This chapter has been a long time in the making - I wrote the first version of it years ago. Finally it's here, and finally Emma and Ares are seeing each other again :) Not only that... the secret might be out. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much, Tobiramamara, for the (yet again) wonderful beta read!
- emma -
It was incredible how easy the nightmares were to forget, and how quickly I did so. Within weeks I went to sleep without worry again — as if someone were inducing peaceful dreams and sleep — and I barely thought about that dark period anymore. I wasn't necessarily brave, or confident, the way I used to be when Ares was still there and the way I was sure I would eventually be again; but that fear that had been with me constantly for months had vanished.
I didn't even mind going home from work in the dark, now that the days were short and dusk had long fallen by the time I left the office. The shadows didn't hide terrors anymore.
So I was no more alert than usual when Rachel and I were walking home late, even a bit drunk, after a long night spent laughing and drinking and dancing with Gabrielle. It was cold out, but thanks to the alcohol — damn my miserable tolerance these days after so long not daring to drink — we barely felt it, and we had our coats open as we walked, arm in arm, going either very fast or very slow —- I wasn't sure.
"Uuuugh," Rachel said. "I can't wait to get home and wash off all this sweat."
I snorted. "What about the cocktail Gabrielle spilled on you?"
"Oh. Yeah." Rachel lifted her top to her nose and sniffed it. "That too. Ew, it's really sticky."
I stopped walking and leaned towards her, practically shoving my face into her chest. "Really sweet too. That was the orange one, right? It smells kinda good."
"I bet it tasted good before she threw it all over me." Rachel's gaze jerked to the side. "Did you see that?"
"See what?" I followed her glance, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"The light flickered. There, again." Her grip on my arm tightened.
I frowned. The street lantern was a little blurry, and I squinted at it; it was indeed going off and on. "Huh. I thought it was just me blinking."
"Can we go a little faster? I don't feel good." Rachel's voice was strained, and she kept looking around as if we were being watched or followed. There was condense on the lenses of her glasses.
I still saw nothing other than the flickering streetlight, and I didn't feel her fear, as if it were now a foreign emotion to me. But her apprehension worried me, and the lights were all going out now, so we started walking as fast as our tired legs and our high heels could carry us.
Rachel's hand twitched on my inner elbow, and I did my best to keep my pacing even and come off as confident and courageous. It seemed to work and we were close to both our homes when Rachel stopped in her tracks and I nearly lost my balance.
"Em," she hissed. "Look."
"Look where?" I said, my voice at a normal volume, and she squeezed my arm in warning.
"Seriously? You don't see it?" she whispered.
I saw it then, the dark fog licking into the street from around the corners, from windows, from behind us. The cold air hit my suddenly clammy skin and I froze, instantly sober. A much too familiar feeling rushed into me, and I tried to calm myself with rational thoughts — It's not real. It can't be real. None of it was ever really real — but I couldn't make myself believe it. I knew better than that. I knew that the strangest things could be real, and I had never seen a fog like this, with these dark tendrils and a way of moving as if it were alive…
I felt my heart start to beat more rapidly. Rachel's fingers were still pressing into my arm. All the color had drained from her face.
What if it was alive?
"Let's go," I spit, and turned to run. Rachel's sweaty hand slipped from my elbow, and when I looked back I saw she had nearly tripped. She bent down, shaking, to unzip her shoes. I did the same so I could carry the high heels in my hands and walk faster, but the fog was coming closer and closer while we struggled with our zippers, and nearly enveloped us just before we straightened and ran like hell.
The black fog followed us, even around corners and into wider streets, and turned the street lights off one by one in its wake. We didn't look where we were going; all we knew was that we had to escape it. It seemed to be pushing us somewhere, I realized lamely, but there was nothing we could do about it other than run straight into it.
I didn't recognize the narrow street at first. It was the only way to go when the fog blocked off the rest of the main road. We forged onwards, our breath heaving and our knees nearly buckling with the effort, and were almost at the corner where we could turn onto another, wider street, when two men stepped in front of us.
