Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Kian filled one leather bucket after another of water from the river, all while the suns’ heat bore down on him. At least he was thankful he had been able to conjure a shendyt and sandals because those jeans and tee he’d been wearing earlier were too damn hot. His skin was at least happy to be able to breathe.

Setting each bucket aside, he worked until he had a dozen filled with water, then flashed himself and them to the work site on the other side of the hill. It surprised him he wasn’t forced to carry each one and for that, he was grateful. It had taken him several tries to figure out what he could use his power for, and what he had to perform manually. When he arrived at the work site with the water, he filled a large tub with several shovels of soft limestone followed by other materials, such as Egyptian salt natron and lime, to list a few. He then mixed in the water with a paddle until he had mud and his bucket work started all over again, except now he filled each one with his limestone concrete mixture, and when he had enough, he once more flashed to where the pyramid was to be constructed.

His palms blistered and healed from the handling of bucket, shovel and paddle, but he pressed on. Lifting each bucket, he poured his muddy mix into a large wooden mold––which he had built by hand earlier that morning––and finally he had his first one filled.

“Ah, Kian. You have managed your first stone. Only several million to go.” The god of judgment laughed.

Kian glared. “It would prove much faster if I were able to use all my power.”

Once again, the god laughed. “Well, what would be the fun in that?”

“This is your fun, not mine. I also think it only fair that you tell me exactly why my birth is a crime.”

“Not today as it doesn’t suit me.”

Kian never stopped his work, figuring it might cost him more of a punishment if he delayed to chat with the god of assery. “Have you informed my mother that I am here?” He wondered if she would be allowed to see him. Of course, knowing the goddess of destruction as he did, she would lay waste to entire realms in order to get to him. It surprised him she wasn’t already.

“I have nothing to say to that female.”

Interesting. So, perhaps his mother was the cause for his detainment. “So I am allowed no visitors?”

Khedeus shouted out a laugh. “What do you think this is, a fucking resort?”

Finally, he stopped working. “I think this is a god with some kind of grudge. There is no actual crime committed here and there certainly isn’t any fair judgment. It’s simply you deciding my fate for whatever fucked-up reason you have.” His entire body shook with anger, and he knew the moment the words left his mouth he should never have taunted the god. But he was too far in the red haze to give a shit. When Khedeus’s upper lip curled and revealed white pearly fangs right before the god smiled, he knew he had stepped too far.

“I have been remiss. Allow me to apologize. Perhaps I can rectify some of the situation by providing you with a little company.” The god drilled into his mind and flipped through his memories like a picture book.

Before he could ask, Khedeus vanished, and Kian was left with his gut twisted into several knots. Not daring to linger too long, he gripped the strap on his bucket and threw himself back into his work. There was no other choice left to him other than to work and wait for whatever shit the god planned to dump on him next.

Gwen smiled as she sat on the floor of Ariana’s bedroom and they brushed the hair of her dolls. Her niece was growing up so fast and at six years old, she was already showing her power as a healer, like her parents.

“Did I tell you I’m trying to talk daddy into letting me have a puppy?”

“Hmm, and he is saying no?”

“Not exactly.” Her eyes flashed from liquid silver to green, then back. Ariana carried the eye color of both her parents, depending on her mood. “He said as soon as I can perfect my sword fighting to keep any predators away, then he will consider it.”

Gwen couldn’t help but laugh. “That does sound like your father, but what predators does he fear will carry away your new puppy?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. The dragons would never do that, and we have no other dangers here in Vandeldor.”

Nodding, Gwen said, “I agree, but your father is pushing you to be your best. The world can be a dangerous place, Ariana. You are a guardian and one day it will fall to you to protect humanity.”

Ariana tied a red ribbon around her doll’s hair. “Will my mate be human like Mommy?”

“It is hard to say what fate will decide for you, but you are much too young to worry about such things.”

With a smile that would light up the darkest world, Ariana stood. “I will be a warrior just like you when I am grown.” She held out her small hand. “Come on, let’s go outside and watch the dragons fly.”

Gwen took Ariana’s hand in her own and her heart ached. Somewhere out there in the universe, she had a mate. Would they one day have a child like Ariana? How was she even going to find him? Maybe she would get lucky and have a vision that would lead her to where he went. Shoving him from her mind, she walked outside with her most favorite small person in the world. Once the sun of her homeland touched her face, everything righted itself. At least for the moment, and she allowed Ariana to lead her up a dirt path to an open grassy hill where they sat and watched the young dragons learning to fly.

