The Heart of War (64 page)

“That was centuries ago.” Cernunnos did rid her Hephaestus and for that Aphrodite had been very grateful, but that didn’t mean she was going to allow her sweet ass to swing in the breeze for him now. In her own defense at the time Aphrodite had no idea that Cernunnos was systematically killing off all the Gods. Had she known, she might have made a different choice when Cernunnos secretly summoned her to his Great Hall and began to offer his assistance in Aphrodite’s revenge. Fate had other plans and from that day to this, Aphrodite had been a silent and mostly willing conspirator in Cernunnos’ plan.

All she had to do was bring Hephaestus to Cernunnos’ Lands and then Cernunnos would take care of the rest. When he was ready, down the road Cernunnos would contact Aphrodite and when he asked she would bring Ares to him. In return, Cernunnos asked only what all of the others did, to lie in her bed for a few nights. Cernunnos was rather hideous himself; his face was handsome, but the whole half-man half-stag thing was unattractive. Still, she’d lain with worse. It was a small price to pay to exact revenge for this most embarrassing and humiliating moment of her life. After all, it was Hephaestus who set the trap for her and Ares, he who exposed her to all of the Gods and then laughed with them.

Without much thought and certainly no remorse, Aphrodite led Hephaestus here to the Celtic Lands on the pretense of rediscovering their passion among the misty moors and deep green lush forests. Hephaestus had always been head over heels in love with Aphrodite and he’d gladly gone along with her idea in the fervent hope of rekindling their love.

Instead, he walked straight into a trap. She took him deep into a forest glen where Cernunnos’ Druids were waiting in ambush to capture Hephaestus and drag him off to his death. Or what she thought would be his death. Another thing Aphrodite had been blind to until recently was Cernunnos’ collection of the souls of the Gods. It seemed to her at least that she was as much of a pawn as anyone was in this dreary little scenario.

As she disappeared from the glen that day, with Hephaestus’s pleadings ringing in her cold ears, Aphrodite was completely unaware of just how long Hephaestus would suffer. She never intended that. The Celtic God of the Forest was twelve steps ahead of the Greek Goddess of Love, he was already planning how he was going take down Ares, and he used Hephaestus to do it. Cernunnos, like anyone even remotely interested in Greek Mythology, knew of the chains Hephaestus forged for Ares’ trial and the power they held to contain the God of War. He forced Hephaestus to forge two more pairs before he killed the hideous but softhearted Blacksmith. One pair was captured by Maggie but returned by Aphrodite and were once more in Cernunnos’ hands. The other pair was down in the dungeon; they were attached to a heavy stonewall and would keep the Ares in place, with his arms stretched out to capacity, for as long as Cernunnos wanted to torture him. If Cernunnos could have his fondest wish, that would be a very long time.

When Aphrodite discovered Artemis’ budding love affair with Cernunnos, she tried to discourage Artemis but soon found out that Cernunnos had actually fallen for the chaste Goddess of the Hunt. Even though Aphrodite knew Apollo would seethe with rage, Aphrodite encouraged Artemis’ relationship with Cernunnos. Things went horribly wrong, Artemis got cold feet, or maybe she was just frigid after so many millennia. In any event, Artemis couldn’t find the desire or the strength within her to go to Cernunnos’ bed and break her long held vow. Cernunnos went insane and killed Artemis; Aphrodite thought all Hell would break loose on Olympus the day Ares stumbled through the Gates with the decayed remains of his sister in his arms.

“You still have to deliver on Ares. Until then I’m staying here so you better find accommodations for me.”

Curled up tight in her little ball, her body and jaw aching, Alena looked up at them from her place on the floor. “That’s what this is all about? If you can’t have Ares then no woman can?”

“I don’t give a damn who he
fucks
.”

Alena let out a painful little chuckle. “But he doesn’t
fuck
me, does he?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Aphrodite hissed. With one last hard wrench, Aphrodite pulled her arm away from Cernunnos’ grasp before she knelt down at Alena’s side. “Ares told me he loved me! He wooed me to his bed and away from my Husband with promises of passion and desire. Then he humiliated me in front of all of the Olympians when he told them I was nothing to him, it was just lust, and he would step aside in favor of that wretched brother of his even though I’d confessed to him that I couldn’t stand Hephaestus’ touch. It made me sick to my stomach every time I had to lay with him. He told me he loved me but he lied! For that, Ares deserves to
die
.”

