by Juanita Kees
“Take your time, my dear Arian. Your acceptance will come. Tonight, sleep with the book under your pillow and you will know the truth by morning. Now, I want to hear all about your first harpy flight before we get some sleep. Tomorrow, it’s down to business.”
Sleep was the last thing on their minds as Arian lay snuggled into Jax’s side, head on his chest, his heartbeat steady in her ear. She should be exhausted, frightened, wondering when the downer would come. Instead the only drug in her system was Jax and the sense of coming home.
Her dreams were filled with visions of a castle, beautiful faeries in colourful, flowing silk, handsome guards in livery of royal purple and gold, and Gran telling her to believe in the unbelievable. By morning, as Zeus had promised, she was almost ready to believe.
Now, with the sun streaming in the kitchen window of the house in Oakleigh, they sat eating breakfast with the great god Zeus while harpies slept in the garage.
She looked at Zeus across the table and he winked back at her. “Sleep well, my dear? I had to put a spell of silence on that damn house alarm to stop it going off.”
Arian blushed. Cheeky bugger.
“Zeus,” Helen scolded at his side.
Zeus chuckled. “What? Love is a thing to be enjoyed, is it not? Your television people even made a series out of it. Captain Stubing on the Loveboat. I’m a bit like him, aren’t I? Steering people together?”
Arian’s lips twitched. If he wasn’t such a philanderer she might be a little in love with him herself. His sense of humour was hard to resist. How many women had fallen prey to that cheeky grin?
“Ask, my dear. No need to think it. I have nothing to hide. Ask away.”
Arian lay her spoon in her cereal bowl and thought a moment longer. Now it was Zeus’ turn to blush. A soft smile curved his lips and crinkled his eyes.
“Now who’s being cheeky? Yes, the rumours are true. I have loved many women. Your grandmother was one I admired and loved in a different way, though. She was beautiful, ethereal, and oh so stately at home in Paradise — a woman far above a man like me.”
Arian took a sip of her coffee. Greek, rich, strong and thick. “How so when you’re the god of gods?”
He chuckled, the sound naughty and husky. No wonder women — both mortal and nymph — had fallen at his feet. If he shed a few years ...
Jax’s arm came around her shoulders and he tugged her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. “He’d still be old enough to be your father,” he whispered in her ear.
Arian laughed and squeezed his hand where it rested on her collarbone. “Come on, Zeus, why was Gran so special to you?”
Zeus pushed away the plate of fruit he’d nibbled on and leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Not just to me, my dear. To everyone she met. She loved your grandfather with all her heart, leaving no room for another. Not even when he died. She fought Hades for his soul and lost. Her sacrifice was mortality.”
“Are you saying ...?” Arian’s breath hitched in her throat. Gran had said Grandad had died in battle. She’d assumed it was during one of the World Wars.
“World War I was a cover up. It wasn’t the world at war, it was the universe. Hades and I both wanted Earth more than anything else. It was the closest to Paradise I could get. For Hades, it was a playground of destruction. It still is … which is why he tried a second time and will keep on trying.”
“Grandad?”
“He was on my side but Hades got to him first, at the Battle of Gallipoli. His injuries should not have been life threatening.” Zeus shifted in his seat, the haunted look on his face proof he relived the battle. “Hades made a bargain with Arianrhod that day. If she left with him, your grandfather could live. If she stayed, he’d die. She drove a hard bargain before I got there. I was too late. She sold her soul to the devil and he didn’t have the guts to keep the bargain. Your grandfather died on the way to the field hospital and your grandmother sacrificed her soul for nothing. I did the best I could to slow the ageing process for her, to keep her alive as long as I could so she could raise you, Arian. Hades collected before she could tell you the truth about the queendom and who you really are.”
An almost tangible silence fell around the table until Odys shattered it. “We need to get ready, Zeus. The media interview is booked for 11:30 a.m. outside Jax’s newly acquired offices at the courthouse.”
