23. Hecate
I was one of the last to leave the Colosseum. When the crowds dispersed, I wandered through the arena, allowing my magic to soothe the aching wound that so much hatred and violence had stained upon the earth.
A sadness welled in my chest at all the lives that had been sacrificed for the frivolous whims of men and, apparently, a chaos demon.
The rain continued to fall, and the sky above churned with dark, angry clouds, but I welcomed the tears of the universe. They washed away the blood and the pain that radiated out of the sand beneath my feet. I mourned the forgotten souls, knowing that no one else would.
After this small ritual, I turned to leave, making my way toward the Porta Libitinensis in lieu of the Porta Triumphalis , as there had been no triumph here today.
“I told you I would find you.”
Ares’ voice rolled through the wet air behind me, stopping me in my tracks. His deep voice competed with the rumble of thunder overhead, and I turned to face him, ignoring the cold chill that rippled through my body at his dominating presence.
“And I told you I was uninterested in being pursued,” I replied, my tone bored.
When we had met in the imperial box, Ares had been posing as a human man. Now that we were alone, he let his true colors show.
I now understood Shemhazai’s warning. This god drew his power from rage and violence. It was in direct contrast with my own magic, which was softer.
I was powerful, of course, but I was made up of what the universe chose to gift me. I did not take.
I was a creature of community and unity. My power was stronger in numbers, and with a coven of my daughters, I could reach invincible levels of energy. However, at this moment, I had no coven. I was alone, and a flicker of doubt rocked through my core at the hunger in this god’s eyes.
Ares took without remorse, and I knew in my heart that if he chose to, he could very likely overpower me.
“I don’t particularly care if you’re interested or not, gorgeous,” he said with the arrogance of someone who didn’t take no for an answer.
“If I want you, I will have you. It has been centuries since I laid eyes on a creature that’s made me this hard.” He stepped closer, and lightning flashed overhead. “If I want to bounce you off my cock, I will. Maybe I’ll make you my bride and fuck your beautiful pussy for eternity.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, calling the rain around me into silvery, razor-sharp ribbons of water.
“Somehow, I feel like an eternity of fucking you would be long and pleasureless. Could the last woman you fucked even feel that cock you can’t seem to stop talking about?”
His face went red with rage, and I watched in satisfaction as his fists clenched at his sides.
“Oh… you’ll feel it, Hecate. Though, I’ll make sure there’s no pleasure in it.”
I tamped down the fear that was welling in me as he advanced. His energy was growing hotter and wilder by the second. It was already smothering me as he came closer .
I knew I should run. I wasn’t equipped to take him, not on my own. But my pride held me firm. I wouldn’t run. Not from him. Not from any man.
“I have no doubt about that. You’ve probably never brought a woman to orgasm in your life,” I spat, and he sneered.
“You’re about to find out.”
And then, he was coming for me.
I whipped my water snakes at him in a desperate attempt to fend him off, but he was like a chariot drawn by bulls. My magic didn’t even cut flesh as he tore through my defenses, and I braced myself for impact, only to gasp as the shadows around us suddenly sprang to life.
Suddenly, the Colosseum was filled with a colony of angry, smokey cats with burning red eyes.
One of them launched itself directly at Ares’ face, clawing at his eyes and causing him to let out a strangled roar of frustration.
He stumbled back from me as the shadow cats advanced on him, their yowls and hisses reverberating through the empty Colosseum with a ferocity that shouldn’t have been as frightening as it was.
I glanced behind me to find Shemhazai leaning against the Porta Libitinensis, hands in the pockets of his sleek black cloak and an amused smirk on his face.
“Predictable, as always. How mundane.” He sighed as Ares tore Shemhazai’s hellcat off his face and tossed it away.
“Stay out of this, Shemhazai!” he snarled. “You and I have a deal. If you cross me, I will consider the deal null and void.”
Shemhazai shrugged, examining his fingernails as if inspecting them for cleanliness.
“Yeah, but it’s been—what? A thousand years, Ares?
I’m getting bored. Contrary to what you clearly think of yourself, you’re not exactly an elite conversationalist. I won’t mourn the loss of your quick wit .