Rachel and I yelped at the same time, dropping our shoes, and turned around. The fog hadn't followed us all the way into the street and was further away now, but it was still there, and we spun on our feet again to face the men.
I knew one of them, I realized with a shock. He looked different; Ares had so thoroughly smashed his face that his nose was still crooked in multiple places and his right cheekbone was uneven. A pale scar ran through his upper lip from where it had split.
"Look who we have here," Daniel Beck said with a smirk. "I remember you."
Rachel looked from him to me, perplexed, and grabbed my arm with both hands. I said nothing, my mind completely blank for what to do. We were frozen in place.
"Your noble hero isn't here to save you now, is he?" He circled us slowly, with that smirk still playing on his face.
His friend stayed in front of us, arms crossed and his weight shifted to one hip. "That the guy who attacked you, Dan?"
"Sure is." Daniel ran his finger over my arm and back, landing on my asscheek where he squeezed briefly. I flinched, and he let out a venomous chuckle. "Never saw him again. Guess I finally get my chance to take revenge."
He passed Rachel now. Her hands trembled when he touched her. "You're pretty too. How nice of you, Emma — it's Emma, right? How nice of you to bring someone along for Eddie here." He took hold of Rachel's neck, looking her over appreciatively.
"Let go of her," I whispered, trying hard to sound self-assured but clearly failing, judging from how both Daniel and Eddie laughed.
Daniel stepped in front of me again. "Feisty girl. I prefer you quiet." He reached out to run his thumb over my lips, his touch almost gentle, until he pushed it into my mouth. The pressure of his finger against my teeth made me stagger back, out of Rachel's grasp on my arm, against a spot on the wall that I could swear was the exact same spot where he had trapped me so long ago. I grabbed at his wrist wildly to pull it away, but I was too panicked now to have any sense of where my hands went and he just laughed and removed my fingers easily. I ground my teeth together so his thumb couldn't enter my mouth any further, and tried to turn my head so the finger would slip out. All he did was push harder, and I was stuck here, I couldn't get him off me, and his eyes were so full of malice…
Rachel met my distraught gaze with wide, terrified eyes, and she lurched forward to try to pull Daniel away from me, but was held back by Eddie. She was taller than him, but he was wide-shouldered and muscular, and he easily restrained her as she thrashed in his arms.
"Mind if I don't watch, Dan?" he said, leering at Rachel with a sly grin.
It was the trigger I needed to get out of my frozen state. I wanted to yell at Eddie to get away from her, but Daniel's thumb was still pushing between my lips. His breath was damp on the skin of my throat as he perused my body with his eyes and moved his hand away from my face. A chance. I threw my knee up, hitting him hard in his groin. He folded over and tried to grab at my legs, but I stepped out of his reach and around him so I could scramble towards Rachel, who tried to push Eddie away to no avail. Eddie's hands were all over her, squeezing her chest hard and moving underneath her coat to grope her waist and her hips. Smudged black tear streaks ran down her cheeks.
I grabbed Eddie's collar, but Daniel's arms grabbed me from behind, one on my stomach and one around my arms. "Stay here, bitch!"
My eyes closed. Focus. Focus. I had practiced this. This was exactly why Ares had wanted me to learn self-defense. Focusing was hard, with Daniel's arms pinning me against him, and Rachel's helpless yelps ringing in my ears, and that horrible fear still coursing through me. Daniel was now fondling my chest, but I ignored it and concentrated on what I had to do. Chin down. Deep breath in. Clenched teeth. I breathed out and jerked my head back, right into Daniel's face.
He let go and stumbled. I turned around. "What the fuck?" he shouted, staring at me. He lifted his hand to his nose, blood leaking onto his fingers. "You'll fucking pay for that, bitch." He grabbed me aggressively by the throat and pulled my skirt up, bunching it around my waist so he could yank his hand underneath.