“Efcharisto, Odysseus.” Across the table he took Arian’s hand in his. “This is my chance to pay your grandmother back, Arian. To make things right, to give you the piece of Paradise that should have been hers, and to present you with the gift of immortality so you may share it with the man who deserves a soul. Jax is a warrior and a good man, and if he is as clever as I think he is, he will make the right choices when it comes time for the war. Craig McMahon is a small battle that must be fought to silence his need for the limelight, and to stop him bringing attention on us. The real war sits with Hades.”
“Too friggin’ late,” muttered Jax. “You can’t stop the McMahon media circus.” For the first time since the Battle of Troy, Jax felt the savage need to drive a sword through his enemy and end the whole fiasco.
Zeus narrowed his eyes. “Murder won’t save you from Purgatory, Ajax the Great. You need to prove yourself a chieftain worthy of your opponent in order to claim your peace.”
“They do things differently here, Zeus. Calling McMahon out to battle would raise a few suspicions, don’t you think?”
“Your cockiness will be your downfall, my boy. One doesn’t always have to declare war with guns. There are other ways to fight a battle. Hear me out,” said Zeus after a long sip of coffee, and sighed. “Football.”
Jax looked at Odys who shrugged and shook his head.
“Football,” repeated Zeus. “The Demon Dodgers have a charity football match coming up. You should play. Football is a bloodless battle of skill — well, as bloodless as any contact sport can be. It requires tactics and teamwork —” he cocked an eyebrow at Odys, “— and tricky manoeuvres. The object of the game of football is to drive the ball into the opposing team’s goal in order to score points, just as our friend — I use the term lightly — Craig McMahon has done with his infernal fire-stoking with the media. It’s time to play Mr Australian Football Superstar at his own game. We Greeks invented the bloody game after all. The two of you are bigger football stars on Olympus than that little possum is here on Earth. Win the game and he’ll go into hiding to lick his wounds. A blow to his ego is all he needs.”
“Football ...” Jax shook his head. He’d much rather Zeus strike the obnoxious bastard with a lightning bolt and send him to hell with Hades. “I don’t see how that will fix our situation.”
“You will if you listen to me for a change.” The angry boom of Zeus’ voice echoed through the kitchen.
“Hush, you’ll wake Ermioni,” scolded Helen.
“That child sleeps like the dead, so don’t hush me. Tomorrow I will make a statement to the press to defend these childish claims the troublesome football player is making.” He topped up his mug. “Tonight, Helen will work her magic with these machines they call computers and create the records we need to prove your identities.”
“In some worlds that’s called fraud,” chipped in Odys. He flinched as anger lit Zeus’ eyes. “Just sayin’.”
“Keep out of it, Odysseus. I will show this boy up for the troublemaker he is.” Zeus swirled the dark, muddy liquid in his mug thoughtfully. “Jax, you will challenge him to that charity football match. I have arranged it with the Hellenics. Coach Maradona and I go way back to the days of episkyros, a far more superior game than the one they play today. He’ll go away and lick his wounds at the loss when he finds a better player than himself. Losers don’t like attention.”
“And the point of that is?” As much as Arian wanted Craig to slink away into the hole he’d dug for himself, she knew him well enough to know that he’d soon get bored with the subject and drop it anyway. All it would take was distraction in a fe
minine form. Challenging him to a game he would no doubt win was asking for trouble and not the ideal way to stay out of the media spotlight.
Zeus grinned. “A little fun for the boys here, some muscle-flexing and a good workout will do them good. The thing is McMahon has never been challenged before. He gets his own way with everything because he is spoiled by talent and money. Money cannot buy you everything, especially not a woman. Nor can it buy love and affection. He needs to learn to lose.”
Fun for the boys? At her expense? All this talk of challenges, war and battles … on top of everything that had happened since she and Penny had set foot on Paradise Beach … a cauldron of emotions bubbled to the surface and Arian didn’t bother pushing them down. Fury boiled within her. She was damned if she would be used like some bloody bartering tool for their pleasure. If they wanted to make a spectacle of themselves and give Craig the satisfaction of winning the attention he so desperately sought, they were on their own.
