Chapter 6 #2
“Understood, daughter of Zeus.” The girl nods her head.
“Good.”
Arms wrap around me from behind and I sink into Jayden’s warmth.
“So bloodthirsty over me, my love,” Jayden whispers in my ear, making me shiver.
“That goes for you too. I will castrate you if I find out you were flirting with them. You are mine,” I growl.
Jayden spins me to face him. “There’s no one compared to you, love. I don’t even see other girls. They don’t exist because I’m the luckiest bastard in the world to be able to call you mine.”
“Damn straight,” I say, grinning at him.
“We should get on the road, B.” Raven steps forward. “We need to get to Phoenix and that’s not a short trip.”
“You’re right.” I sigh and lean into Jayden once more. “I have to go.”
“I know, love. I’ll see you soon.” Jayden plants his lips against mine with a bruising kiss.
“See you soon.” I turn to the others.
“You guys take care of each other. If any of you die, I’ll drag you back from the underworld Orpheus style.” I glare between Adrian and Thad.
“And Hades would probably let you,” Artemis says. “He is more than elated you and Jayden worked things out.”
“Oh, I know Hades would let me. We have a weird friendship based on the irony of dog names.” I grin.
“Don’t call him Spot.” Jayden chuckles.
“I told you already, that’s his name and your dad confirmed it.” I stick my tongue out at him.
“I still can’t believe the god of the underworld is like your best friend.” Artemis shakes her head.
“Nope, not her best friend. That’s me.” Raven loops her arm through mine and leads me over to Thad and Adrian.
I hug Adrian. “Don’t forget to call if you see something important and please stay safe.”
“I won’t forget, and you be safe too. This isn’t going to be easy. Just because her forces are elsewhere doesn’t mean there won’t be any danger.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m well aware this won’t be easy.” I turn to Thad.
Thad wraps me in a friendly hug. “You’ve got this. Kick some ass, get the hammer, and come back so we can end this shit.”
“That’s the idea, for sure. You stay safe and keep him safe for me?” I glance at Thad with watery eyes.
“You have my word, Beth. I won’t let anything happen to him.” Thad squeezes me one last time and steps back.
“Don’t do anything crazy. I wasn’t kidding about the underworld. I will hunt you down.” I glare at him.
“I know.” He smiles.
I turn away from my friends who have become more like family now and trudge to the SUV. If I look at them again, I may just say fuck this and tell Artemis to find somewhere for us all to ride out the end of days.
“Wait,” Artemis calls after me.
“What is it?” I ask, turning back to her.
“Hades had a message for me to deliver, even though I’m not sure when I became the messenger; that’s Hermes deal, not mine.” Artemis shakes her head.
“Hermes is preparing for war, Artie,” Orion says.
“Artie? That is too fucking cute. Can I call you Artie?” I grin at the goddess.
“Only if you want an arrow through the heart,” Artemis growls.
“Meh, might not kill me. Could totally be worth it.” I shrug.
“What’s the message?” Raven asks.
“Orpheus has news from the shifters. They want to set up a meeting,” Artemis says.
“Ugh, I have to go back to that awful place again?” I throw up my hands.
Greyson stands straighter. “Is everything okay? Grant wouldn’t set up an actual meeting with us if it wasn’t important.”
“Something about rogues? I’m not sure but there’s no immediate danger. Apollo made sure to tell me it’s escalating but not an imminent threat.”
“We should talk to Grant anyway,” I say with a sigh. “He’s our ally and this is happening. We already talked about gathering the shifter allies that we have.”
“I know how much you hate that place but it’s neutral territory, and if I’m around too many shifters, it could trigger something.” Greyson clenches his hands into fists.
“I know. I remember how quickly everything devolved last time and you didn’t even do anything. Shifters are volatile and don’t think before they speak.” I roll my shoulders back.
“Okay, so now we really have to go.” Raven tugs on my arm.
“Anything else, Artemis?” I ask.
“Just be careful and get your ass back here as soon as possible. Things are going to escalate quickly.” Artemis places her fist over her heart and bows her head.
I repeat the warriors’ show of respect and head for the SUV. I open the back passenger door and sit in the middle row behind the driver. Greyson volunteered to drive so I could keep my hands free to fight if needed. It’s only right for Raven to take the front passenger seat for this trip.
Everything is so different without Jayden. He’s the one who always drives, and Greyson navigates with the map. Now, Draven has the map, ready to navigate to Phoenix first and then Colorado on our way to Montana.
“All right, it’s time to go to the gates of Hell.”
“It’s not that bad when there aren’t any demons there snacking on humans.” Raven turns in her seat.
“It’s a supernatural strip club among other things.” I roll my eyes.
“Yes, but Orpheus has helped us by keeping lines of communication open with Grant and Greyson’s old pack.” Raven points a finger at me.
“I know. The place just gives me the creeps. Maybe it’s the gate being there in the middle of downtown LA. Like one wrong move and all kinds of evil bastards can just walk out and cause untold chaos.” I lean my forehead against the window.
“We have magic,” Draven speaks up. “We can take out a few demons if needed.”
“True, but you didn’t see what happened at the gate when we saved Hades’ item of power.” I shudder. “If they get out again the way they did before, it will be chaos.”
“It was that bad?” Draven asks.
“Yes, and I fear if it happens again, it will be far worse after who we left trapped there. Not even our supercharged magic will be enough to save us.”