He stopped and narrowed his gaze on them, his hands fisting. A head-exploding ache tore through his temples. Only when he peered straight ahead and forced the image of what hed seen out of his mind did the ache lessen.
In and out he breathed. His thoughts fogged, then cleared. Then he couldnt recall what hed been upset about in the first place. Oh, well. In, out. In, out. Clearer and clearer. The air carried the sweet scent of ambrosia, he realized. To keep visitors pliant?
If only that kind of thing worked on him. But the goddesses who lived here could have pumped gasoline through the vents, and it wouldnt have affected him. His demon loved all things devious, clandestine and potentially life-threatening. And maybe, just maybe, that love would prevent the bastard from cracking the floor Kane stood upon or from unraveling the ceiling above him, the need for calamity sated for just a little while.
A guy could hope, anyway.
Kane jumped back into motion. He had a purpose, didnt he? Oh, yeah. The Moirai had summoned him. Why the hell had they summoned him?
Whatever the reason, hed smile like a good little boy. He did not want to piss off the Moirai, and in his current what-the-fuck-is-happening state of mind, he had to be extra careful. They were neither Greek nor Titanhe didnt know what they wereand yet, neither godly race had ever raised a hand against the three females who lived here, and they never would. Because the Moirai were the weavers of Fate. They spun and they wove, and the scenes they created happened. Always.
No one approached them without a summons. Not even Cronus, the god king. And in all of Kanes centuries, he had never met anyone who had received one. Until today. He, Disaster, was the lucky recipient.
Hed just returned from town, having spent the entire night searching for Hunters. Finding noneStrider must have killed them all before he left, the greedy bastardhed fallen straight into bed, still wearing his weapons, leather and boots. Before he could switch off his lamp, a glowing string had unfurled from his ceiling, a yellowed scroll hanging from the end.
Hed read the parchment, as confused then as he was now. A cross between a wedding invitation and a prescription medicine wrapper, the thing had been written in ancient Greek.
You are cordially invited to the Temple of the Fates. Failure to appear could result in decapitation or death.
Decapitation or death? Really? Then, an instant later, his surroundings had faded and hed been standing inside this temple, those walls of thread all around him. Hed kicked into gear, thinking any hesitation on his part would result in that decapitation. Or death.
So while he knew where he was, what he didnt know was why. Why him? Why now?
Guess hed find out.
The wall tapestries seemed to go on forever, but finallyunfortunately?he reached the end of the line and entered aweaving room? Three women, hags really, sat on wooden stoops, hunched over, long white hair frizzing over their shoulders. All three wore white robes, pristine and unwrinkled.
The one with hands spotted by ageKlotho, he knew from the legends surrounding themspun the threads. The one with gnarled fingers, Lachesis, wove the strands together, and the one with pupil-less eyes, Atropos, snipped the ends.
Kane pressed his lips together, silent. He waited to be acknowledged, respectful of a power far greater than his own. And perhaps thats why they had picked him, he thought then. None of the other Lords would have treated them with the deference they deserved and punishment would have had to be issued.
If they only knew the truth. He might know how to dish the respect, but really, he was the groups biggest screwup. The one who couldnt do anything right. The one left behind because he had a tendency to cause more harm than good. He never dropped his smile, though. Not here, and not around his friends. He didnt want them to know the truth. He didnt want them to know that, inside, he was just one big, steaming pile of mess.
For the most part, he operated on autopilot. When his demon became too much for himthe need to let go, the desire to obliterate, forget, pretend, filling him uphedid things. Destroyed things.
Sabin, keeper of Doubt and the warrior Kane would have followed straight into hell, knew. But Sabin was the only one who did, and, not surprisingly, Sabin approved of his violence, even helped him channel it. Before taking off with his wife, Sabin had left him a little present. Part of him was eager to go back, to do what needed doing. The other part of him was content to remain here, waiting. Hed ignored that present to head into town, after all, thinking to resist the temptation. Hed even planned to nap upon his return. Anything to save his soul from further damage. But how much longer would he have lasted?
