Chapter 15 Chapter 15
My good foot flew out from underneath me and I fell ass first into a secret chamber underneath. Only bright side was this chamber didn’t have any spider webs and it had a stone floor and walls so no busting into flames for me. I rolled to my feet and stood there rubbing my aching ass, when a sword in a sheath fell down beside me. I knew just enough about swords to recognize that this was very old and Greek. I knew an old Greek who might like a new sword so I grabbed the hilt to pull it out and see if it was intact. When my fingers closed around it, I had an out of body experience.
It felt like I was standing in the clouds. A man walked out of one of the clouds and looked me over. He looked Greek and was wearing a chest plate from ancient times. “A vampire?” He asked with arched eyebrows. Then a little smile briefly appeared. “Guess you’ll do.” He introduced himself as Ares, God of War and began to explain what was happening. The sword I’d found was his. He’d imbued it with his power, making it his mantel, when he gave up his godhood to live out a mortal life. The sword would in turn imbue the power of Ares to whomever it bonded with. There had only been a handful of souls the sword judged as worthy of its power over the centuries. Now it was my turn to pick it up and represent the power of war. I felt a sudden shooting pain down my spine and then I was laying sprawl eagle on the floor of the mausoleum.
I looked at the sword lying beside me looking all innocent. “Yeah, I’m not falling for that again.” Leaving the sword where it was I misted again and stayed that way until I made it home. When I walked through the door, I saw it was propped against the fireplace. “Fine, you win.” I swear I could feel it’s smugness across the room.
“Not long after I was changed, I went for a little run one night and ended up in a mausoleum. Found the sword in a secret chamber.” I told Tristan. No way was I going to tell him I met Ares buck naked. Huh uh. I didn’t like to remember how I had gotten the Ring of Aphrodite. Before I could focus too much on that moment I told Tristan “I was given the ring during the second war.” We lapsed into silence. Each of us lost in our own thoughts, sipping our nightcaps.
After the nightcaps were finished I tossed my empty cup in the sink and showed Tristan were the recycling bin was for his can then sent him off to bed. I checked the wards around the house. Once I was satisfied the house was secure, I went upstairs to my room. The shower was my first stop. I felt the dirt and stress of the day fall away standing under the three shower heads. When the water turned cold some time later, I towel dried my hair and braided it before crawling into bed. Well, that was my intention. But first I had to deal with the giant teddy bear on my bed holding a Mylar balloon wishing me a happy anniversary.
Before I could think, I rotated my right hand and the Sword of Ares appeared and was flying through the air. It decapitated the bear smoothly. I grabbed a sewing kit from the bathroom and sewed the head onto the body’s backside. Then, I ripped a portal to return it to sender. I shoved the bear through. Just before I closed the portal I hit the balloon with an energy ball. I heard the explosion and a startled oath before the portal fully closed. I went to bed satisfied that I had made my point.
I rolled around trying to get comfortable. Yanking my pajama short set around. Normally I slept completely naked, as was intended. But with a teenage boy downstairs, I didn't feel comfortable being naked just incase he came up here while I slept. As I laid there, trying to get settled, I could hear the boy downstairs, breathing. Ugh. My sanctuary was violated. I could hear him rolling around on the spare bed. Guess he wasn't comfortable either. Maybe he had to wear clothes he didn't like too. Hopefully he didn't snore. I so didn't want to hear that all night.
As I waited for sleep to take me, I hoped he wouldn't be here for long. Maybe I could figure out how to send him to Connor. Let the boys live together. I giggled at how that might impact his manwhore ways. I might be doing all the women a favor.