Reluctant Gods (The Awakening Book 2)

by Keri Armstrong

  “Enough,” Azkuran said impatiently. “Do I need to carry you?”

  “That would not be necessary,” Nadia said evenly.

  I had to admire her steady voice. Even surrounded with a bunch of Awakened sociopaths it didn’t waver.

  “But I would like to see who I am speaking to, first,” she said.

  Azkuran frowned. “I thought you were blind.”

  “Here,” I said, placing her hands on my face.

  Tenderly she moved them about, a smile crossing her lips. “You are even prettier than Nathan said, and he thinks you are beautiful.”

  I couldn’t look at him. My face was growing warm and I wondered if he was as embarrassed as I was.

  “Uh, it’s a recent development.” I said.

  She lowered her hands. “Thank you. And you?” She turned in the direction where Azkuran had last spoken.

  I stepped aside and looked at him, wondering if he would go through it or not.

  He gave a little snort but strode purposefully and lowered his head toward Nadia. “Go on,” he snapped.

  She was startled by his sudden proximity but raised her hands nevertheless. Her movements were timid but thorough. With the tip of her fingers she traced his forehead then continued downward. He closed his eyes while she explored.

  I didn’t know if I imagined the slight hitch in his breath when she traced his lips.

  His usual calm appeared slightly shaken as he stood back to his full, impressive height. He frowned at her then glared at me.

  He turned abruptly. Let’s go.”

  I took Nadia by the hand and was prepared to follow when shouting erupted behind us. Before I had a chance to process what was happening, a familiar voice yelled.

  “Phoebe, duck!”

  I did, not even bothering to turn around, pulling Nadia with me. A fireball flew over us, missing missed Azkuran by a hair.

  Almost instantaneously he reached for something in his belt and threw it toward the courtyard just the sound of screaming erupted.

  I turned and was both terrified and overjoyed by the sight in front of me.

  Engaged in a heated battle with the guards and attendants were Caleb, Laurent, Gabe, and Sara. With them were some others I didn’t recognize, along with two whom I had met briefly before: Caleb’s sister Cassandra, and their mother, Nia. I knew Nia to be a witch, because she had once come to one of our ceremonies.

  Of course, she didn’t display the firepower then that I was witnessing now, but I guess she was saving that for another time, another revelation.

  Regardless, I was glad to see her.

  My mouth dropped, though, when Cassandra turned into wolf in the blink of an eye. A very vicious wolf, that went straight for the jugular of a nearby attendant who had just raised a knife. The blade dropped harmlessly to the ground along with his dead body.

  Azkuran pulled Nadia and me to our feet just as Cian twisted Nathan’s neck and threw him to the ground, unmoving. I screamed his name and ran toward him, while Nadia yelled behind me. At the same time, Cian disappeared, as did Liang and Kiya.

  “You two stay here,” Azkuran ordered as I ran to do a quick check of Nathan’s pulse and Nadia scrambled along the floor to find me. My fingertips found a tiny beat under his skin. “He’s still alive.”

  “Don’t leave this spot,” Azkuran said, then disappeared.

  Yeah, right.

  A second later it occurred to me why he wasn’t too concerned about us going anywhere. Whatever he had thrown toward the courtyard prevented anyone from getting in, and us from getting out.

  I banged my hand against the invisible barrier, watching helplessly as the battle raged on. I couldn’t even raise a flicker of power.

  “Tell me what’s happening,” Nadia said, surprisingly calm.

  I looked out in time to see Sara send a flash of energy straight at one of the guards. The guard was on the verge of taking down a large fox that must have been on our side. She was so powerful it gave me chills.

  I smiled in pride. “The Calvary’s arrived.”

  “The what?”

  I looked and saw Nadia’s confusion.

  How could she not know what the cavalry meant… Oh, right. Psycho father, chains.

  Tears sprang to my eyes. “Help is here,” I explained softly.

  A sudden thought. “Nadia, do you know how people can suppress magic? And how to turn it back on?”

