Styxx

Styxx had to force himself not to throw his knife straight through Camulus's skull for that. But he didn't want to waste the blade when there was real meat to be eaten. And he hadn't had to kill it first.



It took everything he had to eat civilly, as a human, and not shovel it into his mouth like the animal he'd become. Gods, it was so good. Forget the cake ... nothing could be better than this.



He reached for the wine then paused at the container it was in. It looked so frail and delicate.



Camulus let out a heavy sigh. "This isn't going to work." He gestured at Styxx. "He's staring at the glass like it's some alien invader."



"He's never seen glass like that."



"My point. He'll never pass for Acheron."



Too used to criticism and mockery to react to it, Styxx's frown deepened. "What do I dilute this with?"



Camulus started to respond, but Dionysus cut him off. "You don't." He held his hand up to stifle Styxx's protest. "I know in your time period it was uncivilized to drink wine without dilution. However, that was a very long time ago. Drink it as it is. Trust me, it's good, and it won't make you rape and pillage the village." Then he returned to his conversation.



Well, if anyone should know how to drink wine, it was the Greek god of the vine.



Hoping for the best, Styxx took a tentative sip. It pained him to admit it, but Dionysus was right. It was delicious. And very different from what he'd known in Didymos.



As Styxx listened in on their conversation, he learned that Dionysus had been banned from Olympus and sent to live in the mortal realm.... The real reason for his planned hostile takeover. Dionysus wanted to return to Olympus and throw his father from the mountain.



Likewise, Camulus's godhood was all but gone and he wanted the heart carved out of someone named Talon.



In the middle of their conversation, they stopped talking to stare at him. "Human?" Dionysus asked.



Don't I wish.



"God of drunken lunatics?" he shot back at Dionysus.



Camulus laughed.



Dionysus not so much. "Can you feign an Atlantean accent?"



Styxx wiped his mouth with his napkin. "It's been a while since I heard one, but I think I have it."



The Olympian actually appeared impressed. "Where did you get that?"



"I spent three years in Atlantis. I heard it a lot."



"Ah, well, just so you know, your brother's accent comes and goes."



"Noted."



Dionysus swirled his wine around in his ... glass. That was the correct word for it. "I might live to regret this comment, but I think we're going to pull this off."



Styxx only wished he shared their optimism. I better enjoy my limited freedom. Because sooner or later, something was going to happen and he'd be relegated back to hell soon.



He was sure of it.



February 17, 2004



Styxx sat alone in the Cafe Pontalba at a table near one of the large doors that opened onto the street where tourists thronged in the midst of pre-Mardi Gras celebration. The waitress had just taken away his plate and card.



Drinking his beer, he stared at the foreign people who made no sense to him. They were all very odd.



Like you're not?



True. He was so out of place, he couldn't stand it. And he hated playing with people's lives. At first, he hadn't minded his assignments. Get close to the Dark-Hunters who worked with his brother and report back to Dionysus and Camulus. Play with their heads and confuse them a little.



Something made infinitely easier because he could hear their thoughts. But what had stunned him was how much love and respect the Dark-Hunters bore his brother.



No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reconcile the Acheron they knew with the cowardly brother who'd stabbed him. The brother who'd ruthlessly oiled his body and held him down so that Estes could brand "whore" on his groin and laugh while it was done to him.



The brother whose greatest wish was to pay money to see Styxx violently raped.



His twin had never been caring about other people. Justifiable given Estes's abuse, Acheron had been bitter and angry.



Hurt.



Maybe people did change. The gods knew Acheron had had plenty of time for it while he'd left Styxx to rot in isolation.



Still ... why wouldn't such an altruistic, "decent," and benevolent person check on his own brother?



At least once in eleven thousand years?



As the waitress returned his card, Styxx rubbed at his temples. He had a splitting headache from the voices that echoed all around him. That had been the only good thing about being on the island. The only voice in his head had been his own. And even it had faded and gone quiet after a few thousand years.



Not even the keepers Artemis had sent at odd intervals had verbal thoughts. Rather their thoughts had been pictures so vivid, he'd drawn them in the sand after they left. Then the tide would come and wash them away and leave him with a new slate to draw on.



His phone rang. Styxx checked the number and was grateful it wasn't one of the Dark-Hunters Dionysus had been rerouting to his cell. Since he couldn't hear their thoughts over the phone, it made talking to them even more difficult than normal.



"What do you need?" he asked Camulus.



"Did you find out about the woman? Does Talon know she's his wife reincarnated?"



