Ares (2 page)

For far too long, Ava Von Maur had lived alone. She had to—otherwise the emotions and the pains of the people around her seemed to press in on her, making it hard for her to breath. However at this moment, she was in a place she didn’t want to be. She was in a place where she knew her entire life would change in the blink of an eye.

Athens, Greece. Standing on the hilltop overlooking the temple of the Greek God Ares, she smiled. Shaking her head, she turned from the sight and moved away quickly. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she walked from the long line of people that were gathered to give their oohs and ahhs in ridiculousness. It was a farce, every single part of it was disgrace and it seemed only she knew it.

Shifting slightly, she turned and moved from what everyone thought was the true temple of Ares but instead, she walked to a smaller less ornate building, which strangely enough still stood. It was a building none were aware of, save her. Her eyes saw it in the sands, she saw it for what it was.

A seat of power.

Stepping into the small stone structure she let out a breath. It seemed as if the world quieted the moment she walked into those stone columns and for a moment, she felt peace. She didn’t feel bombarded by the emotions and thoughts of others, instead she felt calm. Even in the halls of the God of War she felt at ease and to her that was more bliss than she could imagine.

A full body shudder filled her from head to toe in the realization of calm and ease she felt. “It’s amazing, the truth of power can be found in the smallest of places,” she was speaking to herself of course, but it simply felt right to allow the words free here.

“Peace. Calm. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this much at ease.” Of course people would think her mad if they came upon her and found her speaking as she was but honestly she didn’t care. She had survived the institutions once in her life. She would survive them again if they placed her back into one.

Ava wasn’t insane, she was something else. She was an emotional empath. She was also a mind reader. Those two things didn’t work out very well together at all. What was worse, she could see things no one else could. She could see the truth in a mass of lies. She was far too different to be a part of humanity.

Moving from the spot she had rooted, she walked to a statuette and frowned. “This isn’t right.” She didn’t know what was wrong about it but there was something impossibly wrong with the statue. It was as if it felt off somehow. “What is wrong with you?” she asked and lifted a hand to touch the statute in question. “This is not how you should look.”

There was an interesting comment from a tourist. Still out of sync with the modern world Ares moved closer to the female.
Cute, very cute
. She was staring at one of the Gods awful statues, which was supposed to denote his likeness.
Bull fucking shit
.

It had been a Roman General’s son, or so he believed, who’d been the one to stand for the artist. The mere child had held nothing of what made Ares feared, worshipped or hunted by the opposite sex for centuries. He who wins wars and rules gets to adjust history to fit their particular mold of events.
Fucking Roman scum
.

Turning his attention back to the woman he frowned. There was something...different about her. She had an aura, not quite right for a human and yet, definitely not of the Gods.
Interesting
. Could be she was a great-great-great descendant of one of the many Gods. Could explain the unusual aura she held wrapped around her. It was sensual, strong and yet, he frowned harder, something wasn’t right about it. It was as if there was something very wrong with her.

No, not possible. Whoa! Where the hell had that thought come from? Blinking, he paced away and turned to view her from afar. Yup, the brain was still saying she was as perfect as there was. Yes there was something off, perhaps jammed in her aura but otherwise, she was delightfully sublime. Hmmm, perhaps it was time to mingle with the humans a little. Yeah, he could go to the club and settle for a groupie, but this little human female—intrigued him.

Moving toward the doorway, Ares looked around. Seeing no others nearby and after ensuring she was still focused on the statue, let his body come fully into her realm. Stepping closer, he cleared his throat lightly. Nothing, she was still mumbling to the statue that it wasn’t right. Clearing his throat again, he smiled when she finally heard him and whipped around. “I don’t think they like you petting their ancient statues and I’m pretty sure if any Roman heard you saying that,” he pointed to the statue, "there was something wrong, they’d likely haul you to the Coliseum.”

