Mark of the Fallen: A Fallen Novel Read online

  Mark of The Fallen

  Chapter One

  Once Upon A Time

  High above Mount Olympus

  The cooing and gasps of awe were annoying. She rolled her eyes, her hand on the crib as she gently rocked it back and forth, lulling the fussy infant. She glanced down at the pudgy little creature and frowned. There was nothing maternal in her and the birth of her daughter had not remedied that fact. She absently rocked the crib, an absurd concoction of ruffles and lace that nearly swallowed the tiny babe, rolling her eyes as her family moved in to gift the child. She never bothered meeting their eyes; they were all excited about the new arrival, all smiling. The great hall of Zeus' Temple was full of milling deities, drinking wine and enjoying the celebratory mood. The usually stark white room held a warm glow; the floors were covered in thick rugs of deep blue and gold, and the drapes were long silken swaths of the same soft gold and white. Tables were lined with wine, nectars and fruit, fabulous sweets and roasted meats. Servants stood near every station ready to serve the deities. She looked at the small plate of cheese and fruit that her own handmaiden had insisted she eat and turned up her nose in disgust. She had no taste for food or wine, she wanted to be left alone. She wanted to go to her bedroom and hide her face, yet she was put here on display, the child a constant breathing reminder of her humiliation.

  She turned once more to look at the child and fought the angry tears that threatened. She had gone to the father, a man she had truly cared for, excited and giddy with her news. But the look, the look had been one she would never forget.

  ***

  "Anhur," she'd called as she entered the small alcove just outside of his temple. In the heat of the desert, the oasis was lush and green with tall palm trees that shaded the small freshwater pond, keeping the crisp blue water cool. She sat on a stone bench and waited for him. This was their place, this was where they had spent some of the best times she had known, this was where it had all begun. Wistfully, she twirled a deep auburn curl around a finger waiting for her lover.

  She had taken extra care with her appearance today, having her hair brushed until it shone. Her gown was of the deepest cobalt to match her fierce, wide set eyes.

  Nemesis was never considered a great beauty, but she did have a lovely face. Soft-featured with rounded cheeks and a straight nose, her lips were like a perfect Cupid's bow, the bottom slightly larger than the top, giving her a perpetual pout. Her eyes were strikingly vibrant, unlike her mother's softly swirling silver, hers were so bright they glowed. She stood when she felt him coming near, her heart thudding in her chest.

  He'd materialized almost the moment his name left her lips and as always, a rush of lust washed over her at the sight of him. He was beautiful as always, his muscled chest was bare, the white linen of his loin cloth draped over strong thighs gilded with gold leaves that caught the sunlight haloing him. His skin was golden, his eyes bright amber with thick dark lashes and his head was shaved clean but when he let his hair grow it was a mane of the softest ebony curls she had ever laid her fingers upon. He had a somewhat feline look, almost like a lion, with his strong jaw and the set of his mouth. Being a God of War had left him with a long scar along his jaw line, which he could have easily healed, but it remained. She found him more beautiful for it. She went to him, her arms open for the inevitable embrace but he did not open his arms to her. Instead, he stood firm, a look of distrust and confusion on his face.

  "Why do you not embrace me, my love?" She asked in a light teasing tone. "Do you not miss your lover?"

  "No," he said and her smile faltered, but only for a moment. He was teasing. He had to be. They had done this before, he would feign anger and then after a quick, yet heated argument, he would take her hard. She preferred the roughness of his love making than any gentle sweet talk. Today she had no time for the foreplay; today she had news, exciting news.

  "Do not be angry, Anhur. I have come with news." She smiled.

  "What do you want, Nemesis?" His tone was sharp, curt and she felt a slight sting in it. This was not his normal flirtatious arguing. He was truly angry with her and she could not understand why.

  "What is wrong, my love? Why do you speak to me in such a way?"

