Much as you love Legion, Paris began, once again dragging Aeron from the sharply tangled mire of his thoughts. He tossed a stone at the building across from them before draining the rest of the flask. She cant meet all your needs.
Meaning sex. Could they not abandon this topic once and for all? Aeron sighed. He hadnt bedded a woman in years, perhaps centuries. They simply werent worth the effort. Because of Wrath, his desire to hurt them soon outweighed his desire to please them. More, as tattooed and battle-hardened as Aeron was, he had to work for every scrap of affection he received. Females were scared of himand rightly so. Softening them required time and patience he didnt have. After all, there were a thousand other, more important things he could be doing. Things like training, guarding his home, guarding his friends. Indulging Legions every whim.
I have no such needs. And for the most part, that was true. Disciplined as he was, he rarely indulged in pleasures of the flesh. Only time he did so was while alone. I have everything I desire. Now, did we come here to share our feelings or find you a lover?
With a growl, Paris tossed the empty flask as hed tossed the stone. It slammed into the buildings wall, plumes of dust and rock filling the air. One day, someones going to fascinate you, draw and ensnare you, and youll crave her with every cell in your body. I hope she drives you insane. I hope, for a little while at least, she denies you, leading you on a merry chase. Perhaps then youll understand a glimmer of my pain.
If thats whats necessary to repay the favor you did me, then Ill gladly endure such a fate. Ill even beseech the gods for it. Aeron couldnt imagine ever wanting a female, immortal or human, so much that it disrupted his life. He wasnt like the other warriors, who constantly sought companionship. He truly was happiest when he was alone. Or rather, alone with Legion. Besides, he was too proud to chase after someone who didnt return his ardor.
But hed meant what he said. For Paris, hed endure anything. Did you hear that, Cronus? he shouted to the heavens. Send me a female. One who will torment me. One who will deny me.
Cocky bastard. Paris chuckled. What if he actually sends you this unattainable female?
Gods, that amusement pleased him. It was so like the old Paris. Doubtful. Cronus wanted the warriors focused on defeating Galen. Which had been his obsession ever since Danika had predicted the god king would die by Galens hand.
As the All-Seeing Eye, Danikas predictions were always accurate. Even the bad ones. But there was a silver lining: those visions could be used to elicit change. At least in theory.
But what if? Paris prompted when his silence dragged on too long.
If Cronus answers my plea, Ill enjoy the ride, Aeron lied with a grin. Now, enough about me. Lets do what we came here to do. He sat up and peered down at the street, scanning the thinning crowd.
To preserve the roads, cars werent allowed in this part of town, so everyone had to hoof it. Thats why hed picked this location. Pulling a female out of a moving vehicle wasnt something he enjoyed. This way, Paris had only to make his selection and Aeron would spread his wings and fly the warrior down. One glance at the gorgeous blue-eyed devil, and the chosen female would stop and gasp. Sometimes a smile was all that was needed to convince her to strip, right there in public, where anyone lurking in the alleyways could watch.
You wont find anyone, Paris said. Ive already looked.
What abouther? He pointed to a plump, scantily dressed blonde.
No. No hesitation. Tooobvious.
Here we go again, he thought with dread, but gestured to another woman. And her? This one was tall and perfectly curved with a short cap of red hair. And she was dressed conservatively.
No. Too mannish.
What the hell does that mean?
That I dont want her. Next.
For the ensuing hour, Aeron pointed out potential bedmates and Paris shot them down for variousridiculousreasons. Too pristine, too rumpled, too tan, too pale. The only rejection that mattered was Ive had her before and as many as Paris had had, Aeron heard that one a lot.
Youre going to have to settle on one eventually. Why not save us both the hassle, close your eyes and point. Whoever youre pointing at will be our winner.
Ive played that game once before. Ended up Paris shuddered. Never mind. Its not good to wander down that particular memory trail. So no. Just no.
What about His words halted abruptly as the woman hed been eyeballing disappeared in the shadows. She hadnt faded from view, as was natural. Normal. She had simply ceased to exist, there one moment, gone the next, the shadows somehow tugged to her as if theyd been jerked on a leash.
