4. Deimos

Chapter 4

Deimos

I stood deep in the shadows of the building’s impressive marble pillars, allowing night to keep me hidden from sight. Across the street, city hall was lit up like a carnival tent, and all the politicians were the clowns.

There was some charity gala going on tonight, and all the city’s biggest hotshots were here wearing their best suits and gowns. It was so hypocritical, them raising money for the poor and needy while they themselves were wrapped in a veritable fortune in fashion and jewelry. In reality, this whole thing was a farce, yet another excuse for a metaphorical circle jerk where they all made each other feel better about what absolute fuck-wads they were.

“Smug, rich assholes,” I muttered, flipping up the collar of my black trench coat. This was the perfect opportunity to ambush Loki when he least expected it. He would be so busy playing Mr. Mayor, smiling for the cameras, shaking hands, and making nice with the public that he wouldn’t even notice me until I was melting his face off .

A series of limos had begun to pull up out front of city hall about half an hour ago. So far, I’d seen my old friend Anubis Ahket and his mate and co-star, Star Rueng. And try as I might, I couldn’t not see Apollo, fellow god and so-called “movie star.” He waved and smiled like the attention whore he was. I saw a few of the gods present scan their surroundings as if they sensed me, but they couldn’t be too obvious about it, what with the crowd of looky-loos, so they all made their appearance for the photographers before heading inside.

Then, of course, the deputy mayor pulled up. Azazel King, the red-eyed devil. I snorted. While I didn’t have anything against the guy specifically, being Loki’s righthand man put him in my bad books by default.

Eventually the limos tapered off, and the crowd outside grew restless. Was that it? Was everyone inside? I sure hoped not, or I’d dolled myself up for no reason.

I waited so long that I’d started to wonder if Loki wasn’t going to put in an appearance tonight, but finally, a sleek black limo with tinted windows pulled up at the curb. I swore I could feel him in there, his oily, backstabbing aura polluting my air. My lip curled back, and I began to take my barriers down brick by brick. The power rose up inside me in a surge, as if it could sense that its purpose had nearly come to fruition.

It happened like it was in slo-mo, as someone stepped forward and opened the limo door and Loki climbed out. I held my breath, silently thanking the goddess Apate for making this moment possible. I knew I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, counting my chickens before they were hatched and all that, but I was so close I could taste it, and I savored the taste of victory, of sated revenge.

It was time .

I let our city’s dearest mayor get comfortable. He waved for a few cameras, but he seemed eager to get inside. That’s right , I thought, sending soothing vibes in his general direction, go have a drink. Relax, have fun. I’ll see you in a few minutes .

And then I slipped off my trench coat and dropped it behind the pillar out of sight, straightened my tuxedo lapels, and I glided across the street. It was a simple thing to blend in with the crowd outside. No one even gave me a second glance. With my sight set on the doors, I walked forward like I belonged here. Just ten feet away… five… Somewhere in the background I heard a car idling at the curb, but it wasn’t important. I had only one focus.

Until someone in the crowd behind me gave an excited squeal. “Oh my gods! I can’t believe it’s him!”

And against my better judgment and the tiny voice in my head telling me to ignore it, I turned to see who it was.

Stepping out of the limo was a face I was far too familiar with. I stared into those same eyes every morning in the mirror, our mother’s eyes. I froze just three feet from the door to city hall, stunned beyond comprehension. “Phobos?” Well, shit. I couldn’t just walk in there and kill Loki now. My brother would know it was me.

Phobos paused and turned to look up the steps at me, because of course he heard me. His first instinct was to smile, the asshole, like he was genuinely happy to see me, and I nearly found myself smiling in return. It bubbled inside me, this lightness that only my twin brother could make me feel, the one person who knew me better than I knew myself. But then he blinked and it was gone, the bright beaming smile shifting into something else. It had hints of disappointment, pity, and shame. It was the same smile Dad gave me at every family dinner, which was just one of many reasons why I’d been ducking Harmonia’s invitations .

“Deimos,” he whispered, narrowing his eyes just slightly.

Then, without looking away, he took one step to the side and made room for someone else to slide out of the limo. Phobos offered his hand, but whoever it was pretended he hadn’t seen it, brushing past him, and I decided that even though I hadn’t yet laid eyes on the man, I liked him immensely.

