The Gatekeeper's Promise: Gatekeeper's Saga, Book Six (The Gatekeeper's Saga 6) (19 page)

He walked over to her and said, “I’m sorry you’re here.”

“I’m not,” she admitted.

He put his hands on her waist,
and the feel of his touch made her knees go weak.

“How come I’m not falling asleep?” she asked.

“Something’s happened to my powers.”

She bit her lip, still battling between the mixed emotions of worry and joy.

“I promise I won’t let you get hurt,” he said.

“I know.” She looked at his mouth.

“The other gods will find a way to rescue us.”

She nodded.
“Hip, I…”

Before she could finish her sentence, he covered her mouth with his, and she sank against him.

Chapter Fifteen: One By One

Hip followed Jen through the woods toward the fruit trees.

“Follow in my footsteps,” she warned. “Therese’s traps are everywhere.”

“That’s fine by me,” he said. “I like the view.”

He had expected her to roll her eyes but was delighted when she turned back and winked.

As they neared an orange tree, Jen said, “Take off your shirt.”

“Well, aren’t
you
direct?” He laughed. “Not that I’m complaining.”

He pulled his shirt
over his head and caught her gazing at his body.

“Are you ready for this?” he teased.

He noticed her face go red as she turned to the tree, reached up, and plucked an orange from the lowest branches. “Tie a knot so we can load it with these.”

Aha. Now he got it. His shirt was to be the bag. He made a knot, tested it, and was quite satisfied when Jen lobbed an orange his way.

“Incoming,” she shouted.

He looked up to see her half way up the tree. He caught the orange just as she tossed him another.
This went on for several minutes—until his makeshift bag was full.

As he helped her down from the tree, she slid so perfectly into his arms that he couldn’t resist holding her there and pressing himself against her.

“I meant what I said the other night in your dream,” he whispered in her ear. “I want to be with you for as long as you live.”

He searched her face for her reaction and was pleased to see her smiling up at him.

“I’d give up immortality to be with you,” he added. At least, he thought he would. He hadn’t really thought much about it and probably shouldn’t have made the offer—but it’s not like he could, anyway.

Before she replied
, they heard a noise—a rustling and snapping of twigs. They looked toward the sound, but couldn’t see anything because of the trees.

“That’s just Pudding,” Jen said.

“Who?” Hip brought his brows together in confusion.

“The brown mare I told you about.”

Hip peered through the trees and caught sight of a flash of green.

“That’s no mare
,” he whispered. “Hold very still.”

He narrowed his eyes and held his brea
th, watching for the thing he’d seen. He heard the rustle before he saw anything. This time it wasn’t green. This time it was a lion’s head.

“Chimera,” he whispered.

“What’s that?”

“I doubt we can outrun her.”

“Her? Who?”

“Trust me. You don’t want to know.”

“Should we hide in the tree?”

Chimera’s snake head could easily follow them
up there, but maybe not as high as the uppermost branches. Hip nodded and the two of them climbed as high as they could go.

Shoot. The
bag of oranges. It was like a sign pointing to the tree.

Jen noticed, too. “You should have brought the oranges.”

“It’s too late now. Listen.”

Hip held his breath
and drew his dagger from his boot as the monster neared them. He almost fell out of the tree when a sharp shriek from Jen startled him.

“Sn-snake!”

It was a good thing only one end of Chimera was visible at the moment.

He cupped his hand over her mouth and whispered, “It’s okay. Shh.”

He stroked her hair, trying to calm her, but he could feel her stiffen beneath his hands, heart pounding and mouth itching to scream.

“Oh my God,” she whispered into his hand. “That snake is huge.”

“That’s just the tail,” he whispered back, and then wished he hadn’t.

Jen went into full panic mode. She flailed her arms and screamed into his hand, still cupped firmly against her mouth. Chimera spotted them in the branches with all three of her heads and barreled toward them, screeching
in the fullness of terror. This was not good.

Just before she reached their tree, Chimera fell, with a thud and crack, onto the hard ground, crying and wailing in pain. She must have found one of Therese’s traps.

“Come on.” Hip lowered himself from the tree.

Jen refused to follow, but clung stubbornly to the branches.

“She’ll get you if you stay,” he warned. “Come on.” He didn’t mention Chimera’s fire-breathing talents.

Trembling like a leaf in the wind, Jen made her way to the ground and took Hip’s offered hand. He
returned his dagger to its sheath in his boot and slung the bag of oranges over his shoulder.

Chimera’s cries and shri
eks rang out through the woods as they ran back toward the falls. Hip actually started feeling sorry for the creature, but not bad enough to not get the hell out and back to safety.

“Stop!” Jen cried. “That’s one of the traps!”

Hip came to an abrupt halt inches from what he now saw were the tips of pointy sticks hidden beneath the dead leaves.

“This way!” she said, and she took his hand and ran.

As they rounded the corner near the smaller waterfall, Hip spotted Hermes.

“What the devil is going on?” Hermes asked.

***

Than had sided with Hecate and Therese about going to check on Chimera, but Hermes had a good point that it was easy to insist on the excursion when you were paralyzed and unable to go.

“We can’t leave her there,”
Therese had said. “Not without knowing why she’s here.”

Hecate had agreed. “She could be a prisoner just like us.”

