Godhunter Read online

  “We didn’t hear any screams but we heard Hades laugh and that can be just as bad,” Pan grimaced.

  “I just gave them a bit of counseling,” I shrugged.

  “You what?” Thor sat back down. Hard.

  “You gave relationship advice to the God of the Underworld and his reluctant bride?” Brahma spoke slowly like every word was difficult.

  “Well, I wouldn’t call it advice so much as instructions,” I went back to the sofa.

  “Instructions?” Teharon leaned forward.

  “Yeah,” I shrugged, “I think it worked too, they seemed pretty happy in there.” A high pitched giggle came out of my art room, right on cue. “The plan is for Persephone to move in with Hades full time and for him to be a better consort.”

  “Vervain,” Thor groaned.

  “What?” I looked around and they all had matching expressions of dismay.

  “Demeter’s going to throw a fit,” Ull seemed to say what everyone was thinking because they all nodded in agreement.

  “So what?” I snorted. “She can’t control her daughter forever.”

  “You don’t know Demeter,” Thor rubbed a hand over his face.

  “Okay,” I shrugged, “she throws a fit, so what? She can have her temper tantrum and then she can get over it.”

  “Demeter’s pretty good at the tantrums,” Ull scrunched up his face.

  “Look, I know the story,” I spread my hands. “I also know that she’s not actually the cause of the seasons. She can’t keep the world in constant winter.”

  “Not the whole world, no,” Teharon’s voice was a calming wind. “But she could probably keep a portion of it pretty cold. She's a single mom with hardly any friends and no family besides her daughter. She's overly controlling when it comes to Persephone and her anger over her daughter leaving home for good could be disastrous.”

  “Whatchu talkin’ bout, Willis?” I stared hard at Teharon and he raised his brows at me.

  “She’s got weather magic,” he continued. “Demeter can alter the temperature and Persephone can make things grow. They’re a good team.”

  “And I’m Yoko,” I groaned, “I just broke up the band.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Just set a trap for him,” I mocked as I swung my kodachi at another vamp. “Head him off,” the vamp's head went flying. “Grab him before he reaches the Putins,” I fell back into the packed earth of the country road to avoid being run down by yet another vampire on a motorcycle.

  Everything had gone as planned, up until we realized that Blue had changed his. Well not changed so much as amended. We'd planned for a sleek black sports car to come plummeting down the dirt road. In light of those expectations, we'd dug a hole across the lane, covered it with tarp and dirt, then waited. The car had come and wrecked as we'd hoped but a dozen motorcycles had followed closely. All of them pulling up short when the trap was sprung.

  The bikers weren't just an honor guard, they were vampires. They actually wouldn't have been a huge problem if we'd counted on them but we hadn't and we'd thinned out the ranks, sending Ull, Horus, Brahma, and Persephone ahead to watch over the Putins, just in case. Who knew the “just in case” would be here?

  War cries echoed as Mrs. E and Mr. T did their thing. Lightning hit nearby as Thor fried one of the vamps and Pan's gleeful laugh carried over it all as he used his influence to make our enemy panic. Panic was great but we needed to do some beheading to finish these guys off. It was a good thing I enhanced my weaponry with spells or I wouldn't have made it past the first vamp. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but beheading a man isn't as easy as they make it look in the movies. It takes a lot of strength to separate a head from a body. You have to cut through muscles and tendons, not to mention bone. Why do you think the French invented the guillotine? They were tired.

  “Vervain!” Finn put his back to mine as we fought and I realized he didn't have a cool god ability either. All he could do was turn into a swan. Not so helpful in times like this. I looked over and saw his forearms bulge as he lifted his own sword and sliced the head from his opponent. I felt a kind of kinship with him then, the two average fighters trying to survive amidst those with aggressive god powers. We had to train twice as hard to accomplish even half of what they were capable of naturally.

  I threw out a handful of wormwood, activating a stun spell I had intended to use on the driver, and dropped the vamp about to launch himself on Pan. Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly average.