Aeron jumped to his feet, wings automatically pushing from the slits in his bare back and expanding. We have a problem.
Whats wrong? Paris, too, sprang to his feet. Even though he wavered slightly from the ambrosia, he was still a soldier and palmed a dagger.
The dark-haired female. Did you see her?
Which one?
That answered Aerons question. No, Paris hadnt seen her. If he had, the warrior wouldnt have needed to ask of whom Aeron spoke.
Come on. Aeron snaked his arms around his friends waist and leapt from the building. Wind blasted through Pariss multicolored locks, whipping several strands against his face as the ground loomed closercloser still Be on the lookout for a woman with shoulder-length black hair, straight as a pin, roughly five-ten, early twenties, black clothing. Most likely shes more than human.
Kill?
Capture. I have questions for her. Like how shed disappeared like that. Like why she was here. Like who she worked for.
Immortals always had an agenda.
Just before they hit concrete and stone, Aeron flapped his wings. He slowed just enough to land upright with only a mild jarring. He released his charge, and they instantly branched in separate directions. After thousands of years of fighting together, they knew how to proceed without first outlining every move.
As Aeron sprinted down the alleyway to his left, the direction the woman had been heading, he folded his wings back under their slits. He spotted several peoplea couple holding hands, a homeless male draining a bottle of whiskey, a man walking his dogbut no dark-haired female. He reached a brick wall and spun. Damn this. Was she like Lucien? Able to whisk herself to any location with only a thought?
Scowling, he kicked back into motion. Hed search every alley in the area if need be. Only, halfway down, the shadows around him thickened, consuming him, choking out the golden glow of the street lamps. Thousands of muted screams seemed to seep from the gloom. Tortured screams. Agonized screams.
He stopped, lest he slam into somethingor someoneand palmed two blades. What the hell was
A womanthe womanstepped from the shadows, only a few feet away from him. She was the only light in that sudden, vast expanse of dark. Her eyes were as black as the gloom around her, her lips as red and moist as blood. She was pretty, in a feral kind of way.
Wrath hissed inside his head.
For a moment, Aeron feared Cronus had actually listened to him after all and sent a female to torment him. But as he stared over at her, there was no heat in his veins, no flutter in his heartbeat, as hed heard the other Lords expound on whenever one found a female he just had to have. She was like any other to him: easily forgettable.
Well, well, well. Arent I a lucky girl. Youre one of them, a Lord of the Underworld, and you came to me, she said, her voice as raspy as smoke. I didnt even have to ask.
I am a Lord, yes. There was no reason to deny it. The townspeople recognized him and the others on sight. Some even thought they were angels. Hunters recognized them on sight, as well, but were all too quick to renounce them as demons. Either way, the information could hardly be used against him. And I did come looking for you.
At his easy confirmation, her features revealed a hint of surprise. A great honor, to be sure. Why were you looking?
I want to know who are you. Better questionwhat was she?
Maybe Im not as lucky as I thought. Those lush red lips dipped into a pout and she pretended to wipe away a tear. If my own brother doesnt recognize me.
Well, he now had part of his answer: she was a liar. I dont have a sister.
She arched a black brow. You sure about that?
Yes. He hadnt been born to a mother and father; Zeus, King of the Greek gods, had simply spoken him into existence. Same with all the Lords.
Stubborn. She tsked, reminding him of Paris. I shouldve known wed be just alike. Anyway, its so nice to finally catch one of you alone. Whod I get? Fury? Narcissism? Im right, arent I? Admit it, youre Narcissism. Thats why you plastered your body with tattoos of your own face. Nice. Can I call you Narci?
Fury? Narcissism? None of his brothers carried those demons. Doubt, Disease, Misery and many others, yes, but not those. He shook his headonly to remember that other demon-possessed immortals were out there. Immortals hed never met. Immortals he was supposed to find.
As he and his friends had been the ones to open Pandoras box, theyd always assumed they were the only ones cursed to house its evil. But Cronus had recently corrected that false assumption, gifting the Lords with scrolls bearing the names of others like them. Apparently, there had been more demons than warriors, and with the box nowhere to be found, the Greeksthe gods in power at the timehad placed the remaining demons inside the immortal prisoners of Tartarus.
