Bedeviled (13 page)

Each time Zeus raised his bolt in the air, she took cover behind the nearest wall, tree, or boulder, waited it out, and began the fight through the mobs once again. It was a painfully slow journey, but inch by inch, she made progress, getting closer and closer to that damned portal and the evil continually pouring through it.

“KY-A-NA!”

The familiar voice brought Kyana to a halt, knocking her shoulder into a tree. The pulsing red portal had darkened to near black, but that wasn't what held Kyana so still she couldn't feel the lower half of her body. It was Haven, standing in the center of Zeus's gate, her arms held out wide, the trident gleaming in the late-afternoon sun.

“You lose, Kyana,” Haven's laughter carried over the battlefield like broken wind chimes, high pitched and grating. “This is only the beginning. The path to the gods is open now. Cronos will take his rightful place on the throne—”

Zeus's roar stopped all sound, all motion. He held out his staff. The ancient words that flowed forth caused the ground to quake. Lightning flashed overhead. A blinding white-hot flash of light shot from the end of his staff. Order members fell to their knees. Dark Breeds disintegrated in a puff of black smoke carried on the wind toward the portal.

“
Non est! Ut igne inferni consumet!
” A loud whoosh shook the grounds, and like a vacuum, Dark Breeds were sucked toward the portal and through it.

Knowing she was about to lose her chance, Kyana lunged forward, a scream of protest on her lips as Haven's body soared high into the air. Her torso bent backward as it was propelled through the portal and out of sight. Kyana stumbled, a bright light blinding her as the portal glowed red again . . . then white.

Then, with a deafening boom, it imploded.

Chapter Eighteen

K
yana's gaze held steadfast to the chaos around her, her heart frozen solid in her chest. Tiny quakes shook the ground beneath the crumbled portal. Six or seven small sinkholes spread out ten feet from the spot that had once held so much power, and drank in the red and black pieces of the doorway.

The damned thing had eaten Haven.

She felt Ryker's hand on her back, and try as she might, she couldn't look away from the horror. “Is she dead?” she whispered.

Ryker squeezed her hip. “No. The portal would have sucked her back Below.”

Relieved, she stepped aside as Zeus's procession made its way back up the mountain to his temple. Behind him, the cleaning process began. Sentinels bent to lift their dead and wounded allies over their shoulders. They kicked enemy bodies from their paths, bodies likely to get tossed on a burning pyre this evening.

Kyana tried not to drop her gaze to the Mystic's body at her feet. The poor bastard. Mystics lived like monks, believed in peace and simplicity above all else. This one had gotten pulled into a fight that had cost him his life. What a brutal way to go.

“If he could do that,” she said, jutting her chin in the direction Zeus had disappeared, “why did he wait until so many were dead?”

“He waited until he had no choice.” Ares appeared from around the corner, his tunic and sword stained with blood both black and red. Human and Dark Breed. “Closing that portal sealed out those Below who might require our aid. We've left them defenseless. If you had caught Haven like you were supposed to, all of these deaths could have been prevented, you inept whelp.”

“Watch it,” Ryker growled, stepping between his father and Kyana. “If Haven was so easy to catch, you and your men would be wearing the glory of her blood on your swords.”

She flinched. She wasn't about to let that happen. If it came down to killing Haven, she'd be the one to do it. She'd be the one to make sure it was painless and swift. She stepped around Ryker to stand beside him.

Ares looked her over before returning his attention to his son. “Until a new portal is constructed, no one can enter or leave Olympus. We're shutting down the one to Above as well, so find something useful to do in the meantime.”

“How long will that take?” Kyana asked, unsettled at the thought of being trapped here while Haven was still loose.

“Several hours. It will take longer to decide on new precautions than to actually rebuild it.”

Sighing, she rotated her shoulder to work out the kink slowly torturing her to death. “I want to see the Oracles. Make sure they're all where they're supposed to be.”

She had no intention of explaining to Ares her suspicions that Cronos had maneuvered this attack to get new prophets since the Cassadaga psychics had been killed. Haven didn't need more black marks against her, especially ones based on theory, not fact.

“No one can get to our Oracles—”

“I'll take you,” Ryker said, his jaw clenched so tightly, Kyana was afraid it might start to chip away from his face. As he pulled her past Ares, he stopped to face his father. “Just once, would it kill you to be a help rather than be a pain in our asses?”

Ares opened his mouth but Ryker was already pulling Kyana up the path before the God of War could respond.

