by Stormy Glenn
“Where can I gain access to your weapons?”
Sahm was hurrying alongside of him, his brows shooting up. “You aren’t trained, Yannis. There is no way in all of Hades I’m letting you handle a gun until I’ve trained you. I don’t need you shooting me or Nikos on accident.”
Yannis couldn’t argue that no matter how much he wanted to. He knew next to nothing about these new weapons, but he understood the necessity of being well trained before using one.
Nikos shoved at Yannis’s chest. “You can put me down now. I can run with you guys. I feel stupid being carried.”
There was no way Yannis was letting his Beloved out of his arms. He wasn’t going to let one of the Brotherhood get their hands on him again. Having Nikos threatened once was enough to stop his heart from beating. “You are safe where you are at, Beloved.”
They rounded a corner and ran through a door, Sahm slamming it closed before waving them over to a large bookshelf. Yannis didn’t feel particularly safe here considering the door wasn’t enough to hold those men back.
All Sahm managed to do was trap them.
Yannis opened his mouth to tell Sahm this when the man slid his hand over something on the side of the bookshelf and the entire unit moved to one side. A rush of stale air brushed past him and Yannis was looking at an entrance. It was crudely made in the shape of an arch, not very wide, and he could see a light torch mounted on the wall.
Only the torch did not have flames. It was like the lamps he’d seen around the house.
“Get going,” Sahm said almost silently as he waved for them to go inside.
Yannis didn’t hesitate. He was running through the archway and heading down solid steps, descending into who knew what, but it was better than staying where they were. He heard the bookshelf slide back into place and the only light source they had were the torches.
“Keep moving.”
“Where does this lead?” Yannis asked.
“We’ll come out on the back roads behind the house,” Nikos said from his arms. “There is a small hill there that’s covered in brush and foliage that hides the entrance.”
“What about your parents?” Yannis asked Sahm. He didn’t like leaving them behind and swore vengeance if they were hurt in any way.
“There’s another entrance in their bedroom. They were using it when I came to find Nikos. I spotted the invading men when I was standing in the kitchen.” Sahm didn’t sound happy, like he’d failed Nikos in some sort of way. “By the time I got to Nikos’s office, one of them had already slipped inside.”
At least Althea and Jules were safe.
“Okay, Yannis,” Nikos grumbled as he shoved at Yannis’s chest once more. “I’m going to insist you let me walk.”
Yannis glanced back over his shoulder, still not ready to let his Beloved go, but the set of Nikos’s firm jaw convinced him to put the man down on his feet. It didn’t, however, keep him from grabbing the man’s hand. It made him feel better touching some part of his Beloved. If trouble followed, he could pull Nikos along.
“It’s right up there.” Sahm nodded in front of them. “We can figure out what to do when we are out of this tunnel. There is an unobstructed view of Nikos’s estate from the hill.”
“Good,” Yannis said through clenched teeth. “I want to see who dares invade my Beloved’s home. They will regret their foolishness.”
Chapter 8
Nikos leaned over and rested his hands on his thighs right above his knees, panting heavily as he drew in life giving air. Who in the fuck designed this damn escape tunnel to be at the top of a huge flight of stairs anyway? Nikos was pretty sure he was going to pass out. He was in good shape, but this was ridiculous.
“How many stairs was that?” he asked when Yannis and Sahm stopped next to him. Bastards weren’t even winded.
“Seven hundred and eighty three,” Yannis replied as if the number wasn’t astonishing in itself, let alone the fact that they had just ran their asses up every last damn one of them.
“Next time we take the elevator.”
Yannis cocked an eyebrow, looking confused as hell. “Elevator?”
Nikos rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Never mind.”
Sahm snickered until Nikos glared at him, then quickly tucked his lip in and looked away. Nikos knew the man was still laughing at him by the way his shoulders were shaking.
Nikos understood his amusement.
Sometimes, watching Yannis discover their world was quite amusing. He had attacked the microwave the first time he saw it work, afraid that it was some sort of sorcerer’s tool. The washer and dryer fascinated him to no end. And he would sit for hours and just watch television. He preferred documentaries.
And sometimes, watching Yannis discover their world was quite taxing. Things that Nikos had grown up with, or learned at a very early age, Yannis had no concept of. While it was interesting watching Yannis discover and explore, there were times when Nikos’s head hurt from trying to explain things to the gargoyle.
It seemed to be even harder to keep Yannis from attacking things he didn’t understand. The man was very serious about protecting Nikos, even from modern conveniences.
“The villa is just over that rise.” Sahm pointed to the small hill right behind Nikos. It was shrouded in trees, which was a good thing as far as Nikos was concerned. It would hide their presence from whoever was invading his home.
Nikos started in that direction when he felt something brush against his arms. He almost jumped right out of his skin until he realized it was simply Yannis’s leathery wing settling over his shoulders like a cape.
“I am sorry I have brought this upon you, Beloved.” Yannis’s voice was steady, strong, and yet there was a wealth of self-loathing in each syllable. “It was never my intention to put you in danger by my presence.”
