Chapter 71

There have been many places I've been to that have resonated with me. On some level, my body, my very cells, recognized the land. It was like that in both France and Ireland. I'd breathe in and think, Yes, I know this. This feels right, and I'd instantly be comfortable.
Bucharest was not one of those places.
I looked around the tired alleys and up at the strings of lank laundry hanging from the lines above me and all I could think was, I want to go home. Maybe it was just the knowledge that Blue was conspiring to do horrible things to the man I loved and me. Blue, who for a moment I'd thought might not be past redemption. Then I had shut him out of my mind and rejected his love. And he had responded by slaughtering innocent people. It made for an awkward reunion. Especially since I intended to kill him.
I looked around again at the architecture, which must have once been beautiful and should still have had some charm, but all I could see was decay. I sighed.
"Let's get this over with,"Horus echoed my feelings precisely.
"There's the cafe."I pointed to the back-alley eatery most people would probably describe as quaint, but I just thought was creepy. "And there are Shoigu's men."I indicated the obvious bodyguards standing duty outside the doors.
Blue needed to take Shoigu's blood to possess him thoroughly. So, the obvious course of action would have been to simply keep Blue away from Shoigu, but we couldn't protect Shoigu twenty-four-seven and neither could his guards. Blue could snatch Shoigu up in a moment, just as he'd taken me. We needed a more permanent solution.
It was Teharon who came up with the idea and, in theory, it should work. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to practice so a theory was kinda all we had. The idea was that if Teharon could drive Blue out of my body and help me keep him out, then he should also be able to shield a mortal's mind who had yet to be invaded. Teharon had conducted an experiment and tried to shield me from Horus. It had worked, but we didn't know if he'd be able to replicate the process in a normal human with a god as powerful as Blue trying to get past the shields. We also had no idea how long the shielding would last.
It was the first time Teharon had come hunting with us and his eyes were practically glowing with excitement. As a healer, he'd been best utilized behind the scenes and so had never been asked to participate in the field work. He was chomping at the bit to do his part, and I couldn't blame him.
"Go get him, tiger."I nudged Teharon, and he gave me an eager smile.
"I'll do my best."Teharon disappeared.
I assumed he crossed the street and entered the cafe.
"I hate waiting."I bit my lip as I watched for any sign of a disturbance.
All Teharon had to do was go in, lay a hand on Shoigu, and shield him. Then he needed to get his ass out of the creepy/quaint restaurant, and we had to watch and make sure that he did. Unfortunately, we wouldn't know if Teharon's shielding worked until Blue tried to take Shoigu's mind. So, there would be even more waiting after Teharon returned.
I scanned the empty streets; a knot of fear growing in my belly. Something had me spooked, and I couldn't figure out what. There was still no sign of Blue, but that didn't mean anything. He could be cloaking like Teharon and standing right next to me, for all I knew. I looked sharply over my shoulder.
"What's wrong with you?"Thor asked me.
"I don't know."I rubbed my bare upper arms. My gloves only reached my elbows. Maybe I should have worn a jacket. I had no idea that Romania would be so cold.
"It's done."Teharon appeared before us, startling me. "He's as safe as I can make him."
"Now, we wait."Horus leaned against the alley wall; looking even more bored than usual.
"Again."I glanced around.
I shouldn't have worried. Blue was right on schedule. He arrived no more than five minutes after Teharon had returned. Fully visible, Blue strode confidently into the cafe; never bothering to even glance around him. It took half an hour for him to give up and leave. He slammed out of the restaurant and caught sight of us immediately. With a nasty glare, he stomped off down the street.
"It worked!"Teharon beamed.
"That was way too easy."I stepped back into the alley, frowning.
"Never complain about things being easy,"Thor admonished.
"I know, but this is Blue."I kept feeling as if I was missing something. "He should have learned to expect us by now. This has all been too easy. Why? Why would he go through all of this trouble and just keep walking away? He didn't even come over and confront us."
"Because I was waiting for you to slip up, Godhunter,"Blue's voice behind me startled me into a spin. "Only two fighters and a healer to protect you. Then, on top of that, you go and hide in an alley. No human witnesses. That's not very smart of you."
Blue backhanded me and sent me flying further into the alley. I hit a wall hard and then fell onto the cold, uneven stones. The sounds of fierce fighting seemed distant even though I knew I wasn't more than ten feet away. My head spun, and I heaved up the contents of my stomach. There was acid in my mouth and blood trickling down my neck. I was dizzy, but I managed to get to my feet. I squinted down the alley just in time to see a blurry Teharon get struck down.
I screamed despite the pain it caused in my head and started forward, but a hand caught my arm and yanked me back. I looked down in confusion, still moving a little slow, and saw feminine fingers gripping me tightly.
"Huitzilopochtli isn't the only one who's been waiting for you to fuck up."
Before I could focus on my assailant, everything went black.