The man before us was a Titan.
“Oh my gods,” Josie whispered as what appeared to be recognition flickered across her face as she sat up.
“It was mostly for fun,” Solos said, his hand tightening around the slender dagger. “Just wanted to see what it would do.”
The Titan tilted its head, expression perplexed. His skin, a mixture of many different pink shades, seemed to lighten and deepen in hue every couple of seconds.
“Which one are you?” I asked, rising to my feet. I slipped in front of Josie, who was now on her feet with her blade in hand. “Mo? Curly? Definitely not Larry, because he’d be pissing himself if he was in front of us right now.”
The Titan’s lip curled. “I am Atlas, Apollyon. I do not know these deities you speak of.”
“Atlas?” murmured Deacon. “Oh boy . . .”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke take the same protective stance in front of Deacon, and for once the pure-blood didn’t fight it.
Atlas’s sneer turned into a mocking grin. “You know who I am. All of you know who I am. And you know how this will end. Give me what I’ve come for and I will allow each of you to live. Deny me, and each of you will die.”
I sighed. “That’s so cliché.”
The Titan’s all-black gaze slid to me. “You may be the Apollyon and you may be surrounded by demigods, but you cannot defeat me. I am not Hyperion and—”
“I’m not just any demigod. I am the Hercules and you are—”
Atlas lifted his hand, and a second later Hercules was flying backward through the air. He slammed into the wall near the staircase, cracking the plaster. “You are nothing to me,” Atlas finished as Hercules hit the floor face-first.
“I’m kind of glad you shut him up,” Alex said, her body tensing. “But we kind of need him alive.”
“Why?” Atlas queried. “So he can continuously lead us to where the remaining demigods are? We knew you would leave. We can wait.”
Not surprising. They probably had shades near the University, waiting for us to come out. That was a risk we’d had to take and now we were paying the consequences.
Atlas sniffed the air as he stared at Alex. “You are a demigod, but your aether is not as pure. Not like the one cowering behind the staircase.” He paused, looking at Josie. “Or this one.”
“I’m not a snack,” Josie stated, and I smirked. “So stop looking at me like I’m dinner.”
“Oh, but dear, that’s exactly what you are.” Atlas smiled, and it was full-on creepy. “And the rest are completely expendable.”
Several things happened at once.
Atlas lifted his arm, fingers widespread. A rush of energy came across the room, aiming straight for Alex and Aiden. Both moved out of the way, spinning out to the sides before it connected. The Titan immediately shifted. The blast of energy cut over to Luke, tossing him up and back into Deacon.
Luke squeezed off several rounds from his Glock, but Atlas twisted and turned wicked fast, dodging each of the bullets. They smacked into the wall harmlessly, and then Atlas was in front of Aiden.
Dipping under Atlas’s arm, Aiden sprang up behind him and spun, kicking out, but the Titan was unbelievably fast, more so than Hyperion. He swung back with his arm, catching Aiden across the chest, and up he went, ass over teacup.
And that pissed off Alex.
She rushed the Titan, launching off the ground a foot in front of him. She spun in the air, about to deliver a brutal spin kick.
It never connected.
Atlas twisted around again and caught her leg. He swung her like a damn baseball bat, throwing her right into Aiden as he regained his footing. They went down in a tumble of arms and legs.
“Holy balls,” muttered Solos.
“Fuck getting close.” Spinning around, I launched my Covenant dagger at Atlas’s head, mostly for a distraction. It worked. The Titan moved to avoid that as I summoned the element of fire. A ball of amber flames formed above my hand. I threw that like a baseball.
A burst of energy rippled from Josie. She’d tapped into fire a second after me, adding another burst of flames to the mix.
Atlas whirled on us. The flames fizzled out before they reached him, as if they had smacked into some kind of force field. “Don’t tire yourself out, girl. I’ve got big plans for you later.”
I did not like that.
Neither did Josie.
“Sorry. I’m busy later.” A burst of power rippled through the air, washing over my skin, and I could feel it inside me, beating at me to get free. A bolt of akasha left Josie in a brilliant blueish white bolt of energy. It slammed into Atlas’s shoulder, knocking him back a step.
