Page 61 of The Cursed Chalice

“There was once a time when you built an altar to pray to me.” I hold my sword at the hilt. Rotating my wrist, I allow the sword to swing.

The doorway darkens when five men almost as tall as I am walk into the room. All their heads are shaved, and they’re dressed in black tactical gear.

“Myrmidons, soldiers of Achilles. Now you are errand boys for Elias Thorne.”

“Why fight with a sword? End this now. One blow.”

I point the sword at them, and the back of my hand grazes my scar. “There is no honor in that.”

“There is no honor in kidnapping either.”

“Point made.” The air blisters around me.

The five soldiers attack, swords in hand. One pulls out a dagger and tries to catch me off guard.

I shake my head at him and throw him far against a column.

I bend backward as they lunge forward. The weight of their swords lay on my chest.

“Enough, Ares.”

I pull away, and their swords clatter together. I change the gravitational force, making them all go to their knees.

“Where are the girls?”

No one responds, but one man’s eyes switch to a door in the back.

Phobos and Deimos appear side by side.

“Aye, don’t take all the fun,” Deimos says.

Phobos circles the men slowly. “Release them, Father.”

The temperature of the room dropped. The soldiers swallow. Some shake in fear; another is muttering a prayer.

Deimos bends and lifts a man by his hair. “Don’t struggle; look at me.” He holds the man’s cheeks and kisses him on the lips. His cheeks hollow out. The man screams, his nails clawing at his face.

“Are you praying?” Phobos asks, crouching beside him. The man nods and sobs.

“Imagine being a soldier of Achilles and working for…a mortal.”

The soldier sits up slowly. “The girls are behind the door.”

Phobos pouts. “I am disappointed that you made this so easy for me. Now I have to torture you all for sure.”

I don’t bother watching the boys at work. The men’s screams bounce around the room.

I reach the door, turn the knob, and, as expected, it’s locked.

“Ares!” I feel the shrill scream through my body.

I rip the door off the hinges and step forward. I see both Nisa and Soraya lying quietly on twin beds with a light shining down on them. I run forward, but something propels my body backward. My back hits the wall near the door. Air leaves my lungs, and I cough as I stand to catch my breath.

“Hecate.”

Hecate instantly appears where I stand.

“Ares, they are alive.” Just as she is about to move forward, she stops, and her hand moves through the air. I see a golden ripple appear under her fingers.