Dawning Chaos Page 4

  “I apologize, wife. I did not mean to upset you or the babe.” Through force of will, I calmed myself and locked down the emotions that plagued me today.

  “The babe and I are healthy. I dislike it when you speak so easily of killing.” Some of the color returned to her cheeks as she smiled tentatively at me. “Husband, you are no longer the man you were before we wed. Our people need now the promise of a life of safety and filled with hope and happiness. Do this for Nikomedes and our daughter. Renew the vows of the Order. Let them hear in your words your promise to them. Let them know you speak truth through acts of benevolence. Our peace is yet fragile, with the Olympians openly defying the ways of the Order. You must show our people that you are firmly committed to this way of life and the peace it has brought.”

  I let the soothing sound of her voice calm me further. My wife’s gentle nature and belief in the good of all people was one of the reasons I had refused to let her go. She was a light that drew me and made the burden of my dark past bearable. She saw in me the good that I had not believed myself capable of after so many centuries of dark. “You are right. Our people have flourished these last seven years. Forgive me, wife.”

  “All is forgiven, my love.” Her radiant smile eased my frustration but stirred another part of me. I wished we were back in the gardens where I could worship her beauty from head to toe once more.

  The lute players sounded the start of the ceremony before I could pursue getting Lyannìa alone. The last trilling note faded into the dawn, and I rose from my throne.

  “The Order has roamed this Earth since the fires of creation shaped the land, and the tears of the humans’ God filled her valleys. The God of Chaos seeded us from his vastness and planted us here that we may flourish. His power flows through our veins and strengthens our people.”

  The sea of rapt faces before me filled me with the conviction that I needed. My people craved this peace and I would see that it continued. “It is to the God of Chaos that we worship and celebrate each winter solstice. He is the light. He is the dark. He is the creator and the destroyer. Two halves that balance the whole. The Order was created for this same purpose—balance.”

  My eyes locked with Zeus’s as I stepped down to join my brothers and sisters. A sinister sneer pulled at his lips, and for a moment the need to beat him into submission stalled my speech. The rustle of Lyannìa shifting uneasily upon her seat drew me back before the battle craving could overtake me.

  “I am the son of the God of Chaos. Supreme ruler of the Chaonians. My brothers and sisters rule by my side as the Order of Chaos. Our power is your power.” My brothers and sisters joined me in the center of the platform facing our people. From the sheath at my side, I pulled a long-bladed dagger and sliced across my arm. Exact replicas of my cut appeared across the arms of my brothers and sisters as my power reached out to them, binding us tighter so at that moment we shared one body. “To cut one we all bleed. The children of the Order are all our children.”

  In unison we stated our commitment, our powers twined with our voices and binding us to each of our people. “The Order of Chaos vows to protect you and to punish you as our judgment deems fit. We pledge by our blood to rule in fairness for all Chaonians that peace may reign for eternity. We ask in exchange only your loyalty—to never reveal our presence to humans and abide by the Order’s commands. What say you?”

  A chorus of responses rang through the air just as the sun peeked over the horizon. “My loyalty and my life are yours.”

  I watched the Olympians intently, confirming that they all said their pledge. For a moment their image appeared to waver, but the strange shimmer was gone just as quickly as it came. An uneasy sensation settled over me. There was something I had missed.

  7

  Sweat ran down my bare chest as I forced my muscles to relax while I waited to see what Iasos would do next. The sun beat down upon his pale muscled chest, and the tell-tale tensing of his abdomen alerted me to his attack. I braced my sandaled feet upon the hard-packed dirt of the training area and lifted my sword to block his blow. Metal clanged as our swords clashed and sent reverberations up my arms. Quickly I stepped past him and swung my sword at his unprotected back. His sword stabbed down from behind his head to counter my attack, his muscles straining with the impact of my hit. Then he spun to the right, swiping at my legs. I easily jumped the swing and stepped onto the air to flip myself over his head. I thrust my sword at his side, but he blocked me again. The ground softened beneath my feet, and I sank into quicksand to my knees.

