Immortally Yours, An Urban Fantasy Romance (Monster MASH, Book 1) (33 page)

"Not yet, I don't think." She spoke into the phone. "What are they doing now?"
 

After listening, Shirley glanced up at me. "They're wailing and tearing at their hair."
 

Naturally. "Who are you talking to?"
 

"Elise from the 8071st. She's stuck at her desk, too."
 

"Right." Despite the sleep I'd had at Galen's, I was exhausted. Shirley had to be feeling ten times worse. "When are you getting out of here?"
 

She gave me a look that said,
Come on,
and I wondered why I even brought it up. We all knew the drill.
 

"Everyone's watching PNN down at the mess hall," she told me. "I'll meet you there after I get off."
 

"If you get off," I corrected, "and no thanks." I stretched my arms and realized I'd forgotten to put on a bra. "I'm going to bed."
 

"Those pants say you already did," she called after me as I banged out into the courtyard.
 

Everybody was a comedian.
 

Oh well. Let her laugh. At least now it was true.
 

She'd be at her desk or in front of a television while I'd be getting mine—barring prophecies, medical emergencies, or the end of the world.
 

Camp was quiet, save for the party going on down at the other end. Smoke billowed from the kitchen behind the mess tent. The chatter of the crowd echoed across the terrain.
 

I'd take a hot demi-god warrior over twenty-four-hour PNN coverage any day.
My
hot demi-god warrior. Oh my. My body warmed just thinking of it. Smiling, I headed to Galen's haven across the road. I knew exactly where I was going.
 

Of course I hadn't taken five steps when I heard Rodger. "Well, look who's not going home." The cheer in his voice was forced. He sounded tired.
 

"I'm a walking billboard," I said, turning around, displaying my oversized special ops duds. "No out-of-uniform jokes, okay?"
 

But there was no danger of that. Rodger just stood there outside recovery, looking pale and worn to pieces. His hair stood out at odd angles from under the sagging surgical cap he'd forgotten to take off.
 

"Hey, thanks for jumping in back there," I said, strolling over to him. I didn't like the expression on his face, like he'd seen a ghost. I was the only one who was supposed to see ghosts. I glanced at the ward behind him. "How are my patients doing?"
 

"Recovering well," he said, his voice curt. "What, were you just going to go back to Galen's and not even talk to me?"
 

Come on. "So now you're jealous about Galen?"
 

I really didn't need werewolf drama. I just wanted to reunite with my studly warrior and find a safe place to sleep for about a week.
 

Rodger rubbed a hand over his face. He looked like hell and needed a shave. "That's not it. I don't care what you do with your boyfriend. I've got a family to worry about."
 

That got my attention. "What? Is there something wrong with Mary Ann or the kids?" In the last month, Gabriel had gotten stuck in the dryer, Stephen decided to play Superman and jumped off the roof with a cape tied around his neck, and Kate shoved an entire rainbow of Skittles up her nose— again.
 

Frankly, it seemed more distressing to Mary Ann than the kids. And there was nothing we could do from down here.
 

"No," he said miserably. "Mary Ann and the kids are just fine and dandy. Perfect."
 

"Right." Something was definitely going on with Rodger. "You want to talk about it?"
 

Rodger stood stone-faced and glum.
 

"Okay." When my buddy wasn't ready to talk, no amount of prodding could get him to have it out. I'd have to wait to figure out what was up with him.
 

I hitched up the waist of Galen's pants. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Maybe he'd be ready to talk after a good night's sleep. "In the meantime..." I glanced over to Galen's tent, positively swamped with anticipation.
 

"Gods"—Rodger rolled his eyes—"bring back my jaded friend."
 

"She's on vacation."
 

"I can tell."
 

Yes, well, Rodger needed to snap out of it. "You should be glad to see me alive."
 

"I'm glad you're alive," he said, like a kid asked to recite math problems.
 

"Good," I said, tugging off his surgical cap and shoving it against his chest. "I'll see you tomorrow."
 

***

Galen rose as soon as I entered the tent. He wore fatigues and nothing else. "What happened?"
 

I sighed, burying my head against his chest, snuggling in as his arms wrapped around me. "Thaïs is in lockup."
 

"Good." His chest rumbled under my cheek.
 

"Mmm..." I wanted to forget Thaïs and Kosta and Rodger and everybody.
 

I let him hold me, indulging in the comfort, and—I'll admit it—taking a little rest.
 

It was like coming home after a long day. Only this time, I was sharing a tent with a devastatingly attractive demi-god who liked to feed me blueberries.
 

"Now where were we?" I asked, trailing my fingers down his side.
 

Galen chuckled, shaking me out of the catnap I'd begun to take. "You can't keep your eyes open," he said, as if that was the most amusing thing in the world.
 

"Can too," I said, trying to find his pant buttons with my eyes closed.
 

"Come on," he said, leading me to the bedroom.
 

"Well, if you insist." I wasn't going to argue locations with the man. And from what I recalled, his bed had been heavenly.
 

He pushed back the tent flaps to the back room.
 

Twinkling lights were strung across the ceiling, mimicking the night sky.
 

Those were new. "What'd you do?" I asked sinking down onto the softest mattress in the world.
 

"I took the time to turn them on."
 

"Ahh..." We had been in a bit of a rush.
 

As I picked out the Big Dipper in the starscape above, an uncomfortable thought tugged at me. "Kosta said the army is calling up soldiers out of recovery."
 

I wanted to hear him say it wouldn't be him.
 

The bed dipped as Galen eased down next to me. "That's always been their plan in case of emergency."
 

Wrong answer. "It's that bad," I said, unease settling over me.
 

