The Power

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Rolling my eyes, I shut the door and as I passed Josie, who was getting in, I smacked her ass. Yeah, not exactly the most appropriate time, but I wasn’t the most appropriate person. Her head whipped around, and I winked. She shook her head as she got in, closing the door behind her. A second later, I was behind the steering wheel and then easing out into traffic.

  It wouldn’t take long before someone saw the body. We were going to have to ditch this car and lay low.

  “You hanging in there?” Josie twisted around and asked.

  Gable looked up and slowly turned his head left, then right. “Dude, that was . . . that was some Supernatural shit right there.”

  Alex choked on her laugh. “Man, Deacon is going to love you.”

  “What is Supernatural ?” Hercules asked, frowning.

  “You watched Laguna Beach, but not Supernatural ?” Alex scowled at the demigod. “Man, that is just wrong on so many different levels.”

  As they went back and forth, my attention flipped between the road and the back seat. We had Poseidon’s son, but that shade was still out there, and where there was one, there were more.

  And then there were Titans.

  Josie

  If Gable wasn’t already thoroughly overwhelmed, bringing him to a motel that I was sure had witnessed a ton of overdoses and one or a hundred sex-for-money acts a week, and then introducing him to the rest of the crew, tipped him all the way over the edge.

  All of us crammed into a small motel room that smelled of mothballs. Solos was standing by the window, forever on lookout. Next to Alex was Aiden, leaning against the faded green wall. He’d taken the SUV and ditched it, returning with a white Yukon he’d said would not, under any circumstances, be reported as missing.

  He’d used a compulsion.

  Something I had yet to try. Mainly because it still didn’t feel right to mess with someone’s thoughts. I kept that opinion to myself, though, because I was sure that it wouldn’t be welcome. I’d probably be laughed at a little.

  Deacon and Luke were sitting on the floor. Brave guys. Seth was lounging in front of the door. Somehow, and no one wanted to look a gift horse in the mouth, Herc was asleep, his snore drowning out conversation every couple of minutes.

  Gable sat in a worn chair by a small, scuffed table, and I sat on the edge of the bed. He’d listened to everything we had to say, giving him an introduction to the whole world of pure-bloods and half-bloods. Everyone helped out, touching on the war with Ares and everything that had gone down worldwide because of that. I explained, as best as I could, the whole “you’re a demigod, but your powers are locked and we need to defeat the Titans” thing.

  His wide, startled gaze roamed through the room, and when I had a feeling he was starting to not believe us again, everyone in the room who could control the elements gave him a little show.

  Hours went by as we answered his questions. Well, as the other people answered his questions, because, unsurprisingly, I didn’t know the answers to some of what he was asking.

  Gable seemed to calm down and he was digesting everything. When a lull occurred, broken only by Herc’s snores, I leaned forward. “I know this is overwhelming. I was in your situation not too long ago.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “It’s . . . God, I don’t even know what to say. You know, my mom never talked about my dad.” He laughed, dropping his hand. “I always thought it was because he was some wild one-night stand or something. I mean, she moved on. Multiple times. Marriage is business for her.”

  Seth arched a brow.

  “I wasn’t even sure he was alive,” Gable said, slowly shaking his head. “And I’ve got to be honest, a lot of this is hard to believe. I get what you’re saying. I even understand it, but I’m still having trouble processing it.”

  “That’s understandable.” Deacon grinned up at him. “We grew up in this world. You didn’t.”

  Gable opened his mouth and then closed it. “And you’re a-a pure-blood?”

  “Yep. Technically, we’re called the hematoi, but that’s the snob version of pure-blood,” he replied.

  “And he’s a half-blood.” Gable nodded at Luke, who gave him a thumb’s up. His gaze moved over to Alex and Aiden. “And they used to be a pure and a half, but . . . now are demigods.” When he got a yes from them, he looked at Solos. “And he’s a half-blood?”

  “That’s what I am.”

  Gable looked at Seth, brows puckered. “And you’re the Apot-polla?”

  I laughed. “Wow. That’s not a version I’ve heard before.”

  Seth sighed. “Apollyon.”

  His lips moved as he silently pronounced it, and I had a feeling he was still saying it wrong. “So . . . what do we do now?”

  “We take you back to the University in South Dakota, where you can be protected and trained until we locate the rest of you guys.” Seth pushed off the door and walked across the room. Gable tensed in his chair. “It’s a lot to swallow and you probably have an awesome life here, but that life is going to change. It has to.”

  Seth wasn’t really good at the motivational speeches.

  “You’re very important, not just to us but to the entire world,” Aiden said, obviously seeing the alarm swelling in Gable’s gaze again. “You have a higher calling, Gable.”

  I shot Seth a look as he turned around and rolled his eyes.