” His green eyes flashed as he glanced back up at the god of war, the evil smirk on his face broadening.
“I’m starting to think fucking with you will be more fun than working with you. Besides, things have been going so well for Rome; it might be fun to mix things up.”
He said it like the idea of watching the destruction of Rome—the largest empire the world had ever seen—would be the equivalent of an enjoyable picnic on a sunny afternoon.
“If you do this, there’s no coming back, Shemhazai. You do not want to make an enemy out of me,” Ares threatened.
“Oh, but I think that I very much do. Maybe as an enemy, you’ll actually be interesting.
” The demon smiled as more and more shadows morphed and changed into cats.
The cats had started out as small, domesticated creatures, but as Shemhazai’s amusement grew, so did the shadow creatures.
They swelled and churned, turning larger and larger by the minute, their hisses and meows turning to demonic growls and snarls.
Ares eyed the shadow cats, and I moved to stand next to Shemhazai, taking the time to gather more of my own power. Between the two of us, I now stood more of a chance against the god of war, and he recognized he was outnumbered.
“This isn’t over,” Ares snarled at me, and I snorted.
“It very much is over, Ares. Crawl back under whatever rock you came from.”
“You heard her.” Shemhazai smirked, making a ‘shoo’ motion with his hand. The smug look on his face only pissed Ares off even more.
“I revoke my blessing on Rome’s armies; our deal is off, ” he snarled at the chaos demon, who just shrugged.
“All good things must end. Bye Ares. Wish I could say it’s been fun.”
Ares snarled in rage and gathered his burning-hot power, but Shemhazai’s hellcats prowled closer to the god, forcing him back. His dark eyes flickered from the shadow beasts and back to Shem again before he gritted his teeth and vanished in a molten explosion of hot air.
The second he was gone, I relaxed, allowing my water magic to dissipate. Shemhazai followed suit, his own smokey hellcats turning back into normal, harmless cat shadows.
“Well, that was entertaining,” he beamed at me. I gave him a shaky smile and nodded.
“Sure, I guess. Thanks,” I replied, turning away from him and continuing my previous path through the Porta Libitinensis .
I was suddenly stopped by a steely grip on my wrist. I glanced down in shock to find the demon had grabbed me .
I jerked my hand away from him, but he only held on tighter. Suddenly, the feeling of safety I allowed myself to fall into melted away.
“Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?” the demon asked me, his voice liquid poison.
“Release me,” I growled instead of answering. Where I was going was no one’s concern but my own.
“Hmm. How about, no. You owe me.”
I gaped at him. “I don’t owe you shit!”
He chuckled, tugging me closer to him, and my blood boiled.
Seems I had escaped one entitled piece of shit only to be faced with another.
“Oh, but you do. I saved you. You’re indebted to me.”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
“But you benefited from it just the same.” He smirked, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Come on, I don’t expect much. How about you take me for that ride we talked about?” His eyes flashed in amusement at the fury that ripped through me at his words.
“I wouldn’t fuck a demon male even if he had a magic cock,” I spat, which only made him chuckle.
Fucking PRICK!
He wanted a ride? I would give him a fucking ride.
An idea curled through my mind, and I suddenly knew exactly how I was going to handle this asshole. Thinking about how amused my friend Eros, the god of desire, would be with my plan to fuck with a chaos demon, I gave him a coy smirk.
“I already told you, Shemhazai. If you want me, you’ll have to catch me first.” I smirked, and his grin widened.
“Oh yeah?”
I ripped my hand out of his grip, and he let me. The idea of chasing me was clearly appealing to him, but little did he know he wouldn’t catch me unless I wanted him to. And when I was ready, I would be waiting with a bottle of Eros’ elixir and the most disgusting human I could find.
If this demon wanted to ride someone, I would give him what he wanted and laugh while he did it.
“Yeah.” I peeked at him through my lashes. Stepping away from him, I allowed my body to melt into the night .
“Try and keep up,” I whispered, and he grinned as my voice slithered through the air around us.
“Run, Hecate. Run as fast as you fucking can because if I ever catch you, I’ll make you come so hard you see fucking stars.”