Archon rose to his feet. “Well, isn’t this unexpected?” He smirked at Apollo. “We don’t have to play chase for your pet, after all. How kind of them to save us time.” He glared at Styxx. “Which of you is Apostolos?”
“I am,” they said simultaneously.
Archon growled low in his throat.
“Their eyes,” Apollo said quickly. “Styxx’s are blue.”
Acheron turned to stand beside his brother. When they spoke, it was as one. “Not anymore.”
Archon narrowed his gaze on them. “Then we’ll kill you both.”
“No,” Apollo snarled. “That wasn’t the agreement.”
Epithymia made a sound of supreme disgust. “Stand down, both of you. There’s an easy way to get to the truth.”
Styxx didn’t like the sound of that. Where was Urian and their backup?
Epithymia tugged at the black cord around her neck to show them a small crystal vial. She pulled it over her head and placed it on the arm of Archon’s chair then manifested a hammer. “This is the heart of Bathymaas. If the real Styxx doesn’t step forward, I’ll destroy her. Forever.”
Cold panic erupted inside Styxx and when it did, it brought out his battle calm, which belied his volatile state. He knew better than to react.
Never let your enemies see your underbelly.
Styxx wouldn’t even glance at Apollo who must have told them that he was Aricles. How else would they have known that Bathymaas’s heart held any importance to him?
“So you don’t love her?” She hovered the hammer over the vial. “Really?”
Styxx used Apollymi’s powers to mask his voice. “You do that and you lose all leverage over both of us. Her life is the only thing keeping you alive right now.”
A light flashed.
Expecting Urian, Styxx and Acheron had to force themselves not to react to Artemis’s sudden appearance next to her brother.
“Oh my!” she exclaimed as she looked at them. “Am I interrupting?”
Apollo seized her arm. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Acheron. This is his house where he lives. I’m allowed to visit.”
Archon bellowed in outrage. “This is not his home!”
Acheron and Styxx exchanged a puzzled frown. Neither of them had a clue what Artemis was doing here. She was not part of their plan. At all.
But she’d inadvertently found Archon’s weakness. Don’t refer to his home as Acheron’s. Too bad the ancient god hadn’t been tutored by Galen or he’d know better.
Blinking her eyes, Artemis gave the older Atlantean an innocent look. “No? Then why are you sitting on his throne? That’s not yours, you know. I was with Acheron when he picked it out and brought it here.”
No, she wasn’t.
Styxx bit back a smile at Acheron’s indignant thought. Go, Artemis. She was here to whip their emotions and frazzle them. And judging by the mottled color on Archon’s face, she was doing an excellent job.
“Why is she here, Apollo?” Archon asked through clenched teeth.
“I have no idea.”
Epithymia went rigid. “Something’s not right.…”
“That’s because she’s not my daughter.”
Styxx and Acheron turned to see Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, entering from a side door. Dread cut through Styxx. If that wasn’t Artemis …
It had to be Katra.
Crap.
“Mom,” Apollo said irritably. “What are you doing?”
Ignoring Apollo’s question, Leto smirked as she approached them. “Really, Katra? I’m so disappointed in you. But that’s all right.” She looked at Archon. “We don’t need the twins now. Katra is the daughter of Artemis and Acheron. She has the Destroyer’s bloodline and is actually stronger than her parents.” She grabbed Kat and held a dagger to her throat. “So, Acheron, who do we kill? You or your daughter?”
Before they could blink, a sonic blast went through the room. One so fierce, it knocked everyone off their feet and slammed Leto against the wall.
Artemis appeared instantly and pulled Kat to safety. “How dare you,” she enunciated each word slowly as she faced her mother. “No one threatens my baby ever! You cow!” She attacked her mother so ferociously, Kat had to pull Artemis away to keep her from killing Leto.
Acheron took advantage of the distraction to use his powers to jerk the vial from Epithymia’s hand. He sent it to Styxx.
With a mutual nod, they attacked the Atlanteans closest to them. And Acheron quickly learned why pantheons didn’t like to war within themselves. Since all of them pulled their powers from a mutual source, they were fighting in a weakened position and their powers weren’t working properly. It was why gods who belonged to more than one pantheon were stronger. They could call on these additional powers and not be weakened.
