Bliss (25 page)

“I’m okay...I think,” she replied
aloud, wiping away tears, wishing vehemently he was with her in person.

Why are you sad?

What could she tell him? Learning the truth about who exactly her father had been and that he killed her grandfather unsettled her more than being turned into a Siren. She couldn’t reconcile the hard but gentle man her father was to the cold, calculated killer he’d been. Now, knowing her father had been a friend of King Sadok’s and that he’d been forced to kill him but had then had a change of heart boggled her mind.

King
Sadok was a rule follower. Something wasn’t right. Why had he gone behind the Court’s ruling and let her father live? That was the question of the day and one Kassandra vowed to unravel. She mustered her courage. “I’m fine. Really. Where are you?”

Don’t try to change the
topic, sweetlips. What’s wrong?

Kassandra sat up on the boulder as she pulled her eyes away from the blood
-red water in the pool. “Darius, I don’t want to talk about it...I’m,” here she paused, “I’m just confused.”

You should be resting. Why aren’t you resting?

Gone was the concern, and back was Mr. Commander.

“Leave me alone, Darius,” she muttered.

Never, sweetlips. Never.

“Kassandra?” asked Jamie, hesitantly gliding into view.

Kassandra all but growled in fury, knowing Darius had used telepathy to ask for Jamie’s assistance.
How dare he? I can take care of myself
. She had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves.

It would appear you can’t. Don’t push me, Kassandra.
I want Jamie to take you home.

Home?
Did he even know what that word meant to her?

“It would appear that she can’t take me home and
that I’ll never get to go home again,” she replied sarcastically.

Don’t push me, Kassandra. I
will make you leave with Jamie
. His voice in her head was gruff and unyielding.

Make me leave?
What the hell was he talking about? Was he able to make her do things she didn’t want to? The idea repulsed her. But she wouldn’t put it past him.

Frustrated and angry at her situation
, she fought against the urge to scream. The last thing she wanted was for Jamie to witness her waging a battle of wills with Darius. “Fine. I’ll go home, but to whose home? Yours. Not mine, Darius. And don’t you ever forget it,” she replied, her tone ice hard.

You’re upsetting the twins.

What the hell? So, now he can read my vitals?
Even as she thought that, her stomach almost heaved up the contents of her lunch.

Go rest, Kassandra, please
.

It was the
please
that did her in. “Fine,” she replied, taking Jamie’s outstretched hand.

With a slight pull she glided from the boulder. Together they made their way from the cave’s cool interior to the outer warmer waters. Kassandra was thankful that Jamie was silent.

“I knew I should have stayed with you,” said Jamie.

Before she could further blame herself, Kassandra cut her off. “How did he know I was sad?”

Jamie stopped. Her tail swayed in the gentle waters. “He is your
Sokhan
. Your soulmate. What you feel, he feels, and vice versa. Think of it as two souls finally finding each other to become whole,” replied Jamie, smiling. “Of course, if Darius tries to shield his feelings from you, you might not be able to feel his. That used to drive me nuts when Seth did that. Sorry, the last thing you need to hear about are my troubles. I’ve sent Maya ahead to fix you something special. Um...” Kassandra watched as Jamie actually fidgeted. “Um, Seth and I were wondering if you had made your decision.”

“No. I still need to think about it,” replied Kassandra, twisting her tail in the sand at the bottom of the ocean floor. She couldn’t quite meet Jamie’s eyes. Even after learning all ab
out how Jamie felt when Seth had claimed her, Kassandra didn’t feel comfortable expressing her fears or desires. Part of her yearned to have Darius’ children while the other part of her screamed that the idea was absurd.

She had to force herself to pay attention to Jamie’s words. “I know it’s an extremely hard decision. Has anyone explained the process to you?”

With her eyes wide, she replied, “No.”

A sigh from Jamie caused her to look up.

“I take it, it’s nothing like what I thought,” she said, wishing for once things could be simple.