But then I did look at him, and I liked him a whole lot more. Daaaaamn. How did my brother get himself such a delectable date?

The guy was young, and I didn’t just mean that in a non-pantheon way. He was young even by mortal standards, with this whole fresh-faced-optimism vibe going for him. When we locked eyes, though, I saw that wasn’t entirely accurate. Those dark eyes of his were not optimistic, and nor were they young. This stud had seen his share of shit. He was what people meant when they said someone had an old soul, and that only seemed to make him all the more attractive.

“Phobos! Over here! Can I get your autograph?” a young woman screamed, waving wildly to get his attention. It was disgusting the way she fawned over my brother, as if he were some kind of celebrity. My brother’s smile was blinding, and he took the time to sign his name and chat with her for a moment, though I could feel his eyes still on me.

As they headed toward me, Phobos again offered his elbow to this mystery man, and again, the man turned his head to the side as if he were distracted by something, but I’d seen the way his eyes had flicked momentarily to my brother’s arm. This was intentional, and I grinned widely.

By the time I’d reminded myself to move, it was too late, and the two of them had made their way up the stairs toward me. Phobos’s whole body was tense. “Fancy seeing you here, Brother. I wasn’t aware you were invited. ”

I shrugged. “Oh, you know me and philanthropy. I’m a giver.” I shot a wink at Phobos’s date, and he looked down at the ground, his cheeks pinking up in a blush that perfectly matched his pocket square. But then he peeked up at me through his thick lashes and I felt my cock perk up and take notice. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” I asked Phobos pointedly.

“If I must,” he grumbled, but there was a glint in his eye. Oh yes, he was excited to show off his new toy. “This is Cameron, my sidekick .” We’d always been Dad’s sidekicks, so he probably expected me to be impressed or something, to hear that he now had one of his own.

I frowned, feigning confusion, and turned to address Cameron directly. “What is that, like a personal assistant? Do you get him coffee and answer his phone? I hope he pays you well to put up with his shit. Ugh, please tell me he doesn’t make you do his laundry. The man is a total slob.”

The corner of Cameron’s lips twitched, and I couldn’t resist reaching out my hand. “Deimos, at your service.”

Cameron stared at my hand with a strange mix of curiosity and caution. “You called Phobos brother?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, but only in the literal blood-related kind of way.” I wiggled my fingers, reminding him that I was still waiting for him to shake my hand, but it seemed it wasn’t just my brother he had an aversion to touching. I felt a strange sense of disappointment as I lowered my hand.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a party to attend.” I went to walk away, thinking maybe I could still salvage this night, maybe corner Loki when he went to the bathroom, but Phobos grabbed my arm in a viselike grip .

“About that…” he said, voice tinted with more than a little suspicion. “You wouldn’t be hoping to take a shot at a certain someone tonight, would you?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked with as much innocence as I could muster, but let’s be serious—I was no actor.

“Deimos,” he said in warning, shooting me a glare.

“Phobos,” I echoed back, mocking him like the child I often reverted to when around my brother.

Cameron’s gaze bounced back and forth between us, completely in the dark about the centuries of family drama that was currently being dragged out of the closet. He had this hungry, eager look about him, like someone sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn, ready to devour the latest reality show.

Phobos seemed reluctant to talk about everything in front of Cameron, so they couldn’t have been too close if he hadn’t told him about my past.

“You gentlemen have yourselves a good night. Or don’t, I don’t care either way.” I beamed my most charming smile and took a step back toward the doors. I could hear the gala from here, light music and distant laughter. I could sense the window of opportunity closing. I needed to act now!

Phobos sighed. “Please, Brother, don’t make me stop you.”

I rounded on him, gritting my teeth at the hot flare of frustration. “I’m not making you do anything. Just let me go. You owe me that much,” I snapped. I tried to take another step, and he moved with me.

“You know I can’t do that. You’re my family, and I love you, and I would miss you after Loki put you in the ground.”

Cameron let out the tiniest gasp. “Loki?” His eyes flicked straight to me, a look of question and perhaps understanding as he put the details together. “What’s your problem with the mayor? ”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” I said, booping his nose.

