Casey gripped Marissa’s hand and led her as far back into the mountain as she could, into the smaller room and around the corner, so if something did come into the first room searching for them, they wouldn’t be seen. After wrapping her jacket snuggly around Marissa, she settled back against the rocks with the child cradled in her arms.
Marissa sniffled and snuggled closer. “I miss Minnie,” she whispered.
“I know, honey.” Casey ran her hand down Marissa’s hair.
“Can’t we go back for her?”
“No, Marissa. It’s not safe.”
“Casey,” Marissa whispered in the silence. “Are you scared?”
Casey hesitated, then nodded as tears burned behind her closed eyes. “Yes, honey. I am.”
“Don’t be. Theron will come back for you.”
Casey drew a shaky breath. And thought about how quickly things could change. Hours ago she’d wanted only to get away from him. Now she prayed the child was right.
The scent of death hit Nick’s senses the second he killed the bike’s engine and pulled off his helmet.
Casey’s house was dark, but he knew even before he stepped inside what he’d find.
With a sinking stomach, he walked around the house and found the back doorframe shattered, the door itself hanging from its hinges. The kitchen was neat and orderly, but even here he could smell what lay farther inside.
He made himself cross the hardwood floor, his boots clunking with each step. When he reached the arched doorway that led into the living room, he stopped and swallowed the bile sliding up his throat.
The couch was slashed and overturned, the coffee table nothing more than a pile of kindling. Books and broken trinkets littered the floor, and in the middle of the mess lay Dana’s lifeless body.
“Ah, shit, Dana.”
He knelt beside her, scanning what was left. Dana’s wide, unfocused eyes stared up at the ceiling, and her face was bloody and bruised. One leg was cocked at an odd angle, the bone jutting through skin and denim alike, and bloodstained scratches marred most of her body. But the most disgusting thing—and that which Nick had suspected when he’d first come upon the house—was the gaping hole in the center of her chest where her heart used to be.
He ran a hand over his mouth, shut his eyes and cursed himself for walking out on her the other night. He’d sensed her death was coming, but he hadn’t done enough to protect her. If he’d driven her back to the colony himself, if he’d been more insistent…Dammit, if he’d opened his eyes and tuned in to her, she’d be alive now.
If is for shit. She’s dead, no thanks to you.
He opened his eyes and stared down at her. Their relationship had been warped on more than one front, but in his own way, he’d cared for her. More than maybe anyone else in his life. She’d understood him and his needs, and she’d never once said no, even when those needs had been pretty fucking twisted. And how had he repaid her? With this.
She’d accused him of having a god complex. He knew she was right. But even a god wouldn’t fuck up this bad.
The cell in his pocket vibrated. “What?” he answered.
“Nick, it’s Helene. We have a situation.”
He rose slowly to his feet as those fucking scars on his back began to tingle. “What’s happened now?”
“Marissa wandered off this morning. Search parties are out looking for her. But the woman you brought here yesterday? Casey? She and the Argonaut are out there now too. And they’re the only pair that hasn’t checked in yet.”
Nick’s hand tightened around the phone. “Fuck me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop her from going.”
“I’m on my way back.”
“Did you find Dana?”
Nick glanced down at Dana once more and buried the pain deep inside as he did every time one from his colony was killed. The anguish from her death would last longer than the rest, but he was half Argonaut. His son-of-a-bitch side would get over it soon enough. “I found her.”
“Is she—”
“Ready the fires, Helene.”
He closed the phone just as Helene began weeping.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The hours blurred together. Casey didn’t know how long she and Marissa had been holed up in the cave, but she was sure it was dark outside by now. They must have been in this cave at least six hours, and still not a word from Theron.
She’d already envisioned all the horrible things that could have happened to him, knew he could be out there suffering as she sat here hiding, but she couldn’t force herself to get up and look. He’d told her to stay put. And every time she’d thought about ignoring that order, Marissa’s strange warning from yesterday lit off in her brain.
What they’ll do to you will be worse.
Why her? When that daemon had dropped in her path as they’d been running from the barn, he’d acted as if he knew her. Come to think of it, the ones in her store and even the ones the night she’d met Theron had all acted as if they knew who she was. How was that possible? And what did it mean?
A scraping noise from out in the tunnel brought her head up. She reached for the flashlight on the ground by her thigh. Though she’d flipped it off hours ago to conserve battery life, she wanted to be able to see what was coming at her. Hands shaking all over again, she grappled for the knife as she inched her way around the corner and into the main room.
Whatever was coming through the tunnel was big. She could hear it grunting and scraping along the tight tube. She didn’t dare flick on the flashlight now, so she prayed she was pointing the knife in the right direction.
The shuffling stopped. Her heart pounded so loud she was sure it was giving her away. Whoever, or whatever, had come through the space lifted to its feet and drew in a ragged breath.
“Don’t cut me, Acacia.”
“Theron!” Casey dropped the knife and flashlight and lunged for his voice.
His strong arms caught her and pulled her close. She choked back a sob, never so happy to see someone as she was at this moment.
