Chapter 19

They left us, and I pulled away from Huitzilopochtli without meeting his gaze but still keeping him in sight. I'd been acting as if I were truly a guest. How monumentally moronic of me. I was a goddamned hostage. I needed to get out of Dodge, and I couldn't depend on Tanto, my trusty sidekick, to help me. As usual, I was alone… and what the hell was the Lone Ranger doing with a sidekick anyway, come to think of it? Didn't his name pretty much indicate that he was more the solitary type?

I looked behind me at the glass doors. The jungle seemed more foreboding than accommodating, but if I could get out into it, I might have a chance to open a tracing point home. I'd never opened one before, but desperation was the mother of success or something like that.

I wondered briefly if Thor was worried about me and then tossed the idea out as utter nonsense. I couldn't afford to think that way. No one was worried. No one was coming. This wasn't a fairy tale. There wasn't going to be a Prince Charming riding in to give me a happily-ever-after. In real life, Snow White stays dead, and Rapunzel grows old, alone in her tower. In real life, you gotta have enough sense to stay away from ugly bitches offering you shiny apples and have enough balls to cut off your own hair and use it as a ladder if needs be. In real life, you gotta save yourself and the only happy endings are the ones paid for in massage parlors.

Huitzilopochtli grabbed my arms, lifted me, and threw me down onto the stone table; all in one slick movement. I landed hard, the breath whooshing out of me, and I was stunned for a moment from the blow to my head. Little spots swam across my vision and bile burned the back of my throat. Was I going to pass out? I frantically held onto consciousness; the possibilities of what could happen otherwise were too grim.

Huitzilopochtli leaned over my chest, trapping my right arm between us while he unbuckled the glove on my left. He yanked it off and then followed up with the right. The slap of leather as he threw them across his shoulder was like a death knell. Then I felt my kodachi removed from my hip, and I tried to shake off the shock so I could fight, but all too soon my vision twisted again as he threw me over his other shoulder.

"I apologize, my little vicious Vervain."Huitzilopochtli walked from the room; his heavy boots clomping on the stone floor before the sound was strangled by thick carpeting. "I couldn't let you keep your weapons, you might hurt yourself, and I promised you that no harm would befall you here."

Huitzilopochtli dropped me but this time the landing was soft; my fall completely cushioned by a springy mattress. I was still a little dizzy, but I was clear-headed enough to look around and see that I was in a luxurious room. Where the other room had been stark, this one was the exact opposite. It was a lush paradise of silk, velvet, plush carpeting, and polished mahogany. The bed I'd landed on was massive, bigger than a California King. Evidently, Gods weren't restricted by manufacturer sizes. The bedding was crimson silk. In fact, the whole room was a bloodbath of color. I guess if you find something that works for you, it's best to stick with it.

I tried to sit up, but Huitzilopochtli pushed me down with a scary show of speed, covering me completely, and let's just say his blood was flowing fine to all areas of his body. His lips, inches from mine, spread into a slow smile as I tried to squirm away. I closed my eyes tight; hoping he couldn't take my mind without catching my gaze. His laugh vibrated from his chest into mine. That velvet sound again; stealing over me, seeping into me. I could feel my legs clenching with pleasure, and I groaned in embarrassment.

"This isn't willing."I squeezed my eyes tighter and tried to think of cockroaches crawling on me, anything to disgust instead of excite.

"Are you sure? Your body seems to think differently"He rolled, pulling me with him, wrapping his arms around my back and tightening them meaningfully.

"I'm kinda into Thor."I still didn't open my eyes, but I felt him go rigid beneath me. Well, more rigid.

"Now, you say you belong to the Thunder God?"

"No, I didn't say I belonged to him, you pig."His phrasing pissed me off enough to make me open my eyes and glare at him. "I said I was kinda into him, implying that we started something which I was thinking about taking further, maybe."

"That doesn't sound as if he's claimed you."Huitzilopochtli's smile returned as his tension vanished.

"No, of course not, I just met him."Oh shit, I just kept telling this guy more and more. Telegraph, telephone, tell-a-Vervain. When would I learn to keep my pie-hole shut?

"Not that it would matter if he had. I've got you now."He looked as if the case were settled.

"Look, no offense."I tried to push back, but he held me firm. "But I'm not into pushy gods who are trying to get my people to kill each other, or me for that matter. It's just not a turn on for me, what can I say?"

He let go, and I scrambled off the bed; immediately searching for my weapons. They were sitting on an inlaid wood table near the huge fireplace. I started for them, but Huitzilopochtli's voice stopped me.

"Leave them, Vervain."He sat up and sighed. "I've already allowed you to keep your hidden dagger. I cannot allow you to have the gloves as well; they're too dangerous. I can feel the god-power inside them. And the sword."He walked over to the table, picked up the sword, and admired it. "Beautiful but deadly, just like you."He put both the sword and the gloves in a long box on the mantle. The lid shut with a click, and I knew it had locked with something extra special.

"Magic lock?"I must have looked defeated, but I was past the point of caring.

"Yes."Huitzilopochtli closed the distance between us, standing just a breath away, and did nothing but run a hand gently over my hair. "I'll send for some new clothes for you. The bathroom is through there."He nodded toward a door almost completely hidden by paneling. "You may use whatever you desire within it and then get some sleep. I can feel your exhaustion."

"And you'll be sleeping where exactly?"I couldn't believe he was just going to let me be.

"Here, with you."Huitzilopochtli smiled again, and again, I felt that warm, traitorous rush. "But not until later tonight. You've been granted another small reprieve; use it well."

He left, closing the door behind him with an ominous click. I felt the rush of power and knew he'd sealed me in with magic, just like my gloves.