I couldn’t answer. Just stared.
“You may have lost your memories,” he continued, “but you are the same person inside. You murdered my father and then you created this world instead of dealing with your grieving son. You might run from your problems, but I don’t. Well, it’s time to go home, mother. Time to face the music.”
“You little twat,” Marc said. “It was never Sephie’s fault. Your father was a warmonger from Ursa Constellation, just like his brother. Treachery was bound to catch up with him. For all we know your bloody uncle there killed his brother.”
“If you believe that, then you’re as much as fool as her,” Urser added.
I gasped. “I would never have killed my husband, no matter how much we didn’t get along.”
Jed laughed. “How would you know? I watched you for years as a failing human. Your stupidity and dumb faith were insufferable. Now you are only a shadow of your former self. You used to be a force to be reckoned with. A match for the strategic marriage you were sold into. Oh, I know you hated my father. You tolerated him so long as you were free to execute your own egomaniacal plans to create a world in your image. I mean, how narcissistic can you get?”
“I’m sorry, Jed. I truly am. I can’t speak for that woman I used to be, but I can speak for myself now, and I would never leave a loved one to suffer. Never.”
“Guess I wasn’t one of your loved ones then.”
“You miss the point. You are now. You have been for years. There’s still time to walk away from Urser. We can start again.”
A moment of silence passed between us, and he stared right into my eyes, into my soul. I almost thought I had him, but he laughed. “Start again? How many times must you start over before you get it right? My father was a powerful and ruthless leader—he did what was needed to make the Empire great, first time round. He took what he wanted.”
“And look what happened to him,” I added.
Jed scowled. “You came along and turned it all to shit. Lucky for me, I take after my father.” Jed looked over my shoulder to Urser. “Bring them out.”
There was nothing I could do or say that would ease the malice in his eyes. Perhaps I caused him a lot of pain, but I wouldn’t let him murder more innocents to prove his point. I had to protect this world as best I could. That I knew I could do. Or I could die trying.
Slowly, I formed directives in my mind and filtered them into the earth. A rumble came from beneath us that gathered momentum. I intended to use nature to secure any Watcher or darkling on nearby soil, so I let the vines grow, hidden beneath the earth, writhing like snakes, ready for deployment. They might not hold them forever, but they would give us a fighting chance to escape. I almost released but a merciless, keening wail stopped me. Coldness swept over me and I paused—kept the vines hidden, swimming beneath the surface. It was the same female scream from earlier, amplified. It echoed all around, and I couldn’t tell where it originated.
Jed took up a station at the bottom of the steps and smugly folded his arms. Why did he leave his post blocking the exit? Unless… unless he knew there was no way I’d leave now.
“Roo!” A female voice squeezed out from behind him. I whipped my gaze up to see the last people I expected to find in the Amazon. Kitty and Alvin were being shoved down the moss covered temple steps by a single curved pole brutally piercing both their shoulders. They wore dirty clothes covered in blood. The same clothes they wore the last time I’d seen them in Margaret River. Then, they were the perfect picture of domestic life. Now, they limped, pale faced and distraught, barely standing through the agony I knew would be radiating from their bloody shackle. My eyes met with theirs and a multitude of words passed unsaid. The person holding the bar between them jerked them forward to the final grassy landing at the foot of the steps. Kitty wailed. The rod diameter wasn’t huge, so I had hopes it missed vital organs. If one of them moved, the other bled. The coldness in my veins turned to pure, hot fury. It was more than hostage detainment. It was torture.
“Stop!” I shouted. “Leave them alone.” But shout was all I could do. Vines would be too slow. Telekinesis too sloppy. I could miss my enemy and hurt my friends, make it worse… Options flailed in my mind. My fault. This was my fault. Friends weren’t a strength. They were a weakness. To me, and to them. I should never have taken the darkling bait and traveled to Margaret River to ensure their safety. It was a big target on their head. Now they knew I’d do anything to save my friends. Stupid. I was so stupid and inexperienced. Jed knew exactly how much I cared for them. I should have stayed away.
Urser preened from his position up high. His companions did too. My gaze darted between them and Jed and my friends at the foot of the steps.
