Hired Gun #4 (7 page)

“I’ve known Thanatos for eternity, trust me he is capable of worse. Much like the two of you, he is a victim of his circumstances. He did not wish for the hand that was dealt him, but he also didn’t choose the right path.” She paused. “He wasn’t always this way. As you know, his parents are Nyx and Erebos, and his twin is Hypnos. The twins were separated before they were of age. Thanatos got the bad end of the deal. He was taken by Erebos and left in pure darkness, alone for centuries. Eventually he escaped, and he was so powerful that no one could take him down, but he’d changed in that time. The darkness had won, that was until he met his wife. She refused to believe he was unredeemable. She’d known him as a child; they’d played together. It took centuries, but little by little she wore him down and he accepted her love. So as you can see, since Apollo took his family, Thanatos has nothing left to live for. That is until he met Kataya. I’ve watched them together. His feelings for her are real, but they are not strong enough to prevent him from taking revenge.”

Thorne raked his hands through his hair, surprised to feel a sort of kinship with Thanatos. He’d though he’d had a bad life, but Thanatos’s was a thousand times worse. A part of him wanted to help him seek his revenge, bring the other gods to their knees. 

Thorne finally spoke. “I don’t understand what Apollo was thinking.” 

“It was truly a mistake. Bad timing, luck, whatever you want to call it. He was just experimenting and didn’t realize it would affect anyone on The Realm.”

“Who the fuck plays around with plagues?” Thorne demanded. 

Athena sighed. “Thorne, as gods we have many responsibilities. Not all of them are pleasant. Where do you think the outbreaks throughout history have come from? Thin air?”

“You mean, you purposely send down viruses?”

“Yes, and also natural disasters. There has to be a balance. And once in a while the world needs to be shaken up. I’m sorry, but it’s just the way that it is. Humans only have a short period of time on Earth to learn many lessons, and suffering is usually part of the learning process. We don’t make the rules.” 

“If you don’t then who does?”

“The Creator, of course.” She looked at him like he was an idiot. 

“And does the Creator want Earth to end?” Kataya asked.

“No, my dear, but free will is a very powerful tool that was bestowed upon us. The Creator will not step in to stop it if Thanatos chooses to go through with his plan.” 

He rubbed his temples. This was all getting way over his head. He knew he couldn’t possible prevent natural disasters or plagues, but there had to be a way to prevent Earth and The Realm from disappearing. Granted, if they had enough notice they could just teleport to another dimension, but that would be a last resort. 

“I offered Thanatos a carrot. I told him I might have a way to destroy The Realm and still save Earth. Is there any way at all this is possible?”

Athena and Kataya exchanged a glance. “No, I’m afraid not. There is no way to cut the tie that binds them, much like the tie that you and Kataya have.”

“Are you saying if one of us dies the other one dies, too?” Kataya asked, her tone disbelieving. 

“No it isn’t quite like that, but it would feel as if part of you was gone. Thorne knows the feeling well.” 

Did he ever. It fucking sucked. 

“With the silver cord holding The Realm and Earth together, if one is gone the other is gone. There is no way to stop it. We’re not just talking two souls here, we’re talking billions. I guess you could think of it like the cord attached to the cord you two share, but every soul has the same cord. Earth is a miraculous place.” 

“So if we went to another dimension before everything exploded we’d still die?” Thorne asked, surprised. 

“Yes, I’m afraid so. There is no way out of this. Our lives are literally in Thanatos’s hands.” 

“I need to speak to him.” Kataya stood up abruptly. 

Athena pulled Kataya into a hug. “I think you should let Thorne have a chance first.” 

“But he cares about me. I know he does.” 

Athena smoothed back Kataya’s hair. “Yes, his feelings for you are real. However, my vision shows Thorne as the one that can save us. If he fails, then you must do your best. If it cannot be avoided, I want you to know that I have loved watching over you and seeing you grow into such an amazing young woman. And if there is a way, we will meet again.” 

Before Kataya could respond Athena was gone. 

She wiped away a tear. “Why do they always do that?” 

Thorne pulled her into him and she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Beats the hell out of me.” 

