The Darkest Lie (Lords of the Underworld #6)(30)
Author: Gena Showalter

“H-how? How do I make him suffer as I now suffer?” Oh, God. She was talking to a demon. Stop! It was weird and wrong…yet oddly freeing. There would be no stopping. Cronus had to pay for this.

You must steal that which he values most.

“And that is?” Whatever the answer, she would do as the demon suggested and steal it. She would not hesitate. Cronus had thrown her into this terrible fire; he could burn with her. “His wife? His children?”

His power.

“All right.” Another vow. But just how was she supposed to steal power from a god?

He will pay. He will suffer.

Yes. Gradually, her tears dried and her heartbeat calmed. The lump in her throat dissolved. Cold seeped through her, filling her up, consuming her. “He will pay. He will suffer.”

“VISIT HELL? No damn way.”

Amun stood in front of the large plasma screen in the entertainment room, facing William. This had been the only way to get the man’s attention. Whenever Amun had knocked on William’s bedroom door, he’d been told to go away. Whenever he’d followed William into town, the warrior had ignored him as he plundered his way through the female population, one—or two—at a time. Sometimes the bastard had even done his business with Amun standing there.Now, William was a captive audience. Because Amun had brought in reinforcements. Anya, the goddess of Anarchy. As powerful and vindictive as she was, she could make anyone do anything she wanted at any time. Especially William.

The two were best friends and loved to torture each other. Which was why Anya had stolen some book that belonged to William. A very important book, apparently, and one the warrior needed to save himself from some curse. The two were always careful to keep those details buried behind inane thoughts while in Amun’s presence.

He could have sifted through their minds to gain the answers, of course, but hadn’t. He didn’t need any more secrets, thank you very much.

He did know that whenever William acted like a “good boy,” Anya returned a few pages to him. So when Anya challenged William to a game of “Guitar Hero,” along with Gilly, a teen who now lived at the fortress, William had accepted. The three were positioned around the TV, where Anya had stated they would remain until Amun had said his piece. Or signed, as the case was.

We need your help rescuing Legion, Amun began.

“Sorry, but I have plans elsewhere,” William said darkly. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning, and I’ll be gone for a few weeks.”

“What plans?” Gilly demanded, fingering the butterfly necklace Lucien had given her earlier. A necklace exactly like the one Amun, Anya and William also wore. They had been told to wear them always, to block their actions from the prying eyes of the gods. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going somewhere?”

Whoa. What was that? Pure possessiveness had layered her words.

You’re mine, he suddenly heard Gilly think. We belong together, not apart.

O-kay. Amun massaged the back of his neck. He hadn’t needed to know that.

Expression tight, William tossed his drumsticks in the air, caught them and twirled them. “Doesn’t matter why I kept you in the dark. I’m going and that’s final.”

And wow. William usually joked about everything. He took nothing seriously. That he was in this temper…

I’ve got to stop this, William thought. This can’t go on.

Good. That was good.

“This trip is final, you said?” Anya arched a brow at her friend, her lips curling in challenge. She was engaged to Lucien, keeper of Death, and was one of the most beautiful females Amun had ever seen. Not surprisingly, Lucien indulged her every whim. “You didn’t yet clear this trip with me, either.”

“You can’t go without me,” Gilly said.

“I can and I will. And don’t threaten me, Anya. This is one thing I will see through no matter what you do to my book.”

Her expression a storm cloud of fury, Gilly tossed her bass guitar on the floor. The plastic cracked. Exactly as she imagined her heart was doing. “You promised to protect me always. How can you protect me if you’re gone?”

She had straight brown hair and big, beautiful brown eyes. She was average height, but had more curves than any seventeen-year-old girl should have. And William was clearly doing his best not to look at her.

He was failing. Must…stop. Why can’t I make it stop?

As though a book of his own opened up in Amun’s mind, with everyone’s secrets filling the pages, Amun suddenly knew exactly what was going on. Gilly thought she was in love with William. William was attracted to the girl and horrified because of it. She was too young for him.

But while William could do nothing about his desire for Gilly, he could do something about his thirst for justice. Gilly had been terribly abused as a child, and William had tracked down her family with every intention of killing them in the slowest, most painful of ways. That’s where he was going. To Nebraska to have his revenge. Wouldn’t be difficult, either. The mother was a housewife and the stepfather a doctor.

“I didn’t lie to you. I will always protect you,” William told her gently. He stood, reached for her, but realized what he was doing and dropped his arms to his sides. “You have to trust me on this.”

Amun clapped his hands for their attention. Help me help Aeron and then I’ll help you with the girl’s family.

William’s attention had already wandered. He hadn’t watched Amun’s hands and had no idea what Amun had said. As Anya realized what Amun was implying, her blue eyes widened. Rather than voice the words for him in English or Hungarian, allowing Gilly to understand, she spoke to William in the language of the gods. The rough sounds were music to Amun’s ears, reminding him of the carefree years he’d spend in the heavens.

“I don’t need help,” William growled in the same language. Stiff, he tangled a hand through hair the color of the darkest night. “Actually, I want to do this alone. And besides that, Legion annoyed me. I’m glad she’s gone. I think it’s safe to say I wouldn’t rescue my own mother from hell. If I had one. I wouldn’t even rescue Anya.”

“Thanks,” the goddess said with a roll of her eyes. “But listen. Aeron isn’t glad she’s gone.” Her voice was gentler than Amun had ever heard it. “Which means Lucien isn’t glad. Which means I’m not glad.”

William remained unmoving. “Don’t care.”