“And I you,” Alena muttered almost incoherently but Aphrodite heard and understood. Her otherwise beautiful eyes glared at Alena and in their flashing anger, Alena knew that the God of War had taken in the Goddess of Love with those three words. Ares never actually told Aphrodite he loved her, he only said ‘and I you’ when Aphrodite told Ares that she loved him. Aphrodite fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Infuriated by the three words Alena spoke Aphrodite landed another stomp on Alena’s hip, bringing her foot down as before with all her strength and uttering a little cry along with a scowl of disapproval from Cernunnos. Knowing she’d have to control herself for now, Aphrodite drew in a breath as she smoothed out her hair with the flat of her hand then gazed down at the wounded Fey. “You’re going to get everything that’s coming to you and more. I‘m going to watch and I'm going to laugh while you suffer and beg for your life and the life of that hideous creature inside you.” Standing up once more, she turned to Cernunnos. “For just that purpose, I have one last gift for you.” Aphrodite held out her hand and in the palm appeared the Pear of Anguish. “Ares was throwing it out but I rescued it.” Dropping it into Cernunnos’ outstretched hand, she folded his fingers around it and held on for a moment. With that, she made her way out of the room in a great flourish of flowing pink material.

“Well, isn’t this an interesting little gadget?” Cernunnos mused while he loomed over Alena who closed her eyes tightly against the sight of it. “Later, I’ll show you just how it works.” For a few minutes, he just stood there staring down at her as though he were deciding just what to do with her. The Pear of Anguish was a nice touch on Aphrodite’s part. Cernunnos sent the small but interesting item down to his own torture chamber for safekeeping; it vanished from his hand and with it the Staff Maggie had been so thoughtful as to return to him.

With the aid of the medallion, Cernunnos saw the entire thing in Ares’ cave, he watched as all of Ares’ long cherished torture devices emptied themselves into the sea. For no reason other than to soothe little Maggie’s fears. Given enough time, it was easy to see his Granddaughter could turn even the God of War into a pussy.

This was one talent that made Maggie a very valuable tool but an unnecessary one, at least on this point. If he could not tame her, turn her back to his way of thinking, then after he got all he needed from her Cernunnos would have no choice but to kill her. Turning the tide in her mind, if not her heart, would be ever more difficult once he got rid of the parasite within her and the Lover undoubtedly bearing down on them at this moment. However, he’d give it a hell of a shot. Besides, the long life ahead of him would be better if he had her to share it with, even if her time might be considerably shorter due to her extended absence which forced her to wear the belt far longer than Cernunnos had ever intended. The first time Cernunnos saw her after two centuries he’d been stunned by the change in her appearance. Her hair was so silver and gray, where once it had been a vibrant red just like the setting sun in a summer sky.

“You never should have run, Maggie. Look at you.” He reached out to caress her shoulder and brush her blood-soaked gray hair from her bloody face. “At last we’re alone, after so much time apart. You’ve been a very bad girl. Very bad. In time I’ll forgive you, maybe even love you as you will come to love me.”

“Go away,” Alena begged in a small voice as she curled up in a protective ball. “What do you want with me? I’m no one. You don’t want me, you don’t love me.”

Cernunnos let out a sigh. “Oh, Maggie, how you wound me. It’s Ares who does not love you.” Resting his chin on his fist, he continued staring down at her. “What does he call you? Alena.” The name rolled off Cernunnos’ tongue in a wicked whisper. “Should I tell you a story about Alena, the real one, the first one, the one Ares fell in love with so long ago?”

Her body sore and her head still reeling, Alena struggled to keep up with what Cernunnos was saying and failed. “What?”

“Oh yes, there was another Alena. Beautiful name, don’t you think? It means Light, Noble Light.” Cernunnos spoke in a soft voice as though he were trying to soothe her even as he watched her bleed onto the floor. He ran his hand gently over her head as though he were petting a cat. Wanting to gain a small portion of her trust and plant the seeds of doubt in her mind while he began to tear apart her relationship with Ares before he started breaking Alena down. “Alena was Ares’ Lover for quite a long time until her Father found out and put an end to it.” He let out another sigh and sucked on his bottom lip for a while. “Poseidon turned her into a star, a bright beautiful shining star, way up in the heavens where Ares could always see her but he could never touch her. Yet, I hear to this day he can’t stop staring at her in the night, wishing, hoping, praying that his beautiful Alena will return to him one day. All this time, you thought he was in love with you, but you’re just a stand-in for a much worthier woman, Maggie.”