Twenty minutes later, Ryker was leading her back down the path to Zeus's temple. All Oracles were accounted for. Unharmed. Kyana was relieved. She'd considered the possibility that Haven had been here and taken what she wanted before showing herself at the portal. Apparently, she hadn't gotten any further than where she'd been expelled from.

So why make the empty threat in Cassadaga about finding someone else who could read for her? Why make such a grand appearance rather than try to sneak her way to what she'd wanted?

When they reached the foot of the mountain, Ares was still standing where they'd left him, bellowing orders to his sentinels and yet not lifting a finger to help clear the bodies.

“Well?” Ares barked, giving them a cursory glance.

“They're all safe,” she muttered.

Ares's grin was one of triumph. “You see? We are well defended.”

Of course he had to say that. It would be his fault if they weren't.

Ass hat.

Ryker ran his hands through his hair and tugged hard before looking at Kyana. “She's obviously sending us on wild-goose chases.”

“This attack had to have a purpose other than to kill Order members.” But since the Oracles were safe, Kyana couldn't for the life of her think of what that might have been. Without an Oracle, Haven had no way to know where Geoffrey kept his amulet or where Cronos's ring was. Even if she
had
been able to steal Zeus's staff right out of his hands, there would still be pieces of the puzzle missing.

“The Oracles are fine,” Ryker said. “She's just messing with us.”

“There's one way to find out,” Silas said, appearing behind Ryker. Kyana had forgotten he'd been on the mountain at all. She was relieved to see that, other than a scratch below his eye, he was seemingly unharmed.

Silas turned to Ares. “Where are the surviving enemies being held?”

“You're assuming I allowed there to
be
survivors.”

“You didn't keep any alive to give you answers?” Silas said. “I don't believe that. If you let me, I can offer some assistance in questioning them.”

Ares's glare sharpened. “I trust Witches about as much as I trust Vampyre/Lychen Half-Breeds.”

Silas shrugged, unaffected by Ares's intimidating demeanor. “Suit yourself. I'm sure the gods are still powerful enough without my kind of magic to help things along.”

When Silas started to walk away, Ryker grabbed his arm and held him in place, his gaze locked on his father. “You know you can use him. You're willing to let your pride stand in the way of getting answers?”

Ares's dark eyes flickered with something Kyana couldn't put her finger on. “Why would you assume his methods would prove more useful than mine?”

As much as he and Ryker didn't get along, she almost pitied Ares when she saw the pair together. There was always a longing, a sadness, that crept over the god when his son spoke to him. It made him seem almost human.

Ryker shrugged. “Because brute force doesn't always ensure compliance.”

“You'll vouch for him, then?”

Ryker gave one curt nod, and Ares motioned for a passing guard. “The Witch is going to accompany you. He's not to be left alone with any of the prisoners. When he's done, bring him to me. Understood?”

Silas crossed his arms and glared. “If you really can't trust me, why allow me to assist your men at all?”

Ares's gaze shifted to Kyana, though he still talked to Silas. “Because I want to make sure you report all details to
me
, first.”

She rolled her eyes. “A few more days, Ares, and you'll have no authority over me. Becoming a full-blown goddess has never been more appealing.”

She pushed past the men and started toward Zeus's gardens. She needed a minute to breathe. To decide what to do next. She was locked here until a new portal was created, which gave her both time to think and time to drive herself nuts with the lack of action. Knowing Haven was somewhere out there and unreachable at the moment was already getting under her skin.

Kyana quickly scanned those roaming Zeus's gardens and spotted Geoffrey. He was holding a frantic conversation with Hermes. Geoffrey, in his Hades garb of black robes, pointed to the east, and Hermes flittered off in that direction, his winged sandals taking him above the arriving chariots on the mountainside.

She glanced behind her to make sure she was still alone before making her way to Geoffrey's side. She'd rather pick his brain without an audience.

“You all right?” she asked, letting him pull her into a tight hug.

“Ah, my heart is breaking minute by minute, lass.”

Kyana nodded against his chest. While she loved Haven like a sister, Geoffrey had been falling in love with Haven for years. He'd never acted on his adoration, though, knowing Haven wanted a family one day. Vampyre were notoriously infertile. Only one in a thousand or so were even capable of producing children, and after what Kyana had seen on the penal isle where Cronos had created the first Vampyre, she now knew why it was so. Vampyric children were horrific monsters. Geoffrey would never act on his desire for Haven because he cared too much for her to let her sacrifice so much.

She led him to a less populated area and cringed when she saw the pain etched in his face. He was still as beautiful as always—his Irish blue eyes dazzling with intensity beneath long black hair that hung loose around his face. But now, there was worry lining those eyes and streaks of silver in his hair—not all of which were attributes inherited from Hades, Kyana suspected.

