He started to turn, likely having realized my intentions, but it was too late for him to stop me. I squeezed my eyes tight, and jumped to the door in an instant.
Poseidon’s lips curled into a snarl at my sudden appearance. I ignored him, in favor of Zeus.
“I’ll go willingly,” I vowed. “Don’t hurt the others.”
Zeus gave me a stoic nod before he gripped my elbow forcefully. His fingers dug into my skin as he led me away.
I glanced back into the room to find my friends watching me go with sorrow in their eyes. As if they knew we would never see each other again.
Nathan had not yet resigned himself to that conclusion. He strained against the god who held him to the wall, his eyes following me. I held his gaze for as long as I could, silently pleading with him to yield, while unable to shake the feeling that I might have been looking at him for the last time.
~ ~ ~
I was thrown into a small room near the pool of love. Water cascaded from the ceiling and walls. The limited space gave me few options in which to seek cover, and I was soaked within minutes.
Standing guard in the entryway was a god I didn’t recognize. He surveyed me warily, as if he expected me to turn him into a frog any moment.
I probably could have—and maybe I should have—but I didn’t doubt that at least one god had remained in Hecate’s room with the rest of the group. The one who had restrained Nathan probably still had him pressed against the wall. Nathan and my friends would be the ones to suffer if I tried anything.
I didn’t know what the gods intended for me. I suspected it wasn’t good, but I would play nice in order to give Hecate the time to whip up the time manipulation spell.
Hopefully before it was too late for me.
“What’s happening now?” I asked the god in the doorway. He eyed me silently, and I added, “I just want to know what to expect. Please?”
“The Olympians are assembling,” he stated gruffly.
“For what reason?”
“To determine your fate.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He didn’t respond, but I got my answer a few moments later when another god came to retrieve me. I was led by the two of them to a large golden doorway, which opened ahead of our arrival. They ushered me through the entrance, and I emerged into the center of a large oval room. Above me, on seats chiseled out of the rock ledge that wrapped around the entire room, sat twelve gods and goddesses.
I recognized Hera and Aphrodite amongst them, but Zeus’s booming voice demanded that I give him my undivided attention.
“The thirteenth demigod is all that remains from the uprising,” he declared, inducing a series of murmurs amongst the others. Directly to me, he asked, “Do you stand before the twelve Olympians today to plead your case and beg for our mercy?”
I gulped. If I had known I would be begging for my life, I would have prepared a speech. But something told me it didn’t matter what I said. My fate was already sealed.
“Um . . . I am the one who destroyed the other demigods,” I started tentatively. “Like Isatan and Permna, I had no desire to be a part of the uprising. Though they did not survive, we all sought to stop it. We did succeed, and um . . .”
My thoughts ran together. Nothing came clearly to me. Anxiety bubbled as I fumbled over my words. Worst timing ever for a panic attack.
“We rescued Hecate,” I added, though it sounded more like a question than a statement. I didn’t know what they wanted, what they expected, or what might get me off the hook here.
“We have nearly stopped Circe’s curse,” I blurted suddenly. My breaths came in short bursts as a thought came to me. “I am needed to end the curse.”
This statement brought another rumble of murmurs from the Olympians, and I wondered if that had been the magic get-out-of-jail phrase. Zeus’s bellow brought an abrupt end to their chatter.
“In what way are you needed?” he demanded.
“Um . . . Hecate can explain it better,” I stammered, “but it’s my understanding that I need to perform a specific ritual for it to be stopped.”
I chose to leave out the part about my sacrifice. Perhaps if they thought I needed to survive to break the curse, Hecate would have enough time to follow through with plan B.
Poseidon didn’t buy my excuse. His voice rose above the murmurs. “It’s a trick! Do not forget what she is capable of.”
“Letting her live puts us at risk of another attack,” a second god added.
“Just look at what her sister did,” said another.
