Descending (The Rising Series) (35 page)

Gretchen kept her head down
and nodded.

“
Now pull yourself together,” Sara said. “We’ve got a mermaid to kill and Kyros and Drakōn to save. And we aren’t going to tear in there without a plan, and we’re definitely not going to curl up in a fetal position and give up without a fight. We’re going to make a plan, carry it out, and kill that witch.”

Gretchen choked back a sob and wiped her tears. She looked over at
Xanthus, who was beaming at his wife. Gretchen looked up at Sara. She glowed with power and confidence. Gretchen always knew Sara had it in her. Of course, as strong as Sara was proving herself to be, Gretchen felt like she’d finally shown everyone how weak she truly was. “I’m sorry. I just… sometimes it’s hard putting up a strong front. It’s a constant fight for me. I’m not as tough as you think I am.”

“
Yes, you are,” Sara said. “And don’t let me ever hear you say you aren’t. You’re the toughest woman I know.”

Gretchen straightened her spine and blew out a breath. “I’m sorry. Xanthus, you won’t have any more trouble from me.”

“Gretchen, don’t apologize. You’re stronger than any warrior I’ve ever known.”

Gretchen couldn’t bring herself to smile, but she appreciated his words. No one had ever given her greater praise. She knew Xanthus didn’t need a thank you, but
she gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

Xanthus gathered them in together. “Okay, Pallas, what did you discover?”

“From what we could see, there are only three individuals in the home—Aella, an old woman, and an infant.”

Gretchen gasped. “So it’s true. She has a baby in there—my brother or sister.”

Pallas nodded. “A boy. And he has a fin, not legs.”

A brother? Gretchen’s heart immediately went out to the babe. She knew what it was like being mothered by the spawn of evil.

“I suspect Kyros and Drakōn underestimated the old woman,” Xanthus said. “We will not be making the same mistake. If she gives you any resistance, kill her at once.”

Gretchen swallowed. Kill an old woman? If it c
ame to that, she hoped she wouldn’t be the one who had to kill her.

“I’ll be going in
alone,” Xanthus said. “Pallas, you and Amar will watch the exits and make sure the mermaid does not escape.”

“
Yes, sir,” Pallas said.

“I will give my life if needed,” Amar said.

“Let’s make sure that’s not needed,” Xanthus said.

“Agreed
.” Pallas smiled.

“Straton,” Xanthus said. “You’ll stay here. We need your healing skills
. We can’t chance having our healer wounded or killed.”

Straton nodded.

“Gretchen and Sara, you’ll wait here with Straton. Amar you need to lay down a perimeter of gasoline completely around the home. If we don’t come out in fifteen minutes, Straton, you’ll need to set the house on fire.”

“What?” Gretchen whispered harshly
.

Sara
, at the same time, moaned, “No.”

“This mermaid must die. If we can’t accomplish what we’ve come for in fifteen minutes, it means we’ve failed and
have been captured. Sara and Gretchen, as brave as you both are, you are not warriors. I will not allow you to put yourself in mortal danger. If I fail, there is little chance you’ll succeed. And Aella cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to survive. If we cannot kill her, the responsibility will fall to you.”

“What about your lives?
” Gretchen asked. “What about the others? What about Kyros and my baby brother?”

“Don’t assume the worse.”

“Assume the worst?” Sara said. “You just did assume the worse when you told Straton to burn all of you alive.”

“Please be reasonable. If we fail, we fail. Don’t make a bad situation worse by letting the mermaid escape to continue slaughtering innocent lives. Gretchen, Sara, promise me you’ll not interfere with Straton.”

Gretchen pursed her lips together, unwilling to agree with him. Sara was giving them the same reaction.

Xanthus scowled at them. “If neither of you give me your word, I’ll set the fire now.”

“What? You wouldn’t,” Gretchen challenged.

“You think I want to? You’d give me no choice. If you’re asking me to choose between the life of my wife or the life of soldiers—friends or not
, I’ll choose my wife’s a million times over.”

“Xanthus,” Sara said. “You agreed to bring me. You said I could help.”

“I did
not
agree to put you danger. Your being this close to the place of battle is beyond what I’m comfortable with. Do not ask me to allow more!”

“It’s my choice,” Sara said, raising her voice.

“No. It’s not.”

“Then you lied to me.”

“When did I?”

“
When we got married, you promised me you’d never give me orders. You said you’d always give me a choice.”

“This is different. You could get killed in there.”

“If I’m willing to put my life on the line to help those innocent men, you should respect that choice.”

“Sara, I will not. I cannot.” He pulled her in close. “If anything happened to you, moro mou, I could not survive it.”

“And you think I could?”

Xanthus looked tormented. “Will you agree to my conditions?”

She frowned as she thought hard. “I will…
if
you promise me one thing.”

“What would you have me promise you?”

“That you will do
everything,
and I mean
everything,
you can to survive.”

“I promise I will do everything I can to survive.”

“You’d better.” Sara jumped into his arms and kissed him passionately. “That’s to let you know what’s waiting for you when you get back.”

