Carnage: Nate Temple Series Book 14

by Shayne Silvers

  Aphrodite smiled, but I’d seen her flicker of hesitation upon Alice’s statement. I let it slide.

  Alice…the little stinker, had just lied to Zeus. What in the ever-loving fuck was going on? Whatever game she was playing, he would kill her the moment Aphrodite made the wrong move. I needed to make my trade. Now. Nothing could get in the way of—

  Two bodies suddenly slammed into the pavilion, sliding across the marble, an audible smear emanating from the Temple Crest. Everyone jumped. I cursed to see Apollo and Ares groaning and whimpering, relegated to bloody, partially mauled slabs of shame. Mist drifted off their clothes like dry ice.

  Of all the goddamned luck. Loki couldn’t have used the coin I’d given him sooner? He’d been more than happy to add some mischief to the mix when I’d confronted him before coming here. I’d wanted to make sure Apollo and Ares really were out of the picture, and to take them off Loki’s hands if he had indeed been the one who so warmly welcomed them when I’d sent them through the Niflheim Gateway.

  Because he’d warned me about inter-pantheon drama. So, imagine my surprise when he seemed more than eager to broker peace by giving them back to their father in more or less one piece. Piece for peace. He’d thought that hilarious, of course.

  His timing could have been better. It definitely couldn’t have been worse.

  63

  Zeus narrowed his eyes at his sons with a scowl. “Incompetent pieces of shit,” he growled. Wow. With a dad like that…

  “The box for the girl,” I repeated hurriedly, capitalizing on his lack of compassion.

  Zeus studied me suspiciously. Then he shrugged. “I can’t say they didn’t deserve a little payback,” he admitted unconcernedly. “And if the two of them couldn’t get the best of you while you were shackled and tied to a table, they deserved what you gave them.”

  Right. That. “I left them alive as a show of goodwill.”

  He smirked. “Or a stroke of cruelty.” I shrugged noncommittally, wanting nothing more than to get Alice over here. I held out the box. He studied my face, looking for deceit. Finally, he nodded. “Bring it over.”

  “No. I’ll give it to Aphrodite. You now know you can trust her, and I know she would never hurt a little girl. It’s fair. I’ve learned to always trust the boobs of the operation.”

  He glanced at Aphrodite with a warning glare and finally nodded. I stepped around the pile of pain that had been Ares and Apollo, and approached Aphrodite.

  “Is this a good idea, Nate?” Alucard asked.

  I glanced back at him. “I would do anything to protect a child, Alucard. Anything. Even if it hurt my friends and those I care about. Even if it hurt me.”

  He stared back, taking my words to heart—about Yahn. Even though he wasn’t a child, Alucard obviously saw him as a son of sorts. He finally nodded. Gunnar and Callie watched calmly, their faces giving away nothing. But their eyes were easy to read.

  Aphrodite licked her lips nervously—just as anxious as me, which was what I was counting on—as I handed her the box. She knew Alice had lied about her loyalties and that she was on borrowed time. I met her eyes and calmly backed away. Zeus shoved Alice dismissively. The frightened little girl sprinted towards me, her little shoes tap-tap-tapping the whole way. I knelt down, holding my arms out, my heart hammering in my chest as I stared at her tear-stained cheeks, my heart breaking.

  She wrapped me up in a hug and I rose to my feet, clutching her tightly to my chest as I backed away. “It’s okay, Alice. Dad’s got you,” I whispered, my hands shaking.

  She burrowed her face into my neck and whispered the scariest thing I’d ever heard, because it was entirely unexpected.

  “It’s just a coloring book,” she breathed. “Tell him to look at page three. Unicorns are my favorite.” And then she giggled, making it sound like a laugh of relief rather than humor.

  “You are so brave,” I whispered back, warily eyeing the Catalyst book in Zeus’ hand.

  “I knew it wasn’t really you when he came to collect me,” she whispered. “Freya did too. I told her to trust me.”

  I almost lost my footing as I continued backing up closer to my crew. “Why?” I hissed.

  “To keep you safe, silly,” she whispered. “We couldn’t fight him because Kára was out looking for your heart, and that was super important. And if he hurt Freya, the pups would be hurt. Did they wake up yet?”