“Yannis, we don’t know it was you that brought the Brotherhood into my life. According to them, my parents were members of their little secret society. It might have nothing to do with you.”
“You know that is not true, Beloved.”
Nikos heaved a sigh because he knew Yannis was most likely right. His parents might have been involved with the Brotherhood but he probably never would have even been a blip on their radar if Yannis hadn’t dropped into his life.
Nikos skidded to a stop and turned to look at Yannis. “How did you get here?”
“I do not understand, Beloved.”
“The night I found you,” Nikos explained, “Sahm and I saw a lightning strike, and then there you were, lying in the middle of the road. There was steam coming off of your body, but your skin was ice cold.”
“Okay,” Yannis replied even though his voice sounded perplexed.
“So, how did you get here, Yannis? Did you wish yourself here? Did your Gods send you here? Did you die in battle? What?” Nikos waved his hand aimlessly in the air. “What happened to bring you to me?”
Yannis’s ink-black eyebrows slowly drew together as he considered Nikos’s words. Nikos could practically see the wheels turning in the man’s head. He was just glad there wasn’t steam coming out of his ears.
“Beyond the Gods having a hand in our fates, I do not know what brought me to you. I will admit that I am grateful that it happened. I do not know how I would have lived my entire life without meeting you.”
“Isn’t it odd to you that we were chosen as soul mates and yet we were born in two separate time periods?”
“Yes, I do not understand that.” Yannis’s face was pinched, almost pained. “It is unheard of for soul mates to be from different time periods. I can only surmise that sorcery was involved somehow. I do not believe that the Gods would have chosen us to be together and then separate us as we were.”
Nikos reared back in confusion. “Sorcery?” He had to contend with gargoyles, Gods and Goddesses, and now sorcery? “Care to explain that statement?”
“For someone to prevent soul mates from being together, sorcery has to be involved, and there
was nothing in the world that I hate more than sorcerers. They are the spawns of Hades and make life for mortal man a living hell.”
“Sorcerers.” Nikos swallowed harshly. He knew about magic, and fully believed in it or at least believed in the power behind someone’s belief in magic. He had seen too many things that couldn’t be explained by science or rational thought. “You’re talking about spells, black cats, and sacrifices to the devil. That type of sorcery?”
“I believe so, yes.” Yannis nodded. “I do not know of your sorcerers, but in my time, they were pure evil. Their only intent in life was to mess with mortal man and defy the Gods at every turn. They are vile, sadistic creatures, Nikos. They will stop at nothing to get what they want, and they don’t care who they hurt in the process.”
“Hmm.” Nikos curled his lip back as he grimaced. “They sound delightful.”
“They are not to be trifled with, Beloved. A sorcerer will use any means necessary to gain more power. Killing a human would not deter them. I have seen sorcerers wipe out entire families to get to the one they wanted, usually an innocent.”
“I’m still confused,” Nikos admitted. “If the Gods decide our fate, how can a sorcerer interfere with that?”
“A sorcerer does not have the power to prevent soul mates from being born as the Moirai choose which souls are given life. But they can cast a spell and prevent soul mates from being together.” Yannis’s large hands fisted until the knuckles turned white. “I believe that is what happened to us, Beloved.”
“Why?” That was what confused Nikos the most. Yes, he had several companies and he made a lot of money, but he wasn’t involved in politics or anything like that. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to interfere in his life, let alone be interested in anything that he did. He just wasn’t that important in the grand scheme of things.
“I do not know, Beloved.” Yannis’s expression betrayed nothing, not even by the flicker of an eyelash, and yet Nikos knew that the man was very upset. “I can think of nothing that warrants their attention in our lives.”
Nikos blinked at the realization that Yannis had just voiced what he had been thinking. That was a little eerie, but whatever. “I make a lot of money, Yannis, but there are a lot of people that make more than I do. There is no reason I can think of for anyone to interfere in our lives either.”
“It may be something that we are unaware of or something that is yet to come.”
Huh?
Yannis smiled as if he could read Nikos’s mind. “The more powerful sorcerers can see into the future, Beloved. If they have seen something they wish to prevent, then they will do whatever they have to in order for it not to happen. If preventing us from being together can change the future, then ensuring that we were born in different time periods and never meet is one way to do that.”
Nikos blew out a breath as he rubbed his temples. His head was beginning to ache in ways he had never imagined. “So, you’re saying that they tried to stop us from meeting because of something one of us hasn’t done yet but might do in the future?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Then who made sure we did meet?”
Yannis’s face grew pensive, his eyes drifting off into the distance as if looking for answers in the darkness. “If the evil of sorcery separated us, then only the Gods themselves could bring us back together.”
Why did that not reassure him?
“We may never know, Beloved,” Yannis continued as his crimson-red eyes came back to rest on Nikos. “And I am concerned that whoever tried to keep us apart will try again when they learn that their plan failed.”
Nikos stormed up the last few feet to the top of the rise and waved his hand back down the hill toward the villa that had been in his family for centuries. Even from here in the dead of night, he could see smoke billowing up from the large stone building. He just wished he knew exactly how much of the home he grew up in was destroyed.
