The Power
Page 49
Bursting out the front doors and into the cooler evening air, I made my way past the small army of Guards. They had already begun setting up a line in front of the dorm.
I stopped, grabbing the collar of one of the older Guard members. His eyes widened with surprise as I lifted him up on the tips of his toes. “Try actually defending the students this time. If this line is broken when I get back, I’m not going to be happy, and that means you’re not going to be walking for the next week or month. Feel me?”
The older man swallowed hard and nodded. Letting him go, I sure as hell hoped, for his sake, he got the message. Last time, the possessed Guards and Sentinels had gotten right into the dorm and right to Josie.
That knowledge ate at me as I forged forward. After what had happened that night, I’d told myself I wouldn’t put duty before Josie, and I was doing it again. A ball of dread settled in my stomach like lead. The nymph’s words floated through my thoughts as I cut across the quad, heading for the walls. Was I going down the same path again?
Up ahead, I could see Sentinels racing forward. Smoke billowed from the vicinity of the main wall and spilled into the courtyard. Shadows moved inside the dense smoke, and from a distance it looked like a macabre dance. In about ten seconds, I caught up to Alex and Aiden, and it was more than a little bizarre falling into step beside them. As we drew closer, the scent of burnt trees and something far more pungent filled the air.
Aiden glanced over at me. “Lose your shirt, man?”
Back in the day, that question would’ve opened the door for the perfect comeback, one that usually involved Alex. Now? I lifted my hand and flipped him off. “Anyone know what’s going—?”
A white-garbed Guard staggered out of the smoke, the front of his outfit splashed with red. His throat was torn open, revealing the pink, congealed tissue and shattered bone. The Guard went down on one knee and then crumpled.
“Daimons,” Alex said, flipping the dagger in her hand. “Or a mountain lion.”
Reaching to my side, I unhooked one of the daggers. “I’m going to go with a daimon.”
“That’s a relief.” Alex slowed her step. “Because I really don’t want to kill a kitty.”
I paused long enough to look at her. She tossed a grin in my direction.
Aiden moved ahead, throwing up a hand, stopping us. “Hold on a second.” He moved his arm, holding his palm out toward the thick smoke. A slight ripple of power sparked. Wind picked up behind us, turning into a heavy, churning gust. The stream moved over the courtyard, lifting the smoke and blowing it back.
Holy shit, there were daimons everywhere, and the titanium gate was open. A few bodies littered the ground and as the wind settled, I realized all those still standing were halfs, which explained why no one had summoned wind yet, and on the ground . . .
Shit.
Dead and/or dying pures.
Some still being fed on, like a scene straight out of a zombie horror.
Aiden looked over his shoulder. “Being able to control all the elements has its bennies.”
Huh. Look at Aiden, being all demigod and stuff. “Cute,” I said, stepping over a fallen Sentinel. “But can you still fight?”
Alex snorted as a daimon lifted its head from the neck of some damn pure who should’ve never been out here, thinking he stood a chance. The daimon was a half. There were no razor-sharp teeth or creepy-ass black eyes. The male looked normal. Well, with the exception of the blood pouring from its mouth and the skin stuck between its teeth.
Daimons were such messy eaters.
They chewed and bit to get at the aether in the blood and they weren’t exactly particular about what area they went for. This one was as cliché as the last one. Had gone straight for the throat. Daimons were drawn to pures because they had more aether.
The male tilted its head to the side and sniffed the air. A slow smile split across its gruesome face, and a second later it sprang to its feet. Behind him, several daimons turned toward us.
But demigods and an Apollyon? We were chock-full of aether goodness and our appearance was like ringing the damn dinner bell.
“Can I still fight?” Aiden asked, smirking.
Flipping the dagger in my hand, I rolled my eyes. A second later the half daimon rushed Aiden’s back, and in the last moment, Aiden spun, kicking his leg out. His booted foot caught the daimon just below the knee, the impact shattering the bone. The daimon went down, and oh yeah, that fucker was going to be out for the count. It started to climb back up, but Aiden caught it in the chest, with a dagger.
Daimons who used to be half-bloods didn’t implode in a shimmery dust. When they died, they died like the rest of us. A pile of flesh and bone that looked like any number of dead bodies. This one fell backward, eyes clouding over.
“Yeah,” Aiden said. “I can still fight.”
“Lucky us,” I drawled, moving forward. “What would we do without you?”
However Aiden responded was lost in the shrill, annoying-as-hell scream of an oncoming daimon. It was a pure, and this one looked jacked the hell up. Skin leached of all color. Eyes nothing but black pits. Teeth like a damn shark’s.
And it was time to play.
Meeting the daimon head-on, I slipped under its widespread arms and popped up behind it. Landing a kick in the back, I jumped on top of it as it fell, then slammed the dagger deep into its back. The daimon froze and then imploded like a mini-glitter bomb.
