I motioned for him to come on over, and he drew a gun, firing at me while my shield of air kept me alive. After the fifth bullet hit the shield, I pushed it forward, smashing into Deimos and throwing him through the door to the outside of the building.
I walked past a still-smiling Gawain and wanted to smash his face in as much as I did Deimos’s, but something stopped me, and I continued down the steps to the muddy courtyard outside.
Deimos was back on his feet, cracking his knuckles and rolling his head. “You murdered my father.”
I nodded. “Don’t be sad—you’ll go see him soon.”
“Even if you kill me, you don’t think that it’ll be over, do you? Hera will flay you for killing us.”
I shrugged and threw a ball of lightning at Deimos, who flung himself aside, avoiding it. I felt pain in my side as one of Deimos’s throwing daggers connected with my stomach. The pain quickly turned into burning agony as the silver from the blade went to work, forcing me to pull it out, giving Deimos time to close the gap between us and strike with another blade, slashing me across the chest. He darted away, throwing two more blades, which I managed to avoid, but a third entered my leg just above the knee, and I crashed to the muddy ground.
“You cheated against my father,” Deimos said.
“We both know that after our last encounter, you’re not going to be able to use your power to hurt me,” I said.
Deimos nodded. “It happened so many years ago, but it still feels like only yesterday. I guess these blades will have to do.”
“I don’t need magic to kill you,” I said, pulling out the throwing blade.
“You really do,” Deimos taunted, and threw another blade, which I avoided, rolling to the side and throwing the blade I’d removed from my leg back at Deimos, who easily dodged it.
My brain swam, and I knew I wasn’t in a state to fight a prolonged battle. I was exhausted, beaten, and about as close to just giving up as I’d ever been in my life, but I was not about to give Deimos the satisfaction of killing me. I pushed myself up off the ground and back to my feet.
“If you use your magic, I’ll kill you,” Abaddon said as she appeared out of the door with Gawain beside her.
I weighed my odds.
“Can you take us all?” Gawain asked.
The answer was no. I had no chance of killing everyone. “Why do you want this piece of shit dead?” I asked, looking at Deimos.
“I don’t,” Gawain called back. “But whichever one of you survives will have a place in our organization.”
Deimos removed two eight-inch daggers, roared in defiance, and charged me. His two blades were a blur as he repeatedly sliced into the flesh on my arms and hands while all I could do was dodge and avoid mortal strikes.
At one point he overreached and I grabbed his arm, smashed my elbow into his nose, and snapped his wrist, grabbing the dagger from his hand. He kicked out at me, forcing me back. We were both covered in blood and mud, and the fight had gone on longer than either of us probably wanted.
Deimos raised his dagger toward me, but I didn’t move. “You are the reason for my downfall!” he screamed at me.
“You murdered innocent people because you’re a petulant child,” I said back. “So desperate for any kind of positive attention. Thousands of years old, and all you really wanted was for your father to be proud of you. And he never was.”
Deimos charged toward me, full of anger and hate. Full of emotion. I waited until the last second, then parried his blade and pushed his arm away. I used the dagger I’d taken from him to cut through the flesh around his ribs, causing him to yell out as blood quickly drenched the side of his body.
He put distance between the two of us, and I watched him without emotion. “You should never have tried to be something you’re not,” I told him.
“You know, after that bitch Lucie was taken, I put out the bounty on your head. I thought it was funny.”
The memory of Lucie’s body spurred my rage, and I had to fight to keep control. I said nothing.
“How’s my wife?” he shouted.
“How’s your left hand?” I asked. “I assume you married it since we last met.”
Gawain laughed, and Deimos’s expression darkened further.
“I’m going to kill you, Nate.”
“Sure, why not, and then you’re going to piss pure silver and sprout wings.”
Deimos’s face twitched slightly. “Once you’re dead, I will claim what is mine.”
“And what is that?”
“Your woman, for one. She should still be mine. She will be again, or she’ll wish she was.”
“She’s not my woman, you conceited little prick. Are you so full of hate simply because you want someone who doesn’t want you back? Is that it?”
“You took her from me.”
“You never had her in the first place, Deimos. Not once. She has her own mind, and she’s long since decided that you’re a nasty piece of crap. It’s something everyone appears to have figured out a long time ago.”
“Well, it won’t matter, will it? You’ll be dead, and I can do whatever I like. I am the son of Ares, so who’s going to stop me? You? Your friends?”
“You’re a spoiled brat. You’re one of those people who think that the world owes them something, simply because you were born to privilege. You expect everyone to behave as if you’re above them. No one has that privilege, no matter how much you want it. The world is not your plaything; the people are not toys for you to destroy or discard as you wish. The fact that you’ve lived for thousands of years and never figured this out is pathetic. You’re an evil little piece of shit, and I won’t let you hurt anyone else. Your days of terrorizing people are done. Let’s get this finished. You bore me.”
Deimos ran toward me like I knew he would and moved quickly, but I avoided the attack and rammed my dagger into his stomach, slicing his belly open as his momentum forced him forward.
He dropped to his knees, trying to hold his stomach in as he looked down at the blood that saturated his hands and the floor around him.
I kicked the dagger he’d been holding away, then crouched before him. “You’re what happens when hate wins.” I drove the blade of the silver dagger up under Deimos’s chin into his brain, killing him instantly.
I looked up at the sound of Gawain clapping. He grinned at me. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
CHAPTER 34
Nate Garrett
I was hoping you were going to kill him,” Gawain said from the doorway. “You needed a push in the right direction. Why else would I have allowed you to escape from your cell? Why else would I have sent Ares to fight you? I didn’t think he’d take the bracelet off, though—that was not a smart move on his part. Looks like I’ll be needing a new director of the LOA. Anyone you recommend?”
I stared at Gawain for several seconds. “And Deimos?”
Gawain walked across the courtyard toward me. He patted me on the shoulder. “I just never liked the little bastard. I honestly wasn’t sure you were ready, but I really hoped. How’s that magic feeling? Sorry we had to threaten you so you’d kill Deimos without it, but I really needed to find out if you were capable.”