"It's been getting worse for about a year now." He ran his fingers through my hair, sending little shivers down my spine. "We've mostly been able to even the score by going in and taking out vital positions before the big battles."
 

I rolled to my side and propped up on one elbow. "That's what you've been up to." I'd wondered what he did with the special forces.
 

"Yes. Me and my men," Galen lay opposite me, parallel yet not touching. Not yet. "The situation is dicey. You've heard of the earthquakes and eruptions on Earth."
 

I had. It was getting worse. "What do you know?" I understood all about the army and the fact that I didn't have clearance. He didn't have to tell me and probably shouldn't. Still. "If we're going to try and stop this, I need to know."
 

He hesitated. "I am allowed discretion," he said slowly.
 

Ah, now this was getting interesting. "So you can tell me if you want."
 

He tensed. "For security purposes only," he said, as if testing out the thought.
 

I shifted my hips on the mattress. "And not because I can give you mind-numbing orgasms?"
 

He snorted. "Definitely not."
 

Galen touched the soft spot at the crook of my hip where his borrowed pants stopped and a slice of bare skin began. "The enemy has been steadily working its units north, toward the Mountain of Flames."
 

"I've heard of that," I said, inching closer to him. I'd never been north, but those who had said it was this massive hell vent with a mountain smack dab in the middle.
 

"Our side captured it shortly after the last peace."
 

"In 1593?"
 

His brow knit. "I'm not sure of the mortal year, but yes, I'd say that is accurate for our conversation." He brought his hand to rest on my hip. "As you know, hell vents can let loose demons and imps. They're also immense sources of energy for an army that has the knowledge and the resources to exploit the power. The Mountain of Flames is the only remaining entrance to the underworld. At least the only one that lets you leave after you've finished your business."
 

"So why haven't we done it?" I wasn't for unbalancing the armies, but if we needed a leg up, then maybe our gods needed to get on the horn to the gods of the underworld. There were at least a dozen: Osiris, Hades, Pluto, Erlik, Mantus, Yama—and that wasn't even counting the Mayan death gods. Wait. We had to be talking at least thirty.
 

The whole lot had refused to take sides in the war, but that didn't mean the denizens of the underworld weren't above simple bribery.
 

"We tried to do it," Galen admitted, reluctantly. "My former commander was one of the ones who was present at the negotiations."
 

"Okay." We could work with this. "So what does he say?"
 

"He was killed more than three centuries ago. But what he said at the time was that the terms of the underworld gods were completely unacceptable."
 

"So the new gods couldn't make a deal."
 

Galen shook his head. "Many of them were tempted. Several pushed for it. But in the end, they declined." His hand tightened on my hip. "We've gone to great lengths to keep control of the Mountain of Flames ever since. If the old gods ever made it to that negotiating table, they would have no problem making the bargain."
 

Hell's bells. I didn't like the sound of that. "What did the rulers of the underworld want?" I felt my hands ball into fists. It was no accident that he hadn't mentioned it. He hadn't wanted to tell me. Which meant it was bad.
 

He swallowed. "They wanted the soul of every mortal in our army."
 

Oh my god
. I shot up, hands over my mouth. "And our side had to debate?"
 

In a single motion Galen was next to me. I backed away.
 

"You know what some of the gods are like," he said. "They only think of themselves. This was an easy solution for them."
 

Oh. Sure. Real easy. "Who's going to run their army?" At least half the people in our camp were mortals—probably more. I couldn't imagine me, Rodger, Father McArio—tossed into hell for eternity without a second thought.
 

These gods were insane, vicious in their complete and utter apathy.
 

"Hey." Galen knelt in front of me. "Focus," he said, gripping me by the shoulders. "We didn't do it. But they will."
 

My heart hammered in my chest. "So every mortal on the other side is going to get swallowed up."
 

I had friends on the other side, colleagues. These were people like me who had been drafted, taken, forced to give their lives for this war. The gods might not shoot us outright, but we were still casualties.
 

They hadn't chosen this any more than I had.
 

"Petra," he said, his gaze eerily steady. "I'm going to be honest with you."
 

Oh no. "What?" How much worse could it be?
 

Galen's blue eyes held sadness and fear. "I have my suspicions that if it came to the point where we were going to lose the Mountain of Flames—" He paused, clearly trying to find a way to say it.
 

I did it for him. "Our side will take out the mortals first."
 

The air whooshed out of me. I couldn't even comprehend it.
 

Galen held me steady. "If there's any way I can join the fight, I will," he said, shaking me with every word. "I'll fight to the death. I'll do everything I can to make sure you make it out of this."
 

I simply stared at him. Here I'd been fighting to keep my secret, to save my life, when I was really at risk of losing my soul.
 

I ran my hands over my arms, feeling goose bumps, trying to think.
 

Galen seemed almost relieved. "That's why I was pushing you so hard. That's why this prophecy is so important. It's all we have."
 

Heaven above, he was right. Now not only did I have to deal with suicide doctors and Shrouds, but our next move could mean the difference between life and eternal damnation for me and everyone I cared about.
 

But Galen wouldn't let up. "Prophecies come in threes. We've completed two. We only need one more."
 

I felt sick. "How can you know that?"
 

"I don't," he said with his trademark conviction. "Come here." He gathered me in his arms. "I just feel it. I do. You have to believe it, too."
 

"You know who you're talking to, right?" I asked, sinking into his embrace.
 

He held me close, his cheek against the top of my head. "There's skill in battle. The right amount of training, preparation, strategy. But after that, you have to listen to your gut. We'll approach this next prophecy with intelligence and ability. We also need to be open to what we can't see. In those spaces between, you find your edge. You find the truth."