She closed her eyes and shook her head as though trying to create some clarity and get back to her usual no-nonsense self. “I mean . . . I guess I sort of sense things sometimes, things that end up happening. God, my head hur--”
The glass slipped from her fingers and shattered as she gripped her head and screamed.
Before I could even go to her, her eyes began to glow again and she started speaking. Some words were in Apollo’s language and some in English.
My father knelt before her and I knew he was translating, committed her words to memory. It was quick and shocking and over almost as soon as it began.
Michel and Dub helped her into the house as the staff went back inside with orders to prepare multiple rooms. First, they would settle Jenna and then come back for Apollo. My father would be staying as well.
As they left, Sebastian and I stayed behind with my father. “The blood on the fountain.” I glanced toward Apollo. “We need to collect as much of it as we can.”
“You learn fast, daughter. I’ll take care of it.”
I’d kind of had to learn fast, given what I’d been through at Athena's hands. And one of those things I'd learned was that anytime there was blood from the gods available for the taking, one had to take and be quick about it. It came in very useful...
FOUR
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Apollo was snug in one of Michel’s guest beds. Jenna was resting down the hall, and my father had taken up residence in a chair near her bedside to catch any utterances she might have. Any clues as to what had happened to Archer were paramount.
Impatience had grown inside of me, filling me up, pushing at the seams until it felt like I’d explode. I wanted to do something, make tracks, start the search, fight. Fight hard. Hurt the one responsible. Anything other than waiting.
Archer was out there somewhere.
Small. Helpless.
I grabbed the cool wrought iron railing that ran along the second story balcony facing the courtyard, squeezing hard as I stared blankly at the broken fountain below. I couldn’t let Archer get hurt. Not after everything he'd been through. Not after I'd promised to keep him safe.
“You squeeze that railing any tighter, you might break it.” Sebastian crossed the floor, hands tucked into the front pockets of faded jeans. “Or turn it to stone.” He wore the shadow of a smile, but his eyes were troubled and stormy.
“I’m about ready to turn this whole place to stone. How could Apollo just lose him? He’s a god.” Sebastian remained quiet as he settled beside me at the rail. I cast an assessing look his way. “You're pretty calm all things considered.”
Darkness slid over his features like a coming storm. “Whoever took Archer is as good as dead.” The low, lethal tone made a cold shiver run beneath my skin. “And if they've hurt him...” He switched his attention to the patio door as the members of the new Council filed onto the balcony. “I'll destroy them, inch by fucking inch.”
I let out a slow breath. He could do it too. There was a darkness inside of Sebastian Lamarliere, one that lingered just beneath the surface. It was wicked and quick to strike, precise, and downright arctic. He used it to his advantage, to protect those he loved. If there was such a thing as a noble darkness, then Sebastian had it. In spades.
“And I'll hold them down while you do it,” I muttered, pushing away from the railing. “Let's get this show started. I’m about to jump out of my skin.”
I moved closer to the large table, but didn’t sit down, instead standing behind my empty chair. I was too anxious to sit, too impatient, mentally urging everyone to hurry up, so we could start. As I chewed on my lip, Michel brought everyone up to speed while we awaited my father.
Of the now defunct Council of Nine, the conglomerate that had run New 2 since its inception, there was four here now: Two leaders of the most powerful witch families in the city, Rowen Hawthorne and, of course, Michel Lamarliere. And two leaders of the demi-god/shifters, Bran Ramsey and Nikolai Deschanel.
Of the remaining five members of the Council of Nine, or the Novem as they were collectively known, two were confirmed dead, two were unknown, and one, Nell Cromley, head of the third witch family in New 2, had not pursued a seat on our new council--which was all fine and good by me, seeing as how she'd kept neutral in the fight against Athena when we could have used the help.
Sebastian and I were now members, and the last member, Theron, my father, finally stepped from the house.