“Did you see her?” she asked, sitting on a cold stone bench in front of the iron gates sectioning off Zeus's temple from the rest of the mountain.

She watched him swallow, let him take a minute to find his voice. “Aye.”

Kyana sighed. “I can't seem to get through to her, Geoff. When we saw her in Cassadaga, it was as though there was no Haven anymore. Cronos is inside her and I'm not sure she's strong enough to kick his ass out.”

“She is. Don't give up on our girl.” Geoff sat beside her and rested his hand on Kyana's knee. “The rest of the world will want to see her dead, Kyana. It's up to us to make sure that's not how all this gets sorted out.”

If she'd restrained Haven in Panama City or even Cassadaga, she might have been able to prevent the deaths of the Order members still being carried away by the sentinels.

“I'm not giving up,” she grumbled. “I'm just not sure I'll be able to . . . do what's necessary should my options run out.”

“Who else then? Your surfer boy?”

“He could kill her, yes. But I'm talking about reaching through to her. Getting past Cronos and bringing Haven back. I'm not sure I can do it. Ryker certainly can't.”

Ryker didn't truly believe in Haven's innocence. Not the way Kyana and Geoffrey did.

“You could try to get through to her,” she suggested. “She's always been as close to you as to anyone.”

His shoulders sagged. “And if I couldn't? Should it come to having to destroy Haven, I . . . would sooner destroy myself.”

Kyana studied him as he dug his palms into his eyes and ground out his frustrations. How did he do it? He'd been Vampyre too. How had he pushed past their polygamous nature to find himself in love with one person?

She sighed. The situation hadn't changed. She'd still try to find Haven. Still try to bring her back to the world of sanity. And if the time came when she had no choice but to kill her friend . . . if she wasn't strong enough, Ryker would be.

Life sucked.

Her mind flickered to Ryker again, and she remembered him staring at her so thoughtfully in Cassadaga. He'd watched her the way the human cop, Hank, watched his wife. With worry and fondness, and maybe a bit of possessiveness. At the time, it had made her uncomfortable, but when he'd turned that same focus onto her body minutes later, it had made her world right for just a few moments.

What did he see when he caught her looking at
him
? Maybe lust. Maybe wistfulness at what she couldn't see ever happening. But could he see the care for him she was developing? The sincere hope that she could one day go against her instincts and actually commit?

She cleared her throat and changed the subject, her chest suddenly tight with questions she didn't have time for. “Were any of the gods injured?”

“No, thank Zeus.”

“Good.” She turned and straddled the bench so she could better see Geoffrey. “She can't get to Cronos's body on that island even if she does get her hands on all of the Eyes of Power. She'd have to port there, and there's no one who would do that for her. Right? I mean, she
is
zipping from place to place. Maybe she
can
get to that damned island without Ares or Ryker to port her.”

Geoff shook his head. “No. Cronos might be lending her his dormant god-speed, but even he didn't have the power to port. She's faster than you because she has no need for ambrosia. She doesn't need to rest the way we do. But she can't get to that island. I don't believe she can raise Cronos because of that, but that doesn't mean our fate is any brighter if she manages to get her hands on all of the Eyes of Power.”

“After Zeus's display today, she knows he still keeps his staff close by. You'll have to make sure your amulet is hidden well, and I have no idea where Ryker put Cronos's ring.”

“My amulet is safe. And the ring . . .” he shook his head.

“She's hard as hell to catch, Geoff. We can't risk her taking another conduit.”

They had to stop all this before more people were killed, before the gods were any weaker. The more damage that was done, the less likely Haven would find any leniency when Kyana did bring her in.

She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her gaze rested on Ryker standing about a hundred yards away, deep in conversation with Artemis. She should head over to them, but her legs weren't cooperating. They seemed to want to sit here until this whole mess was over.

Servants blocked her view, pouring out from the temples, their hands balancing huge trays of food and drink.

“What are they doing?” she asked.

“Making sure all the gods get their strength back in case there's another attack. We should eat too.”

As she nodded, Ryker caught her gaze from across the lawn and held it, the silver in his eyes visible even from where she sat. Suddenly, he was too far away. Even amid all this, she still wanted him.

How pathetic was that? She'd hoped once she'd tasted him, that need, that pull would have dissipated. At least a little. It hadn't. Not the first time she'd lain with him, nor the second. Instead, it had only intensified. The ache more intense even than her thirst for blood had once been as a newborn Vampyre.