A soft chuckle came from his chest, vibrating against her until she felt it in her toes. “Miss me, did you, meli?” he whispered into her hair.
Oh, God. The sound of his voice. Like music. Her hands closed into fists against his damp shirt. “It’s been hours. Where have you—?”
“Where’s the girl?”
“Sleeping. Finally. Theron. God. How did you know where to find us?”
One strong hand ran down the length of her hair. “I told you. I’ll always be able to find you.”
She didn’t have a clue what he meant by that and didn’t want to get into it now. She was just so thankful he was here. She pressed her forehead against his massive chest. “Theron. I was so…” She didn’t want to say “worried,” because that made her sound like a weakling. But she was. Out of her mind with worry over him. She gave her head a small shake. “What happened?”
“I told you. This is what I do.”
What he did? And he expected her not to freak out over it when monsters from one of Stephen King’s novels were coming after him? Yeah, right.
“It took so long. I thought—”
“They were sent back to Hades shortly after you and the girl left. There was nothing for you to worry about.”
Shortly after. Casey pushed back from his chest and looked up, wishing she could see his face, but lucky for him, it was too dark. “Shortly after? What the hell have you been doing since then? Getting a pedicure?”
“Waiting,” he said. “To make sure there weren’t any stragglers.”
Her adrenaline chose that moment to come crashing down. Screw worried. Now she was mad. “While I sat in here for the last six hours imagining you drawn and quartered and going out of my mind with fear?” Jackass! “Thanks a lot!” She hauled off and kicked him in the shin as hard as she could, then turned on her heel and headed for what she hoped was the archway into the next room. It’d be just her luck to run headfirs
t into a rock wall instead.
He caught her before she made it three steps, those beefy arms of his wrapping tight around her waist and picking her up off the floor until she was running on air.
“Put me down!” she hissed so as not to wake Marissa. “I’ve already been manhandled enough for one day.”
“Hold on, meli.” He shifted her so she couldn’t kick him in the balls, repositioned his arms until he had both of hers pinned. She struggled, but even she knew it was useless. He was a thousand times stronger than her when she was healthy. Now, with the combination of fear, exhaustion and sickness coursing through her body, she was like a toothpick blowing in the breeze. “I’d have come for you sooner if I’d thought it was safe.”
“Word to the wise. It’s not safe for you here now, so just go back out the way you came in.”
He gentled his hold but still held her firmly. “Meli.”
Dammit, why did that one stupid word make her go all soft and gooey inside? Especially when he said it so tenderly?
The fight rushed out of her in a blur. She bit her lip hard so she wouldn’t cry like a blubbering baby. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
“Shhh.” He eased his hold and turned her gently toward him. “And in the dark too.” He brushed her hair back from her face in a move that was so damn sweet, she was glad she couldn’t see his eyes. He’d saved her life twice now, and though she didn’t understand him in the least, she had a sinking suspicion he was right: some kind of fate or destiny she couldn’t see and wasn’t sure she believed in was pushing them together.
The only question was, why?
“It’s over now, meli.”
“For you,” she whispered. Thank God there was anonymity in the dark. “But those things…Tell me the truth, Theron. They’re looking for me, aren’t they?”
When he wrapped his arms tight around her again and pulled her close without answering, she knew she was right. For some reason, those daemons were hunting her. And she suspected it had something to do with a father she’d never known and a world that was as foreign to her as China.
“What happened to the flashlight I gave you?” he asked.
Casey knew he was changing the subject, but was too exhausted to call him on it. She eased out of his arms when he loosened his hold—not because she wanted to but because it was either that or fall on her ass. “I dropped it somewhere.”
His big boots shuffled along the rock floor. Seconds later, a single beam of light pierced the darkness. Theron shone it around, checking out the cave.
Casey pointed toward the smaller room and lowered her voice. “Marissa’s sleeping in there. I gave her my coat.”
Theron pointed the light in that direction. “That’s good. It’s dark out now. We’ll let her sleep till morning, then head back to the colony.” He turned and picked up something from the ground behind him. Minnie.
And the waterworks chose that moment to flood. Killing three monsters hell-bent on mutilating her wasn’t heroic enough for him. Oh, no, Theron, leader of the Argonauts and descendent of Heracles, the greatest hero ever, had to rescue that stupid doll and bring it back for a little girl who was miserable without it.
Casey was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall of the cave, wiping her eyes like an idiot when he came back from returning Marissa’s toy. She saw the alarm on his face and scowled, wishing she’d left that damn flashlight on earlier so the batteries would now be dead. She did not need to see concern from him. She already had a feeling she was dangerously close to falling for this guy without it.
A hero. Fabulous. Of all the stupid things she’d ever done, this would be the topper. Forget the fact they came from two completely different worlds. Forget the fact she was sick and didn’t seem to be getting any better. Even if they were on even ground, she’d still never be enough for him. She’d seen the disgust on his face whenever he remembered she was human. And now that she’d glimpsed what had happened to his father, she understood why.
“Don’t cry, meli.” He sank down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. She thought about refusing, then figured, What’s the point? I’m too weak to fight him and odds are good I’ll end up here anyway. “I can’t handle seeing you so upset.”
