Still processing what was happening, Quintus missed the quick movement from the creature. A hard punch landed on his already broken ribs.
He gritted his teeth through the pain as he skidded across the floor from the impact. A fiery pain radiated out from his chest.
It hurt like hell, and he was sure now at least a few of the bones were broken, but he’d seen worse.
This time he sprung from the floor, managing to knock the Glycon’s feet out from under him. Once the creature hit the floor, Quintus jumped on his chest, slamming his fist into the side of his head.
As if Quintus were a rag doll, the Glycon tossed him to the side.
This time the hybrid shot to his feet. His focus and adrenaline allowed him to ignore the growing pain for the moment.
They circled one another, waiting for the other to slip up. Allow an opportunity to break in.
This guy was too big though. Even if Quintus did get a chance, he might have a moment to land a hit, but the impact just wouldn’t be enough.
He needed more. To win, he needed an edge over the creature.
With all his strength, he leapt against the side of a nearby machine and used it as a spring board to launch himself at the Glycon.
Quintus slammed hard into Thrax’s side, knocking his head hard against the pipes.
The Glycon remained standing, but Quintus had heard the loud ping from the pipes. The force might have been just enough to throw the enemy off balance.
Again Quintus sprinted forward and snapped his leg up to land a solid kick to the Glycon’s head.
Thrax shook his head several times now, apparently trying to regain some sort of balance but failing to do so as he staggered around.
Nearby Quintus could hear Agatha calling out and knew that he couldn’t afford to waste more time.
He leapt to the nearest machine and looked around the room. He could just make out the blond hair of Agatha as she moved around the corner.
“Fight Thrax,” the Glycon shouted to him.
He could see that the creature was still dazed by the blows but wouldn’t be for much longer.
Quintus ignored the call to finish and made his way to the only thing that mattered at that moment.
Allison.
* * *
Ms. Anderson’s sharp heels clacked outside the hole as Allison held her breath, hoping that the smell of the coal would be enough.
She peeked through the hole as the crazed woman moved by. Only her shoes were visible.
A small patter of something hit the floor as she walked. It took her a moment to realize that it was blood.
Allison fist bumped herself for effectively nailing the other woman.
As the footsteps moved away, she let out a small sigh of relief. Now she just had to make it until Quintus could find her. She wasn’t quite sure how that was going to happen being covered in soot, but it was better than the alternative.
“Oops,” Ms. Anderson called out. “It looks like I may have turned on the machines. It’s amazing that so many of them still work.”
Suddenly, the very floor under Allison’s feet began to shake and rumble as the old mill sprang to life.
She stared at the soot around her, and the danger all came crashing down around her in the worst way. Likely her hiding spot was about to get a whole lot hotter from the looks of things.
Allison pulled herself back through the hole, not nearly as quiet as she had been climbing down, but with the rumble of the machines, she was masked enough. Or at least she hoped.
She looked around and was glad to not find Ms. Anderson waiting like she’d expected. Staying low, she moved between the machines, careful to watch for her stalker around every corner.
Something thumped behind her, and she nearly screamed as a hand landed on her shoulder.
“It’s me,” Quintus whispered.
Tears welled in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him.
“I’ve got you,” he said into her ear.
“Well, isn’t this sweet,” Ms. Anderson called from nearby.
“Agatha,” he nearly shouted.
Quintus pressed her back against the machine. He stood directly in front of her as he faced off against Agatha.
“Such a sweet reunion,” the red-eyed woman mocked. Allison looked around his large form to where the other woman stood. “Too bad it has to end.”
Suddenly Quintus was on the ground, grappling with the large Glycon.
The massive creature fought with a fury it hadn’t before. Quintus groaned as a fist slammed into his side.
“Coward,” the Glycon spit out.
Never in his life did Quintus think he’d hear a Glycon use the word coward.
“I will take her,” the Glycon grunted.
Quintus looked over to where Allison stood against the wall, her face on his as Agatha made her way slowly over. Likely enjoying the show.
“Like hell you will,” he grunted.
He boosted his feet up and flipped the heavy Glycon over his head and onto its back. It landed with a howl on the pipes.
Quintus leapt up and grabbed the nearest pipe. With all his strength, he pulled it loose and slammed Agatha’s arm. The scream she let out made his ears ring.
