A shout goes up from somewhere in the library, and I didn’t think it was the watchman and his new bestie racoons.
Reid ran past us, headed for the warehouse, and Wilder and I followed close on his heels.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Van
An unsettled feeling comes over me as Aiden and I head back through the warehouse to find Izzy. I tense. After everything that we’d been through lately, I trust my instincts. And my instincts are screaming danger.
Right there, the god within me growls. You can protect your friends. You can make the world what it should be…
It’s the god within me that’s the danger. I know it, even though I can’t seem to do anything about it.
As if I’m compelled by him, I feel my gaze turn to the wall. A framed scroll hangs on the wall.
“Aiden,” I says. “Look at this.”
According to the brass plate underneath, the huge, ancient-looking parchment paper on the wall contains a spell created by, apparently, one of the gods within us. It’s a spell to force the world to see and obey us once more. It would eliminate all the hate and the dangers we’ve faced since becoming these gods. We could kill the vampires who hurt Aiden’s family with a snap of our fingers.
At the price of mankind’s freewill.
Desire and repulsion wash over me in turn. We could do good things with this spell. We could end war and hunger. We could slay the predators who prey on the weak, vampires and human alike. We would take our place on our thrones and rule the world.
No. We can’t do that!
Humanity might be a mess, but the gods are no better. Nor do I think anyone should have that kind of power. It’d be too easy to abuse.
A shout came from somewhere else in the library.
I turn away from the giant scroll on the wall, my stomach flipping. What was that noise? It’d come from the hall with the paintings. A shout, some laughter. Definitely not sounds I’d expect from this place.
“Should we take the scroll with us?” Aiden asks.
“No,” I say, a shiver travelling down my spine. “A spell that makes people slaves to us is way too dangerous. We should leave it here…hell, we should destroy the damned thing.”
After a minute, Aiden nods. “Burning it might be the way to go.”
There’s more laughter, a chorus of men’s voices, this time closer. “But first, we deal with whatever the hell that is.”
Turning, I start back toward the hall of paintings, with Aiden right at my side. Our steps seem to echo as we move through the huge warehouse-like building, and my gut turns a bit. Some instinct inside of me is saying to go the other way.
Maybe it’s time to listen.
“Let’s just get out of here and find the others,” I say, stopping.
Aiden gives me a strange look. “You sure?”
I feel the sword twitch against my back. Did it just quiver? My breathing picks up. I swear I feel my muscles hardening and growing.
It’s like my sword and my body wants to go toward the noises. They want me to go look for a fight. But do I want that?
“Yeah, we don’t need any more trouble.”
Aiden gives me a long look, filled with doubt, then certainty comes over his face. “You’re right.”
We start to switch directions when we hear the goddess from the painting speak. “What do you wish to know?”
A second later, a deep voice comes. “We want to know how to kill the girl-god. We want to know how to kill that damned Izzy.”
Another man laughs. “If she dies, it’ll destroy them all.”
I don’t think, I just act. My sword is in my hand in an instant, and I’m racing to the painting and the hall. Aiden calls my name, but I barely register it.
“Fuckers!” I shout, my voice deeper than usual, echoing all around us.
The seven vampires turn in our direction, and my rage grows. These were the vampires who attacked Wilder. Who left him for dead.
“You,” I growl, my grip tightening on my sword.
The goddess begins to speak. “The only way to--”
“Shut up!” I shout at her.
I take another step toward the vampires, and the ground shakes. They reflexively take a step back. As they all exchange a glance, I see a few are holding liquor bottles.
A tall, dark-haired vampire steps forward, drawing his shoulders back. “You don’t want to do this, god. We outnumber you, and we happen to know your powers aren’t yet developed. Run away now, and we’ll let you live.”
I move my sword in movements that feel practiced, and the sword weaves around me like an extension of myself. Their eyes track the movement, and a few go pale.
“Do I look like my powers aren’t developed?” My voice booms around us, holding a note of magic.
The dark-haired vampire seems to struggle to find his words. “We kicked the ass of that other god, no problem.”
Reminding me of what they did to Wilder right now? Not smart. I can feel the god within me straining to break free.
“You,” and my amplified voice grows louder, “lack all honor. There is no glory in what you did to him.”
Another vampire speaks, his voice softer. “Agar, we should just go. It was a bad idea to come here. That lady is going to get us killed.”
“What lady?” Aiden asks beside me.
All of them tense. I can sense it in their bones. Their fear. Their muscles ready, to fight or flee, they haven’t decided.
“N--No lady,” the shorter vampire stutters.
The one named Agar flashes his fangs. “We both know this is all an act. You’re no gods.”
My thoughts are crowded, with some that are my own, and some that aren’t. But I’m speaking before I know what I’m going to say. “I, Tyr, god of war and justice, vow to avenge the pain of my friend...with your blood.”
Agar moves closer. “Who are you kidding?”
I cross the space between us in a movement so fast that the hallway blurs around me. My sword slashes the back of his knee lightly, and he cries out as his leg collapses beneath him. My blade moves again, a dance too fast to follow, and little slices appear on the man’s arms.
