Carnage: Nate Temple Series Book 14

by Shayne Silvers

  “That is fair.”

  “For your crime, you will take Thor’s seat. Not as a god, but as a member of our war council.” He eyed the Olympians and pursed his lips. “Given the circumstances, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  I considered it. Finally, I nodded. “I accept this sentence.”

  Freya cleared her throat, facing Kára. “You have failed in your duties as a Valkyrie. You neglected your duties to arrest Loki and Fenrir, and abandoned your post for a war involving a different pantheon,” she said. Obviously, she was talking about this whole shit show.

  Kára nodded, pursing her lips. “And I would do it again.”

  Freya narrowed her eyes. “I warned you that abandoning your role as a Valkyrie would cost you your soul.”

  “You did,” Kára said stiffly.

  Freya watched her student in silence for at least a full minute. “You are stricken from the ranks of the Valkyrie army.”

  Kára stared at her, but she looked more confused than defiant. “Not stripped of my wings…”

  Freya shook her head. “No. But you are ill-suited for the military unit. I therefore require that you work for the war council. Each member has their own Valkyrie guard to protect them in the interests of Asgard.”

  Kára gasped. I stared incredulously. Alice was definitely getting some new crayons. For sure.

  Freya was obviously forcing herself to remain composed, but I saw the smile warring to break through her stern countenance. “You will serve as Master Temple’s Valkyrie guard until one or both of you die.”

  Kára sucked in a breath, trembling excitedly. “I agree,” she whispered.

  Freya dipped her chin. “Do not fail me a second time. Justice will not be so lenient.”

  She nodded hurriedly. “Yes, Freya.”

  Odin cleared his throat. “Then justice has been served.”

  Well. Wasn’t that something. Not wanting to stretch my luck, I shook my head meaningfully at Kára. She nodded, flexing her fingers at her sides in a restless manner as she clamped her lips tight, lowering her gaze in a somewhat meek pose.

  I’d humbled both Fenrir and Odin, and shocked the hell out of Asgard’s power couple. Alice had told me that Freya knew all about Zeus impersonating me, so she had to know I’d uncovered this startling gift from the little Seer. In fact…maybe this was an offering. For saving Alice. Freya had found a way to both punish and reward the both of us.

  I knew I had liked Freya for a reason.

  The Olympians were staring at the two of us with open grins, blowing our cover. I squinted at them, but they just smiled wider.

  I let out a breath, squaring to face the Olympians. “I guess I’ll be your king, since you asked so nicely.”

  “General,” Hermes corrected, frowning.

  “Sure. That, too,” I said, accepting both titles. “Oh, and pay up,” I said, holding out my palm. I’d almost forgotten our bet.

  A slow smile stretched across his cheeks. “Gladly.”

  He pressed four golden coins into my palm. I was actually surprised, because technically, the four he’d already given me could have arguably been my winnings. I didn’t turn them down, though. Winning a bet against Hermes was worthy of a myth in and of itself.

  I pocketed the coins and addressed the gods. “I did this, not out of cruelty or for my own vanity. This was a lesson for the world. I am the Catalyst. I am the Horseman of Hope. Me and my Riders—Despair, Justice, and Absolution—are not here to deliver the souls of mortals to the afterlife at the End of Days.” I felt Death staring at me so intently that he was practically licking his lips. “My Riders are here to deliver the souls of broken gods to the afterlife. We are the godkillers, and karma is our blade. It’s time for you to remember at whose pleasure you serve. The people worship you in exchange for your protection, not your arrogance and vanity. In case any of you do not understand this, I will send one of my siblings to discuss it with you. The Dread Four will ride, and a god shall die.”

  They shuddered, their faces pale. Finally, they nodded.

  Surprisingly, they looked…hopeful. Even though I had killed their relative, they looked relieved that someone was here to act as a check to their power. Unless they were playing me.

  Death gave me a very discreet smile and a proud nod. “The scythe suits you,” he mused.

  I smiled back, scooping up Zeus’ head. “It’s growing on me. The three of us need to have a nice, long chat. Bring your girlfriend. I feel like I don’t know her very well,” I said dryly, referring to the fraud Othello with the memory shard necklace. “Even though you’ve been dating her for years, now.”

