Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The air chilled as he made his way across the barren terrain. When he crested the top of a hill, he spotted a valley full of lush greenness with a flowing river. It was most definitely out of place amongst the red rocky landscape, but he was hopeful it at least held shelter. Checking his power, he decided to see if he could flash there and was both relieved and thrilled when he landed next to the water. He scanned the area and found no life, but oddly, there was a table with food and drink sitting on it and a large tent nearby. As he picked up a berry from a platter and sniffed it, a man exited the tent. While he hadn’t sensed life here, he realized exactly why. The man towering over him was a god. Probably had just flashed in. Kian debated if he should kneel, but not knowing who this god was, he decided to wait and see.

“Are you the one responsible for my being here?”

The god offered a wicked grin. “I am Khedeus, the god of judgment and you are my prisoner.”

“What crime have I committed?”

Khedeus’s gray eyes sparked with lightning as his voice rumbled across the landscape. “You were born.”

Not wanting to piss off this god but requiring a better answer, he spoke. “Can you elaborate? My birth can hardly be a crime.”

“I owe you nothing. Be grateful I will provide you with this small respite.” He waved his hand toward the food and tent. “You will serve your time here by building me a temple. You will work from sunrise to sunset.”

His anger rose. “And if I refuse?”

The god stepped into his space. “You already know you cannot leave here. What you may not have discovered yet is that you also cannot call up food or shelter. Your power here is limited. Piss me off and I will leave you with nothing but starvation.”

“Is that what happened to the others?” Of course, he referred to the bones he saw earlier. Immortals would suffer greatly without nourishment. He would starve and his body would heal. The cycle would continue for centuries and become an endless amount of pain until one was finally given mercy. The god tipped his head and smiled, leaving Kian to his own mental picture of torture. “You should have stayed in your own world where you were safe under your mother’s protection.”

“How long must I endure this?”

“I will revisit your term once you finish the temple.” Then he shoved into Kian’s mind and dumped the blueprints for his monstrosity of a pyramid.

“Fucking hell.” He rubbed his temples and was about to ask another question, but noticed he was alone. Checking his power once more, he found he still could not open a portal. Then he tried to call a change of clothes to him and was happy to discover at least that worked. So, he was allowed some things as the god had stated. While he pondered his predicament, he decided he might as well eat the food offered to him. The instructions left to him showed the work was going to prove difficult. He would be forced to perform some physical labor. Taking a bite of an apple, he wondered if his mother might find him. He also contemplated the fact that she might very well be the reason for his situation. If not directly, perhaps she pissed someone off and they had sought retribution through him. It seemed his birth was shrouded in a lot of mystery.

Argathos wasted little time in calling his brothers to him for a meeting. All had responded, so now he simply waited for them to appear. He had sent Gwen away to fulfill the promise made to her family while he tried to gather more information. Aidyn was the first to show since he was already here in the same realm, followed by Zarek.

“Your message sounded desperate,” Aidyn said as he took a seat.

“Why am I not surprised that we are waiting for Hades?” Zarek asked as he stood near the window, arms folded over his chest, looking every bit the king of gods.

“I am desperate and give Hades a break.” No sooner had Argathos spoke than the ruler of the worst realm in the universe showed up in a black puff of smoke.

“Did I hear my name?” Hades raised a brow.

“Late as usual,” Zarek admonished.

Hades glared. “And still an ass I see.”

Argathos stared at all three of his brothers. Born only minutes apart, Zarek was the eldest and since their mother had killed their father when the god had gone mad, then gone into slumber, Zarek was now their king. Next came Pyros, or as they now knew him in his reincarnated form, Aidyn. Pyros was the Phoenix god and had been lost to them for centuries, dying during the war that started after Argathos’s wife was murdered. Unknown to everyone, Pyros had been reborn as Aidyn, the vampire king, and it had taken a chain of events for the god to wake up and recall who he was.

