Free The Heart of War by Lisa Beth Darling Page B

of him and emerged from the side of a heavy oak tree just a yard or so in front of him, Ares lit up a large fireball in the palm of his hand. It illuminated his face.
    “OH Gods!” Maggie skittered and fell to the ground before she could stop herself. Looking up and recognizing the face, she called up to him. “It’s coming! It’s coming! Do something!”
    The trees rustled and the ground shook as the hound ran at them, snarling and snapping all three of its jaws. Ares just stood there calmly looking down at her. “I thought I told you to stay away from this part of the island.”
    “Kill it!” Maggie shrieked. “If you’re really Ares…KILL IT!”
    “Why?” He looked up at the charging beast and it stopped in front of him as he held up the hand glowing with fire that did not burn him. “It’s not nice to scare our guest, Cerberus,” Ares chided and then held out the hand not glowing with fire. On the ground, Alena let out a gasp when he reached out and began to pet the beast. “I am Ares,” he said without looking down at her, “this is Cerberus, he’s my dog.”
    “DOG? That’s not a DOG! It’s a MONSTER!”
    Ares only chuckled.
    Lying there on the ground in the fading light she was stunned at the sight of the large man nearly cooing with the hideous beast. “Why isn’t it in Hell where it’s supposed to be?”
    Now Ares let out a snort and cast his eyes downward at her. “It’s not Hell, it’s the Underworld, and Hades rules there. Your myths tell how I lent Cerberus to him to guard the Gates, but they don’t tell that I took him back when Hades mistreated him.” Ares’ lower jaw jutted out as he looked back to the beast. “He’s a good dog. Yes, good dog.” He petted the beast under all three chins before holding out his large hand where suddenly a dead sheep appeared and Ares was holding its lifeless body by one leg. “Here you go. Good boy.” He chucked the dead animal upward. Maggie watched in horror as Cerberus caught it in one of his mouths, chomped down hard, shattering the bones within, spraying out little streams of blood before the beast took off the way it had come with its prize. “So now you believe me? You believe this no dream and you are not dead nor are you insane?” Ares sauntered over to her and held the fireball out to her so that he could see her better. He took in the rips in the nightgown and reached out to put his fingers through the hole at the shoulder. “I see you met the Hind as well. Truly Alena, you are lucky to be alive; she so rarely misses whatever she aims at.”
    “My name is Maggie!”
    “Not anymore,” Ares countered. “Are you ready to come back now, or shall I leave you out here to the other beasts of prey for the night?” His eyes gazed off down the thickly wooded path. “It’s a long way back to the cave; you’ll never make it before full dark.” Turning back to her, Ares held out his hand to help her to her feet and was pleasantly surprised when she took it. “I see you found the olives and the grapes,” he intoned, looking at the stains on her bodice. Below that he took in the sight of fresh blood and knew the gold between her legs sliced through her thighs as she ran.
    Maggie looked down. “Sorry, I ruined your gown.”
    “It’s my shirt,” Ares corrected. “I would think it the least of your problems.” His hand still glowing with burning fire, Ares began to lead the way back to the cave as darkness fell upon the island. She walked slowly and almost painfully next to him, trying to hold back little grunts and groans as they went. “Are you ready to tell me who you are and where you came from now?”
    “I told you, my name is Maggie. Magdalena MacLeod to be exact,” she said, trying not to sound rude or upset. “I was in Africa….”
    “And your ship wrecked but there’s no wreck, I know.”
    “Oh, and the boat, I don’t know the name because I couldn’t read it, it was in a language I don’t understand. French or