“You don’t think they already figured that out?”
“Oh, my Beloved,” Yannis whispered as his arms encircled Nikos from behind. “Your home.”
“Our home,” Nikos reminded the handsome gargoyle. “If I remember correctly, you claimed my ass, so that means that was your home, too.”
“Well,” Sahm said as he stepped up beside them, “at least your library is safe.”
“Thanks to you.” Nikos gladly acknowledged the hard work Sahm had put in to the secret room carved right out of the bedrock under the villa. Someone that found the stairs that led under the villa would find what used to be a dungeon and was now a wine cellar. Hidden behind a floor-to-ceiling wine rack was a secret entrance that led to Nikos’s library.
Sahm had brought in workers from the mainland and turned the deep stone caverns into a fireproof, waterproof, and theft-proof location where Nikos could house his large collection of books, scrolls, and collectables.
It was totally insulated from the outside world, hermetically sealed with a top-of-the-line security system. The entire villa could burn to the ground and Nikos’s library would not only stay safe, but hidden.
Nikos began to grow angrier as he watched his home burn. While the things he cared about and the items he had collected over the years were safe, that was still his house going up in flames. He wanted those responsible to be brought to justice.
“We need to learn more about the Brotherhood,” Nikos said as he leaned back into the secure embrace of his Beloved. The most important thing in his life was right there with him. “I refuse to let them interfere in my life any more than they already have.”
“Before we can investigate the Brotherhood,” Sahm said, “we need to rebuild the villa and make it more secure.” When Nikos glanced at Sahm, he wasn’t surprised to see that the man’s jaw was tightly clenched. As the head of Nikos’s security, the man didn’t like it when people breached that security. “We need to make sure that the Brotherhood can’t get onto the estate again.”
“Yes,” Yannis said firmly as his arms tightened around Nikos, his wings sweeping down around the two of them like a blanket separating them from the rest of the world. “I agree. Our home must be more secure.”
Nikos desperately wanted to roll his eyes, but deep inside, he was thrilled with how protective Yannis was. He had very few memories of his parents, but he remembered them being just as protective of his safety. But beyond them, and Althea, Jules, Sahm, and maybe a few friends, no one else would care if he lived or died—no one until Yannis.
Nikos glanced away from the destruction below and turned in Yannis arms until he could look up into the man’s face. His emotions were riotous, anger and anguish at the loss of his home battling for dominance inside of him.
The only things that didn’t confuse him were his feelings for the man before him, the handsome creature created by the Gods themselves.
And then he knew exactly how he felt.
“I love you, Yannis.”
Yannis’s crimson-red eyes twinkled, a suspicious sheen filling them. He pushed his hand through Nikos’s hair, the short ends pulling easily through his fingers. “And that knowledge makes my life complete, Beloved.” Yannis’s voice was husky, low, and deep. “I have no need of anything in your wondrous world except you.”
Nikos was ready to melt right into the dirt. He had been around the world more than once, met and dated more than his fair share of men. He had met famous men, powerful men, and rich ones. He had dated charming and debonair men. He had been involved with men that would make a person’s teeth ache with how beautiful they were. He had even dated a prince once.
And yet, no one had ever made him feel like Yannis did with a simple smile or string of words. The gargoyle had an old-world charm that might have seemed simple to some but made Nikos’s insides turn to mush.
Yannis was simple. He cared for Nikos and wanted his safety and well-being above all else. He didn’t care how much Nikos made, what he did for a living, or even how he looked. He simply wanted Nikos’s happi
ness.
And Yannis made Nikos happy.
“I have another house, a villa on Lake Como. We can go there until this place is repaired. Sahm will have to hire some extra security until we can make all of my properties more secure, but that might not be a bad thing.” Nikos glanced back over his shoulder, his heart aching at the loss of his home. “We may need the extra protection.”
“We’ll be fine, Beloved,” Yannis reassured him. “I will not allow harm to come to you again.”
“Yannis, you have no concept of the type of weapons that are available in this time period. Someone could set explosives up in any one of my homes and detonate them from remote control. That doesn’t even begin to address sniper weapons, assassination teams, air assaults, or anything like that. The possibilities for someone to hurt us are endless.”
“I will learn, Beloved. Sahm can teach me what I need to know to protect you.” A strange red light began to glow in Yannis’s eyes, which was strange considering the man’s eyes were already red. “Despite what I do not know of your time period, Beloved, the people attacking you do not know what they will bring down upon themselves if they attack you again. They have no concept of the fury of a guardian created by the Gods of Olympus.”
Yannis spoke with such self-assured vehemence that Nikos almost believed him. But he knew what sort of weapons were available today, and the thought of what the Brotherhood could do to them or the people they cared about frightened him like nothing ever had before.
Nikos suddenly wondered who was going to be keeping who safe.
Chapter 9
Yannis watched the home his Beloved cherished so very much go up in flames, and something inside of him began to seethe with untapped anger. He thought of how the men had come to the house, how one of them had held that gun to Nikos’s head, and he grew enraged. It was one thing to want him dead. It was an entirely different realm to put his Beloved in danger.