Drop Dead Demons (34 page)

Water. All around me. Dark. Frigid.

I panicked, sucked in a short breath before I could stop myself, gagged, sputtered. Probably because I didn’t anticipate being dropped in the
Arctic Ocean
. What was she thinking?

I pumped my arms and kicked, swimming toward a light. Not
that
light. I hoped.

The light of the moon on what better be the surface of the freezing water that Gloria thought fit to—

I saw some sort of movement, near the moonlight, then something blocked it. Despair threatened to join my already overwhelming terror. Then, suddenly, hands tugged at my arms and I was abruptly yanked out of the water and dumped on sandy ground.

On all fours I gagged, threw up the water I’d inhaled. Tasted much worse this time around. Breathing returned, ragged, but steady, and a comforting hand rubbed my back. Through the wet clumps of my hair I saw the forest. The lake. Good. I was still in Gossamer Falls, on familiar ground. My head turned to my savior, ready to thank them.

I screamed. Lurched away.

Demon god Eros, still in that ridiculous pirate outfit, put a steely grip around my ankle and dragged me back across the sand. He jumped and landed the length of his body on my back, pinning me down. 

“I know this looks bad,” he said into my ear.

I think we’d skipped past bad to downright horrific. Pressure and heat surrounded me. A light flashed. From me. Eros yelped. His grip loosened. I shoved him off and kicked his side for good measure.

“Ow!” He rolled across the beach, then sat up and rubbed his arms and chest. “What was that?”

I sat up, hands out, but the power that had vibrated over my skin was gone. Nothing glowed. I tried to conjure back the energy. Didn’t happen.

Crap.

I felt kind of stupid with my hands out, so I acted like I was brushing sand off them and glared. “More to come unless you stay away.”

He raised his palms in surrender. “I never planned to kill you. All of this is not what you think.”

“No kidding.
Eros
.” I spat. “With you nothing has been what I thought. Save your sister? What a crock.”

“It’s my wife.”

“Oh, now it’s your wife.” I’d been doing a kind of backward crab-crawl away from him but paused. “If that's true, why tell me it’s your sister?”

He shrugged. “I believed you could relate better to a sister in peril. Be more sympathetic to my pain. More disposed to assist. Conversely, you would see a wife as a threat and bear less inclination to help.”

“Threat to what?” I looked around not so subtly for an escape.

“My affections, of course.” He sighed. “When you fell in love with me, as all women do.”

I snorted. “Fat chance.” 

“Yes, your lack of ardor was most unexpected,” he said thoughtfully.  “Eons of precedent have proven my charms universally irresistible. My mere presence can incite the passions of those in my sphere. As demonstrated by the couple in your classroom. And young Selena’s amorous suitors.”

I glared. “That was all you?”

“Purely unintentional,” he said casually, as if the ends justified his selfish means. “Although, my presence has proved beneficial to the Lahey family finances.”

“Say what?”

“The townsfolk have been buying an overabundance of flowers thanks to my influence. You’re welcome.” He gave a short nod. “And now we will work together to free my beloved wife from her wretched torture inflicted upon her by Aphrodite.” 

“You’re a piece of work. The answer’s no. I’m not falling for—” I stopped short, my brain making connections. “Wait. Wife?” I shook my head as the pieces fell into place. “As in
Psyche
?”

“Just like in your mythology books.” He fiddled with the lacy cuffs of his puffy-sleeved shirt. “Only Psyche is no mere mortal. She was Mandatum. A hunter.”

“Okay, now you’re just talking crazy.”

“Yes.” His smile turned wistful. “It was crazy. Which is why I acquiesced to my mother’s lies. But love doesn’t always make sense. I, of all people, should know that.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I was a fool then but no more. You can help me make it right, little dove. When Aphrodite tricked Psyche into Hades to win me back, she never escaped. No happy ending like the myth. I’ve been trying to rescue her for centuries. You’re her only chance, Aurora.
Please.”

I sucked in a long breath and knew what I needed to do. “Okay.”

Eros jerked, his face contorting in surprise. “Okay?”

