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Chapter 12
Ares
Iwas growing sick and tired of this game. X had disappeared with Catina and no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find him. None of us could.
The son of a bitch had vanished as if he never existed, but on the bright side, I hadn’t sensed him consuming innocents, so what the fuck was he up to?
My life would have been a hell of a lot easier without him. But then I wouldn’t have met Elyse. I had mixed feelings about the fucker being here.
Finding Catina meant everything to Elyse, so I intended to help her track down her friend. And I’d searched everywhere I could think of and where I thought would make sense. Poseidon and Apollo were doing the same.
But X was nowhere to be found. And I was running out of ideas. How was I going to find Catina? She had no power signature of her own, being a human. And I should’ve been able to find X with all the darkness that surrounded him, but there was nothing. It frustrated the hell out of me. As gods, we could reach out and sense similar beings, but X was untraceable. He was damn smarter than I’d given him credit for, and it meant I shouldn’t underestimate him. Fuck, he pissed me off.
Wherever he was, perhaps he wasn’t within the confines of the city.
It wasn’t the first time I’d considered that. Poseidon searched in obscure places, trying to trace X back all the way back to Greece. But those islands were long abandoned by the gods, and it seemed unlikely X would have gone there. It was too easy of a spot for him to hide. Still, Apollo scoured mountains and isolated locations and caves.
That was what I was looking for—something that didn’t seem straightforward—somewhere that wasn’t easy to find. X was upping his game because Elyse gave him hell. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her to figure out. Or for any of us. And the bastard more than likely saw this as a game, and I bet that was why he’d kidnapped Catina, to toy with Elyse, drive her insane. But had he counted on all of us gods taking her side to bring him down?
And I wanted to be the hero who got Catina back.
I had no idea if Catina was even alive. We all kept telling Elyse not to lose hope, that X wouldn’t have killed her. None of us knew for sure, but I remained convinced that Catina was still breathing.
For one, X wanted to draw Elyse out in a certain way and get rid of her. She made his life hard. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve, but Elyse was stopping him from doing it.
For another, if X had just killed Catina and moved on, he wouldn’t have disappeared. He’d be going on and on, killing humans, consuming souls. He wouldn’t be lying low.
What exactly he was doing to that human was a different story, but I refused to give it thought or bring such worries to Elyse for the moment.
And I was sure one hell of a fight would ensue.
Which was why I needed to determine what was going on so we could jump into it already and get this done. Elyse could take care of herself, no doubt about it. She was a fucking skilled fighter.
But I wanted to spare her the risk of dying another time and protect her. Because she only had one life left before her final death.
And I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it if she were dead for good. Eliminated from our world. Not now I’d just found her, started to connect with her, had her see me for who I really was. I needed more time to get to know her. I didn’t know how long I’d have with her—she was godly in a lot of ways but still human. I didn’t know how long “forever” would be with her. And thinking about the future hurt my head, reminding me of some of Zeus’s words about gods not falling for mortals, as it came with consequences. And now I suspected he meant the heartbreak, the agony of watching them die—knowing it was coming while there was shit I could do to change that fate.
But I’d make sure her life was as long as possible while I had her.
Did it seem selfish? Maybe. But sometimes, that was love.
I paddled on the edge of Lake Michigan, the sky cloaked in clouds, when the ripple of a familiar power licked the length of my spine. I turned and spotted Apollo not too far off. He stood on the edge of the water, staring north.
When I approached him, he glanced my way and his expression changed from one of concentration to a smile. The gods used to hate me, but recently, we’d become allies, if not friends. And it was a welcome change to not be on guard each time I crossed paths with them. Another reason coming to Earth for Elyse had worked out—creating bonds with the gods in ways I’d never thought possible. For so long, I accepted my fate as the lone wolf, the one they criticized and blamed. Now, the reprieve from their taunts offered a calming relief. A welcome change I intended to hold on to, as I’d missed being one of them.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked, clapping his palm into mine and bumping me with his shoulder.
“Same as you,” I said. “Trying to track down that fucker.”
Apollo’s hands briefly clenched. “I don’t even know where to keep searching. I’ve checked everywhere I can think of, and I’m sure we’ve all covered spots the others have already inspected. We must look like fools running around, hunting for X. I bet he’s having a fat laugh.”
“He can laugh,” I growled, bristling with anger. “He won’t be amused for much longer.”
Apollo sighed. “At this rate…”
“What fucks me up about this is that we don’t know what to expect,” I broke in, not letting Apollo go on with a thought that couldn’t lead to anywhere good. “He’s usually so damn predictable, it was almost a sin we couldn’t stop him. But now? I’ve no idea what game he’s playing, and that pisses me off.”
“Yeah, this is a big mess,” Apollo agreed. He gathered his blond hair together as if he wanted to tie it up but let it go again. I’d get so fucking irritated with hair like that. I kept mine shaved as short as possible. It was more practical in a fight and didn’t give the enemy anything to grab on to.