Rachel was sobbing now, trying with all her might to get out of Eddie's grasp. He reached his hand down, towards his belt buckle.
"Rachel!" I shrieked. I turned my head sharply, hoping to lose Daniel's hand on my throat, but he only pushed harder. I couldn't let this happen, not to Rachel, but I was powerless to stop it. Daniel wouldn't let me.
I was powerless. But there was something I could do.
I had no choice. There was no time to think about whether I even wanted to do it. I just needed Ares to save Rachel.
I took the deepest breath I could manage with that hand pushing on my larynx and yelled his name with every last bit of strength that was left in me.
It was as if time stood still for the briefest moment, as if none of us could breathe or move in anticipation of something only I knew was coming… and then a flash of blazing light filled the street. I squeezed my eyes shut against it, but even so I could barely shield my eyes from the glare reddening the inside of their lids. The light wasn't warm like sunlight, but I could still feel it, not on my skin but in my muscles or even in my veins, as if Ares's presence drowned out all the terror I had felt just a second ago.
Daniel's hand fell, and I heard a thud and a groan just before the light faded. I opened my eyes. Ares was in front of me; Daniel was slumped on the ground a few yards away, head down. He seemed to be clutching his arm. I yanked my skirt back in place and straightened, letting out a shaky breath of relief.
Ares barely spared me a look, albeit one with an intensity that could start a fire, before he spun around to help Rachel. I saw them then behind him, across the narrow road — she was still pressed against the wall, still crying, but Eddie had dropped his hands and turned away from her. Both of them were staring, slack-jawed.
Of course they had heard me scream at the top of my lungs. Of course they had also been dazed by Ares's light.
Ares ignored their astonishment, or he didn't care. He stepped forward, and his voice was low and hoarse with fury. "Back. Away."
Eddie didn't move. He was rooted to the spot.
Even the single stride Ares needed to cross the narrow street was of a feline grace. The vast muscles of his back shifted underneath his black cotton T-shirt. I hadn't seen him for so long and I thought I would never forget how huge he was, but my memory didn't do him justice; he was colossal. Lethal.
Rachel pushed herself away from the wall and stood a little taller. Ares probably affected her, too, because she wiped both cheeks with the back of her hand —- her streaked mascara looked almost like war paint now —- and she glared at Eddie. I had never seen her like this.
It was quickly replaced by a stunned expression. Ares lifted a sword he hadn't held a moment ago, and placed its sharp edge against Eddie's neck. "Now."
Eddie obediently stepped aside, glancing nervously at the sword from the corner of his eye. Ares withdrew it, and it disappeared. He fixed Eddie with a cold, commanding look. "Stay there and be quiet."
He turned towards Rachel and asked roughly, "Are you alright?"
Despite the confidence she had shown just moments ago, Rachel glanced uneasily at Eddie, standing still a few meters away as if he were completely immobilized — and maybe he was — and then up at Ares, her eyes widening, before looking back at me. She pulled her coat tighter around herself. "I'm not sure," she said, her voice shaking.
"Can't you help her?" I urged him. If only I could soothe her with a touch of my hand.
"I have no peace to give at the moment, Emma." He looked over his shoulder, then turned to face me and came closer when he saw the blood on my throat. He lifted his hand. I moved out of his reach before he could touch me.
"It's not my blood," I said crabbily, and tried wiping it away.
"I know." Ares dropped his hand. His mouth was set in a grim line. "You okay?"
I shrugged. Probably not, but I could barely feel it right now. Maybe Rachel and I would start panicking the moment Ares left. I didn't want to lose this feeling of safety. "I guess."
He scrutinized me, a hint of tenderness just slightly discernible beneath his anger. "No, you're not."
"Yeah, well, I guess not then." I scowled.
We stared at each other for a beat, glared rather, me because while I was grateful for his help, and his protection, I didn't want him to care about me so much, and him because… because he was Ares.
