The Fires of Tartarus Page 31

  “Seriously?” He snorted in disgust and tugged the delicate thread from Kai.

  Kai let it go and pulled forcefully at my hand. “Run!” he shouted, pulling me into the forest.

  Part of me wanted to tell him no, to tell him to run while I made a final stand but then ... I realised where he was taking us. We ran.

  We ran through the trees, ducking under the strands, and as we passed Kai tugged them lower. They glittered as he touched them, so delicate, so ethereal - beautiful. But the snarling face of the monster behind us gained with ease, and I wondered what the hell I was supposed to do now.

  Dis Pater didn't bother to duck under the strands. They were too low now, but he didn't jump them either, just powered through them. He didn't care about such fragile magic. It couldn't possibly hurt him after all. He was way too powerful.

  We kept running, branches snapping and scratching, brambles catching at our clothes. Tripping and stumbling, we ran for our lives while Dis Pater followed us, toying with us, enjoying the feel of our terror.

  Suddenly Kai stopped in his tracks, and I gasped, stumbling forward a few paces before I realised and ran back to him, tugging his arm.

  He shook his head, and I watched as Dis Pater drew closer. He was walking now. There was no need to run. We had nowhere to go. The tiny threads were tangled all around him, clinging to his arms and legs, wrapped around his torso.

  “Go,” I urged Kai. I could see terror burning in his mascaraed eyes, a faint trace of blue glitter still visible on his eyelids, but his jaw clenched and he shook his head.

  Dis Pater strolled closer, gloating, his eyes blazing with triumph. He shook at his wrist, casting an irritated glance at the thread as it wrapped tighter around him. He frowned and reached over to pull it away, but instead it threaded further up his arm. He plucked at the fragile magic, but it was so fine his big fingers seemed unable to grasp hold of it.

  Behind him I saw a flash of movement as Lucas arrived. He carried Cain over his shoulder, and he lowered my brother carefully to the ground. I had to smile; even badly injured my brother was one of the most dangerous weapons we had. And then my poor battered heart skipped as Corvus arrived, his blue eyes finding mine, still furious with me for trying to protect him. All that damned male pride.

  Dis Pater tensed as his eyes tracked the new arrivals, his lips curving up into a smug smile. One god of the Underworld faced by two injured witches, two vampires and a pixie. He had every right to feel smug. We didn't stand a bloody chance. That didn't mean we weren't going to try though.

  I clutched the knife in my left hand, waiting. My whole body shook with agony, but it barely registered, pushed beyond fear, beyond pain. Killing him was the only thing that mattered now. I caught Cain's eye and knew we were thinking the same thing.

  The vial flew from my brother's hand and exploded on contact with the ground. Dis Pater was too fast, gone before the explosion could touch him, before the magic in Cain's potion could begin to eat into his bones, but when he reappeared, he stumbled, crashing down to one knee. It only took him a second to recover, but I saw the shock in his eyes. Cain moved again and the ground rocked under the force of three powerful spells. They exploded in quick succession with Corvus and Lucas slashing at him each time he tried to dart to safer ground. When Dis Pater reappeared, he definitely looked rattled. He was moving slower, awkwardly, and it took me a moment to realise why. It wasn't just the injuries he'd sustained. All of Kai's threads were working their way tighter around his limbs. Little by little his movements were being restricted, and no matter how he snatched at the thin skeins of magic, they were too fine for him to get hold of - yet far too strong to break.

  Lucas lunged forward, swiping at him with his sword, and Dis Pater lashed out, a blast of power so searing in heat that I could smell the stench of burning flesh as it lifted Lucas and flung him high into the air, flames crackling around him as he fell heavily back to earth. Corvus stepped in where Lucas had stood, and Dis Pater turned to face him with a look of deep satisfaction.

  “No!” I ran forward and tackled him, keeping low to the ground, my good shoulder smashing into his groin as he emitted a very male sound of distress. I snatched the knife up, ready to plunge it into his chest, but he kicked out, his heavy boot smacking me square in the stomach, and I crumpled, retching.