Pointing her small finger to the sky, Ariana said, “That blue one there is my friend Brenton. He just learned to fly last summer.” She looked at Gwen. “I wish I could fly, don’t you?”

“That would be pretty cool.” She smiled.

“Brenton says when he’s big enough he will take me flying.” Ariana offered an enormous smile into the sun as she watched her friend. Gwen didn’t have the heart to tell her that her father would likely freak the hell out at the thought of his daughter flying with a dragon. He was very protective of his daughter, just as he had been of Gwen after they had lost their parents. It had just been the two of them, and Marcus had made certain Gwen wanted for nothing. He had taught her to swing a blade until he was confident she could defend herself. It felt so long ago that she had been that young and so much had changed in all of their lives.

A familiar power brushed across her skin and both Ariana and she stood and turned to face the power behind them. Aunt and niece both dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.

Zarek smiled, bent over, and opened his arms. “Ariana. How is my favorite little girl?”

She leaped to her feet and ran into him for a hug. “Zarek! I have missed you.”

He laughed and pulled a lollipop from the air. “I have missed you too.”

Gwen tried not to laugh as she watched. It was strange to see the king of gods so smitten with a child when she had seen him ready to rip the head off any immortal or god who crossed him.

“Ariana, would you mind if I talk to Gwen alone?”

“I suppose not. I have schoolwork to do, anyway.”

“Then you best be finishing that before your parents find out. Off you go.” They both watched the little girl in pigtails skip down the trail, and when she was out of sight, Zarek approached.

“I have come to learn what visions you saw regarding my nephew.”

“I take it Argathos has spoken to you.”

“He has and with your permission?” His fangs extended, showing he wished to drink from her. While he was even more capable of entering her mind than any guardian, for a god, drinking blood was the preferred method. To have a god root around in your mind was often painful and the drinking of blood would gain him the memories he wished to see without scrambling her brain.

She pulled her hair aside and stretched her neck, letting him know she gave permission. Not that he really needed it. Zarek could take whatever he desired, but he was giving her the respect he felt she deserved. He slipped one powerful arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

“Relax, daughter.”

She took a deep breath. Zarek was the creator of the guardians and while she was birthed from actual parents, the god was, in a sense, still her father. That she had never given herself over to him in this manner was slightly nerve-racking, to say the least. His strike was quick and deep before he began taking pulls of her blood. Warmth spread over her body as he took the memories of her vision of his nephew. After a minute, he was swiping his tongue across the punctures he’d left, then took a step back. He stared at her for a brief moment while he processed all that he had obtained, and then his silver gaze narrowed.

“He looks just like my brother. There is no doubt he is Argathos’s son.” Zarek lifted his chin. “You will tell no one of what you have learned. It may complicate things further.”

“Of course, but how can I find him?”

He cupped his hand to the side of her face. “Daughter, I feel your pain, for there is no doubt that my nephew is indeed your mate. How and who? I do not have an answer at this moment, but I will find who is behind this. As far as finding him?” He shook his head. “If your visions cannot locate him, then I will take the information from the hide of every god who breathes until we know the truth.”

There was no stopping the tear that slipped down her cheek. She hated showing her vulnerabilities in front of her god, but the emotions that swelled inside her were becoming too much to bear alone. She swallowed and found her voice. “What if I find him too late?”

“You cannot allow those thoughts to cloud your visions. Above all else, you must remain calm.” He stepped back and faded into the sunlight. Just as Gwen turned to head back to her brother’s home, the ground shook beneath her feet and she heard Marcus yell for her. When she looked up to see him standing in a grove of trees, something grabbed her.

“Marcus!” she screamed as pain tore through her like claws sinking into flesh.

“Gwen,” he yelled back as he ran toward her, but he was too late. Whatever had hold of her ripped her from the ground where she stood and pulled her into a black hole of nothingness. No light, no sound. Not even her beating heart thumped in her ears. It was as if she was floating in the quiets of the universe. That was, until she was thrust into intense light as her body was slammed against a hard surface. She tried to lift her head and through her fog, she saw a figure approach, but before she could react, she was sucked back into the darkness.