Chapter Six #2
Thane looked up at me, and holy fuck, the guy looked good on his knees.
The sharp lines of his jaw and throat extended as his neck arched upwards.
Golden curls fell away from his forehead, making his blue eyes appear even brighter.
They were wide and stared up at me with wonder, and I had the urge to card my fingers through his hair and twist the strands just so I could see him grimace in pain.
“A drachma,” he whispered, the words barely audible.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and his nostrils flared. “What was that?”
Thane licked his lips and swallowed. “A drachma, from Charon.”
“Well done,” I said and gave his cheek a careless pat.
Thane groaned softly at my words, and an interesting curl of desire fluttered in my belly.
I reached into my inside coat pocket and pulled out a single drachma.
It was a small dark silver coin with the ghostly figure of Charon and his boat engraved on one side and the River Styx on the other.
There were shimmers on the surface of the coin like scattered stars, and along the rim were carved the words ‘only death opens’.
I usually had one for emergencies, and it was great at—fuck me—opening doors where there weren’t any.
“Where’s your stash?” I asked Thane. Charon was an asshole and it always took me forever to persuade him to give me one of these, and these were not easy to come by.
Thane stood up and shrugged. “I never need one; I have the power to create my own doors.”
Show off. “Do you really think this is going to work?”
“Why don’t you just try, kitten?” Atticus said softly. “What have we got to lose?”
Besides this really rare coin? Nothing, I guess.
Here goes then…
I stepped in front of the large door and placed my hand on the stone surface. It was cool beneath my touch, and I could feel the energy of the curse binding the door shut rippling through the stone.
I clasped the drachma in my hand tightly and whispered the incantation that would open any door.
A breeze fluttered past the back of my neck, a whisper of energy flowing around me, but the door remained steadfast. That was disappointing.
I stepped back and pulled my hand away. “Does anyone have any other ideas?”
“Try again,” Thane encouraged.
“But go beyond the power of your Reaper,” Erebus said darkly.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Rafe asked, echoing my own thoughts.
The Primordial was speaking in riddles. Maybe he’d spent so long down here he’d gone mad.
Erebus looked at the guys with an obnoxiously arched brow. “Did you miss her display in the main Vault?”
“My what?” What did I do in the Vault?
Atticus took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. His face pinched with concern, and I could feel an uneasiness through our bond.
Urgh, this couldn’t be good.
“You sat up and spoke a different language,” he said. “And your eyes went black.”
That was not what I was expecting. “A different language?”
“Yep,” Magnus added. “I didn’t recognise it, but it was really creepy.”
“It was Infernal Tongue,” Erebus declared, his voice a lazy drawl. “You all hail from the Underworld; how can you not recognise it?”
“It’s not really spoken anymore,” Thane said sadly. “You will only hear it in the realms of Tartarus now.”
Erebus’s eyes emptied of their ferocity and glazed over as he stared back at Thane. “That is a shame. It was always a wonderful language to hear.”
I could translate it if I needed to, but with it being a near-extinct language, it wasn’t something I came across anymore, so I didn’t get to practise it. “Did anyone hear what I said?”
“No,” Atticus replied. “We were all a bit busy with Erebus’ grand entrance.”
Erebus chuckled and walked towards me. Instinctively, I braced myself against the possibility of an attack.
“You may believe what you like, but the evidence would suggest that there is something more to you beneath the surface. I can sense that and I have known this version of you for all of five minutes. Perhaps you should look to this gut that you are so fond of and see if that holds some inspiration.” Erebus took my hand and placed it back on the stone door. “Try again.”
A spark of electricity zipped through my fingers where his hand rested on mine. I closed my eyes and gripped the drachma in my other hand. I clutched it so tightly that there was probably going to be an imprint of Charon’s face in my palm.
I called my death magic to the surface, letting it flow through me and around the Drachma. I tugged the strands of my power until it pulsed through the air, vibrating against my skin and humming through the stone.
“Dig deeper,” Erebus breathed, his voice steady and soft.
I could hear the others squabbling over something, probably why Erebus was still holding my hand, but I tuned them out. The world faded, and my focus narrowed to the feel of the drachma in my hand, Erebus’ touch and the darkness stirring deep in my soul.
I pulled it to the surface, and it felt like something otherworldly. Something alien.
It was cold, and it doused the fire of my Reaper, chilling me from my core all the way to the tips of my fingers. Air froze in my lungs; ice ran through my veins.
What the hell was this?
The stone began to tremble beneath my fingers.
“That’s it,” Erebus said, spurring me on. “Just a bit more.”