Yes, he did, but Styxx refrained from sharing that. He wasn't sure why. Just that the hopeful delight in Camulus's tone made him wary. Besides, he understood the pain of losing the woman he loved. He wasn't callous enough to torture another man with something like that.



Not even for his own freedom and sanity.



"I don't know," he lied.



Camulus cursed. "Find out!" He hung up.



"You look like you're about to splinter that thing."



Styxx glanced up to see Nick Gautier in front of his table. He'd bumped into the kid a few days ago while he'd been helping to set up one of the Dark-Hunters. This man was a Squire-modern day servant or employee, rather-to Talon, the Dark-Hunter Camulus wanted to torture most. Apparently, Talon had killed Camulus's son in battle, back in the Dark Ages, and the god ached for vengeance over it.



And yet they all thought that Styxx should be willing to forgive Apollo for all his transgressions that had cost Styxx's son his life....



Yeah.



"Hey, kid." Styxx slid the phone into his pocket. Standing at six foot four, Nick was physically older than Styxx and yet he seemed like an infant to him. There was an innocence to the Cajun boy that Styxx wasn't sure he'd ever possessed. If he had, he must have still been in a pana.



Nick took the chair in front of him, turned it around, and straddled it. "Are you sure you're all right? You seem a little off."



There was an understatement. Nick was the only one in town who really concerned him when it came to discovering he wasn't Acheron. Apparently, his brother had a tight-knit relationship with Nick that Acheron didn't have with other people.



"It's the Daimons. Too much shit going on."



Nick laughed. "I hear you. And on top of everything else, school is kicking my a-s-s. I wish I could pay one of you to take my finals and write my papers. I don't know what it is about them, but every time I have to sit down to a test, I choke and can't remember how to do anything right."



Styxx snorted at his words. "So what you're telling me is that you're having performance anxiety issues?"



"What...? No! Hell to the no!"



Styxx laughed at Nick's righteous indignation. He could see why Acheron took a liking to Nick, and it went a long way in explaining why Galen had befriended him.



There's a fire inside you, boy. Even though you walk around like Atlas with the weight of the world on your young shoulders, you do it and still hold on to your dignity.



He'd never understood those words until he met this kid. It was a perfect description of Nick Gautier. And Styxx admired the way the boy watched after his mother and protected her. Theirs was a very special bond, and he liked to think that had his son Galen grown up, he'd be a lot like Nick.



"Ah, crap." Nick dug his phone out.



Styxx held his breath, hoping that wasn't his brother on the phone. If it was, he was busted.



"Hey, Ma. Nah, I'm sitting with Ash at the Cafe P. You need something?" He pulled a pen out of his pants pocket and grabbed a napkin. "Skim milk. Sliced cheese. Bread." He paused and frowned. "Ah, Ma ... do I got to?" He absolutely cringed. "Fine. Girly things I don't want to know about. Gah! No, Ma, don't go there. I am your son, you know? I don't want to know that, either. Love you. Bye." He hung up the phone and sighed. "You don't know how lucky you are that you were born before women had tampons. I swear they were invented for no other purpose than to cause endless hours of shame, humiliation, and torture to men. 'Cause nothing says whipped better than a man in the grocery store holding a giant pink flowered shrink wrapped monstrosity. Least they could do is put them in a plain brown wrapper or unmarked black box or something ubiquitous."



Styxx had no idea what tampons were, but the expression on Nick's face told him that he better not ask. Chalk it up to another thing Dionysus had forgotten to give him the definition to.



Nick shoved the paper into his pocket while he continued to rant. "And why do they always wait until they're down to the last one before they restock? Not like they don't get it once a month on a fairly regular schedule ... If I did that with the toilet paper, she'd slaughter me in my sleep." He growled then got up. "I've gotta make an emergency run. See you later."



Laughing as he ascertained the definition of "tampon," Styxx inclined his head to Nick and watched as the kid disappeared into the crowd. He got up and left a twenty-dollar bill on the table as a tip then headed out.



Nick had no idea how lucky he was to have a mother who loved him the way his did. It was all too rare in the world.



Styxx wandered back to the hotel where they were staying. He'd barely closed the door to their room before Camulus appeared and backhanded him so hard, he broke the sunglasses Styxx had been wearing.



Pain exploded through his head. "What the hell?"



"You lie to me again and I will gut you."



Styxx wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. "You'll have to pick a better threat. I've already had a god gut me. Really don't give a shit about it now."



