The Grey God (War of Gods 4) Read online

  The Black God’s magic swirled around him in fury and agitation. Jonny looked away finally and strode to his bedroom. Darian followed close enough to make sure he went for clothing and not weapons.

  “For the record, Darian, I hate you most of all.”

  “Understood. I stole your woman,” Darian said. “You realize by cuffing her, you made her—and your sister—vulnerable? She can’t protect anyone like that.”

  “I had no way of knowing this would happen. She betrayed me. To let her go free would’ve been a mistake.”

  Darian paced, mind on Jenn. She was the most resourceful Guardian he knew. If she could find a way to escape, she would. He carefully tucked away the reality that—if Jonny hadn’t crippled her—she wouldn’t have been taken.

  “Why take Bianca?” Jonny asked at last. “I had a deal with them! They know who she is!”

  “They used you.”

  “Where the fuck is Xander in all this?”

  “Can’t think for yourself?”

  “Czerno should’ve finished you off.”

  Darian paused in his pacing, savoring the words. He’d love a battle with the god that enslaved him. As Grey God, he had access to magic Czerno didn’t. The fight would be long, and chances were, it’d end as a draw. Jonny was born a god-slayer, the only creature that could take the place of a Black God. Still, Darian would relish the battle.

  “You have a plan?” The Black God emerged from his chambers at last, eyeing Darian.

  “I think I do. But I need to know everything the Others told you about blowing up a world.”

  “You wouldn’t … I wouldn’t even do that,” Jonny said in a quiet voice.

  “You’re not the Grey God.”

  Jonny paled. Darian smiled.

  Chapter Ten

  Jenn picked herself up off the floor, sensing the swirling magics of her prison in the immortal world. They were there, just beyond her reach. The cuff around her arm warded them off, and they flowed around her instead of through her. Her head pounded. She recalled waking up and searching the house for Darian. Too late, she’d heard the footsteps behind her and felt something smash into her head. If she had her magic …

  “Jenn?” Sofi’s voice was quiet.

  “Ikira? What’s going on?” Jenn asked, not expecting to hear the soft voice. She shook her head and twisted to face the corner, where the blonde Oracle and brunette Healer sat together.

  If Sofi’s eyes glowed in the mortal world, they blazed here. She radiated power that surprised Jenn. She knew the Oracle was powerful, but seeing her in the immortal world drilled home just how strong her power was.

  “Watchers,” Bianca said.

  Jenn took in her aura, just as surprised. Where Sofi’s magic was cold, Bianca’s was cool, and the air around her shimmered as if with sunlight.

  “Welcome to the immortal world,” Jenn said and rose. Her body felt heavy and her senses dull without her magic.

  “It’s not what I expected,” Bianca said. “Are you okay? Anything I can do?”

  “Just pissed,” Jenn replied. “Unless you can get this fucking thing off.” She held up her arm to reveal the black cuff.

  “I can try,” the Healer said doubtfully. She rose from her corner and strode to Jenn, the air around her filled with glitter. Jenn watched, fascinated. As a low-level servant, she’d never seen any of the powerful immortals. She’d never even seen Damian prior to the Schism, when the Guardians exiled to the mortal world were a small band struggling to stay alive.

  Bianca held out a hand. Her healing magic whipped through Jenn. She took a step back at the flash of heat. The cuff didn’t move.

  “No. But I got rid of your body aches,” the Healer said, plainly disappointed. “Sofi?”

  “I don’t think so,” the Oracle said. “I take it there’s a story behind this.”

  “Not a good one,” Jenn said with another look around their prison. “Bianca, I know Dusty won’t let you out of the house without a weapon. Cough it up.”

  The Healer reached down, rolling up the leg of her jeans to reveal a small sheathe with a knife. She pulled it free and handed it to Jenn.

  “Sofi?” Jenn prodded.

  “Caught me napping,” the Oracle said sheepishly. “Hormones make me forget everything.”

  Jenn’s gaze went to Sofi’s protruding belly, and she was hit with both urgency and fear. The lives of the White God’s mate, and her best friend’s mate, were in her hands. The women weren’t trained to fight as Jenn was, yet she was the only one of them without power. She stripped out of her long-sleeved shirt, leaving just her T-shirt on, then pulled out everything from her pockets she didn’t need.