The arm hung at an off angle, and there was no question that he’d broken it.
Quintus once again placed himself between Allison and the enemy, willing to do whatever he needed to keep her safe.
At the other end of the room, the door slammed open. Vitus and Atticus rushed in, followed by Nero and Rem.
“They ran,” Vitus shouted out. “Your fucking dogs just ran.”
Quintus watched the anger that filled the face of the large Glycon.
“Let’s go,” Agatha said to Thrax.
The Glycon looked as if he wanted to argue for a moment.
Agatha gestured with a casualness that didn’t match the obvious pain shown on her contorted face. “They’ve won, but this isn’t the prize we seek. They aren’t important. Remember the stone.”
Thrax snorted loudly as he picked up Agatha in his arms just as the other hybrids came to stand beside Quintus.
“You should have taken the deal, Rem,” Agatha called out to their leader with a smile, blood dripping down her face as she spoke. “You’ll regret it.”
Rem crossed his arms over his chest and raised a brow. “You’re not so hot these days, Agatha.”
Her face contorted in rage. “I should turn you all in to the Horatius Group,” she hissed. “They’ll make you suffer before they kill you.”
Quintus let out a growl, as did several of the other hybrids. Rem let out a snort.
“I doubt it,” he said. “Pretty sure they don’t know you’ve taken some of their property. You’re already a screw up. Call the Group, and I’m sure you’re death will be and slow and painful.” He shrugged. “Before they dissect you.”
Agatha gave one last huff before nodding to the open door. “This isn’t the end,” she hissed. “I don’t need the Group to destroy you.”
With a speed Quintus had never seen, the Glycon burst through the door into the midday sun.
“Should we go after them?” Atticus shouted.
Rem shook his head. “We’re in no shape for another battle.”
Atticus frowned. “Speak for yourself,” he mumbled.
Quintus groaned as his body slumped against the hard metal behind him. Dimly he could feel Allison as she passed a hand over his brow.
“You’re burning up,” she whispered.
He smiled as he stared at her mossy green eyes. “You look beautiful,” he mumbled.
Allison frowned down at him. “You nearly died, and that’s what you have to say?”
Quintus tried to laugh, but the world was already collapsing around him. Fighting had drained all his energy.
“Quintus?” she called out to him as he faded into the darkness.
Chapter Twenty-one
Allison sat beside him as he slept. His sweet blue eyes w
ere still closed as he breathed heavily.
“He’ll be fine.”
She jumped as Rem came to stand behind her.
He had been so gentle with him, making sure the men took care of him and didn’t cause any further damage. It made her feel like shit for ever questioning him.
“How can you be sure?” Allison asked.
He lifted his shirt and pointed to four ribs on his side. “Broke all of them during a training exercise with the Group,” he said. “Thought I might die, but instead it only felt like I was going to. Among other things, we can take a beating and heal quickly.”
She nodded. It seemed they had all walked away from the battle with more than a few wounds.
“But he’s got something I didn’t at the time.”
Allison frowned. “What’s that?”
Rem turned and smiled at her. “His Vestal.”
Hearing the words only warmed her. Made her want to protect him more.
“You share a connection,” Rem said. “You draw off the same force that helped create us,” he said and pulled the sheet down from Quintus’s chest slightly. “Touch the marking.”
Allison leaned forward. The memory of the feeling it gave her to touch the tattoo was still vivid in her mind.
She should have laughed. Act like what he was saying made no sense to her at all.
But it did. For some reason it did.
Allison cleared her mind of all the doubt and placed her hand on the beautiful blue lines.
A warm blue hum filled the room. It wasn’t around her. It was her.
It was like her whole body was vibrating as the glow grew brighter.
Quintus blinked his eyes opened. They shined with a light she’d never seen from him before.
“What...” she said. His words faded as the hum continued to grow.
Allison felt herself shake a little.
“That should be enough,” Rem whispered.
She let go, her body still shaking and slightly more exhausted than before.
“Drink this,” Rem said and placed the glass in her hand.
Allison greedily sucked down the juice he handed her.
“What was that?” Quintus asked.
Rem looked between the two of them. “I still can’t quite explain it, but I believe the connection allows us to draw from our Vestals,” he said. “Much like we might draw from the stone.”
Allison finished the drink and passed the empty glass back to him.