I grasped at more of the darkness, but it was coming too quickly. I couldn’t stop the flow of it. It poured through me, like a tidal wave, overflowing until I could sense it in every atom of my being.
My feet lifted in the air, and wind howled around me, pulling at my hair and clothes. I lost myself in the darkness, the intoxicating pull of it sparking like lightning beneath my skin.
“Roux!” Someone shouted, but they sounded so far away. I couldn’t tell who it was.
The power surged, electrifying the air around me. It was terrifying, impossible, and beautiful. I could rewrite the stars, change someone’s fate. Hell, I could make the world bend to me. I could—
Hands grabbed my face, pulling me back from the brink of madness. Bright red eyes bored into mine, and I gasped as my mind cleared and the world came back into focus.
“The door,” Erebus gritted out. His jaw was clenched, and his hands trembled with the effort of holding onto me.
I nodded and whispered Charon’s enchantment.
Everything within me detonated as my energy fuelled the spell.
Erebus flew backwards, and I dropped to the floor.
My knees buckled, my body not having the strength to hold me upright.
My vision blurred, and I felt hollow, like my soul had been ripped from me.
I’d used every bit of power I could, but at least it seemed to be working.
The stone vibrated, dust falling from the ceiling as the door shook and began to crumble.
“Get back!” Atticus shouted right before the door exploded.
I coughed as the dust kicked up by the door opening hit my lungs.
Light filtered through, making the particles swirl and dance in graceful arcs.
I crossed the threshold into the room where Prometheus had left us at the beginning of our journey into the Vault, and I found my own little welcoming committee waiting for us.
Hermes, who was Zeus’ little errand boy, stood with Prometheus, his hips cocked and that damn gold glitter twinkling in the air around him. The last time Hermes appeared was in my office, and I still had glitter embedded in the carpet.
His green eyes sparked with mischief as he watched us exit the Vault. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
Nobody said anything. We’d literally been caught with our hands in the proverbial cookie jar, and Hermes knew it.
His face had a smugness written all over it, like he couldn’t wait to tell anyone and everyone who’d listen to him about the juiciest bit of gossip.
Our names were about to be all over the lips of the Council of Gods, and not in a good way.
Prometheus stood behind him, looking sheepish and trying to blend into the background. He wasn’t doing a very good job of that though. The guy was far too pretty to disappear. With sandy blonde hair and eyes like mercury, he looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine.
Hermes pulled a letter out of his pocket and strolled towards me, that smug little smirk making him look cocky. “I’ve come to deliver this. You’ve been summoned, Roux.”
I took the envelope from him. “Summoned?”
“Yep,” he replied. “My guess is it has something to do with your little trip into Zeus’ little Vault.”
My name was printed on the heavy card stock in bold letters, the writing steady and firm. Purposeful. I flipped it over and found a gold seal on the back with a lightning bolt embossed in it.
Shit.
That was Zeus’ symbol. We were in a lot of trouble.
Rafe and Rayne inched closer, sensing my unease through our bond. It was usually comforting to know that they were there for me, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty. They were all going to be in so much trouble because of me.
“What is it, Roux?” Thane asked, his voice calm and steady.
“It’s from Zeus.” I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the little symbol, dread rising in my stomach the longer I stared at it.
“I can’t imagine any good will come of that,” Thane mused. “What does it say?”
I broke the seal, the crack of the wax loud in the stone chamber. I glanced up at Hermes and found him watching me like a hawk. “You’ve delivered your message. You can go now.”
“Spoilsport,” he replied with a pout. “But I know when I’m not wanted. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”
And with that ominous warning, he disappeared in a cloud of glitter, and I was left with the others holding a piece of paper that felt heavier than it should have.
“We all made the choice to go with you,” Rafe said, accurately guessing my thoughts.
“We will all face this together,” Magnus added, his face solemn and serious.
At that moment, he looked like the King that I knew him to be.
I sometimes forgot that he ruled an entire species of supernaturals.
When we’d been together, I’d spent more time with him behind closed doors where he could be free from the gaze of the royal vampire court.
He’d been fun, and quick to smile, but recently he seemed to have lost himself to duty and the demands of others.
Slowly losing himself, piece by little piece, until I barely recognised the man in front of me.
He’d got some of that spark I loved back after reuniting with the twins, but it didn’t help the heartache I felt every time I looked at him.
I unfolded the paper, took a deep breath and read the words from the King of the Gods.
Roux. Be at my temple at the rise of the next sun, or fate may deliver a consequence to your loved ones that would be unspeakably macabre. Do not disobey my command.
Yours, Zeus.
Well, shit.