"Fine. I'll geld you."



He laughed. "Been there and done that, too. Want to try three for three?"



Camulus scowled at him. "You're insane, aren't you?"



At this point, it was a good bet.



But he didn't speak. Rather, he pushed his way past the god and went to get another bottle of beer from the small fridge. He popped the top and sat down on the couch to silently wait for his next assignment.



Something that was growing harder by the day. He was tired of screwing with people's lives. His own had been toyed with enough by the gods that he was getting more and more resentful of what Camulus and Dionysus wanted of him. At the rate they were going, he was about to demand to be returned to his island.



Apollo or no Apollo.



February 21, 2004



Styxx gaped as Camulus appeared with an unconscious, bleeding woman draped over his shoulder. He recognized her as Sunshine Runningwolf, the woman who was Talon's reincarnated wife.



"What did you do?"



Camulus didn't respond as he tossed her down on the bed then used his powers to heal her bullet wound. Next, he tied her, spread-eagle, to the bed.



Fury ripped through Styxx at the sight. "What are you doing." It wasn't a question. It was a demand.



"Making sure she doesn't leave."



"You don't have to tie her up like that."



"Why not?"



It's degrading. But Styxx couldn't say that as memories shredded him. It set off a panic within him so ragged that he could barely breathe for it. He remembered the way he'd been tortured and violated, over and over, while tied down like that.



Unable to stand it, he jerked the knife out of his boot and cut her loose.



Camulus arched a brow. "What do you think you're doing?"



"She won't escape."



"You are overstepping your place, human."



Styxx curled his lip. Apparently he couldn't learn his lesson with the gods, because the next words out of his mouth were extremely stupid. "Fine, Apollo. Do your worst to me."



"What's going on here?" Dionysus asked as he joined them.



Camulus glared at Styxx. "Your pet was about to get his ass kicked."



Styxx snorted. "And yours was about to have his ass handed to him."



Dion made a sound of disgust deep in his throat. "I'm really getting tired of separating you two. Now stop it!" He turned his attention to the unconscious woman on the bed. "Why is she here?" he asked Camulus.



With smug satisfaction, the Gallic war god folded his arms over his chest. "To torture Talon. He has no idea what we're doing to her and it will make him crazy. I literally ripped her out of his arms while he was powerless to stop me."



Styxx could only imagine how nasty the expression was on his own face. Because the minute those words were out of Camulus's mouth, Dionysus zapped him out of the room and into his bedroom so that he couldn't hear their conversation.



Or so they thought.



"Now that's he's gone, Cam, explain yourself. What have you done?"



"I broke in and took her from Talon so that he'd know who holds her. You wanted him out of commission. I assure you, he's going insane from the fear of what I might be doing to her. I'm sure by now he's contacted Acheron. We need them as riled as possible, is that not right?"



"It is. So what are we going to do with her?"



"Rape the shit out of her."



Styxx's sanity told him to stay out of it, but he couldn't. The thought of Camulus doing that to her or anyone ...



He wanted the god's heart in his fist. Before his common sense could prevail, he barged back into the room. "Touch her and I'll tear both your arms off and beat you with them."



Dionysus caught the Gaul before he could attack, and glared at Styxx. "Do I have to put you back in Hades?"



Styxx held Camulus's gaze with his. If he didn't come up with an alternate plan, fast, that bastard would have his way, and as Styxx knew firsthand, while Dionysus might not participate in raping someone, he damn sure wouldn't stop it. He'd merely walk away and leave the human to the perversity of their captor.



No matter what, he wouldn't stand for it.



"I have another idea."



Camulus started for Styxx, but Dionysus caught him again and pushed him back.



"Stay in your corner, Gaul. Let's hear him out." He turned his attention back to Styxx. "Go on."



Styxx forced himself to stay calm. "You want to mind-fuck all of them. Right? That is why I'm here?"



"Yes."



Styxx hesitated. It was the last thing he wanted to do to anyone. But if he didn't, something a lot worse would happen to the woman. "There's a chest in my hut that contains Eycharistisi."



Dionysus's jaw went slack. "How the hell did you get that?"



"It was a gift." Those words stuck in his craw. Estes had left it as a reminder of what he could do to Styxx whenever he wanted and Styxx had kept it to remember why he'd been justified in killing his uncle in cold blood.



Dionysus narrowed his gaze on him in disbelief. "Why do you still have it?"



"I was on a deserted island for the last eleven thousand years. Unless I wanted to screw a wild goat, there wasn't a lot of use for it. And unlike you gods, screwing animals doesn't appeal to me."



