Calistos: Guardians of Hades Series Book 5 Read online

  “You couldn’t teleport her?”

  He shook his head. “During my rite of passage, I didn’t have that power. Father put all of us boys through it, taking us to a far corner of the Underworld where he couldn’t see clearly, one we had to work our way home from. It was a test, designed to help our powers awaken and hone what skills we had, transforming us into warriors worthy of his name. No one had known Calindria would follow me.”

  Her thumb stroked the back of his fingers. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “It was.” And nothing anyone could say would ever make him feel different. “When my family eventually found us, they were too late to save her. I remember I had tried to keep her safe. I remember fighting. I remember snippets, bits and pieces of other things, terrible things… but I don’t remember who tortured us and who killed her.”

  He drew down a deep, shuddering breath and fought for calm as pain raked fiery claws over his mind. He wasn’t going to pass out, because he wasn’t going to try to remember, no matter how badly he wanted to do just that. He just had to keep breathing.

  “When Father demanded I tell him what happened, I tried and blacked out. I woke days later that time. He tried to probe my memories, but he found nothing… just a void.” It wasn’t a void in his mind though. He knew that. It was a wall. Layers and layers of one designed to lock those dreadful memories away because he couldn’t bear the pain they caused him or the thought that she was gone. “Other gods and goddesses tried to break my mind open and only succeeded in breaking me. Mother demanded they stopped… that my father stopped. She didn’t want to lose another child.”

  Losing Calindria had almost killed her.

  “Ever since then, I’ve had to live with how I failed my sister… how her soul and her body had been separated and she had been left adrift, unable to go to the Elysian Fields… I’ve had to live with the fact I can’t even bring her killers to justice.”

  He stroked his fingers down the glass covering her portrait as fire burned in his veins like lava and the darker side of his nature, the part that came from Hades’s blood, gnashed its teeth.

  “But now I can…” He looked deep into Marinda’s soft eyes. “My brothers kept it from me… the answer. The people who killed my sister… they killed your father too.”

  Black ringed her irises as they turned violet.

  Cal clutched her hand, gripping it tightly. “We’ll find them, Marinda. They will pay for what they’ve done to us… to our families.”

  She nodded stiffly, sorrow filling her eyes as she looked up at him, the violet slowly fading back to tropical blue.

  It shifted back again as she muttered, “You were right to be angry with your brothers. They shouldn’t have kept things from you.”

  She was hurting, and he was man enough to admit that he was hurting too, still stung by what his brothers had done.

  Even though he understood why they had done it.

  “Believe me, I’m mad at them… but…” He sighed. “But maybe it was the right move. I refer you back to the part where I mentioned I’m reckless. I want to find these people and slaughter them, but doing that won’t bring my sister back. In fact, it would only make things worse.”

  When a furrow formed between her eyebrows, confusion mixed with curiosity filling her eyes, he heaved another sigh.

  “One of the men, a necromancer apparently, knows where her soul is. That means her soul is intact… or at least I can finally dare to hope that it is. If her soul is intact and we can find it, my father could guide it to the Elysian Fields.”

  “The Elysian Fields?”

  He nodded. “It’s a beautiful place. Lush and green. The good souls go there.”

  Tears lined her lashes, ripping at him, rousing a fierce need to comfort her.

  “Do you think Papa went there?”

  Cal didn’t hesitate to nod. “He was a Carrier, so he had blood of the Underworld in his veins, or at least the blood of the Olympians, and he took care of you and your mother. He protected you both, and loved you both. I’m sure his soul is resting there now, at peace.”

  Although it was probably worried still. Souls that entered that realm weren’t freed of their feelings. Cal swept the back of his fingers across her pale cheek. Her father didn’t need to fret. Cal would take care of her in his stead, protecting her from whatever the Fates had in store for her.

  “Look at me screwing up taking care of you again. You’re probably still freaked out about what happened.”

  She surprised him by shaking her head. “I feel… weirdly… fine. That isn’t normal, is it?”

  He hiked his shoulders. “Sounds pretty normal to me. Didn’t take me long to get used to finding myself in dangerous situations. It’s like a gear you switch into when you’re under threat. Some emotions get shut down to protect yourself and others turn on.”

  “But you’re a warrior.”

  He cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb over it. “You’re a warrior too. You just never knew it. Whatever your mother was, she must have come from a breed with fighting instincts. Which doesn’t narrow it down much. There’s a lot of species in the Underworld with warrior blood like that.”

  She didn’t look as if his words were at all comforting, her pretty face shifting towards solemn again as her eyes gained a wary and thoughtful edge.

  “Come on. I’ll fix you a cup of herbal tea and we can talk some more about all the species in the Underworld that might fit you.” He slipped his hand into hers and tugged her past the bookcase of DVDs, to the door just beyond it.

  “I’d like that,” she whispered.

  If it took all night, he would tell her about all the species he could think of, giving her details about a world she had never known but one she was definitely a part of.

  He pushed the door open and stepped into the oak kitchen, Marinda trailing behind him.

  Stopped dead.

