“Wait,” Selena breathed. “Did that news anchor just call us terrorists?”
“He just called us terrorists,” Cameron confirmed.
“That’s it,” Selena fumed. “You can totally smite them for this.”
“Finally!” Cameron exclaimed.
“Cameron,” his father responded uneasily.
“Joking, Dad,” he assured him.
“I know,” he said. “I’m a little more concerned by the noise outside at the moment. It sounds like a riot out there.”
Cameron let go of Selena’s hand so he could glance out the window. His father had been right. Despite the mandatory curfew, his parents’ neighbors, many of whom had been his neighbors growing up, had poured into the streets, stopping the passing Humvees as their fear threatened to turn into violence. And this was Louisiana: few people in this neighborhood were unarmed.
He jumped as the first gunshot broke through the shouting and screaming outside and backed away from the window. More gunshots quickly followed, but he grabbed Badb’s arm before she could reach the door. Whatever she’d intended to try in order to stem the catastrophe about to unfold in a formerly quiet, peaceful neighborhood in southeastern Baton Rouge, he suspected it would not only fail but make things worse.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” he said quickly. “But maybe you’ll learn we aren’t your enemies after all.” He refused to look in his father’s direction as he transported his parents from the dangerous chaos their neighborhood had become to the peaceful tranquility of the Otherworld.
The Dagda rose slowly from his table where he’d just sat down with Aonghus to eat as three of his gods returned with two unfamiliar demigods. He raised an eyebrow at Cameron, but always the considerate host, waved toward his table. “Shall the chef bring more?”
Cameron glanced at the table and his stomach rumbled in response. “If those were po-boys, I’d say Earth can wait.”
“Where the hell are we?” Brent asked.
“Murias,” Cameron answered. “Specifically, the Dagda’s palace.”
“You brought us to the gods’ Otherworld?” his father yelled.
“Brent,” Alison cautioned.
“This is my world now, too, Dad,” Cameron said. “And yes. Of course I did. Those humans in the federal government stupidly announced our existence and now people everywhere are going to freak out, especially people in Baton Rouge where they’re already freaking out because the goddamn plague is spreading!”
“Then bring us to your brother’s house in Austin,” Brent insisted. “I have no intention of staying here.”
Cameron shook his head. “I’m going back for Logan.”
“Don’t you dare,” his father hissed. “You leave him alone.”
“Brent!” Alison yelled. “That’s enough!”
“Look,” Cameron tried again, “you’re staying here until it’s safe to return home. I promise you I can get you back to the same time. You won’t miss anything, and you’ll be fine.”
“We won’t be fine, Cameron!” his father shouted. “You brought us to live with a bunch of gods!”
“I’m a god now!” Cameron shouted back.
“I know,” his father spit out. “You’ve allowed yourself to become a god over a girl. You’re not the man I raised.” Brent shook his head slowly as he continued to glare at him. “Which means you’re no longer my son.”
Cameron’s breath caught in his lungs as his father spun on his heels and stormed out of the Dagda’s hall. Aonghus narrowed his eyes at the empty doorway and mumbled, “Asshole.”
“Still my father, Aonghus,” Cameron mumbled back, but he wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes, not even his mother’s. He was vaguely aware that she was trying to speak to him, but he suddenly needed out of that room and away from the witnesses who’d just watched his father disown him. And worst of all, he knew that despite all he’d done and attempted to do as a god, he was now and would always be a disappointment to his father simply because he’d taken the Spear.
He pushed past Badb as he sought the solitude of the room he shared with Selena, who immediately followed him. She closed and locked their door before putting her arms around him.
“Give him some time, Cameron. This must be such a shock,” she offered.
“I tried to warn you about him,” he sighed. “How much he hates the gods. How he raised us to hate them as well. And now his own son has become one.”
“He doesn’t hate you,” Selena assured him. “I know how badly he hurt you just now, but he’s hurting, too.”
“You…” But Selena cut him off.
