Chapter 16

Facingoff against the man who'd ruined my life left me with a big question. "Why do you hate my mother so much?"

"Hate? On the contrary. I would have showered her with anything she wanted. Given her the world if she demanded. But she wanted another." Kowalski's lips turned down.

Not the answer I'd expected. "You were in love with my mother?"

"Still am. Which is why you're still alive. What better gift than to give Calliope the daughter she thought lost? You know, when I discovered your existence, my first impulse was to kill you. After all, you were a reminder of her betrayal. But then it occurred to me, what better way to lure your mother than by dangling her daughter?"

"You're assuming a lot. I haven't seen her in decades. I doubt she'd give up her freedom for me."

"Says how little you know of a mother's love. Everything she did was to protect you. She destroyed the record of your birth. That fire you were found in? A way of erasing your existence. How lucky for you I was long gone when you were found, or you might not be standing here today, about to hand me the thing I most desire."

"I find it hard to believe you love her," I retorted. "You put her in prison."

"She left me no choice. She refused to listen to reason. It was my hope that she would realize after some time alone that I was the better choice."

"But she never did," I murmured. "She spent thirty years in jail rather than give in to your sick desire."

"I'm not sick," he hissed. "She was supposed to be mine. We were happy until he came along. He stole her from me. Tainted her with his touch and seed."

In other words, my mom dared to love another. "What happened to my father?"

Kowalski's grin turned malicious as he chortled, "Sent him to a place even gods fear. I doubt he lived more than a day or two. With him gone, your mother should have been mine."

"I can see why she ran. You can't force someone to love you."

"That's what you think."

"How do you know she's coming here? I highly doubt she called you up to set up a meeting."

"Actually, she did." He smirked. "That cell phone she stole? She wanted it so she could contact me and tell me how she would enjoy killing me slowly. It only took telling her that I was now her precious daughter's boss for her to finally deign to speak to me."

"How did you come to be my boss?"

"I'd worked for the CA for years, how do you think I was able to put your mom in that prison with such a redacted history? Anyway, the recent corruption scandal put your town on the map. Everyone in the CA was talking about it. Word spread, and I couldn't believe it when I saw your profile photo included on that list of agents who'd made it through the cut—as I've already said, you look just like her. A little bit of research told me that you were an orphan, so there was no doubt in my mind about who your mother really was and why Calliope had stayed in the area. I immediately put my name in to take over your precinct."

"She was looking for me," I concluded. "But I don't understand something. Who was covering up my connection to the chimera after she went to prison? Why didn't my DNA match to hers?"

"Dumb luck." He scoffed. "I mean, lucky for you. Had I known of your existence I absolutely would have claimed you. That would have forced Calliope to accept my proposal. Alas, chimera have two sets of DNA—did you know that? I didn't, back then. Thirty years ago we weren't very knowledgeable about DNA. If we were, I would have ensured both sets were on record. My only misstep, really."

"Not sure I'd agree with that being your only misstep," I muttered. "Why all the fires? Were you trying to get the CA to think they were caused by her so you could arrest her?"

"Not even close. Fires are how I've always expressed myself to her, ever since she first tried to leave. They're my calling card, my love letter. It's how I tell her that I still want her. And that no matter where she goes, I'm watching. Waiting for her to give herself to me."

"You're a sick fuck." I felt like vomiting. "If you're so cocky and confident that she'll give herself to you, then why put up a bounty? Just to cover your bases?"

"Of course not." His face twisted at that. "That one wasn't me. I can only assume that's some hot-headed CA agent trying to make a name for themselves by capturing fugitives, which is why I stayed on top of removing any mentions of a chimera from the World Wide Web. I can't imagine who else would be offering bounties like that."

I couldn't either.

For some reason, I suddenly thought of the page Lenora translated. The woman with the stalker, who had to keep moving because she couldn't escape a madman. That woman was my mother. And the stalker was him. That's why the page appeared in the library after my spell. I'd just not grasped the connection to the case until now.

"You knew about the diary."

"What diary?" he looked genuinely confused. Perhaps Lenora was right, and the gargoyles had found it and brought it there all on their own.

"You didn't know about the diary? Then why destroy the hidden gargoyle library?"

"I assumed she was watching you." He shrugged. "And burning down places is how I showed her my love."

"You bastard." Not just for stalking my mother, but also for destroying so much knowledge, and those poor endangered gargoyles. "What about the clerk? Why kill him?"

"Just in case." He wrinkled his nose. "Damn he was chatty, and he had no problem letting you sift around in his perverted little brain. What if you decided that you wanted to see more from that night? I couldn't risk you reviewing the memories and catching me in his shop around the same time your mother was inside the phone store."

My mouth dropped open. We hadn't thought to ask the clerk to show us the rest of the store. Though, Abe didn't have the equipment that interested the guy, so he probably hadn't made an imprint in the memory. The poor clerk really had died for nothing.

But that final confession only strengthened my determination. "I won't let you have her." Gathering my magic, I threw a massive ball of electricity that crackled and fizzled. It should have if not killed him, at least zapped him into unconsciousness.

