The Prophecy

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “They’re in Cora’s room. Or they better be. I was trying to grab them something to eat.” Shaking his head, he thrust his hand through his black hair. “It’s crazy. They attacked in the cafeteria. About fifty of them, all wearing those damn masks. Just started stabbing halfs and Guards.”

  Another wave of horror rose. “Fifty?”

  “Where are Seth and the crew?” Colin asked as he whipped around. A Sentinel had caught one of the masked pures, bringing the bastard to the ground.

  It took me a moment to recognize the Sentinel, but it was Alex’s father. Alexander.

  “They aren’t back yet.” If Seth was, he would’ve already lost his patience and laid waste to the pures. “We can take care of this. We have to.”

  Colin turned back to me. “We can. We—”

  “Everyone, get inside! Get inside!”

  Twisting at the waist, I saw a Sentinel racing across the grounds. Whatever relief I felt at seeing him was short-lived. “They’re coming!” he shouted, panic pouring into his voice. “They’re coming!”

  My heart lurched at the terror in his voice. I took off, running toward him. Colin was right behind me. “Who’s coming?”

  Fear filled the Sentinel’s eyes as he reached my side, grabbing my hand. The kind of fear that shot a cold shiver down my spine. “Not that way. You do not want to go that way!”

  “What are you—?”

  The sound of what reminded me of a wounded animal tore through the air. Several wounded animals. High-pitched and shrill.

  Screams.

  Terrified screams mingled with something darker, something inhuman. A screech echoed through the air, drowning out the screams.

  Masked pures began dropping to their knees, clutching at their heads as they tried to cover their ears.

  Off in the distance, I thought I saw something dark against the gray skies. Large…birds? There were three of them, their wings gliding—

  “Holy shit,” I stumbled back a step. “Those aren’t birds, are they?”

  “No.” The Sentinel tugged on my hand. “The furies have been unleashed, and they are pissed!”

  Colin’s mouth dropped open. “The furies?”

  “They’ll take out everything in their paths. We need to get inside.” The Sentinel was moving, pulling me behind him. “The Library.”

  I got my feet working again, but I had to look over my shoulder, because I just had to. Their wings moved silently as they drew closer and closer. One broke off, zooming to the ground like a torpedo.

  Screams intensified.

  We reached the steps as Alexander joined us. Tiny hairs on my arm rose as a sharp tingle erupted along the back of my neck. Instinct guided me as my grip tightened on the Sentinel’s hand.

  “Stop!” I shouted.

  A dark shadow fell over us. Colin was at the top of the steps when he froze. A stuttering heartbeat passed. A furie landed in front of the closed library doors, and she was not as I expected. Not at all.

  This furie was beautiful, all golden hair and peachy skin. Absolutely stunningly beautiful in her white, diaphanous gown. She had the lithe grace that always seemed inherent to Erin. The furie’s wings were frail-looking and transparent, her expression serene.

  She zeroed in on Colin, tilting her head as she seemed to size him up. She…she sniffed the air. Long blonde hair toppled over her shoulder.

  “Tricky. Tricky. Tricky.” She laughed and it sounded like wind chimes.

  “Back up,” the Sentinel said, voice low. “Colin, back up.”

  I had to agree with the Sentinel. I’d seen how badass Erin was, and she was a friend. These furies? I had no idea what they were capable of, but they had just been just freed from their tombs, so I imagined they’d be a bit…aggressive.

  Colin took a measured step back, and behind me, I could feel Alexander crouching. We weren’t the only one on the steps or on the porch who had the same idea. We were just the ones who were holding still.

  “Don’t move,” the Sentinel said, his gaze trained on the furie, and I was beginning to think he had experience in dealing with them. “Everyone just stand very still—”

  A half darted away from the wall of the library, rushing toward the steps.

  Thick blonde curls lifted from the furie’s shoulders and then she shot forward, moving as fast as I’d seen Seth do many times over. Her bare feet left the stone porch as she flew up and forward, those massive wings spreading out on either side of her.