“What do you want from me?” I asked Jed. “My blood? Let them go and you can take it.”
“No, love.” Alarm widened Marc’s eyes. “No one is worth it.”
I ignored him. I just needed Kitty and Alvin closer, then I could use the vines or hardened air to shield us from them. Sure, they’d find a way to break through, they were gods. But by that time, we’d be back over the bridge and Cash wouldn’t be far. “I’m serious. Let them go. You can take me.”
I left Marc to step forward and show my commitment.
Jed laughed and shook his head with scorn. “You’re so easy, it’s almost no fun. I spent my life here on this filthy rotten planet, dreaming up ways to knock you from your high horse, and now look at you. Pathetic. Weak. Once we realized it was you in that body, it’s been no effort to put our plans into place. You’ve fallen for our lies each and every time.”
“Because she has a kind soul that you’ll never understand,” Kitty spoke up, voice cracking, skin pale.
“Jed, I don’t understand. We were friends. I know some of our time was genuine. Don’t do this. Please. Kitty and Alvin were your friends too.”
“Put the collar on and we will let them go,” Jed said. “You have my word.”
The collar?
“No deal,” Marc said. “Your word means nothing, Prince. Let the humans go and I will make it quick. Can’t say the same for the rest of you.”
“Give it up, Roo.” Urser called from the top of the steps in a bored voice. “I’m out of patience. End this before you hurt your friends. You’re clearly outnumbered.”
He was right. There may not have been anyone immediately behind me, but I felt grimy darkling essences everywhere. Deep in the temple ruins, waiting with Urser. In the forest around us, milling about. Even further back, across the chasm and on the other side. So many blips of life pinging back at me.
And then… oddly, one by one, I sensed them wink out of existence. Goosebumps erupted on my flesh while I tried to make sense of that. First, the life-forms across the bridge, then, closer, the auras surrounding us in the forest—they disappeared.
Cash was here.
He wouldn’t go unnoticed for long. Soon, he’d bring his deluge of vengeance to the army. There would be no hiding him.
It was enough to spur me forward. “Fine. Bring me the collar.”
“No, love. I can’t accept this.” Marc put a hand on my shoulder.
“It will be okay, Marc.” I implored him with my eyes. Come on. Use your other sense, Marc. Cash is coming. “We will all get through this.”
But Marc only had eyes for Octavia as she came down the steps with a collar dangling from her hand. The instant her boots touched the soil, the earth was ready to claim her. I held off. It was a hard lesson to learn, but acting without thought would have repercussions. Instead, I surveyed the contraption in her hand. It was an exact replica of the one I wore after my transformation to Seraphim. The same collar that blocked my access to my power. Jed must have leaked the information. Octavia held it out as she closed the gap between us. She opened the collar and brought it near my neck. Marc instantly flashed to her. A blink. That’s all it took and then Octavia was gone, her clothes fluttered in tatters, and the collar clattered to the floor.
Mar
c was back at my side, giving daggers to the Watchers. “Approach her again, I dare you.”
Pontius howled from his post near the temple door. White snakes of light burst up both his arms—lightning. Electricity was bad where Marc was concerned. It disrupted his atoms and stopped him from teleporting. Pontius threw himself down the steps. I thought he would launch at us, but he went for Kitty and Alvin.
It was then Cash emerged from the forest and, without mercy, cut through the remaining darkling army. A sword of fire in each hand, he whirled, stabbed, sliced. Stepped over bodies. Amputated. Surged. He was so fast that he was a blur. My eyes could barely keep up with him.
When the rest of the Watchers understood what happened, Urser shouted down, pointing at me. “Get her.”
Pontius, already armed with electricity changed his momentum to charge around Jed and aim my way, ready to unleash. Marc dematerialized from my side to Pontius’s and grappled to shift his aim. The bolt redirected into Jed’s body to fill him with light. His veins became pulsing strobes and he crumpled to the ground. Shock registered on Pontius’s face as he looked down at Jed’s charred body. And then Pontius was no more—ripped through space and time. Marc reappeared at the foot of the steps and urged Kitty and Alvin toward me.
