Lovers (Lycan Series: #3)

The Poet Orpheus

© 2017 SilverStream22. All Rights Reserved.

"Holy mother of God." I hissed out. "That thing is your dad?"

The red blob dispersed into what looked to be string of yarn, all coming out from his forearm. Katya scowled, swearing viciously under her breath. "Oh that wolf is going to get his ass whooped for using his powers here."

Katya seemed angered beyond belief as she parted the vines that blocked the entrance of the elevator. Katya rearranged them to make a barreling path straight towards Stark.

His eyes, one silver and one gold still, held true fear at the sight of his mate. "Mea lux, I was just-"

"Trying to get yourself killed?" she growled, setting her hands on her hips.

He swallowed, blinking down at Lux. "She called me. It's her fault. Mea lux, I was just trying to help you. Save you."

Katya's vines grew at an alarming rates, turning into sharpened thorns. "I don't need your help. I certainly don't need you to be carelessly using your affinity. You know how dangerous it is! It's like you want to be killed!"

With that, the vines expelled in all directions. Moans and groans echoed past the wall of vines were were surrounded by, and when the vines disintegrated into the air, I noticed that the bodies had all been pierced through the heart by Katya's vines.

Never pissing this woman off. Ever.

Lux frowned, pointing up to the chandelier of the lobby. "You missed one."

I glanced up to see a well dressed zombie...except he didn't exactly look like a zombie. His eyes were a fluorescent green, but that was the only resemblance. Instead of rotting flesh, the man's skin seemed to glow with health- with life.

From the highest floor, I heard Lorena yell down in surprise. "Orpheus?"

I flinched back. "Orpheus? As in-"

"As in the poet/musician who tried to bring his wife back to the dead but failed." Draver muttered. "We're dealing with that Orpheus."

The man with curly dark brown hair descended from the chandelier in a spiral, stepping along what seemed to be smoke before he reached the floor.

Stark and Katya both tucked Lux behind them.

Orpheus smiled, but there was nothing comforting about it. "I'm not here for your daughter, wolves. I'm here for her."

When his scraggly finger pointed at me, the air seemed to be vacuumed out of the place. Jazz and Draver immediately shouldered in front of me. I felt Poseidon's pearl and Athena's notebook both tucked in my jacket. A sense of calmness flowed through me and I stepped forward.

"Did Thanatos send you?" I was surprised that my voice was so stable- so steady. On the inside, my insides were being liquefied.

His head tilted at an unnatural angle. "Not all the gods side with you, Faye. Hades sent me to retrieve you. There is a hefty bounty on you. Thanatos and the Fates aren't the only ones you have to worry about. You still have to answer for your decisions in Valhalla."

The theoretical just became actual. I wanted to ask about what he meant- the decisions made in Valhalla. But Jazz jumped in.

"What would you get in return?" Jazz narrowed his eyes upon Orpheus. "Hades does not make requests, only deals."

Orpheus' eyes grew crazed. "My lover, my wife returned to me. We would live the life we were denied to live."

I slowly began to remember the myth. "Wait no- you got a second chance. And you blew it by looking back to see your wife, the one thing you weren't supposed to do until you were fully out of the entrance to the Underworld. You weren't denied anything. You were given an opportunity that not everyone who loses someone gets. It's your own damn fault that you didn't follow through correctly."

Spittle flew as he shouted: "Enough! Do not speak to me as if you know what I had gone through- what I had done. You are no one. And that is why I will have no problem bringing you to Hades. Maybe I can drag you through the Fields of Asphodel just for the hell of it."

Draver and Jazz both lunged at Orpheus, ripping into their wolf forms midway. But the form shimmered away, as if it was a projection.

A soft breath glided across the back of my neck, one that had me flinch and shiver. Oh God, it was Orpheus. Right behind me.

"Shall we go, Faye McAlistair?"

His hand was at the back of my throat, and the smoke began to swirl like a tornado around us. Jazz and Draver both caught sight of me. I wanted to speak, wanted to scream, but his hand seemed to mute me entirely.

Instead, I thrust my hands out, wanting to reach them. Jazz and Draver both looked at each other before picking up speed, heading straight towards Orpheus and I.

The last thing I saw was the pried open jaws of two wolves both clamping down on my arms before all went black.