“With all of hell gunning for me, I’m not missing the chance for a demon god to owe me one. Big time. Help me up.” I extended a hand.

Eros smiled, relief relaxing his frame as he closed the distance and towered over me.

I focused, tried to get my outstretched hand to glow again, but felt nothing.

Plan B it was.

I threw a fistful of sand in his face. Eros blocked with an arm, but too late. He cried out and reeled back. I kicked out his ankles. He thumped down. I jumped up and took off into the forest.

Eros liked to morph his sob story into something that seduced out my sympathy. Not this time. Fool me once, and all that jazz. My only regret was that I hadn’t blasted him. No, my powers only got into gear to burn-up my unburnable boyfriend. Typical.

“Ayden!” I screamed and launched over some prickly bushes. “Fido!”

“They’re too far away,” Eros’s voice came from just ahead.

I skidded to a stop, dead leaves and dirt flying. Couldn’t see him. I backed up against a tree.

When Eros spoke, he sounded closer. “Our time is limited. You must listen.”

I sprinted at an angle for the beach. A few strides would have me on sand. The lake lapped at the shore, the moon’s reflection dancing on the dark surface. I thought about rainbows and puppies and took a couple of calming breaths trying to suck in some energy.

“Running won’t help any of us.” Eros sounded well behind me. “Aphrodite wants the Nex as her pet and she is relentless. I’m not the first she has sent. Fiskick, hired by the Mandatum traitor to kill you, was secretly working for my mother and tasked with retrieving you for her.”

Hmmm. Memories of another abduction attempt were not helping my puppy and butterflies vibe.

I was steps away from the beach when he appeared immediately in front of me. I darted sideways, stumbling onto one knee, recovered and huddled behind a tree. I wiped a line of sweat from my brow and glanced around. Eros stood far across the sand at the water’s edge, arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t even breathing hard.

“When Fiskick disappeared, I’m sure courtesy of you and the Hex Boys, she turned to me,” he said. “I only agreed to help her because she promised to rescue Psyche. It’s what she does. She’ll leverage your family, the boys, whatever it takes until you have no choice but to do her bidding. You’ll help her build her army of demons, then destroy the Mandatum, and the world.”

I knew I’d go to the ends of the Earth to protect my family. But would I be willing to
end
the Earth? To end humanity? Or enslave it to the likes of demons?

“And if I don’t?” I said.

“Then she will kill you.”

Yeah. Kinda figured.

“As long as she resides in this world, you and all you love are not safe,” he said. “Get the stone. Get my wife. And I will help you be rid of her forever.” He turned and looked straight in my direction with eyes that so many through the ages have found irresistible. “I have a plan.”

So did I. Hunched low, I slunk in the direction I was pretty sure Logan’s car was parked. And hopefully, close by was a battle-scarred, trigger-happy Irishman who I could use as a human shield while he dealt with this mythological madness.

Hey, I didn’t say it was a long-range plan. At this point, just making it to homeroom tomorrow would be a cause for celebration. Until it was time to turn in homework. Man, I was never going to be a senior.

A cloud exploded in front of me. Before I could back-peddle, Eros grabbed my hand. Something scraped my finger. I slammed an open palm at his nose. He jumped back before impact, hands up in supplication.

I stared at the ring he’d shoved onto my finger. The metal band hummed against my skin and beams of light suddenly shot out from the oval stone. Strength surged up my arm. Not good. I think.

“What is that!” I yanked off the ring and threw it onto the sand.

Once off my finger, the stone stopped the light-up routine but still glowed. Big as an egg, it shimmered with iridescent blues, greens, and dark pinks, stunning in their beauty, swirling through the jewel as if it held a complete galaxy within. Sparkling stars, shooting comets, twinkling planets, brilliant suns, and spirals of effervescence.

“It is yet another show of good faith.” Eros kept his distance. “It gives you great power. Just what every Divinicus needs. Similar to the stone you must find but…different. Take it with you to the treasure. It should help you locate the stone we require. They share a connection.”

