Chapter Eight
CHAPTER EIGHT
Nox
What the hell was wrong with me?
I mean, it wasn’t bad enough that I’d somehow completely lost control of myself and fallen asleep in the middle of the woods, where any of the gods could have come across me if they decided to take a little late-night stroll.
But then I’d let Daemon finger me for what felt like an hour, wasting precious time we didn’t have.
Though the warm, satisfied sensation moving through me said that it hadn’t been a total waste.
I didn’t even know I was capable of coming that many times that quickly.
Still.
It didn’t matter how good it was; it shouldn’t have happened. I should have had more control over myself.
I’d never been so wanton with a man before.
Then again, he wasn’t exactly a man , was he?
Maybe that was all it was.
Some sort of… wicked temptation powers or something. Wasn’t it long established that the devil would try to seduce human women? Maybe that extended to the demons as well.
Though, to be fair, it felt like I was just searching for an easy cop-out so I didn’t have to accept any culpability. There was no denying I’d been a willing participant.
Clearly, I’d been searching for a little stress relief, for something other than the unrelenting exhaustion and darkness of the past few weeks. And, yes, even an escape from this new reality about myself that made me feel, I don’t know, less myself, if that made any sense.
There in the woods, in Daemon’s arms, all I had to be was a woman.
Not a demigod.
Not some sort of attempted savior of humanity.
Just a girl. With a guy.
Enjoying him.
Enjoying my own body.
And, gods, I enjoyed it, alright.
But that was over.
I had to get my head back in the game. We’d wasted half the night.
By the time I checked one small cave in the craggy cliffside, the sun was already starting to peek across the horizon.
With a sigh, I made my way back to the tree to find Daemon walking toward me from the opposite direction.
“Anything?” I asked, directing the question to his chin because I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eye.
“Walked my ass right into a bear’s hibernation lair,” he said, making my gaze shoot up, inspecting him for injuries.
“Did it get you?”
“Don’t insult me, shadow girl. I can hold my own against a bear or two. Actually, I’d like to go back.”
“Go back? Why?”
“It didn’t occur to me,” he said, falling into step beside me as I started toward the estate, “until I was already on my way back. Maybe that’s the perfect cover. It would certainly keep any humans away, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s true, I guess. Maybe we should both go back tonight. I can get us both past them.”
“Get past who?” a voice asked, making my heart sink to my feet even as Daemon tensed and then took a half-step in front of me.
Then, stepping out from behind a tree, was not Oizys, Eris, Ares, or the Keres.
No.
It was a man.
One I was reasonably sure I’d never seen before.
That said, there was something familiar about him. The crown stuffed with colorful feathers over his wild, wavy hair. The strange, almost taunting smile on his face.
“Who the fuck are you?” Daemon asked, moving in a circle as the man walked around us, always keeping me slightly behind him.
“It’s Momus,” I declared.
“Who the fuck is Momus?”
“The god of satire and mockery,” I said, watching as the man’s smile grew wider.
“My reputation precedes me.”
“He’s… the son of Nyx,” I declared.
“The son of Nyx,” Daemon repeated, glancing over at me, and I swore I could read his thoughts.
Your brother?
“What are you doing here?” I asked Momus.
Because, while he was the child of Nyx, he wasn’t exactly as, I don’t know, wicked.
In fact, he kind of just ridiculed everyone. He thrived on finding fault in humans and gods alike, then mocking them with those faults relentlessly.
He was so despised by the other gods that he was kicked out of Mount Olympus.
Why would he be here? Knowing he wasn’t wanted.
“Catching up with my siblings,” Momus said. “The question is… what are you doing here?”
“Me and my girl, we were just having a little… tryst in the woods,” Daemon said, laying his charm on thick.
“You’re… not human,” Momus said, eyeing Daemon, making my belly twist.
“Neither are you.”
“Fair enough. You, I can’t quite get a feel on,” Momus said, looking at me. “Not human. But not a god either.”
“Why do you want to see your siblings? You don’t like them,” I said, trying to get his attention off of me.
“Oh, what’s not to like?” Momus asked, smirking again. “Ares, who so loves war. Yet spends so much time getting his ass kicked.
“And sweet Eris, that one friend who says ‘no offense’ right before destroying your day.”
“And Oizys?” Daemon asked.
“Oh, Oizys. Whose idea of small talk is asking you if you remember that embarrassing thing you did ten years ago. Then discussing it in detail until you’re rocking in a ball on the floor.
“One doesn’t have to like their siblings if their aim is to enjoy reminding them of all their many shortcomings.”
“If anyone could use a kick in the ass, it’s the gods,” Daemon agreed.
“Indeed. But I can’t seem to find dear Nemesis. The one to punish hubris, yet possesses enough arrogance to believe she has the right to judge. I feel no one has reminded her of that in far too long. Have you seen her?”
“Uh, no,” I said. “I’ve been wanting to speak to her, though. But haven’t been able to locate her.”
“Hmm,” Momus said, chin lifted, lips pursed.
“Hmm what?”
“Seems rather convenient that Nemesis is missing while the gods run amok,” Momus said. “Well, no matter. I’m here to stir up some shit. Unless the two of you would like some mocking.”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Daemon said, making me press my lips together to keep from laughing.
