Soul Bound (Moonstone Saga #2)(38)
Author: Courtney Cole

And that was what worried me.

Chapter Seventeen

We woke to fire.

I knew it before my eyes even opened.  I could smell the thick smoke and hear the popping cracks.  I leaped to my feet, pulling Brennan with me.  Whirling around, I found everything around us in flames.  The trees, the grasses, the village containing the priestesses.  I could hear their screams, both screams of sadness and screams of agony.  I squeezed my eyes closed for a scant moment, before I reopened them and squared my shoulders.

“Zeus knows,” I said needlessly.  Brennan nodded.  “Hades isn’t back,” I added.  Again, Brennan nodded.   “I wonder what is keeping him?”

I was running toward the village now, to see if I could help.  I didn’t know how long the fire had been burning while I slept.  When I reached the edge of the clearing, right before the ring of fire began, I hit an invisible wall and was thrown backward into the air.  I landed hard, with my head and shoulders slamming against the altar. I sat up, shaking my head to clear it.

“What the hell?” I muttered.

Brennan tried to get through, but he was prevented as well.  He patted the air, feeling the invisible barrier.

“It’s a wall,” he announced.  “A see-through wall.”

“Zeus,” I said quietly.

A movement to my right caught my eye and I turned.

Hades was approaching the wall.  He stood directly in front of me and his mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear a thing.  I held up my hands as if to tell him and he nodded quietly.  He knew.  His face was clouded over.  He was not a happy god.

I watched him try and break down the wall with magic for several minutes before he shook his head again.  He couldn’t touch it.  Only Zeus could.

“Did you truly think you could deceive me?” a voice boomed.  It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.  Thunder boomed and lightning flashed and the burning trees began to blow.  I felt a chill run down my spine.  I had always thought it would be Hades that did me in.  But I realized now that I was wrong.  It would be Zeus.

Brennan jumped onto the altar and looked into the sky.

“We meant you no harm,” he shouted.  “We didn’t know that Empusa was Hades’ daughter until last night.  She didn’t even know.  This is not her fault.”

An apparition appeared in front of us then, a perfect rendition of Zeus himself.  It shimmered in the night and broke up slightly as he walked toward us before becoming whole again.

“You have plotted with Hades to stand against me,” Zeus said, his voice as loud as ever.  “That is treason.”

I dropped to my knees and bowed my head.  Reaching up, I tugged on Brennan to do the same.  He quickly joined me.

“Forgive us, uncle,” I said quietly.  “We meant no disrespect toward you- none at all. We were simply brainstorming ways to survive and remain together.  I have never wanted to stand against you.  I only wish to live in peace.  I’ve been cursed so long that I have forgotten what that is like.”

“You act as though your intentions mattered,” Zeus replied.  His silver eyes flashed with anger in the night.  His wild mane of gray hair waved in the breeze, standing on end.  He wore ancient Greek dress; a silver toga belted at the waist with an ornate, jeweled belt.  Beautiful silver sandals laced up his calf.  In all, he was a vision of glimmering silver.

“Intentions do not matter,” he continued, ignoring my veiled appraisal of him.  “Actions matter.  Words and oaths matter.   You intend to stand with my brother Hades against me.  You felt you couldn’t trust me to assist you, to stand behind my word.  That vexes me, Empusa.  If it weren’t for my granddaughter Harmonia’s interference, you would be dead right now- the both of you.   She has stood up on your behalf and pleaded for your life.”

“What about the game?” I asked, my voice small in the night.  An instant smile widened across Zeus’ lined face.  I was instantly uneasy.  A turn in the game had brought Zeus pleasure which didn’t bode well for us.

“Obviously the game still plays on,” Zeus said.  “You and Hades didn’t complete the last challenge, so a mortal died.  One point for Apollo.”

He was indifferent about the mortal and pleased about Apollo’s point.  I was filled with instant rage and I knew that he could sense it.  A small smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“You’re such a feisty one,” he observed.  “I do not know who I wish to win this next challenge.  You’re feisty and strong, but yet you use your spirit to try and work against me.  You would be guilty of treason right now if I had not interfered and prevented it by containing you in this very clearing.  You should thank me.   And Brennan, the handsome son of Apollo.   He’s loyal and strong- very dedicated to you and that is commendable.   He seems to have more substance than Apollo, but that has yet to be determined.”

“What do you mean, ‘who will win this next challenge’?” I asked uncertainly.  “The game is surely over- everything has changed.”

“The game is over when I say it is over,” Zeus boomed.  “In case you haven’t noticed, you are at my mercy right now.  You cannot leave and no one else can come in to save you.  There is an invisible barrier completely surrounding you.  It is absolutely secure and cannot be penetrated.  You will complete the next challenge or you will both die.”

“So the rules have changed?” Brennan asked quietly.  He reached over and grasped my hand in an effort to comfort me.  I was so furious that I didn’t even really even need comforting.  I wasn’t upset or sad or distressed- I was unbelievably pissed off.  I could feel the anger pulsing through my veins, flooding through my heart and flushing my cheeks.  Zeus smiled.

“Such spirit,” he said, gazing upon me.  “Use it now, little one.  Your challenge, your test, is to fight each other.  You wished to stand against me?  That is not going to happen.  But you can use your skills against each other.  Only one of you will leave this clearing.  When a victor emerges, the mortals in the gauntlet will be released unharmed.  The mortal world will continue as before.  I will accept the death of one of you as repentance from the mortal world.”