Santorini Paradiso Ch. 16

'Yes, you're right—that has been bothering me, too. It would have required breaching the barriers of the wards or being invited by us to enter. Hmmm. Have any strangers, like workmen or laborers, been here over the last two days?'

'Not according to Dimitri-but we can check again.'

'He somehow found a way to slip through a gap in the magic or get himself escorted into the house. We'll have to search through deliveries, the mail, stray animals, anything that could have allowed his genetic material to pass into this house.'

'Adonis: This means we need to leave Paris, doesn't it? I mean—it's just not safe to stay here now, is it? We have no idea what he was able to glean from poor Elena while he was dream walking.'

'Yes, I'm afraid that is true—we'll need to implement plan B now and move to the next safe house location. We can tell everyone at breakfast tomorrow, but I'm sure Dimitri is already busy packing the necessities.'

Petros sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one lean hand. 'Okay, rest well, my brother. We're going to need it.'

Adonis grunted his agreement, lacing his fingers behind his head as he dropped back against his pillow. A gentle compulsion worked well for sweet Elena, but he felt sure that sleep would not come as easily for him.

They were being hunted by an increasingly brazen foe, and while he hadn't voiced this even to his brother, he was aware that this recent assault on Elena was undoubtedly of a sexual nature. She had, perhaps understandably, been reticent to speak in detail about the assault in front of her father and Dimitri. So he supposed he understood why she kept largely silent about what the intruder had done to her. But Adonis knew that this implied some component of shame on her part- and that would be a ticking time bomb if they didn't address it soon.

It was all he could do to contain the natural fury that this thought evoked. That evil bastard. Adonis's jaw clamped down hard as he fought to control his rage at the idea of that monster touching their beautiful woman. Of anyone hurting her. Abusing her. It was nearly impossible to bear. Almost unconsciously, Adonis lowered his arms and shifted so he could spoon against the sleeping beauty beside him. As if he could shield her from the world. He could see across her that Petros, who was clearly in REM sleep, had adopted a similar posture.

Retribution would definitely be had. With a fucking vengeance. He wanted to tear that beast apart with his bare hands.

But losing his cool was not going to help anything. He and his brother would only beat an adversary like Loki if they remained sharp, stayed vigilant, and were able to outmaneuver him strategically.

And, Adonis admitted to himself with grim candor, at some point they were going to have to stop running and stop playing defense. This kind of extreme threat would require extreme measures. It was time to develop their own plan of attack. The would eventually have to go after Loki head-on.

Just before he finally fell asleep, Adonis took a moment to push out a thought - a simple plea - to the woman who was somehow at the center of this mystery.

"Mother?" He projected, "Where the hell are you? We need you. Elena needs you."

While she yet again did not answer, Adonis couldn't help feeling a faint and familiar sense of acknowledgment deep in his blood. The goddess of love heard him.

She'd better have a damn good reason for this radio silence, he growled internally. Then he too slipped into a deep, but somewhat less than peaceful, sleep.

- to be continued.