Yes, simplicity had its merits. She actually wished her days of working at the library and then having to rush home to get ready for her weekend shift with the reserves was all she had to worry about. She had
a sinking feeling that the talk Jamie wanted to have with her wasn’t one she would relish.

Would figure,
thought Darius, forcing himself to not give into the shiver his body desperately wanted. How could anyone live here? He was convinced if it got any colder his body might actually start to shut down on its own, forcing him into hibernation. That thought alone made him move faster. Forcing his body to move at breakneck speed he dove headfirst for the fifth and last portal that would take him to the cursed Arctic waters of Thorgeir’s seas.

All the clues pointed to the ancient artifact
resting in Thorgeir’s inner ice chamber. He was determined to get it, then go home and work things out with Kassandra. The fact that the artifact happened to be a trident crafted of Poseidon’s own hands didn’t faze him one bit. And the fact that Thorgeir would never let him have it willingly disturbed him less. This was a mission he had no intention of failing.

He was still fuming with the knowledge of what his father had told him. Kassandra’s f
ather was the fabled son of Yulam. He was an ancient Titan who had done the unthinkable – killed his own father. No wonder he had wanted to end his life. Darius understood his rightful need for vengeance but knowing it and actually doing it were two different things. Personally, he couldn’t imagine giving in to that type of rage.

As his body finally emerged from the portal
, he stilled. All of his Titan senses had jumped into overdrive.

“Fancy seeing you here
.”

Darius swiveled his head to the right as his eyes tried desperately to make out the shapes in the dark, murky Arctic waters. Not that he needed to see the
Titan who was casually leaning against the gate to Thorgeir’s inner ice chamber. The voice was a dead giveaway.

“You are so predictable
, Darius. It truly is pathetic,” spat Rajheb.

“And you
, Rajheb, are like a bad sea urchin, nice to look at on the outside but rotten to the core on the inside. Oh, but you knew that already,” taunted Darius, wondering why Rajheb was here.

“You know I’ve always hated you and your noble attitude. You’re just like your brother. Except your brother
is better than you and that’s a crying shame because you’d like to be like him...oh wait....isn’t he dying of that deadly plague? After I’m finished with you, you’ll finally get what you want, to be just like Seth – dead!” spat Rajheb as he dove at Darius.

Moving swiftly aside, Darius dogged
Rajheb’s attack. “Come on, Rajheb, do you really think you can kill me? This should be fun,” taunted Darius, playfully ducking his way around Rajheb.

“You said I could have him,” whined a scratchy voice to Darius’ right. The sneer on
Rajheb’s face told him he wasn’t going to like what he saw when he turned his head. Sure enough. Darius eyed the creature who could have passed for Medusa. Instead of snakes, eels slithered where her hair should have been. Yellow, reptilian eyes stared hungrily at him.

“Oh, come
, Darius, don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Salina?” sighed Rajheb, pretending to buff his fingernails.

Darius wanted more than anything to throttle the annoying
Titan. Oh yeah, he’d heard of Salina all right. Medusa and Poseidon’s love child. But she was supposed to be a myth, one of those stories Titans told to scare the scales off the
freshlings
in warrior training.

So much for myth. A
forked tongue flicked out of her mouth as if she was scenting him.

“You said I could have him all to myself. That he would be my pleas
ure toy,” whined the creature. Her forked tongue continued to flick in and out. It grated on Darius’ nerves.

“Oh, I did
, didn’t I? Sorry, Darius, seems like I can’t kill you after all. But trust me, after Salina’s done with you, you’ll wish I had,” said Rajheb. He turned to go through Thorgeir’s inner ice chamber. Slyly he opened the gate.

“I don’t have time for your theatrics, Rajheb. Either kill me now or get out of my way,” demanded Darius, darting for the inner ice chamber door. A hard yank on his lower half stopped him cold. One of Salina’s eels had wrapped its body around his.

“Don’t think you’ll be joining me, Darius, old Titan, but I promise to make sure Thorgeir knows you were here,” taunted Rajheb, darting away.

