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again. "And what about the other
    gods? Will they help us?"
    She patted his cheek in an almost playful manner. "That, my friend, is what we're about to go and find
    out. Buckle up, Buttercup. This ride could be bumpy."
    The only problem was, he was used to that. It was when things went smoothly that he became scared.
    But even as that thought went through his mind, it was followed by the realization that things weren't going
    to be bumpy.
    They were going to be deadly.
    CHAPTER FIVE
    "I can't believe you cheated!"
    "I can't believe you didn't know it. Man, what kind of god are you? I never knew stupidity had a divine
    representative. Guess I was wrong, huh?"
    "You're such an asshole."
    Aidan frowned as Leta took him into a white marble room where two men were playing a game of chess.
    Everything in the room was sterile white, except for the two men dressed in black and the odd chess
    pieces who had been dancing and fighting around the board on their arrival—chess pieces that were
    living, breathing creatures who now watched the arguing gods with great interest.
    At a quick glance, the two gods appeared to be twins except that the one cheating had short brown hair
    with black streaks laced through it. He also had what appeared to be black tattoos running down his face
    at sharp lightning-bolt-style angles from his tear ducts to his chin. The man across from him had black hair
    with tribal tattoos covering his arms from wrists to shoulders. They were both dressed in jeans and
    sleeveless T-shirts. An odd style for two gods.
    Then again, what did he know of such creatures?
    "Deimos?" Leta called as she led Aidan toward the players.
    The one with the facial tats looked up. "Leta, my lovely. What brings you here?" he asked in a jovial tone
    —as if he hadn't been in the middle of a verbal smackdown with his brother three seconds ago.
    The other man stood up as if to leave.
    "Sit down, Phobos," Deimos snapped. "We're not through."
    "Yeah, we are. I don't play with cheaters and I don't care if you are three seconds older than me, you
    don't tell me what to do. I'm not your bitch, boy."
    Deimos grimaced. "Then stop acting like one. Whoever heard of Fear being a crybaby?"
    Phobos crossed his arms over his chest. "The same people who made Dread a cheater."
    Deimos scoffed at him. "Oh, go cry to mama, you nancy-boy." Then Deimos looked at Aidan. "You play
    chess?"
    "Extremely not well."
    He indicated the chair across from him. "Take a seat while we talk."
    "Don't," Phobos warned. "It's like playing against a two-year-old who can blast your soul right out of
    your body. Last time Demon played a human who beat him, he sliced him open from asshole to
    appetite."
    Aidan arched a brow at the vivid description. "Interesting turn of phrase."
    "Consider it a warning."
    Leta leaned against Aidan and smiled. "Pay Phobos no attention. His job is stir fear in others. He's good
    at it, too."
    Aidan shrugged her warning away. "Not really. I have no fear of anything."
    Phobos grinned as if he enjoyed the thought of a challenge. "I assure you, I can rectify that."
    "I'd rather you didn't," Leta said quickly before she waved the god away. "Now go scare an old woman
    or two."
    Phobos saluted her with two fingers before he vanished into a circle of flames.
    She turned to Deimos who was in the process of directing the chess pieces back into their starting places.
    "You got a minute, Demon?"
    Deimos laughed. "An eternity of them. Why?"
    "I need to know how to stop Dolor."
    That got him to finally look up at her with a quizzical expression. "Dolor? When did he wake up?"
    "A couple of days ago. Now he's after Aidan here to kill him."
    Deimos tsked. "Poor you. It really sucks to be human."
    Leta narrowed her gaze at him. "Demon…"
    He was unfazed by her chiding tone. "Don't nag me, little cousin. I don't want to hear it."
    "You're a Dolophonos, a god of justice. Are you really going to sit there while an innocent man is put to
    death because someone has