“There’s no way I’m going back,” Jen had put in.

“No one expects you to,” Hip had assured her. “You stay here with Than and Therese.”

Hermes had reluctantly agreed to go, but only because he was obviously in love with Hecate, and Hecate was going with or without him.

Therese stirred
Thanatos from his thoughts. “I can’t believe what Hermes said about no one dying.”

“At least my father finally
caught on,” Than said.

“So nobody can die
?” Jen asked. “A person could fall from a high building and splat in the middle of the street and not die?”

“I’m afraid so,” Than said.

“But that’s a good thing,” Jen argued. “Isn’t it?”

“Would you want to live with a crushed skull and guts pouring out onto the street?” Therese asked.

Jen snapped her mouth shut and shook her head.

“I wonder what Circe’s next move will be now that her death trap is out,” Than mused.

“Oh, no,” Therese said with a shaky voice.

Jen put a hand on Therese’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Therese, what’s wrong?” Than lifted his head as far as he could.

“I think my water just broke.”

All the air left Than’s body as he stared at her in shock. Not here. Not in this dismal place.

“What do we do?” Jen asked. “
I
can’t deliver your babies.”

“Calm down.” Therese maneuvered over to Than’s side and lay down beside him. “It’s going to be okay.”

She gripped his hand like a vice, and to his surprise, he was able to grip hers back. But how much more helpless could a husband be than to be paralyzed beside his wife as she gave birth to his twins?

“They’re coming,” Therese
murmured. “Whether we’re ready or not.”

***

Hip
and Hecate guided Hermes through the woods, avoiding the traps.

“Over there,” Hip pointed.

Ten yards away, Chimera lay on her side, panting, with all six of her eyes closed, but as Hip and the others neared, her eyes snapped open, and she shrieked.

“We haven’t come to hurt you,” Hecate called out.

“Then why have you come?” Chimera bellowed through her lion’s mouth.

“We want to know why you’re here,” Hermes said as they stepped closer.

“And how,” Hip added.

“Why should I tell you?” Chimera shrieked.

She was clearly frightened and unable to move.

“Because we want to help you,” Hecate said.

“But we need to know we can trust you,” Hip said.

“Can we?” Hermes asked.

Chimera panted and said nothing. Then she asked. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“You don’t have many options,” Hermes pointed out.

As they reached Chimera’s side, Hip noticed that one of the sticks had impaled her chest just below her lion’s head and blood was pouring from her body.

“If you promise not to try to kill us, we’ll help you,” Hecate said gently. “Come on guys. Give me a hand.”

The three of them lifted Chimera up from the bed of sharpened sticks—the spear in her chest so deep that it remained lodged there. They laid her on a bed of leaves a few yards away. Then Hermes grabbed the spear and pulled it from her heart. Chimera thrashed wildly and screamed a blood-curdling scream.

Hermes removed his shirt and gave it to Hecate to press against the open wound.
The corners of Hip’s mouth twitched when he noticed Hecate give his cousin a once over.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Hecate asked
Chimera.

“I
can’t tell. Everything hurts. I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Maybe som
e cold water from the falls would numb her pain,” Hecate said.

“What do you suggest we do?” Hermes asked. “We don’t have
a vessel.”

“We’ll have to carry her to the water,” Hecate replied.

Hip and Hermes exchanged looks.

“She weighs a ton,” Hermes said. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve lost our strength.”

“Just leave me here,” Chimera said.

“If you can get on your feet, we can help you walk,” Hecate said. “Can you try?”

“We need answers first,” Hermes said.

“That can wait,” Hecate snapped. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Hip crossed his arms. “You have to remember that I just had my head lobbed off because of her lot!”

“Yeah. I know what that’s like,” Hermes muttered with a wince.

“
My
lot?
My
lot?” Chimera cried. “I had nothing to do with that!”

“Didn’t you help abduct Amphitrite and steal the trident?” Hip demanded.

“Yes, but…”

“Then yes,
your
lot!” he shouted.

Chimera wailed another blood-curdling scream. Hip covered his ears and looked at her, s
till full of angry indignation, and yet he felt accosted by her suffering and wanted it to end.

“Just kill me then!” Chimera cried, as though reading his mind.

“We can’t,” Hermes said. “There’s no death.”

Chimera wailed again.

“Come on,” Hecate said. “She’ll be able to tell us more if we can ease her suffering.”

The three of them moved to a different part of Chimera’s body—Hecate at the lion’s head, Hermes in the middle with the goat’s head, and Hip at the back, holding up the thick, heavy serpent. Chimera was far from steady on her four feet as she stumbled along. They made slow progress, all panting and sweating from exhaustion. Hip realized he might not like being a mortal after all. He missed his strength and stamina.

When they finally reached the smaller of the two waterfalls, they helped Chimera into the cold water of the shallow stream. It seemed to bring her some relief.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked them.

“Because we need some answers,” Hecate said, surprising Hip. “We need the truth. As long as you are honest with us, we will continue to help you.”

Chimera
took a heavy breath. “You won’t want to help me after you hear what I have to say.”

“Let us be the judge of that,” Hecate said.

Chimera spoke from her lion’s head. “Circe is deranged.”

“That’s not news,
” Hermes asked.