"You two should go," he snapped then. "I'll be right behind you."
I looked at Daniel, still on the ground behind Ares but getting to his knees, at Eddie who was still in the same spot, and back. "Are you going to kill them?" Maybe I wanted him to. Then I would never have to see Daniel again, and there would be vengeance for Rachel.
Ares's expression was one of sheer hatred. He licked his lips. "Probably."
"And you don't want me to see that, do you?"
"Are you saying you want to w—"
"Noah! Watch out!" Rachel shouted, just as two red-stained hands briefly linked around Ares's neck and then slid away. Daniel had tried to jump Ares, but wasn't tall or strong enough to hold on. He landed on the ground with a soft thud.
Ares slowly turned around and for the briefest moment calmly observed the man at his feet with his blood-stained face and clothes —- and then the light started to shimmer around him the same way it had when we had returned from Aphrodite's villa, slowly initially like tremors of rage building, but going faster and faster until it was a blinding flare.
I knew what was coming. With a pounding heart I crossed the street as best I could without seeing and felt for Rachel, then slid my hand in hers. She didn't lace her fingers in mine, as if completely numb.
"It's you," Ares rasped. "I told you to stay away from her." The light settled around him but still gleamed off the gold armor that had replaced his clothes.
I felt that pull again, that instinct to kneel, and I knew that Rachel felt it too because her hand was slipping from mine. I squeezed her hand, drawing her closer. I refused to bow to him, or recoil from him, however much his godliness was tempting my body to, and I needed Rachel to stay strong, and keep me strong.
Daniel scrambled away, backwards on his hands and ass at first but then rolling onto his knees to run. He passed Eddie, who apparently had woken from his paralysis and started running too.
Ares just watched them go, his jaw working, even though his hands were balled into fists so tightly that his arms, with their bulging biceps, were shaking. His right foot stepped back, his shoulder leaned back too, as if he were turning around to walk away.
Was he just going to let them run? After this? They were running, running, in a second they would both be around the corner and out of our sight —
Something gold flashed before my eyes and Eddie grabbed his knee, stumbled and dropped, followed by Daniel falling face-forward on the ground with a scream.
A spear stuck out of Daniel's calf. He was pinned to the ground, trying to twist so he could see his leg but howling every time he did. Eddie alternated between hyperventilating and moaning as he held his leg — blood was spurting out. Ares's spear had slashed his knee tendons before entering Daniel's leg.
Ares was livid and ecstatic at the same time. His eyes sparkled. He disappeared and materialized right next to Daniel, and I stared in amazement and horror as he grabbed hold of his spear and twisted it deeper into Daniel's calf before slowly pulling it out. Daniel shrieked in pain the whole time.
"I should've done this two years ago," Ares seethed. "Get up. I want you to look me in the eye while I slit your throat. I want your blood on my hands. To feel the heat of it leaving you."
Daniel rolled on his back and tried to push himself up, but his leg was too weak. He sat, staring up at Ares towering above him, his eyes full of terror.
"Actually…" Ares reached down to grab him forcefully by his neck, dragged him over to where Eddie lay, and materialized next to Rachel and me, holding both men by their necks like scolded wolf cubs. He tossed them on the asphalt.
"Maybe they deserve a chance to do the honors," he thundered, and lifted his gaze to meet ours, challenging us.
Rachel's grip on my hand tightened. I looked at her and I knew she felt his fury too, just like I did, an energy surging through my veins that wanted me to spring into action and throw everything I had in me into destroying Daniel. I didn't care about repercussions. I didn't care about whatever was going on or not going on between me and Ares. I didn't care about any guilt I would feel afterwards. All I cared about was retribution for what Daniel and Eddie had done to us. Ares was a life force feeding our outrage.
Rachel dropped her hand, flexing her fingers, her eyes burning. She stepped forward and lifted her chin confidently at Ares. "What would you have me do, then?"