  Iasos circled and swung, nearly taking off my head before I used my power to push the ground upward so that his second swing embedded his sword in a newly formed mound of dirt. I dove from the top of the mound and solidified the soil into rock, trapping his sword. My thrust at his heart was met with a solid shield of air that repelled my blade like I had hit a wall. Iasos punched his fist into the giant rock, and it shattered into pieces.

  Cheers rang out from the balcony above where a crowd had gathered to watch us. Ordinarily, I did not allow spectators in this part of the courtyard, but today I needed to prove to the Olympians—and to myself—that I was still a warrior. The sedentary life of a benevolent king had been grating on my nerves, and more so today. The longing for action could no longer be ignored. I poured every ounce of that hunger into this mock battle. Each strike beat like a refrain in my mind as I imagined the Olympians at the other end of my sword. Zeus. Strike. Poseidon. Strike.

  Iasos used the air like a slingshot to send chunks of the rock hurtling toward me. I set up a shield of molten lava that melted the rocks. Then I twisted the lava into a fiery whip that I lashed at him. The sizzle as the whip bit into the flesh of his chest before he could escape brought gasps from the crowd. He dove to the ground and rolled to his feet, barely avoiding the second snap of my whip. His thin lips were set into a grim line of determination. His brown eyes blazed as he muddied the ground beneath my feet and sent a blast of air my way that knocked me to the ground.

  My whip extinguished as I slid several feet through the mud and became coated in it. The mud made a sucking sound as I used the air to levitate myself from its clinging embrace. My hair had slipped from its leather tie and swung in mud-caked tresses down my chest as I set myself back on my feet. Mud squelched beneath my tunic and between my sandaled toes. I ignored it all. My body was singing with the joy of battle.

  Before Iasos could launch another attack, I teleported at a run to slide around him and score my blade along his ribs. His answering blow carved flesh from my thigh and blood mixed with the mud coating my legs. Blood dripped down his side to soak in the kilt at his waist. Grinning like a fool, I turned and clasped forearms with him. I had drawn first blood. It was good to be champion.

  “Well met, Iasos.”

  He clasped my forearm firmly, then bowed. “Well met, my king.”

  The cheering from the balcony suddenly died away. A surge of power beat at my back as someone new entered the training area. Releasing Iasos, I turned to face the source. The woman standing across the training yard stood tall and proud. Her face remained the same as the day she had won her freedom from me centuries before. Her vibrant riot of red curls was tamed by a golden helmet that looked more like an elaborate crown. The top was encrusted with gems that looked like dragon scales. The sides, longer in the front, resembled golden dragon wings.

  Her pale, toned body was a sight to behold. Gold-plated armor covered her firm breasts and torso. A gold and leather skirt brushed her toned thighs. Gold braces covered her forearms and her shins. Her fingers wrapped around the shaft of a golden spear that was nearly as tall as she was. On her shoulder sat a snowy white owl with a similar helmet.

  If I were not so in love with my wife, the need to bed this woman would have been too great to resist.

  Her green eyes glinted as her tongue darted out to lick her plump bottom lip. Against my will, my body responded, and my voice came out gruffer than I had intended. “Athena, it is
good to see you.”

  “It is good to be seen, King Titan.” She smiled slightly, knowing her effect on any man that beheld her in this attire. There were ceremonies practiced by Aphrodite and Artemis where women stripped off all of their clothing. However, it was most common for unmarried females to be chaste and covered until marriage. Athena seemed to have missed that lesson or, probably more accurately, she just didn’t give a damn. “The rumors that you had turned into a tame lapdog suckling at the teat of your bitch appear inaccurate.”

  Outraged twitters sounded from the balcony. I was suddenly glad Lyannìa never came to the training yard. “Careful, Athena. I may choose to now armor myself with words, but my battle skills were honed well before your birth. You never learned to accept victory as good enough. You Olympians would conquer the world, but at what price?”