  Her pretty face screwed in concentration. “I know that wolfsbane can keep a shifter from changing. I’m not sure about witches.”

  Shoot. No help. I looked at our surroundings. There must be another way. I eyed the opening to the palace, wondering if I could possibly find something in there. Or if we might find another tunnel out of here.

  My attention was snagged by a flare of fire outside.

  Holy fireballs! Nia stood in the middle of a circle of flames, hands outstretched and lips moving in what had to be a spell. She was looking right at me.

  But what got me wasn’t her spellcasting or the flames that kept others from getting to her. It was the flamethrower itself.

  And Ammon said there weren’t any dragons here. Liar.

  But this one was clearly with the cavalry. It swooped in and out swiftly, dodging attacks from spears, blades, and Awakened tech. I couldn’t even imagine how it had gotten in here. It was massive.

  “Go, dragon,” I yelled when it skillfully dodged something Liang had thrown at it, and managed to knock Kiya off her feet at the same time using its massive tail.

  I grinned. That had to hurt.

  “There’s a dragon?” Nadia gasped.

  I laughed. “I know, right? And Ammon said there weren’t any here.”

  “There aren’t. At least, not in this immediate area.”

  Still reeling from the sight, I almost didn’t notice when I felt a flicker of energy stirring inside me.

  I looked up and caught Nia’s eye. Even as her lips continued to move, even with a battle and a ring of fire raging around her, I could see triumph.

  Nadia stirred beside me. “Do you feel that?”

  “I think I do.”

  She gently moved Nathan’s shoulder, attempting to wake him.

  He was still out cold.

  I bent down to check his pulse, letting her know what I was doing so she wouldn’t be startled.

  “There’s no need,” she said. “His breathing is steady, and I can hear his heartbeat.”

  Oh. Super hearing, I guess. “Good. I think Nia is doing something to either break the field around or restore our power. I’m good either way.”

  “Nia?”

  I nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see. “Caleb’s mom. She’s a witch, like him.”

  She frowned. “Caleb? Sara’s friend?”

  “Yes. He told you about them?” I referred to Nathan, and she stroked his hair.

  “He tells me everything.”

  I wondered just what that encompassed, and wasn’t sure how I felt about it. But that wasn’t important right now.

  I flexed my hand a few times, testing. The tingle grew stronger.

  “Nadia, is there a way to force a shift? Some way we could make Nathan shift, even if he’s unconscious.”

  Her lips turned down. “Only an Alpha could do that.”

  Well crap. We were fresh out of those. But that was still for the best.

  “Okay. We need to think of a way out of here. I think my power is coming back and I need to help my friends out there. I’m going to take you and Nathan inside and hide you—”

  “No. He’s getting stronger. He’ll want to be here when he wakes.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not safe for either of you here if that barrier comes down. I know a little of this portion of the palace. You can stay out of sight there and if he wakes up while you’re hiding, you two can decide what to do next. But I can’t help you both right now.”

  She wavered then acquiesced.

  I went to the entrance by onto the portico, relieved
when I found it was still open. I ran back to Nadia and between the two of us, we pulled Nathan along.

  Liang suddenly appeared before us as we entered. I quickly glanced back to where she’d been fighting Cassandra and Sara. They looked confused.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting us to safety, somewhere we can hide in here. If that barrier comes down, what do you think will happen to us now that we’ve joined your side?”

  I really hoped she bought that.

  She glanced back toward the windows where Nia was still hard at work.

  “Fine. Quickly, follow me.”

  Damn it. I didn’t want her hiding us.

  “Where are we going? I was going to take them behind the dining area into a hidden alcove that Ammon showed me. That way we can immediately get a sense of who’s coming if anyone breaches the barrier.”

  She hesitated, and I could see she was itching to get back out there. “Go then, and wait for us.”

  I nodded obediently and hurried off. When I glanced back, she was gone.

  I gave Nadia the directions as we went. “Only a few more steps and we’ll be there.”

  She counted under her breath as we pulled Nathan along.

  Man, he was heavy for a shorter guy.