  “You will save not only the world, but the Olympians. Not only that, but once your abilities unlock, you’re going to be immortal,” Aiden continued. “So your life you have here, right now, is just a speck. You’ll be able to come back to it, at least for a while, but there . . . there are bigger things waiting for you.”

  Immortal.

  Something I didn’t really think about as I watched Aiden’s little pep talk smooth over Gable’s ruffled edges. I was immortal. Unless someone cut my head off? No. According to Seth, that wouldn’t even kill me. It would hurt, but I guess my neck would reattach. Only a god or another demigod could kill me.

  Or Seth.

  Or a Titan.

  Oh my God, why was I even thinking about that right now? My train of thought had derailed massively, but I was immortal. Seth wasn’t. If the gods left him alone, he would age, and then once he died, he would be indentured to Hades.

  How had I not really thought about that until now? Granted, there were a ton of things going on that had distracted me, more pressing items to think about. So now I needed to figure out how to get him out from under the gods’ thumbs, get his deal undone with Hades without it affecting Aiden, and make sure he was immortal.

  It had to be doable.

  I mean, Apollo had made Aiden immortal, right along with Alex. So it was possible, and I was his daughter. He did it for them. He had to do it for me. I nodded to myself, because that helped cement my belief that there was no way he would refuse my request.

  “What do you think, Josie?”

  I blinked and twisted toward Alex. “I’m sorry. I dazed out. What?”

  Alex’s lips curved up at the corners. “Instead of staying here tonight, Gable says he has enough room at his place for all of us. Then we’ll start to head back in the morning.”

  Glancing back to where Hercules was sprawled across the bed Seth and I were sharing, I cringed. The middle of the already weak bed sagged. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  Waking Hercules up and getting him to his room to gather up his stuff took longer than it ever should’ve, but the guy slept like the dead. For only a handful of minutes, Seth and I were left alone. We quickly packed up our things, shoving them into the oversized travel bags. When we were done, I dropped mine on the bed and started to turn, but Seth walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He didn’t say anything, just skated his lips down the side of my neck.

  Closing my eyes, I leaned back as I settled my hands on his arms. His warm breath and hot mouth had me yearning for more than a few stolen minutes.

  “Do you think this
is smart?” I asked. “Heading to Gable’s house?”

  Seth hesitated and lifted his head. “I don’t know. Part of me thinks it could be a bad idea. We don’t know this guy, but it can’t be any more open and risky than staying in this place. The shade has spotted him. They’ll be out looking for him. Only good thing is they can’t know where he lives. Or they’d already have gone for him.”

  “True.” Turning in his embrace, I looped my arms around his neck as I rested my cheek on his shoulder. “This has been surprisingly easy.”

  “Yeah,” he replied after a moment. “And that’s what worries me.”

  Chapter 28

  “What did you say your mom does for a living?” I asked.

  Gable glanced over at me as we walked up a fancy stone driveway, the kind that has different colored pavers lined up to look like cobblestone. His smile was sheepish. “She used to be an actress, back in the late eighties, early nineties. Not anyone you’d know, probably. Did a lot of B-rated stuff.”

  That B-rated stuff must’ve opened a lot of doors, because Poseidon’s son lived in a mansion. One of the huge houses we’d seen on the bluffs, overlooking the beach and ocean below. The place was a massive stone estate, several stories, complete with some fancy foreign car parked in front of the porch and double-glass doors.

  “Was she in porn?” Hercules asked, and when we all looked at him, he shrugged massive shoulders. “What? We get porn in Olympus.”

  “But not Supernatural ?” Alex asked. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  Hercules squinted. “I must check out this Supernatural.”

  “Is your mother here now?” Aiden glanced over at Solos. If she was, this could be awkward. Of course, they’d break out the compulsion, so they probably weren’t that worried about it.

  Gable shook his head as we walked up the wide set of stairs and then across a covered porch. “She’s actually in Europe with her latest husband.” Stopping by the doors, he tapped his fingers along a small black box. It beeped three times and then flashed green. He opened the door, and cool air rushed out. “No one is here.”

  “Not even servants?” I asked.

  He laughed. “We don’t have servants that live here. We do have cleaners that show up every other day, but it’s just me right now. And you all.”

  “How locked down is this place?” Solos immediately went into security mode, scanning the atrium-style room.

  “Like Alcatraz,” Gable replied, walking forward and around a round table with a beautiful fern sitting in the middle. “Once the alarm is set, no one is getting in without us knowing. We also have motion detectors inside and outside the house that can be turned on. I can hit the inside ones once everyone is down for the night.”

  Directly in front of us, a huge spiral staircase led upstairs. To the right appeared to be some kind of library, and then there was a living room. I was afraid to touch any of the stuff. The furniture looked like it cost more than my college tuition did.

  “Nice place,” commented Luke.

  Seth didn’t say anything as we followed Gable through a dining room with a massive table and really cool-looking chairs with high gray-cushioned backs. Considering that he’d grown up wealthy, he was probably used to a place like this. All of these guys were used to it. After all, just experiencing their University told me that their society practically rolled around in the money.