“Kris is nothing like Circe.” Hera stood from her seat to address the rest of the Olympians. “She has stopped Circe, and the demigods. She has done nothing wrong, only what we have asked of her. I ask of you all to show her mercy.”
With a subtle nod in my direction, Hera reclaimed her seat. As silence settled over the room, I chanced a peek at Zeus. His heavy gaze fell on me, making me feel like an ant on a crowded sidewalk—an ant doomed to be squashed by a dozen feet. I quickly averted my eyes, seeking relief from his obvious contempt.
Finally, he called, “Ares, your vote?”
“Death,” came the swift response from the god to Zeus’s left.
“Spare . . .”
“Death . . .”
“Spare . . .”
Around the ledge they went, one after another, voting on my fate. By the time they wound around to the last three—Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus—the vote was already in favor of my death five to four. Hera voted to spare me, as I knew she would, but it was too little too late.
Poseidon promptly countered her, and I settled my gaze on Zeus as I awaited his call. Would he kill me now? Or wait? Perhaps he would want me to suffer?
“Spare,” he announced quietly.
I gasped in surprise, and swung my gaze to Hera. I expected to see relief in her eyes, but only saw terror.
Chapter 24
I assumed Zeus’s vote might have carried more weight, but apparently I had been wrong. The gods turned on each other. While their voices rose around me, I shrunk into myself in a poor attempt to hide. Stuck in the center of the room, I couldn’t do much to avoid the fury of those who sought my death.
Poseidon appeared the most intent on seeing that through. Behind him, cracks snaked the walls. A trickle of water poured from the cracks, spilled over the ledge and into the pit in which I stood.
Beside Zeus, Ares withdrew a long black and silver spear. He vaulted over the ledge, and into the pit with me. I stumbled a retreat as he advanced on me.
Behind him, Hera shouted, “Ares, drop your weapon! Zeus has spoken!”
That didn’t slow Ares, but a goddess jumping to my side did. I didn’t recognize her, but she had a bow pointed at Ares’ chest.
“What do you think you’re going to do with that, Artemis?” Ares jeered.
“Do you intend to disobey our leader?” she returned.
Ares lifted the spear, its point directed at my chest. His eyes hardened on mine as he addressed Artemis. “The girl is a demigod. She must not be permitted to exist any longer.”
He didn’t wait for a response. His arm moved back in preparation of throwing the spear. My eyes shifted over his shoulder, to a safe spot below Hera’s chair. As the spear sailed through the air, I jumped to safety.
Ares spun to find me with a roar. “You see?” he bellowed. “She is a witch! She must not be permitted to live alongside us!”
A bolt of blue light struck the center of the pit, too suddenly for me to notice where it came from. The floor vibrated beneath me, and a crack ran up the wall to the ledge. It stopped at the base of Zeus’s chair while he stood to peer into the pit.
My skin tingled and my hair stood on end as I watched him. The addition of the charred crater in the center of the pit suggested that the blue light had been a bolt of lightning. By Zeus’s hand.
An angry Zeus’s voice cut off all the others in the room, silencing them.
“You will re
strain yourselves,” he boomed. “The girl will die. But first, the curse against the humans must be broken.”
I scoffed softly. So his ‘spare’ had only been a temporary ‘spare.’
Zeus peered down at me. Despite my feistiness, I felt myself cowering under his wilting gaze. “Someone,” he called, “go retrieve Hecate. We end this today.”
~ ~ ~
~ Nathan ~
One god remained in Hecate’s chambers with us. His presence put a damper on our ability to plot Kris’s rescue, but not completely. Though none of us spoke out loud, we communicated plenty with our eyes.
We were all on the same page—no one was going to leave Kris to her fate. Not that we knew exactly what that was.
“Do you mind telling us what’s going on?” I asked the god.
His sword hadn’t slipped from its deadly position against my neck since the others had left with Kris. He gave no indication of answering my question. Only Hecate’s promising gaze kept me from shoving a fist into his face.