  “The driver,” Finn nodded to the man getting out of the car carrying a large firearm. He jumped on a bike that had made it around the ditch and started it up.

  “Fuck,” I ran towards him but there wasn't anything I could do, I don't carry projectile weapons.

  “In the car,” Finn pointed and I saw a stash of guns laid out on the passenger seat.

  I ran over and pulled one out, already starting to sweat. Did I mention I don't like guns? I couldn't even tell you what I was holding, just that it was long and black. A machine gun, I think. I held it up and pointed it after the fleeing man. How hard could it be right? All you do is point and shoot. I pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

  “Fuck!” I was about to throw it after the target when Finn's hand reached over and pushed a button next to the trigger.

  “Safety's on,” he smirked. “Try again.”

  “Don't say it,” I growled and lifted the gun again.

  I didn't even try to sight, just aimed in his general direction. Turns out, that's all you need to do when you're using a machine gun. The man, bike, and all went down in a shower of dirt. He laid there groaning while me and Finn ran over.

  “Damn,” I looked at the gun in my hand. “Maybe I'll keep this.”

  “You didn't kill him,” Finn looked him over. “In this instance your inexperience was a plus. We can take him back to Teharon and patch him up.”

  “Great,” I looked back to the fighting where Thor was taking care of the last of the vamps with his blunt but very large hammer. As I watched, he swung his weapon in a wide arc and a vamp's head went spinning off into the dark. “Whoa,” was all I could say. I have to admit, it turned me on a little. I gave myself a mental shake and ran over to join my hot boyfriend. “We need to get our man outta here now,” I gestured over to where Finn was trussing up the Russian driver.

  “Right,” Thor nodded and started heading over. “I'll take him back with Finn. Pan, get Vervain home,” he called over his shoulder.

  “No prob, Chief,” Pan sidled over, eying the weapons I was holding. “You wanna at least put the sword away.”

  “Oh, right,” I handed him the gun while I slid the kodachi home.

  “Gods don't use guns,” Pan looked over the weapon. “We don't have to but you did well with this. Why don't you carry one?”

  “Well, I'm kinda afraid of them,” I took the gun back, “and swords are better for severing god heads but I think I may be warming up to the idea.”

  “Looks good on you,” he nodded appreciatively.

  “Yes, it does,” we turned toward the sound of Blue's voice while Mr. T and his Mrs. ran over to join us.

  Automatic reaction, I couldn't help it, I just pulled the trigger and sprayed out bullets in a wide arc. Blue jerked with the impact, looking confused as he inspected his ruined shirt. There was no blood. His chest was whole beneath the holes, the bullets no doubt lying around him in the dirt.

  “What the fuck?” I looked from the gun to Blue.

  “That's why we don't use guns,” Pan said drily.

  “Damn it,” I threw the weapon at Blue's head.

  “So angry,” Blue laughed after dodging my throw. “Why do you want to kill me, little witch?”

  “Why do you want to kill Maria Putina?”

  “Because her death will launch a war of epic proportions.” He closed his eyes and smiled as if he could see it playing out on the back of his eyelids. “Putin's hatred of Medvedev will grow till he loses control and take
s down not only Medvedev but Gazprom as well. The oil crisis that follows will pit the Russian Federation with the Europeans. Then it may even become worldwide.”

  “You really are an evil bastard,” I breathed in horror. How could I ever have found this man attractive?

  “Your people make snuff films and movies such as Faces of Death. Violence and gore are entertainment for you but I'm the evil one? At least what I do has meaning for me. This is not about pleasure, this is about survival. I do what I believe is best for not only godkind but humankind as well. I truly believe my cause is honorable but I'd give it all up for you,” he focused on me intently.

  “What?” I stared back in open-mouthed horror.

  “Let's go, Vervain,” Pan had a death grip on my arm.

  “No, wait,” I held up a hand and turned back to Blue. “What are you saying exactly?”