I pointed to the ring. “When you do surprise stunts like this, I don’t trust you! Besides, why would you help me?”

“Because it helps me.”

“Now that makes sense.”

“Aphrodite is a monster. I care not to be enslaved to her any more than you wish to be enslaved by the Mandatum.” His gloved hands curled into fists. “What do I care about armies and ruling the world? I am not the God of War.”

“All you do is lie, threaten, and manipulate.” I backed for the beach thinking making a swim for it would be better than trying to outrun Eros in the forest. “And since when have you shown a sign of good faith?”

“I led you to the treasure. I’ve kept the traitor and their demons at bay while I’ve warned you of the coming disaster. And…and…I kidnapped Jayden!” 

“Kidnapped?” I blinked. “That’s something the villain would do!”

Eros glanced into the woods. “We haven’t time for me to explain all I have done or the intricacies involved. You must trust me.”

“No I mustn’t.” I shot back.

“Then believe this.” His eyes of green jade glittered with desperation and fear. “If we do not find that stone before Artemis and Aphrodite arrive, it’s over. For all of us.”

“Whoa.” I stepped back. “Who said anything about Artemis? And her and Aphrodite together, isn’t that—”

“Apocalyptic? You have no idea.” He cocked his head, listening, then turned and shouted into the forest. “Over here, lover boy!”

Crashing sounds, then Ayden burst from the forest onto the beach.

In one swoop, Ayden lit up his arms and blasted them like flamethrowers. Eros
poofed
out of sight and popped up yards away, safe, unscathed.

Ayden kept firing as he raced across the sand to stand in front of me, facing Eros who had evaded every shot by teleporting all over the beach.
Poof, poof, poof.

“You alright? Did he hurt you?” Ayden asked over his shoulder. “When you disappeared with Fido, I thought you were shot.”

“Me too, but I’m fine. Long story.” I was still tingly from the ring. Part of me wanted to grab it and get some power pulsing through my body, but the part that didn’t trust Eros or anything he gave me won out. “But Eros didn’t hurt me.”

“And I won’t.”  Eros bowed deeply. “I mean no harm, young Ayden. I even found your lady love first and pulled her from the raging waters. You and I both aspire to her safety and well-being.”

Ayden glanced back at me.

“It’s true,” I told him. “At least about pulling me out.”  

“Forgive me, Eros.” Ayden’s tone held a snide edge. “But since you already threatened to kill her, I’m a little skeptical.”

“Just a playful ruse.”

“Playful?” Ayden laughed. “Why would I believe that a demon god would
aspire
the safety and well-being of the Divinicus Nex? That’s crazy.”

A cunning smile slithered onto Eros’s lips. “So you do know.”

I froze. Then my head swiveled slowly to study Ayden’s profile, jaw set, lips pressed in a hard line.

I finally found my voice. “Which one of them told you?”

“No one told me.” Ayden ground out the words, anger clipping the syllables. “
You
should have told me.”

“Then how did you know?”

“How could I
not
know! We’re trained to look for this kind of stuff. Granted, the girl aspect threw me at first. But come on!”

“Why doesn’t anyone think to tell me they know?”

“Maybe some of us were hoping you would trust them enough to confide in them instead of being so paranoid and thinking I’d —
they’d
betray you. But I —
they
are really tired of waiting for that to happen and I — they — ah, screw it.” Ayden kicked the sand. “Why didn’t you trust me? I kept waiting and waiting, trying to give you every opportunity to reveal your big secret. But I got nothing!”

“That must have been frustrating,” Eros said with great sympathy.

“It was!” Ayden said, then glared at Eros. “You keep out of this! But seriously, Aurora, did you really think I’d turn you in? Or I couldn’t handle it? That it would scare me off? That’s so insulting.”

“Indeed,” Eros said. “Perhaps I might suggest more open commun—”

“Shut up!” Ayden and I yelled. He shot flames at Eros.

The demon
poofed
away and reappeared on the opposite side. Ayden leapt around to stay positioned in front of me.