He stood there, waiting to be acknowledged, for an hour, perhaps two. Usually inactivity provoked his demon to act, creating some disaster or another. Maybe it was the ambrosia as hed hoped, or maybe the demon was as afraid of the hags as everyone else in the heavens, but Disaster behaved, not even humming in the back of Kanes mind, though that sound rarely ever faded.
Why are you here, boy? Klotho finally asked, her voice a cackle of smoke. She never looked up from her task.
Uh, what now? I received your summons. My lady, he added. Gods, he was such an ass-kisser. But a guy had to do what a guy had to do. He was wearing his cup, yeah, but that didnt mean he should hang a sign on his nuts, requesting someone kick him there.
Summon you? Why, that was thousands of years ago, Lachesis replied. Im sure of it.
Sure of it, Atropos echoed. Yet you never came.
And so your summons was revoked.
You may leave the way you came.
He could only gape at them. Theyd summoned him thousands of years ago? Why hadnt they decapitated him, then, for his failure to appear? I mean no disrespect, but I only just now received your kind invitation.
Not our fault.
You probably werent paying attention.
Perhaps youll learn to pay attention.
You may leave the way you came.
Reverence was one thing. Not having his curiosity assuaged was quite another. Besides, if theyd brought him here to impart words of wisdom that could save him and his friends, or to issue words of warning, he damn well wanted to hear those words. Therefore, he wasnt leaving without them.
May I purchase the information from you? he asked.
What information?
Who said anything about information?
Youre a dotty one, arent you?
You may leave the way you came.
He flicked his tongue against one of his incisors. If you didnt wish to inform me of something, all those thousands of years ago he was careful to keep his ire out of his tone then why did you summon me in the first place? The same question, asked in a roundabout way. Come on, take the bait. Tell me.
Klotho, do you recall the last time someone tried to talk circles around us?
Oh, yes, Lachesis. We wove her into the never-ending.
The never-ending what?
Perhaps shes learned her lesson.
Perhaps she hasnt yet learned her lesson.
She didnt leave the way she came.
Who is she? he asked, standing his ground. A stupid move, perhaps, but he couldnt leave the way hed come, so what choice did he have? Flashing himself from one location to another with only a thought wasnt an ability he possessed.
She? She is your girl, of course, Atropos said.
He blinked. My girl, what?
The one in the never-ending.
No, no, Klotho said. Shes not his. The other one is. Or is it the other way around?
Mayhap they both are his, Lachesis countered.
Shes mine? Theyre mine? he gasped out. His what? Lovers? If so, no thanks. Been there, destroyed too many because of that. His women suffered, always. His demon made sure of it. Kane was better off alone.
Of course shes yours, though not the one in the never-ending. She belongs to no one. Unless she does, in fact, belong to you.
The three cackled.
Good one, sister mine. Ill have to remember that for the warriors next summons.
Who does or doesnt belong to me? he asked, gaze darting from one hag to the other. Next summons?
Irresponsibility, of course.
Irresponsibility, he echoed. As in, the keeper of Irresponsibility? Kane knew the immortal was out there. Thered been more demons in Pandoras box than naughty warriors, so the gods, desperate to contain the leftovers, had given them to the prisoners of Tartarus. Irresponsibility was one such leftover.
Hed even looked forher. Shit. Hed always assumed the keeper was a man. His mistake, and one he wouldnt make again. He and his friends wanted all demon-possessed immortals on their side. Which meant finding them before the Hunters did.
After all, Galen, keeper of Hope and the Hunters leader, could convince anyone of anything. And the last thing the Lords needed was for him to convince their brethren to destroy them.
Didnt I just say that? one of them asked.
You just said that.
Youre not too bright, are you, boy?
How do I get her out of the never-ending? he asked, ignoring the question. He might not want a girlfriend, but he wanted to find this female demon-keeper. What could she do? What powers did she wield? What is the never-ending, anyway?