  Death nodded knowingly. “Of course. Whenever you wish.”

  Kára leaned forward. “Before anger gets the best of you, remember the result of his ruse,” she murmured, meeting my eyes. “The ends might justify the means,” she said with a coy smile, gesturing at her body. “He might be my second favorite person in the world right now,” she said, smiling at the Horseman.

  I sighed in resignation. She wasn’t wrong, but good freaking god. He deserved a slap on the wrist or something, right?

  I mounted Grimm, preparing to leave. Poseidon stepped forward, lifting his trident. Grimm lunged, setting the tip of his now-glowing horn against the god’s chest. “Easy, pal. You’d look really funny with a rainbow through your heart.”

  Poseidon nodded stiffly and backed up. “When will you return?” he asked, looking up at me.

  I surveyed the city, noticing people—gods—milling about a safe distance away, obviously watching us and wondering who had destroyed their Acropolis. One look at Fenrir gave them an easy suspect and sent them scurrying.

  “Hopefully soon. And under more benevolent conditions. Just so you know, I won’t be coming alone until I have assurances you can keep your crew in line.” I jerked my chin at the growing crowd. “Tell them the truth—along with the explanation I gave you. If I hear even a whiff of you attempting to spin this, I will be back sooner than you think, and under much different conditions. With more associates by my side. We have peace,” I said, jerking my chin towards the hole in the ground where the olive tree had been. “The Dread Four will swear on it as well, or you may consider today’s agreement nullified.”

  They nodded. “Yes, Master Temple.”

  I studied Zeus’ brothers. “For what it is worth, Lords Poseidon and Hades…I am sorry for your loss. I had hoped Zeus could stand beside me in the upcoming War. He wanted to do so, but only if I and mine had collars around our necks. That is no way to win a war. Still, I dream of better days, stronger families, and greater empathy.”

  They looked taken aback for a few moments. Then they dipped their heads. “Apology accepted, Master Temple. To be fair, the Titans may have done worse to him.”

  I smiled. “You saw through my tough guy demeanor. Damn.”

  Ghosts of smiles split their faces for the first time, and they dipped their chins, looking thoughtful.

  Death grinned and bowed.

  Hera rolled her eyes. “Bye, husband. And good fucking riddance.” She turned, weaving her way towards the city. I arched an eyebrow at Hades and Poseidon and they nodded in resignation.

  “Hop on, Kára. We’re not finished.”

  68

  I decided to fly us back rather than making a Gateway or using one of Hermes’ coins. I had no idea what I would find on the pavilion, and appearing directly in the center of the fight could be bad for my health. Unfortunately, Zeus had kicked up a doozy of a storm, and Grimm’s horn seemed to attract the errant bolts now that they had no god to command them. After a few minutes of deflecting attacks, I realized it was not going to be a relaxing, celebratory flight with my newly-minted Valkyrie bodyguard pressed up against my back.

  So, with a grimace, I slammed Zeus’ head onto the tip of Grimm’s horn. “Sorry, man.”

  Amazingly, it worked—much to Grimm’s annoyance. The bolts no longer sought us out. “This is so humiliating.”

  Kár
a rested her chin on my shoulder as Grimm flew through the skies. The lightning—no longer hunting us down—was a peaceful light show of reds against black clouds. The thunder rumbled across the skies, and I smiled. It was oddly peaceful and serene, this chaos. I thought about my time on the astral plane, how I’d often found myself in a black world with red lightning in the distance. Had I somehow known it would end here? Had I seen the future somehow?

  “So, boss,” Kára murmured playfully, “what are the rules for workplace romance?” she asked, squeezing my waist.

  “Not while I’m driving,” I grumbled, even though her hug had been seemingly innocent. She laughed.

  “How did you know?” she asked.

  “Something Alice said. And I’ve come to trust her. She made it sound important. That we need to agree to their judgment. It made my skin crawl at the time, but I’ll be damned if she wasn’t right,” I admitted.