The contact between us was just a fraction of a second, but in that moment, I was hit with a blast of power so potent that it went straight to my head, my vision flashing with pure, white light. What. The. Fuck. I tilted my head, taking a second look at this young sidekick of my brother’s. He was no ordinary human, that was for sure.

I blinked hard, shaking my head to clear it.

“I want you to remember… you gave me no choice,” Phobos said sadly, shaking his head, before placing his palm flat on my chest.

I was distracted, unprepared, and that was the only reason why I wasn’t braced for the hit. He didn’t even put a whole lot of force into it, because all conflict aside, he was still my brother. My feet left the ground, and I soared across the landscaped lawn, before landing hard on my back and skidding a hundred feet. I heard excited murmurs—they seemed to think this was some kind of promotional stunt for an upcoming movie. I had no doubt their phones were recording.

Snarling, I got to my feet and brushed grass off my tux. “I’m sending you the dry-cleaning bill.”

Phobos shrugged as he stepped forward, placing himself between me and city hall. “I can afford it.”

I stalked back toward the main entrance, determined. “No matter what you do, I’m going inside and I’m kicking Loki’s ass. If I have to kick yours first, so be it.”

Phobos tugged off his tie and threw it aside. “Don’t spoil the party. Have you tried booking an appointment to meet with the mayor during normal business hours?” Next off was his jacket, and he’d started on the row of buttons on his fancy white shirt.

That gave me pause. “Why the hell are you getting naked? We haven’t wrestled Greco-Roman style since Mesopotamia. ”

But then he pulled back the sides of his shirt to reveal a bright orange bodysuit beneath. His sidekick, too, was disrobing, which certainly gave me further pause as I tried really, really hard not to stare at him in all that Spandex. Wow, that was tight and left nothing to the imagination.

“You both really just walk around with Spandex on under your clothes? Okay, that’s… weird.” I swallowed hard, averting my eyes from the enticing distraction that was Cameron. “Phobos, you know what happened between me and Loki. You know full well it’s within my right to get revenge. Why are you being such a dick?”

“And why are you being such a baby? Oh, boo-hoo, Loki hurt your feelings three-fucking-hundred years ago. Let it go! If Gorgias really loved you, he wouldn’t have left in the first place,” he growled, shoving an accusing finger at my chest. “You’ve taken this way too far! Don’t think I don’t know it was you who kidnapped all those shifters.”

I sputtered a laugh, casting a glance at Cameron who was now glaring at me. “Pfft! Of course it was me! But why the hell would you care? You’ve spent too much time on earth, you’ve gone soft.” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t lose any sleep over it, I let them go practically unharmed. I even wiped their memories so there’s no lasting trauma.”

“Some of them were children!” he shouted, growing increasingly frustrated.

We were drawing all kinds of attention, between the screaming and the brightly colored tights. This wasn’t at all how this was supposed to go. In and out, that was the plan. Well, I would just have to put my brother and his sidekick down long enough for me to get back on task.

Phobos and the other gods had been struggling with their power in this modern world. Me, though, I had so much terrestrial energy coursing through my veins, I could easily use a little here and still have plenty to take care of Loki .

Besides, putting my brother in his place could be fun.

I clenched my fists at my sides and let the power rise right to the surface, my skin glowing red and gold. “Last warning, Phobos. Get out of my—”

The air in my lungs froze as I got hit with a shot of ice straight in the chest. Ice crystals formed on my lashes, but just as quickly, they began to melt, and I gave a shaky cough. My body was too hot for that kind of attack to work. But… it hadn’t come from Phobos. I’d been staring at him the whole time. Phobos, too, seemed surprised.

We both turned and looked at Cameron, whose hands seemed to be steaming as the vapor evaporated. He shrugged and laughed uneasily. “Sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be sorry. That was awesome!” Phobos gave him a thumbs-up. “What else you got?”

I scoffed. “Don’t encourage him! I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking.” And then, before he had a chance to answer me, I shot off a blast of fire straight at my brother’s head.

Phobos ducked and came back up, looking furious. “Hey! That almost hit me!”

“Good!” I seethed. “I hope it melts off all those precious golden locks of yours.” And for good measure, I threw another fireball at him, and this time he crouched down and catapulted himself off the earth and into the sky. I knew he hadn’t run away, he wasn’t the type to flee, but now I was forced to search the dark night sky for him.

