Chapter Ten
There was that smell again: rotten eggs and burnt BBQ. It was a terrible smell. Rach shivered even though there were flames all around her she was freezing. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she turned. “Hello?” she whispered. No, there was no one there. She turned again and tried to find a way out, but there wasn’t one. She was enclosed in walls, and there were no windows or doors. What the hell?
A soft sound that seemed to echo through the space came from a corner. Then that voice was there again. It seemingly came from all directions at once or single points around the room in a cascade of sound. “You are a puzzle I intend to solve. I think you and I will have fun figuring out what the hell you’re doing to my world and your own. Don’t you?”
Rachael backed up just a bit and shook her head. “No, I seriously doubt it,” she told the God. “I’ve bonded with my men so you can’t get to me. You said so yourself. They’ll make sure you get an ass whipping for this” She took a step back from the heat coming her way. She would rather freeze than go near the heat.
“True, you have bonded with your men. True, I said that I couldn’t touch the sixth key once she bonded.” Heat slid along her spine before moving away. His voice, though, was inside her head when he whispered, “But I said nothing about the third key. You can enter this realm in your dreams. They can never enter it until the day they die and judgment is passed. I do wonder which way that will fall, don’t you?”
“They do what they have to do to save lives. I’m not worried about where they will end up.” This was bad. This was very fucking wrong. She was in so much shit and knew it. She just prayed that Wyatt or Dieter would wake and know she was in trouble. “You know they’re going to lock your ass into this world and you will never be able to get out of here, right?”
His chuckle was dark and sent dread sliding through her. “It’s actually adorable that you believe that lie. What do you think will happen to you if they should manage to lock me in here? Your mind naturally gravitates here each time you sleep. Think on that.”
A hand wrapped around her arm suddenly, and a familiar scent reached her nose and drowned out the smells around her.
“No!” Hades shouted, shaking the room she was in. “You can’t be here.”
“Fuck you, asshole,” Wyatt said. He looked down at her. “It’s time to wake up, Rach,” he crooned. Sliding his hand down her arm, he laced their fingers together and gave a tug on her hand as he stepped back. The wall behind him, previously unmarred by any sign of an exit, shattered. It also sent Hades into a fit of epic proportions.
Rach fell against Wyatt. He secured her in his arms as he moved through the dream.
“You came for me.” She clung to him. “Jesus. He said the sixth key would be safe from him once she’s bonded to her men. Not me.” She had tears rolling down her cheeks. “He’s right.” She had gone straight to hell, so that said a great deal about her. “When I die, he’s going to have my soul. There’s no going back from that, is there?”
When she woke, she was wrapped up in his arms, and he brushed a kiss against her cheek. “He doesn’t have your soul. You’re tied to us both, which means wherever we go, you’re going. Don’t ever listen to Hades. He’s a self-proclaimed liar.”
She shuddered and nodded. “He said that you guys would end up there, but I know you won’t. Yes, I know that you have all killed, but you’ve done it to keep others safe. There is a fine line, and I know that. I know you’re all on the other side of the line. I know you’re both good.” She was holding Wyatt but sighed when she felt Dieter moving to hold onto her as well. That was where she felt safest—between both men. “He did say something that has me bothered. When I sleep, my soul drifts to Hell. That’s not okay.”
“Your soul is with us. Your mind drifts to Hell,” Dieter said in a low rumble. “The only reason it’s drifting there is because of him. He’s focused on you right now. Which means when you fall asleep, he gives you a yank, and there you are. But only in the dream.” He gave her a squeeze and pressed a kiss to her neck.
“But how? I didn’t think he had that much power over we are now. If he can pull me to him, what keeps him from pull…” That fast, she realized. “Because I died. That door was opened, and that’s where he’s able to reach me. Right?” They had gone over that before, but she was only now fully realizing it. It struck her like a freight train; in processing information, she had to go over some things in her mind multiple times before she finally made the connections clearly, such as now.
“Exactly,” Wyatt said. He pressed his forehead to hers and stared into her eyes. “The connection seems to be getting weaker, though.”
“I can’t believe you actually managed to pull her out,” Dieter commented. She felt him shift until he was leaning his cheek on her shoulder. “I could feel her struggling but couldn’t get a hold of her. How the fuck did you do that?”
Wyatt gave him a look and shook his head. “No clue. I was in the same boat as you, and then suddenly it was like I was in the room with her. I could touch her, feel the silk of her skin, and hear her breathing. Strangest fucking thing ever.”
“Well, apparently the gods weren’t kidding when they said they had no clue what may have been altered in us by their training on Olympus.”
“And the two of you had a double dose thanks to Ares and Apollo making you both return to that training ground,” Rach said with her head tilted. “So that means that whatever was unlocking inside of you unlocked faster because of that time. Right?”
“Maybe. Who knows with them. Still waiting to see what Dieter’s superpower is, though. At least mine appears to be following you no matter where you go.” Wyatt grinned at her. “Not exactly the worst thing ever. I do think we need a discussion with the gods to figure out the extent of whatever this is.”
“I think so as well.” She snuggled against him, however, when he pulled her tighter. “Although I have to tell you I really like the idea of you being able to follow me wherever I go. It means I’ll have you being a bit of a buffer between that son of a bitch and me.”
“I’m liking the fact you’re not stuck alone dealing with Hades anymore. Thank the gods for Wyatt’s superpower. Whatever it actually is,” Dieter told her. He rubbed her arm. “Try and get some sleep, Rachael. We’re going to need to have a long chat with our god buddies tomorrow. We really need to sort a few facts from fiction, I think. And pass along whatever information you learned from Hades to them as well.”
“I agree. Sleep for a bit more, talk to them, and then I really do want to go for that four-wheel trip that we talked about. Packing a picnic lunch and going out and being alone, just the three of us. Maybe star watch as well?”
“I’m sure we can come up with something. Though if we’re staying out to star watch, we’ll need to take more than just a lunch. This sounds like we need to pack a bit for a day trip,” Dieter teased. “We are only going out for a day, right? You’re not planning a week-long event you’ve failed to mention, right?”
“No, just a day-long event. I’d like to spend some time with the two of you without worrying about what everyone else is doing or saying.” She yawned again and patted a muscular chest. “Sleep.” After their nap, they would worry about alone time.
“Yes, you definitely need to sleep. No more trips to visit with the big bad if you wouldn’t mind,” Wyatt said. He pressed a kiss to her lips before tucking her head under his chin as he shifted on the bed. “Love you, darling.”