Uleni's Gamble by D.R. Rosier Page B

wearing armor, but no weapons, started to jog in their direction. She couldn’t help but giggle when he held up and waved the white flag as he got closer…

Chapter 8
    Cytherea sighed at the presence behind her. One she hadn’t felt for a couple of thousand years, and one she could have gone without seeing for a few more millennia. She blushed as she remembered her past with him, she had been so vain and heartless back then.
    “Hey gorgeous,” the low deep voice full of arrogance made her roll her eyes.
    “What do you want?”
    She wasn’t worried, he was in her sphere. Had barely a shadow of his power in this place. When she felt his hand rest on her shoulder she shrugged it off and turned.
    He smirked. “Is that how you want to be? I don’t think your champion is going to make it. You’ll have to deal with me sooner or later… It’s much more fun to watch the mortals fight from bed isn’t it?”
    She couldn’t help the tingle of remembered pleasure but she didn’t let it show, frowning instead.
    “Have you learned nothing from our punishment?”
    He looked at her with contempt, “Aph, what was there to learn? The creator took our fun away, that’s what I got out of it, what else matters? Thanks to the crazy human down there we can be together again, and watch as they destroy themselves.”
    She sighed and shook her head. “Many things Ares, and I no longer go by that name. If you insist on shortening my name call me Cy or Rea. I don’t want to hear that name again. I have no interest in being what I once was, leave now, or I’ll be forced to rudeness.”
    He looked at her in surprise at her rejection, then anger as he could see the source of it.
    His voice boomed with anger and disgust, “I see, you believe you are better than me now, more enlightened. I can see you love the mortals below, what a foolish endeavor. I shall prove you wrong, they are nothing but toys and believing anything else is nothing but an illusion and I will rip it from you.”
    She shook her head as he disappeared in a large crack of thunder. He always was a bit ostentatious. He was right about one thing, time was running out for Justin to stop the mage from giving War an anchor on this world, her world. She couldn’t let him destroy it.
    Once he had an anchor it wouldn’t be as easy to banish him, the dark god was simply a powerful being from another universe. Not quite a true god, but still powerful, and utterly evil. Ares was a god of this universe, and her equal. She wasn’t sure Justin would be able to reverse it at all until all of Wars followers were dead. The best chance was now… before it even started.
    That is why she had visited Justin’s dreams last night. She was forced to remove the memory of her visit, but with his approval had left the feeling of urgency. She had done well choosing that one.
    On top of it all she felt a little lonely. She had no desire to sleep with Ares, but she had been alone for a couple of millennia. She had enjoyed the kiss with Justin to remove his memory just a little too much. Of course, anything with a mortal was impossible, back when she did do those things she treated them as toys, just as Ares suggested. Now, she loved them too much to start something that was so unbalanced it could only end in pain.
    But still, she was lonely, she couldn’t help be disappointed that Ares hadn’t changed as she had, she wondered if there would ever be anyone for her…
    *
    Justin watched warily as the man approached and bowed. He couldn’t imagine the man was here to surrender the city to seven people.
    The soldier bowed and said, “My name is Colonel Ross, commander of the military here. Flame, I’m glad to see you, please follow me.”
    Justin coughed. “You’re happy to see the person who foiled your invasion?”
    Ross frowned. “No, I am happy to see the only person that can kill the insane son of a bitch that killed my king. We’ve lost over thirty soldiers so far and they won’t