  My heart was about to explode from this little girl’s capacity for throwing mind-bombs.

  “They’re not pups anymore, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Good. Makayla will need a part of your heart, but it’s a part you can share, and she doesn’t need it yet.” My skin pebbled, not knowing if she was being literal or not. “When justice comes, submit to your sentence.” I flinched involuntarily. I suddenly wanted to get this fortune teller from hell about as far from my ears as possible.

  Zeus was frowning because Aphrodite hadn’t moved. “Okay, Alice,” I whispered. Then I set her down between me and the Horsemen, keeping her behind me as I turned back to Zeus. Aphrodite was staring down at the box in her hands with a dreamy smile on her face that even I found chilling.

  I heard a faint whisper of sound behind me, followed by a reassuring swat on my ass. My eyes bulged and I glanced back to see only an empty spot where Alice had been. My Horsemen looked just as startled to see Alice suddenly disappear, but I shook my head reassuringly, biting back a grin at the familiar scent lingering in the air.

  Kára.

  “Hand it over, daughter,” Zeus warned. “Or have you forgotten who has Hephaestus?”

  She slowly looked up at him, cocking her head with an amused frown. “And will that matter when I open this box and watch your flesh peeled from your bones?”

  He narrowed his eyes warily. Damn it, Aphrodite, I thought to myself.

  “You see, Father, I think I’ve reached that age in a young woman’s life where she needs to spread her wings. You know what I mean. That special day when you wake up and just know that today is the day your father dies,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Because you just love him too much to let him keep on living,” she said deadpan.

  Right. The girl was crazy. Check. I knew she hated her father, but this was reckless. And she was going to ruin everything.

  “Be very, very careful, daughter. My patience has limits.”

  “You are destroying our legacy,” she seethed. “You are a monster. And I will not stand for it. I care more about my own family. My loving husband and his daughter, Pandora. Our daughter. Your warmongering is over.” She stared down at the box wistfully. “I can feel her inside. The power,” she breathed, her eyes dilating.

  Zeus snarled. He spun to me, looking for Alice. He blinked to see her gone.

  And that’s when—in a single moment—I saw a man’s mind break.

  A father’s heart shatter.

  A king’s crown fall.

  I laughed. Hard. I couldn’t help it. He jerked his attention to me, his eyes crackling with electricity. “I didn’t even plan this one,” I admitted. “You did this to yourself, you sick bastard.”

  The crimson lightning and peals of thunder drew alarmingly closer, and the wind began to whip at my hair. “What is the meaning of this, Temple?” He patted the book in his hands warningly. “I thought we had an understanding.”

  I grinned, raising my voice to be heard over the approaching storm. “I’m not very good at understanding. Oh, and before I forget, Alice wanted me to tell you something before she left. Page three is her favorite,” I said, pointing at the Catalyst book—his only leverage.

  He flipped open the aged book, and a single item slowly floated to the ground. A black feather with a red orb at the tip. I didn’t need the feather to call Grimm. It was merely a hint. A little love note from a truly frightening little girl. A Seer.

  “Grimm,” I breathed, grinning like a lunatic as I felt the tides of fortune change.

  “Come to me.”

  My Riders
stepped up beside me, staring up at the skies with wicked grins. My unicorn appeared in the sky, silhouetted against the crimson glow of the black clouds so that he resembled a solar eclipse with a ring of pulsing ruby light around his majestic form.

  I had to admit. He looked elegant and noble and—

  “Hidey Ho, motherfuckers!” Grimm’s voice boomed from the clouds above us. “Check this out. I can shoot freaking rainbows from my freaking head!”

  And a nimbus of dark power bloomed around his horn, screaming like the souls of the damned, even as his horn began to crackle with white light inside the orb of evil.

  “TASTE THE PAIN-BOW!” Grimm screamed.

  And a rainbow consisting of seven shades of sin burst out of his horn, shrieking down in a hateful stream of grays and blacks like a charcoal painting of misfortune. It slammed into the ground, missing Zeus by about a foot as he leapt to safety.

