The Heart of War (33 page)

“Until you were old enough to fulfill your role, hmm?”

“When they took me they conducted a bastard ceremony and said we were married, and then they put that belt on me,” Alena explained. “I was just a girl. I had no choice.”

He grabbed her arm. “Listen to me, woman, no one uses me. No one.”

“Perhaps not, perhaps they do and you just don’t know it. You listen to me, God of War, you made a promise and I’m going to hold you to it no matter what.” Alena wrenched her arm out of his grasp and made her way out of his bedroom.

Chapter Fifteen

The Return of the Prodigal Son

Ares and Alena stood on the beach before making the trip to Olympus; Ares had a few words of advice for her. “On the journey, whatever you do don’t let go of me. It won’t take long but it’s not a method of travel you’re used to so just don’t let go.”

“No buts,” Ares warned and looked at her sternly. “You wanted me to do a job for you, so let me do it.” The God of War held out his hand to her encased in a heavy black leather glove.

“Can I trust you to keep your word?”

“Why? Is there something you’ve left out? Subtly glossed over, perhaps? Some tiny yet significant detail I should know before we go?”

The hand inside his trembled, Ares let go of it and put his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be afraid, you just leave it to me,” he encouraged and then gave her a small but genuine smile. “By the way, you look very pretty.” That made the corners of his sullen lips slightly turn upward. She did look pretty in her dark blue velvet gown with its gold embroidered flowers and long flowing sleeves. With a barrette she borrowed from Onya, Alena pulled back her silver-gray hair. The barrette was a butterfly with its wings made from sapphires and its eyes from rubies. Onya loved butterflies; he’d picked that up for her a few years ago when he saw it in the window of a Russian antique shop. As he recalled, the night he gave it to Onya the sex had been particularly good.

“You look ready for combat.” He was armed even more than he had been this morning but if one was to glance at him all they would notice was the massive gleaming sword in his belt.

“I am,” Ares agreed. “Hold on, here we go.”

Alena slipped her arm around his waist and closed her eyes. The trip was almost instantaneous, almost. One moment they were on the beach, and the next they were on Olympus. In between, Alena felt like a rubber band stretched far too thin. She felt her feet in the warm sand and yet she felt the icy chill of Olympus on her face. Before her were grand pillars of white marble and a vast shining floor of gleaming black marble, yet her toes were still in the sand, she thought she could even feel the heat from the sun upon them. It seemed to take a very long time before that rubber band released and her feet caught up with the rest of her body. When it did, she almost heard her body snap and go
boiiinnng
like in a
Looney Tunes
cartoon. “I don’t like that,” she whispered more to herself than to Ares.

“I didn’t think you would. I said it was easy, not fun,” Ares whispered. “Now be quiet, follow me.”

Holding onto Ares’ hand, Alena skittered behind him as she looked around but saw…nothing. Just the huge pillars, they had to be fifty feet tall and they looked as though each one carved of a single piece of marble. They stretched upward to a ceiling she could not quite see like the walls. Perhaps they were made of black marble like the shining floor her bare feet were gliding over and that was why she was having a hard time seeing them. The light was dim but enough to see by, however, she couldn’t find a light source. No lamp. No torch. No candle. Just the light seemingly creating itself and lighting up their path as they walked and shutting itself down behind them as they passed.

There was no sound in this place. Ares was wearing his favorite heavy leather boots and they should be making a steady clap-clap-clap sound as they walked. Yet they made no sound at all. “It’s creepy,” she said in a very low voice.

“Quiet!” Ares hissed through clenched teeth.

Suddenly before them a heavily ornate door appeared, it had to stand at least thirty feet high. There was a knob made of some jewel, if it was a diamond or a quartz crystal she couldn’t tell in this light, she only knew it was larger than her own hand. The strangest thing about the door was just that; it was only a door. There were no walls, not even a jamb attached to it to hold it up that she could see. It simply hung there in midair. As they approached it, Alena moved as far away from Ares as she could without letting go of his hand. She held onto his fingertips and craned her neck as far as she could, trying to see what was on the other side but all she saw was more of the same. Approaching the door, Ares pulled her back to his side, let go of her hand so he could take off one glove. Laying his bare hand on the knob, the door began to glow, and then it let out a loud sound as though a heavy bolt were being thrown back.

The door opened.

Beyond, there was a room much like the one they were currently in but brighter. At the end of the room was a very large white marble table in the shape of an arc. At the table sat seven extremely good-looking people—three women and four men.

That feeling of having to pee grew in urgency and her stomach started to churn with acid, making her feel as though she might be sick. Surely, that would not do in front of Zeus! Alena held her breath and walked into the Great Council Chamber with as much grace as she could muster. At the far left end of the table sat a man who looked a lot like Ares. Clad in black leather head to foot, black leather gloves on his hands, a crown of gold and rubies on his head.

Hades.

Next to him sat a man who looked very much like the man sitting next to him. He had a long white beard and long white hair on the top of which sat a crown of gold and coral adorned with olives. His old chest was bare but still broad and strong as he sat there holding a golden trident in one hand.

Poseidon.

Next to him was the Big Kahuna. There was no mistaking The Great God Zeus. His gold crown was the largest of all, so large it almost took up his entire head. It was decorated with huge oak leaves, daisies and almonds. Alena’s eyes briefly fell upon him and she thought she might have a heart attack from the sheer grandeur of him.

Next to Zeus was the first woman she saw. She had gray hair that still held the remains of the black it had once been. Her eyes were like peacock feathers—they changed color and even seemed to grade in color with the light. She wore a long dark green cloak. Like the others she wore a crown upon her head, this one was delicate with its scrolling filigree of willow branches dotted with emeralds.

