Chapter 27

My lie lingered in the air as I sat in my smoke-filled bliss.

"If I'd removed your clothes... You'd be dead..."

In my Kryptonite haze, swirls of green smoke conjured an image of her face. It was crestfallen as my harsh words pushed her away. Why did I lie to her, why was I pushing her away? Had some part of her remembered my actions? I could have sworn she was asleep when I brought her up to my room that first night.

I was present when J'onzz offered to remove the blood-stained white dress from her body. He followed me to my room that night and found me holding her in my arms.

"Allow me..." he offered.

I growled at him like an animal. He slowly backed away from me. She was damp and shivering, yet I didn't know what to do. I froze.

"We need to get her out of those wet clothes,"

Even though I reluctantly handed her over to J'onzz, I could envision every bit of her with my eyes closed. A fact I found troubling. She was consuming my senses.

She lingered resting against the door for a few minutes, saying she didn't believe me.

"Foolish Amazon," I thought.

I was a danger to her, yet she insisted on believing otherwise. When I didn't respond, the sound of her footsteps echoed in my ears. They were soft and as gentle as her touch. I brought my pipe up to my lips and cast my eyes up to the ceiling. The intoxicating burn of kryptonite filled my lungs like a mighty wind. I held it in, allowing it to penetrate every fiber of my being. With every passing second, time slowed as the sound of her footsteps dimmed to silence.

Calm…

Peace…

They finally came as I exhaled after god knows how long. The sweet burn of my lungs… Ah pain…

"Ultraman..."

My eyes opened at the sound of J'onzz's voice split through my head. Through the green fog of kryptonite, his voice rumbled like a crack of thunder. It bounced off my nerve endings, sending a shiver down my spine. I knew what he wanted. He'd moved the Amazon from my bed. However, the high part of me just wanted to embrace the burn. I held my breath, yet something in the untainted air smelt different.

"Had that much time passed?" I thought.

I tried to speak but my words became lost in the smoke.

"Not... now," I finally slurred.

"... I've done as you asked but..."

I growled as J'onzz continued to speak, shaking the walls about me. The word 'but' infuriated me. My old friend saying 'but' meant something was off. With the peace and calm that the Kryptonite had granted me, I couldn't allow it to be ruined by whatever he had to say. War was coming and I needed to prepare. At this moment, I needed a release. Since sex wasn't on the menu, I took another deep breath of the green smoke. I leaned my head back against the couch as I heard J'onzz's voice continuing to drone on.

Staring up at the ceiling the faint sound of her heartbeat reached me. She was so close. I could just…

"I need you to focus Ultraman," J'onzz added but his voice was overtaken by the sound of her heartbeat.

"Shhhh," I exhaled.

I heard J'onzz cuss in my head. A sound that gave me great joy.

"There's someone in…"

In my haze, I lingered alone in the darkness. As the green puffs of smoke engulfed me, I closed my eyes.

Thump, thump…

Her heart fluttered…

"Child of Rao..."

I heard a voice echo around me.

"Leave… me alone old … man..." I slurred as I waved my hand in front of my face.

Something cold suddenly grabbed the pipe from my hand. My eyes shot open as a blast of fire came from my eyes. A deep cackle surrounded me.

"Aggression… good..." the voice added. "I can work with that…"

In my haze, I looked around the room and found myself alone. Rage filled me. I felt something in my presence that I could not see.

"Show yourself…." I growled.

"In time…" the voice answered back. "Now tell me child of the red sun, how badly do you want her?"

His words rattled through my soul. I took a step back as I tried to shake his words from my mind. However, the further back I moved the louder the words became. I placed my hands on either side of my head and screamed. The voice merely laughed.

"Who's asking?" I asked as I looked from side to side.

"One who cares about her," the voice replied from behind me.

As the voice spoke an outline of a man took shape out of the corner of my eyes. I turned to face the male-shaped shadow. It resembles an older man frail yet his blacked-out eyes burned with fire. He stood before me with a bronze cane in his hand. The cane was placed in front of him with a Greek helmet as its hilt.

"I am Ares," he said with a soulless grin. "You have served me well…"

"Served him well?" I thought.

Whether it was my high or something else, I knew that creature spoke true. Ares slowly walked towards me as the words left his mouth. The air about him smelled of blood and rotting flesh. With each footstep, he left a trail of bloodied footprints behind him.

I opened my mouth to speak but Ares lifted his hand to stop me.

"All the blood that stained your hands," he continued as his bony hand grabbed my face. "I dare say, you have proven to be an efficient weapon, but my time is limited. Just answer me this child of Rao, do you desire her, yes or no?"

The old Ares forced my gaze to remain locked on him. Even with the fire still burning in my eyes, he didn't move away. The old god smiled.

"There are others who desire her as well Child of Rao," he said.

There was a look of pure hate in his eyes.

I growled, "Apollo…"

Ares raised his eyebrow in amusement.

"I see, brother…" Ares added with a scoff.

The god's words began to blend... brother? What game were these gods playing?

"Enough!" I growled.

I swatted the god's hand away. He laughed as my hand went clean through his.

"Keep that temper if you wish to have the Amazon for yourself Kal-Il," he added as he appeared to my right. "You're going to need it."

I turned to meet him but once again he vanished into thin air. Only the cackle of his voice remained. It moved past me and headed down the hall. Stumbling to my feet I followed the sound of his voice. My drugged body hit the wall opposite the door.

"Come along Child of Rao," he laughed.

"Stop calling me that…"

"What are you then?" Ares interjected as his voice moved further and further away from me. "Don't make me laugh, Apollo desires to make himself the king of the god with Diana at his side…. But you, are you man enough to do the same?"

Ares's words fueled my rage and calmed my green haze. I used the corridor walls to hold myself up and followed where his voice led me. I walked for what seemed like an eternity until…

I found myself standing in a doorway.

"Are you man enough to kill a god?" Ares asked as I felt his boney hand on my shoulder.

I looked over my shoulder in shock. I was standing in front of her. She was fast asleep

"I don't kill…" I replied

Ares smiled, "Look again, Kal-Il…"

I looked back over to Diana. She wasn't alone. A blacked-out figure knelt beside her. Apollo. He gently brushed a dark curl away from her forehead. I gripped down hard on the door frame, crushing it between my fingers. Suddenly, Apollo's eyes met mine. They bored right through me with a smirk.

"My queen," he cooed.

Apollo leaned down and placed a kiss on the Amazon's lips. I felt myself lung forward but Ares stopped me.

"Not yet," he said. "You aren't ready to handle him."