  Lightning immediately crackled in the sky—much closer than before—silhouetting Grimm from behind. I clasped my hand over my Horseman’s Mask as I stared up at my unicorn. One of the ruby bolts writhed to life, reaching out to my unicorn like a tentacle. It latched onto his horn and exploded in a red flare that made me wince. Zeus burst out laughing, sitting on the ground and pointing his finger at where Grimm had been flying.

  A moment later, Grimm slammed down onto the pavilion, flipping up his tail and dropping a deuce. Right on top of Ares and Apollo. He met Zeus’ eyes as he shook his coat and feathers with a motor boating sound. “That loosened my bowels a little, thunder-snatch.”

  Zeus’ blast hadn’t incinerated him because he was now covered in diamond armor the color of inky obsidian. I grinned from ear-to-ear, relieved that my last-ditch attempt to protect him had worked. My Mask had saved him.

  Peter was suddenly standing, his eyes wide and terrified as he pointed his stumps at his mouth, looking as if he was trying to shout but unable to open his lips. Being unable to move from his designated spot, Grimm’s painbow blast had caused him to have a little potty accident.

  Zeus climbed to his feet with a snarl. He shot a look at Aphrodite as if begging her help now that they were completely outclassed, relying on Stockholm syndrome to save him.

  Pandora’s Box sat on the marble. Aphrodite was struggling to her hands and knees, groaning. She looked as if she couldn’t hear anything, but she saw the box and sucked in a breath.

  Zeus lunged for it with a triumphant shout, obviously more concerned with power than his daughter’s injuries.

  He clutched it to his chest with an evil grin, turning to me. “We’ve both played our games, Temple, and you played better than I anticipated, but we both knew it would come down to this,” he said, tapping the box.

  I chuckled unconcernedly. “Unless it’s empty,” I said, turning my back on him. I lifted my finger high above my head, rotating my hand in a circling motion to signify that it was time to wrap it up. “I’m starving. Anyone want pizza?” I asked my Riders.

  “I was holding out for a gyro,” a familiar, disembodied voice purred, making the other Horsemen jump. “But I’ll settle for you, Pharos.” And her unseen fingers brushed my cheek as her scent filled my nostrils again.

  “Kára?” Callie hissed incredulously, her eyes darting left and right in an attempt to locate the invisible Valkyrie.

  “What do you mean?” Zeus demanded from behind me.

  “Alice is safe,” Kára said. “But I have something to do before we leave.”

  My three Horsemen stared at me, looking about ready to explode with questions. “Don’t look at me,” I said with a grin. “The girl does what she wants. I’m just along for the ride.”

  “You wouldn’t dare bring me an empty box!” Zeus shouted. I sighed, annoyed, and turned back to him. “I can feel her power within,” he argued. “It’s undeniable. Aphrodite, get your husband out here. I put him in Temple’s old cell. He will verify that his daughter is inside the box or he will die sobbing at your feet.”

  Aphrodite flinched—apparently able to hear, after all—her eyes widening in alarm. Despite hating her father, she obviously loved her husband more. She stumbled to her feet, and all but fell down the steps leading to the cells. I narrowed my eyes, wondering if this was a favorable or problematic development. I was saved from this moral conundrum by a surprising visual.

  Out of nowhere, Peter grunted with three sizable holes suddenly appearing in his stomach as Kára hit him from behind with her trident. Although we couldn’t see her, I knew the holes were her weapon’s barbs poking out of his gut. And then Peter was flying across the ground, his feet dragging behind him as if propelled by a moving truck. He slammed into a marble column with a sickening—definitely lethal—sound and Kára flickered into view, lifting the Helm of Darkness from her head. I felt a pang of anxiety to see she hadn’t used the eyepatch I’d left her, but it was overridden by my relief to see her back in action. I stared at her now gleaming golden armor, grinning proudly at the evil man she had just murdered as the thunder and lightning flickered across the hellish skies behind her.

  That picture fit her perfectly, and would forever be imprinted upon my mind.

  My Valkyrie.

  Grimm neighed. “She’s so badass. Never argue with her. Ever,” he warned.

  Kára let out a huff. “That was empowering.” She set her boot on Peter’s back and yanked her trident out. Then she glanced from Zeus to us, brushing a few loose strands of hair back with a gauntleted hand. Alucard made an approving sound and I elbowed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him on reflex. Gunnar smiled absently, clenching Mjolnir tightly.

