impossibly white hot fire, and waiting for something to happen, whether that was humans feeling the unbearable temperatures inside or the enchantment being weakened enough for them to break into the fortress.