Red Mortal (43 page)
Authors: Deidre Knight
Tags: #Man-woman relationships, #Goddesses, #Gods, #Paranormal, #Delphian oracle, #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal romance stories, #Immortalism, #Daphne (Greek deity), #General, #Leonidas, #Contemporary
“Sophie, the boys are right. I spoke with Sable in Savannah,” she explained softly, glancing at Leonidas as she spoke. “He did try and prevent you from healing Leo. Ares enlisted him and offered . . . quite a reward. But he regretted it and he’s here to faithfully serve Leo. That’s why he’s raised the demon army, that’s why he’s here, ready to fight at our king’s side.”
“You’re sure I can trust him, Oracle?” Leonidas asked, his dark brows cranking downward. “That he should be here, leading those diabolical creatures? It could all be a trap.”
Daphne became adamant. “It’s not, Leo. I sense his motives and they are pure . . . now. I’m sure of it.”
Sophie’s face flushed violently. He’d been lying to her. All along—when she’d had faith and belief in him, also all along. What a fool she’d been! He was all the things everyone had warned her he might be.
“I’ve got to go,” she blurted, excusing herself and heading outside in search of Sable.
Chapter 33
D
aphne watched Sophie vanish out the front door and her heart clinched in pain for the young woman. Sable should’ve done as Daphne had cautioned him back in Savannah—told Sophie the truth.
aphne watched Sophie vanish out the front door and her heart clinched in pain for the young woman. Sable should’ve done as Daphne had cautioned him back in Savannah—told Sophie the truth.
Leo had his gaze on her. “I honestly believed I could trust that Djinn.”
“The only reason for his betrayal was he believed Ares would return him to human form. My brother can be very persuasive in his lies. From what I gathered talking to him, Sable began to second-guess his actions almost immediately—that was the reason he helped Ari and Nikos escape.”
“So I can trust him as a captain in the coming battle then.”
Ari leaned back in his chair. “I wouldn’t trust Mr. Ed farther than I could throw him. But that’s just me. My wing still hurts like a mother from being caught in that net.”
Mace cast a glance at Nikos, his green eyes flashing with anger. “Maybe I’m funny this way, but I don’t like anyone who hurts the people I care about.” Mason’s eyes locked with Nik’s for a significant moment, until the Spartan blushed slightly. “Yeah, so I won’t be trusting Sable’s equine ass anytime soon, but I don’t think we have much choice about fighting with him. He’s the only one among us who can truly control that demon horde out there. They’re loyal to him.”
Daphne understood Mace’s outlook, but there was only one opinion she cared to hear at the moment—that of her beloved, their king and commander. “Leonidas, tell us what you think.”
Leo raked a hand across his silver beard and waited a moment to reply. “I believe in Sable’s potential,” he said softly. “He loves Sophie, that much is obvious. And he did lead us in the rescue of Aristos and Nikos, a sign of loyalty. Sometimes everyone deserves another chance, and I believe that Djinn has earned it. For Sophie’s sake, if nothing else.”
Ajax gave one resolute nod. “Much as I hate that thorny demon, and much as I never thought I’d say it—I agree that Sable should be trusted. The stench of demon sulfur out there is enough argument for me, because I don’t have particular interest in trying to organize that fiendish lot into our Spartan formation. Sable’s got to lead that charge.”
Leo rose from the table. “Speaking of which, it’s time to drill. I want us to have as much time as possible working with Sable’s team before the battle.”
“Leo, how do you plan to lure Ares here when the time is right?” Daphne stood to follow the others who were filing out to the training ground.
He gave her a sardonic smile, fastening his breastplate. “Love, we both know the battle will come at the time of his choosing, not ours. So we prepare as if we plan to meet him this hour, and dig into camp as if for a long campaign.”