Then, my sword goes to his throat, and it takes an unbelievable amount of strength to still my hand. My blade shakes, inches from his throat, pulling closer then further away as I fight with myself.
“Don’t,” Aiden shouts behind me.
We can’t kill him, I beg the god inside of me, my panic filtering through my rage. I don’t want to kill anyone. I might be a fuck-up, unloved by everyone, hell, unloved by myself, but I’m not a killer.
He hurt a god. He hurt your friend. Blood must be spilled.
The god is strong inside me, but I compel him to move, not kill. As I dance around the group of vampires, they try to fight back, but they’re helpless. My sword slashes the backs of knees, arms, and torsos. Their fangs and speed are nothing compared to the power of the god of war. They all fall before my sword, groaning, but still alive.
When I step back to the head of the vampires, they all kneel on the ground, coated in blood. Red pools beneath them, and there’s a deathly fear in their eyes.
I raise my sword over my head, prepared to sever the head of the vampire called Agar. But again, I fight the natural choice.
Killing them feels like what needs to be done, like it’s the only logical choice.
But something inside me won’t let me do this.
“Aiden?” I ask, and my voice sounds like my own once more.
“I’m here,” he responds, his voice quiet.
Something wet falls on my cheek. I look up slowly to see that dark clouds have gathered in the library above our heads, swirling around in a magical storm. Lightning flashes and thunder booms.
Aiden makes a sound beside me, and I catch him shuddering from the corner of my eye.
“What do we do?” I ask, sounding as lost as I feel.
Aiden slowly pulls the hammer from his back. “Thor wants the
m dead. He wants us to kill them for what they did.”
The muscles in my arms tense as I draw my sword back.
“But I don’t know,” Aiden whispers.
“It’s logical,” I say.
“It’s what they deserve,” he adds softly.
“Please,” Agar pleads, and there’s tears in his voice. “We didn’t mean to. We won’t ever bother you again.”
“You meant to kill my friend!” I roar, my voice coming from all around us, filled with the power of a god.
This is it. I can feel it. This is the moment that will change everything forever. We have to decide who we are. We have to decide if we’ll fight fire with fire.
If we stop now, will these men become even more dangerous? Will they try to hurt us? Will they find a way to kill Izzy?
It’s like leaving a snake alive and turning it loose in your home, a harsh voice whispers in my mind.
“Let him kill us.”
My gaze jerks to a tall vampire in the back. He holds his belly as blood runs between his fingertips. He staggers onto his feet, but his gaze is full of hatred as he stares me down. “He can’t kill everyone though. Sooner or later, one of us will be successful. You’ll be locked away for eternity with the gods in darkness and misery. Then you’ll see what monsters they are.”
“Shut up!” Agar shouts at him.
The tall vampire snarls. “Do it, Tyr, Show us all who you really are.”
The hand that holds my sword trembles.
Aiden spins his hammer in his hand and catches it, his eyes focused on the tall vampire. His desire to end his life is written in his expression.
“We need to kill them,” he says at last.
And I know, logically, that is the answer. Leaving them alive will make them a danger. They’ll come back here and learn how to destroy us. It’s only a matter of time.
I raise my sword higher, knowing what must be done.
“Wait!” Izzy’s voice shouts from behind us.
I hesitate, but don’t look back. “They hurt Wilder. They want to kill you. They’re too dangerous to leave alive.”
She sounds panicked as she responds. “We’re not the gods, Van. We’re just us. And none of us are killers.”
“Maybe we weren’t before, but we need to be now.”
“No, we don’t!” she insists, and I know she’s coming closer. “We can’t let them turn us into the thing they want us to be.”
I’m breathing hard. “If we let them go, they’ll just keep hurting us until they succeed.”
Her hand closes around my arm. “We can’t control them. The only thing we can control is ourselves. And we are good people.”
Am I a good person? I scoff. I’ve never been a good person.
Izzy doesn’t need to take this on. She doesn’t need to feel responsible for what I do. I’m already worthless, why not do this to protect the people I care about?
“Van.” She says my name in that way I can’t resist, and I look into her bright eyes. No matter that she’s pleading for their lives with steel in her voice, her gaze is soft and warm, as if she loves me. “They’re bleeding. They’re on their knees. If you wanted to teach them a lesson, you did.”
Blood for blood. It is the way.
I look away from her, tighten my hold on the sword, and swing. Izzy screams. I hear the quick, panicked intake of breath. But I’ve made my choice.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Izzy
I scream for Van to stop, afraid of what he’s going to do, afraid of the burden he’ll carry with him for the rest of his life.
But at the last second, the arc of his swing changes. His powerful shoulders and biceps ripple as he slams the sword into the painting.
The image of the goddess inside screams as the blade plunges into the painting. When he draws it out, the painting is nothing but paper hanging in tatters from a wooden frame.
“They can never use it to hurt us,” he says, his chest heaving with the effort. “I’m not going to let them take you away from us, Izzy.”