Indignant, Dionysus straightened. "For the record, I never did that."



Yeah, right. "Ampelos?"



"Satyrs are half human."



Styxx let out a bitter laugh at Dionysus's answer. "And why are they half human?"



"Fine, it was just the one time, and I was really tore up drunk when it happened, and Phobos dared me into it."



One time? Really?



"Ismarius?" Styxx taunted with another famous reminder of the Olympian's perversity.



"What are you? My effing biographer?"



Camulus laughed. "So the goat remark hit a little close to home, huh?"



"Shut up." Dionysus turned back to Styxx. "If you don't want her raped, why give her a potent aphrodisiac?"



Because you leave me with no choice. If I don't do this, the other bastard will hurt her for real. Better to make her horny than have her violated by a pig.



But he knew better than to give them the real reason. "Mess with their heads. It will stress out Talon to know it was given to her, but most of all, it will send Acheron a potent message that I'm here, and it will upset him to a level you can't even begin to imagine."



"Why would he care?" Camulus asked.



"I'm the only one alive who knows all his secrets and every detail of his past. Trust me, he doesn't want me to share any of it with his friends. Fear of what I might expose will paralyze him. And he'll be after me with his thoughts so scrambled he won't know if he's coming or going."



Dionysus glared at him. "This had better work."



"Believe me. No one knows my twin better than I do. Now, we need to take her somewhere to give it to her then let them find her under its influence." And make damn sure Talon is the one who finds her and the Gallic pig keeps his hands to himself.



Dionysus nodded. "I'll get some Daimons to set up a distraction and to protect her until the Dark-Hunters get to her."



* * *



After returning Styxx to the spartan hole that had been his home for centuries, Dionysus frowned at him. "You made this place?"



Nodding, Styxx hesitated in the doorway of his hut. "I originally had a stone cottage here, but after a few centuries, it crumbled to dust."



"Couldn't you fix it?"



He gave the Olympian a droll stare. "Too time intensive to find the stones and make mortar by hand. I was dropped here with no tools or any supplies. I had to make everything I needed to survive, including weapons and tools, and kill or gather whatever I ate and wore." Had Styxx not been a war veteran who'd been forced to scrounge with his army when supplies ran low, and a boy whose father had demanded he work the hardest, most menial jobs he could find, he'd have been completely shit out of luck here.



Dionysus scowled. "I thought you had caretakers?"



A tic started in Styxx's jaw at the memory. "For a little while people would bring some food, from time to time. Maybe a hundred years or so. Then never again."



"How did you not go insane from the solitude?"



"Who says I didn't?" Styxx glanced around and winced at the animal pelts on the sand floor where he'd slept for thousands of years. The stone tools he'd had to make to survive-something twice as hard as usual since his right hand had been left partially paralyzed from the Thracian attack on his return to Greece after the Atlantean war.



There had been nothing comfortable or comforting about his stark, harsh existence.



Had he not hated Acheron before Dionysus had freed him, he would definitely hate him now, having seen the luxury his brother had lived in all these centuries past. The friends who surrounded Acheron and loved him like family.



Styxx still didn't understand how the selfish bastard couldn't have bothered to check in on him. Just once. Brought him a burger.



One effing pillow or blanket. Really? Would that have been so much for Mr. Atlantean God?



Disgusted, Styxx went to his chest and picked it up. "I'm ready."



"Yeah. I imagine you've seen enough of this place."



You have no idea. Styxx didn't say anything, but he was glad Dionysus didn't drag his feet leaving.



At least that was the thought until they returned to the hotel suite and Apollo was there, waiting for them.



What the hell?



A slow smile spread across the Olympian's face as he saw Styxx, while Styxx's stomach shrank with each additional heartbeat.



Camulus slid his gaze to Dionysus. "He came here looking for you. I hope you don't mind. I told him to wait."



That was what his mouth said, but Styxx could hear that Camulus had done it intentionally to get back at him. And all because of Styxx's slip ...



Damn it. He knew better than to ever expose a nerve to anyone, for any reason. Especially a vengeful god. Total misery and pain consumed every molecule of his body. Honestly, he'd rather be back on the island than subjected to that bastard's custody.



He turned on Dionysus. "Our deal's off. Send me back."



Dionysus actually had pity in his eyes as he shook his head at Styxx. "It won't matter. He knows you're alive now. He can track you there the same way I did."