How does he not know the answers to these questions?
Didnt we tell him these answers already?
Perhaps our time line is off again, Klotho said.
Again? How often did that happen? Better questionwhat were the consequences when it was off?
Should we rewind?
Should we leap forward?
Dear gods. Neither option seemed wise.
Yes, they said in unison, shaking the tapestry they were working on. A moment passed in silence, then another.
Then, What are you doing here, boy?
Kane found himself blinking again. Nothing had changed. Not his surroundings, not the women. Everything was the same as when hed first entered the room, yet theyd forgotten he was here?
Had they rewound? Had they fast-forwarded? Shit. If so, what did that mean for him? You summoned me, he croaked out.
Yes, yes. We summoned you.
Only this morn, too. Good of you to come so quickly.
Impressive.
They must have rewound thousands of goddamn years. When he left this temple, would he return to ancient Greece? His stomach clenched.
Such a worrier, you are.
Could they read his thoughts then, as well as manipulate time? He really should have taken their advice and left the way hed come. This wasthis was as messed up as he was.
As if we would disrupt the fabric of time for you.
You will return the way you came.
Thank the gods. You mentioned a female.
I didnt mention a female. Did you mention a female?
Not me. I dont mention a female to the keeper of Disaster for thousands of years.
Perhaps our time line is off again.
Again, they shook the tapestry in their hands. He waited it out through several heartbeats of silence, his mouth dry, his knees knocking.
II think Ill leave the way I came, Kane said, backing away inch by inch. He couldnt take any more of this. They simply werent capable of giving him a straight answer, their minds unable to differentiate between the past and the future. I thank you for inviting me, though, and for your hospitality. If you could just point the way out
Atropos, her eyes so white they resembled a blanket of snow, lifted her head from her scissors and seemed, impossibly, to be peering over at him. Finally, you present yourself to us. After all this time, we had given up.
He massaged the back of his neck. Did everyone who was summoned go through this? Yes, finally. He backed up one step, two. I apologize for your wait and I thank you again for your time, but I really must
Quiet. Lachesis glanced up, as well, though her gnarled fingers never stilled. We always know what happens, but never why it happens. You have made us wonder and wonder, and we would at last like an answer.
An answer to what? he asked, pausing, unsure he wanted to know.
The third hag, Klotho, did not follow the others lead and glance at him. She simply said, We want to know why you began the Apocalypse, and continued spinning her threads without a care.
CHAPTER NINE
LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT, Kaia whispered fiercely. When you said scout the competition, you actually meant scout the competition?
Strider cast her a quick glance as they used their elbows to pull the weight of their bodies along the twig- and dirt-laden ground. The moon was high and full, but with the canopy of leaves above them, its golden light skimmed the branches, never quite reaching them. No prob, though, because hed trained his eyes to cut through darkness and zero in on the details that mattered.
Except tonight, he was concentrating on all the details that didnt matter.
Unimportant: Kaia looked sexier than ever. His own personal GI Jane dollthe X-rated edition. Shed painted her face black and green to better blend into the night, and wore a black bandanna over her mass of red waves. Her short shorts had Booty Camp stamped across the ass.
Strider kept envisioning the vigorous de rigueur training at such a camp. The hands-on instructing. The type of discipline dished out to the attendees who misbehaved.
Hello, Stridey-Monster.
Just what he neededhis dick as hard as a steel pipe and rubbing against the ground, leaving a telltale trail. That damn kiss had ruined everything. Had he kept his tongue to himself, he could have continued thinking of Kaia as a friend and only a friend. Now, he just wanted to convince her that blow jobs were a mandatory part of their arrangement.
Dont you dare speak up, he told his demon.
Silence.
Whew. Youre damn straight I meant wed scout them, he finally said. A sharp stone scraped his stomach and he welcomed the sting. Helped clear his perspective. A discussion about goalsgood. Fantasizing about his companionbad. So, so wonderfully bad. Whatd you think I meant?