Death's Debt by Dennis K. Crosby

Author:Dennis K. Crosby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Centuries Ago

As a War God, Ares was used to looks of devastation on the battlefield. They tended to manifest on the faces of the soldiers losing comrades at every turn. He expected to see those looks. He relished them. They fueled him as much as the feel of his sword running through the heart of an opponent. The only thing better was the look in a soldier’s eye when his light was extinguished. Ares’s bloodlust had few limits.

But this was different.

He could almost feel his heart shattering as he looked upon Octavia. Her quivering lip and the tears forming were dagger cuts against his skin. Her silence spoke volumes, and the weight of it was greater than the heavens.

“How . . . how . . . could you?” she asked.

Ares could say nothing. In the part of his mind that was the War God, he owed her nothing. What he’d done had nothing to do with her. She was a mortal, after all, and as such, should not concern herself with the will and the whims of the gods. But that part of him had been virtually dormant since they’d met. She was his heart. She ignited things within him that no other woman, divine or human, had ever been able to.

It was that side that spoke to him now.

It was that side that failed her.

“Octavia, I—”

“No! Don’t you dare come near me!” she screamed.

In the background, Ares heard the low laughter of Thanatos. The Death God stepped forward, arms behind his back, with the air of authority Ares had witnessed only in the presence of his own father, Zeus.

“Silence, mortal!” said Thanatos. “The only reason you’re still breathing is so you can tell me the location of your sister. She carries my child. My child! Tell me where she is now, and I’ll spare both you and her.”

Ares tensed. The hair on his neck stood at attention. Had Thanatos just threatened the woman he loved? Adrenalin shot through his body as he turned toward the Death God. Thanatos was powerful, certainly more so than he was. Moreover, Thanatos was the only being capable of killing a god. The Scythe of Cronus was the ultimate power. Despite being a descendent of the old Titan, Ares could not wield the weapon. Now, only Death or his offspring could do such a thing. Annihilation loomed, yet Ares could not let the threat against Octavia stand.

“You . . . you will not harm her, Thanatos!”

Thanatos’s grin flattened.

“You dare challenge me, Ares? You are no match for me. None of you are.”

“You cannot take my life without majority rule from the Twelve. Even you won’t go against that oath.”

“For my child, I would defy any oath,” said Thanatos.

His voice was low when he spoke. Low but righteous. Ares felt no doubt in those words. Thanatos would defy his oath and challenge the Twelve for his child. If he was willing to start that war, neither he nor Octavia would survive without giving up the location of Allesandra.

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