Darius let the rapture happen. One instant he was a
Titan and then, in the next, he’d changed into an electric eel. Rajheb missed this moment. Part of Darius would have enjoyed seeing the other Titan’s look of disbelief. Not every Titan could rapture into other sea beings. In fact, it was a unique talent that only those of royal blood from the north seas possessed. A hand with a death grip grabbed his eel-like body. Even as he strained, he could hear Rajheb’s chuckle.

You are going to pay with every cell in your tainted body once I get rid of this hideous creature,
thought Darius. He knew all of this was a diversion to provide Rajheb with enough time to get the trident and take a portal back to who-knew-where.

Desperate to break Salina’s grip, he raptured into the smallest thing he could think of – a snail. He knew he’d have to undergo a quick rapture again into a
Titan before he floated down to the ocean floor.

A loud boom shook the sea just as Darius managed to rapture back into his true form.

“You there. Stay true!”

Even though it had been well over a century since his last visit with Thorgeir
, there was no mistaking his commanding voice. Turning, he faced the ancient Titan who ruled the Arctic seas with an ice fist.

Maybe dip
lomacy would have been better?
Darius hated thinking his father’s approach might have worked better. Down deep he knew that to be untrue. King Thorgeir would never willingly relinquish control of Poseidon’s trident. No, the only way to get it was to steal it quickly and then send an orb back explaining why they desperately needed it.

Other than Master Odeon, Thorgeir was the only other
Titan Darius knew who sported a long, white beard that flowed well past his jutting chin. The ancient Titan still kept his hair untied. He looked very much like a Viking of lore, with his long, white hair billowing behind him. Light blue eyes assessed him keenly. His towering seven tail form was impressive.

Darius watched as Thorgeir crossed his arms over his chest, a clear sign he was angry. “This
cannot be the son of my most trusted friend. By the gods, I do not believe mine own eyes. Why Darius? Why did you come to steal what is mine?” demanded Thorgeir.

Darius wanted to deny the accusation but Thorgeir wasn’t finished with him yet.

“At first I did not believe Saad, but I see I sorely misjudged that Titan. So, where did you put it....where is it, son of Sadok?”

Part of him wanted to t
ell Thorgeir that the trident really wasn’t his, while the other, warrior-trained, part of his brain planned an escape route.
Bloody Tartarus. Saad is here. That just figures. Those two are worse than two sea cucumbers. I should have known where one is the other follows,
mused Darius.

“I d
idn’t take your blasted trident.”
But I sure would have liked to. “
Saad’s brother, Rajheb, did,” said Darius, using his most commanding but persuasive voice.

Salina snake
d her body toward Thorgeir. He knew by the look in Thorgeir’s eyes that whatever the Siren had said caused his old teacher to be under her spell. The idea repulsed him. Worse was the knowledge that Thorgeir wasn’t about to listen to any of his reasoning.

“Salina he
re tells me you grabbed the trident and hid it. She was lucky to catch you before you departed. Darius, you fostered with me for one cycle, why would you betray me?” asked Thorgeir, motioning two of his guards to approach.

Me betray you?
Darius wanted to shake his head at his predicament. Yes, he had come to take the trident, but it was necessary if his
mardom
had a chance at ending the deadly plague.
And by the gods I didn’t actually take the thing.
Darius thought fast. There was only one option left open to him.

“Thorgeir I have captured another,” said a voice from the inner chamber before Darius could say or do anything.

Could it be? He prayed he was right and that they had indeed captured Rajheb. Finally that Titan would get what he deserved! Instead, Saad was hauled out of the ice chamber.

“What? Saad, I told you to stay where you were. Just when I was beginning to trust you, I get it now...the two of you are working together. Guards take them below!” bellowed Thorgeir.

Darius all but rolled his eyes at the situation. The only thing that could make it worse would be if Rylan showed up. As if on cue, the hairs on his nape stood on end. Stifling a groan, he eyed two guards hauling Zeus’ nephew none too gently out of the ice chamber.

“Well, it would seem that we have found another of your cohorts,” said Thorgeir. “Saad I know, but who are you?” he asked, motioning to the guards to bring Rylan forward.