  A powerful arm closed around my throat and lifted me, cutting off my air in the process. Corvus struck at him from the side but was blasted away with a wave of searing power. Furious and desperate, I lashed out with the knife, striking at anything within range and was suddenly released as Dis Pater howled with agony. It was only a shallow cut to his thigh, but as I stumbled away, I saw the dawning horror in his eyes as he realised what the knife could do to him. I gave him a nasty grin, knowing he must see the hatred and determination in my eyes. I wanted him to know I'd go through with it without a second thought, given the chance.

  The pain in my guts from Dis Pater's boot was a heavy thing, weighing me down, and I hauled in a breath, hoping my stomach would cooperate. Throwing up now would not be helpful. Dis Pater's eyes darted between me and Cain, though my brother looked like he was struggling to stay conscious. His usually dexterous fingers now fumbled for another vial, and I looked at the thick, dark blood pooling around him with horror. I had to end this. Now. Cain needed help and he couldn't wait.

  Dis Pater grinned at me, obviously coming to the same conclusion. I was on my own. Or so I thought, and then Kai ran forward. I screamed for him to stop, but it was too late. All I could do was try and draw Dis Pater's attention back to me. I attacked him with everything I had left. My skin burned, my lungs on fire from the effort, the thud of my heart painful in my chest as I pushed myself on, forcing my body to keep going when every limb was shrieking for respite. Dis Pater was forced to defend himself, and I was suddenly the focus of a barrage of his magic. I knew I couldn't hold out for long as I put everything into defending myself, watching helplessly as Kai darted closer to the furious god, and Dis Pater savoured the moment when he finally put me in my place.

  He was enjoying himself a little too much, though, and didn't see the danger. Kai reached out, and with nimble fingers he snatched at the tiny threads that floated around Dis Pater like spider's silk. With a sharp tug he pulled, and the threads drew tight. The angry god's attention suddenly refocused as his limbs were secured, drawn forcefully back so that he was trussed up like a trapped animal. He bellowed with rage, and I saw the new threat as a wave of magic rolled away from him, towards Kai. I threw myself forward, meeting his magic with my own and pushing Kai away. The force of his power hit me with the weight of a freight train, searing heat and noise that made me cover my ears as I screamed in pain. I had no time to recover as Dis Pater threw himself on me, his heavy body knocking the remaining air from my lungs and crushing my broken wrist into the ground once more.

  The black oblivion of unconsciousness beckoned me with comforting arms, promising me an end to the pain, but I knew it was a lie. It would simply be the beginning of an eternity of misery, and I fought to stay conscious. Feeling the knife in my hand, I cried out Sariel's name, begging him for help, and the knife felt suddenly lighter, the pain receding just enough to clear my mind. I took a breath and drew my elbow back, a sharp movement with every ounce of strength I had left behind it. It caught Dis Pater in the throat, and I followed through as I heard him choking, pushing back against his weight with all I had and freeing the hand holding the knife. With a last effort I forced him off me, onto his back, and suddenly it was all so simple. Dis Pater was bound too tightly to fight me, and up close I could see that he was badly wounded. His blood and magic was pouring out of him from a dozen massive wounds, any one of which would have been fatal to most creatures. But I knew he still wouldn't die until I buried the knife in his heart, which was open and undefended. I raised the knife and prepared to strike when his words ate into my mind.

  “You'll never find your son,” he spat as the knife wavered in the air abo
ve him. His eyes were triumphant. He knew he had me. “I know where he is and you will never find him without my help.”

  I felt a lump in my throat. No. No. No.

  With all my focus on rescuing Corvus, I’d pushed away any hope for finding my son, for now at least. The possibility that Dis Pater might have information on him triggered a cacophony of fresh emotion. “What do you want?” I demanded, my voice rasping, desperate, my fingers clasping the knife like my grasp on my own life.