  “ENOUGH!” Zeus roared. He lowered his attention to the box in his hands. But I could see the flicker of fear and doubt in his eyes, wondering if it was a trap or empty.

  “All right. Pay attention, everyone,” I said in a low tone, motioning Grimm and my Horsemen to huddle around me. “You’re about to see a man look into the abyss,” I said, watching Kára jog our way.

  “What do you mean?” Callie asked. “Why would you give him the box?”

  I ignored her question, keeping my eyes on Zeus. “And the abyss is about to fight back,” I said, licking my lips as Zeus reached down to touch the lid of Pandora’s Box. “I can practically taste the fear in the air already.”

  “I’m here,” Kára said—as if in answer to my comment—as she skidded to a halt beside me. She reached down to briefly squeeze my hand affectionately, but she didn’t peel her eyes away from Zeus. “Did you do it?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Yup.”

  “He’s going to shit.”

  “Wait. How do you know what I did?” I asked, frowning. I hadn’t told her.

  She shrugged. “Alice is a talker. Apparently, she’s been learning quite a bit from Freya,” she said with a proud smile.

  “Anyone else about done with the cryptic lovers?” Alucard grumbled, annoyed. “Because I want to hit something. Now.”

  I blindly pointed at Ares and Apollo, whispering so only we could hear, although the storm pretty much covered any eavesdropping. “Good. Because they’re faking it. Empty bottles of Ambrosia in their hands. Heals them right back up. Any minute now.”

  Callie snarled, subtly angling herself to face the new threat.

  Grimm chuckled. “Now I feel bad,” he said, laughing even harder as he pawed at the ground with his hooves, igniting a line of white fire. He obviously didn’t feel bad for defecating on them, but it was the thought that counted.

  “What were you two talking about?” Gunnar pressed. “What did you do?”

  “Just watch. You should probably put on your Masks. There might be fallout…”

  64

  Zeus grinned like a madman as he stared down at Pandora’s Box.

  I grinned like a madman as I drew deep on my magic, creating a thick, milky mist to suddenly flood the pavilion. Zeus was too busy to notice, but my Horsemen watched me curiously.

  “When you see them get up,” I said, pointing at Ares and Apol
lo, “I need you to howl as loud as you can, Gunnar. I want you to make your vocal chords hurt. Howl for Calvin and Makayla.”

  He grinned wickedly. “I take it they’re scared of wolves?”

  “They weren’t a few hours ago, but they spent some time in your old vacation spot.”

  He chuckled. “They’ll think the mist is from Niflheim,” he said, nodding his approval.

  “If they don’t scream it, I need one of you guys to do it. Loud enough for Zeus to hear.”

  They nodded.

  “And put your damned Masks on!” I snapped. I gripped Kára around the waist and pulled her close, giving her a real kiss for the first time in entirely too long.

  She melted into it as the mist swirled around us and my Horsemen put on their Masks. I cut the kiss short and pressed my forehead against hers. “I’m glad you’re here for this.”

  She grinned. “Ditto,” she breathed.

  Then we pulled away at the same time, glancing back to see my Horsemen staring back at me. I grinned wolfishly. “They’re all growed up,” I said, proudly, as if I was dropping my kids off at their first semester of college.

  Despair stared back at me, wearing a white Mask of raw crystal. From the waist down, she was merely a thick haze of white, glittering mist, seeming to stretch across the entire pavilion thanks to my magically born fog. When she moved her upper body, she left a trail of vapor, as if she was a ghost.

  Justice was a towering white wolf, easily eight-feet-tall even though he was slightly hunched forward. His golden mask had reformed to fit his canine face, making me think of those old plague doctor masks with the long beaks. His paws sported long black diamond claws.

  Absolution hovered above a scorched circle on the ground. He gleamed with emerald light, his skin also resembling quartz. Claws of pure flame hung from his fingers like whips, and I could feel their heat from five feet away.

  “Ahh, shit!” Grimm neighed, clopping all four hooves excitedly. “It’s happening!” he said, whipping his head anxiously.