“I’m not defending him. At all. What he just told you is inexcusable. But imagine what he’s been through in the past twenty-four hours. Smallpox in New Orleans, the plague hitting Baton Rouge, his home city invaded by NATO forces, and then his son shows up and has to tell him he’s become the one thing he’s always feared the most.”
Cameron kissed the top of her head and hugged her closer. “If we didn’t have that whole telepathy thing going, I’d ask you if you had any idea how much I love you.”
Selena smiled and kissed him back. “Of course I do. Every bit as much as I love you. And if he can’t come to terms with who you are now, then I’m almost positive your mother will. You won’t lose your entire family, Cameron.”
Cameron offered her the most mischievous smile he could manage under the circumstances. “Yeah, and just wait until she finds out she’s going to be a grandmother.”
“Let’s hold off on any more shocking news for a few days,” Selena teased.
Cameron leaned down to kiss her again but rapid knocks on their door made him groan instead—and not in the good way.
“Badb, go away!” he complained.
“Cameron,” she called through the closed door, “we have to go back to Earth.”
“Right,” he said bitterly, “so humans can round us up and throw us in Guantanamo Bay like a bunch of suspected terrorists.”
“No,” Badb responded, “because Nemain thinks she’s found Loki.”
Chapter Eleven
“Well, at least we’re not in the Basin,” Cameron observed helpfully.
Badb rolled her eyes and waved her arms around her. “Because Baton Rouge is so much better right now.”
“Haven’t encountered any giant snakes here,” Cameron pointed out. “So yeah. This is totally better.”
“Why would Loki be hiding in the middle of a university campus?” London asked. “Is he feeling scholarly all of a sudden?”
Thor grunted at the mention of his enemy’s name and looked around LSU’s Quad. “That’s a library over there, right?”
“Yep,” Cameron answered. “Is he into libraries? Or just looking for the coffee kiosk.”
“I’m sure that’s why Loki is hiding in a library,” London pretend-agreed. “He’s just here for the coffee.”
Cameron shrugged. “Don’t blame him. It’s good coffee.”
“What kind of coffee?” Selena asked.
“Focus!” Nemain hissed.
“She is,” Cameron retorted. “She’s completely focused on getting coffee. Decaf though. You’re pregnant.”
“She’s what?” London and Thor asked at the same time.
“Goddamn it,” Cameron muttered. “Baby, you should have known my big mouth would out us.”
Selena just lifted a shoulder but kept her eyes on the library. “Totally expected it. Where are Athena and Ares? Are those the gods doing the damning now? Is that why they’re not with us?”
Badb snickered and tilted her head as she also continued to study the seemingly empty library. “Loki can’t be the god responsible for this outbreak. It has to be one of the Aztec gods. According to legends, several of them were thought to control certain diseases so Athena and Ares are roaming the city to see who’s here and spreading the plague.”
“But they’re all being masked,” Cameron argued. “What good will it do since they can’t sense them?”
Ca
meron caught Thor giving him funny looks so he returned it before snapping, “Dude, cut that out. You’re giving me the creeps. I’ll send you to live with Ukko where you can both be pervy and creepy together.”
“How did she get pregnant so quickly?” Thor asked. “Do you know how many centuries passed before Sif had Thrud?”
“That is seriously one of the worst names you could give a kid,” Cameron told him. “Have you considered renaming her?”
“Cameron,” Selena sighed.
“How would you like to be named Thrud?” he persisted.
“Maybe it sounds better in Norse,” Selena suggested. “Thor, say your daughter’s name.”
Thor crossed his arms stubbornly and said, “No.”
“See?” Cameron teased, pointing to the giant god. “Bet it was Sif’s idea to name her Thrud, wasn’t it?” Cameron grinned at Selena and told her, “Sorry, love. I’m drawing the line at naming our daughter anything that sounds like something you might accidentally step in.”
Selena snickered, but London interrupted their teasing of Thor by asking, “How do you know you’re having a daughter?”
“And what will she be the goddess of?” Thor added. “Snark? Obnoxious assholes?”
