Rock Hard (24 page)

Again, Dagon was effusive with his praise. He also dismissed her to return to Plymouth right away. It seemed that Dagon, too, had been busy that day, and had recruited a score of men who would be showing up at their Plymouth headquarters first thing tomorrow for training and orders. It was possible they would bring friends with them. Lenore was needed to see that they were welcomed properly and initiated. Matthew would remain with Dagon.

Lenore thought she should at least stay until Tess woke up to apologize for the jab to the neck and make sure the other woman understood what was happening, but Dagon was insistent. And in the end, Lenore was bundled off into the night, hoping that the men could make Tess understand that they were just trying to keep her safe.

Dagon entered the back room, setting Matthew to keep watch outside the cabin.

So here was the human who would help him destroy Marduk and Enlil’s tenure on Earth. Once that was accomplished, she would be of no further use, and he could search for more humans who sprang from the loins of his enemies.

One by one, the gods would gain substance, and one by one Dagon would banish them. He was happy to be bringing more hardened men into his fold. He’d need humans with no moral scruples. As much as he liked his woman in charge, it was unfortunate that Lenore might be a little too compassionate for what he had planned. She would either prove herself, or she would be destroyed. There could be no one, outside of their organization, allowed to know what was going on.

Dagon bent over where Tess lay crumpled on the mattress. Sweet, sweet Tess, he stroked her cheek. What a pretty little thing. He had been a long time without a woman, and all alone in these remote woods, who would hear her cries? He could almost work up an arousal. She was more appealing to him than Lenore, but he still wasn’t getting a satisfying jolt of lust. He hoped nothing had gone wrong with his man-parts. He dismissed the thought as ludicrous. It must be that he’d been asleep too long and hadn’t yet recovered.

Matthew had confiscated the phone belonging to the woman and ascertained that Marduk and Enlil were now on her contact list. Perhaps Dagon would strip the chit naked and send Marduk some engaging pictures over the phone. Wouldn’t that just send the arrogant thunder god over the edge?

But no need to get carried away. Once he engaged the girl’s phone, it was only a matter of time before Marduk would locate this hide-away. He needed to be ready. He would have to plan carefully for his next move.

He wanted those gods, and he wanted to make sure that they were thoroughly incapacitated. In order to render them helpless, it had to be by his hands. He wouldn’t be satisfied if anyone else stole the pleasure of it from him.

Dagon left the room, locking it behind him, and smiled gleefully. He wondered how long it would be before his captive woke up.

Tess was groggy and stumbled to her feet, knocking into some metal shelving that stood on one wall. She knew she was going to be sick, and scanned the room for a good receptacle. There! She lurched in a wobbly line over to the door where a rusting, metal pot sat waiting. Her arms curled around it just as the first of her cider came up.

Dagon heard the crash from the other room and brushed his clothing down for their first confrontation. No need to look provincial during what could be a very pleasant interrogation.

He pushed the door open and met with resistance. He pushed against a soft body. What was the foolish girl doing on the floor? He heard her retch, and an acrid smell assailed his nostrils.

“Woman,” Dagon demanded. “Move yourself out of the way.” He was aware when she dragged her sorry self over toward the make-shift bed.

“Are you ill?” That wasn’t a problem. She needed to know he wasn’t about to be accommodating.

“I don’t respond well to drugs.” She retched again. Had she finally emptied her stomach? Dagon wrinkled his nose at the smell. He’d get Matthew to dump the horrid pot. He watched her push it into the corner and look up at him from amongst the tangles of her hair.

He saw the look of surprise on her face. “I know you,” she ventured, alarmed. “You’re Dagon.”

Dagon thought he was past being blind-sided, but the small woman had thrown him off with that one.

“And how are you so positive about that?” Dagon questioned her, eyes narrowing.

“Because I…” He could almost hear her brain churning. Whatever she had been about to say, she swallowed. He’d file that away and wrest the truth from her in due time. She eked out what he knew was a modified explanation. “Marduk told me all about you. He described you perfectly,” she grimaced. “I also know you’re evil down to your…Louis Vuitton’s?” Dagon watched Tess get a good look at his feet and blink incredulously at his thousand-dollar footwear.