  He stared at the discarded shirt on the floor as the coppery stench of daemon blood hit him.

  “That smell.” Marinda covered her mouth, her eyes enormous.

  He squeezed her hand as her fear trickled into him. “It’s old blood. No daemons here. We’re safe.”

  She nodded but the panic in her eyes remained, together with something else. Guilt? Despair? He wasn’t sure what it was. She didn’t like the things she had done, even though it had been daemons she had killed and she had been defending herself. Maybe it was fear of herself he had sensed in her. She didn’t understand her instincts, so she was afraid of them, feeling as if she was two souls in one body.

  Or that something was inside her.

  The darkness that came from his father’s blood sometimes felt as if something had set up home in him, so he could understand her worry and fear.

  He had learned to live with it, but it had taken him most of his seven hundred and sixty-five years.

  And every now and again he still felt as if it was another force within him, one that easily controlled him at times.

  One that seemed to be coming to the fore frequently since Marinda had come into his life.

  He glanced at her, her fear a constant on his senses, rousing that dark side of himself that burned with a need to protect her.

  To shield her and keep her safe.

  Keep her his.

  His sharp senses charted the house, locating and fixing on Keras where he was in his bedroom, and the darkness snarled, baring teeth because he didn’t want his brother near her.

  No wonder his brothers had all been on edge when they had met their women.

  Or were still on edge even now.

  Sometimes Ares still looked as if he wanted to kill anyone who so much as glanced at Megan.

  He looked at Marinda, studying her, drinking his fill of her beauty as it calmed his raging darker side.

  It struck him that he didn’t want fast and fun.

  Not with her.

  He wasn’t ready for this, couldn’t shake the feeling that if he allowed himself to grow clo
ser to her, if he let himself fall for her, that he would only end up losing her.

  He would do something to get her killed too.

  He released her hand, needing a moment to breathe, and crouched by the black shirt. He carefully lifted it, grimacing as the disgusting scent of daemon blood grew stronger, the black liquid dripping from the material to leave a puddle on his wooden floor.

  Which was probably ruined now.

  He was going to have to tear it all up to get rid of the smell.

  His brother must have gone out daemon hunting straight after their fight.

  He took the shirt to the waste bin and tossed it into it, turned away to head back through the living room to go and check on Keras.

  Froze as his gaze caught on his brother’s phone on the black marble top of the island.

  Next to a small obsidian box.

  Curiosity got the better of him, even as the tiny sensible part of him said that Keras would be furious if he caught him snooping.

  “What’s that?” Marinda said as he lifted the rectangular cold stone box from the counter.

  “Don’t know.” Cal eased the lid open with his thumb.

  Stared at the tiny black pills it contained.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Keras stormed into the room, snatched the box from him and clutched it in his fist.

  His green eyes burned black as he towered over Cal, the fury emanating from him in powerful waves hitting Cal as he tried to think of a way to talk his way out of this mess.

  Because Keras cursing was never a good sign.

  Cal braced himself, sure that Keras was about to utterly destroy him, but then his brother’s bare shoulders tensed and his black gaze slid towards Marinda.

  “What happened?” Those words were calm, his tone even, as if he hadn’t just been on the verge of obliterating Cal.

  Controlled.

  His brother was still seething. Cal had known him long enough to spot the tells. He could act as if nothing was wrong all he wanted, but Keras was mad at him.

  Because Cal had discovered a dirty little secret?

  What were those pills?

  More importantly, what the hell was his brother doing standing so close to Marinda when he was only wearing a small towel around his hips?

  Cal stepped in front of her, a low growl curling up his throat. “Put some damned clothes on and we’ll talk. In fact, I think we all need to be in on this meeting.”

  Including Marinda.

  If he was going to Tokyo, then she was too. He needed to know that she was safe.

  Keras huffed and stepped, leaving faint ribbons of darkness in his wake.

  Cal released the breath he had been holding, relaxing a notch as his brother distanced himself not only from Cal, but from Marinda.

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and was about to fire off a group message when one rolled in.

  From Marek.

  “What is it?” Marinda clutched his shoulders and tried to peer over them, her breasts pressing against his back and threatening to distract him.

  He showed her the screen.

  “Marek has the CCTV footage.”

  Chapter 16

  Cal took hold of Marinda’s hand and stepped with her to Tokyo, landing on the porch of the elegant ancient single-storey mansion. Her wide eyes danced around her, her shock rippling into him as she turned in a slow semi-circle, keeping her grip on his hand.

  “We’re in…” She trailed off as she glanced back at him, a beautiful look of disbelief on her face.

  “Japan.” He scrubbed a hand around the back of his neck. “It’s kinda our stronghold.”

  “It’s incredible.” She started to drift away from him, down the step into the formal front garden.

  Cal kept hold of her hand, stopping her from hitting the path that wound between ancient stone lanterns, cutting through the pale gravel that surrounded perfectly manicured topiary to head towards the imposing gatehouse and the cherry and maple trees that occupied the corners of the garden, shading grassy areas.

  She looked back at him, early morning bathing her in golden light that threaded highlights in her hair and brightened her blue eyes.

