CHAPTER 2
Delphine staggered back in horror. She tried her best to flash into Cratus's room to stop them.
She couldn't. Azura had her blocked and wasn't about to let her in.
"No!" she shouted at them. But it was too late. They were gone from his apartment, and he was now in the hands of ultimate evil.
What were they going to do?
How could this have happened?
Most of all, why couldn't she have stopped it from happening? She shouldn't have waited for him to go to sleep. She should have let him know she was here and stayed on him no matter his protests. They should have kept him in their sights until he caved.
But that was neither here nor there. Would'ves, could'ves, should'ves didn't change the fact that Cratus would now fight against them.
Damn.
There was only a tiny handful of gods who could draw power from the Source and most of them had already defected to Noir's side. Out of the ones left on their side, none could touch Noir's skill. Only Cratus had been strong enough to fight against them. Worse, she'd now have to face Phobos and Zeus with her failure.
She'd be lucky if they didn't kill her.
But she wasn't a coward. Things had unraveled and she needed to let them know as quickly as possible so that all of them could adequately prepare for the war that was coming.
And their inevitable defeat.
Look on the bright side. You'll most likely be dead in a few minutes instead of imprisoned for eternity.
Swallowing, she wanted to run and hide. To find one place of safety in the world.
If only she could. But there was no safety now. Noir and Azura were back, and they wouldn't stop until they had all of them in chains.
Until they had the world of man conquered.
Her heart thundering in fear, she left her small room to travel to Olympus. To the hall of the gods, where Zeus and the others usually gathered at this time of day to eat, gossip and plot. As a demigod, she'd mostly avoided the place. She'd never felt welcomed there. The gods had their cliques and she tried to stay out of the line of fire, especially since so many of them had horrific jealousy issues. She'd heard of lesser gods being turned into all kinds of monsters for no other reason than one of the gods happened to look at her while his wife was present. Not wanting to become a gorgon, deformed spider or some other such, Delphine had avoided the place at all costs.
Until today.
Swallowing a fear a Dream-Hunter shouldn't be feeling, Delphine pushed open the doors to see over three score gods gathered there. Apollo played on his lyre while Aphrodite and Ares shared a bowl of ambrosia. Hermes was with Athena, playing a game of chess with miniature live pieces.
Zeus rested contentedly on his throne while Hera sat beside him, talking to Persephone. It was a cozy scene that she really hated to disturb.
As she walked forward, Phobos appeared and pulled her to a stop. "What happened?"
"Cratus defected." She could have sworn she'd whispered those words, but all sound and activity paused in the hall as if she'd shouted.
Zeus stood up slowly, his eyes flaming with the weight of his fury. Tall and blond, he would have been very handsome were it not for his nasty disposition and tendency to kill anyone he took even a minor dislike to. "You are not about to tell me that you've failed to bring Cratus here."
Not while you 're looking at me like that, I'm not. She had to bite her tongue to keep that quip inside. Given his mood, he wouldn't be exactly kind and take it.
Phobos's eyes widened to caution her to silence--as if she needed it-before he turned to Zeus and defended her. "Minor setback, my lord. Really."
That did nothing to appease the king of the gods. "Are you willing to take her place beneath my axe?"
"Do I have to?"
Zeus bellowed his anger. "I am not amused by either of you."
As Zeus started toward them, Nike stepped forward. "My lord?" she asked quietly. "Might I have a word with them?"
He looked at her as if she might be the next to get blasted-right after he finished with them. "Make it very short."
Nike nodded before she descended the dais where Zeus's throne was set. Apollo sneered at her, but she paid him no attention as she made her way to Del-phine's side.
Nike pulled her close. "Tell me what has happened."
Again, Delphine spoke in only the quietest of tones. "Azura got to him before I could. She promised him freedom and revenge if he'd join them."
Zeus cursed. "I shall have you both killed for this!"
Nike stepped in front of Delphine. "My lord, please bear with me. I'm the goddess of victory, and Cratus is my brother. Believe me, if there's anyone in this room who knows how to reach him and sway him, it is I."
Zeus curled his lip. "Then sway him, but that has nothing to do with their lives." He gave a meaningful glare to Phobos and then Delphine.
Delphine definitely didn't like where this was heading, and she wanted to get out from under Zeus's angry countenance. She also had to bite back the question of why Nike, if Nike knew her brother so well, hadn't been sent after him to begin with.
But the point of this was to save her life, not goad them into murdering her.
"What my brother needs, I cannot give him." Nike glanced at Delphine. "But she can. Give us a chance, my lord. Please. I know we can regain his allegiance."
The fury on Zeus's face intensified until Delphine was sure he'd strike out at her.
But after a few horrendous heartbeats, he conceded. "One chance is all you have. Azura and the others will kill their hostages in two weeks and then come for the rest of us. You have twelve days to sway him or kill him."
Delphine shook her head at his order. "Cratus can't be killed."
Zeus laughed bitterly. "Oh, yes, he can. Even if they restore his powers to their full potential, stab him in his heart and he will die."
Delphine frowned. "How?"
The pride on Zeus's face sat ill with her. "His immortal heart was ripped from his chest when I cast him out of here, and it is a frail human heart he has now. Pierce it and he dies, plain and simple. And there will be no resurrection for him in the morning as we've done in the past."
She saw pain flash in Nike's eyes. "Come with me, Delphine."
Delphine followed the smaller goddess to the doors that led out onto a balcony overlooking the rainbow falls and the thick green foliage that surrounded the hall. When Phobos started to join them, Nike shooed him back inside.
"This isn't for you, Phobos. Please understand."