  Once I had them settled, I took a moment to catch my breath. Concentrate and gather power. It waxed and waned. I’m guessing to the tune of how close the attacks to Nia got.

  “C’mon,” I whispered, encouraging myself and them.

  Trying to stay out of sight, I made my way back to where I could watch the fighting. I slipped back out onto the portico and hid behind a planter.

  I nearly cheered aloud when I saw Gabe take down Kiyo, for good.

  She wouldn’t be missed.

  I was thrilled to see that the number of guards and attendants to good guys was evening out. Likely due to the one-dragon airforce.

  Looking out at the carnage, I was momentarily grateful to Azkuran’s barrier. I could see mouths open, screaming, and charcoaled flesh smoking from dragon attacks.

  My gag reflex kicked in again, remembering all too well the smell of roast Awakened. I could do without that again. I swallowed, hard. Now was no time to be a sissy. My people needed help.

  There were maybe a dozen or so moving bodies on the battlefield, and many, many still ones.

  Caleb was engaged in a match with Cian, Azkuran and Laurent were using weapons I’d never seen. It looked like they were going all Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader on each other with lasers. Cassandra and Sara were double-teaming Liang. Gabriel Lara, who’d dispatched an attendant mano-a-mano only moments before, shifted in front of my eyes and I nearly fell back on my ass. He was enormous. He looked a bit like Nathan had, only much, much bigger. In seconds, he and another chupacabra were battling it out. The large fox I’d seen earlier and another wolf were each tackling some of Ammon’s old attendants. The dragon was still providing protection for Nia, taking down a couple of Magi who’d made their way to her.

  I continued to pull on the earth around me, sucking in power as Nia’s spell grew in strength. Her attention faltered when the large black wolf was struck down with a blade. I felt her silent scream from here.

  It was enough.

  I gathered every molecule of power she’d sent my way. Absorbed it, twisted it into armor around my body, and shot out a blast at Azkuran’s invisible wall.

  The reverberation as it fell knocked me backwards. Right into Nadia and Nathan who’d come up behind me. At least, I hoped it was them. I whirled, hand raised in case it was some of the other chupacabras, and they immediately lowered their heads.

  “Oh, thank God,” I breathed. I looked at Nathan, whose canine form was finally familiar to me. I gestured toward Nadia. “Watch after her.”

  They both snarled at me and I had a moment of doubt but they ran past me into the fray. My mouth dropped as Nadia seemed to have no trouble joining in the fight. I briefly wondered if it was some keen sense of smell or hearing, but had no time to consider it.

  I ran out and made a beeline for Sara.

  And got tackled by Cassandra. As she was going for my throat, I screamed, “Cass, what are you doing? It’s me, Phoebe.”

  She sniffed and I raised my handless arm at her. She backed off then with a questioning whine in her throat.

  Yeah, I’d forgotten. Extreme Makeover. “Long story,” I choked out.

  She gave a canine chuff and whirled away, back into the fight.

  My heart playing pitty-pat with my ribs, I pulled back up to my feet. Just in time to see Liang send some sort of missile toward Nadia.

  I gathered a bolt of energy and shot it toward her at the same time Sara did. She went down and Cass finished her off.

  Sara’s eyes met mine from across the field and widened. “Phoebe?” she mouthed.

  I grinned and ran for her, only to be tripped by Cian who’d escaped Caleb.

  He loomed over me. “I guess you picked your side, Mutt.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, the right one.”

  He made a grab for me and would probably bash my head with a single blow but Nathan jumped between us. Nadia and the huge fox leaped on Cian’s back as he went for Nathan. He shook them off easily and his large hands went for Nathan’s throat. A blast of light hit him in the face and he stumbled backwards. Another got him from the side, and I leapt to my feet to help finish him off as Sara and Caleb ran up to me. With Nathan, Nadia, and the fox attacking his arms and legs, Cian wasn’t able to draw a weapon in time.

  In short order, he was gone.