He swipes his hand through his hair, the sword still gripped low in one hand, and I stumble into his arms. He closes an arm around me tightly, hugging my waist.
“I can’t believe you actually listened to me,” I murmur, and my laugh comes out a little shaky. I’m still full of adrenaline. “I didn’t think you listened to anyone.”
“Yeah, let’s keep this between us. Don’t ruin my reputation.” His words are as lazy as ever, but his eyes are bright on mine. He flutters his hand at the vampires, as much as he can while he still grips his sword. “Get out of here.”
The vampires get up, slipping on their own blood, and limp away.
“We should get out of here too,” I tell him.
He nods, agreeing with me, but neither of us make a move to leave.
“I always listen to you, Iz,” he says softly. “I know sometimes I might act like I don’t give a damn, but when it comes to you, I…”
He trails off, pulling a rueful voice like words fail him.
So I bob up onto my tiptoes and brush my lips across his.
When Van kisses me back, his fingers wrap around my hip, his grip firm and possessive. His lips sear mine as our bodies sway together.
That kiss says everything he hasn’t.
“Let’s go,” Aiden says, breaking into the moment. He looks at the trail of destruction we’ve left behind us: the broken suit of armor, the destroyed painting, and the blood everywhere. Somewhere off in the distance, the guard is yelling obscenities at the imaginary raccoons. We’ve officially broken the night watchman. “It’s going to be a goddamn miracle if we don’t get expelled from this reform school.”
“I don’t think that’s an option, Aiden,” I say. I loop my hand over Van’s arm as he sheaths his sword, and hold my free hand out to Aiden. “But I don’t know that our vampire friends are going to brag. Maybe...maybe it’ll be okay.”
He gives me a smile I can’t read, but comes closer, slipping his hammer back into place on his back, where it disappears. He gives me the crook of his arm too.
My four men and I slip out of the library and into the night. I want to grieve the loss of the painting and the promise it held, but right now, I’m overwhelmed with relief. I led these guys who will follow me anywhere, apparently, into danger because I wanted so badly to find my sister. But we all made it out alive. Together.
And we didn’t let the gods destroy who we are. Not today.
Chapter Thirty
Reid
None of us slept in our rooms that night. Instead, we dragged our blankets and pillows out to a study room at the end of our hall and created a giant bed for ourselves, locking the door to create our own little sanctuary.
I managed to snag a spot next to Izzy, so for the first time in my life, she was tucked against me, sleeping soundlessly. Everyone was actually asleep. Everyone but me.
But then, few people could sleep when being watched.
Across from me, in a chair, the goddess Hel sits. More spirit than woman.
She’s exactly the way Mercy described her to be, except beautiful in an eerie way. Her hair is long and dark. Her eyes are as black as night, and her bones are visible beneath her flesh on half her face and neck. The rest of her skin is covered by a long, dark gown.
But it’s her gaze that holds me beneath her spell. It’s unsettling, as if she’s staring down at a wounded animal that she’s considering killing to end its misery. Beneath her flesh, I also sense the power to do just that…and more.
“Are you afraid?” she asks.
I answer honestly. “Yes.”
Her eyes are sad. “You should be, son of man. The supernatural creatures want you dead. The gods want to destroy you. And you are only one human. The odds stacked against you are impossible.”
My heart races. “But I’m not alone. I have Izzy. I have my friends.”
Her expression gentles. “Already the gods invade them.”
“No.” I
shake my head. “They’re just learning to use their powers.”
“Are you sure?” she asks.
Am I sure? I feel sweat moving down my spine. I’m not sure of anything.
“I think so,” I tell her slowly.
Her lips draw into a line. “And right now…this moment between us…do you know what it means?”
Again, I shake my head.
“It means I’m growing more powerful, son of man. Before much longer, I will control you, whether I wish to or not.”
“No.”
Her gaze runs over my friends. “You think they fought the gods and won today, but you’re wrong. One of your friends is still controlled by the gods. One of them will hurt you, if you can’t determine who it is in time, and help your friend push the god back down.”
I feel a cold sweat dampen my skin. “Which one of them?”
Her lips twist into the saddest smile. “I can’t tell you that, Reid, because as much as I like you, I’m on their side, not yours.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
She wraps her arms around herself. “Because I don’t know if I want to come back sometimes. And because…I want you to have a chance. If you don’t realize one of your friends is now an enemy, you’ll be destroyed before you even begin to fight.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
The goddess rises. “I’m so sorry, Reid. I meant it when I said I liked you. I won’t relish feeling you inside of me, trapped in a cage of darkness, suffering for eternity.”
And then she’s gone.
I reach out and stroke Izzy’s hair, my gaze moving over her and my friends. Which of them allowed a god within them and couldn’t get them out?
And will I be able to help them find their way back?
I close my eyes, ice moving through my veins. I have to. I have no other choice.
These people were my family now, linked to one another through more than magic: love. I didn’t give a damn if I had to take on every creature in the supernatural world and the very gods themselves. I would keep them safe.
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