That and the knowledge that a fight now would not end well for me. Not since I had lost my speed and strength as a hybrid. I could still fight—years of training ensured that—but I knew better than to test my diminished skills against a god.
Besides, I knew Hecate had a plan. A brash move on my part would do nothing to help Kris.
Hecate flitted about the room as if the god wasn’t there, and he did nothing to stop her. The rest of the group stood out of her way, silent but alert as they watched. The sack she carried with her was filled with various containers plucked from her shelves.
Finally, she turned to place a hand on the shoulder of the god that restrained me.
“Leave him alone,” she scolded. “He is no threat to you.”
“My orders are to contain all resistance,” he returned. His sharp eyes roamed over me intently—he obviously considered me resistance.
“Which you have done,” Hecate crooned as if she were addressing a child. “Now, take me to see Zeus.”
The sword finally dropped from my neck as the god turned to Hecate. “I cannot. He is in court.”
“Court?” I questioned.
“They’re putting her on trial,” Hecate explained to me quickly. To the god, she added, “Zeus does not know everything. I must speak with him.”
The god shifted, visibly unnerved to be squaring up to a goddess with Hecate’s abilities. The fire in her eyes reminded me of what I often saw in Kris’s. Fierce determination, and a hint of stubbornness. Now I knew who she got it from.
Before the god could respond, the door swung open and two more entered. They ignored the rest of us as one of them addressed Hecate.
“Zeus has requested your presence,” he announced. “He wishes for the immortality curse to be broken before the execution.”
Execution? My panicked gaze swung to Hecate. Behind her, Bruce and Jared stiffened, while Lillian’s hands flew to her mouth.
“I have everything I need in here,” Hecate declared as she patted the sack in her hands—as if she had known their plans all along.
She turned to me. For all the similarities between Kris and her mother, and as practiced as I had become at reading Kris, I could not get a read on Hecate. Her eyes were trying to tell me something, but I didn’t know what.
“It will be okay.” Stepping closer to me, she reached a hand under her robe to remove an object. “Do not hesitate,” she whispered as she placed the object into my hand.
She backed away, and my gaze lowered to what she had given me.
A flower? Why would she give me a flower? I rotated it in my hand as I pondered its significance. She left the room with two of the gods, leaving me panicked and confused.
Do not hesitate?
At what? What in the hell could I do with a damn flower?
My anxiety multiplied as the rest of us were led away from Hecate’s room by the remaining god. Though he had seen it, and didn’t appear alarmed by it, I tucked the flower into my back pocket for safe-keeping. It meant something. I just had to determine what.
We were steered into a holding cell near the waterfall. The door banged shut behind us, and we were left there alone . . . and extremely puzzled.
Jared turned to me almost immediately. “Why did she give you a flower?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “She told me not to hesitate.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bruce questioned.
“It’s not a flower,” Lillian exclaimed. Her eyes were wide when I turned to her. She waved a hand at my pocket, where the flower was safely tucked. “She glamorized something to look like a flower.”
Everyone turned to watch as I reached into my pocket. Instead of white petals atop a green stem, I withdrew a shiny silver blade with a black handle.
“A dagger?” Bruce pondered.
“Not quite,” I muttered.
It resembled the sword Hecate had used on Circe earlier—a miniature version of it. Now her words to me made sense.
Do not hesitate.
I wouldn’t . . . once I knew who she intended for me to use it on.
~ ~ ~
~ Kris ~
Hecate burst into the room with purpose. Despite the two gods who flanked her, her head was held high as she approached Zeus’s throne.
“You are a fool,” she hissed at him.
His eyes flashed with anger before his chin lifted in a show of smug superiority. “The Olympians have voted. Your opinion is not valid.”
“But I’m needed now?” Hecate returned. “For what, wise leader?”
“The curse is to be broken,” Zeus answered stiffly.