  Seth actually hadn’t said much the whole drive over here.

  I was sure he just had a lot on his mind. It didn’t help that we were roughly in the same area where we’d spotted the shade.

  When I thought about the shade, I thought about the poor man that had crumpled to the ground with a broken jaw. I knew that, once possessed, there was no saving the mortal, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier to really deal with. That was another life lost, and for what? Did the man even know what happened to him? Would his family be looking for him?

  I sighed, rubbing my fingers along my right brow. The dull pounding of a headache was back again after being gone the last couple of days. It was weird. I was a demigod, so I figured headaches shouldn’t plague me. The only thing I could think of was that maybe it was tied to my lack of sleep.

  We followed Gable into a beautiful kitchen, complete with Shaker-style white cabinets, marble counters, and a gorgeous gray backsplash. The island could seat six, and the eat-in kitchen featured a table nearly as big as the one we’d passed in the formal dining area.

  “Is anyone hungry?” Gable walked around the island.

  “We’re always hungry,” Deacon replied. “Always.”

  Gable smiled at that as he turned to the double-door fridge. “I think I have some frozen pizza I can pop in the oven.” He paused, glancing over his shoulder at us. “Or we can order out.”

  “I don’t think that would be wise,” Aiden replied, leaning against the island. “Frozen pizza is cool.”

  Gable hesitated and then nodded. “Cool.” He pulled out two frozen pizzas, turned on the double oven, and then faced us. “I can show you guys around if you want.”

  “Yes.” Solos appeared in the kitchen doorway. “I want to check the place out.”

  I glanced at Seth, but he was watching Gable like a hawk. All of us shuffled back out into the atrium. The tour was surprisingly quick. A movie room was behind the staircase, like a real movie room, complete with a projector and a popcorn machine. Adjacent to the theatre was a billiards room. Aiden lingered at the pool tables. I found that funny, because I really couldn’t picture him playing pool. The dartboards had caught Deacon’s eye. Alex was checking out an arcade game. Looked like it involved shooting asteroids or something. The wall sported a TV as big as the one in the living room. We’d briefly lost Hercules outside by the lit pool. Upstairs there were more than enough bedrooms for everyone. I stopped counting at six. The strategically placed cameras throughout the house impressed Solos and Aiden.

  Rich people took security seriously.

  Seth and I ended up in a guest bedroom that looked to have been decorated by a professional designer. It was a tranquil mix of pale blue and white. Reminded me of the photos in Good Housekeeping. Granny was a huge fan of that magazine.

  Everyone was either in their rooms, dumping their stuff, or downstairs, where Gable was putting the pizzas in the oven. Solos was sticking close to him.

  I watched Seth place our bags on a pale blue bench in front of the queen bed. “You don’t really trust Gable, do you?”

  “It isn’t anything personal.” He walked over to a matching dresser, dropping his stolen sunglasses on the top. “We don’t know him. Anything about him. And he’s handling things pretty damn well.”

  “Too well?”

  He raised a shoulder. “He’s downstairs making pizza for us. A bunch of strangers who just told him that we’re descendants of Greek gods.”

  I dropped down on the edge of the bed and sank into its softness. “Good point, but after I got my initial freak-out over and done with, I went along with you.”

  He walked over, stopping in front of me. “You also got to sleep off a lot of the shock.”

  “And I used you as my Pillow Pet—”

  “And drooled on me.”?

  I rolled my eyes. “I did not drool on you, but the point is, that yes, this is a lot to swallow, but it’s not impossible to process and deal with.”

  “Hmm . . .” He knelt in front of me, wrapping his hands around my calves.

  Cocking my head to the side, I smiled slightly. “What are you up to?”

  “Nothing.” He kissed my right knee and then my left. “Okay. I’m up to something. Thinking about breaking this bed in.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I laughed, slipping my fingers through his hair. “You have a one-track mind.”

  “At least it’s on a fun track, right?”

  “Yeah.” I slid my fingers out of his hair, down his cheek. Tipping his chin up, I studied his face. He was strikingly beautiful, unreal in a way, but there were so many layers
to him. So much more than a sculpted face and body.

  He turned his head, kissing my palm. “You doing okay?”

  I thought of the nightmare from last night. “Yes. Of course.”

  Those startling eyes met mine. “You’ve been rubbing at your brow and temple a lot. What’s up with that?”

  Damn. He was observant. “Just have a minor headache. Not a big deal. I think it’s just lack of consistent sleep.”

  “Then maybe you should rest,” he offered, kissing my palm again. “I can grab some slices and bring them up to you.” He started to rise.

  I stopped him. “I’m not sleepy. I swear I’m fine.”

  He appeared to consider that. “What were you thinking about earlier?”

  “When?”