“Thank you,” Rem said quietly to her. “For being the one to save him.”
Allison’s cheeks heated. She hadn’t saved him. All she’d done was place her hand on him.
She was surprised when Quintus reached out and laced their hands together, his touch no longer fevered and weak.
“Agatha is up to something,” he said to Rem. “She mentioned the stone.”
She watched as Rem pressed his mouth in a firm line.
“I suspected as much,” he said. “We’re not worth her attention by ourselves.”
“What are we going to do?” Allison asked.
Rem smiled at her. “Nothing for now,” he said. “We’re at a bit of a stalemate. If we try to take her out, she may alert the Group, even if it puts her at risk. The big advantage we have is that since we know she’s here, she’ll probably pull her Glycons back and the people will of Eagle Ridge will be safe for now. So for now we make plans.”
Quintus sat up in bed. She noticed he winced but stroked her palm with his thumb.
“Plans? Plans for what?” Quintus asked.
Rem paused at the door to the bed room. “Plans for war.” He nodded at them both. “Rest up.” He left.
Quintus still felt the tickle of the connection humming through them. It should have concerned him that Rem used them both to test a theory, but it was hard to disagree with something that felt so natural.
“You okay?” he asked.
Allison gave a small laugh. Tears trickled down her soot-covered face. “I think I’m supposed to be the one asking that.”
He opened his arms in order to pull her tightly against his chest.
Her wet cheeks pressed against he chest, and there was a rightness about the feeling.
“You really shouldn’t be doing that,” she whispered. “You were injured.”
Quintus stroked her dirty hair. “And now I’m not.”
She tilted her head and stared up at him. “I thought you were gone… I thought I’d never…”
The tears flowed freely now, and he only hugged her tighter.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ll never leave you. Never.”
She leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his lips. The touch was so sweet and pure, it made him ache for more.
When she pulled back, she stared deeply into his eyes.
“I love you,” Allison said with conviction. “I know it’s crazy, and I know it shouldn’t work this way, but I know what I feel. I am crazy in love with you.”
He sat, somewhat stunned by her words. He hoped to hear her say those words so many times, but now she had, he wasn’t quite sure what to say back.
Quintus pulled her back against his chest. The woman he never knew he wanted but couldn’t live without now that he had her.
“You have my heart,” he said to her. “From now and until forever. I am your and you are mine. I love you.”
She nodded against him and when she looked up, he smiled at her sweet tears.
He brought her in for another kiss. This one deep. His tongue delving into her sweet mouth.
When she pulled away, they were both panting for air.
“I don’t think patients are supposed to be making out after nearly being killed.” She frowned at him.
Quintus laughed. A deep one that made his whole body ache.
And this was why he loved her. There wasn’t another living soul that made him feel like she did.
“What about a sponge bath?” Quintus said and raised a brow. “What’s the consensus on that?”
He watched as Allison nibbled her bottom lip before sliding over onto the bed.
“I think that can be arranged,” she whispered.
Quintus grinned. “And after?”
She glanced down at his lap. Her eyes growing wide for a moment before looking back at him, the lust evident.
“I think we might be able to find a happy ending.”
Quintus grinned. Just what he always wanted. A happy ending.
A Note from Madison
Thank you for reading Quintus. If you enjoyed this book, please consider reviewing it. We authors live and die by reviews.
Please keep an eye out for the next book in the series, Atticus.
You can join my mailing list at http://eepurl.com/OX9r5
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Author Bio
Madison currently lives with her husband and two children in the Valley of the Sun in Arizona. After leaving the frozen tundra of the north, she was more surprised than anyone with how much she has enjoyed living in the desert. Seeing as she stated on more than one occasion before moving to Arizona how much she hated heat, it was an odd move, but it seems her hatred for sub-zero temperatures and ice has won out in the end.
When she’s not writing, she’s enjoying time with her family. Madison and her family frequent festivals in the area, as well as local cultural events, and spend time with family in the area. In the summer, she is most likely to be found in the pool with the family and in the winter by the fireplace. Since both her children are autistic, days can be a little chaotic, but with her husband beside her, there’s nothing she can’t handle.
Her webpage is http://madisonstevensauthor.com/
She can be contacted at [email protected]
Quintus: #7 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) Page 10