  He laughed. “We'll call it quits,” he said. “Let me go and I'll leave you be, and ... I'll tell you where your son is.”

  I looked at him in horror. I had thought this was over. I had thought I was about to rid our lives of his interference forever.

  “Tell me,” I shouted, my voice too high, near hysteria. “Tell me where he is.”

  He shook his head, a slow, deliberate movement. “Not unless you give me your word of honour that you will let me go.” He gave me a dark look, full of restrained fury. “You have made your point. I will leave you and your ... vampire alone. You can rot together for all I care.”

  “No, Jéhenne!” Cain shouted, his voice desperate. “Don't trust him! You'll never be safe. We'll find your son without him.”

  I swallowed, the knife held aloft in my hand growing suddenly heavy, and Dis Pater smiled at me, smug and disgustingly self-satisfied.

  “Tell me,” I demanded.

  He shook his head, those black eyes glinting with amusement. “I'll have your word first, little one.”

  I gritted my teeth, blocking out Cain's furious shouts for me to finish him once and for all. “I give you my word,” I hissed, feeling sick to my stomach. “On my honour. I will let you go ... if ... If you swear to leave us alone, if you tell me where my son is ... now.”

  Dis Pater let out a breath. “A wise choice, Jenny.”

  “Where?” I screamed at him, my knuckles white on the knife.

  He glanced up, his eyes drawn to the glinting blade. “He's not in this world,” he said, his voice full of restrained anger.

  “That's a big fucking help,” I snapped, raising the knife a little higher.

  “On Dragon Back Mountain,” he shouted, his eyes glittering with rage. I let out a breath, certain - for once - he was telling the truth. “Now ...”

  “No, Jéhenne!” Cain shouted, “No!”

  Dis Pater bared his teeth, his words a growl. “Let ... Me ... Go.”

  His voice was full of fury, his body beneath me singing with tension, but he never for a moment believed I would go back on my word. Before this I never would have. Honour meant something to me after all, and he knew that. Even as Circe, as wicked and capricious as I had been then, I had lived by a code of honour. He had staked his life on that honour, on his knowledge of who I had always been. But my life since then had never been fair, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that we would never be free of him, no matter what he said. He didn't know me anymore. He didn't know just how much his interference had changed me. I gave him a cold smile and adjusted my grip on the knife.

  His eyes went wide. “You swore!” he said, his voice quiet and disbelieving. “You swore on your honour!” His body thrashed, bound too tightly in Kai's spells to get free, and his furious shout echoed into the darkness and beyond, but he would find no pity from me.

  “I lied.” Without a moment’s hesitation I plunged the knife down with all my strength, with the anger and hatred of millennia weighted behind the blade. I struck my revenge deep into his heart ... and the world blew apart.

  Chapter 38

  I was in the heart of a roaring volcano, fighting for my life. Unimaginable heat and power tore through a rift in the world, screaming a thousand miles into the heavens, and amid the white noise I clung to the knife, though it burned and blazed and seared in my grip. I felt my fingers blacken and char, but I knew I could not let go. I could never let go. I screamed with the effort, my throat raw, but the bastard would not die. Dis Pater's fingers scrabbled at mine, trying to prise them from the knife, and then I felt his iron grip on my wrist, crushing bone as it pulled and pulled. Dying or not, his physical strength was overpowering me. The knife was slick with his life and power and my grasp began to slip. I bent over, trying to keep my weight behind the knife, enduring the pain and the heat and the noise, because there was no other choice as he thrashed in agony beneath me. He gripped harder, and I sensed it was a final desperate act before the end, but the pain was just too much, and my hand could no longer maintain the tight grip I needed. The knife slipped from my grasp, sticky with blood, and I felt Dis Pater snatch it up. A cold, sharpness sliced across my neck. The pain was intense and all consuming, and then ... there was nothing at all.

  ***

  It was dark. So very dark. I shivered, rubbing at my arms as consciousness returned. Forcing my eyes open seemed a Herculean effort. I wanted nothing more than to sleep forever. I blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision and make sense of what I was seeing and wondering why the hell it was so quiet. Where was everyone?