“Ouch,” Atlas said, shaking his arm. “That wasn’t very nice.” He lifted his arm, and suddenly Josie was skidding across the stone floor, her arms wheeling as she tried to gain control of her body, but it was like an invisible hand was dragging her toward Atlas.
Cursing, I shot to the left and snagged her around the waist, throwing her to the floor and breaking the connection. I twisted, taking the brunt of the fall as we landed, her on top. I rolled before Atlas got the upper hand. My knees hit the ground between hers. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second, and then I was in the air. I braced myself for impact.
Hitting the table, I crashed through a potted plant. Soil flew in my face as wood broke under me. I caught myself before I ate stone, landing on my side. I looked up and saw Hercules.
He was on his feet, and he hauled ass across the foyer, his heavy footsteps rattling the table. Slamming his shoulder into the Titan, he tried to bring him down, but that didn’t work. Atlas wrapped massive arms around Hercules’s chest, lifted the demigod up in the air, and then slammed him into the floor, power-driving him down. Stone cracked under their weight.
Atlas rose, spreading his arms wide. “Who’s next?”
“Gods.” Solos whipped out his Glock and fired several rounds. Like before, the Titan dodged them and headed straight for the Sentinel. Solos tossed the Glock aside, bracing himself for hand-to-hand.
Aiden came out of nowhere, rushing the Titan from behind. He launched into the air and landed on Atlas, hooking his knees at Atlas’s hips. Aiden grabbed the Titan’s head and twisted sharply. The crack of bone breaking echoed through the room a second before Atlas reached around, grabbing hold of Aiden’s shirt. Atlas threw him over his shoulder, sending him flying through the air. Aiden crashed into the floor, rolling several feet before he came to a stop on his back.
“I could’ve told you that doesn’t work,” I said, clenching the poisoned blade, trying to figure out how to get close enough to Atlas to use it.
“Thanks,” Aiden groaned, rolling onto his side, “for the heads-up.”
Luke was the next to go down. He was tossed like a damn football after rushing Atlas. Deacon tapped into the fire element, drawing Atlas’s attention as Josie sent another bolt of akasha at him from the other side.
I ground down on my jaw, ignoring what felt like a slumbering giant waking up in my chest as I also tapped into akasha. Before I could let it go, Atlas smiled again as he lifted his arms. A high keening cry echoed from outside, and then black smoke poured into the house, breaking off into several streams. Shades.
Shades were everywhere.
“Holy crap,” Josie shrieked as one went straight for her. She dipped and spun around. Stumbling back into the wall, her wide eyes met mine. It was written on her face, how bad this was.
“Gods.” Alex hit the ground, narrowly avoiding one of them. “They smell like the River Styx.” Rolling onto her side, she used her legs to power back onto her feet. “So freaking gross.”
“Keep out of their grasp,” Aiden ordered, picking himself back up. “There’s nothing we can do about them.”
Josie darted to the left, scowling as one grabbed at her long hair. “We need a furie. Like, stat.”
Yeah, and like always, those bitches were nowhere to be found when you actually needed them.
It was chaotic, engaging with Atlas while avoiding the shades. One stream of black smoke grabbed hold of Deacon and lifted him all the way up to the ceiling, and that caught Luke and Aiden’s attention. They rushed across the atrium, and the tugging in my chest returned as Aiden sent a bolt of akasha at the shade. It dropped Deacon.
Right on top of them.
Atlas stalked across the atrium, heading for the stairwell. I shot in from the right. Beyond him, I saw Josie also heading for him. I wanted to warn her back, but we had the poisoned blades. He was halfway to the staircase when Solos came running up from behind Josie.
The Titan whipped around so fast that by the time any of us realized what he was doing, it was too late. He caught Solos by the arm with one hand and then hit him in the chest with the other—no, not hit. His hand went through Solos’s chest.
Josie screamed as blood sprayed out from Solos’s back.