All talk came to a halt as he pulled out a chair and sat heavily. “Unfortunately, Apollo doesn't know who attacked him and took Archer. He was attacked mid-trace.” He paused and shook his head, something akin to admiration in his look. “As far as tactics go, you couldn’t pick a better one to use. Any being or god would be caught totally unaware for the simple fact that it just isn’t done.”
“This info comes from him?” I asked.
“No, from Jenna.”
“Can we trust its accuracy?” Rowen asked, tucking a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear.
“The visions she relayed were from Apollo himself.”
“How can this be possible, to attack mid-trace?” Nikolai asked, his European accent still clinging to his words after a century here in the South. “In all my years, I’ve never heard of such a thing.” His dark eyes held suspicion. With his dark hair to match, Nikolai put me in mind of a gypsy king, and I could envision him as the black wolf shifter that he was. He had a ferociousness, a wildness about him that screamed alpha. “One would have to possess the ability to track a trace while it happened. And then to intercept in the ether...”
A long silence descended on the group as everyone contemplated the enormity of what had happened.
If someone had figured out how to attack mid-trace--a most vulnerable time--than no one was really safe, not even the gods.
“I suppose it might be possible,” Michel reasoned. “Say, if Apollo had a marker, a spell or talisman of some sort placed upon him that someone might then follow. It'd have to be powerful witchcraft, god-like, really.”
“I think I can help with that,” Rowen offered. “Let me examine him. If I'm able to detect any magic on him, I might be able to pinpoint the type used at least.”
“If it was some kind of marker or spell, it would’ve been placed on him before he left home.” I shared a wary look with Sebastian. There was a betrayer in Olympus.
“Ari and I are the only ones here who can travel to Olympus,” Sebastian said, shifting his attention from me to Rowen. “You give us something to look for and we'll find it.”
“We'll need to contact Artemis,” I added. “She and Menai just left Olympus to spend the next six months in Egypt with Horus.”
“Are you sure they’ve left already?” my father asked.
I nodded. “Henri went with them. They left this morning.”
“Wouldn't hurt to have those two gods on our side,” Nikolai commented with a rare half smile at the understatement. “They could find Archer and heal Apollo in an instant.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Bran asked.
“It's not that easy,” Sebastian cautioned. “Apollo is probably the only one who knows how to get in touch with them.” Bran let out a disbelieving grunt. “Look, they’re gods. You’re related to one, you should know. They don’t exactly feel the need to have cell phones or back up plans, not when they can pop in and out of Olympus in the blink of an eye.”
I had to agree. “He’s right. Artemis probably planned to check in with Apollo at some point, but she wouldn't do it so soon, not after a few hours have passed. And if he needed her, he'd contact her.”
“Great,” Bran said, “so where does that leave us?”
After a moment of thought, my father answered. “Hestia. As the Cupbearer of the gods, there’s a chance she might know something, though I’m with Sebastian... I can’t see Artemis giving anyone the means to find or contact the Egyptian god realm. Horus wouldn’t allow it.” Gods guarded their pantheon realms closely. A g
od from one pantheon couldn’t simply appear in the pantheon of another. If that were possible, the gods would have gone extinct eons ago with all their battles and wars and conflicts.
One had to be invited or escorted in.
“So, no easy way to get in touch with Horus and Artemis.” Bran drummed his fingers on the table. “Perfect. Gods and their egos, never thinking anything can possibly go wrong.”
“I'll go to Egypt,” Sebastian said suddenly, meeting my gaze. “Splitting up will give us more options and save time. You head to Olympus and I’ll go to Egypt and find Horus.”
“His temple isn’t in the human realm,” I said, feeling a sense of unease.
“No, but I've been there before, remember? Legends say that the layout, the river, and the temples in the god realm mirror those built along the Nile in ancient times. They’re connected. All I have to do is locate one of his temples and then get his attention.”
Talk about optimistic. Nothing was ever that simple. “How are you going to do that?”
He shrugged. “I don't know. Make a scene. Destroy the temple if I have to. If I can get there quickly, this might be our best option.”
