Out of Sorts Aphrodite (The Goddess Chronicles Book 2)
Page 23
“What the hell, Typhon? What’s going on?” I was wide awake, my heart beginning to beat in a fast panicked rhythm.
“There are rumblings, Abby. Rumblings of war. Do not dally. Do not take any unnecessary risks. Get your friend and get out. I must return to Zeus. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
I nodded, confusion all over my face. I’d do as he said, but I didn’t have a clue where we would go.
“Good,” he said as he stood up. “I must go. Be careful, goddess. Gather your allies soon. There will not be much time before a major move is made.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“We don’t yet know. If my intel is correct, they are on the way here, though.” He raised his hand in farewell and disappeared without a trace.
Well, hell. That was enlightening. I untangled my legs from the bedcovers and sat on the edge of my bed for a second with my head in my hands. However many hours of sleep I got, it wasn’t enough. I felt like I’d been plowed over by a Mack truck.
I slipped my feet into the flip flops I always kept by the bed and trudged out the door and made my way to Artie’s room. I knocked softly on her door and went in. Artie slept like a toddler. I always wondered how Keto managed to get any sleep. She was spread out across the entire queen sized mattress, her long limbs taking up all the corners of the bed. The covers were long gone, spread out in a messy pile on the floor, and her pajama shirt rode up her belly.
I sat on the edge of the bed and poked her. “Asshole. Get up.”
She didn’t move. “Goddess of the Hunt. Awaken,” I said dramatically and waved my arms around. Nothing. I poked her again in the ribs. She stirred a little, her chestnut hair falling across her face. I swear she looked like the aftereffects of a frat party.
“Artie. I need you to wake up now.” I spoke in a normal voice. When that didn’t elicit a response I began shaking her shoulder. “Artie!” I shouted. “Get up!”
One eye opened and squinted at me. “Get out,” she mumbled.
“No can do, kemoslobby. We gotta go.” I poked her again when I noticed her eye shutting.
“Go where? It’s six in the morning!” She tried to shove me off the bed, but I was too smart for her reindeer games. She huffed and turned onto her side.
“Typhon paid me a visit this morning.” I saw her stiffen. “He said we didn’t have much time, and we needed to get the hell out of here.”
She turned back, both eyes open now. “What happened?”
I shrugged. “I can only assume it had to do with our criminal activity on Olympus and Hermes’ and Keto’s rescue operation. He took those women to Rhea, you know.” I hadn’t gotten around to telling her about that last night.
Artie’s eyes widened and she grinned. “Rhea. That’s diabolical,” she said with pleasure.
“My thoughts exactly. Now get up. I’m headed back to the room to get a small bag ready.”
She nodded and mumbled something incoherently. I left the room and walked quickly back to my own. I shouldn’t even bother with a bag, but I’d gotten attached to some of my things. A very, very bad habit for me to have, but if I was going to live here, I was going to get attached to things. It was the nature of the beast. I looked around at my room, sadness filling my heart. I only hoped I’d be able to come back soon to this place. It was the one house I felt I could actually truly call my home.
In a hurry, I packed my vials, some of my favorite articles of clothing, a couple of small pieces of jewelry I’d picked up along the way, and a picture of Marshall and me taken a few days after we’d decided to make it official. We both looked stupidly happy. I knew even then it wouldn’t last. I used a quick burst of magic to change into a sensible pair of jeans and a white blouse, changed into a comfortable pair of sandals and quickly twisted my hair up with a claw.
I took one long, last look around my room, picked up my duffel and headed downstairs to wait for Artie. The familiar smells of the house haunted me. The pictures on the wall my testament to making this a home for all of us. I passed by Hermes’ room and smelled his familiar scent. I trailed my hands down the wooden banister as I made my way into the living room. I set my bag down and decided to grab a quick cup of coffee before I started bugging Artie to hurry up. I took down my favorite peacock mug, filled it, and leaned sideways against the counter, staring out the back door. So far so good. Maybe Typhon had his info wrong because outside it looked as peaceful as always.
I must have been standing there for a few moments lost in my thoughts when I heard an ear piercing scream. Artemis. My mug shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor when vise like arms gripped me from behind. The Sword of God appeared against my throat, its blade cool and sharp against the delicate skin. I froze when a familiar voice washed over my skin.
“I’ve imagined holding you in this position for thousands of years.” The grip tightened, the blade digging deeper into my skin when I whimpered.
“Yes,” the voice whispered, “cry for me.”
I closed my eyes in horror as I realized the man holding the blade had once been a cherished lover of mine. A loud crack of thunder forced my eyes open. In front of me, looking none the worse for wear stood the Goddess of the Hearth, wearing a wicked smile while her hand wrapped tightly around the hair of my best friend who kneeled at her feet.
34
Epilogue
I always thought I was too pretty to get locked in the clinker, but judging from the smell of me, Ares and Hestia didn’t share that opinion. By all accounts, Artie and I had been locked up for at least five days. One small pinpoint of light came from a crack in the hard, gray stones of the cell we were in, telling me when the sun set and night fell once more. Artie hadn’t spoken for the last twenty-four hours. Her mouth turned down in a perma-frown, and her hair lay lank against her face.
She was giving up, and it was pissing me off. Five days was nothing. We could survive for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years like this. It wasn’t ideal, but it could be done. Ares had taken us by surprise, but now that I knew it was him we were up against, my brain was working overtime to come up with a plan to get us out of here. One that hopefully wouldn’t result in our untimely demise.
I had one thing Ares didn’t. I paid attention during the years we were together. I knew his likes, his dislikes, his morning habits…pretty much everything about him, and if I knew him like I thought I did, he wouldn’t have changed them. Change was difficult with the gods, mostly because we were too arrogant to believe it might be a good thing.
“Artie.” I moved as close as I could to her, the chains binding my ankles rattling together in a surprisingly musical tinkle. The light noise was at odds with the cold floor and the musty smell surrounding us.
She swallowed and looked away. I reached out for her but couldn’t reach far enough to grab her hand. I’d been trying for days, hoping against all hope that this would be the day my chains stretched just a little bit further so I could offer some comfort to my friend. I sighed and tried to reach deep down again to find the magic missing since our kidnapping. I wasn’t sure if it was the chains or the cell spelled to dampen our magic, but I could feel nothing. The place at the heart of me where the magic lay was suspiciously empty.
Ares had done well. I had no idea where we were, though I suspected we were somewhere in Olympus. I could sense no one else here, except for when a tray of food was shoved in through the bottom of the door each day. I tried, unsuccessfully, to start a conversation with the mysterious person feeding us, but there was only silence on the other side. At night, when the only sounds to be heard were the mice skittering across the floor and the soft silent sobs of my best friend, I did something rare – I prayed.
I sat up and leaned my head against the cold stone. I spoke again, hoping Artie was still somewhere in there, unbroken. “We are still alive, Artemis. Are you listening to me? He needs us alive for some reason, and every day that we live, we have the opportunity to do something about our situation.”
> Silence was the answer. I sighed. “He will pay for this. By the power of Zeus and Hera, I swear that Ares will rue the day he ever screwed with us.”
Deep in my soul, a fire burned. Ares had betrayed all of us. While he didn’t have much reason to be afraid of me right now, I didn’t doubt that Hermes and Keto were searching like mad for us. When I came face to face with Ares again, and I knew I would, I would make him pay for his betrayal and for the defeated look upon Artie’s face.
Until then, I would do everything in my power to survive this.
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