  I sat up with a start, fear blooming in my chest as the quiet dead meadow of Erebus stretched out around me. No. No! It couldn't be!

  I scrambled to my feet in the eerie stillness, my movements the only sign of life. The deep purple sky glowered above me, and from the corner of my eye I saw the shadows of the dead flit, always just out of sight. I gasped, looking around and seeing nothing but the beautiful meadow, utterly perfect, totally still. Not the slightest rustle of a breeze stirred the grasses, no quiet buzz of insects around the flowers. Nothing made a sound, for this was the land of the dead.

  “Sariel!” I screamed. “Sariel, help me!”

  I reached inwardly to my grasp on the key and found nothing. It was gone. Holding out my hands, I willed the flames to life, but no fire blazed at my wrists. My magic had gone too. I buried my face in my hands and began to cry and then screamed as a hand rested gently on my shoulder.

  I swung around, my heart thundering, to see Sariel's cool violet eyes meet mine. There was gratitude there and admiration, but it was the sorrow in his expression that chilled me. I sobbed and threw myself into his arms like a child wanting their daddy to chase the monsters away.

  For a moment he did just that, and I was enveloped in his arms, his wings enclosing me in a cocoon where I felt safe for the first time in longer than I could remember. It couldn't last, though, and after a little while he looked down at me, those beautiful violet eyes grave.

  “There are choices to make, Jéhenne.”

  I blinked up at him as I finally understood. “I'm dead.”

  He nodded. “They are trying very hard to bring you back.” Sariel touched his fingers to my chin, raising my face a little so that I was forced to hold his eyes. “But it is your choice, Jéhenne.” He paused to let his words sink in, and as his eyes held mine I remembered everything. I recalled all of my past lives, from Circe to Jéhnina, to Jéhenne. I remembered Corvus and the choice I had made all those years ago. With horror and a hatred that burned so bright I wanted to kill him all over again, I remembered the centuries I had endured at the hands of Dis Pater, fighting him, screaming at his hands, defying him at every turn, though I knew I would suffer for it. While all the time I waited, waited with growing desperation for my chance to return to Corvus. Oh God.

  “You're tired, Jéhenne.”

  I nodded as I accepted the truth of it. The weight of my past seemed to bear down on me, crushing me, smothering and squeezing until there was no room to breathe.

  He smiled at me, a smile so serene, so completely understanding that I felt hot tears gather and fall.

  “You don't have to go back, Jéhenne.” His voice was quiet, soothing and unhurried. “Dis Pater is gone. He burns in Tartarus just as you hoped he would.” His mouth twisted a little and he gave a wry smile. “Well ... not just you.”

  His eyes glittered with satisfaction, and I tried to smile back, tried to feel relief, triumph, all of the things I ought to feel right n
ow. I had won. We had won.

  He reached out and stroked my hair. “You could rest, Jéhenne, if you wanted to. You could be at peace.”

  His words formed images in my mind, a garden so beautiful it was hard to comprehend and a feeling of such serenity ... I longed to go there. I longed for an end to the misery and pain of the past weeks, years, lifetimes. And then I remembered a pair of blue eyes, and my breath caught in my throat.

  I glanced at Sariel, and his expression told me he knew what I was thinking.

  “You also have a lot to live for.”

  I nodded and remembered my son, my own flesh and blood, hidden from me for centuries. Lost somewhere. I couldn't let him go anymore than I could Corvus.

  My breathing hitched as I realised it wasn't a decision at all.

  Sariel smiled. “Take a moment to think, Jéhenne. Life is brutal ... complicated.” He sighed, looking at me with an expression I couldn't read. “Messy,” he added.

  I could understand why he thought I should leave it all behind. In some ways it made perfect sense. My life - all of my lives - had been violent and ferocious. Whether I had been fighting through ambition for more power or for the man I loved or simply fighting for my life ... I always left chaos in my wake.