Cameron and Selena exchanged uneasy glances, and Cameron cleared his throat as he bought himself time to avoid explaining to his new friends just how little their wise man had been able to predict. He wasn’t really sure what to tell them other than Semias had been able to see they would have a beautiful daughter with power that rivaled her parents then hope that was enough information to pacify them.
But, ultimately, Loki saved him the trouble of having to say anything.
A disturbing laugh echoed from the building and covered walkways that outlined the Quad. The Guardians turned in circles, trying to pinpoint its source since they still couldn’t feel the wicked Norse god. He laughed again at their confusion, and Cameron’s skin prickled at the calling card of the insane.
“You found me,” Loki sang out even though he refused to show himself.
“Yeah, so tag. You’re it,” Cameron called back.
“A game?” Loki exclaimed. “How delightful. I love games!”
“Cameron,” Thor cautioned. “Be careful. Everything is a trick with him.”
“Ah, old friend,” Loki sang out again, but his voice had changed, taking on a hard and vengeful tone beneath the crazy, childlike playfulness. “Tell me, Jötunn,” Loki challenged, “what it feels like to betray a friend?”
“You betrayed us!” Thor thundered. “You had Baldr murdered!”
“And my punishment was to spend thousands of years bound in a cave?” Loki yelled. His anger broke whatever spell had kept him hidden from the gods, and his normal form, the lanky man with light brown hair and wild eyes, appeared in front of the library.
Thor immediately raised Mjölnir, but Loki held up a hand and addressed Cameron.
“But don’t you want the peace offering I’ve brought you?” he cooed.
“Doubt it,” Cameron responded, raising his Spear so he could throw it at the trickster god, but it was Thor who stopped him from killing Loki.
“No!” he shouted. “We have to recapture him and rebind him in that cave so we can fulfill the terms of our enchantment! It’s the only way we can prevent Ragnarok from consuming this planet.”
“Oh, clever!” Loki exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “And I love how you’re preventing me from leaving. So much power… so much waste.”
“For God’s sake, let’s just grab him and bring him back to Norway,” Badb interrupted.
Cameron wanted to ask her which god, if she meant Loki or him or Thor, but Loki laughed again, that chillingly maniacal sound, and called to Cameron one last time.
“But my present for my new friend,” he said, “who refused to take my tormentor with him. Perhaps you should have, Sun God. For her sake. And now… it’s only fair that I repay you for your visit.”
Loki waved his hand toward the concrete expanse below him where a giant winged serpent raised its head, its yellow eyes fixed on the young sun god it had been summoned to kill.
“Not another dragon,” Cameron groaned.
“Fafnir,” Thor breathed.
“What?” Cameron yelled. “I thought Sigurd killed him! Didn’t any god kill these mythological snakes like he was supposed to?”
“Obviously not!” Nemain screamed as Fafnir spread its wings and shrieked at the Guardians.
“Mjölnir!” Thor shouted as his hammer sailed past Cameron toward the dragon.
Cameron twisted around and shot him a, “What the hell?” look so Thor lifted his hands and said, “Last time you complained I didn’t warn you.”
Mjölnir struck the side of the beast and it screeched and flapped its wings, lifting itself into the inky sky above them.
“And now it’s flying,” Cameron sighed. “Fire igloo?”
“Um, anyone know where Loki went?” Selena asked.
“Probably not his cave,” Cameron guessed smartly.
“It’s diving!” Badb shouted.
Cameron glanced up at the sky where Fafnir was hurdling toward them and threw his Spear at the dragon. The blue flames trailed behind it like a comet, lighting up the thick blanket of darkness that covered the Quad. His Spear pierced the throat of Fafnir, which protested angrily but didn’t slow its descent toward the gods.
Thor hurled Mjölnir at the flying serpent and hit its right wing. Fafnir hissed and pulled its broken wing closer to its body, causing it to fall faster, its mouth opened wide so its fangs reflected the dim moonlight.
“Everybody leave!” Cameron yelled. “I’ll burn it!”