Alena tried not to listen to Cernunnos but History told her that his words were true. The story was not well known. Alena, Daughter of Poseidon, was a minor character in Greek Mythology and most never heard her name, but she had. “He loves me,” she croaked through a sore jaw. “He will come for me.”

“He’ll come all right, but not for you.” Unexpectedly, Cernunnos took his hand away from her hand, grabbed her wrist and hauled her to feet in one quick motion, making her cry out in pain and surprise as he pulled in her close and pinned her arm behind her back. “He will come to avenge his sister and to salvage his relationship with the other Olympians, to regain what they took from him. He will come because he can’t resist the call of battle, it’s like a drug with him, and he can never get enough. Don’t make any mistake about that, my dear Wife. With you, you naive little fool, he’s only creating the illusion of a woman he cared for and, of course, enjoying your ability to fuck him proper.” The last Cernunnos said in a lower voice though to Alena’s ears it sounded as though it held a good deal of pride, but she didn’t know why. “Lesser women like you and the Mortals are unable to do that for him, that’s why he has so many women on his island. Poor bastard just can’t get off right.”

“Ares gets off fine with me.” Swaying on her feet, Alena held her free hand to her screaming jaw as she ran what was left of the tip of her tongue along her inner cheeks only to find them shredded by her own teeth. “But I hear-tell that you already know that because you watched us, so then you’re aware of just how much I please him…and how he pleased me. I think you’re wrong and he
will
come for
me
.” She dared to lean in a little closer to her nemesis. “Once you’re dead, and the heat of battle still rages within Ares, I’ll make him cum again…and again…and again.”

Cernunnos’ eyes narrowed on her just as his arm drew back and then swung forward with all of his strength. Striking Maggie in the same spot where he’d hit her with the Staff, she flew backwards once more. With no one behind her, Maggie was lifted off her feet by the force of the blow. Her body twisted to the side as it followed her head; she did a half-turn in mid-air before she crashed to the cold stone floor. “Me first.” Cernunnos growled as he pounced on top of her. Grabbing hold of the bodice of her pretty blue dress, he ripped it in half to expose her bare breasts. “You are MY Wife after all; I think it’s high time we consummated this marriage.”

“Get off of me!” Alena shrieked in Cernunnos’ face as she fought to throw him off. The tips of his sharp antlers slashed across her face, splitting open her forehead and cheek. Alena held one hand to her face to protect her face and eyes while she tried to wrestle blindly with the other. “I am not your Wife! I never was! I am ARES’ woman!”

Cernunnos was strong, almost as strong as Ares. Tired of this game, he grasped both of her wrists in his hands and pinned them down at the sides of her head with all of his weight. “You’re my woman, bitch!” he snarled. “Always have been. Always will be.”

In his anger and his desire to just pin her, Cernunnos stopped butting his head and thrashing it from side to side as he stared down at her. “No. Never.” Alena couldn’t cock her head back as it was solid against the floor but she could steel her neck and she did just before bringing her head up as hard as she could to butt it against Cernunnos’ skull with a loud crack. His grip nearly slipped as he saw stars and she tried to wiggle away. Even as she struggled to pull her wrists out of his grasp, his hands clamped down again and he pushed down upon her with all of his weight.

“Not even Ares could break you of this willfulness?” Cernunnos mused through slotted lips. “Let’s see if I can.” Bringing his knee up sharp and swift he caught Alena right between the legs, giving her frightened pussy a terrifying jolt of pain, only a taste of what was to come.

Letting out a grunt and trying to roll over, Alena was momentarily gladdened when Cernunnos’ weight eased off her and she could catch breath. Before she could turn to her side or even think of scrambling to her feet, Cernunnos grabbed her by both arms with so much force that she cried out again. “Let go of me!” When she tried to kick him, Cernunnos blocked with his own hoof and then picked her up off her feet only to throw her across the room. Tumbling in the air, Alena tried to gauge where and how she would land when gravity reclaimed her. The corner of the room came up fast; she barely had enough time to put her hands up in front of her to absorb the impact before she was crashing into it. Even as they touched the wall, her arms began to give way, unable to support her or stop the momentum. Her head smacked against the cold stone, more blood from her forehead poured into her eyes and down her cheeks where it trickled into her mouth.