Chapter 14
Raking his hands through his hair, Ren stood back with tears in his eyes while Jess tried to resuscitate Kateri, who lay on the ground at his feet. But she didn't respond at all.
She was dead....
How?
The answer didn't really matter to him. Not even a little. The reality was that she was gone, and the pain of it slammed into him so hard that it left him weak in the knees. He couldn't breathe or focus. Nothing in all eternity had hurt him this much. Nothing. He felt like the world around him was crumbling to pieces. Like the very ground he stood on had swallowed him whole.
She'd just entered his life, turned it on its head, made him feel again, and now she was gone. Why? Why would the gods have done this to him?
He'd been all right alone. He'd gotten by without having any real ties to anyone. Maybe not deliriously happy, but not really miserable either. Muted emotions had worked for him.
At least they beat the hell out of this utter agony that made him want to shout his anguish to the gods and kill whichever one had taken her life.
Panting, he glared up at the muted underworld sky.
I want her back! Damn you! I want her back!
How badly?
His heart stopped its rapid beating at the foreign voice in his head. But it wasn't foreign. It was familiar, though he couldn't place it. Before he could remember, a flickering shade appeared to his right.
Windseer.
More beautiful than any mortal woman, she stood there as a wraith with an unamused expression that made her cheekbones even sharper, her olive skin more luminescent. It was as if she was listening to someone else in her head.
And he knew exactly who would be pulling her stings.
Grizzly.
Get thee behind me, bitch, he growled at her.
She shrugged nonchalantly. Fine. Let her die. She means nothing to me. She started fading.
Kateri might mean nothing to them, but she meant everything to him.
"I'm really sorry, Ren," Sundown said, rising to his feet. He pulled his hat off respectfully as he shifted his weight to one leg. "There's nothing more we can do. She just won't respond."
"Hijo de puta," Cabeza snarled. "Who's going to reset the calendar now? Huh? We just got screwed, mi hermanos. Might as well stay here and set up camp. Once those gates open, everything here will head to the surface. This will be a ghost town."
Urian rolled his eyes. "That's a really indecent pun, Khan."
Jess sighed. "This ain't good. Not good at all."
Sasha nodded in agreement. "Blows chunks, my friends. Blows serious chunks. Thank the gods I'm not human. Can't wait for the gates to fall." His tone dripped sarcasm. He passed an irritated smirk to Sundown. "And we thought it was bad when we were attacked with the plagues. Woo-hoo, Field Day II here we come. Who wants popcorn?"
Their words did nothing to ease the ache in Ren's chest and throat. While they were worried about the world as a whole, he honestly was only worried about one person.
The woman who lay dead.
Sundown looked over at Cabeza. "Is there a place here where we can bury her body?"
Those words slammed into him with a force so strong it made him take a step back. Ren returned his attention to Windseer. Wait!
Windseer solidified with an arched brow while the others started looking for a place to put Kateri.
Ren panicked even more. What do you want in exchange for her life?
The smile on her face was cold and calculating. She slid her gaze down to Kateri. The Grizzly wants his freedom and he doesn't want to fight for it or share it. We bring the bitch back, she resets the calendar. Then you free him, alone. No other entities are invited to our party.
It wouldn't be that simple. He knew better. For one thing, he'd have to kill his brother in order to release the Grizzly. But at this point, sacrificing Coyote, who was hell-bent on destroying the world himself, didn't seem as bad as it once had. Is that all?
She laughed evilly. Of course not. You return to him as his servant.
Ren shook his head. I won't fight for Grizzly. Never again.
Makah'Alay, Makah'Alay ...
Ren could have definitely done without her patronizing tone. Her expression was pitiless. You misunderstand me. He doesn't want you to fight for him. He no longer has faith in your loyalty. You will be his eternal slave to do with as he pleases. Total subjugation.
His stomach cramped with dread at the very thought. I can't do that. Artemis owns me.
Windseer tsked at him. Then let her come for you if she wants you so badly.... But you know the truth, just as we do. She doesn't care about you, any more than anyone else does. She won't waste three seconds trying to find you, because she won't even know you're gone. Face it, Makah'Alay, you're worthless. You have no value to anyone. Not even us.
Those words slapped him hard. Mostly because they were true and he knew it. The only person who seemed to value him was now dead at his feet.
Or was there more to this?
If I have no value, then why does Grizzly want to own me?
To torture you, idiot. Why else? You betrayed him and he wants your blood for that. No one makes him look like a fool. The only so-called value you have to him is that you can get close enough to Coyote to sacrifice him and release Grizzly faster than anyone else. But if you have no wish to have your beloved toy returned to the land of the living, fine. I'll find someone else who will have the balls to do what he has to for the ones he loves.
Ren ground his teeth. She was wasting her time insulting him. He couldn't care less what she called him. Those barbs had lost their sting a long time ago.