  She changed in an instant.

  Peachy skin shifted gray and wings thickened, also turning gray. Slender fingers formed razor-sharp claws. Blonde hair darkened and curls—holy crap, the curls were like Medusa’s. They were snakes.

  The furie grabbed the half by the head. Sharp claws dug into the girl’s scalp. Bright red blood trickled down the sides of her face. The girl’s scream was cut off as the furie’s wrists twisted.

  With the slightest pressure, the furie had snapped the girl’s neck.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered, stomach churning.

  Everyone moved at once, but the furie was simply faster. She snatched up another—this time a masked pure-blood. She took him into the air, ripping him in two.

  The furie was on a mission, heading straight for Colin.

  Hands tugged on my shoulders, and my gaze met Alexander’s. The man couldn’t speak, but I got his message. Run. The four of us turned, and I had no idea where we were running to, but I was down with this plan.

  What I had just seen…

  We made it halfway down the steps when I heard a strange, rough sound turn into a scream. I looked behind me, and my freaking heart stopped. The furie had Colin.

  “No!” I screamed, whipping around.

  The Sentinel grabbed for me, but I was fast when I wanted to be. I darted around him as the furie lifted Colin into the air by the chest. Colin struggled, grasping at the furie’s bony hands, but it was no use. Red ran down his arms, dripping to the stone porch.

  No. No. No.

  Colin was good. He wasn’t out here, harming anyone. He was a protector. Kind. And he’d been nice to me from day one even though Seth had made it extremely hard on him.

  “Josie! No!” The Sentinel yelled, but I raced back up the steps.

  The furie lifted her head as I tapped into the deadliest element inside me. Akasha. The ripple of power expanded inside me, building until it erupted. I screamed as I threw my hand out. White light poured from my palm, and it struck true, arcing over the distance and slamming into the furie’s shoulder.

  Screeching in pain, she dropped Colin, but I didn’t let up as rage and fear mingled with the powerful energy. I was vaguely aware of Alexander and the Sentinel rushing forward and grabbing Colin, but he…he wasn’t moving.

  The furie came at me howling, but the white energy poured over it, stopping her in her tracks. The power recoiled, snapping back at me. I teetered back a step as the furie crashed to the stone, falling into a pile of slender arms and broken wings. It didn’t move.

  I’d killed it.

  I’d killed a furie.

  Oh crap, was that bad?

  The answering screeches from the other two furies sent chills down my spine. One was down, but there were still two. I figured they were going to be pissed.

  Heart pounding, I turned just as the two furies stopped in mid-flight. They were a couple of yards away, and I tensed, having no idea if I could take two of them at once.

  But they weren’t gunning for me.

  Wings cutting silently through the air, their heads tilted up as if they were hearing something. Mouth dry, I waited for them to attack.

  There were two flashes of blinding, bright light and then…

  Then they were gone.

  Having no idea what had just happened, I decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I hurried down the steps, to where the Sentinel and Alexander had Colin laid out. Both were kneeling, so all I could see was Colin’s legs. Obviously he wasn’t as hurt as I’d feared, becau
se they weren’t taking him to the infirmary. They were just kneeling there.

  “How is he?” I asked, running my damp palms over my hips. I felt weird. Shaky. “Is he…?”

  The Sentinel looked over his shoulder at me, his face pale as he shook his head. My steps faltered. I saw all the red first. It was too much. Covering his chest and stomach and down the front of his pants. So much blood, it pooled under him, and Alexander was kneeling in it, and his hands—his hands were still on Colin’s chest. He was pushing down, as if he could stop the river of blood, but there was no stopping it.

  My hands floated to my mouth, but they froze halfway, because I saw Colin’s face. I saw his eyes. They were wide and fixed on the sky, and I knew in my heart of hearts that it was too late.

  I had been too late.

  Chapter 17

  Seth

  “Get these people under control,” I ordered, stepping over the sprawled form of some guy who’d just gotten knocked out.

