The Power
Page 51
“Oh shit,” Solos said.
Seth spun around, and I swear he almost fell over. Shock splashed across his face, and then his eyes went luminous, a deep burning tawny.
Uh-oh.
Bare-chested and speckled with blood and God knows what else, Seth prowled toward me. “Please tell me I was knocked over the head and I’m seeing shit, because—”
A blood-curdling scream raised the hairs all over my body. I spun around, and inhaled sharply. A female Sentinel rushed me. Blood covered her face like a gruesome smear of red lipstick. Her blue eyes were unfocused, glazed over. There were no daggers in her hands. She shrieked again, and a part of me knew she wasn’t friendly, but she didn’t look like the—
“Josie!” Seth shouted, springing forward, and it all happened so fast.
Stepping into her attack, like I’d done before, I started to dip down to take her legs out, but she spun on me, forcing me back a step. Her arm cocked and she screamed again, swinging like a pro—like she knew exactly how to deliver a debilitating blow. I dodged the blow and thrust my arm back, about to shove the dagger forward, but I . . .
I hesitated.
Oh my gods, I froze for a second. Wrong, totally bad move, but she looked like any other Sentinel. She looked mortal. Human. Not some deranged Greek creature hell-bent on gnawing on me like a chew toy.
A dagger exploded out of the center of her chest, cutting off her chilling scream. Blood sprayed the front of my shirt. I didn’t move, couldn’t, as she fell forward, and all I heard was the sickening suctioning sound of the dagger being yanked out.
Alex stood there, her wavy hair a wild halo around her. “Were you going to hug her or something?”
“I’m done,” Seth growled.
I had no idea what Seth meant, but he sheathed his daggers and then stepped forward, raising his right arm. An amber glow surrounded his bicep as the glyphs rushed to the surface of his skin. The light, the color of his eyes, wrapped down his arm like a shining cord. Energy filled the air as he summoned akasha.
Seth was deadly and quick with dispatching the remaining daimons. Spinning as fluidly as any trained dancer, he moved his arm like he was tossing a baseball, hitting each remaining daimon wicked fast. The moment the amber light hit them, they ceased to exist. There a second, gone the next. Nothing, not even a shimmery dust. Same for the half daimons.
“Well, that works too,” Alex said dryly, “but less fun.”
Seth’s expression was locked down as he faced us, walking back to Aiden and Solos. He said nothing as he curled his hand around mine, the grip tight but not painful. Our eyes met.
No words were necessary to convey the message.
I was in so much trouble.
CHAPTER 17
Seth
Never in my life had I wanted to lock a woman up in a titanium-encased room with an army of Hades’s Guards. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. I’d wanted to do that a time or two with Alex, something Aiden would’ve been a hundred percent behind.
But it was different this time, because it was . . .
It was Josie.
“You guys got this handled from here?” I asked.
Aiden glanced down at where my hand was wrapped firmly around Josie’s. “There isn’t much left to do except . . .” He glanced around, frowning. “Clean up.”
“We got this,” Alex confirmed, her gaze darting to Josie. She shifted her weight from one foot to the next. “You okay with this?”
I cocked my head to the side. Did she legit just ask Josie if she was okay with this?
“Yeah.” Josie started to turn away but stopped. She extended her arm, offering the dagger. “I, um, took this from a Guard who . . . didn’t need it anymore. It’s not mine.”
Solos looked up from where he was checking out a fallen Sentinel. “You take out a daimon with it?”
She glanced down at the dagger and then nodded, surprising me. “Yeah, I . . . I took out a daimon with it.”
“Then it’s yours,” he said, sighing as he rose, brushing his hands off on his pants.
“Oh,” she whispered, and for a moment I was sort of struck stupid by the fact that she had managed to kill a daimon. And as I stared at Josie, her expression said she was also a bit surprised by it too.
The dread that had formed in my gut earlier now churned viciously. Completely stupid, but there was a huge part of me that didn’t like that she had killed a daimon, that she was even in the situation where it had to go down. Damn stupid. Because Josie had been created to be a weapon. There’d be a lot of killing in her future.
“Well, there you go.” I steered Josie around. “Check you guys later.”
Josie grumbled something under her breath when I started walking, tugging her along with me.
“Seth, this isn’t—”
“Not yet.” My voice was a low warning. “I don’t really trust myself to speak to you right now.”
Her gasp of outrage was audible as I led her around a dead daimon. “I think you’re completely overreacting!”
“And I think you don’t understand the words I just spoke to you.”
She tried to pull her hand free. She didn’t get anywhere. “You do realize that I’ve been training to fight? And that I’m a demigod? Oh, yeah, that’s right! You haven’t been around to know—”
“Gods,” I stopped suddenly, causing Josie to stumble. I caught her other arm, steadying her. “Do you have any idea what I felt when I turned around and saw you standing there with a damn dagger in your hand?”