“Do you think you can stop him?”

“So you believe me now?”

“How can I not? I just spoke to a goddess.” 

“You’ve done more than just speak to a goddess.” Thorne couldn’t help but grin. 

“What do you mean?” 

“The woman staying with me. Yeah, well that’s Nike.” 

Her arms dropped to her side and she pushed him back to look up at him. “Tell me you’re joking.” 

“Sorry, love, can’t do that.”

Kataya covered her mouth. “Ohmygod.” 

Thorne grabbed her again and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “We’ve got more important things to worry about right now.” He closed his eyes and transported them back to his place. As much as he wanted to take her back to the bedroom and fuck the hell out of her he knew he had to talk to Thanatos first. 

“You stay here and I’ll be back soon.” 

She crossed her arms over her chest. “No. I’m going with you.”

“You heard what Athena said.” 

He could tell by looking at her that there was no changing her mind. 

“I won’t interfere, but I want to be there. Just in case I can help in some way.” 

Sighing, Thorne wrapped his arms around her again and pulled them to Thanatos’s house. 

Kataya’s face looked a little green because she wasn’t used to the traveling through time and space. Hell, neither was he. 

Chapter. 9

Thanatos, I have news. 

Where are you?

At your house. 

Don’t you have any manners?

Not really. 

I’ll be there in a few moments. 

“I think I need to sit down,” Kataya said, holding onto her stomach. 

“Have the butler get you some crackers and tea to help settle your stomach. It will pass quickly.” 

She nodded and called for the old man. If he was surprised to see her in another form he didn’t act like it. A few moments later the man came back with an assortment of teas and treats. Very efficient. 

“Kataya, Thorne. What a pleasant surprise to see you both together,” Thanatos said, suddenly appearing before them. He reached down and poured himself a cup of tea. 

Thorne declined when he was offered a cup. His mind was racing with how best to approach Thanatos. As much as he hated to admit it, they had a lot in common. 

“Kataya, I’m glad to see you are safe. I was worried when you didn’t come home. Now I see I needn’t be concerned.” 

“I wasn’t with Thorne last night. He just found me today.”

“After we talked,” Thorne threw in. He didn’t want Thanatos to think he’d known all along where she was, because he hadn’t. 

“Your wife. She was your soulmate, wasn’t she?” Thorne asked, watching Thanatos closely. 

He took a deep breath and let it out. “Yes, I believe she was.” 

“I’m not going to try to appeal to your senses about love. I think you believed me when I said that Kataya was my wife reincarnated. And it will come as no surprise that she is my mate. And yes, I’d like to grovel at your feet and ask you not to kill off the world so I can have more time with her, but I’m not going to do that.” 

Thanatos took a sip of his tea, and Thorne couldn’t help but think how absurd this all was. He was having a tea party with a daemon who wanted to blow up the world.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. About life in general, and how we turn out the way we do. Because when we’re born there is no hatred or malice. In every single one of us there is a spark that is ours alone—that no one can touch. There has to be. Yeah, we try to bury it beneath our hardened shells but it’s still there. Whether we like it or not. Do you know why?”

Thanatos shrugged. 

“Because the Creator did not make us the way we are. We did it to ourselves.”

“Fuck that,
they
made us this way.” 

Thorne laughed. “Did they? I guess in a sense they did, but at the end of the day we all have free will. We let them get to us. So day by day we hid that little spark deeper and deeper. Until we were the only ones that knew it was still there, and perhaps some random stranger we decided to help when we thought no one was looking. Because we couldn’t stop ourselves. 

“Don’t look at me like that. I know you’ve done it, too. And if we’re really lucky, someone comes along and does something so surprising it knocks our world off kilter. They give us a chance. They love us
anyway
. I heard it took your wife many lifetimes for you to come around. For some reason you were worthy of her attention.” 

“I don’t know what you want from me, Thorne.” 

Thorne leaned back in his chair. “I guess I figure if there’s hope for you, then there’s hope for me. Turn the other cheek, brother. Killing off the human race will not bring back your family.” 

“Ah, but it will bring a smile to my face.”