“I’m not for sale.” Arian tipped her chin and straightened her back, shoulders squared. “And I’m not a prize to be dangled between two idiots.”
Pain and humiliation rolled through her. Was that all she’d ever be — a pretty accessory on a man’s arm, a trophy to be won in a battle between two boofheads? Is that what awaited her as Queen of Paradise too? Was that Zeus’ plan?
Gran had asked him to find her so he’d seen his chance and took it. He’d sent his chieftain to guard her, the same man who’d accompany her to war for her queendom … it all made sense now. She’d bet her last dollar they had drugged her ambrosia, made her fall in love with Jax. By her side, he’d be king and Zeus would have his slice of Paradise.
The bitterness of betrayal bubbled in her throat as the smell of sulphur reached her nose. They’re playing you for a fool. The whisper of a voice in her mind had her nerves coiling like an overwound spring. Damned if the voice wasn’t right … and that hurt more than the hand squeezing her heart.
Jax’s hand tightened around hers and squeezed. “Arian —”
Anger blazed in her belly and lit her eyes with green fire. “You can all go to hell.” Her throat closed around the words as she pushed his hand off her shoulder, stood, and shoved her chair back hard so it fell with a clang on the tiled floor. “I’m leaving. Come, Penny, let’s go home.”
Zeus drained the liquid from his mug, giving it a little shake so the last drop coated his tongue. “I’m afraid you can’t do that, Your Highness.”
Her heart pounding so hard it ached, Arian stopped halfway to the kitchen door and turned. “I’ll do what I damned well like. I don’t know what drugs you lot are on, but I don’t need to believe all this bullshit about Faerie Queens and Paradise, no matter what I dreamt and read last night. If you want to have a pissing contest with Craig McMahon, go ahead. Leave me out of it. I was done with that arsehole long before he stirred up this media storm. I have no idea why he’s doing it or who’s putting him up to it, but I can assure you, I damn well will find out.” She marched up to Zeus, so big in his chair she didn’t have to lean down to meet him eye to eye. Unperturbed by the twinkle of admiration and humour she saw in the pale grey gaze, she continued. “You don’t get to play god in my life.”
“Ahh … there’s that fighting spirit. Hang on to that fire, Your Highness. You’re going to need it soon.”
“Screw you. I’m done.” She turned and walked away.
Zeus pushed back his chair, the legs scraping the floor under his weight. “Arian ...”
“What?” Her back stiff with fury and her head pounding with tension, she pressed a hand to her heaving stomach. Her heart ached as her illusion of love shattered and emptiness took its place. Men really were egotistical, facetious, testosterone-driven bastards after all.
Zeus stepped towards her, his big, heavy hand gentle on her shoulder. “I know all this is hard to take in. You’ve had a tumultuous few weeks — months even — but I made a promise to your grandmother and I don’t go back on my word.” He turned her to face him, gigantic above her petite figure, and raised her chin with his finger. “If you don’t go back and save Paradise, Hades will destroy it with crime and pollution. Your people need you. They are without leadership and their land is dying. Do you want to see an entire nation depleted? People without homes, jobs, food? Will your heart allow that, my Faerie Queen?”
No, the picture he painted wasn’t a pretty one, but she wasn’t a faerie or a queen, she was Arian Kendrick, owner of Kendrick Surveying, the blood in her veins red, not green. Believe the unbelievable … always. Gran’s voice in her mind made her waver a moment.
“And if I don’t follow your orders?”
“You die.”
“How do I look?” Zeus asked as he adjusted the black jacket on his shoulders and fiddled with the knot in his tie. He looked more like Santa than a powerful lawyer, but Arian wasn’t game to tell him that.
“Like a man who knows what he’s talking about,” she said instead.
“I’d be more bloody comfortable in my robes.” He peeked out the window at the crowd gathered around the steps of Melbourne’s courthouse. “Looks like my tweets worked. We even have a few picketers.”
“I thought you hated Earth’s technology,” grumbled Odys.