Ava turned to face the man and took a large step back. “Son of a bitch.” Her heart began to pant, her chest tightened as she looked at the man before her. “You,” she breathed out the word softly. She stepped away from the larger than life man until her back hit the wall. “No one can see this building. How could you find it?” She knew though. “You are him.” She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. “That’s why the statue is off. It’s not you,” she whispered and licked her lips. “How?” She had thought the myths were gone and she no longer would have to face those who had been there once but were no more. Was he a ghost? No, that wasn’t right. “Tell me your name.”

A single black brow arched up toward his hairline, matching black in color. He blinked his dark blue, silver tinted eyes at her. “My parents named me Ares. And you are?” he asked. He didn’t move any closer, yet his presence seemed to overwhelm the small building. In fact, other than the eyebrow, he really hadn’t moved more than his lips to speak to her. Why then did he seem closer?

Ava tried to step back but the wall at her back stopped her. “Ava,” she told him honestly. “You are him,” she whispered and swallowed, hard. “Holy mother of fucking God you are him.”
Holy Christ!
It wasn’t possible.
No it wasn’t possible
. “You are not supposed to be on this side of the realm or whatever it is you call it. This is the land of humans, not the Gods, right?”

Both brows went down in a frown of confusion. “Why not?” he asked and tipped his dark head slightly. His slightly crooked nose was wrinkled a bit, but softened the lines of his face. It was a face that could easily be chiseled from stone. Strong jaw, with a hint of a beard there, high cheekbones, strong brow and a nose that looked to have been in a fight or two. “It’s not like you own this realm. Plus, technically, daddy dearest was the one who created your people, so you’re really more like tenants.”

“Oh God.” She slid down the wall and looked up at him. Her hands covered her ears and she shook her head. “Turn it off,” she begged. “Whatever it is you are trying to push at me turn it off. It freaking hurts damn it.” It felt like he was trying to probe her or peel through the layers of her aura. Something. Whatever he was doing it was killing her head.

A hand touched hers in the next instant. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d be so sensitive,” he said as he drew her hand from her ear. His words were soft, gentle even, as was his touch. “I sometimes forget myself. Will you accept my apology, Ava?” he asked, his odd accent making her name sound very unique and foreign.

“Yes,” she whispered and let the man pull her to her feet. “I thought all of you stopped walking the Earth thousands of years ago. At least in the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation in my family say,” she admitted. “I’ve known about you all my life, just never thought I would see you.”

“We come, we go, it’s how it’s always been and always will be.” Ares gave a lazy shrug as he stepped back. He must have sensed her unease with him being so close. Of course, he was a God, a real, live God. “We’re actually here more often than you’d likely believe. Olympus is rather,” he made a face, “well, if you like the politics, ass kissing, and conniving backstabbers, it’s a great place to live. I much prefer being in this realm or between the realms. Less chance of having someone try to kill me in my sleep.”

“I can understand that,” she admitted to him and sighed. “Thank you, whatever you did to pull back. I can’t believe you are real,” she said with the shake of her head. There was something about this God, and oh yes, she knew he was a God, “What is it about you? You are…” It was almost as if her aura was reaching for his and that was scary as hell.

He gave another lazy shrug. “I am who I am, Ava. I truly meant you no harm. Unfortunately it’s not always easy to recall that some of you are very sensitive to our abilities. For you, I will keep them locked down.” Ares turned to look at the statue, “Can’t believe the Romans switched out an image of me for that little prick. If his father hadn’t been some high-powered and victorious general, he’d never have been the one to stand for the artist.”

“I knew it was off the moment I saw it,” she admitted to him. “So tell me about you. How wrong did the history books or mythology get you?” She had the stories that had been passed through her family, but she hadn’t heard them in years. Not since her Nana, the woman who raised her after the loss of both her parents, died. “Because if these people are thinking the large ostentatious ruins up there are yours and this man is you, then they really must have screwed up a great deal.”

“The victors always write history,” he said, looking at her. “History should be ignored for the most part, especially anything regarding the Gods' reign. Mythology texts,” he lifted a hand and tipped it back and forth, “are so-so on the accuracy. The lineages are mostly right, a little off here and there but even we can’t say for sure, at least not a hundred percent. Since our deeds and misdeeds were mostly miswritten, I’d ignore those too. What do you want to know and I’ll tell you my version of it.”