  "You have been away from me for months, Nemesis. Months without a word and now you show up and I'm supposed to be excited. I waited for you. "

  "I'm back now. And now we can be together forever. I told Nyx. I told them all, Anhur. And I have a baby. We have a baby." She watched him narrow his eyes, and then his massive shoulders dropped. He had reached his limits with his lover, his heart broken by her constant deceptions; even now he was not sure what was true when she spoke.

  "You left me no choice," he sighed, his shoulder slumped in resigned defeat.

  "Did you hear what I said? We have a baby. That's why I stayed away, I was with child. Your child. I have your child." She touched his arm, gently placing her fingers on his bicep, then on his cheek, turning his face so that he could look into her eyes.

  "We have a child, my love." she said tears in her eyes, joy filling her heart. He pushed her hand away from his cheek. It wasn't a harsh movement nor was it done it anger. But the movement made her feel alone, dismissed. He was not looking at her, not really. He was staring past her; beyond her beauty and her gently touch. His body no longer craved her and she could feel the complete loss of his affections. He no longer wanted her.

  "You were gone for so long. Months. I summoned you and you ignored me and now you come after all of this time as if I were frozen in place waiting for you. I am not a toy to be pulled out for your amusement Nemesis. I have other responsibilities. And I have a heart and a body that needs the feel and taste of his woman. "

  "And I am here,” she purred, trying to wrap her arms around his neck. He backed away, holding her arms away from him.

  "But you are not my woman. Not anymore and you never will be again. I have taken a wife. There is no place for you in my life or my heart. Leave this place and never return. "

  She was stunned and felt for the first time that she had gone too far, she had finally managed to push him away.

  "What about the child?" she pleaded. His ire flared and for the first time since their affair had begun, she saw the man who was the God of War. His eyes blazed, his nostrils flared and he looked even more lion-like than ever. He loomed over her, every muscle in his body taut with rage.

  "Is there even a child? How do I believe anything that you say? You have never been truthful with me, you are a spiteful woman and I curse the day you ever crossed my path. Just another of your play things until you become bored and move on to the next. Leave this place before I lose my patience and snap your neck," he growled, his hands clenched into fists as he fought the urge to strike her.

  "That new wife has poisoned you against me," she choked.

  "You have poisoned me against you. Only you and your venomous black heart." He left then, disappearing in a swirl of golden air and heat, leaving her with heart in her throat.

  "You will regret this Anhur! You will taste my vengeance!" She screamed at the air. "You will regret this day, I promise you this!" She bellowed before she faded from the oasis.

  ***

  Now she sat a raw nerve to be poked and jabbed for the amusement of those around her, her family. Gods were petty and childish if nothing else and seeing her in pain only fueled their adulation over the babe that had become her greatest regret. She even looked like Anhur with that sun kissed skin and soft dark curls.

  A small woman with long curling dark hair and shimmering silver eyes approached, staring at Nemesis for a moment, her swirling eyes narrowing with disapproval. Nyx, the embodiment of night, looked do
wn at the babe then up at the sullen mother and frowned. The goddess sighed, her ageless beauty unmarred by her ancient age.

  "Smile, daughter," she prodded, “at least pretend you like the child." She scolded her daughter who simply stared off into nothing. Nyx reached past the ruffles and held up a squirming bundle of pink. She smiled down at the child who looked at her as if she hung the stars, which in point of fact she had a hand in. She turned to the gathered crowd and held the little girl up for all to see. Nemesis absently brushed her hair over her shoulder. Her skin was smooth as porcelain, her eyes crisp wintery blue and her face serene and beautiful, yet she was a mean and as vicious as they came. She removed her hand from the now empty crib, smoothing the silk of her gown over her knees. Her stony expression never lifted, matching her dark mood.

  ***

  The three entered, moving across the floor as one, as they did most things, to get a closer look at the new addition to their family. Giggling and whispering as young girls do, they tiptoed closer to stare at the exotic little girl sleeping soundly. She was tiny, but beautiful even as an infant her beauty was evident. Her hair was thick, dark as midnight and curled wildly around cherubic face. Her skin was darker than their alabaster complexions. She was the color of warm caramel like her father, the Egyptian, they supposed. She stirred, opening her eyes to stare at the three girls who returned her gaze. Her eyes were stunning, a clear, crystalline turquoise.