Ajax followed the last of the warriors out through the doors of the great hall. Leo paused, turning back to her, and booted the door shut as he pulled her into his arms. “And we kiss as if it’s our last for a while.” He growled in her ear, raking strong hands through her curls. Capturing her mouth with his, he worked his thumbs down to her nape, angling her head upward to meet his hungry kiss. As always, he tasted masculine, earthy, exactly as he smelled.
He pressed her backward, up against the closed wooden door, pinioning her there with his bulky body. “Tell me that if I kiss you, I won’t rob you of any more years,” he asked, his breath hot against her cheek.
She cupped his face, tugging it downward so she could kiss him again. “Only when making love.”
He released a sigh, one that was fraught with sexual frustration. “But I’m not sure I can hold back from that once night comes.”
“You can plan on me making it very, very hard on you, Leo.”
His mouth opened to her again and she sank against the door, as the kiss grew deep and hard and urgent. As she lost herself in the sensations, feeling his heat all along her own skin, a slight vibration began along her back. At first she thought it was her demigoddess’s power, building explosively in reaction to her arousal, but the tremors grew more pronounced. A rumbling sound began, growing louder.
Leo froze, his hold on her tight. Cocking his head, he listened sharply, his alert gaze never leaving hers. The door began to rattle on its hinges, a sound like an earthquake growing much louder.
“He comes,” Leo whispered at last, already reaching for the door. “Be safe, my darling Daphne—our battle is now.”
“You lied to me!” Sophie cried, blinking up at Sable. Those summer-blue eyes hadn’t changed, but his jaw ticked, revealing his guilt.
“You know what I am,” he told her smoothly. “I’ve told you before: demons are made of lies. We live on them, bed down with them. Deception is as vital as the dark blood in our veins.”
She shook her head. “But you’ve never lied to
me
,” she half whispered. She kept hoping he’d reassure her. Explain that they had it all wrong—that he was on their side, not Ares’s.
me
,” she half whispered. She kept hoping he’d reassure her. Explain that they had it all wrong—that he was on their side, not Ares’s.
He said nothing, only studied her with a fathomless stare until she began to tremble with rage and heartbreak. “You’ve been working for him—Ares—all along, then. You’re a traitor to me and everyone I care about here?”
Sable trotted away from her, bucking furiously until several of his demon soldiers began snickering at him, obviously amused by the argument—and Sable’s apparent distress.
“Only fools love,” they sneered, wings beating excitedly. “Commander Sable! Are you a fool?” More tittering and uproarious backslapping among the crew.
“Shut up!” Sable roared back at them. “I am your commander in this battle and you will not mock me!”
He cut a turn back toward Sophie, his expression suddenly both grim and resolved. For one long moment they stared at each other, neither speaking.
He sighed, stomping at the earth with first one hoof, then the other. “I did it for you,” he said at last. His expression was downright tortured, his eyes bright. “To protect you from Ares’s curse. I feared you touching the king and what it might do to you. Ares only played to that weakness, that worry in me.” He sucked in an agonized breath. “And I bargained with Ares so we could be together . . . it was the only way. He promised to cast me out of this unholy form.” He slapped himself on the withers. “How could I ever be a man for you . . . when I am half beast?”
She couldn’t answer, not that question. Her heart was too busy breaking, shattering into jagged shards inside her chest. It didn’t matter that Sable had chosen his path out of care for her; he’d been willing to sacrifice everyone and everything dear to her—and never told her the truth about it until he was confronted.
She shook her head, backing up, the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Gotta go,” she mumbled, taking another step away from him. “Must get moving here.”
Sable bounded forward, reaching for her desperately. “I did it for
us
, Sophie,” he cried, still trying to explain.
us
, Sophie,” he cried, still trying to explain.
She only shook her head, and turned, running toward the castle. She didn’t stop to look back, or to see if he cantered after her—she just barreled toward her friends and family, aching for the emotional safety they’d provide.
But as she reached the fortress, everything was in chaos. Spartans were moving in every direction, arming themselves, and the humans were doing likewise. Mace came barreling up to her, semiautomatic in one hand, his chest covered in Kevlar. “Ares has brought the battle to us. Now, not later. Get inside there, okay? We’re at war, Soph.”