Then there was Hades. The brother most like their father, with an evil streak that caused immortals and mortals alike to shake at the mention of his name. Zarek had sent Hades to the Underworld to become the caretaker of the most evil of evil. He had also bound Hades to that realm in the hopes their brother would eventually calm down. Only recently Hades had met his mate and was now back among them as a much calmer and saner brother. Last was Argathos himself. The baby of the four and usually the peacekeeper and voice of reason, but this time he needed his brothers to be the calm ones.

“Enough of your bullshit, I have real issues here.”

Everyone focused on him with surprise in their eyes, and their moods quickly switched to concern. Finally, having their attention, he spoke. “I never told you that before Brianna was murdered, she was with child. And, before I tell you my story, let me just say that she was still with child when I sent her into the afterlife.” All eyes on him immediately filled with sorrow and pain. Emotions he was far too familiar with himself.

“I know this is going to sound strange, but I believe my son is alive.”

Hades rubbed his chin as he contemplated what Argathos had just said, but it was Aidyn who spoke first.

“Why do you believe this?”

“Last night, I felt him enter our realm. It was brief, and then he was gone. I went to Gwen to task her with finding him and it seems she had already had a vision of him.”

“Interesting,” Hades responded.

“Yes. She said he was a spitting image of me, and she was positive he was my son.” He finally sat in the chair closest to him. Already weary from this entire ordeal. “She also said he was her mate and that something very powerful had been where he disappeared from. Powerful and angry like another god.”

Zarek leaned forward. “Another god?”

“Yes. In her vision, Gwen saw my son, and when she reached for him, he was gone. The only thing left was a power signature that she felt belonged to a god, but she didn’t recognize it.”

Zarek’s jaw tightened. “I see.”

“You all see what this means, don’t you?” Hades didn’t wait for them to respond. “First, it would take an extremely powerful god or goddess to remove a fetus and switch it with another. Second, I believe Gwen when she says our nephew is her mate so who fated that?”

“Both excellent questions,” Zarek growled. “Who is fucking with our brother?” The eldest brother’s power flicked out and raised the hair on Argathos’s arms.

“You’re the king, can’t you find out which of your subjects is being naughty?” Hades asked.

“I haven’t visited the others since we left after the battle. I have been remiss in my duties for far too long and it is time I remind everyone who I am.” In a flash of light, Zarek held a long sceptre, an ancient rod held by royal deities. The rod was made of bronze with stripes of obsidian, gold, and blue glass, and on top it held a jade replica of Ra. With a powerful tap on the stone floor, his attire changed into that of an ancient god-king. His chest bare, he wore a red linen shendyt trimmed in gold and pleated in the front where a long strap of beaded fabric fell a few inches longer than his shendyt. Gold bands covered both biceps, and on his head was the royal eagle crown. He’d also braided and beaded his long raven hair and kohl lined his eyes. The three brothers dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. It had been a long time since any of them had seen Zarek adorn himself in the royal garb of their parentage.

“Rise, brothers, and remember who we are. We are the grandsons of Ra, and it is time we reminded the godly realm of exactly that.” He walked to Argathos, then pulled him into a hug. “I know the pain of losing a child. I will help you get to the bottom of this.”

Zarek did know that pain, for it had been his own daughter who had sacrificed herself for the first guardian, Seth. It had torn Zarek apart, but it had been his daughter’s wish to give of herself. That had been centuries ago and now Zarek’s mate, the goddess of fire and creator of dragons, was with child once more.

“Thank you.”

He gave a nod. “Did you take Gwen’s memories to bear witness to your son?”

Argathos squeezed his eyes shut. “I did not have the courage.”

Zarek gripped his shoulder and pulled Argathos closer, then whispered in his ear. “You are the most courageous of gods. I will speak with Gwen myself and see if there is any more I can learn. I will request to see her visions and I will find whoever is behind this and they will suffer my wrath. No one fucks with those I love.”

Aidyn and Hades also came to stand next to Argathos and as they were pledging their assistance, the ground beneath their feet shook.

“What the fuck?” Zarek asked.