Of course he could. And on that island, Styxx would be at Apollo's mercy any time, day or night. It would be even worse than it'd been in Didymos.



Apollo wouldn't have to worry about anyone disturbing them or ...



Styxx slammed the chest down on the table. "I don't give a fuck. I'm out." He stormed to Sunshine's room and opened the door.



Her eyes widened as soon as she saw him. Fury spurring him, he pulled out his knife and went to free her.



Roaring, Camulus shoved him away from the bed.



Styxx turned on him with a feral gleam in his eye. He'd had enough of them all. "Bring it, bitch!"



Camulus lunged at him and Styxx feinted to the left then shot back right and buried his dagger into the god's side. The Gaul bellowed with fury.



Styxx caught him and flipped him to the floor. Camulus shot a bolt at him, but he dodged it and slammed Camulus's head down to stun the older being.



"Stop!" Dionysus ordered.



Styxx ignored him.



"I'll kill the woman if you don't stop. I mean it, Styxx."



He hesitated in debate. On the one hand, why should he care? But as he glanced at her and the terror in her dark eyes, he knew he couldn't hurt her. He'd seen too many innocents pay. Even though he didn't know her at all, he didn't want her or Talon to live with the nightmares he knew so intimately.



No one should bury his wife ...



Never mind do it twice in one lifetime.



Furious, Styxx drove the knife into the floor next to Camulus's head then got up and left the room.



"I should have let him kill you," Dionysus sneered to Camulus, unaware that Styxx could hear them.



"I didn't know he could do that."



Apollo laughed. "You have no idea. For a human, he has incredible skills ... in more than one event."



"Stop it!" Dionysus snapped at his brother. "Haven't you tormented him enough? Really?"



Styxx grabbed his coat and left the hotel. He had no destination in mind, he just had to get some fresh air as a thousand emotions ripped him apart. He should have known better than to agree to this.



The gods always screwed him.



One way or another.



I just want out. Was it not time for his torment to end? Really? How much more could they put him through?



Unable to stand it, he headed down Canal, toward the river. There were groups of people laughing all around him in carefree abandon. How he wished he could be one of them. But he'd never been free to hang out with friends and party. His whole human life had been nothing but responsibility.



Duty.



And he'd failed everyone he'd ever loved.



He pulled the sleeve of his jacket and shirt back so that he could touch the names of his wife and son. If he closed his eyes, he could sometimes catch a whiff of Bethany's scent from the bowels of his memory. But what he hated was the fact that he couldn't remember the sound of her voice anymore. He could remember inflections of it as she said his name or laughed. Yet not the exact sound.



She'd left him entirely.



I can't take another day of this....



And yet there was no way out. None. Strange how as a child forever had seemed like a long time, but it wasn't until you lived it that you fully grasped the horror of eternity.



The magnitude.



The insanity.



Although the Dark-Hunters he'd spoken to seemed to have adapted to the concept. As had his brother. But then, they weren't alone. They had a brotherhood where they looked out for each other.



The only one of the Dark-Hunters who seemed to even remotely understand Styxx's pain was the one named Zarek. In his dark, tortured eyes, Styxx had recognized a kindred spirit.



Styxx paused along the walkway that ran parallel to the river and leaned against the steel rail. His gaze dropped to the two clear plastic cups someone had carelessly tossed over the railing.



Discarded garbage ...



Like him.



At home in Didymos and on the island in Hades, the water had always been the most luscious shade of clear turquoise. Here it was a murky greenish-brown. Still, it reminded him of the sounds of home on hot summer nights when he'd slept with all the windows open and listened to the sea outside.



There was a child screaming behind him while an irate mother tried to soothe her, and was fast losing patience with the girl. He glanced at them over his shoulder. The woman had no idea just how lucky she was to have that child with her. But he wouldn't pass judgment on her for her irritation. His father had been perpetually annoyed with him, and maybe if he'd been blessed enough to raise his son, he'd have been the same with Galen.



But he couldn't imagine ever being cross with his child, for any reason.



If only I could have held him.



Just once.



Sighing, he gripped the rail and tried to calm the rage and grief inside him as seagulls cried out over his head, temporarily drowning out the sound of Zydeco and people in the background.



"Styxx?"



Silently, he cursed at the sound of Dionysus's voice calling out to him. He didn't say a word until the god came to stand by his side.



"You promised me an end to my hell," Styxx whispered.



"I know. I'm sorry."



"No, you're not." Dionysus didn't care any more about Styxx than anyone else did. He was nothing to the god and he knew it.