Worse, it was playing havoc with his eyesight and his eyes kept tearing up.
“Katra!” Styxx called as he saw Epithymia going for her back.
She turned the instant Epithymia went to touch her. Instead of retreating, Kat pulled her close and sucked her powers out of her. “You won’t be needing those, bitch.”
And as she pulled Epithymia’s powers, her teeth elongated and her eyes turned demonic red. Her skin began to swirl like Acheron’s.
“Acheron!” Artemis screamed. “The demon’s taking over Katra. Help!”
His face turning white, Acheron met Styxx’s gaze.
“She’s more important than I am. Get her out of here.” Covertly, he handed Acheron the vial with Bethany’s heart. Free Beth even if I don’t make it back.
For the first time in his extremely long life, he saw the hesitation in Acheron’s eyes as his brother debated on whether or not to leave him to fight without Acheron’s help. That alone meant everything to Styxx.
But in the end, Acheron made the right decision.
He ran to his daughter to get her to safety.
Styxx manifested his hoplon and used it to deflect their god-bolts as he covered Acheron’s and Katra’s retreat.
They teleported out with Artemis, leaving him alone to face the others.
A slow, lecherous smile curled Archon’s lips. “It’s like old times, isn’t it, prince? And I have to say you’re looking mighty tasty.”
“What are you planning to do?” Apollo growled.
An evil smiled curled Archon’s lips. “Tonight, we are going to have our fun of him again.”
Refusing to react to those words, Styxx manifested his armor and sword. He would use Apollymi’s powers as long as he had them, but at the end of the day, this was how he knew best to fight. Not as a god, but as a man. He narrowed his eyes on them, assessing each one’s abilities … and weaknesses, which were too few to really matter.
Yeah, this was going to leave a mark.
And be bloodier than any battle he’d ever known.
So be it. Pain he was used to. And he wasn’t going down without a vicious fight. Tonight he was taking his life back and agony to anyone who tried to stop him.
Lowering his chin, he smiled at them. “Come get some, bitches.”
* * *
Acheron handed his unconscious daughter off to Sin. “Something from the old demon bite interacted with Epithymia’s powers,” he explained. “I drained her, but she needs to feed.”
Sin nodded grimly as he took her and vanished.
Acheron was aghast at the others in the room, who were supposed to have been there to help them fight. “What happened?”
Set growled. “We’re locked out. If you’re not Greek or Atlantean, forget it. Only Katra had the ability to get to you. And even then it wasn’t easy for her to teleport in.”
Urian nodded. “I couldn’t get in either. You’re all he’s got, boss.”
“Simi, return to me.”
She immediately laid herself over Acheron’s heart as a dragon-shaped tattoo.
Xirena bit her lip. “Me, too, akri?”
“Absolutely.”
That would get the demons in.
Acheron glanced around at his allies. “I’m weakened—every time I strike them, it drains a portion of my god powers—and the weapons Artemis brought might work on Apollo, but they’re shite on the Atlanteans. We are in over our heads and I won’t lie, it’s ugly. So, who wants to try to go in with me and save my brother’s life?”
They all stepped forward.
“All right. Here goes nothing.” Closing his eyes, Acheron summoned everything he could and teleported them back to Katateros.
For several minutes, he, too, was locked out. When they finally broke through whatever Archon had done to shield the temple, Acheron was completely unprepared for the sight that awaited them. Blood was everywhere. It looked like the stage production of Evil Dead. But what scared him was the sight of Styxx’s phoenix shield. Twisted and bent out of shape, it was in the middle of the largest pool of blood. Blood was smeared to the doors as if a struggling body had been dragged out through them.
Demonbrean and Ilios lay moaning on the ground near Apollo who wasn’t in any better shape. Styxx must have beat the crap out of the Greek god before they’d overpowered him. Epithymia was still sobbing uncontrollably and hadn’t moved from her spot where she’d fallen after Kat had drained her powers.