  I whirled around, looking at the field and watching the caves for fear other Awakened would appear. Cassandra let out a yelp as one of the guards, whom we’d thought was down, shot a bolt at the dragon who’d been heading for Azkuran. He went down, hard, the ground shaking before transforming into a dark-haired, naked young man. Nearby, Nia was attending the black wolf along with Gabriel whose naked human body had my jaw dropping.

  Cassandra ran off to see to the former dragon and the fox followed behind her, looking somehow dejected.

  Only Azkuran and Laurent were left engaging.

  I started toward them, adrenaline buzzing through my veins. “Let’s go.”

  Nadia and Nathan followed but Caleb yelled, “Stop.”

  I looked back at him, stunned.

  “We can’t. This is his battle,” he said.

  The two chupacabras looked at them then sat down. Nathan nudged me with his nose, trying to push me back.

  Sara came up to me and put her arm around my waist, and I hugged her fiercely as we silently watched the two fighters.

  They appeared evenly matched, and strangely, Azkuran wasn’t going for any of his secret weapons. They merely circled one another like snarling dogs.

  Azkuran’s face showed more emotion than I’d yet seen from him. “You dared?”

  Laurent bared his teeth in a semblance of a smile. “I dare. Maybe you should have stayed napping longer because you look like hell.”

  Azkuran attacked him without another word.

  They traded punches, but they were too closely matched.

  In every way, I noticed. Azkuran looked like a strange imitation of Laurent. Same long blond hair, same gold eyes. But whereas Azkuran’s eyes glowed with an inhuman, cat-like sheen, Laurent’s, while unusual, had always seemed more human to me. Like a strange hazel.

  And while Azkuran was a foot or so taller, Laurent was no shortcake. He was at least six-four and was holding his own. But then Azkuran succeeded in outbalancing Laurent, which gave him just enough time to hit something on his belt and do his disappearing act. Most likely, slithered back down to his secret lab.

  Laurent shouted in frustration.

  “Shall we try to find him?” Caleb asked.

  Laurent shook his head, his hair falling around his handsome face. A face, I realized with a chill, bore a distinct resemblance to Azkuran’s. I looked at Sara questioningly but she just looked at me, confused.

>   “You don’t see it?” I whispered.

  “See what?”

  I just shook my head, suddenly weary and just overwhelmingly happy to see her again. I pulled Sara into a full-on hug, which she returned happily. Caleb joined us and I stiffened, remembering all that he’d known and kept from us. For the moment, I’d let it rest. I was just too happy to see my cousin again.

  But soon, Caleb. One day soon, you and I are going to have a little talk.

  He pulled back and looked at me as if he’d heard my silent promise. I gave him a narrow glance then smiled again before Sara could notice anything wrong.

  Caleb nodded slightly, acknowledging the day of reckoning to come.

  I looked up to see Laurent and Gabe, who’d thankfully pulled on a black sweatsuit, watching us carefully.

  “I am so glad to see all of you guys,” I said.

  “Look at you,” Sara beamed twirling me.

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “You look just like me!” She grinned but then it faltered, and I could tell she got the implications.

  Caleb seemed to just notice, too, and was starting to frown. “I saw your aura first, because your back was to me. That’s how I knew.”

  “And what about you?” I said to Sara, just to shift the subject away from me. I was uncomfortable with the way they were all looking at me.

  Except for Gabe. You’d think nothing had changed. I found comfort in that.

  “Those were some serious kick ass moves,” I praised her.

  She preened jokingly. “I know, right?”

  “She’s a natural,” Caleb added, proudly.

  Nia came toward us, walking next to a large, dark-haired man I didn’t recognize, but figured was the large black wolf who’d gone down earlier. Behind them, Cassandra and a younger guy—maybe 19 or so—walked on either side of the one who must have been the dragon. So that made the half-Asian younger guy the fox, I supposed.

  As they made their way to us, I realized that all of the shifters were wearing similar sweatsuits. Quick pull-on, I guessed. I wondered where they came from but decided to ask about that later.

  “Now what?” Caleb asked.

  “We search this place quickly then burn it to the ground,” Gabe suggested.

  Laurent nodded. “I like the sound of that.”