Accidentally in Love with…a God?(Accidentally Yours #1)(70)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“Why would anyone want a life with you?”

“Silly woman. Even after the apocalypse, I’ll still have needs. I am the God of Male Virility. And you are by far the strongest Payal I’ve ever seen, even with your distance from my lineage. Who knows, maybe I’ll let you have a few children and keep them.”

Yack. Shudder. Cringe. “That’s such a fabulous offer—really—I’m mulling it over this very second. But I meant why do you need to kill absolutely everyone else?”

“Humans, Emma, are destroying this world. They’re like radioactive cockroaches. I’m simply giving fate a hand, taking out the trash before the planet is irreparable.”

I remembered Guy mentioning that the gods were hardwired to protect humans, even if they got tired of it. Chaam’s wiring had gotten crossed.

“What about the other gods? What will they do when they get out?”

“They’re not going anywhere. And besides, after the energy’s been released, what can they do? They can’t bring back all of those people—in fact, the other gods might thank me for freeing them from their tedious eternal duties of rescuing the stupid humans.”

“I think you’re wrong. I think when Guy is set free, he’ll spend the rest of eternity kicking your arrogant, repugnant ass.”

He arched one brow and then stuck out his lower lip in a pout. “Oh. The little Payal doesn’t like me. I thought you might be a good candidate for immortality and sack-play, but alas…” His smile was evil incarnate. “The little primate wishes to join her grandmother. Fine with me, I have a thousand others to choose from.”

“Grandmother? You killed my grandmother?”

I wanted to jump on his head and pound it into the stone floor. What kind of sick animal could hurt a sweet old woman like her? For heaven’s sake, he was her father.

“Oh yes, Emma. She was so full of light. It amazed me how long she held on. Hours and hours of torture. Can you see it in your mind? Of course, she came to me well-primed since her own sister lured her to me and betrayed her. I made sure to repeat that fact several times. The angrier, the better. More dark fuel.”

There it was. The answer I’d been looking for. My darkest fears confirmed. My poor grandmother had been tortured and then killed by Chaam. Could I ever tell my mom such a thing? Would I ever get the chance? Not likely. Perhaps it was for the best. Then there was the horrible truth about Rosa and Arturo. They’d lured Grandma to her death. I partially wished Guy’d let them live, so I could have kill them myself.

Oh, sweet Virgin of Guadalupe. I gasped. I was filling with hatred, just like he wanted.

He continued his malevolent banter, “Well, look at that.” He bent down and peered into my eyes. “Already turning colors. Once they’re black, you’ll be all ready to go.”

“Fuck you! I hope Guy rips your heart from your body and makes you choke on it.”

“Good girl. Let that darkness in.” He pounded on the door and it swung opened. “See you at the top of the pyramid, baby.”

I felt sick to my stomach. Everything I’d ever loved would soon be gone. And stupid, stupid me. I could have stopped this. I almost deserved to die. If Darwin were still alive, I’m sure I’d get his vote.

Well, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight; I’d claw and kick until my last breath. And if I couldn’t fight my way free, I certainly wasn’t going to help Chaam by becoming his biofuel. My last act would be one I could be proud of. I would think of everything and everyone I loved, every good memory in my life. Chaam would be hard pressed to squeeze even a drop of darkness from me.

I planted myself on the floor, sitting with my legs crossed. I closed my eyes and began playing the sunniest memories of my life. I pictured my parents and every wonderful thing about them; how they’d always cared, no matter how bonkers I acted. I thought about my grandmother, her soft hands, the floral smell of her hair when she hugged me. Her laughter. I thought about my friends, Nick, Jess, and Anne and their outrageous appetite for life, including their relentless belief that someday I’d get a date. Then I thought about Guy singing Madam Butterfly and how my life-long friend, guardian, and tormenter had been a real, live god. I thought about him screaming he loved me.

“If by some miracle any of you can hear me…I love you, too, and I’m sorry I let everyone down.”

Chapter THIRTY-NINE

In all his years, Guy had never seen anything like it.

“It’s like that bloody show Emma used to watch, Star Trek.” Guy scratched the black stubble sprouting along his jaw while Gabrán’s men attempted to penetrate the transparent wall with various objects. Daggers, sticks, they even threw a few rocks. Nothing went through, and it was too high to climb over. “Damned evil bastards have a bloody force field.”

Gabrán spouted, “Thanks to help from one o’ you.”

Guy grunted. He still had a hard time believing one of the gods was involved. But Gabrán was right; this kind of energy manipulation was divine in origin.

Guy, Gabrán, and the men were finally forced to weave through the never-ending maze of invisible walls the Maaskab had erected around the perimeter of their village by feeling their way until an opening appeared. Then they walked for hours more until they found another. A painfully slow process. It was well past nightfall by the time they arrived to the outskirts of the Maaskab village.

“Where is everyone?” Guy whispered. The village appeared eerily vacant. The thatched roof huts were dark inside and only the crickets chirped.

“I don’t know,” Gabrán replied. “But we cannot go in tonight. My men need rest before we fight.”

Guy couldn’t wait; he needed to know Emma was still alive. If he had to, he’d tear the village apart stone by stone with his bare hands to find her.

Stubborn girl, why had she broken the bond? It would have helped him sense her direction. In the end, maybe it didn’t matter. The Maaskab would have slathered her in that black powder to block their connection.

Guy looked at Gabrán. “Stay here, I’m going to walk the perimeter and see what that big structure from the photo is.”

Gabrán cursed. “Take Brutus, then. That way I ken see for myself watcha find, and he ken call to us if ya get in teh trouble.”

The bond between Gabrán and this particularly unique team of elite Uchben soldiers came in extremely handy for times like these. Like each of the chiefs, they had been handpicked by the gods to be given the gift of immortality and undergo nearly a century of rigorous training. They lived, ate, studied, and sparred as one, and were personally taught the art of war, telepathy, and mind sharing by Guy.