“I’m not crying over you, you stupid jerk.” She swiped at her eyes again and punched him in the shoulder with what little strength she had left. “I’m just…tired.”
He clicked the light off and set the flashlight on the ground by his hip. In the silence she heard the strong beat of his heart. “You did good out there,” he said. “Saved me again. Better not let my kinsmen see or they’ll be firing my ass and inducting you into the Argonauts.”
She let out a sigh, relaxed against him. God, his body felt good. Warm. Right. Even soaked with sweat and other things she didn’t want to imagine. “I hate those things.”
His hand ran over her hair, pressed gently against her head until she laid it on his shoulder. “We all do.”
In the silence she asked a question that had been pinging around in her brain since the run-in at her store. “Why don’t you use guns?”
“In battle?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ve tried all kinds. So far the daemons have been able to throw off bullets with little effort. A blade to slice open their flesh works better, creates more damage. Titus, one of my Argonauts, is constantly experimenting with new weaponry in our fight, though.”
Interesting. “Who’s Atalanta?”
His hand stilled in her hair. “How do you know of her?”
“The daemon who cornered us mentioned her. He said, ‘Atalanta is waiting for you.’ ”
His silence unnerved her, and just as she was about to lift her head and ask what he was hiding, he said, “She’s the one who traded her soul to Hades for immortality and dominion over the daemons. She felt she was shunned from the Argonauts because she was female.”
“She was one of the original fifty-five on the Argo?”
“By some accounts, yes.”
“And was she? Shunned?”
“Probably. Three thousand years ago, females were looked at differently. And a female Argonaut is still not as strong as a male, which is why the guardians chosen from each line are generally males.”
“A woman can be president and can serve in the military, but she still can’t fight. I guess sexism crosses all cultural barriers, huh?”
He chuckled, and the vibrations zinged along her nerve endings. “Acacia, I think you’re getting the wrong idea. Gynaíkes are the mothers, the wives, the daughters who keep our race flourishing. No ándras in his right mind would let his mate serve in the ranks of the Argonauts. And no Argonaut would ever consider letting his soul mate near battle.”
“Did Atalanta have a soul mate?”
He shifted his big body beneath her, nestling her tighter against his groin. Though she couldn’t be certain, she thought she felt the stirrings of his arousal pushing against her hip. But that couldn’t be, could it? He had to be spent and exhausted from fighting, and they weren’t even talking about anything even remotely suggestive.
“Some say she did. Her father wanted her to marry and she refused, so he set up a footrace to spite her. Any suitor who could beat her in speed would win her hand. Hippomenes was the only one to best her, and they eventually married. But many believe he wasn’t her soul mate.”
“Why not?”
“Because an Argonaut only gets one. A punishment, like I told you, cooked up by Hera and Lachesis, one of the Fates. It’s no great secret Heracles had a ferocious sexual appetite. He seduced both men and women, god and mortal, never caring about the consequences. When Zeus granted Argolea to Heracles’s and the other Argonauts’ offspring, Hera made sure she had a hand in their destinies.”
“By giving them a soul mate? That sounds like a blessing.”
“By giving them one soul mate, meli. And by making sure each one is the exact opposite of what that Argonaut wants and needs. To ma
ke matters worse, Hera made sure the only way an Argonaut could even acknowledge his soul mate was to tap into his humanity, something we’re trained not to do.”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
He let out a long sigh. “Because doing so stirs emotions that tend to get in the way of our duties. Our god side is…let’s just say, not overly concerned with right and wrong, having a conscience, being unselfish. The twelve gods of Olympus aren’t entities we worship. They’re nothing more than fallen angels who turned away from the Creator for their own selfish gain. True emotions—love, hate, sacrifice—those are things the gods don’t understand, because they don’t feel them. Not in their truest form, at least. Suppress those, and you suppress that side of our heritage that leaves us vulnerable and weak. Very few Argonauts are able to open themselves up to their humanity and continue to serve as guardians. Therefore, most never find their soul mate.”
Casey’s eyebrows drew together as she thought about what he’d told her. She was human, and very definitely something he despised. Would fate have saddled him with a human soul mate just to spite him?
The question sent her brain buzzing. She wasn’t actually buying into this, was she? She gave her head a small shake and refocused on their conversation. “But Atalanta had one? And it wasn’t Hippomenes?”
“No. Most believe her soul mate was Meleager, a Greek prince and fierce warrior who killed numerous times to win her attention. For reasons no one quite understands, she denied his love until it was too late and he was killed. After that she walked around in a fog for years, a great warrior herself, but without heart. Eventually her father tricked her into marrying Hippomenes, but she didn’t love him, and he was later killed as well. Some say her despair over losing both men compounded her anger at being passed over for the Argonauts. And that spurred her on to make her pact with Hades.”
“What if an Argonaut never finds his soul mate?”
“He exists as he always has. A living, breathing killing machine born of honor and duty.”
His definition of himself was so mater-of-fact, it sent a chill down her spine. Yet it explained so much about who he was and how he operated. She thought about the scene with his father. “What about children?”