This was my chance. I let the restrained power beneath me erupt. Mountains of vines speared toward the sky. They spread in an explosive arc around the perimeter of the temple like a wall of weeds, thickening—a giant beanstalk come to life. I caught a last glimpse of Urser’s furious face as he hurtled down the steps. The shield wouldn’t last long. I could already feel the earth’s pain as Urser attacked with his decaying power.
Cash was suddenly at my side, hot palm bracing the back of my neck, looking deep into my eyes. “You okay?”
I gave a curt nod and he let go to cast a critical eye over the scene. “We have to get Kitty and Alvin to safety. The vines won’t hold.”
“I know,” I said, stepping toward Kitty and Alvin. “Urser’s destroying the wall already. I can strengthen the shield with hardened air, or keep feeding more power into the plants.”
“No time.” Cash beat me to our friends. He took Kitty gently into his arms and held her steady then met my eyes. “Roo, cut the pipe.”
I gripped the bar between Kitty and Alvin and fed power into the metal structure, focusing like a laser. Heat bloomed under my touch until it sparked, melted and eventually separated.
Kitty slumped forward, and Cash caught her. Alvin tried to help, but stumbled, almost falling.
“Let Cash take her, Alvin. Marc, help me take Alvin.” I lifted the arm on his good side and helped Marc adjust himself underneath.
A screech overhead drew our attention.
“Holy cheese on a stick,” I said. “They’re climbing over the top!”
Up there, high on the wall of vines, a darkling skimmed his way over the structure.
“Go!” I screamed and we ran.
Chapter 39
We ran as fast as we could through the uneven jungle, slipping and sliding on the sticks and mud. Cash cradled Kitty in his arms. Marc and I shouldered Alvin, one on each side. Every few seconds I sent an arc of power behind us, just to make sure. If it hit anything, I never knew.
We got to the bridge and Cash put Kitty down, but she swayed on her feet.
“You have to carry her, Cash. She won’t make it across by herself,” I said.
In his eyes I saw a battle. He knew what was coming and he didn’t want to leave my side.
“I can flash out of here. You can’t. I’ll be right behind you.”
He grit his teeth, scooped Kitty up and tentatively made his way across. Alvin followed shortly after, but the bridge creaked under the weight. I knew Marc said it could hold an Elephant, but I think he was being overzealous.
Horrible, snarling and snapping sounds made me whirl to check my rear. The skies darkened and the light mist of rain grew thicker, more ominous. Light was fading faster than nature allowed. Something supernatural was happening. Full of twisting energy, the fog stirred my insides. The darklings weren’t the worst thing coming after us.
“Marc. Look.” I pointed into the black cloud.
Marc turned to see. “It’s the prince.”
“I thought you killed him with the lightning.”
He gave me a disparaging look. “Gods don’t die that easily.”
“Shit.” I glanced back across the bridge at Alvin crossing as fast as he could. He kept a brisk pace despite the sway of the rope. “Might be a good time to start thinking of plan B.”
“Go, love. Help your friend. I’ll hold the bastard off.” Marc’s hand gripped my shoulder, his face in front of mine. In that moment I saw so much more than the cheeky god who wasn’t responsible enough to be in the War Council. I saw his plan in his eyes, his sacrifice. He’d always regretted the first time he ran from the fight—that first time he took me as the queen away from this planet. The time Cash had died. The time I became a recluse. Now he was going to do the opposite.
“No, Marc.” I choked, shaking my head. “That’s not what I meant. Another plan B. Teleport to the Empire and tell them to be ready. Marc!”
The black cloud breeched the forest and Marc shoved me back toward the bridge. He turned to stand head to head with the darkness rolling in. I could see him, but I couldn’t distinguish his aura from the black fog enveloping him. He flashed a last look over his shoulder. “Go!” he shouted, moments before he was swallowed by the bloom.
I gasped, frozen in place.
Marc!