Seth spun around, and I swear he almost fell over. Shock splashed across his face, and then his eyes went luminous, a deep burning tawny.
Uh-oh.
Bare-chested and speckled with blood and God knows what else, Seth prowled toward me. “Please tell me I was knocked over the head and I’m seeing shit, because—”
A blood-curdling scream raised the hairs all over my body. I spun around, and inhaled sharply. A female Sentinel rushed me. Blood covered her face like a gruesome smear of red lipstick. Her blue eyes were unfocused, glazed over. There were no daggers in her hands. She shrieked again, and a part of me knew she wasn’t friendly, but she didn’t look like the—
“Josie!” Seth shouted, springing forward, and it all happened so fast.
Stepping into her attack, like I’d done before, I started to dip down to take her legs out, but she spun on me, forcing me back a step. Her arm cocked and she screamed again, swinging like a pro—like she knew exactly how to deliver a debilitating blow. I dodged the blow and thrust my arm back, about to shove the dagger forward, but I . . .
I hesitated.
Oh my gods, I froze for a second. Wrong, totally bad move, but she looked like any other Sentinel. She looked mortal. Human. Not some deranged Greek creature hell-bent on gnawing on me like a chew toy.
A dagger exploded out of the center of her chest, cutting off her chilling scream. Blood sprayed the front of my shirt. I didn’t move, couldn’t, as she fell forward, and all I heard was the sickening suctioning sound of the dagger being yanked out.
Alex stood there, her wavy hair a wild halo around her. “Were you going to hug her or something?”
“I’m done,” Seth growled.
I had no idea what Seth meant, but he sheathed his daggers and then stepped forward, raising his right arm. An amber glow surrounded his bicep as the glyphs rushed to the surface of his skin. The light, the color of his eyes, wrapped down his arm like a shining cord. Energy filled the air as he summoned akasha.
Seth was deadly and quick with dispatching the remaining daimons. Spinning as fluidly as any trained dancer, he moved his arm like he was tossing a baseball, hitting each remaining daimon wicked fast. The moment the amber light hit them, they ceased to exist. There a second, gone the next. Nothing, not even a shimmery dust. Same for the half daimons.
“Well, that works too,” Alex said dryly, “but less fun.”
Seth’s expression was locked down as he faced us, walking back to Aiden and Solos. He said nothing as he curled his hand around mine, the grip tight but not painful. Our eyes met.
No words were necessary to convey the message.
I was in so much trouble.
CHAPTER 17
Seth
Never in my life had I wanted to lock a woman up in a titanium-encased room with an army of Hades’s Guards. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. I’d wanted to do that a time or two with Alex, something Aiden would’ve been a hundred percent behind.
But it was different this time, because it was . . .
It was Josie.
“You guys got this handled from here?” I asked.
Aiden glanced down at where my hand was wrapped firmly around Josie’s. “There isn’t much left to do except . . .” He glanced around, frowning. “Clean up.”
“We got this,” Alex confirmed, her gaze darting to Josie. She shifted her weight from one foot to the next. “You okay with this?”
I cocked my head to the side. Did she legit just ask Josie if she was okay with this?
“Yeah.” Josie started to turn away but stopped. She extended her arm, offering the dagger. “I, um, took this from a Guard who . . . didn’t need it anymore. It’s not mine.”
Solos looked up from where he was checking out a fallen Sentinel. “You take out a daimon with it?”
She glanced down at the dagger and then nodded, surprising me. “Yeah, I . . . I took out a daimon with it.”
“Then it’s yours,” he said, sighing as he rose, brushing his hands off on his pants.
“Oh,” she whispered, and for a moment I was sort of struck stupid by the fact that she had managed to kill a daimon. And as I stared at Josie, her expression said she was also a bit surprised by it too.
The dread that had formed in my gut earlier now churned viciously. Completely stupid, but there was a huge part of me that didn’t like that she had killed a daimon, that she was even in the situation where it had to go down. Damn stupid. Because Josie had been created to be a weapon. There’d be a lot of killing in her future.
“Well, there you go.” I steered Josie around. “Check you guys later.”
Josie grumbled something under her breath when I started walking, tugging her along with me.
“Seth, this isn’t—”
“Not yet.” My voice was a low warning. “I don’t really trust myself to speak to you right now.”
Her gasp of outrage was audible as I led her around a dead daimon. “I think you’re completely overreacting!”
“And I think you don’t understand the words I just spoke to you.”
She tried to pull her hand free. She didn’t get anywhere. “You do realize that I’ve been training to fight? And that I’m a demigod? Oh, yeah, that’s right! You haven’t been around to know—”
“Gods,” I stopped suddenly, causing Josie to stumble. I caught her other arm, steadying her. “Do you have any idea what I felt when I turned around and saw you standing there with a damn dagger in your hand?”