Dagon never felt it was necessary to skimp on the luxuries and, after all, he’d been wearing those hideous deer hide boots for too many hundreds of years.

“Well then, I feel like we’re already acquainted.” He pulled up a rickety ladder-back chair, settled in, and crossed his well-shod feet. “We’re also long overdue for a nice…thorough…” he said that word with expectant malice, “chat.”

Tess swallowed. “I don’t suppose you have any breath mints before we start.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“You will tell me everything I want to know.” Dagon sounded pretty sure of himself, and Tess quaked, knowing the things he could do to her. She thought about calling for Marduk, but her attempts at communication were so new that she was afraid Dagon would catch on. It also took so much concentration on her part that Anshar said she resembled someone having a seizure when she tried. Again, no need to clue Dagon into any of the new powers she had become acquainted with.

“What do you suppose I could ever tell you, an all-powerful god?” Tess taunted recklessly. Her brother had drilled into her early, that a good offense was a good defense. Dagon didn’t seem surprised by her rejoinder. Perhaps he’d learned that women of this century weren’t mindless pushovers.

“We’ll start with what I know,” Dagon said easily. “You have the blood of Enlil running through your veins; therefore, you are able to bring him into physical being. When he is within so many feet of you, he loses his invisible status and enjoys bodily pleasures again, such as eating and…touching women.” The last was said unctuously. Tess shivered. “So now you will answer the thousand-point question.” Tess squirmed. What was it with these gods and television? Dagon had obviously been watching too many game shows.

Dagon stared deep into Tess’s eyes. “Why is Marduk visible while in your presence?”

Tess knew he was trying to compel her, but, just as Marduk had tried and failed, so would this asshole. Instead of letting him know it didn’t work, Tess plastered a fake zombie look on her face and answered.

“They do not know.” Her voice was toneless. “Everyone is searching for the reason.” Tess was no idiot. She had already figured out that it had to be tied to the red glow that pointed like a neon arrow and proclaimed “answers here!” But again, no sharesies with the mean man-god. He took his eyes away from hers, and she pretended to snap out of her trance.

“That was dirty pool,” snapped Tess, feigning outrage. “Now I have a question for you.” Offense again. “Why are you corporeal? Am I related to you, too?”

Dagon preened under her watchful eyes, probably feeling he was on safe ground. “Ah, dearie. Not all of us are here by the same rules. What you have yet to figure out is that your group must earn their visibility because they were very bad boys.” He seemed to pause for a moment, letting that sink in. “I, on the other hand, have been favored for being a good god, and have never lost my human-like body.”

This was news to Tess, and she tried to hide her confusion from her captor. “No! You were the one to cause trouble back in Merrymount—”

“Mount Dagon,” he spat before she could finish. “And if Marduk didn’t tell you, his group had become a debauched band of…” he appeared to be searching for the proper term, “gangstas.” Tess grunted. He was satisfied with that word? “I was the Puritan, if you will, who brought Myles Standish to save the day. You have heard of him, haven’t you? Myles Standish, the paragon of virtue, remembered to this day for his heroic deeds in the New World?”

Tess was at a loss for words. She hadn’t thought of it that way. She had only seen what Marduk had shown her and assumed that Dagon, being a defector from the group, had been at fault. She was suddenly unsure, and knew that Dagon would feed that uncertainty.

“And, of course, Marduk told you why he was sentenced to serve Thomas Morton in the first place, didn’t he?”

Tess crossed her arms over her chest and remained stoic. She had a feeling the well-constructed story woven around Marduk was about to come crashing down and, with it, her budding hope of being able to trust again.

“I like a tall tale,” Tess blustered. “Do your damnedest.” She could tell Dagon was going to relish this.

“Let me share with you the saga of our Marduk, then let you sleep on it. We’ll see how you feel about the dear boy in the morning.”

Tess settled back on the air mattress, clutching one of the pillows left on the makeshift bed. Why did she know that this wouldn’t be pretty…and that it would likely be true?