As Styxx had predicted, Dikastis stood calmly in the shadows and appeared to have not fought at all.
Not sure of the god’s loyalties or intentions, Acheron went to him first. “Where’s my brother?”
Raw anger flared in the god’s eyes. “They took him to the temple arena.”
“Why aren’t you with them?”
“I’m a god of justice. I will not participate in something that’s wrong and undeserved.”
“Will you fight with us then?”
Dikastis nodded without hesitation.
* * *
His breathing ragged, Styxx was so battered and bruised at this point, he wasn’t sure why he was still conscious. He’d managed to knock out three of them and weaken the rest, but in the end, he’d been outnumbered and was no match for a dozen gods who’d been asleep and resting for centuries.
Against Styxx’s best efforts, Archon and Asteros had dragged him to the temple Acheron had confined him in years ago.… To the arena where they’d once made his life utter hell. Laughing all the while, they’d secured him to the rack they’d used for his beatings and other things that had left him bleeding internally for eternity.
Damn them.
Archon fisted his hand in Styxx’s blood-soaked hair and jerked his head back. “You’re not defeated so soon, are you, prince?”
As if. Ryssa had slapped harder than Archon hit. “Fuck you.”
“How I wish, but unfortunately, we’re making you a sacrifice.” Archon gagged him then looked over to Leto. “Summon our lady vengeance.”
Leto laughed as she neared Styxx. “You didn’t really think Epithymia had Bathymaas’s heart, did you? Trust me, I kept that for myself. Now I’m going to finish what I started fourteen thousand years ago.”
And when I’m done destroying what’s left of the Greeks, I’m going to tear apart the Atlanteans as I did the Sumerians and Egyptians. No one is going to stop me. No one.
Styxx’s eyes widened as he heard her thoughts loud and clear.
Leto pulled out a knife and sliced open Styxx’s cheek so that she could fill a vial with his blood. She mumbled words he didn’t understand as she blended his blood with another compound. And as she did so, his head began to spin.
All of a sudden, he remembered being Aricles.
He saw Bethany at his side as she held on to his biceps. “Do not fight Apollo for my honor. It’s not worth one single drop of your blood. Run with me, Ari. Let’s leave all this behind and never look back.”
“I can’t, and neither can you, Bathia. We have too many responsibilities. Too many to protect. We cannot abandon this world to their cruel hands.”
“I no longer care about any of that. You are all I cherish now.”
His blood racing with fury and pain, Aricles had pressed his cheek to hers and held her close. “And you’re all that matters to me. I won’t have your reputation tarnished by that pig. You’ve done nothing wrong.” The two of them had secretly married and he wanted Apollo’s throat for the lies the Greek god and his whore mother had told against Bathymaas. “I will beat that bastard down for you, my goddess. Have no fear.”
She buried her hand in his hair as tears streamed down her beautiful face. “You are the heart they claim I was born without. It’s why I can’t be the soul of justice anymore. You’ve changed me forever.… And you can’t leave me in this awful world without you.”
He kissed her forehead. “Let me win your honor and then we will go wherever you wish.”
“Swear it to me.”
“On my eternal soul. I will always be with you, Bathia. Nothing will take me from you, ever. Not even the gods.” He lifted the Egyptian ieb amulet from her chest and kissed it then tucked it back between her breasts.
Styxx gasped as he fully understood what Set had told him. Bathymaas had been created by the Source, not born of a mother.…
With no heartbeat whatsoever, she’d been a complete stranger to any kind of emotion until Aricles had taught her how to love.
The Egyptian jug-shaped amulet was the heart Set had given her as a girl when she’d asked her father why she didn’t have a heartbeat like others. It was part of the same amulet Bethany had given him to protect him in battle.
“This holds my love for you, child, and while you can’t understand it, know that so long as you wear it, you carry a vital piece of me with you. My heart has great power and it will keep you safe and warm in my absence.”
That was how Leto had destroyed the Egyptian pantheon and trapped Set in the desert. Once she’d stolen the half of Bathymaas’s heart that Set had hidden in his domain, she’d used Set’s DNA and Seth’s blood to trap the primal god.