Kowalski caught it. Cradled my sphere of destruction in the palm of his hand and grinned. "You'll have to do better than that." He then popped it into his mouth and chewed.

I blinked. That shouldn't have been possible. It led to me blurting out, "What are you?"

"A god. A minor one, according to history books, who are so obsessed with the bigger ones like Zeus and Hera." He rolled his eyes. "Which is fine. I like people underestimating me."

I took a step back as I realized the trouble I was in. Gods were almost impossible to kill. A witch might be powerful, but we remained no match for a deity. I needed to get away from him.

My next blast of magic acted more as a diversion than an actual attack. I used the sudden explosion of obscuring fog to run. I made it only a few paces before a fist of force grabbed me.

I couldn't move!

Attempts to use my magic failed. He'd blocked me from it. Helpless, I could do nothing to stop him from floating me in his direction. Couldn't stop the man, deity, asshole, who'd been behind the sorrow in my life. And now I'd be a pawn in his sick plot to snare my mother.

A woman who appeared suddenly, her voice soft, her features hidden within the cowl of her cloak. "Unhand my daughter, Prometheus."

The unsurprised bad man half turned to greet her. "Hello, Calliope. I've been waiting a long time for this moment."

"So have I. You and I have a score to settle." My mom pushed back the hood of her cloak, and she looked pretty damned good considering she'd spent thirty years in prison. Even more uncanny, she looked like me minus the pink hair. Hers gleamed a vivid blue, just like her one eye.

"Be careful how you talk to me. I'd hate to hurt your daughter given how long you've been waiting for this reunion."

Mom's lips pressed tight, and her eyes flashed with anger. "You will leave her out of our quarrel."

"Why would I do that when she's living proof you betrayed me?"

"Betrayed you?" Mom uttered a low chuckle. "I was never yours. You might have thought you were winning me over with your gifts, but I saw through you to the dark heart beating in your chest."

"Liar. You would have loved me if not for him."

"Kratos was a thousand times the man you are. The only man I will ever love," my mom declared.

"Is that so? Then why am I bothering to keep your daughter alive? If she's of no use to me, then perhaps I should stick to my original plan. The one where she dies."

The magical fist around me tightened, and I would have gasped if I could breathe. The constriction around my chest stole all air. Spots danced.

Was this how it ended?

"Time for you to die." My mom's skin rippled, and blue flames encased her, only for a second before snuffing out. A scream of rage emerged from my mom and Kowalski smirked.

"Did you really think I'd forgotten how to freeze your power? You can't shift or call your flames. Might as well bow to me now."

"Never." Mom held up her hand, and in it, she held a wand. A tiny sliver of wood, but suddenly Kowalski looked uncertain.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

"Why not? It's not as if I have anything to lose. The only thing left for me will be revenge for the husband and daughter you killed."

"I have a different offer for you. Become my wife. My obedient wife," he emphasized. "And you and your daughter will live."

"As slaves to your whim," she spat.

"But you'd be together."

The fist on me released suddenly, and I heaved in air before rasping, "Don't do it." I wouldn't see her abase herself for this asshole who'd already cost her so much.

Mom angled her head, and her one blue eye focused on me as she murmured, "I can't lose you after finally finding you."

"Then we need to kill this fucker," I growled.

To which Kowalski-Prometheus laughed. "You can't kill a god."

"But we can hurt it," my mom declared before whipping around her wand and flinging it in his direction. The blast of magic should have decimated the guy. I could see the intensity of it. More power than I could have imagined.

And he didn't even flinch. He held out his arms and let it hit, grinning the whole while. "My turn."

I braced, and so did Mom, but all he did was squish his fingers together.

Snap.The wand broke in half, and Mom blanched.

"I've learned some new tricks while you were away."

Had he? I'd noticed a glint on his finger, one that brightened for a moment when he took on the impact of the blast and again when he used his own power to break the wand. Could the source of his strength be in that piece of jewelry?

How to get it off?

"If I agree to come with you, will you leave my daughter alone?"

"Mommy, no." The name I used to have for her slipped out, and she turned a sad gaze on me.

"I won't see you harmed. You are all that's left of my beloved. The one thing remaining in this world that I love above everything else, even myself."

"I think I'm going to be sick." Prometheus gagged.

"Fuck off, asshole," I growled.

"Is that any way to speak to your soon-to-be stepdaddy?" he mocked.

Blinded with rage and frustration, I ran for him, throwing all my magic in his direction in the form of lances of light while calling on the goddess. Hekate, I need your help.

To my surprise, my goddess answered, but not in a way that helped. Magic won't win this battle. Patience.

Patience? Was she fucking kidding?

My light arrows hit and were absorbed by Prometheus, who chuckled. "That tickles. My turn now."

His hand, the one with the ring, lifted and pointed. I threw up a hasty shield as my mother screamed, "No! Don't hurt her!"

The gem on his finger lit up, and I braced myself to possibly die.

A shape swooped suddenly from the sky, a snowy white owl that flew in fast and low, and, with a chomp of its beak, severed the finger with the ring.

Prometheus screamed and clutched his hand, spurting blood, to his chest.

The owl landed and shifted into a Kodiak bear that roared in challenge.

Koda had arrived.