“Will it? I think we both know better than that. Not to mention the fact that you know better than most that even death is not death. And you know the Creator. He’ll forgive you, and then throw you in another dimension to work out your karma with the same assholes you’re trying to get rid of now. It’s a vicious cycle, man. Why not just end it now? Stop giving those idiots so much power over you.” 

Thanatos grunted. He knew Thorne was right. 

“You want to take down these weak ass humans? For what? Hell, most of them barely make it through the day. They are doing enough to themselves to bring them to extinction. Why not let the natural order take its course?” 

When Thanatos took another sip of his tea Thorne noticed a slight tremor in his hand. “They are weak, it’s really quite pathetic. A runny nose could keep them in bed for a week.”

Thorne nodded in agreement. “Hell, too many cheeseburgers can put them in the grave. Leave them alone, Thanatos. They’re here working off karma and attempting to make themselves better people.” 

Eyes narrowing, Thanatos cleared his throat. “I had not thought of it in those terms.” 

“Trust me, I’ve had an eternity to think of how to get revenge of those fools, but I always come back to the same answer. They aren’t worth it.”

“And tell me, Thorne, what would I do if I decided to turn the other cheek as you say? I can’t go back to The Realm. You have no idea how much anger the mere sight of Apollo brings me.”

“I can begin to imagine. You brought out the same rage in me, and yet here we are having a chat. Some crazy shit, isn’t it? Why not stay here? You could work with The Sicarii. Or stay here and be the most powerful man on the Earth.” Thorne paused. “As long as you don’t plan on causing it to implode from within.”

Thanatos’s laugh was so erupt Thorne figured it even surprised him. “You want me to work with you? Or be the President of the United States?” 

“Why not both?” 

Lost in thought, Thanatos ran his large hand along his jaw. 

Who knew what was going through his head. Under normal circumstances, Thorne wouldn’t have given a shit what the outcome would be, but he had a lot riding on the world ending. He’d just found his other half once again and didn’t want to be ripped apart before they even really got to know each other. 

And what he’d said could be true—that they would meet up in another dimension—but he wasn’t willing to take that risk. She was still a mortal and their rules didn’t quite work the same way. With his luck, they’d end up worlds apart. 

“What do you say?”

Thanatos looked up, but it wasn’t at Thorne. Instead, he was looking at Kataya. 

“You must hate me,” he said with no heat to his voice. 

Rising from her chair, she walked over to him and got down on her knees before she grasped his hands in her own. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I don’t care what you’ve done. You’re the only person that has treated me like I’m worthy. You’re the father I always wanted but never had. And if you decide to blow us all to smithereens … well, I’ll still love you.” 

Thanatos turned into his daemon form. “Do you really think you can still love me? Because this is who I am, Kataya.”

“I have to say the red eyes are a bit freaky, but yep I still love you. If you want me to help you get revenge on the ones that have done this to you, I will do whatever it takes.” 

Thanatos pulled back. “How can you offer me that?”

“I want you to be happy, Thanatos. Even if it means taking the rest of us down with you.”

Thorne wanted to strangle her. What the hell was she doing? She was going to mess up the delicate foundation he’d laid to turn Thanatos around. 

Quiet.
Athena’s words echoed in his head. 

“Fuck it,” Thanatos said, turning back into Geoffrey. “I’m not going to take away your happiness for my own. Like Thorne said, it would probably be for naught.”

“Does that mean you’ll be joining us at The Sicarii?”

“That depends. Is the President of The United States allowed to be a member?”

Thorne cracked a grin and let out a relieved sigh. 

Athena, Nike, and Benny flashed into the room. Apparently they’d had front row seats. “Thanatos,” they all said in unison. 

He looked up, but was not at all surprised. 

“Can you put aside your plot for revenge? Do I have your word?” Athena asked. 

They all knew she alone wielded enough power to smooth things over with the other gods. 

“You have my world that I will not sabotage Earth. However, I cannot promise you that I will not kill Apollo the first chance I get.” 

“That’s between the two of you. But for what it’s worth, he really didn’t know your family would be affected.”