  “I see he figured it out,” Sofi’s said, eyes on Jenn’s neck.

  Jenn glanced down self-consciously. She tucked the necklace back into her shirt. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to think, except that last night, something she never thought would happen—did. She’d let down her guard to Darian after thousands years of rebuffing everyone else and had woken up feeling recharged, confused.

  Hopeful.

  “Work in progress,” she said at last and turned away from both. “Won’t matter if I can’t get us out of here.”

  “They come by every two hours, that we can tell,” Bianca said. “They’re not Others or Watchers. Some sort of … soldiers, maybe?”

  “Guardsmen,” Jenn supplied. “On this side, Others and Watchers keep guardsmen. They can’t evade each other the way they can in the mortal world, so they use bodyguards. This is actually really good for us.”

  “How so?”

  “I can kill a guardsman in the immortal world. You just have to keep me alive, Bianca. I’ve got no magic, so chances are I’m gonna get myself killed a time or two.”

  Bianca was silent. Jenn scoured their cell. It was made of solid rock, even the heavy door. One small window was high up against the nine-foot ceiling, barely wider than the span of her two hands. There were no weaknesses to the cell.

  “The door hinges are on the other side,” she murmured. “Could be a good thing. Door opens out, not in.”

  “They usually come in pairs,” Bianca said. “We got here … yesterday, I guess. It was evening in our world but dawn here. Their schedule seems pretty consistent.”

  “Ikira, any advice?” Jenn asked.

  “Block low.”

  Jenn glanced at the Oracle. “I can do that. Anything else?”

  Sofi appeared relaxed in the cell, her head resting against the wall and her brilliant eyes focused on Jenn.

  “Jonny’s not the only one who can get that thing off you,” Sofi said.

  “Fucking Black God.” Jenn stopped. Bianca tensed at the mention of her brother. “Sorry. A little bit of bad blood there. Who else, Sofi?”

  “If he feels like showing …”

  “Gods, not Xander. Bianca, let me die if that happens,” Jenn said with a grimace. “I’d rather face ten guardsmen than one Xander.”

  “Jenn, where do we go if we escape?” Bianca asked.

  Jenn considered, her gaze going to the small window above them. She could smell the sea; they were probably somewhere in the destroyed city. How far from the gateway, she wasn’t sure. Her gaze went to Sofi. At around four months pregnant, the Oracle barely showed in the mortal world but looked closer to nine months here. She was the most vulnerable of them.

  “I can run,” Sofi said with some level of offense. “Pregnant doesn’t mean crippled.”

  Jenn cleared her throat and looked away before the Oracle saw her smile.

  “Yeah, don’t go there,” Bianca advised in a whisper. “Damian said he’d need to buy a wheelbarrow to roll her around in soon, and she tore him to shreds. That was a rough day.”

  Jenn almost choked on her laugh. The Oracle was staring at them, displeased.

  “So where do we go?” Bianca asked again.

  “To the orchard. The Others have a gateway to the mortal world there. If we can reach the orchard
, we can get back home. If we get separated, go toward the ocean. The orchard is right there on the edge of the city,” Jenn answered. “In the middle is an apple tree marked with a ring of stones. Walk around it, and you’ll end up in the mortal world.”

  “I never knew the worlds were so different,” Bianca said, fascination in her voice.

  “Don’t get used to it,” Sofi said, rising.

  Jenn looked at her closely, uncertain how to take the words. The Oracle probably knew how this day would end, which world would survive.

  Darian would swing through here like a wrecking ball. Jenn shivered at the idea. As powerful and patient as he was, he wouldn’t hesitate to lay waste to anything between them. She suspected even his promise to sacrifice her if it meant saving their world would melt in the furnace of his fury. He’d been sweet to her last night. He meant what he said: if she wanted him, she could have him. If she didn’t, he’d accept her decision.

  She’d never had much of a choice before. Sex was a weapon, her body a tool. She wielded it well, but it usually meant the choice was never really hers. Darian had given her the power to choose. He treated her as an equal, a partner in a relationship with a wild god, one who respected her enough to let her decide.