He was okay, he had to be. I stupidly took two steps forward then jolted backward as hands emerged out of the fog, reaching for me. Urser. A scream bubbled in my lungs as the rest of him materialized. He snapped the collar around my neck, essentially cutting me from my power. I felt as deprived of life as I did when I was collared all those other times. No energy sparking in my periphery, no fizz of electricity. But plenty of fear. Human and vulnerable.
Still willing to fight.
I slammed the heel of my palm into his nose. His head whipped back, bloody, and I pivoted, running to the bridge. I launched onto it, over the void, knuckles white as the rope I held. I had to get to Cash. Torrents cascaded beneath me, roaring. A gust of wind pelted my side and I was sure I felt water spray my face. Impossible to have come from so far below. Must be the sky. The coming rain. Or the dark misty clouds. Oh God, Marc.
I glanced up to see Cash hand Kitty to someone on the other side. Alvin was almost there. Squinting, I could see the other gods—the Tribunal. Relief surged through me. Backup had arrived. We would be okay. Another gust of wind from behind and I moved so fast my hands burned on the rope. But then… something under my hands darkened. The rope. It turned black. A jolt of fear sliced through me. “What the hell?” I looked down at the roped rungs beneath my feet. The blackness whizzed ahead to coat the white bridge in jagged increments, all the way to the end. The twine under my fingers plucked and frayed as though jungle rot ate the fabric from the inside. I craned behind and my heart stopped.
Urser crouched with his hands on the bottom walkway of the bridge, rot and decay bleeding from his touch. He shook the bridge, injecting more of his power into it. It creaked, it moaned and it made tiny plucking sounds as the rope disintegrated.
And I was on it.
I weighed my options. I couldn’t teleport—the collar blocked me. It was a long way down. The way to Cash was further than the way to Urser. And Alvin was still on the bridge.
Urser saw me calculating and shouted above the wind: “Keep going and you all fall. Come back, and you live.”
“Let him get off first.” I stared him down with fury. “Then you can take me.”
He glared at me. Then he let go of one hand, palm raised in surrender and the rot stopped on that side. The bridge held it together. Barely. Until the weight of another body tested its strength.
Cash.
Alvin was still a few feet from getting off, but Cash had re
turned to the bridge and squished past Alvin. The he came toward me with inhuman speed.
A growl ripped from Urser’s throat and he plunged his hand onto the fibers again, sending a new wave of decay. I felt a shift in the air as the bridge crumbled and snapped, the tension dissolving. Without thinking, I ran back the way I’d come and dove at Urser, tackling him to the grassy ground. He was harder than I expected. The wind knocked out of me as my smaller, powerless body rebounded off his and I rolled. Urser moved. Fast. He scrambled back to the bridge in a vain attempt to touch the rope, to finish what he started. In the end he didn’t need to.
Cash’s weight was enough.
A loud snap sounded.
I rushed to Urser’s side and caught the blur of Cash’s body—a dark falling star.
My scream was cut short as two rough hands ripped into my hair, pulling me backward onto the grassy plateau. I tried to grasp my head, to stop my hair ripping from my scalp, but couldn’t.
“You’re coming with me,” Urser growled. He didn’t wait for me to get up. He pulled by my hair. My legs grappled with the ground to keep up, and I struggled, writhed, fought to get back to Cash. Pain exploded behind my eyes and my vision failed. Urser hit me again, this time sending my sight completely black. I should have stayed on the bridge. Maybe I could’ve taken the collar off in time. Maybe I could have saved him.
When I came to, I was being carried over Urser’s shoulder, my head and torso hung over his back, arms dangling. The black mist had retreated. There was carnage everywhere. Blood. Smears. Body parts. But no Marc. No Cash. And no back up. The broken bridge had seen to that.
When I closed my eyes, I saw the shadow of Cash’s body, falling in slow motion. The image replayed, stuck on repeat. Questions bombarded my mind. Had he enough distance to jump the rest of the way? No. Had he somehow managed to cling to the rope and swing to one side? I had no idea. Could he survive the fall? Tears burned my eyes. I had to shut it from my mind. I had to get away. I surreptitiously fiddled with the collar and was rewarded with a tiny electric shock that jolted through me.
The Game of Gods: Series Box Set Page 99