  “We are gods among the humans. There is no vengeance they could enact upon us. We would slaughter them.” She bit out each word.

  “The humans are more deadly than you know. Do not underestimate their cunning,” I admonished.

  Her head cocked to the side as her eyes searched me over curiously. “Do you fear them, Titan? Is that why you have crawled away to hide upon this rock and play house?”

  “Even a savage beast such as I may grow weary of war after a time. All of my needs are fulfilled here. I have no wish to add to my conquests.”

  Her lips compressed into a thin line. “The Earthbound god I revered as a child—the one who trampled cities under his feet and laughed as they burned to the ground—would not find this life fulfilling. Tell me, where is your sainted lady now? Off coddling the little prince? Or is it the barbaric warrior that turns her stomach so she will not attend you here?”

  My muscles tensed beneath the rapidly drying mud. My favored little warrior’s tongue cut as sharply as her spear. Forcing myself to relax, I studied the girl that had turned into such a formidable woman. Her small smile said she had noticed my reaction, but she didn’t dig her claws in deeper. It was so unlike Athena to not go for the jugular when an opponent showed weakness, it made me uneasy. The fact that she knew enough about my life to strike that nerve made me even more cautious. The Olympians only mixed with the rest of the Chaonian society once a year at these celebrations. Either Hera had been using her farseeing powers to peek into my life, or there was a traitor in our midst.

  I sent a message out to my brothers and sisters. “Stay on guard. The Olympians have been spying. I do not yet know what they are after, but it is likely nothing good.”

  Eros snorted. “Brother, the Olympians stir trouble wherever they roam. They may be testing us to see how we react. Regardless, I will assign a guard to shadow each of them and report back.”

  “Good. See that a guard is placed with Nikomedes as well. The Olympians have shown too great an interest in him this visit.”

  “It will be done,” Eros replied.

  I cut our connection and focused back on the woman before me. “Your queen is doing her duties to her people. It would be wise not to question her—or me.”

  An emotion flickered in her eyes but was too quickly concealed for me to read it. “My apologies, King Titan. I did not mean to offend.” Her words rang true, but there was no sign of remorse. She shifted her grip on the spear, and it glowed with a golden light. “Perhaps you would permit me to train with you? It has been many centuries since I tested myself against the master.”

  A sinister smile slipped across my lips. Here was the chance I had wanted to release all of my pent-up anger at the Olympians. “You are a worthy opponent, Athena. I accept.”

  8

  I stood on the balcony outside my bedroom looking out across the gardens at the island we called home. In the distance, moonlight reflected on the rolling waves of the sea. The pounding of the surf was like a drumbeat accompanying the sounds of music and laughter from the celebrations in the courtyard. The scent of jasmine floated on the soft breeze, and I breathed it in deeply. The scent reminded me of Lyannìa, whom I hadn’t seen much of this day. The words that Athena had whispered to me earlier made me want to track my wife down and tie her to my side.

  The battle between Athena and I had been fierce. She was a born warrior and had spent much time honing her skills. It galled me to admit even to myself that she had nearly bested me. Our bodies had been slick with sweat, and both of us were breathing heavily. The invigorating burn in my muscles and the craving for victory had sung in my veins, drowning out all else. Athena had scored a blow to my head with her spear that left me momentarily dazed. It had been long enough for her to move in close and drive her knee into my stomach. She had used a wall of fire to shield us from the crowd, which had grown even larger with all the Olympians watching, no doubt hoping I would be defeated. She had gripped my hair and pretended to slam my face into her raised knee. Instead, she had bent close to my ear and issued a warning: “Darkness comes for you. It is not my wish, but I cannot stop it. Take heed, Titan.”

  It was enraged denial that anything would threaten me or my family that had me blasting wind at her. The gale was so fierce it extinguished her wall of fire and sent her tumbling across the ground. A black ball of destructive power was flung from me before reason could catch up to my actions. Athena turned her tumble into a flip that landed her on her feet and ran hard for the palace wall. She used the momentum from the blast to run up the wall and backflip over the black mass hurtling toward her. It would have torn her apart if she hadn’t been quick enough.