“If Rowen and I put our power together,” Michel said, “we might be able to send you there. We'd need something to focus on...”
“There are Egyptian artifacts in the library,” she said, which I knew to be fact since I’d seen plenty of them there. There were artifacts from all over the globe and beyond. If we could find something from Horus's temple in the human realm, that would put Sebastian as close as he could get. “With the upgrades Theron gave the Keeper during its repair, it should be able to help us locate an object belonging to one of Horus’s temples in no time.”
“All right,” Bran said, the impatience in his voice clear as day. “We might have a possible suspect in Olympus or at the very least someone with access who was able to travel there long enough to place a tracking spell on the god. If Rowen finds the clues she’s looking for on Apollo, Ari will go to Olympus while Sebastian goes to Egypt.”
He exchanged a glance with my father and lifted a brow. “I can see it in your face. You’re tempted, Theron. But you’re not going.”
Those two warriors got along very well, but clearly my father did not like being told what to do. As they stared at each other with challenge in their eyes, I had to agree with Bran. “He’s right. You showing up in Olympus when you haven’t been there since you escaped, would be a huge red flag.” And not only that, but he had vowed never to set foot in Olympus again, not after the years of torture he endured there. Even if it wasn't a red flag, I’d do anything I could to prevent him from revisiting that part of his past.
“Another thing to consider,” Michel began, clearing his throat, and moving on from the stare-down contest between my father and Bran. “Is who else knows Archer lives. I think it’s safe to assume he’s the likely target here rather than Apollo. The child was practically born with enemies and followers already in place, those who’d stop at nothing to possess him or end his existence.”
A sense of weight seemed to fall upon the assembled group. Around the table sat some of those who had been witness to Archer’s resurrection and Athena's demise. And while we had hoped to keep Archer's existence a secret, there were just too many variables that night.
“So who benefits most from Archer’s kidnapping?” Nikolai asked.
“The Salian Front,” Bran and Rowen answered in unison. “But not to kill him,” Bran clarified, “to bring about the death of the gods.”
“And if the Blood Wars prophecy is true,” Rowen said, “the Front would do anything to get their hands on Archer.”
Hands slammed down on the glass top table, making me jump. Nikolai rose slowly, his big shoulders hunched as he leaned forward, his eyes glittering in anger. “I am of this Council, am I not?”
“Shit,” Bran cursed and rubbed his jaw.
Shit was right. Nikolai was out of the loop when it came to the fine print. We hadn’t confided anything about Archer other than the fact that he was Athena’s child and a relative of Sebastian’s. And Nikolai didn’t appreciate being the last one to know.
He waved an angry hand, his accent deepening with his anger. “You speak these things I know nothing about. This prophecy. This war. You want me, my House... Bah.” Disgusted, he shoved his chair back. “We do not need you.”
“Wait,” I blurted. “Please.” He stopped, his back to us. “Look, we didn’t tell because we were trying to protect Archer. We agreed even before the Council came together that we wouldn’t tell anyone else about him. To keep him safe, not to keep you out.”
“We can see now that was a mistake,” Rowen added with a respectful tone. “You have our apologies. Please, Nikola, sit down. You are and always have been an integral member of the Council, and we value your input.”
With an unimpressed grunt, Nikolai sat back down. He was not appeased, but at least he was willing to rejoin us. “Fine. What is this Blood War?”
My father cleared his throat and placed his elbows on the table. “I believe it best to start at the beginning, at the prophecy begun by Pandora. She lived in Olympus and was a favorite of Athena. In the tenth century, Pandora and Athena both became pregnant. When Athena's child was born--her first and only child--Dora had a vision and proclaimed the child, Archer, would one day bring about a Blood War that would bring down the gods, including Zeus.”
