Ares' Temptation (11 page)

The shadows disappeared as quickly as they’d come.

“It is done.” Hekate looked upon them in judgment. “The curse has been broken.”

“That’s it?” Kaye blinked through the dizziness. “You’re not going to kill me?”

Hekate crossed her arms. “By the Gods, no, child. You’ve done me no wrong. I returned you to the state which you were in when you met Ares.”

“The state which I was in?” Suddenly, everything started making sense. “Wait a sec.
You
were the one who was responsible for my body’s changes?”

Hekate nodded. “You took Ares’ powers, and in turn he took your weakness. The only way for him to get his powers back was to capture your heart.” She began to dissipate into smoke as she turned her attention to Ares. “I hope you have learned enough that my efforts will not be in vain.” With a thunderous crack, Hekate disappeared.

Kaye thought back to all the times Ares stepped on her toe, tripped, broke something, or dropped the ball. He wasn’t a clumsy god. Those were her weaknesses in his body, just as she’d inherited his strengths. That’s why she’d been so awesome these past few weeks, and why he’d been so eager to accompany her to the reunion. He needed his powers back, and he’d used her to get them.

Fury and agony crashed inside her, destroying the perfect picture she’d had before Hekate arrived. It was bad enough to know everything she’d accomplished was nullified because she’d done it with Ares’ powers. But to learn Ares had been with her for the sole reason of breaking the curse hurt like a red-hot fire poker to the heart. “You knew about this curse?”

“I did.” Ares face was solemn. “I wanted to tell you so many times. But, if I told you, the curse would never be broken, and I’d lose my powers forever.”

“I get it. I’m just a lowly mortal you barely know. Your powers are more important than I am.” She was a puppet, thrown between two gods to act out their cruel parody of revenge. She should have turned her back the second she saw Hekate’s cold stare across the room at the wedding. But a false hope had told her she could have the same fairytale relationship as her best friend, that she could find a guy who did as much for her as Pan had done for Syrinx. She should have known better. She should have never gotten involved with Ares in the first place.

Ares took her hand. “Please, Kaye. You have to understand. My people need me. Poseidon is planning an attack. The green turtle in the aquarium was controlled by his son, Triton. Poseidon won’t stop until my ashes are littered across his sea and my father’s realm is underwater. He’d drown every last one of my people. Without my powers, I cannot help them.”

Kaye tossed his hand away. No wonder he’d been moody. Why hadn’t he told her any of this during the course of the week? This had nothing to do with the curse. Why couldn’t he confide in her? “If your people need you so badly, go back to them. There’s nothing keeping you here any longer.”

“Kaye.” He touched her cheek. “Hekate left me no choice.”

She pulled away from the patronizing god who thought he was too high and mighty to unload his problems on a foolish mortal. Sure, he’d tried to prevent her from breaking the curse, and he seemed remorseful, but that didn’t help the fact he’d lied to her the entire trip. She’d thought he’d done everything for her, when he’d done it all for himself. “Go.”

“Not like this.”

“Go!” If his people really were under an attack, then why stay here with a lowly mortal if he had what he’d come for? He didn’t need her anymore. She turned away. She didn’t want him to see the tears welling in her eyes. “I want to be alone.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away, expecting some sort of reply. Silence.

Kaye turned around slowly, only confirming her disappointment, and his guilt.

Ares was gone.

Chapter Sixteen

A Fish’s Tale

Ares appeared in the grand temple in the center of his father’s greatest city, stepping in seaweed.

“What is the meaning of this?” He picked up a long trail of fishy-smelling kelp. It dangled in his fingers, dripping saltwater on his boots.

The sea lay miles from here.

A low moan drew his attention. Ares whirled around, scanning the city square. Where was everyone? Normally at midday, merchants littered the cobblestone. Only a few empty, broken carts lay on display, the pennants soggy and limp.

The moan grew more insistent. Ares unsheathed his sword. Thank the gods he’d come in full armor.

The hilt settled in his hands like an old friend. Hopefully he wasn’t too out of practice. He rounded the fountain. The stone representation of Athena stared down at him from ten feet above as if in warning. Panic rose up inside him. Where was his sister?