  Alex whipped around. “What?”

  I kept walking, slipping out the door and into the night. A handful of seconds had passed between when I’d seen the guy leave and when I stepped out, but the road in front of the bar was empty.

  Frowning, I looked down the old cobblestone sidewalk. Left and right were vacant and… “Shit.”

  Wispy mist slowly crept across the road, and tendrils licked up the curb and coiled around my ankles. There was nothing supernatural about the fog, but it sure as hell was creepy.

  The door opened behind me and Deacon spilled out, plate of food still clutched to his chest. “I was sent to check on you—whoa, look at this fog.”

  “It’s just fog, Deacon.” Frustrated, I tried to see through the damn mist, but apparently X-ray vision wasn’t a godly ability. Where in the hell had the guy gone?

  “I don’t know.” Deacon wandered to the left as he picked up one of his fried fish filets. “This is spooky. Like, this is the kind of atmosphere perfect for a ghostly sighting if I’ve ever seen one. I bet the walker is around…”

  Shaking my head, I let instinct guide me as I stepped off the curb while Deacon prattled on about some ghost that walked around and, I don’t know, screamed in people’s faces?

  I crossed further into the mist, reaching a market of sorts that had been open when we entered the pub, but the large, square windows were now dark. I passed a bench and stopped at the corner of the alley. The weird-ass tingle was still dancing between my shoulder blades, but I still didn’t see shit as I crossed the alley. It was so damn quiet out here I was beginning to wonder if I’d hallucinated seeing the guy in the bar.

  Shit. Maybe it was a ghost.

  A ghost who walked into bars and stole drinks.

  Sounded like a cooler ghost than the one who ran around screaming in people’s faces. I turned back to the pub. Maybe he went in the—

  “Looking for me, mate?”

  My back stiffened. Son of a bitch was right behind me, and I didn’t even hear him. I pivoted around, and there he was, standing near the bench I’d just passed.

  The moment I saw him, I knew.

  Fuck.

  Even in the faint light, I knew he was Ares’s son. Even if what had happened in the pub hadn’t happened, I would’ve known the moment I saw him.

  The guy looked like a younger version of Ares. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Cold face.

  Shit.

  The damn Fates had their messed-up hands in this. I knew it. Only they would ensure that, out of all the demigods, it would be Ares’s son who survived.

  He must’ve walked down the alley and waited, and he still had the mug of beer in his hand.

  “Maybe,” I said, keeping my hands at my sides.

  The guy took a drink of his beer. “Who are you?”

  I said nothing. Staring at him and realizing who the hell his father was caused bitterness to mix with anger, but at the same time, I felt…nothing beyond that. Fucking nothing.

  He sat the empty mug on the bench, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. “Or should I ask, what are you?”

  Interesting. “That’s a strange question to ask.”

  “Is it?” The guy stepped around the bench, but he didn’t come any further. “I don’t think so.”

  So, we were going to play the evasive game? “What makes you think that?”

  The guy tipped his chin up. “Well, ever since about March, any time I get around people, they end up trying to kill one another, but you and the group you were with? Didn’t seem to affect any of you.”

  Ever since March? Something clicked into place then. Josie’s abilities had been unlocked about that time. Had her becoming a demigod triggered the abilities of the rest? That would make sense.

  I was done with beating around the bush. “You didn’t affect us because we’re not mortal.”

  If those words came at any surprise to the guy, he didn’t show it. Which could only mean…

  “What is your name?” I demanded.

  One side of his lips kicked up in a smirk that was so damn familiar I almost snapped forward and punched it off his face. “My name is Erik.”

  “Where are your parents?”

  “Dead.”

  “Do you know who your father is?” I demanded.

  Erik didn’t answer.

  “I know who your father is.”

  Only then did I see a reaction from the guy. His nostrils flared. “What is your name?”

  “Seth.”

  Recognition flickered across his face and then he exhaled heavily. “Bloody hell.”

  ~

  Josie

  I walked numbly behind Marcus, not feeling a single step. Not really feeling anything.