Before Rylan spoke, Darius broke in. “He is a nephew of mine. Rylan, this is Thorgeir, King of the Arctic Seas. Thorgeir, Rylan.” Darius prayed the teenage half-god would keep his mouth shut for once.

Finally Salina left the king’s
side to slither to Rylan, who was attempting to squirm out of the hold of two guards. Salina’s tongue darted in and out, while the eels on her forehead shrank back into her skull. She looked even more frightful bald.

“This is no
Titan. He smells not like a Titan,” she spat, snaking her way from Rylan back to Thorgeir.

How the Hell does one smell like a
titan?

Then Thorgeir moved toward
Rylan. There was a look on Rylan’s face Darius didn’t trust.

“Darius make them stop pulling on my arms,” whined Rylan, trying to
sound fierce but failing.

Darius wanted to speak telepathically to the kid
, but he didn’t dare. He knew both Saad and Thorgeir could easily eavesdrop on their conversation. Through clenched teeth, he muttered, “Just stay still.”

“What
? So they can kill me? I don’t think so,” muttered the kid in return.

Darius wanted to laugh at that. They couldn’t kill him. He was a semi-god, and the last time he looked, Zeus had never allowed one of his own to be killed. So in all likelihood maybe Rylan being here actually improved his lot.
Now I know I’m sick.
Idiocy must be the first symptom of the plague if I’m actually beginning to think having Rylan here is going to help me get out of this situation. And, why exactly is he here?
And what’s with Saad?

“Take them to my special chamber. I will deal with them later,” said Thorgeir, motioning to the guards to take the ensemble below to his infamous deadly ice circle.

Great, just what I need... to be even colder than I already am
. Darius allowed his body to be dragged by the guards down into the bowels of the ice chamber, silently trying to communicate with Rylan to stop fighting.

In
Titan form, Rylan lacked his finesse, but evidently he made up for that with his squirming. Somehow he managed to land a sucker punch on one of Thorgeir’s massive guards. Not a good thing, thought Darius, moments before he heard the guard’s fist impact Rylan’s face, knocking the semi-god teenager unconscious. Darius prayed he’d remain that way until they were safe from Thorgeir and Saad.

All three of them were dumped onto the cold, marble-like floor. There was barely enough room to maneuver. The three of them were packed in tig
hter than sardines in a can. Darius forced his body into a half-sitting position, which meant he had to bend his head to keep it from scraping the ice ceiling.

“Ahhh, that thing punched me. He just punched me. I can’t believe it.
I think I actually went unconscious,” babbled Rylan, coming fully awake way before Darius was ready to deal with him. “Wait until I get my hands on him. He really shouldn’t have messed with me. Boy is he ever going to regret that. So, what’s the plan?” asked Rylan, slouching against the wall.

Darius had never met anyone
else who could bounce from one subject to another without breaking stride. He wondered if all the gods were like this in their teen years and shuddered.

“You must use your inner will to warm up, Darius,” said Saad.

Darius immediately bristled. He hated Saad’s holier-than-thou voice. “Shut up, Saad. And why by Tethys are you here? Seems like it was your brother who got us into this mess.” Darius scuttled over to peer out of the small slit of an opening carved into the ice door. Two guards flanked the door and another two were on full alert at the end of the corridor.
Great, Thorgeir’s not taking any chances.

“I came to save you,” replied Saad, sitting regally as if the cold didn’t matter one bit.

Darius eyed him. He didn’t trust the Titan at all. But there was something unusual about Saad, and Darius’ seventh sense told him something had changed. Through gritted teeth he said, “You do that...go right ahead. Because once you save us, I’m going to sweep you and your brother’s worthless bodies into Tartarus as a special gift to Hades. The two of you are poisonous leeches who deserve each other. To think you were tinkering with nature and look what it got you – demented sharks, crazed Tartahounds, ah,...I see you didn’t think I knew about that. Too bad Muroka had other ideas. Not that he succeeded.” With that admission Darius turned his attention back to formulating a plan of escape.