I threw myself into the fight. Could’ve taken that dumbass out with one jab, but nah. I needed to work out the pent-up frustration. I needed to get it out of my system.
I stopped, grabbing the collar of one of the older Guard members. His eyes widened with surprise as I lifted him up on the tips of his toes. “Try actually defending the students this time. If this line is broken when I get back, I’m not going to be happy, and that means you’re not going to be walking for the next week or month. Feel me?”
The older man swallowed hard and nodded. Letting him go, I sure as hell hoped, for his sake, he got the message. Last time, the possessed Guards and Sentinels had gotten right into the dorm and right to Josie.
That knowledge ate at me as I forged forward. After what had happened that night, I’d told myself I wouldn’t put duty before Josie, and I was doing it again. A ball of dread settled in my stomach like lead. The nymph’s words floated through my thoughts as I cut across the quad, heading for the walls. Was I going down the same path again?
Up ahead, I could see Sentinels racing forward. Smoke billowed from the vicinity of the main wall and spilled into the courtyard. Shadows moved inside the dense smoke, and from a distance it looked like a macabre dance. In about ten seconds, I caught up to Alex and Aiden, and it was more than a little bizarre falling into step beside them. As we drew closer, the scent of burnt trees and something far more pungent filled the air.
Aiden glanced over at me. “Lose your shirt, man?”
Back in the day, that question would’ve opened the door for the perfect comeback, one that usually involved Alex. Now? I lifted my hand and flipped him off. “Anyone know what’s going—?”
A white-garbed Guard staggered out of the smoke, the front of his outfit splashed with red. His throat was torn open, revealing the pink, congealed tissue and shattered bone. The Guard went down on one knee and then crumpled.
“Daimons,” Alex said, flipping the dagger in her hand. “Or a mountain lion.”
Reaching to my side, I unhooked one of the daggers. “I’m going to go with a daimon.”
“That’s a relief.” Alex slowed her step. “Because I really don’t want to kill a kitty.”
I paused long enough to look at her. She tossed a grin in my direction.
Aiden moved ahead, throwing up a hand, stopping us. “Hold on a second.” He moved his arm, holding his palm out toward the thick smoke. A slight ripple of power sparked. Wind picked up behind us, turning into a heavy, churning gust. The stream moved over the courtyard, lifting the smoke and blowing it back.
Holy shit, there were daimons everywhere, and the titanium gate was open. A few bodies littered the ground and as the wind settled, I realized all those still standing were halfs, which explained why no one had summoned wind yet, and on the ground . . .
Shit.
Dead and/or dying pures.
Some still being fed on, like a scene straight out of a zombie horror.
Aiden looked over his shoulder. “Being able to control all the elements has its bennies.”
Huh. Look at Aiden, being all demigod and stuff. “Cute,” I said, stepping over a fallen Sentinel. “But can you still fight?”
Alex snorted as a daimon lifted its head from the neck of some damn pure who should’ve never been out here, thinking he stood a chance. The daimon was a half. There were no razor-sharp teeth or creepy-ass black eyes. The male looked normal. Well, with the exception of the blood pouring from its mouth and the skin stuck between its teeth.
Daimons were such messy eaters.
They chewed and bit to get at the aether in the blood and they weren’t exactly particular about what area they went for. This one was as cliché as the last one. Had gone straight for the throat. Daimons were drawn to pures because they had more aether.
The male tilted its head to the side and sniffed the air. A slow smile split across its gruesome face, and a second later it sprang to its feet. Behind him, several daimons turned toward us.
But demigods and an Apollyon? We were chock-full of aether goodness and our appearance was like ringing the damn dinner bell.
“Can I still fight?” Aiden asked, smirking.
Flipping the dagger in my hand, I rolled my eyes. A second later the half daimon rushed Aiden’s back, and in the last moment, Aiden spun, kicking his leg out. His booted foot caught the daimon just below the knee, the impact shattering the bone. The daimon went down, and oh yeah, that fucker was going to be out for the count. It started to climb back up, but Aiden caught it in the chest, with a dagger.
Daimons who used to be half-bloods didn’t implode in a shimmery dust. When they died, they died like the rest of us. A pile of flesh and bone that looked like any number of dead bodies. This one fell backward, eyes clouding over.
“Yeah,” Aiden said. “I can still fight.”
“Lucky us,” I drawled, moving forward. “What would we do without you?”
However Aiden responded was lost in the shrill, annoying-as-hell scream of an oncoming daimon. It was a pure, and this one looked jacked the hell up. Skin leached of all color. Eyes nothing but black pits. Teeth like a damn shark’s.
And it was time to play.
Meeting the daimon head-on, I slipped under its widespread arms and popped up behind it. Landing a kick in the back, I jumped on top of it as it fell, then slammed the dagger deep into its back. The daimon froze and then imploded like a mini-glitter bomb.
I threw myself into the fight. Could’ve taken that dumbass out with one jab, but nah. I needed to work out the pent-up frustration. I needed to get it out of my system.