  “Come with me now,” he held a dark slim hand out to me.“Be with me willingly and I will cease my efforts to kill Maria Putina.”

  “And simply launch another plot,” I smirked. “I'm not an idiot.”

  “Vervain,” Pan was tugging on my arm now. “Why are you even wasting time listening to him?”

  “You're right,” I turned to Pan and felt his arms go around me. As we faded away, Blue's voice followed us.

  “Not just Maria then. I'll give it all up for you, little witch.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  An hour later, I was seated between Thor and Teharon in Bilskinir’s dining hall. Medvedev's driver was recovering in a locked guest room and I was still mulling over Blue's proposition.

  “Vervain, let it go,” Pan whispered at my elbow. “You can't trust him.”

  Thor looked up sharply. “She can't trust who?”

  “Thanks alot,” I grimaced at Pan.

  “Sorry,” he looked down at his plate guiltily.

  “Who can't you trust?” Thor took my hand. “Me?”

  “No, of course not,” I took my hand back and rubbed my face. “It's Blue. He's talking about the Aztec.”

  “And why would you consider trusting him?” Thor's eyes narrowed.

  “Because it might mean the lives of hundreds of thousands of people,” I sighed.

  It was a dilemma leaders had been facing for centuries and a moral debate that never fails to spark tempers. Do you sacrifice one life to save many? A friend of mine had tried to persuade me once by taking the question further. Do you kill ten people to save a thousand? How about a hundred to save ten thousand and so forth. I'd answered yes every time. She couldn't understand my logic, that it was a simple case of mathematics.

  She argued that taking a life was wrong no matter how many it saved. I asked her if it would make a difference if the lives saved included her parents, her brother, or her husband. What if the life taken was that of a murderer? She had no answer for that. The equation had changed for her, whereas I saw it the same no matter what. I fought gods for humanity, all humanity, be they criminals or toddlers. As Spock so eloquently said, “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” I bet you thought it was some great philosopher who said that. Nope, it was Spock. I don't even like Star Trek but I agree with his logic.

  “Explain,” Thor's curt tone pulled me out of my musings.

  “Blue showed up after you left,” I studied Thor's face. Could I really give him up? “He made me an offer. He says he'll stop his warmongering if I...”

  “That's not going to happen,” The finality in Thor’s voice grated on my nerves. This wasn't his decision to make.

  “We were just talking about how this was a losing battle,” I was so tired of fighting. I just wanted it to end. This wasn't the kind of life I would have chosen and the thought of changing it was attractive in its own way. “Blue's never going to give up.”

  “And neither are we,” Thor declared calmly.

  “I started this to save lives,” I tried another tactic. “I could stop it all right here.”

  “By becoming a whore!” Thor growled.

  “Excuse me?” I leaned back to glare at him.

  “Bad move, Dad,” Ull spoke out of the side of his mouth as he focused his attention firmly on his plate.

  “What? That's exactly what she'll be if she gives in to him.” Thor looked from Ull to me. “I won't allow it.”

  “You know as well as I, that taking Blue out of the equation would be a huge gain for our side,” I barely controlled my tide of fury. “I'm not so proud that the use of my body matters more to me than that.”

  “And taking you out of the equation would be a huge gain for their side,” he was breathing carefully, like he was about to explode. “I can't believe you would even consider this.”

  “Consider what, sacrificing myself for the good of others?” I leaned back in my chair. “It's kinda what I do.”

  “That was before,” he looked away.

  “Before what?” I pinched his arm and he sucked his breath in sharply and glared at me. “Before I became Rapunzel and you decided to lock me away in a tower? I’m sorry, babe but if I’m not mistaken, I’m the witch here. I should be locking you up.”

  A strangled, choking sound came from Ull’s direction before he murmured, “Thor, Thor, let down your long hair.” A lightning bolt zapped the carpet beside Ull and he looked up in complete innocence. “What I say?”

  “Stay out of this,” Thor gave him a menacing stare and believe me, the man knew how to menace. “You know I don’t want to lock you up,” his look back on me changed immediately to concern.