Mace chambered a round in his GLOCK, starting to holster the gun, but Sophie extended a hand. “I’m not waiting this out like a good little empath,” she told him firmly. “I shoot a weapon nearly as well as you, Mason Angel. So arm me. We’re going to need every fighter we’ve got.”
Before he could argue, a thundering voice sang across the open field and moors. “The battle is at the time of my choosing, not yours, feeble ones!”
Ares.
She shivered, and Mace stood stock-still, staring like the rest of them.
Ares.
She shivered, and Mace stood stock-still, staring like the rest of them.
“I need a weapon, Mace. Nobody else is going to protect me—y’all have to fight.”
The earth and sky opened then, a bloodred color infusing the entire earth and air around them. Then a sooty blackness rolled over the moors, chased by a horde of demons—ones none of them had ever seen. It poured onto the field like acid rain, sending demon troops scattering and falling back toward the castle out of uncertainty.
Sophie found herself being shoved from behind, Kalias nearly plowing her down as he charged forward onto the field. She lost sight of Mason, sidestepping as Nikos sprinted in his wake, and leaned against the craggy castle stones for shelter. For one moment, she blinked and stared at the apocalyptic destruction, a sickly odor wafting through the air, making her cough. Mason surged toward her again, tossing her the GLOCK. He launched himself into the fray without another look, leaving her huddling beside the castle alone.
No one would protect her; she had to watch out for her own life. She spun, about to seek refuge inside the castle—which she had no doubt would be ransacked first of all—but where else was there to go?
Chapter 34
L
eo slashed his way through advancing demons—Ares’s minions, not his own. So the god had called his bluff, mounting his own hellish army to meet Leonidas’s. And he’d also brought down the hellfire early—too early for Sable to have gained enough control over his troops.
eo slashed his way through advancing demons—Ares’s minions, not his own. So the god had called his bluff, mounting his own hellish army to meet Leonidas’s. And he’d also brought down the hellfire early—too early for Sable to have gained enough control over his troops.
Ajax flew overhead, his massive hawk wings spread wide as he soared toward Leonidas. Leo began clearing a spot for his captain to alight, slaying half a dozen of Ares’s demons in the process.
Landing roughly, his captain began to breathlessly assess the damage. “Ares is on the far hill,” Jax informed him, pointing a clawed hand toward the rocky cleft where the god apparently hid himself.
“Lure him out,” Leo said coldly. “I won’t allow him to cower while the battle wages.”
Jax shook his head, panting from the exertion of battle. “Commander, I don’t think he’s hiding—he’s readying for battle. I flew over his position briefly, didn’t want to spend much time as he might’ve fired on me. But he’s in full armor, surrounded by warriors of his own who are equally well armed. I have the feeling that he has something spectacular planned.”
“Then he shall fail spectacularly.” Leo raised his sword, advancing into the fray without another glance back.
Sophie was trapped. A wall of demons was advancing on her, shrieking and cackling in anticipatory pleasure. “Ours!” the throng squealed. “Tastes so pretty! Pretty, ours!”
She spun, ready to flee as fast as she could, and remembered her GLOCK. She turned, lifting the weapon and sighting it. “I’ll show you pretty, freaks!” She fired a few rounds, but they only seemed to bounce off one particularly ugly creature’s leather wings.
Again, she fired, and again, emptying the chamber of the gun. Nothing was left. The demonic horde began encircling her, hissing and drooling. Pressing her eyes closed, she tried reminding herself that Earth was only a temporary holding place anyway. That heaven was where she would go, and it would be a far more wondrous place.
You’ll never see Sable again. He can’t enter heaven.
She sobbed in panic, murmuring his name as the first claw scraped at her arm.
With a scream, she staggered back, kicking at the advancing demon, but it shoved her down to the ground. She closed her eyes, bracing for whatever would happen next—but strangely, no attack came.
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