“I’ll be back to collect on that promise
,” Xanthus growled.

Gretchen fought back tears. She wanted more than anything to embrace
Kyros and show him how much she loved him. But he might be… No, she wouldn’t go there. He was alive and she’d bring him home, nurse him back to health, and marry him so she could kiss every inch of his beautiful body. But first, they needed to save him.

With Sara’s arms still wrapped around him, Xanthus glanced at Gretchen. She kept her mouth shut. Unlike Sara, Gretchen wasn’t about to make any promises. She had a feeling Xanthus knew what she was thinking. But he didn’t say anything. It appeared he wasn’t going to try and stop her. His primary concern was for his wife, and he’d already gotten her word.

Xanthus stepped away from Sara. “Okay, soldiers. Let’s move in.”

Kyros felt as if every bone in his body were broken and his flesh torn to shreds. How he could still be alive after such a beating, he had no idea. Aella had honed her skills and knowledge on how to inflict pain and suffering over the ages. She was a master.

Kyros pried his one good eye open and looked around. He was still in the living area—probably because he was too big for Aella or her grandmotherly minion to move. Drakōn lay unmoving in the same position he had been in hours ago.

“You have to come!”

He could hear Aella’s voice coming from the kitchen.

“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. It’s just that my situation is desperate. The Dagonians are on their way. They’ll kill me.”

Aella came into view through the kitchen door
with a phone to her ear. She stomped forward, turned, and stomped back.

“
Leaving will not solve the problem. They’ll just follow. Listen, I know you don’t care if I live or die, but there’s something I have to tell you, something that
makes
this situation your concern. When you and I were together, something happened.”

Another pause.

“No, not that. Don’t be crude. It was something that should have never happened. But it did, and I can’t regret it.” There was silence, and Aella spoke low. “I got pregnant.”

There was a
pause, and she said, “Thane? Are you there?”

There was a low rumbling,
and a crack of thunder that caused the house to shake. Dark mist entered the living room through the kitchen door and filled the house with shadows that brushed Kyros’s skin like the kiss of death.

A
voice that seemed born of Tartarus filled the home. “If you are lying, you’ll wish the Dagonians had gotten to you first.”

“I’m not lying.” Aella’s voice shook. “I swear on the
River Styx. I’m telling you the truth. You have a daughter. Her name is Gretchen.”

“A daughter? Why did you wait until now to tell me?”

“I… I knew you were angry with me. I was afraid you’d take her.”

“Believe
me, I would have. No daughter of mine should have to be raised by a mother as cruel and heartless as you.”

“But I love her.”

He laughed. “You are not capable of love, Aella. I should have destroyed you when I found you.”

“You wouldn’t kill me. After everything we’
ve been through—”

“
After everything you put me through, I should have summoned my father to claim your soul.”

“But then Gretchen would not be here. And she is. She’s in danger.”

Kyros didn’t know Thane’s voice could have gotten any more terrifying than it was, but somehow, the demigod pulled it off. “What kind of danger?”

“She’s traveling with the Dagonians. They’ve convinced her they care about her. She’s leading them to me.”

“Why can’t you handle these Dagonians yourself? Why summon me? And don’t tell me you wanted to unite me with my daughter. I know you better than that.”

“Their leader is immune to my voice, and they are accompanied by two mermaids.”

“I assume one is my daughter. Who is the other?”

“A new daughter of Triton.”

“You want me to kill a daughter of Triton? Do you know what Triton would do to me?”

“You don’t have to kill her. Just their leader, Xanthus. Once he falls, the others will be easy prey.”

“I’ve heard of Xanthus. They call him the Nightmare of the Deep, and he’s usually accompanied by a Dagonian just as formidable—Kyros Dionysius.”

At his name, Aella giggled. “Kyros is far from formidable. Would you like to see what I’ve done to him?”

Kyros watched as a demon stepped through the shadowy mist. He towered above Aella, who walked at his side. His eyes sent a jolt of fear into Kyros’s bones. The demigod’s irises were silver ringed with black, and they glowed against his dark presence. This was Gretchen’s father? It looked like she got her looks from her mother. He looked from Kyros to Drakōn.

“You did this to them?” he sneered.

“Yeah, you’re not the only one who knows how to inflict pain.”

“What did they do to warrant it?”

“Haven’t you been listening to a word I’ve said?”

He turned his glowing eyes on her. “You forget
yourself, mermaid.”

“I think
you
forget who
I
am. I am a daughter of Triton. I…” Her voice choked off, and she slapped her hands across her throat. Her mouth opened wide as she tried to draw in a breath.

Thane leaned in, sneering at her. “Your father banished you and left you to die.”

Thane released her, and she dropped to the floor. She gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“
Enlighten me,” he said. “What did they do to warrant this?”

“They’ve been trying to kill me!”

“If I recall, Dagonians have been trying to kill you for thousands of years. How did they find you?”

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“She’s lying,” Kyros’s voice came out in a forced whisper.

Aella kicked Kyros in the head, making
it snap back. The room went dark; he wasn’t sure if it was him losing consciousness again or the demigod’s mist.