1. Andrea scanned the list of camera sites. “Is there another camera overlooking the Grand Canyon?” Memory of the man standing on the large rock continued to haunt her. What made his appearance more incredible was that, when he stepped out of the flow, she could see he was half-nude. A skirt or some sort of Tarzan-like garment covered his lower region, but otherwise he was naked from the waist up. And down, she told herself. He had no shoes on. No pants. And he was barefoot! In the middle of a lava lake!
2. “Hold on! I’m getting
to it,” Ceris cut her off with a smile. “At some point the remaining upper gods
decided they needed to reassert their dominance. Remind us lowly mortals they
still existed and must be worshipped. So they went down to the lower levels of
hell where our boys were being held and they made a deal with them. If the demi-gods
went out and destroyed most of mankind and the world, they would be granted
their freedom.”
3. “Wise?” Andrea
pooh-poohed the idea at first, then had second thoughts. “I guess you’re
correct. Maybe I am. Heaven knows I’ve had my share of failed relationships in
the past.” She studied him. Despite everything, he wasn’t bad to look at. But
there remained that pesky little four-letter word hanging between them. “Pyre,
I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know if I love you. I don’t know if I’ll ever
be able to love you. I mean, at first I was royally pissed at you. Screw that. I
was angry and mad and resentful after what you did to my friends. They may have
been people you never knew, but they were good people. They were kind and
considerate. They gave me a safe place to stay when you and your brothers
brought hell on earth. They kept me alive!” She tapped her chest for emphasis.
Her anger had returned and she took it out on him. Funny, but it didn’t make
her feel better to get it out of her system.
4. Andrea sensed the goddess shifting
into that birdlike monstrosity. She glanced over her shoulder, but seeing the
immense creature in the flesh was a shock to her system she wasn’t prepared
for. She screamed as a huge claw reached out to snag her. Instinctively, Andrea
brought her other hand down. Her intent was to impale the claw or some part of
the creature with her impromptu weapon, but she missed. However, the blade slashed
across the harpy’s chest, cutting through skin and feathers, and leaving a wide
gash in its wake.
5. Slowly, he brought
forth his own shining, emanating his personal brightness from within until he
became a glowing white beacon. Turning around, he looked down the mouth of the
tunnel that led into the bowels of the mountain. Down where they’d been told
Hades had a bridge leading into his kingdom. Whether the god of the underworld
actually did was a moot point. Neither Pyre nor his brothers ever cared to
explore to find out if there was.
6. Hearing her gasp of
surprise, Pyre turned around from where he was keeping Ceris and Roby alive to
cast her a smile. The look in his eyes and the sweetness of the smile he gave
her when he saw her touched her heart, and it was then that Andrea knew she was
really, truly, in love with the guy. This demi-god with the strength and power
of fire, and who would do everything he could to keep her safe and happy.
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