“Come on, Brother. Face me like a man,” I taunted, chin tilted up.

I’d allowed myself to get distracted again, and this time, I didn’t even see the attack coming. I began to sweat, tugging at the tight bowtie strangling me around the neck. It got hotter and hotter… “What the fuck is going—”

Cameron was standing not 20 feet away, glaring at me with his hands outstretched. He shrugged. “I figured if the cold wasn’t your thing, maybe heat would hit the mark.”

That little shit! It was such a slow creep in temperature that I almost didn’t notice. I was the lobster in a pot of cold water, suddenly finding himself as someone’s dinner!

Growling, I took a step toward him, but with a swipe of his hand, debris began to come flying at me from all directions. Rocks, branches, the garbage can from the corner. I was so busy batting the small hurricane of smaller debris that I didn’t hear the newly installed statue of Loki being cleaved off its base with a creak of metal. I didn’t have time to dodge it as it came flying at me. It hit me hard in the chest and threw me back. I landed on my back in the middle of the street, staring up into a bronze Loki’s smug, shit-eating smirk.

I could admit that I didn’t have the best handle on my emotions on a good day—and today was not a good day.

Throwing off the statue, I allowed my power to surge, rising my body off the ground, hovering three feet up. I heard startled cries, and people began to run in fear. The glow coming off me was so bright that Cameron couldn’t even look straight at me. The pavement beneath me blistered then began to melt, the nearby trees caught fire, and electricity arced and crackled off my fingertips.

“Do not begin to think you’re a match for me, mortal,” I roared, my voice echoing with an ethereal pitch that rumbled through the heavens. I was the god of terror, and I unraveled just a fraction of what I had to offer.

To his credit, Cameron did not turn and run, as so many men before had when faced with raw fear. He squared off his shoulders, clenched his jaw, and brought his hands together. It wasn’t graceful; in fact, it looked like he was just making shit up as he went along, but he ended up with a giant ice spear. He looked almost shocked at what he’d created, but he schooled his expression and hefted it up to his shoulder, ready to launch.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Cameron,” I said through gritted teeth, but the truth was, it would soon be outside of my control. The power I wielded was unruly, not meant for me, and it was like trying to lasso a wild stallion. But unlike when I’d lost control in the tunnel, this time the floodgates were wide open. Power leached from my pores at an obscene rate, and my stores were being drained. Fuck!

Cameron did what he could to protect himself from the heat wave, but it was so intense that when he threw his spear, it melted long before it could reach me. The sidekick was strong, but not strong enough. He wavered then fell to one knee. Why wasn’t he running?

“Run, you idiot!” I shouted, my own skin splitting then healing, only to split again. It was agony! And I didn’t think I would ever be able to stop.

But then I heard a high-pitched whistling sound, and it was getting louder.

Cameron raised his head and stared up at the sky. Like a meteorite, Phobos came crashing down right on top of me. The force was strong enough to knock me out for a second, and when I came to, I found myself drenched in foul-smelling wastewater. I’d been punched straight through the street and into the sewer below. The water boiled around me, but it seemed to be absorbing a lot of the heat I’d been emitting.

I let out a shaky sigh, my tender flesh soothed at last. When I looked inside, my energy stores were nearly empty. My chance at revenge was ruined.

Dragging myself to my feet, I moved through the pipe away from city hall, retreating. I couldn’t stand the idea of seeing my brother’s face after that. He would apologize and ask me if I was okay. Well, fuck him and his pity! I wasn’t okay! And I wasn’t sure I ever would be again.

But then my mind replayed the image of the young sidekick. Cameron. I wondered what his story was, where my brother had found him. He certainly had plenty of power. In fact, he seemed to have more than he knew what to do with, but I had a few ideas…

Decision made, I circled back and made my way back up to the street level. I needed to get another look at him. That omega was something special, and my brother didn’t have the tiniest of clues. That assistant of his was stronger than he was—a human, stronger than a god.

I was watching from out of sight when I saw Cameron stumble. Curious… It was almost as if he had too much power; I knew what that felt like, the toll it could take even on an immortal body such as mine.

And now, I didn’t have enough. Maybe he might let me borrow it.