  “No, you wanna protect me,” I glared at him.

  “Why is that so wrong?” Thor glared at Ull, then took my hand and pulled me from the room. “We’re going to discuss this privately.”

  By the time we entered the library, I was enraged and I didn't even know why. He'd just pushed the right buttons I guess. If you wanted to piss me off, the surest way to do so was to imply that I couldn't take care of myself. I had completely lost sight of the reason we were fighting in the first place. Blue and all of humanity took a back seat to my injured pride.

  “So, what did you want to say to me?” I sat down in the chair beside him and laced my fingers over my stomach.

  “I don’t want you to face Huitzilopochtli again. He's manipulating you,” his voice was soft and damn if his words weren’t reasonable.

  “I can’t hide from him,” I sighed and looked down at the hands that were suddenly clenched together in my lap. “I don't want to accept his offer but it may become our only option.”

  “I don’t care about options, I care about you.”

  “That’s very sweet but I do care about what he can do to my world. I refuse to ignore the opportunity to end this all peacefully.”

  “I tell you I care for you and you speak of battle?” Thor looked at me like I’d stolen the last brownie. And it was a pot brownie.

  “Do you want an honorary bitch badge because you sure do sound like an abused housewife?”

  “That’s enough, Vervain!” He jumped to his feet and towered over me. “You will not be whoring yourself to that perverted Aztec! You’re staying right here where it’s safe and I will fight him without you from now on.”

  “Oh? You think you can stop me?” I smirked and it was the last straw on Thor’s camel.

  “Silence!” He dragged me to my feet and shook me. I was pretty sure I had scrambled eggs for brains by the time he was done. Could an adult get shaken baby syndrome? “You will obey me, woman!”

  Oh hell no, he didn’t just use the “O” word.

  “You’re not the boss of me!” I screamed back. I thought I heard laughter coming from the dining hall but I was too angry to be angry about it, if that makes any sense.

  Thor took a few deep breaths, then let go and walked away. I rubbed my arms while he stood in front of the fireplace, red imprints of his fingers showing up in my flesh. A fire roared to life suddenly, catching my attention.

  “I promised to protect yo
u,” he rubbed a hand over his eyes.

  “Only to get me to come along and help you in the first place,” I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind.

  He folded his arms over mine and his body shuddered on a sigh. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”

  “What could?” I asked his back.

  “Caring for a human,” he said softly as he stared into the fire. “I never felt like this with Sif, all turned upside down and confused. She grounded me and I had thought that was what I needed but in the end, my love for her faded away. With you, I've never been happier and I've never been more frustrated. You take me to extremes, each emotion compounding the next until my life is like a ship at sea, constantly rolling beneath my feet. I've lost solid ground but then I was never really at home there to begin with. My heart has always belonged to the sea.”

  I went still. Except for my heart, which seemed to have grown wings and was trying to burst free of my chest. Was that a declaration of love? I had no idea. I'd never been good at reading between the lines and all his ocean metaphors were confusing me. Was I the sea or was the sea the sea? Did his heart belong to me or to a large body of water?

  “Oh shit,” I let go of him and backed away.

  He turned to look at me like he was afraid I’d bolt. “What’s wrong now?”

  “This is just too much too soon,” I ran both hands through my hair. “I can’t handle this right now.”

  “What’s there to handle?” Thor threw up his hands in exasperation. “Why can’t you just accept what I offer you and stop questioning everything?”

  “This is who I am,” I fisted my hands and planted them firmly atop my hips. “I don’t believe in fairy tales or happy endings. I’m not Rapunzel and you’re not Prince Charming. Real life sucks. It’s full of vampire gods who want to use me and ex-wives who want to kill me. I have to be skeptical. I have to be suspicious. If I play it any other way, I’ll wind up dead.”

  “Life is not all horror,” he stepped closer slowly, like he was approaching a frightened doe. “Reality can be wonderful and there are even some honorable gods.”