I skidded to a halt, stunned as Atlas jerked his hand back. Red was everywhere, and in Atlas’s hand was something that belonged inside of Solos’s chest.
His heart.
Blood drained so quickly from Solos’s face as his legs crumpled under him. He folded like a piece of paper. Hit the floor and didn’t move. Down. Done. That was it.
“I am so done with this,” Atlas said, his hand closing around the organ, destroying it.
All of my restraint broke.
Rage tore through me, ripped me right open. I shouted, the sound echoing through the room, and out of the fury and the grief I reached out, throwing my arms out to the sides. I dropped the poisoned blade as the monster in my chest fully woke up. It recognized all the power in the room—in Alex and Aiden, in Hercules and even in Gable, but especially in Josie. It whispered to me to take. It dug in deep and demanded revenge and promised retribution.
I let the monster take over.
My lips moved and I spoke the words I’d heard before, words that would unlock the ultimate power—words that Alex spoke once before. I didn’t understand how this worked. I also didn’t care. “Θάρρος.”
Courage.
A shock rippled across my body, followed by a wealth of warmth. Determination poured into my chest.
“Δύναµη,” I said.
Strength.
Another jolt of power hit me, charging me up. The warmth turned to heat, invading my muscles, breaking them down and rebuilding them rapidly.
Someone shouted, a high-pitched scream. There was a yell, a rougher and heavier gasp.
I kept going as I stepped forward, through the shades circling Atlas. “Απόλυτη εξουσία.”
Absolute power.
Amber light radiated through the room. Screams pitched higher as every cell in my body hummed with power. Glyphs appeared on my skin, swirling fast. The shades flew backward, revealing a transfixed Atlas.
I finished it. “Αήττητο.”
Air punched out of my lungs as static charged the air around me. Cords of light appeared all over the room. One. Two. Then three and four. Five. Six. Seven. The bright luminous cords came from everywhere, slamming into my chest, knocking me back into the wall and then up in the air. Inside of me, power shifted and pulsed. A fire lit me up, hot and cold all at once. Power filled every cell.
My feet were on the floor again, and my head was thrown back. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw bodies withering, but I focused on the source of my rage. Every sense became hyper aware. Vision sharp. The smell of burnt pizza mixed with the metallic tang of blood and the scent of sweat. I heard multiple inhales of breath.
The world was tinted in white.
Fear flickered over the Titan’s face. Oh yeah, he knew what he was facing. He knew the end was coming for him, the true end, and there was no escaping it, because I was the beginning and I was the end.
“No,” I said, in a deep and heavy voice I did not recognize as my own. “I am done with this.”
I summoned akasha, but this time it was different. The aether sang in my veins and flooded my body. The whitish-tinted amber circled down my arm, crackling and spitting into the air as it powered down my arm.
Atlas tried to move, but it was too late.
Akasha slammed into the Titan, hitting him in the chest, and it kept coming as I prowled forward, keeping up with the intensity, surrounding him with its power. Wisps of smoke hit the air and tiny bursts of light shot out, hitting the shades. The light swallowed and destroyed them.
Atlas was backing away, but one leg gave out and then the other. He hit the floor on his knees, and I smiled as I placed my palm on his face. My chest expanded as I tapped into what was in the Titan, drawing every ounce of aether out of him, and what was inside me became a white-hot fire.
The Power retracted.
I jerked my hand back and the whitish-amber light retreated.
Atlas stared up at me, his mouth gaping open. A darkish, shimmery blue blood leaked from his eyes. Underneath his skin, a network of veins became visible, lit from within. The light seeped out, washing over his entire body.
I laughed.
A loud popping sound, like bombs exploding at the same time, echoed through the room, and when the light faded Atlas was nothing more than a scorched spot on the stone floor. I stared down at the spot for several moments until something behind me whimpered.
Slowly, I turned around. There were people on the floor. They were the things that were withering. Things. Insignificant. Moaning. Trying to sit up. Annoying.
I walked toward them, each step purposeful. Something moved to the right of me. I looked. It was big and reaching out to me. Hercules. Gods, I did not like him.