The corners of Ares's lips curved up but they fell before they could form a smile — he shook his head, eyes closed, and took a step back, tearing off his gold helmet and dropping it on the ground. His old-school hairstyle contrasted strangely with the ancient armor.
The flood in me receded. Rachel trembled, then looked over her shoulder at me, bewildered. I instantly felt horrified about being so ready and eager to wreck and demolish Daniel — I still wanted him to pay, be punished, but I had become so consumed by Ares's power that I was willing to kill a man. And so had Rachel. I would never be able to forgive myself for her carrying that with her. She didn't even understand why she had felt any of it.
Ares was kneeling next to the two moaning men now. "They're too good to be scarred by murder," he said. His voice was softer than before, but it still held the same level of threat. Possibly even more now that he seemed to have regained control over his anger. "But I'm not them. I'm perfectly fine with sending the both of you to the depths of Tartarus."
He cupped the back of Daniel's head with his enormous hand and pulled it down by his hair, then pushed the tip of a bronze dagger against Daniel's throat. "And I'm going to enjoy it, Dan. I'm going to do it slowly, savor it, and I'm going to read your mind while I do it, so I know every bit of pain you feel… Right now, you're scared out of your mi—"
Ares shot up, dagger clattering on the ground. He stared silently at Daniel and Eddie.
"Wake up," he commanded, his voice strained, after a few seconds. Nothing happened as far as I could see, but Ares turned his back on them, facing Rachel and me, and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Go. Leave. Before I change my mind."
They scrambled to their feet, miraculously, as if they didn't feel their pain, and I figured Ares had commanded them to leave in spite of it. They ran and disappeared into the main street.
Rachel reached her hand behind her, looking for mine, and I gripped it, both of us dropping as our tired legs finally gave out. Ares removed his hand from his face and stared over our heads in the distance. I followed his gaze over my shoulder. The black fog was gone, and maybe it had been gone all this time since he had arrived — I hadn't thought to pay attention to it anymore.
"Emma." Ares's voice above me was brusque. I turned my head and found him staring down at me. Seen from below, and in his gleaming armor, his size was even more intimidating. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," I answered. I really didn't. I would be surprised if everything that had happened didn't traumatize me, but maybe it was just not getting through to me, because I didn't feel it yet. "I think so. They're gone, right?" I looked at Rachel, who was staring up at Ares, her mouth open and her eyes wide as saucers. "Rachel, how about you?"
She didn't answer, at least not before Ares shook his head and said, "I didn't mean…" He trailed off. "Take Rachel home. I'll meet you there. I… need to do something."
I pushed myself up and on my feet. They felt like I was walking on sharp pins sticking into my soles. "Do what?" I asked. "And are you really going to let us walk home by ourselves after this?"
"You'll be fine. I will explain later," Ares said. He was back to glaring in the distance through narrowed eyes. "I can send a bird with you, if it helps you feel safer."
"Yeah. Fine." I didn't care about the birds at this point. I offered Rachel my hand and pulled her up, then faced Ares again. "Will you explain?"
His eyes met mine. A look of understanding passed between us. He knew I deserved to know. "Yes."
I crossed my arms. "Do you swear that on Styx?"
He nodded slowly but earnestly. "I swear that on Styx."
"What the fuck," Rachel softly muttered beside us. She seemed finally able to speak, and even though she wasn't joking, her words helped to lighten the mood ever so slightly — both Ares and I grinned, and Rachel frowned at us but then smiled too. I hoped that Ares's courage would stay with both of us a little longer, and that the reality of what had transpired wouldn't hit us the moment we were out of his sight.
But we had to go on. We couldn't stay in this street with him forever. He was already picking up his gold helmet and putting it back on his head. He glanced at us, then down at our shoeless feet, and the next moment the pain in my soles was gone and he was handing us our boots.
"Thanks," I mumbled, and put them on. Rachel did the same. I held out my hand to her, and she took it. "Let's go home."