  Kára kissed my neck briefly and fell silent. “I’m still trying to process everything. I already thought the world had turned crazy,” she whispered. “But never in a million years did I expect that. I thought she was going to knock my feet out from under me, taking you away,” she whispered, her voice strained and on the verge of cracking.

  I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “You might guard me, but I also guard you, Kára. No one is taking you from me. We gave up too much to get here.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. I needed to hear you say it.” She grew silent and it felt right. Nothing needed to be said. Just being near each other was a soothing balm on my soul. “Alice told me some things, too. When I took her back to the Armory.” Kára sounded pensive, but also…excited.

  Before I could pepper her on it, the mountain spread out before us. And it was surprisingly calm. I nudged Grimm faster, not knowing if that meant a good or bad outcome for my Riders. We landed on the misty pavilion, disturbing the white blanket of fog so that it drifted up above our heads, briefly obscuring us. It no longer rained here, and the thunder and lightning were slowly rolling away, leaving behind only the black clouds and distant flashes of ruby light.

  Zeus’ head rose up out of the fog first and I heard Apollo shout. “Zeus lives! Father lives!”

  Grimm snorted and slowly advanced, letting out a dark chuckle as he emerged from the fog with Zeus’ head on his horn. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, sunshine. I ain’t yer daddy.”

  Startled gasps answered him as it became apparent that Zeus was just a severed head.

  I hopped down from Grimm’s back and held out a hand to help Kára down. We swept our eyes over the pavilion, searching for dangers. Thankfully, my Horsemen lived. They’d taken off their Masks and stood in a row before a very battered and embarrassed Ares and Apollo. I saw Pandora and a man I did not know standing before a kneeling Aphrodite a few paces apart from her brothers.

  Prometheus was sitting on the lip of the mountain, hanging his legs over the edge of the world. I frowned, leaning low to whisper to Kára. “Can you give me minute?”

  She nodded, assessing the Titan. “Of course.” She trotted over to my friends, pulverized and shattered bones crunching under her boots. I smiled, shaking my head. Then I approached him.

  Prometheus was shaking his head and muttering under his breath as I approached. He was smoking a cigar, the familiar smell making me smile as it brought back distant memories of my father. He had loved his cigars.

  “How you holding up?” I asked, squatting down beside him, breathing in the sweet smoke.

  He glanced at me with a tired smile, clenching the cigar between his teeth. He pulled it out. “Fucking family, am I right, Nipple?” He turned to look behind me, instantly spotting Zeus’ head—still wedged on Grimm’s horn—and smiled warmly, looking as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He took a celebratory puff and blew it up into the air. Then he appraised Kára, who was speaking with Callie in a soft, silent, tense conversation. “You don’t do anything in half-measures,” he said, chuckling. “Cigar?” he asked, offering me…

  A Gurkha Black Dragon.

  I froze, staring at him. That was why the smoke had been familiar. I’d chalked it up as cigar smoke in general. But he was smoking the exact cigar my father favored above all. Another thought came to mind, making my skin pebble. The Pandora Protocol had included another warning. I could still see the word flashing on the screen of the security feed from my parents’ murder:

  Titan.

  “No way,” I whispered, plopping down onto my rear as I accepted the offered cigar with shaking hands. “That was about you,” I said, stunned.

  “I don’t know if you’re aware,” Prometheus said uncomfortably, “but your parents kept a secret or two.”

  I grunted. “Understatement.”

  He frowned, looking relieved that his comment hadn’t set me off. “Oh. You mean they didn’t tell you about any of this?” he asked, gesturing at the pavilion. I shook my head. “That’s just bad parenting,” he muttered, frowning in disapproval.

  I stared at him in disbelief. Was he being serious right now, or was he kidding around.

  “Small world, Nipple. Small world,” he said pensively. “Your parents gave me a glimmer of hope years ago, appearing atop my mountain at night to tell me a few…unsettling things. I didn’t believe them at the time, of course. Thirty-something years went by until their words came true,” he muttered unhappily. “They didn’t outright tell me that my glimmer of hope would literally end up chained beside me. That was why I got so panicked when you didn’t free me,” he admitted guiltily. “I thought I’d missed my moment.” He grew silent, pondering his meeting with my parents. “Their claims were more general, but the highlights were the same,” he said, gesturing at the aftermath of the fight I had mostly missed here on the pavilion. He pointed his chin at the others. “That should go well. You’ve got a few minutes before they need you, if your parents were right about that, too. I think. It was a while ago,” he admitted, sounding doubtful of his mental recall.