  "She does not look like the all-powerful." Lachesis thought, her sisters nodded. The Moirai or the Fates, did not need to speak to communicate. They read each other's thoughts and often spoke as one. Clotho, the speaker of the past nodded.

  "She is so powerful. She is the daughter of our sister Nemesis, Goddess of Vengeance, granddaughter of our mother, Nyx, Goddess of Night, the oldest of the gods. Only God himself has more power than this child." She reached out and stroked the baby's cheek.

  Cooing, she grabbed Clotho's finger and put it into her waiting mouth. Clotho grimaced, but didn't pull away. She let the girl gum her finger in the way that babies did.

  "Still," Lachesis, the speaker of the present, mumbled aloud. "She just looks like a fat baby to me. She's cute but-"

  "She will become the most powerful goddess ever born." The most dower of the girls said. Atropos was the speaker of the future and the most serious of the three. She was the keeper of all things to come and could see the divergent paths that the world could take. She knew the hour of the end of the world; just as Clotho knew the second of the birth of existence. "She crosses pantheons, sister. Not only does she possess the power of her mother and grandmother, she is the daughter of the Egyptian God of War. She alone could be the key to our survival."

  They turned their eyes to the sweet, innocent babe who gurgled and smiled at her aunties. "Our little Caelestis," Atropos said, stroking the child's soft hair and gave her a rare smile. "Will either be our savior or ... our destruction."

  ***

  She stood in her temple, her head throbbing as the baby wailed in her crib. Unable to stand it anymore, Nemesis rose from her bed and went to the squirming bundle, lifting her against her breast and walked toward the small basin her servants had filled with warm water to bathe the child. With her eyes filling with tears, she held the baby down, water splashed to the pale marble floors as the infant kicked and fought against her. She had not believed that it would cause her pain to do this, she hated this infant, but it was her blood, she had given birth to this creature. Sobbing, she closed her eyes to block out the look of sheer terror in those neon blue eyes as the little girl struggled for her life. She turned her head, wiping the tears away on the shoulder of the pale green silk gown she wore, when she felt the pain rocket through her body, tossing her across the room. The burst of energy exploded inside of her body, cracking bones as she ricocheted against the beamed ceiling and walls. She came to rest on the floor, her body crumbled against a large marble pillar sobbing from the pain of it.

  For a second, the child hovered, her dark head dangling in midair, before being pulled into slim arms that emerged from the silver gray mist.

  "How dare you!" The woman who emerged shouted. The mist seemed to draw into her, defining her petite body. Her blue black hair lifted around her face; and her skin glowed as if she were lit from within. She screamed in anguish as she coaxed the barely breathing infant to life. Finally, the baby choked and spit water, before clinging gratefully to the woman who'd saved her life whimpering in exhaustion. Her entire body vibrated with fury as she stood over the crumpled heap of green silk and auburn curls. "How dare you harm this child? And here on Olympus to kill a child of the divine, you could be cast out, or even worse, made mortal. How dare you!" She spat, cradling the wet, squalling babe to her chest.

  "I curse the day she was born. If you take her, I vow that she will have to feed on the blood of those like her. She will never be truly loved, she will fuel their lust and passion and that is all. No man, no love ever will save her, no matter what the fates say. She is poison.

  “She will find love, despite your vitriol. This child will be loved. She is loved now. I love her. And I believe her father would have loved her if he knew her birth to be true."

  "He abandoned us, mother. He tossed us aside for his Nubian and I will never forgive him for that. I will kill her before I allow him to have her, to love her. I will -" She snarled rising to her feet. Nyx narrowed her eyes and shook her head. The anger in her eyes faded to something closer to pity and she sighed, heaving the now quiet child to her shoulder.