Lifting his head, Styxx saw the broken ieb shard on Leto’s wrist that matched the one Bethany had given him. While his half had held Bethany’s bow and arrow emblem, the one Leto wore had the phoenix symbol of Aricles. Two halves of one whole. It was so obvious now, but unless you knew what an Egyptian heart looked like, you’d never guess its origins.
Or its significance.
Leto poured the blood from the vial onto her fingers and waved the ieb over it. Then she wiped it down his other cheek. “History always repeats itself. Poor you to die twice by the hand of the woman you love. And once you’re dead, she’ll destroy the gods for me.” Stepping back, she let out a sharp, piercing ololuge … a sound used in his time to summon a god’s presence when a sacrifice was being offered to them.
All of a sudden, a fierce wind came tearing through the arena. It blew open doors and ripped at his body. Leto stumbled against it.
A baleful howl sounded an instant before a swirling specter joined them. Inhumanly large, it floated on the wind wearing a bloodred cloak. And when it neared Styxx, he realized this was the vengeful spirit of Bethany that had been born after Apollo had tricked her into killing her beloved.
With his gag in place, he couldn’t say a word of warning to her. Just as they’d done fourteen thousand years ago, Apollo and Leto had set Bethany up to fall. And to suffer.
Leto pointed to him as she spoke to Bethany. “Behold the bastard son of your enemy who cost your prince his life and existence. Take your vengeance on them both! Rip out the heart of Apostolos!”
Bethany screamed in furious agony.
Styxx’s eyes widened as he realized she was going to kill him and there was nothing he could do to stop her.
* * *
Acheron paused at the temple’s entrance. It was the same one he’d confined Styxx to when he’d brought him here. “What is this place?”
“It’s our arena,” Dikastis answered. “It’s where we held games and competitions, and where we brought those who needed to be punished and taught humility.”
Ash winced as images from Styxx’s memories mingled with his.
And I left him here to rot.…
For that alone, I deserve to have my name engraved in the lowest pit of hell.
How could he have allowed his own pain to blind him to Styxx’s so completely? The knowledge that Styxx had tried to help him when Acheron had been held, and that he had never once reached out to his brother when Styxx had been in captivity, made him ill. How could he have been so cold? So callous?
What spoke highest of Styxx’s character was that he’d never sought credit for his actions whenever he’d done something for Acheron or even Ryssa. He’d given simply because it’d been the right thing to do, and personal glory had never mattered to him. Not once.
Meanwhile both Acheron and Ryssa had slapped him for it. Repeatedly. No wonder Styxx had been so eager to kill him in New Orleans. He’d more than earned Styxx’s hatred.
But he wouldn’t fail Styxx this time.
Ash swept his gaze over Urian, Davyn, Dikastis, Seth, Set, Maahes, Ma’at, Zakar, and the demons. “I don’t know what we’re about to walk into, but let’s move forward with Styxx’s original plan. And whatever we do, save my brother.”
They nodded in agreement, except Dikastis.
“What do you want from me?” the Atlantean asked.
“Help us any way you can.”
But what concerned Ash the most was the fact that none of the Atlanteans had come out to challenge them on their arrival. They had to know they were here. So why were they so quiet while they had this many foreign gods in their domain?
His heart pounding in fear of what awaited them, he entered the building. Inside the dark hall, a feral wind howled and plastered their clothes against their bodies.
It took them several minutes to make it to the arena, and to fight the wind so that they could see what was happening. The Atlanteans were all pinned down.
The moment Ash located Styxx, his stomach hit the floor. A ghostly image dressed in red was wrapped around him and held a dagger over his heart.
“Bathymaas! No!” Set shouted.
Without the slightest hesitation, she sank the dagger deep into Styxx’s chest, all the way to the hilt then threw her head back and roared in satisfaction. When she spoke, she used Atlantean only. “Take your bastard back, Apollymi. Now come and face me, you wretched bitch, so that I can bathe in your putrid blood! Taste my vengeance, whore, and choke on it!”
Styxx (DH #33) Page 91