  I stared at him, baffled. Finally, I let out a sigh, giving up. “I’m feeling lucky today, so I’ll take that gamble. It’s not every day you win a bet against Hermes.”

  Prometheus snorted. “Damn Temples,” he muttered. “Right again.”

  I grunted, letting the comment go. Just another crazy revelation on top of the mountain of secrets my parents kept. “Now you know how I feel,” I grumbled. He opened his palm, and Ignus appeared. The little matchstick man lit the tip of my cigar with a high five. Prometheus was careful to keep the Beast in his hand, looking as attentive as a mother hen.

  “Is that safe?” I asked. “I thought this mountain was covered in runes to trap Beasts?”

  Prometheus nodded. “As long as he doesn’t hop down onto the ground, he’s fine. It was the combination of my shackles and the mountain that prevented me from even that much freedom.”

  I’d actually thought we were on a different mountain than where I’d first met Prometheus. I frowned. Maybe there were other peaks on the opposite side of the prison cells. Ignus sauntered up to the edge of Prometheus’ fingers and fidgeted with his pants.

  I frowned. “Um. What is he doing—”

  A line of fiery sparks suddenly arced out of Ignus’ waist, looking like a sparkler on the Fourth of July. I blinked. The Beast…was taking a piss. The little shit was taking a piss off the edge of the world.

  Prometheus sighed. “I’m sorry. He’s usually better behaved,” he grumbled. “Little rebellious after being cooped up for so long.”

  Ignus angled his stream to strike the pavilion and wrote Zeus on the marble, scorching it into the surface. Then he began swinging his hips from left to right to scratch through it. Finally, his fiery shower petered out.

  Heh.

  I shook my head, puffing on my cigar. “Well. He’s not wrong,” I admitted.

  “It’s probably time for you to go sort that out. You can trust Callie, whatever that means,” he said, obviously passing on information from my parents.


  I studied the Titan in silence. Then I patted him on the shoulder. I rose to my feet, dipping my chin at him and Ignus. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  He grunted noncommittally.

  I sighed, and made my way over to the others. Halfway there, I dropped the cigar and ground it out under my heel, having lost my interest in the nostalgic cigar after Prometheus’ words.

  I stepped up beside my Riders, smiling. “Everyone all right?” I asked, checking them over with quick pats and visual cues.

  Gunnar rolled his eye, smiling. “Stop mothering us, Nate. It was fun,” he said. Alucard was grinning smugly, seeming to be holding a staring contest with Apollo—who was obviously annoyed and definitely not reciprocating.

  Callie smiled. “No problems, and it was fun,” she agreed, smiling at Gunnar. “We made a great team, right Ares?” she teased.

  The god of war grimaced, not meeting her gaze.

  I turned to Pandora and the man at her side. “Lord Hephaestus, I presume?” I asked, making my way over.

  The tall, burly man nodded. “You must be the Master Temple my daughter keeps raving about. Sorry, I’ve been a little out of touch with current events,” he said, rubbing at his wrists. The pale flesh told me he’d been in cuffs for quite some time. Much longer than me.

  Pandora beamed at me. “Nice staff.”

  “Watch it,” Kára warned, smirking. “Paperwork’s signed but I haven’t driven it off the lot yet.”

  Pandora laughed delightedly. I studied Aphrodite. “Well, you got your wish,” I said, gesturing at Zeus’ head. Grimm seemed to be playing peekaboo with Ignus, ducking Zeus’ head below the mist and then popping up sporadically. I shook my head, wondering why the mist hadn’t left.

  I glanced at Callie, sensing her magic in the air. She winked at me, jerking her eyes towards Apollo and Ares, who kept watching the mist nervously, flinching and shying away from it. Callie was keeping the mist up to make them anxious—causing them despair.