A scraping sound came from the alley between the blacksmith and the baker. Ares approached carefully. A man with his head down, oily hair falling in front of his eyes, limped toward him.

Ares dropped his sword. “May I come to your aid, sir? Are you hurt?”

As the man approached, Ares recognized the rubbery breeches worn by fishermen. Netting trailed from his left boot. The man’s head rose, and Ares backed up in shock and raised his sword.

His skin was blue and swollen, his eyes white with no pupil.

Poseidon must be in league with Hades. He was raising the dead from his ocean.

The man lunged, icy fingers grabbing at Ares’ breastplate. Ares slashed his head in one fatal swipe, giving the corpse peace.

Shouts echoed off the buildings behind him. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he followed the sound to the edge of the square. A horde of drowned sailors filled the thoroughfare leading into the city like some slow, unrelenting army. Ares hefted his sword and started swinging. He downed six of them before the rest surrounded him from all sides. For every one he cut down, another took its place.

This is madness.

He left for a week, and he returned to find his father’s dear city abandoned, with minions of both Hades and Poseidon roaming the streets.

The dead pushed in around him, and his arm bumped into their bodies as he tried to swing his sword. Ares sheathed the blade and wielded two daggers from his boots. He shook off an icy grip on his arm and elbowed the dead man back, while his other arm lashed out with a dagger.
Too many
. And they weren’t dying with the traditional blows that would fell a man in one hit.

He’d have to fight to his death.

Remorse twisted his gut. If only he’d had one more chance to talk to Kaye.

The sound of another sword flinging from its sheath rang behind him. Ares turned with hope.

Apollo came, swift like lightning from the square, wielding his sword. A battalion of soldiers followed, shouting war cries.

“For Zeus!”

“For Athena!”

“For my king.”

Ares doubled his effort and fought his way through to his brother.

Apollo reached him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Brother, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

“What is the meaning of this witchery?” Ares turned and jumped, taking three dead men down with his landing.

Apollo swung his blade beside him. “They came with no warning and attacked the city last night. There was no time to get word to you.”

Ares whirled around, taking three more down. “Where are all the gods?”

The battle wound down as the battalion cut through the horde. Apollo sheathed his sword. “Holed up in the temple. They are safe.”

“Athena?” Ares voice broke on the name.

Apollo nodded. “She plans a new strategy as we speak.”

He sighed with relief.

“So, the mortal did fall in love, then?” Apollo studied Ares up and down. “You have your powers back.”

Guilt spread through Ares like a feverish plague. Kaye’s anger was inevitable. But he should have tried harder to explain. He should have stayed longer and faced his greatest fear, the fact he broke her heart.

“Brother, are you well?”

“I am.” Ares took off his helmet, remembering where he was. “I didn’t expect to come back to this.”

“And not a moment too soon. I am glad mortals are so lavish with their affections.”

Anger curdled Ares’ stomach. Kaye’s affections were not meaningless or cheap. “She loved me, Apollo, and I lied to her.”

“For good reason.” Apollo gestured to where his army piled the dead corpses to burn. “You have no need of a mortal tie.”

Pain shot through his gut as if he’d severed a major artery. Maybe he had.

Apollo’s voice lowered to a whisper. “Scouts along the coast tell us Poseidon plans another attack. We must meet the enemy on the shores, before they reach the city.”

Ares nodded. “A wise plan.” Even though he was there physically, a part of him had stayed with Kaye. For a moment, he considered going back.

Apollo placed a hand on his shoulder. “It is good to have you back. We must head for the coast.”

…

Kaye pushed her scrambled eggs around her fancy china plate. She had no appetite. The bright morning light coming through the large windows overlooking the sea contrasted starkly with her dire mood.

“A lovers’ quarrel?” Grammy leaned forward in her wheelchair. She’d, on the other hand, had three sausages, two scrambled eggs, and a raspberry Danish.

“You could say that.” Except a lovers’ quarrel involved two lovers, two people who loved each other. This was totally one-sided. If she hadn’t been so wrapped up in the romance, she would have put the pieces together much sooner and ended it. Not that she’d feel right keeping Ares’ powers.

“Just a bump in the road.” Grammy sipped her orange juice. “When you’re as old as I am, little arguments won’t matter anymore.”