Hera.

Next to her was another woman. She was younger but her once strawberry hair was very gray as she sat there in a white toga with gleaming metal breastplate. On her head was her crown but it was unlike the others, it was a helmet on top of which sat a winged little man: Nike. That made the woman…

Athena.

Next to her sat the most beautiful woman Alena had ever seen. She nearly glowed with an inner light. The woman was dressed in a beautiful gown of pink organza, Alena could see right through it. Blonde hair piled high on top of her head topped with another gold crown, almost equal to the man next to her but bigger and encrusted all the way around with rubies made in the shapes of apples and pink diamonds in the form of pomegranates.

Aphrodite.

Next to her was Apollo.

Next to him sat a younger man, his blonde hair still untouched by the ravages of time. He sat there nearly naked, no shirt that she could see, glancing quickly downward, no slacks either. Alena knew he wore nothing but a loincloth. On his back was the most extraordinary pair of gold wings. Slung over his shoulder was a bow and quiver with seven arrows. That blonde head held the smallest crown of all, oddly masculine despite the roses and doves upon it. There was a certain air of familiarity about him, Alena didn’t know why but some part of her felt as though they’d met before.

Eros.

As Alena’s gaze locked to his, that terrible feeling of falling out of control took hold and a sudden violent shudder went through her. Fighting the urge to turn and run, she took a half step backward to stand slightly behind Ares. Surely the wild fear she felt was nothing more than the fact that all eyes were on her. The weight of them so great it was nearly crushing.

Zeus broke the deafening silence. “So good to see you again, my Son.”

“Wish I could say the same, Father. We’re here, what do you want?”

“Aren’t you going to make a proper introduction or have you lost all of your manners while you sat brooding on that island?” Hera asked in a regal whisper.

“Hello, Mother,” Ares crooned. “You it is good to see. You‘re looking well,” he complimented, then reaching slightly behind him to place his hand on Alena’s back he pushed her forward a step or two. “May I present Magdalena MacLeod, daughter of Norman MacLeod and the Fey Maven. Alena, this is my illustrious Family, the Olympians.” Ares went down the table one by one naming each seated Olympian who, in turn, rose and nodded. Alena tried not appear as though she were about to pass out as she forced a smile to her lips and whispered ‘hello’ to each. Being in the presence of beings so Powerful they could wipe one out in the blink of an eye was disconcerting to say the least. "My Son, Eros.” The earlier shudder hadn’t escaped his attention and neither did the way Eros was staring at Alena. “What are you staring at, Eros?”

Aphrodite chimed in, breaking the awkward moment between Father and Son. “Apollo told us you acquired a new ride,” Aphrodite tittered. “Since when do you go for the old and motherly type? Are you getting old, Lover?”

“
Ex
-Lover, don’t forget it,” Ares warned.

“You know you miss me,” Aphrodite cooed as she batted her long lashes at him.

“Miss you? Like one misses the plague, I suppose,” Ares retorted and then turned to his Father when he saw the creases form on Aphrodite’s brow. “We’re here at your request, Father, so tell us, what is it that you want with my woman?”

“Right to business as always,” Zeus intoned sharply. “Nothing changes with you, Ares.”

“On the contrary, everything changes with me. Change is my nature and that’s one reason you all abhor me; I upset the status quo,” Ares countered.

Zeus ignored the comment in order to keep peace and this meeting moving forward. “Welcome to Olympus, Magdalena MacLeod. Would you please come here?”

Alena started to let go of Ares hand and walk forward as Zeus commanded but Ares pulled her back to keep her at his side. “I asked you what you want.”

“Forgive me, my Son, but I thought you were here—at my good graces—as Magdalena’s escort, not her mouth piece,” Zeus shot the last few words at his Son.

“This is my woman, Father. You want something from her you have to go through me.”

“Your woman? Really?” Zeus took his seat and the rest of the Olympians followed as Ares and Alena stood before them. “Here I was under the impression that she is Cernunnos’ Wife.”

Not liking the tension between Father and Son, Alena spoke in a quietly diplomatic tone. “Great Father, forgive me, but as you said, Lord Ares is my escort and he has been my host for some time now. It is due to his good graces that I am here as you requested.”

Ares let out a grunt of disgust. “Diplomacy.” It was one thing Ares truly hated. He’d rather make peace at the tip of a sword than sit down with a bunch of stuffy bureaucrats.

“How do you get your little bitches trained so readily?” Apollo spat. “Good doggie.” He smiled coldly at Alena. “Want a biscuit?”

“Shut up, Apollo,” Ares warned. “Let’s not have our little Reunion go so badly so quickly.”

Zeus waited for Apollo to resume his seat before he spoke again. “I believe your woman knows something of importance about my Daughter’s death and I want to have a look in her head.”

Just as Ares suspected and, even indeed, hoped. Ares had no power to poke around in the minds of others but Zeus did and Ares wanted Alena’s stolen memories of her missing month exposed. Along with his Son’s involvement, whatever it was. He looked down at Alena who was tugging on his gauntlet and saw the worry in her eyes. With pursed lips he looked away from her and back to his Father. “Agreed. But I want something in return.”

“Wh…”

“Quiet, woman,” Ares hissed, cutting off Alena’s protest.

“I knew there had to be something in this for you, Ares,” Zeus said with a chilly grin and a gleam in his old blue eyes. “I won’t allow you back to Olympus for just this.”