“Ah,” Hecate sighed. She swept a gaze around the room, at the other gods and goddesses sitting upon their thrones. “And none of the mighty Olympians know how to do it, is that correct?”
She spotted me where I stood, sandwiched between Ares and Artemis. One who had wanted me dead five minutes ago, and one who had protected me from the other’s wrath. Hecate gauged the situation with one glance, and bowed a head at Artemis in gratitude.
To Ares, she growled, “You may leave now. Unless you wish to sacrifice yourself as well.”
With a glance in Zeus’s direction, Ares stomped off. Artemis retreated as well, leaving Hecate and me alone in the pit, and the center of everyone’s unrivaled attention. As she began to remove items from the sack she carried with her, I panicked.
“Mother?” I whispered.
“It will be okay, dear,” she returned before dropping to the ground at my feet. Without another word, she started to draw a series of symbols around me.
Was this really happening? Was I about to end the curse with my sacrifice?
I doubted that was what Hecate wanted, but the circumstances prevented her from doing anything else. With a heavy heart, I realized she hadn’t had enough time to come up with another plan. Not even the time manipulation spell.
“I want you to listen to me,” Hecate whispered from where she knelt at my feet. Despite the audible urgency in her voice, her attention appeared fixated on her drawings. Knowing we had an audience, I continued to watch her with a blank expression. “When the time comes, I want you to do what I tell you to do. Do not hesitate. Do not question.”
My throat ran dry. Was she talking about my sacrifice . . . or something else?
“Where are the others?” I muttered under my breath.
“Your friends are safe.”
A hand came out of nowhere, and took ahold of mine. I immediately recognized Alec’s touch, and squeezed his hand in gratitude. A quick glance around the room confirmed that the Olympians could not see him.
Finally, Hecate stood. At my feet was an elaborate sketch of various symbols, none of which I recognized. In several spots, smudges of other magical compounds and powders marked the ground to give the spell Hecate intended to perform the boost it needed. I stood precisely in the center of it all—the glue that held it all together. Even with Alec at my side, I felt incredibly a
lone.
“We will be needing a glory blade,” Hecate announced loudly.
“Where is yours?” Zeus returned, causing Hecate to slowly turn toward him.
“Lost in the underworld,” she answered. “You wish to call upon Hades to return it to me?”
Alec’s saucer eyes met mine. “I see where you got your smart mouth from,” he chuckled.
Watching Poseidon’s jaw drop, and Zeus’s eyes nearly pop out of his head, did give me a twisted sense of pleasure. They deserved worse than to be sassed by an angry mother, but I would take it. Zeus was so flabbergasted he couldn’t offer a response.
Instead, Artemis came forward to place a blade in Hecate’s hand. “You may borrow mine.”
“Thank you,” Hecate nodded. To the rest of them, she shouted, “I ask you one more time to reconsider your decision. Spare my daughter, who rescued me from the confines of the underworld, who destroyed the demigods as you asked, and who ended the war between good and evil. She has done all you have asked for, and stands ready to carry out one more deed for you. She is not to be feared, but praised. Spare her from a sentence of death.”
My breath caught as I peered up at Zeus. His face hardened, and his response came immediately. “No. She has been sentenced to death.”
Hecate backpedaled slowly, coming to a stand on the other side of Alec. The three of us stood shoulder to shoulder as her eyes swung around the room once more. Though a few gods were visibly conflicted by the decision, none of them voiced an opposition to Zeus’s final word.
Coming back to fix her murderous gaze on Zeus, Hecate declared, “Then I am afraid you have given me no other option.”
She spun to take my hand in hers while she quickly chanted a string of words under her breath. As voices of alarm rang out around us, everything—the pit, the ledge, the thrones—faded from around me. In its place materialized the dreary walls of the holding cell.
And the faces I thought I would never see again.
~ ~ ~
~ Nathan ~
Avenging Heart Page 26