The other gods vanished, leaving Cameron alone in the middle of the Quad with a giant winged serpent diving toward him. Fire burst from his body as he waited for Fafnir to get closer so he could trap the dragon in his blazes. But Fafnir apparently wasn’t stupid. He redirected his descent and landed by the library, hissing at the sun god who kept his fires burning in case the flying snake tried to get closer.
Cameron’s Spear returned to his hand, and he threw it at Fafnir’s long, lean body again, hoping to find the bastard’s heart. Of course, it had to be some sort of demon from Hell, so he wasn’t really sure if it had a heart but his aim, as always, hit his mark and sank into the dragon’s underbelly. He heard the soft swoosh in the distance that accompanied Mjölnir’s flight and watched as the hammer of the giant Norse god struck the dragon’s head.
Fafnir recoiled and closed its eyes, shaking its head violently from the painful, gaping wound Mjölnir had left behind. Cameron threw his Spear at the serpent one last time to keep it distracted as he summoned the courage to approach the damn snake that refused to die like it should have several thousand years ago.
His Spear pierced the snake’s eye and it shrieked in agony. Cameron, still emanating flames from his entire body, took a deep breath then ran toward the Devil’s lapdog. He would reconsider if the damn thing were actually a demon from Hell after it was dead.
His fires spread across the Quad and encircled the dragon, but with its broken wing, it couldn’t fly to escape Cameron’s blazes. He built them higher until they towered above Fafnir’s head and immediately collapsed them on the beast. He grimaced as it screamed but stood his ground and increased the heat consuming the serpent-monster.
He felt her approaching but didn’t extinguish the fire radiating off of him. His fires could never hurt her. What was part of him was part of her, just as she would always be part of him. Selena gently slipped her hand around his and pulled him away from the dying monstrosity Loki had unleashed on them.
“We’ll wait until it’s dead,” Selena told him. “But Tyr just returned with the Valkyries to tell us who he thinks is responsible for this outbreak of the plague, and we’re all concentrating on finding him before the entire city is dead.”
Cameron finally looked away from the fire burning in front of the library and sighed. “Which g
od do I need to damn now?”
“We’ll never escape the serpents, love,” Selena sighed back. “We’re going after Xipe Totec.”
Chapter Twelve
London scowled at the helicopters circling overhead as she kicked at a clump of grass on the Parade Grounds of the LSU campus. Cameron watched her for a few moments before reminding her the grass was unlikely Xipe Totec in disguise.
“Still think it could be a different god,” Badb interjected.
“We’ve been disbanded,” London complained.
“What do you mean disbanded?” Cameron asked stupidly. “I thought you were supposed to be arresting us?”
London shook her head, and her summer wheat hair fell across her face. She pushed it back behind her ears and kicked at the grass one last time. “Nope. Apparently, the government doesn’t even trust us now. There’s no more New Pantheon, and I’m out of a job.”
“Holy shit,” Cameron mumbled.
“That was pretty much my reaction, too,” a familiar voice replied behind him.
For once, he was actually glad Jasper had shown up.
He spun around and threw his hands in the air. “How can they disband the New Pantheon?” Cameron asked. “And where are all your employees?”
Jasper’s eyes drifted to London before he lowered his gaze and kicked at the grass as well. “They’re not my employees anymore. There’s no us anymore. We’re essentially fugitives like the rest of you.”
“Holy shit,” Badb mumbled, too.
Jasper nodded and glanced at London before returning to the clump of grass he was apparently trying to murder. “You don’t have to stick around anymore, London. In fact, I’ve advised all of the New Pantheon’s former employees to go into hiding for now. This may or may not blow over, but by helping these gods, we’re committing treason.”
“I don’t care,” London interrupted. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You still have a family here,” Jasper pointed out.
London nodded slowly. “But even if I run, they’re in danger. There’s no easy out for any of us. We can hide like cowards and watch the world literally burn or find the assholes responsible for triggering Ragnarok and attempt to end it.”
The Battle Cry (The Guardians of Tara Book 2) Page 10