  The black mass hit the palace and dissolved a five-foot section of the wall like acid. Athena merely nodded at me and used telekinesis to bring the spear to her that she had lost during our battle. Holding up her hand for her owl to land on, she simply turned and walked from the training area. The owl swooped down from its perch on the roof and landed gracefully on her hand. Its big black eyes had flashed to green as Athena watched my panting form through her companion until she disappeared from sight.

  I couldn’t risk a possible traitor realizing that she had warned me, but I needed answers. I bathed in my rooms, my impatience at not being able to immediately hunt her down causing me to snap at the servants. Finally able to slip away at dusk, I spent hours searching for her—to beat more information out of her if necessary—but she had disappeared.

  My fingers gripped the stone railing until it was in danger of crumbling. Was this what it felt like to be human? To have no visions of a possible future as a guide. To feel helpless at the hands of fate and a God that did not answer. Never in my life had I felt so much. The emotions were like an intoxicating wine that overtook the senses. I had opened myself to love and with it had come a flood of other emotions—fear, frustration, doubt, and worry. At that moment, I wished once more for the numbness of my prior life.

  I was pulled from my seething frustration as the warm caress of Lyannìa’s power reached out to me as she entered our rooms. Swiftly I strode to meet her and swept her much smaller form up into my arms.

  Her startled laughter eased my troubled soul. “Titan, what are you doing?”

  I laid her on our bed and leaned over her, my arms braced on either side of her. My eyes roamed over her, imprinting every line of her body on my memory anew. She was safe and whole. My world was complete. Let the Olympians burn this Earth down. As long as I had Lyannìa and our children, nothing else mattered. “I missed you, wife.”

  “I missed you too, husband.” She smiled up at me, but it seemed forced. “The fighting has not calmed you? What has happened?”

  She didn’t need the burden of worry for a threat that had no name. “I fought Athena today. She said something that I did not like, but it is nothing to worry over.”

  Her smile slipped away, and she turned her head to stare at the moonlight spilling through the open archways. As if they felt her attention, the beams of light began to twirl and dip like they were dancing with joy. She reached out, and immediately the moonbeams shot across the room to wrap around her hand. Her fingers twirled in t
he light, twisting it into shapes as she avoided my scrutiny.

  My fingers stroked her pale cheek. “What is it, my star?”

  Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and for a moment I was distracted by the need to be the one nibbling at those seductive lips. My bare feet shuffled upon the cool stone floor as I shifted to make room for my unruly cock. It was always at attention when she was near. Ignoring my body’s reaction, I gripped her chin and brought her gaze back to mine. I worked my thumb over her lip, rescuing it from the worrying of her teeth. Her voice was whisper soft when she responded.

  “Athena is very beautiful. She is also a great warrior. I understand she would tempt many men.”

  “I will not deny she is both beautiful and skilled in combat. Yes, most men would be tempted to bed her. I am not most men. You are my love and my world. A moment of pleasure with another could never be measured against the happiness that you bring me. There will never be anyone but you.”

  “Thank Chaos.” She exhaled a relieved sigh. “The Olympians were talking about how you should have married her. The way they described the sparring . . . Well, I thought that you . . . that you and she . . .” A tear slipped from the corner of her eye as she smiled at me once more. “I told myself I would not ask, but I could not stand to go a moment longer without knowing. If you lay with her, I would understand. You are a man of great passions. A man who has had but one woman to warm his bed where there used to be many. I am happy to know that it is not so.”

  Those damn Olympians. They had made my woman cry. They had goaded my son and sneered at my rule. It was time to crush this rebelliousness once and for all. Their actions had amused me for a time but no longer. I sent a mental message off to my advisor. “Notify the Olympians that I wish to see them in the throne room tomorrow morning. All twelve are required to attend.”