The Hunted

Chapter 34

Multiple POVs

Sarah's POV (Ériu)

"You aren't giving her enough time!" I yelled.

"That isn't your decision," he replied. "Her path was set before her human life even began. If you don't like it, take it up with the Fates. I'm sure they'll find your input fascinating. Besides, I'm just the messenger."

I threw my hands in the air, cursing in a mix of Latin and Greek, "Gods, you've always been such a fucking prick," I swore at him. "Messenger, my ass! You're her lover - I think that makes you way more than just the messenger. You have to do something, otherwise, Callie won't survive this. Who the actual fuck will even benefit then? All of Selene's plans will go down the drain and that psycho, Lisette will attempt to usurp even more power." I swayed as Elatha lowered me into a chair.

"You're pushing yourself too much, Ériu. This isn't good for you or our child," he admonished me.

"Why do you even care? She isn't in your pantheon, so why this vested interest?" he asked me, eyeing Elatha and me closely.

"You have not a single clue, do you?" Elatha muttered. "She is found in all our pantheons - time after time, generation after generation. Her destiny is far beyond what your Fates may have written in yours. To end her life now will wreak havoc on millions."

I snorted, "You've spent too much time in the mortal realm. You say I'm too invested, but you don't even know the real reason your precious Hecate is getting involved in all of this. Why would she turn against Selene - her friend?"

That caught his attention.

He stood, pondering the new information. "I need to verify your information, then notify both of them if what you say is true."

"She was blessed even before she was born. It was not given by any god or goddess that any of us can account for," I told him. "Her appearance in hundreds of pantheons defies logic. What consequences could Hades cause if he kills her?" He looked at me with a shock of fear on his face. In the countless ages I'd known him, I had never seen him afraid - at least not until now.

"Ériu, I don't doubt your conviction, but I really am not in charge despite my relationship with her. This is an agreement between her and Hades. All I can do is advise, but I will do my due diligence and investigate these claims." He flashed a grin, "Now do listen to your husband and rest. That little one isn't going to let a time suspension spell halt his entrance into the world for much longer."

He vanished, leaving me to let out a frustrated breath, "Stupid flighty, crossroads demon...he drives me insane! How am I supposed to prepare her now?"

"Tell her the truth," Elatha said, kneeling next to me. "You've done your job, you've protected and guided her for years without her realizing it. She needs the nuts and bolts version of her story. Then and only then can she really face Hades on a level playing field."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Keeping the truth from her won't save her. "Fine, but let her sleep a bit more. Those damn boys keep her on the edge of exhaustion," I smirked.

He stroked my face and placed kisses along my neck, "I think I've been guilty of that a few times myself."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, well someone I know knocked me up the very first time."

He chuckled, "I didn't hear you complaining, my beautiful mate." I let out a squeal as he picked me up bridal style and carried us to our room. "Make no mistake, Ériu, you will speak with her, but for now, I want some quality time with my mate."

Kota's POV

"Hey Victor, can you come look at this?"

"Sure, Kota, what's up?" I handed him the two books I'd been researching and pointed to the photos. "Whoa? Is that Callie?"

"I think so, but what confuses me is look at the folklore." Victor frowned as he read the titles. "This one is Greek, but this one is Egyptian - and there are even more references to her online. It's like she's everywhere."

"Okay, so what exactly are you trying to find?" he asked me.

"Well, after Owen talked with us about Hades and the Selene connection, I thought maybe I could find some information about either of them that would help Callie. Then I started finding photos of her. Each one would lead me to another pantheon, then another. She's called by many different names and pops up in several legends from creation to fertility, but it's still her."

"Kota, man, this is family meeting worthy," he gaped, flipping through the internet tabs I had up. "I think maybe Gabe should reach out to Sam again. I seem to remember him mentioning being really old. Maybe he can shed some light on this."

Three hours later we all settled down at the dining room table, the books and several printed materials covering the surface. "Holy shit, Kota, it's like being back in high school when you did those fucking research projects," Nate joked.

"Nah, looks more like a D&D campaign," Corey teased.

"Yeah, yeah, you guys, but seriously, take a minute and really look at what all of them have in common," I urged.

"Hey, Kota, Sam's fucking here," Gabe said as he walked in with Sam following.

Sam stopped and looked at all the books, photos, and papers, then began muttering to himself. "Fuck me, she was right. Oh, shit, oh shit, oh shit." He tugged at his hair and became more distraught by the moment.

"Hey Sam, you okay?" Gabe asked.

The man looked up with bulging eyes, "Where did you get all of this? Who gave it to you?"

"I found it accidentally," I replied. "When Owen told us about Callie facing Hades, I wanted to research him and Selene. I wanted to understand how Callie fits into all of this madness." I gestured toward the research, "I had no idea what I was walking into.  From the looks of this, she's in every single known pantheon. Here, look, this is here in a Nordic tale with Fenrir, and another here with Papa Legba."

"I've got one here with Set in Egypt," Victor said, pulling up another screen.

"There are descriptions and images of her throughout dozens of ancient texts," Owen added. "Sam, do you have any idea what this is all about or what it means?"

Sam looked at all of us wild-eyed, then said, "It means I have some work to do. I'll be back soon." Then he simply vanished.

"What the absolute fuck was that all about?" Gabe swore.

"He looked like he was going to pass out there for a few moments," Luke said.

Silas shook his head, "First the guy won't show, then he's freaking out, is this normal for him?"

Gabe shook his head, but Axel was the one who responded, "I've known him for years, and I've never seen him act like this. All this time, he's done nothing but help us. But now...now it's like something has changed. I'm not sure - if he's safe."

We all agreed, but I noticed Gabe had a deep frown on his face, looking concerned. However, he didn't say anything further before walking out toward the treeline and shifting.

I watched him race off and wondered what he was keeping from us.

Author's Notes:  Are some of the dots connecting now, my lovelies?

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