Dionysus turned so that he could lean back against the railing and face Styxx. "Yes, I am. For everything. Believe it or not, even the gods can have remorse. I should have never shown you to Apollo. I was young and stupid. Trying to impress my big brother. It wasn't until I was cast into this putrid world that I began to fully understand the consequences of what we do ... what we did."



"And yet you want to take it over. Rule it all again."



"I don't like being a pawn any more than you do. I've choked on my pride long enough. Like you, I want out."



Styxx snorted. "We're not friends or women. Why are you talking to me?"



"Because we need you to kill Acheron. You're the only one who can get close enough to him to do it. There's just a handful of days left to Mardi Gras. Help me finish this and you won't have to worry about Apollo. I'll make sure he stays away from you until then, and once you're dead..."



Styxx pushed himself away from the rail. "I better be dead, Dionysus. If not, yours is the first ass I'll be coming after." He headed back to the hotel with Dionysus trailing him the whole way. "If you're banned from Olympus, how were you able to free me?"



"Hades isn't part of Olympus. I wasn't banned from his domain."



That made sense.



Styxx held the door open and let Dionysus lead the way to the elevator. "I want full control of the woman. If Camulus goes near her again, I will gut him."



"I think he might have figured that out."



"I doubt it. He's even slower to learn than I am." Styxx stepped out of the elevator and headed back to the suite where Apollo and Camulus waited.



Dionysus cornered his brother without a word while Styxx grabbed a bottle of wine and went to his chest on the table. He mixed the wine with a very small amount of the Eycharistisi. As he worked, he felt Apollo's eyes on him to the point it made the hair at the back of his neck rise.



Glancing up, he caught the lecherous leer on Apollo's face, and it ignited his temper.



I hate you.



Doing his best to ignore him, Styxx poured the mixture into the thermos Dionysus had provided then handed it to the god of wine. "We're ready. I'll get the woman."



Camulus started to protest, but Dionysus stopped him.



Styxx's fury doubled as he saw Sunshine tied down again on the bed. Gods, he couldn't stand it. Grinding his teeth, he cut her free.



She immediately ran at him and shoved him back. Stunned, he didn't react for several heartbeats. But then he bolted to catch her before she could open the door where Camulus waited.



"Stop!" he snarled in her ear. "It's me or them, and believe me, you don't want them to touch you."



That made her fight even harder.



"Stop it!" he repeated. "I'm not going to rape you."



She tried to speak through her gag.



No doubt he should remove it, but knowing her, she'd scream. "Just calm down and everything will be fine." Taking her arm, he led her to the others.



Immediately, Dionysus flashed them from the hotel to an old, run-down warehouse of some kind. There were large paned windows, many of which had boards over them.



Using his powers, Dionysus conjured a small bed for the woman. Styxx pulled the gag from her lips as Dionysus unscrewed the Thermos lid. "I need you to drink this."



"You drink it, you bastard!" She ran for the door.



Styxx caught her then picked her up. On the one hand, he admired her bravery. On the other, it was seriously starting to piss him off. If she didn't cooperate, Camulus would insist on doing this his way. And she would be raped.



"C'mon," he said in her ear. "Swallow this. It's much better than what's going to happen to you if you don't."



Guilt stabbed him hard as she drank it, and he remembered what it'd been like when Estes had given it to him the first time on their hunting trip. How it'd felt when the Atlantean gods had forced him to drink it for their perverse pleasure. His anger mounted until he shook with its weight.



Once she was finished, he left her to Dionysus. He didn't want any part of tying her up or seeing her like that.



"Have you made your call?" Styxx snarled at Camulus.



"I took care of it. Did you write your note?"



He handed it to him then left. Since Acheron would be with the others who came to rescue the woman, he couldn't risk being here when they arrived.



But the problem was, he didn't know how to get back to the hotel from here.



"Styxx?"



He glanced over his shoulder to Dionysus. Before he could blink, the god blasted him and sent him back to their hotel suite.



That could have been a little more pleasant.



Of course, it could have been a lot more unpleasant, too.



However, the real unpleasantness was about to begin. As soon as his brother read the note Styxx had left for him, Acheron would come after his blood full throttle.



And who could blame him? The note was terse. Just a handful of words designed to make Acheron insane enough to meet them and guarantee that soon Styxx wouldn't have to worry about Apollo or anything else ever again....



I know you, little brother. I know all you've done. I know how you live.



Most of all, I know the lies you tell yourself so that you can sleep.