  "He did not abandon her, he left you. Your vicious nature poisons everything around you. You will not harm this child," Nyx growled.

  "I will kill you both-" she spat.

  "You have no power over me Nemesis, its best you remember that," Nyx said in a voice that was as cold and hard as stone. "You only see your pain, your jealousy. Your anger has turned you into such a hateful creature, and it hurts me to look upon you. That is why I must do this." Nyx lifted one delicate hand and Nemesis could feel the power drain from her. Everything that made her the goddess she was, slowly faded from her, leaving a useless immortal in the realm of the gods.

  "No," she screamed, her eyes wide in horror as the soft glow left her skin, leaving her ashen and gray. The shine from her thick auburn hair faded to a dull, mousy brown and the bright blue of her eyes faded to a flat, lifeless gray.

  "Mother, what have you done?" Nemesis bellowed, falling to her knees. "What have you done to me?" she sobbed.

  "What was gifted to you in birth has been taken away. You still have some, not enough to do any real harm, but enough. I'm afraid I am the reason you are such a hateful and selfish child. I will not burden this child with such a curse."

  As she turned to leave, Nemesis rose to her feet, seething with a bitterness that cut Nyx to her soul.

  "Wherever she goes death will follow. Whomever she loves will betray her, she is Kere, death itself. She will destroy us all."

  "Enough. You have made your choice and you have sealed her fate as well as your own. You chose very, very badly, daughter. And for that, you alone will pay." Nyx's voice was no more than a whisper but it seemed to vibrate, filling the room. "Mark my words, Nemesis, you touch one hair on this child's head and I will find you, and I will destroy you."

  And just as quickly as she'd appeared, she was gone, a trail of silver gray mist in her wake.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Mandeville, Louisiana

  July 2005

  She couldn't breathe, her chest felt tight as if some heavy weight pressed down on her, pushing the air from her lungs. Icy water assaulted her skin, chilling her to her bones and numbing her limbs. The poison in her system weakened her, the boulders tied to her waist dragged her deeper. She opened her mouth and tasted the salty rush of sea water and began choking in earnest. She sat up, trying to open her eyes but they were caked with salt and sand, sealing them shut. She was floating away, darkness surrounding her as she drifted deeper into oblivion. She t
hrashed violently, fighting against the weight that was pulling, lugging her further into obscurity, further from land and air and sunshine, her life. She screamed, the sound lost in the vast emptiness that surrounded her and she was gone, there was no one to help.

  "I have you," a deep baritone whispered close to her ear. She stopped moving, feeling hard arms encircling her waist, holding her body still against a very masculine, very naked body. His hands were large, strong as they moved up her ribs, his lips brushing the tender flesh just beneath her ear.

  "I have you, love." He spoke in a language that was long dead, so ancient it had no name, yet she understood. It was the language of the primordial, something that she had known when she was younger. The language of her grandmother.

  "Give me your lips," he said and she felt her body turn into liquid heat, melting against him. She turned her head in the gloom and his lips captured hers. Soft full lips pressed against hers, his tongue sweeping past her lips, tasting her. She moaned, leaning back into him, her hand moving up to cup the back of his head, holding him, bringing him closer. His head was smooth and cool beneath her fingertips.

  "Open your eyes and breathe," He breathed into her mouth, his fingers tracing the curve of her breasts, his body hot and erect against the small of her back. She did as he said, slowly opening her eyes and gasped in surprise.

  His skin was so dark that she could not see any real detail; she could only make out the strong line of his jaw, the full softness of his lips and his eyes, brilliant glowing neon.

  He let his head drop to her neck, sharp fangs brushing the jumping pulse in her throat before sinking in. She groaned, her body slick, every nerve ablaze. She felt herself go liquid all over him and called out into the blackness. Her fangs extended with the need to sink into him, to drink of this delicious man. He held her tighter, those arms of his holding her tight, his body rigid, and his hips grinding into her. He stroked her core and she could no longer control her limbs, her body moving, edging closer and closer to the fringe.