  We were in the main building, inside the closed lobby, and every single pure-blood who’d taken part in the attack and was still alive was unmasked and on their knees, their hands secured behind their backs.

  Colin had said there’d been around fifty of them that had attacked, and there were forty-two apprehended. Those forty-two had managed to kill nine half-bloods and two pure-blooded Guards. And the furies had killed…

  I swallowed hard.

  They had killed many.

  “I want every single one of them questioned and then locked up,” Marcus ordered, his voice terse with barely restrained fury. “I will be contacting the families of every single one of you. Personally.”

  One of the pures, a young man with dark hair, smirked, and Marcus’s response was immediate. He snapped forward, slamming his knee into the pure’s chin, knocking his head back.

  The old Josie would’ve gasped and been surprised by Marcus’s reaction. Now? I wanted to do the same.

  I wanted to kill all of them.

  Marcus’s fist balled in the pure’s hair as he yanked his head back again. The smirk was gone from his now-bloody face. “Did that amuse you? Because you’re going to be far from amused by the end of this day, when we make use of the cells that are right underneath you.”

  A girl at the end trembled as tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. Please. I’m sorry—”

  “Stop.” Marcus let go of the pure, and he slumped back, blood dripping onto the floor. Marcus straightened. “While I appreciate your outburst of remorse, I don’t care at the moment.”

  Marcus pivoted, his movements stiff as he motioned to me to follow. Taking one last look at the pures, I followed Marcus over to where Alexander waited.

  I couldn’t look at him.

  Because when I did, I saw the dried blood on his hands and forearms. I stared at the floor.

  “Make sure they go hard on the girl who was crying. She’ll be the first to break,” Marcus told Alexander. “None of them gets a pass. Do you understand?”

  Glancing up, I saw Alexander nod. The man’s gaze met mine, and a thousand words were spoken in those eyes. Each one pierced my chest, proving that I was still feeling. I wasn’t numb at all. Pressing my lips together, I struggled to hold it together.

  Marcus bowed his head as Alexan
der stalked off. “I have never hit a student before.”

  I blinked. “He deserved it.”

  “That is true,” he replied. “But I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Surprised that he’d mention that to me, I glanced over at the pures. They were being made to stand. “I want to kill them all. I know I shouldn’t, but that’s not what I want.”

  Marcus was quiet for a long moment. “And I do not think I’d stop you if you did.”

  Neither of us spoke for a long moment.

  “Have you heard from Seth or any one of them?” he asked.

  I shook my head. They couldn’t take a cellphone with them. Whatever it was that Seth did when he traveled that way messed with cells, apparently making them unusable afterward.

  “And our demigods? They’re safe?”

  “Yes.” I’d gone to check on them after the attack. They were okay, but I…I’d had to tell them what happened.

  Colin was…

  Colin was gone.

  That had to be one of the hardest things I’d ever done.

  His body was in the…cold room in the infirmary, and his life was over. “He didn’t deserve that,” I said, my voice hoarse. “None of them deserved what happened to them, but those furies…”

  “They don’t see good and bad. They are perfect killing machines. Blind justice.”

  Shivering, I folded my arms across my chest. There was a coldness in my chest that couldn’t be warmed. “Erin wasn’t like that.”

  “She was your roommate at college?”

  “Yeah. She was like…she was like me, just like anyone else.” A weird sensation rippled across my stomach. It wasn’t painful. More of a…discomfort. I shifted my weight from one foot to the next. “She didn’t run around, killing everyone in sight.”

  Marcus turned to the locked lobby doors. I followed his gaze. All I could see was a sea of white-garbed Guards and Sentinels dressed in black. “Your friend had been around mortals. She’d learned empathy. She adapted. These furies are the furthest thing from human, Josie.”

  I’d seen that with my own two eyes.

  “Colin was an amazing student here,” Marcus said after a moment, and my breath caught. “But more importantly, he was a good person who knew what loss was and still pushed through it.”