“Once upon a time about, oh, let’s say 4,000 years ago, in the city of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia, there was a god that distinguished himself from all others. He was a paragon of wisdom and regal authority, gifted in magic, with control over the elements. He was known as the great lord, the lord of lords, leader of the gods, and even the wise lord of oracles. He was brought to the highest position in the land, usurping the one who ruled before him—who just happened to be his friend, Enlil—and became the head of the pantheon.” Tess was completely engrossed.

“You’ve probably already figured out that I’m speaking of Marduk.” She gave a slight nod. “He ruled over the people and the land with such benevolence that he earned more and more accolades. They hailed him as the god of order and destiny. He was much loved. Until one day, it all ended.”

Why did good stories always do that, lamented Tess?

“Some say power went to his head and he became mad. Others say he was tired of the restrictions that goodness put on his powers. Whatever the reason, he turned his back on the people of Babylon and abandoned them to famine and pestilence. He called down floods and earthquakes, locusts and then drought.” Dagon was laying it on a little thick. Tess tried to keep a level head and separate truth from fiction.

“He selfishly left thousands to suffer and die. For his transgressions, he was eventually banished to the Underworld by the god-keepers there—Nergal and Ereshkigal—where he languished until given a second chance.”

“I’m sure we don’t need to revisit that part of Marduk’s life. It seems he’s told you of Merrymount.” He sneered the name. “We both know how that turned out for him.” He seemed satisfied that she rocked unwittingly, back and forth. Damn him. He’d done his job well, and now he would leave her to stew in her thoughts.

“If you need anything,” Dagon rose from his chair “give a knock on the door and I’ll be happy to assist you.”

“Let me go,” Tess murmured, yearning to talk with her brother, who could help her sort through this mess. She trembled inside. First, she was dragged into this quagmire unwittingly, and now she had to choose sides. Her brain was a mass of confusion and, in her distress, Tess was only sure of one thing. She would certainly not be attempting to contact Marduk now. Not until she’d given Dagon’s words a lot of thought.

“We’ll discuss it in the morning,” Dagon comforted. “But I’ll need your help.” His tone lulled as he moved smoothly for the door. “We must keep Marduk from taking others like you into his lair. I’m afraid he’s looking to enslave any number of women so that he and his men can regain their all-powerful bodies and rule civilization once again.” The door closed with a quiet click.

Could she believe that of Marduk? Of Enlil, Anshar, and the others? Was it a conspiracy to take over the world? They had been so gentle and patient with her, so solicitous of her feelings. But, of course, if they were looking to do what Dagon insinuated, they would have played their parts to the max. And that red glow thing—was that a hoax too?

Part of her had been thrilled when she had overheard that Marduk had manifested it because of her. But perhaps the backslapping between the immortals had just been their way of congratulating themselves that they were one step closer to world domination. Damn! What could she believe?

Her best bet would be to find a way to get free and run. As far as she knew, the gods couldn’t track her. Well, maybe Enlil could with that blood connection thing. But how far could that work? And, if she refrained from the mind-speak thing, they wouldn’t be able to find her. Maybe she could locate Holly, who would help her set up a whole new life. The thought was comforting.

That’s what she’d do. She’d find her sister. Satisfied, she settled under the pile of comforters. She’d make Dagon believe she was going to help and then get away when he least expected it. Part of her knew that Dagon was not a good god and, even if she couldn’t figure out his agenda, she was sure it would be just as suspect as her deities. Shit. She was going to have to stop thinking of them as hers.

Before she fell asleep, she admitted to herself that she had to see Marduk just one more time to hear things from his own lips. Maybe she would be able to reach him and give him her location. She had seen Marduk at work and knew he could more than hold his own in a fight. It would do him no harm to face Dagon, and it would afford her the opportunity to talk to him; to give her some closure. Then she would take off. Set on her plan, she was finally able to doze off.

Morning came fast, and once Dagon had slammed through the door, shaken her into semi-alertness, and hauled her from the storeroom, he wasted no time before thrusting her phone into her hands. Tess’s hand shook around her cell as he pushed her out into the cold dawn. Damn she was groggy.

“You realize that, without me near, neither Marduk nor Enlil will be able to speak over the phone.” Tess tried to reason with Dagon.