N. Walters - Pride of the Lion

Hades stood in the mall bookstore staring at the small display of books on the rack near the door. He plucked a copy off the shelf and fingered the cover. A woman with long, flowing black hair was being chased by what appeared to be a rather nasty demon with horns and a forked tongue.

“Not a very flattering likeness, is it?”

The feminine voice was low and sultry, but Hades ignored it. He knew the woman standing next to him was attracting the attention of every man, and even some of the women, in the bookstore. She was tall and gorgeous and evil to her core. He should know. She belonged to him, was the demon he’d chosen for this assignment.

“Don’t disappoint me.”

The demon stiffened and silently moved away, instinctively shying from his quiet fury. “No, my lord.”

“Go.”

She retreated, unwilling to bring his wrath down upon her. He didn’t acknowledge the demon as she turned and hurried away. He assumed everything would be done to his specifications. After all, it almost always was. And when it wasn’t…well, those poor unfortunate souls provided him with days of entertainment until he finally threw them into the deepest pits of Hell.

Hades resumed his perusal of the book in his hands. It was written by a woman named Araminta Davidson—an impressive name for a woman who was anything but. That would work to his advantage. He could not allow another warrior to gain his freedom.

Stavros and Phoenix—the jaguar and the phoenix—had both died trying to flee with the women who released them from their curse. Roric and Marko—the tiger and the bear—both had managed to escape his wrath and now he could no longer touch them or their women.

He cursed the Lady of the Beasts, and he cursed himself for agreeing to the terms for her help without thinking them all the way through. The original curse she’d cast on her faithful warriors to keep them out of Hell still remained in effect. If they could survive the first twenty-four hours of their release, both they and the women who liberated them were free from him for all times. Failure to comply would mean Hades death and he had far too many plans to be struck down now.

It was a nuisance, but even gods had rules. He’d given his word in a moment of haste and now he had to live with the consequences. But there were still two warriors left on the carousel—the lion and the wolf. Hades wondered which one of them Araminta would set free. She was the next woman he needed in his quest for world domination. She would set one of the remaining warriors free and he would entice that fortunate beast over to the dark side, whether through threats or trickery. Didn’t matter to Hades how it happened, as long as it did.

He felt a slight surge of power behind him and turned. A rush of satisfaction filled him as he watched his first and only success walk up to stand beside him. The serpent belonged to him, body and soul. The only one of the seven immortal warriors of the Lady of the Beasts he’d brought over to his side. But the game was far from over.

“That her?” Mordecai studied the book in Hades’ hands.

“Yes, it is.”

Mordecai plucked a book from the rack and opened to the back cover to study the picture of Araminta. “She’s pretty ordinary.”

Really, the warrior could be obtuse at times. “It doesn’t matter what she looks like, only what she can do. And she can free one of the warriors.”

“You’re sure?”

Surely there was smoke coming out of his ears. “Are you doubting me?” No one questioned him. No one.

Mordecai calmly shut the book and put it back on the shelf before meeting his gaze. “No. I’m just trying to understand how you can be so certain.”

Hades took a deep breath to calm his temper. He rarely lost it, but when he did, it didn’t bode well for anyone within about a hundred-mile radius. He reminded himself that working with an immortal warrior was much different than working with one of his groveling minions.

His demons and underlings were mindless creatures, doing his bidding out of perverse joy and a fear of failure. Hades didn’t tolerate failure.

The warrior, on the other hand, was an intelligent creature. Sly. Calculating. He also didn’t walk in fear of Hades as the rest of the occupants of Hell did. Mordecai’s attitude was annoying, but Hades allowed it to pass unchallenged for now. Once he had the power he needed to defeat his brothers and the rest of the gods of Olympus, he’d destroy Mordecai so he could never rise up against him.

But for now, he needed him.

Mordecai was patiently waiting for a reply. The serpent never seemed to sweat, never seemed to feel fear. It was a challenge, and one Hades couldn’t wait to meet once his war was over.

Mordecai would scream and beg for mercy before Hades dispatched his soul to the darkest depths of Hell. He’d see to it personally.

Until then, he needed Mordecai’s cooperation. “All the women who have freed you and your brethren emit a certain kind of energy, of light. And she—” he tapped the cover of the book, “—has it.”

Hades walked out of the store with the book still in his hand. He hadn’t paid for it, but there was no hue and cry from anyone who worked there. It would be amusing to read what Araminta had written, how she’d taken the dreams he’d sent her and turned them into a best-selling book. Mordecai followed two steps behind him. Where he should be . Still, Hades disliked having the warrior at his back. He snarled beneath his breath, wishing this was over and he was the ruler of both his world and this one. Soon, he promised himself. Soon.

He shoved open the door to a service entrance and conjured up a portal. The black hole emerged from nowhere, spinning faster and faster with each revolution. It grew larger and larger until it was big enough for several men to walk through at the same time. It blocked out all the light around it and brought with it the smell of brimstone and fear.

Hades inhaled deeply and smiled as he stepped through the portal and back into his realm. Mordecai followed behind him. The second both men were through, the gateway closed on itself, sealing them both inside Hell.