Lifting my hand, I sent him flying backward. My attention zeroed on the dark-haired pure-blood with silvery eyes. He was shielding someone. Blood trickled from his nose.
Oh, yeah, I really did not like him. Couldn’t quite grasp why, but I knew I’d be thoroughly pleased if I made him go splat. I lifted my hand.
“Seth! No,” a female shouted. The voice was familiar. It did something to me. Distracted me. “Seth!”
A stinging sensation shot across my left forearm, and I spun around, lifting my arm as I summoned akasha. It coiled, rushing down my arm.
“Seth,” she whispered.
Her voice stopped me, reached in and shook me. The whitish-amber light fizzled out. I looked down and saw blue eyes—Josie. My Josie. And then I saw what she held in her hand. That soft hand trembled, but it was not empty. She clutched the blade. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. My legs gave out below me, and Josie dropped the stake. I heard it clang off the floor and then I heard nothing.
There was nothing.
Chapter 30
Josie
Dropping the blade, I shot forward and tried to stop Seth’s fall. I circled my arms around his waist, but he was too heavy. The toxin had hit him hard, and I couldn’t hold his weight. Not when standing and forcing my way to him had leached what remaining energy I had.
I crumpled along with him, hitting the floor on my hip. Pain flared, but I ignored it as Seth’s head cracked off the stone floor.
Reaching deep down, I scrabbled up his side and rolled him onto his back. His eyes were closed, dark lashes fanning his golden cheeks. With a shaking hand, I felt his neck for a pulse and then swallowed a cry of relief as I felt it steady under my fingers.
I had no idea what the Pegasus blood would do to him. It could kill mortals. Immobilize Titans and demigods, but the Apollyon? No one had really said what it would do to him.
He was alive.
Out cold, but alive.
Pushing myself up, I sat down and scanned the room. My gaze landed on the blade first. You will need the toxin, but not for whom you expect. Medusa’s words haunted me. She had known. That woman had known.
And I’d seen the Titan Atlas before.
He’d been in my nightmares. Over and over, he’d been there. That had been him. How? I didn’t understand, but he had.
Numb, I lifted my gaze. Deacon was struggli
ng to his feet, along with Luke. Both looked like they’d been blown through a wall. A fine trickle of blood leaked out of Deacon’s nose, but he appeared otherwise uninjured. The bruises on Luke’s jaw were from fighting Atlas. Hercules was sitting up, his expression absolutely dumbfounded.
“How did he do that?” Alex stumbled to her feet with Aiden’s aid, swaying to one side. Both looked okay. “How did he do that?”
I didn’t answer, because I didn’t know how Seth had tapped into all of us without even touching us.
My gaze finally fell on Solos. “Oh gods,” I whispered, quickly averting my gaze. What Atlas had whispered in my dream the night before had also been right. Dig a grave.
He was . . . I closed my eyes, biting down on my lower lip until I tasted blood. Pain opened in my chest, overshadowing the physical aches that bit and chewed at me.
Solos was gone.
Him falling had tipped Seth over an edge, a very precarious edge I hadn’t even realized he’d been teetering on this . . . this entire time.
I was numb, sitting between where Seth had fallen and where Solos lay. This scent of death was different than what followed the shades. This . . . this was heavier, more real.
“Solos,” Deacon spoke softly. He’d dropped to his knees beside him. “Oh man. Oh gods, this is . . .” He reached out, but drew his hands back. “This isn’t right.”
It was never right.
Alex shuffled over to Deacon and her face crumpled a second before she smacked her hands over her cheeks. She turned slightly, her shoulders tensing, and then, after a handful of moments, she appeared to pull it together. When she turned back around, her expression was devoid of emotion.
“We need to bury him with coins,” she whispered. “We need to give him that so he can cross over on the ferry at Styx. Now.”
“Agreed.” Aiden knelt by Solos, and I saw his fingers move over Solos’s face. Oh God, he was closing his eyes. “Gable?”
The Power (Titan #2) Page 28