  “Not so bad, is it?” Sofi said.

  Jenn shook her thoughts away, her heart hammering with both anticipation of seeing him again and fear. Her hand was clenched around the necklace.

  “I think hell is a good word for it,” she said.

  “At first, maybe,” Bianca added. “It’s worth it, though.”

  “Everyone in this fucking room can read minds but me,” Jenn said with a snort.

  “We’re sisters now. Get used to it.” The firm words came from the Healer, not the Oracle, who smiled in agreement.

  “I guess we are,” Jenn agreed uncertainly.

  After thousands of years alone, she inherited a mate and a family over the course of a single night. Her gaze lingered on the two women. Despite being polar opposites, they were both honorable to the core and two of the most powerful Naturals ever discovered. Yully, the third woman who would become her sister, was just as unique with a heart equal to that of any of the women.

  She didn’t expect her life to change quite so fast or to be accepted into the White God’s family with such ease. Of course, none of that mattered if she couldn’t get them out of there.

  “They should be back around soon,” Bianca said.

  “Do they come in?”

  “They’ve just opened the door. They don’t come in.”

  “Door opens out,” Jenn said. “This will work. Stay back, unless I get my ass kicked. Dusty will kill me if anything happens to you.”

  Bianca retreated to the far wall where Sofi stood. Jenn paced and stretched, edgy. She had one knife on her, plus Bianca’s. It’d have to be enough; there was no back-up this time. Her fingers swept over the cuff, and anger swirled through her again. Jonny or Xander. The two people she wanted to see least of all. She’d have to approach one of them eventually if she ever wanted her powers back.

  She grew impatient waiting for the guardsmen to return. At long last, she heard the sound of boot soles against stone as people walked down the hall.

  “That’s more than two, Bianca,” she said, listening. “Sounds like four. Ikira, I think it’s time for you break the rules. No one’s playing fair anymore.”

  Sofi’s gaze swirled. “Bianca, stand in that corner. The third one’s gonna kill Jenn. Blast her when she falls.” The Oracle strode forward, hand held out.

  Jenn took Sofi’s hand and staggered at the vision the Oracle implanted. Sofi released her. Jenn’s closed her eyes, running through the motions in her head that Sofi directed her to take.

  The sound of a key scraping against the door drew Jenn’s attention outward again, and she moved to the side of the door, flattening her back against it. In order to find her, the first guardsmen would have to enter the cell.

  Steadying her breathing, Jenn gripped her daggers and waited.

  The heavy door opened with a grating sound. She held her breath as the guardsman on the outside hesitated, seeking out the two prisoners he couldn’t see. Only Sofi was visible from the door.

  The point of a sword entered ahead of the guardsman. Jenn waited. She counted to three, when the guardsman’s hand came into view.

  Jenn launched into action. She chopped at his hand with one dagger, slamming the sword into the ground as she whirled and slashed his neck with her other hand. She whirled again, this time slamming the dagger into the opening between the door and frame, just above a hinge, to keep it from closing. She snatched the dead man’s sword and shoved him into the hall out of his way as two more swords descended.

  She couldn’t sense them as she did when her magic was free, but she could dance the way Darian and Xander taught her. Jenn let her instincts take over, ignoring the instinct that told her no mortal should be able to fight one guardsman, let alone three. She slashed and blocked, soon seeing what Sofi meant. One of the guardsmen was half the size of the other two, and his strikes were almost too fast and low for her to catch.

  Another fell, and the third shoved her into the cell. Jenn slammed onto her back, the sword flying free. She rolled and leapt to her feet. Her kicks were ineffectual against the guardsman’s chainmail, and his sword plunged into her chest.

  Instantly, her world fell into blackness. Just as fast, it exploded into light again, as Bianca’s charged healing power slammed through her. Jenn pushed herself up. Bianca stepped away, and Jenn dropped, sensing the guardsman’s next blow. It grazed her arm.