“What?” Eros looked flabbergasted. “Love and romance are my areas of expertise. I can help. And this is good.” He made encouraging gestures with his hands. “Go on. Let’s get it all out in the open.”

Ayden tried to barbeque him again,
poof,
then turned to me. “You’d think you’d know by now how I feel. I mean, I’m willing to take control lessons from my
mom
just so I don’t kill you when we…I…you know.”

Eros popped up on our right, nodding with compassion. “I understand your discomfort.”

“
His
discomfort? What about mine?” My voice squeaked. “Your
mom
?”

“Yeah, my
mom
,” Ayden snapped. “And it’s a long and embarrassing story that I don’t want to get into right now.” He huffed. “If you don’t mind.”

“Seems a good place to stop.” Eros rubbed his hands together. “I suggest you kiss and make up for now and we’ll pick this up later. Perhaps
after
we’ve suppressed the unleashing of the whole demon apocalypse issue.” 

“We are not on the same side!” Ayden’s entire body suddenly
whooshed
into flames as his hand shot out with a narrow but blazing blast of fire.

This time Eros didn’t turn to smoke. But his sleeve did.

Flames caught on the frothy white pirate shirt, burning through the material and across Eros’s skin. 

Ayden clutched his chest and dropped on one knee, groaning. His flames blinked out. I moved toward him but saw Eros raise his eyes, furied with shock and outrage. The demon god looked ready to attack.

I snatched the ring out of the sand. Power surged again. Beams of light shot from the stone.  

“Back off,” I warned, either the power of the stone or my own fury boiling my blood.

Don’t know what the ring did, but judging from Eros’s expression just before he blinked out in a pink puff, I was holding some sort of nuclear bomb. He reappeared at the far edge of the forest, staring a murderous glare toward Ayden.

“I’ll forgive you this once, hunter,” Eros growled. “For you are protecting your lady love. As am I. We
are
on the same side. You will see.”

“Doubtful,” I spat.

Keeping my hand up, light still shining from the brilliant stone, I stepped closer to Ayden who remained down. I didn’t know how to use the ring or how it would fare against the most powerful type of demon, but if Eros made one move against Ayden, I was willing to go down fighting.

I lowered my voice to a menacing rumble. “You’d better start helping rather than being a deceitful, selfish monster, or I’ll call the Mandatum myself, cry ‘Code Olympus’ so fast and loud the Sicarius will bury you back in hell before you know what hit you. And whatever happens to Psyche…” I rolled a cold, indifferent shrug. “Well, that’s on you.”

I readied for a godlike wrath, but instead, a weary sorrow bled into Eros’s green eyes.

“As it always has been,” he said softly. Then he nodded. “As you wish.”

And he was gone.

I chucked the ring into the sand and felt its energy drain from my body.

Ayden sat up. “That was gutsy. And hot. No wonder you’re my hero.”

I knelt beside him. Mostly because my knees gave out. Threatening supernatural demon gods was harder than it looked.

“What’s wrong?” I said.

“Burns.” He grimaced with pain. “Are they supposed to hurt this much?”

Fresh blood blossomed on his shirt. My skin iced. I fought to keep my expression neutral.

“Probably. But I know what to do.” I swallowed hard and helped him to his feet.

Wincing, he put his arm over my shoulders, then looked down and frowned. “Did the God of Love propose to my girlfriend?”

“Not hardly.” I picked up the ring half-buried in the sand. It lit up in my hand, then dimmed when I put it in my pocket. “I’ll tell you later. Since we’re being all honest, I should give you the heads-up on my guardian angel.”

“Cute.” He chuckled, but then saw my face. “You’re not kidding.”

“Nope. Oh, and I sent myself to the Waiting World. And stopped a bullet.” Don’t care what Gloria said.

“What?” he stumbled. “If you were in the Waiting World, why did you disappear instead of going into a coma like last time?”

I gave it some deep thought and came up with the brilliant conclusion of, “I have no idea.”

He laughed. “Okay, tell me what you do know. I’m all ears. By the way, you asked
‘which one’
told me you were the Divinicus. Who else knows?”