“I have no idea,” Ava admitted honestly. “Did you really father as many children as the myths say?” She asked with a frown, “Why do they only put you as the God of War when you are more than that? That’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask.”

“Right,” he gave her an odd look. Then he seemed to shake it off. “Never had kids, but because of Zeus and a few other promiscuous Gods, we all got a bad rap. I may have been around for, well, forever really, but I was always careful with anyone I chose to be with. As to the other,” he tipped his head. “Think of it like a band. They are known for the biggest, best-selling hit, the one that got stuck in everyone’s head. They write and perform other songs, but they are always recognized for that one hit. It’s the same thing with the Gods. We got labeled by our biggest, badest works.”

“I understand,” she said with a nod. “I suppose that
war
is one of those things that will always stick with a person, isn’t it?” She should get out of there, but she found herself wanting to spend more time with this man, this God. “I’m sure this happens a lot, but do you maybe want to get a coffee?”

He blinked at her, “Actually, you may not believe this, but that’s the first time anyone has ever asked me out for coffee. I know you’re uneasy with me so if you’re just asking to be nice there’s no need, but if you truly mean it,” he nodded slowly. “I’d like to very much.”

“I really mean it.” She was blushing. “I’ve never asked anyone for coffee either but,” she shrugged and started mumbling, “I just… I can’t seem to let this moment go. Weird I know.”

“Well then,” he stepped back and gave a small sweeping bow, “after you, my lady. Lead on to wherever we’re to go.” Straightening, he smiled slightly as he waited for her to move ahead of him. “Or would you rather I not be at your back?”

“I don’t mind if you are at my back. If I recall correctly, you are one of those men who would rather kill from the front so you can watch your foe die. Or am I wrong?” Ava teased as she exited the small building known as Ares temple.

“Not sure I should answer that. You already seem a little wary of me and I don’t wish to put you out of sorts further.” He was following, two steps to her side and slightly behind. He was looking around, watching everything. Then he put on a pair of dark sunglasses and locked his hands behind his back.

She shrugged, “I’m not delusional enough to possibly think you couldn’t kill me if you wanted to. I really hope you will decide that you don’t want me dead.” But then again, she knew what and who he was so why wouldn’t he want her dead? She was after all a liability.

“You are not a liability,” he said, in a casual comment sort of way. “Even if you were to run over to the group of students and proclaim me as Ares, God of War, no one would believe you. You are unique amongst your race, Ava. Besides, I could erase all their memories even if they did believe you. Put your mind at ease, I would never mess with your memories. Only those who are a threat deserve such treatment.”

“How do you know it's not me?” She really wasn’t a threat, honestly she had always been secretly enamored of the God of War. It was totally crazy and she knew it. “But I’m not. I wouldn’t reveal who you were even if they would believe me. Sometimes we all need a break from life, wouldn’t you say?”

“I know it’s not you,” he said. He was closer, a lot closer, suddenly. “What is this bit about you being enamored by the God of War?” he asked. He sounded curious and maybe he was grinning just a little bit. A quick glance showed he was smiling, big, lots of very white teeth.

“Oh shush it. If I say anything it will give you an even bigger head than you already have and that simply won’t work for me. You have had legions of men and women bow to you all your life, not me, bubba. Yes I’ve always had a thing for you, or whatever, but it doesn’t mean that, well hell.”

He stopped dead, but she could feel his eyes burning into her back. “You think I want you to bow to me?” He actually sounded offended at the idea. He sounded disgusted by the idea, if she were to be honest. “I think I will have to decline on the offer of coffee. Have a good day, Ava,” he said and then silence, he was gone.

“You mean you don’t?” She watched him leave in a poof and shook her head. “Childish and fucking petty,” she grumbled and walked right through where Ares had been and instead of rejoining the group, she walked to her hotel. It was time to get the hell out of Greece. Surely the Gods wouldn’t be in Ireland, she prayed.