A discovery that did not bode well for the Lords. As Zeuss former elite sentries, theyd locked many of those prisoners awayand criminals often lived only for vengeance. Something Wrath had taught him well.
Hello, the woman prompted. Anyone home?
He blinked down at her, cursing himself. Hed allowed himself to be distracted in the presence of a possible enemy. Fool. Who I am is none of your concern. That was information that could be used against him. Especially since lately, Wrath was so easily provoked the most innocent of statements could send itand therefore Aeroninto that murderous craze, placing this town and all of its citizens in danger.
He blamed the angel stalking him.
Except he couldnt blame the angel when Wrath began snarling inside his mind, clawing at his skull, desperate to act. To hurt. The demons keenest ability was, and had always been, sensing the sins of anyone nearby. And this womans, he suddenly realized, were vast.
Ill take your sudden black expression as a no. Youre not Narci, and no ones home.
Stoptalking He gripped his temples, cool blades pressed against his skin, trying to stop the mental bombardment he knew was coming, another distraction he could ill afford. Useless. Her multitude of sins played through his head at once, like movies on split screens. She had recently tortured a man, had chained him to a chair and set him on fire. Before that, she had gutted a female. She had tricked, and she had stolen. Had abducted a child from his home. Had lured a male to her bed and sliced his throat. Violenceso much violenceso much terror and pain and darkness. He could hear the screams of her victims, could smell burnt flesh and taste blood.
Perhaps shed had good reason for doing those things. Perhaps not. Either way, Wrath wanted to punish her, using her own crimes against her. First it would chain her, then gut her, then slice her throat and set her on fire.
That was the way of Aerons demon. It beat beaters, murdered murderers, as well as everything in between. So yes, at Wraths urging, Aeron had done those things. Many times. Now, he clenched every muscle in his body, locking his bones in place. Steady. Cant lose control. Have to stay sane. But gods, the need to castigateso stronga need he liked more than he should have. As usual.
Why are you here in Budapest, woman? Good. That was good. Slowly he lowered his arms.
Wow, she said, ignoring his question. That was quite a display of restraint.
Shed known his demon wanted to hurt her?
So let me guess. She tapped a nail against her chin. Youre not Narci, so you have to beChauvinist. Right again, arent I? You think a pretty little thing like me cant handle the truth. Mistake. But no matter. Keep your secrets. Youll learn, though. Oh, yes, youll learn.
Are you threatening me, female?
Again she ignored him. Word on the street is Cronus gave you the scrolls and you plan to use them to hunt us down. To use us. Perhaps even slay us.
Aerons stomach bottomed out. One, she knew about the scrolls when he and his friends had only just learned of them. Two, she knew she was on that list. Which meant this woman was indeed an immortaland a criminaland if she was to be believed, she was also demon-possessed.
Aeron didnt recognize her, which meant he and his friends hadnt been the ones to imprison her. That meant shed come before their time in the heavens. And that meant she was a Titan and a greater threat, for the Titans were far more savage than their Greek counterparts.
Worse, the now-freed Titans were currently in charge. She might have godly help.
Which demon do you carry? he demanded, not above using its weaknesses against her.
She offered a wicked grin, his hard tone clearly amusing her. You didnt share that information with me. Why should I share anything with you?
Infuriating woman. You said us. He looked over her shoulder, half expecting someone to leap forward and attack him. All he saw was darknessand all he heard were more of those muted screams. Where are these others?
Hell if I know. She splayed her arms, her hands out and empty, as if she didnt think he warranted the use of a weapon. Im on my own, just like always, and thats the way I like it.
Probably another lie. What woman would approach a fearsome Lord of the Underworld without backup? He didnt relax his guard as he met her gaze. If youre here to war with us, know that
War? She laughed. When I could kill you all while you sleep? No, Im just here to deliver a warning. Call off the dogs or Ill wipe your presence from this world. And if anyone can do so, its me.