  She rolled onto her back and swept his feet from beneath him, pouncing. A punch to his throat kept him from reacting, and she launched up again as the fourth guardsman attacked. A fifth appeared, as in Sofi’s vision, and tried to push the door closed. The dagger jammed it open, and the guardsman reached up to snatch it.

  Anger filled Jenn. With a wince, she stepped straight into the sword of the smallest guardsman then slashed his throat. Pain radiated through her, but she pushed herself towards the door. The guardsman on the ground rose, coughing and choking from her blows. Jenn tackled the guardsman trying to close the door. She slammed her elbow into his face, grunting as his dagger sliced through her shoulder.

  She was losing blood fast, her movements growing heavy.

  “Bianca!” she barked. She strained to keep her hold on the guardsman, even as the other one left the cell and snatched a sword to finish her off.

  Fire blazed through her as Bianca snatched her leg. Jenn rolled away, blocking the standing guardsman’s shot of her. She gripped the blade of the dagger the man on top of her tried to shove through her throat. Smashing her forehead against his nose, Jenn wrenched the knife free and drove it through him.

  She struggled out from under his body as the last of her opponents slashed at her. Kicks made him keep his distance and bought her time. His sword slashed downward at her. Jenn rolled, ran into the wall, and cried out as he split her back. She didn’t wait for him to step back but kicked his knee as hard as she could. He staggered, and she snatched his wrist, hauling herself up. With the last of her energy, she stabbed him through the eye.

  The man dropped. Jenn fell with him, bloodied and in pain.

  “Bianca,” she called again.

  The glowing woman emerged, trailed by Sofi. The two looked around, visibly unsettled by the damage Jenn had done. The walls and floor of the hallway were splattered with blood, the bodies of the newly killed still kicking. Even cool Sofi appeared upset.

  Jenn didn’t remember a time when she would’ve looked twice at a dead man. She couldn’t help pitying the women who had been thrust into a bloody war when they met their Guardian mates. It wasn’t an easy life, though if anyone could adjust and thrive, it was the women Damian, Dusty, and Jule chose.

  “Anytime,” she murmured, feeling herself sinking into the darkness.

  Bianca dropped to her knees beside her, and her cold heali
ng fire tore through Jenn. Jenn gritted her teeth against it as her body mended itself. The Healer released her. Jenn rose unsteadily and looked down at herself.

  She was a train wreck. She stripped off the shredded T-shirt and tossed it. Returning to the cell, she used the long-sleeved shirt to wipe the blood off her body quickly and then to clean the blades of the weapons she snatched off the ground. She shoved one blade into her belt and stripped the knives off the dead men, putting them in her cargo pockets. She kept two out and joined Sofi and Bianca in the hallway, handing one to each.

  They stared at her. Jenn wasn’t sure what to say after the battle. Both women took the knives, handling them with awkwardness borne of a lack of familiarity with handling deadly weapons.

  “You were awesome,” Bianca said finally. “Dusty said you trained him. I believe it now.”

  “That was cool,” Sofi agreed. “Gory but cool.”

  “Thanks,” Jenn said. “We need to go. Sofi, any idea how to get out of here?”

  The Oracle shook her head. Jenn chose a direction and paused at the first intersection to listen for anyone approaching. She moved forward again. Glancing out a window, she confirmed they were in the city, somewhere near the center. The ocean was visible; she estimated they were about half a mile from the orchard.

  “Ocean,” she said, pointing out the window. “If anything happens to me, go that direction.”

  She stayed on the same floor until finding a stairwell leading down. They hurried to the ground floor. Jenn readied herself for a battle as she cracked the door open. She saw nothing and stepped cautiously into the hallway, looking both ways.

  Sofi and Bianca trailed her. They wandered the hallways on the main floor until finding one that led to a side door of the large, stone building. Jenn opened it, relieved to see the outside world. Her gaze assessed their location for a safe path towards the ocean.

  “We’re going there,” she said, indicating the next largest structure nearby. It was the remains of another large building.

  “Something’s not right,” Sofi said.

  Jenn looked around for signs of a trap. She was about to venture away from them when Bianca took her arm. Jenn turned to see Bianca’s other hand on Sofi, while the Oracle’s hands were around her stomach.