  Her eyes widened further and she stepped back, tugging him down onto the path with her as her gaze danced over the mansion. He knew what she was seeing, and it was probably a shock to her system. The mansion was centuries old, quintessentially Japanese with its sweeping ribbed grey-tiled roof and thick dark wooden beams, and the white panelled walls that filled the spaces between them.

  A startling contrast to the modern world she was used to.

  “Everyone should be here soon.” He stepped closer to her, and fixed his senses on her to monitor her feelings. “All of my brothers. You don’t have to worry about them. Okay? You’re safe here, with us.”

  She nodded, not an ounce of nerves in her.

  “Phew, that doesn’t get easier,” Megan said as she appeared with Ares on the stone path beyond Marinda.

  Marinda whirled to face her so fast she almost fell, her pulse off the scale as her hand tensed against Cal’s.

  “Oh!” Megan’s warm brown eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought we would be the first here.”

  Ares slung his arm around her slender shoulders, his black shirt appearing grim against her autumnal orange woollen jumper.

  His brother grinned, a sickening amount of love in his eyes as Megan absently ran a hand over her belly.

  The bump on her belly.

  She was showing.

  “You’re… pregnant.” Marinda sounded surprised by that. Or maybe it was the one-two punch of there being another woman attending the meeting, and the fact that the woman was pregnant.

  “Seventeen weeks and counting.” Megan beamed as she patted her belly.

  Ares continued to grin like an idiot, his dark eyes bright with flecks of gold and red fire. Or maybe his brother was just proud.

  Marinda relaxed a notch, and then another as Megan broke free of his brother’s grip and came to her, looping an arm around hers and stealing her from Cal.

  “I bet you just can’t wait to enter the madness that is the family home.” Megan smiled at Marinda.

  Cal grimaced as Esher’s voice rang out in the morning air as if on cue.

  “No. Shoes. In. The. House!”

  Cal could imagine Valen flipping his brother off as he snapped, “Bite me.”

  The front door opened, Valen grumbled something at Megan and tossed his boots onto the rack on the wooden porch.

  “Better?” he barked over his shoulder. “What’s got your panties in a bunch anyway?”

  “Esher does not wear panties.” Aiko’s soft voice, her English stilted as she struggled with it, had Cal shaking his head and chuckling.

  He knew exactly how Valen was going to respond to that one.

  “That’s what you know. I bet he’s wearing your panties right now.”

  Esher snarled, the black sound carrying a warning. Valen was pushing him too hard. Ares heaved a long sigh, strode past Megan as Marinda helped her with her trainers, and kicked his boots off. He picked up Valen’s pair and carried them into the single-storey house.

  Cal caught a glimpse of Ares shoving them at their brother.

  “Go pick up Eva. I can’t stand you when you’re not around her.” Ares didn’t need to tell Valen twice.

  Valen stepped without his boots and reappeared a moment later, cradling Eva in his arms like a princess.

  The black-and-blue-haired assassin swatted at him, biting out curses in Italian as she tried to break free of his arms. He silenced her with a hard kiss.

  Marinda cast her gaze down at her feet and a hint of colour climbed her cheeks.

  Was she thinking about their kiss?

  He had been thinking about it every second since it had happened, trying to figure out a way to make it happen again.

  Marinda removed her own shoes and placed them neatly beside Megan’s on the
rack. It was already getting full, and there were at least three more people due to show up.

  Esher was going to have to get a bigger rack at this rate.

  Cal toed off his boots and followed Marinda and Megan inside. Eva finally twisted free of Valen, dropping to her feet in a low crouch. She popped up and smiled at Megan.

  “You’re coming along.” Eva looked as out of place against Megan’s colourful jumper and blue jeans as Ares did.

  Not that he could talk.

  He tended to wear black most of the time too.

  Although, Eva was wearing fatigues and a fitted black jacket that bulged at the sides, indicating she was armed.

  Her bright blue eyes landed back on Valen. “I really do want to catch up with everyone, but I have a job to do.”

  Which was crappy code for she had someone to kill.

  Valen made no secret of the fact he hated that she was still taking work as an assassin, complained about it whenever she had to skip a meeting. Apparently, he didn’t like being forced to be one of the ‘loners’ who didn’t have a woman.

  “You’re staying.” Valen snaked his arm around her waist and she fought him as he pulled her towards him. “For me. Come on… pretty please? I’ll make it worth your time.”

  She surrendered, her eyes gaining a wicked light as her lips curled into the semblance of a smile.

  Valen tugged her against him and kissed her again.

  “Gross,” Megan muttered, earning a surprised look from Ares. Her eyebrows rose. “It’s not me talking. It’s the baby.”

  “Come here, sweetheart.” Ares ruffled her dark hair, cupped her nape and kissed her, a sweet one that was a stark contrast to the vulgar tonsil tennis happening between Valen and Eva.

  Cal glanced at Marinda.

  She had a strange glow in her eyes, a light he had never seen before. Was she happy? His family were all shades of weird, and most of the time they annoyed the hell out of him, but there was never a dull moment.