“And that happened,” Rowen explained. “When Zeus tried to kill Archer, Athena killed Zeus. That’s what started the War of the Pantheons.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what happened,” my father said. “Dora told the prophecy to Zeus, and he did what he’d always done, protected his position. He tried to kill Archer, his own grandson. Athena’s protective instincts went wild. She killed her father using a gorgon, a god-killer--one of Ari's ancestors--to turn him to stone. Unfortunately, he was holding Archer at the time. Her son lost to her, Athena turned her vengeance on Dora for uttering the prophecy in the first place, and she killed Dora's child as punishment. Dora then took the stone statue of Archer and vanished. Over the years Dora must have lost the statue since it ended up in the Novem’s collection. And you know the rest, when Athena invaded New 2 six months ago to force Ari to resurrect Archer, Pandora was waiting to kill Archer in front of Athena in retribution for the murder of her own child.”
“Athena might have started the War of the Pantheons when she killed Zeus, but the Blood Wars is a separate thing. It hasn’t happened yet,” Michel said to clear up any confusion.
“What does the child have to do with this war that hasn’t happened yet?” Nikolai asked.
“Archer is half god through Athena, and half vampire royalty. His father was a Bloodborn king.” Michel glanced over at Sebastian. “There has never been an offspring of a god and a vampire. Archer is the first and only. When he's grown, he’ll have the ability to drink the blood of the gods like they drink Ambrosia. It'll magnify his powers exponentially. He'll be unstoppable. And if he chooses to embrace his vampire side, he will usher in an age where the gods are no more or imprisoned to feed his need, and humans become chattel for a new vampire nation.”
“Aka, the Blood Wars,” Sebastian said. “Gods against vampires.”
The wheels were turning in Nikolai’s mind. He met Sebastian’s gaze. “Archer’s father . . . was one of your ancestors.”
Sebastian nodded. “Archer’s father was Légar Arnaud, Bloodborn King of the Salians, my great, great grandfather.”
“I knew Archer was related to you,” Rowen said. “But I didn’t know precisely how. I know quite a lot about the Salians. I teach a unit on them in my History class at Presby.”
“I’m familiar with the Front as well, of course. Their distaste for the gods is well known,” Nikolai said.
In the last few months, I had learned a lot about the Salian Front. If we were going to raise Archer and hopefully keep him away from their influence, I needed to know all I could about t
he enemy.
Distaste was putting it mildly.
The Front despised the gods. And with good reason.
The Salians went back thousands of years, their history in ancient Europe well known in the human world. In the supernatural world, there was more to it--the early Salian tribes hadn’t been up of humans only, but of a mix of vampire and human living in accord, each tribe consisting of families and extended families of human and vampire, centered around a noble or powerful family, a Bloodborn vampire family.
The Salians had it pretty good until Christianity; the influx of warring human tribes; and expanding empires began sweeping into their lands. The Salians saw themselves losing their hold on their way of life and the last thing they wanted was to be over-run and dominated by humans. So they decided to wipe out as many human tribes as they could.
The gods stepped in to stop the assault before it could begin. Athena and her army cut the vampire element down considerably, ending the Salian’s hopes for a vampire-ruled society. Salian vampires were forced to move into the background where they maintained control, using their human family to manipulate affairs and drive their chosen ones into positions of power in the Frankish kingdom. They’ve had their shadowy hand in the rise and fall of one dynasty after another ever since.
In defiance of the gods, the Salian Front was created. They wanted revenge not only for the slaughter of their people, but also for the life of their leader, Légar Arnaud, whom Athena imprisoned in order to keep the remaining Salian vampires under control.
Of course, Athena had no idea when she imprisoned Légar and subsequently had her one and only child by him that she would give birth to the Front's liberator and destroyer of gods.
“Well,” Bran said with a sigh, “if the Front knows of Archer’s existence, I can see two ways of that having happened. Either we have a very well-placed spy in our midst, or Pandora made sure the Front knew the truth--insurance in case she failed to kill Archer herself.” Because the next best thing in her mind would’ve been if Archer destroyed the gods.