“I do, but Twitter is like a carrier pigeon so I understand it. Beats those mouldy old scrolls any day. I might have to introduce it when I get back.”
“Let’s get out there and do this.” Jax pulled at the sleeves of his blue business shirt. “You look beautiful, my darling Arian. I am proud to go out there with you by my side.”
Arian did a little twirl, the sweep of her aqua Grecian styled knee length dress full against her bare legs, the pearl and diamante beadwork sparkling under the lights inside the courthouse foyer. An outfit fit for a queen who owned a slice of Paradise. She still struggled with that news, but after everything that had happened since Mykonos she was prepared to view the proof before reaching any conclusions. When the media conference was over, the harpies would be waiting at the house in Oakleigh to sweep them away to the realm within which her future lay.
After she’d lost her temper with them earlier, Helen had come to her and explained it more clearly than Zeus had, and she couldn’t argue with the reasoning. When she’d told Helen her theory of why Zeus had sent Jax as her bodyguard, she’d simply smiled, shook her head and said, “Zeus always has a plan but there are some things he lets fate deal with. Love and marriage are two of those things because fate doesn’t trust Zeus’ judgement.”
Scepticism dogged her thoughts. Zeus had painted an ugly picture of the state of Paradise and the horror that awaited them. Fear crept up her spine like a serpent as a whiff of sulphur burned her nostrils.
“Very Audrey Hepburn,” offered Penny, distracting her from her thoughts. “Love what Helen’s done with your hair, all swept up in that elegant do. Oh my God, are those real diamonds in that clip?”
“From Zeus’ own collection.” Jax tucked a loose spiral curl behind Arian’s ear. “And you wear them beautifully.”
She slipped her hand into his and squeezed his fingers as Zeus led the way to where the press waited. Odys, Penny and Helen brought up the rear. No sooner had they moved through the door than questions were tossed their way, creating a cacophony. Jax squeezed her hand and strength zoomed down Arian’s spine, setting it ramrod straight and giving her regal bearing. She stood on the steps of the courthouse, feeling every bit a queen, glad she’d chosen to stand at Jax’s side and face down the media accusations in a beautiful dress that made her worthy of her royal title and girlfriend to a god.
A part of her felt sorry for Craig. All this was so far out of his realm of thinking. Hell, a month ago it was out of her realm too, but the more she’d questioned Zeus at the breakfast table the clearer it became that Arian Kendrick was more than just a WAG and geographical surveyor. It would take a while to come to grips with the fact that she owned a slice of Paradise, that somewhere in another realm, her qu
eendom waited. With that realisation came a zap of power, a strength she didn’t recognise and a gift she had no idea what to do with. Zeus had reassured her Jax would be there to help her hone her skills, and she hoped for her grandmother’s sake she could master them before she faced the least star-like demon of all … Hades.
Zeus held up his hand to silence the crowd and no-one questioned his authority. A hush fell below them.
“In response to the allegations made by the Demons’ forward, Craig McMahon, I would like it known that Ajax Polemistis and Odysseus Laertiades do indeed exist and neither are the scoundrels they are being made out to be. They are both law abiding citizens of Melbourne with links that go back to the first settlers in this country.”
Zeus fielded questions for a while as he laid each doubt to rest with proof. Somehow he’d even managed to produce a few witnesses who could testify that Jax had indeed defended them in court and others who swore they’d partied in Odys’ bar. As the crowd began to disperse, Craig McMahon stepped forward.
“You might have fooled the public. You haven’t fooled me.”
“Give it up, McMahon.” Jax turned to follow Zeus inside.
“You have something that belongs to me and I won’t leave without it.”
The stragglers sensed a fight and stopped to watch as Jax turned, and slowly walked down the steps towards Craig.
Arian followed and laid a hand on his sleeve to stop him. “Ignore him, Jax, please.”
Craig snarled at her. “Look at you, all pimped up like a whore. That’s all you’ll ever be, Arian — a trophy, a bit of bling and bum fluff. You’re living in a fantasy world where you’ll never belong. You’ll always be the one I cast off.”