“That’s if I ever get that far.” Like finding someone who wanted to get married in the first place. Kaye tried a bite of egg, but it didn’t taste like anything she wanted to eat.

“You will, trust me.” Grammy dabbed a napkin on her mouth. “Do you know what Hank said to me after I opened an inter-dimensional rift and entered the world beyond?”

Kaye dropped her fork. Maybe she hadn’t heard Grammy right. “What?”

“He said he loved me, of course, but I knew that. Then he got angry and said, ‘Stop wasting your time looking for me and enjoy the rest of your life.’”

Kaye stared, open mouthed. Was this more of Grammy’s nonsense? “So you stopped looking for him?”

“I did. But, what I meant to say is, when you get older, the little things don’t matter anymore—like if he left his socks on the floor or forgot to take out the garbage. Those little annoyances turn into the reason
why
you love him. When he’s gone, you’d do anything just to pick up those socks once again, even if it means spending your life’s work to create an inter-dimensional rift, just to have him tell you not to waste your time.”

Kaye blinked, speechless as her mom came over to their table. “Time to check out, Grammy.” She smiled at Kaye. “Where’s Armin?”

Kaye used all of her effort to hold back her pain. “He left early on…business.”

“Tell him good-bye for us.” Her mom leaned down and gave her a hug. “See you next time, dear.”

Kaye hugged her mom then kissed Grammy’s cheek. “I’m glad we had a chance to talk.”

“Me too.” Grammy smiled as Kaye’s mom wheeled her away. She shouted over her shoulder across the breakfast room. “Remember those socks!”

“I will.” Kaye covered her plate with her napkin and walked outside on the balcony. The water sparkled. Surfers rode the waves out to sea, and a couple of kids splashed in the receding tide. She took the white steps down to the beach. The ocean always seemed to calm her, and she needed a place to think.

Whether Grammy had seen Gramps in the world beyond or not, her words made Kaye wonder. Ares had had no choice but to keep the truth from her. Yes, she had a right to be angry, but was this one of those cases where she should forgive? Would she overlook this curse fifty years from now if they got married?

It was a moot point. Ares had gone back to Mount Olympus, and she’d likely never see him again. The void inside her grew. They had something. It wasn’t her imagination, and she had thrown it away at the first argument they had. She’d told him to leave. Maybe if she had let him explain…

Kaye wandered to the rocks at the edge of the beach. A lot had happened in the last week. She needed solitude to get things straight. She climbed down to where the tide splashed against a large boulder, took her shoes off, and soaked her feet.

The waves lapped against her legs, grounding her. She stared into the horizon, watching a tour boat chug across the expanse.

A cold hand gripped her leg.

Kaye glanced down. One of the kids must have swum over to scare her.

A man with iridescent eyes and long, oily black hair looked up at her and grinned. Horror spread through her. What kind of creepazoid lurked in the water?

She yanked her leg away, and it slipped from his grasp. Oily goo clung to her skin. She scrambled up the rock on all fours and scanned the beach. She was too far away from anyone to call for help. The man climbed on the rock behind her and reached for her other leg.

Kaye kicked at his face. “Weirdo. Get the hell away.”

His eyes glowed like a cat’s. He opened his mouth and water trickled out between strange pin-like teeth. Behind him, something flapped in the air. A tail.

Holy Shit.

One of Poseidon’s merman cohorts was out to get her! She was doomed.

Kaye scrambled to her feet, but the merman clutched her leg and pulled her back down. She hit the rock hard, knocking the air out of her lungs.

Ares had left. Why the hell were they after her?

Kaye kicked fiercely while the merman deflected the blows with sly speed. He moved like an eel, unconstrained by human vertebrae.

He reached out again and grabbed her other leg. His hand slipped a bit, but he tightened his grip and pulled.

Kaye screamed as the merman dragged her down the rock. She scratched her fingers to grab hold, the skin tearing. With one more yank, she fell backward and hit the water. Panic jolted through her. Disoriented, she flailed her arms and legs, her mouth almost reaching the surface.

If only she had Ares’ powers now.

The tail curled around her, feeling like a squishy, python embrace. Dread settled in her gut.

Air bubbles slipped from her lips as the sun grew farther and farther away.