“Very well then. Please get back to your tryst. If he proves unsatisfactory, I could destroy his ego for you,” Momus said before turning and walking away with a flurry of his many-colored robes.
“Thanks,” I called to him, getting a raised brow from Daemon.
“Do you doubt my skills?” he asked, pressing a hand to his chest.
I ignored that, knowing it was dangerous territory. Even just thinking of his ‘skills’ had heat thrumming through my system.
“Do you think we have time to go back to the cave?”
“Shadow girl, I always have time to go to the… cave.”
“Get your head out of the gutter,” I demanded, backhanding him across the chest.
“But, no, the sun is almost coming up. We’re about out of time.”
“Right,” I agreed, sighing hard. “I guess we should put you back.”
If there was regret in my voice, then so be it. True, this was my plan. His suffering felt mildly more preferable than to keep finding dead human bodies in that basement.
Still, I didn’t want to see him suffer; I didn’t like the idea of him screaming in pain while the gods got their kicks by torturing him, body and soul.
But it had to be done.
Until we found Nemesis.
I brought the shadows around us, feeling a strange coldness raking its fingers down my skin, sinking in beneath, chilling me to my core.
It wasn’t long before the exhaustion started to sink in. By the time we got to the bottom step in the cellar, each step forward felt like fighting against gravity, like the world itself was pressing down on me.
“You okay there, sweetness?” Daemon asked, watching me as I reached for one of the chains, the muscles in my arms shaking under its weight, despite them not weighing more than ten pounds.
“Yep,” I lied, keeping my head ducked as I slid the shackle around one wrist. Then the other. And, finally, his feet.
“Get some rest, shadow girl,” Daemon murmured, the concern in his voice making my belly swoop.
That was the plan.
As I walked, though, I knew there was no getting back to the motel. My legs were lead. My muscles were trembling with the effort just to stay upright.
I just had to get to the car.
I could turn it over and sleep inside.
“No,” I whimpered, my legs buckling still deep in the woods, taking me down on my knees in the underbrush.
My entire body was trembling, a chill so deep in my marrow that there seemed no hope of warmth again.
On a whimper, I curled up on my side, pulling my jacket more tightly around my body, then pulling my arms inside the body of it instead of the sleeves, trying to seal in as much heat as possible.
Before I could even wonder about the potential of dying of exposure, I was asleep.
Except, I didn’t feel like it was right to call it simply ‘sleep.’
I was unconscious. Maybe just shy of comatose. My body needing something deeper than rest to recover.
It was a scream that pulled me out of those inky depths, but the claws of unconsciousness clung to me even as I fought toward consciousness, suddenly aware of my exposure, my vulnerability.
I blinked at the near darkness, confused at whether it was just moments or many hours since I’d first fallen down on the forest floor, too exhausted even to crawl to my car.
One look at the sky told me that I’d been asleep for something like ten or twelve hours.
Yet as I sat up, there was still an alarming heaviness in my limbs, a soreness in all my muscles.
What was wrong with me?
Why wasn’t sleep reviving me?
Even if I was using my shadow more frequently, it made no sense that sleep wasn’t making me feel rested.
I sat there for a long moment, wallowing in my misery, dangerously close to tears, when another scream tore through the woods, ripping into my chest, slicing my heart.
Because I knew who was making that sound.
And what anguish he must have been enduring to make a sound like that.
On a whimper of my own, I forced myself to my feet, dragging myself through the woods, not even bothering with my shadow cloak, not wanting to drain myself anymore, which would make me useless to Daemon.
By the time I made it back to the clearing near the estate, I could see the shadows of the gods making their way out of the cellar, their heads thrown back in laughter, their fingers, faces, and clothing saturated with blood.
Daemon’s blood.
I didn’t even wait until the gods were inside the estate with their party raging.
I wrapped my shadows around me and flew at the door, all thoughts of my own pain and tiredness forgotten.
The steps were slippery under my feet. Looking down, I noticed in horror that they were slick with blood.
A strange, pained animal sound escaped me, thinking of the blood on the gods, now on the steps.
Had they drained him completely?
“Is that you… my… shadow girl?”
Daemon’s voice was small and weak, making my heart clutch in my chest.
Some part of me wanted to turn away, to save myself from having to witness his pain.
But I couldn’t do that.
He was hurt because of me.
The least I could do was witness his pain.
I sucked in a deep breath I immediately regretted as the metallic scent of his blood filled my nose.
My cloak fell away as I forced my feet forward. But it wasn’t until I was right in front of him that I finally forced my gaze to lift.
Then immediately wished I hadn’t.
If I thought he’d been brutalized the last time, I had been sorely mistaken.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said as my hand automatically lifted, thinking of nothing but giving him a break from the pain that had to be searing through damn near every inch of his body.
“You need to rest.”
“No,” he said, tone uncharacteristically sharp.
“You’re in pain.”
Because of me.
“I said no, sweetness.”
I couldn’t just stand there, doing nothing.
Suddenly, I knew what I could do to ease his pain.
My gaze slid to his battered face as I lowered myself to my knees.