He remained stiff in her hold, and with a slight frown she pulled away enough that she could look up at him. His face was unreadable, blank. He absently flicked his wrist and the overhead light blared back to life despite its shattered state.
She could make more of him out now, but shadows played across his face.
The fact that she’d seen that very bulb burst and rain down on them aside, he was freaking her out. Then she remembered how cold he’d been in the throne room right before she’d left only hours ago. That must be it. He was still mad at her for whatever weirdness had transpired between them.
Pulling back completely, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared.
“Seriously? Why did you even bother coming if you’re just going to stand there glowering? You can’t really be pissed about earlier.”
A single brow lifted. “Earlier?”
“Did you get rid of it?” Syd’s shaky voice at her back snapped her out of her anger and she spun around to comfort her.
“Yes,” Hadrian told them, and then all at once he seemed to relax, his mouth turning into a wide grin. He dropped a shoulder against the doorframe, leaning against it casually.
Ok…why was he acting so strange?
“What was it?” Spencer asked him, hoping that for once he would just answer right away, instead of making her jump through a ton of hoops.
“A malicious spirit,” he shrugged as if they were talking about kittens. “It took over your friend.”
“As in, possessed him?” Syd dropped down to the bed in a daze.
“Is he alright?” Spencer moved for the door, worried now for her friend’s safety. She tried to glance down the hallway but he wouldn’t move for her to pass. “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”
“The mortal is fine,” he said, again in that bored tone. “I chased the spirit away. He’ll find a new host.”
“A new…” She couldn’t believe this. “You just let that thing go knowing that it’s going to go and take over some other poor innocent person?”
“Who it possesses is no concern of mine.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Isn’t that what you like most about me, Spencer Perry?” He took a threatening step closer.
He’d done this power play before, but somehow she’d known every time what it really was: a game. Yet this time didn’t feel like a game, it felt real. The evil glint in his all too black eyes bore down on her, as if finding pleasure in the way she wanted to turn heels and run like a rabbit in the other direction.
They’d left it on shaky terms, sure, but it hadn’t been an actual fight. It had been a step up for them. So what was going on with him?
“What?” he pressed, moving closer still. “No response? Have I left you speechless?”
“No,” she cleared her throat when the word came out shaky, steeling her next ones. “No cats here.”
There was a slight hesitation in him, the furrowing of his brows forming a V shape between them. It was almost like he had no clue what she was talking about, which was stupid.
“I didn’t inquire about your pets.” He backed her completely up now, and she reached out to grip onto the edge of her nightstand.
From the corner of her eye she saw Syd watching with a look of horror on her face. So she wasn’t the only one who thought the guy had lost his mind. Good. That was something at least.
Bet she wouldn’t be hearing anything from Syd about him having a crush on her after this.
“I’ve wondered about you,” he dropped his head down, bringing his mouth so close to hers that she actually felt the brush of his bottom lip against her own. “What would you have done had I not arrived? I expected more.”
“Stop this,” she whispered. Who cared about bravado? She just wanted to him to back up. This wasn’t right. This didn’t feel anything like the way it usually did.
“Make me, mortal,” he practically purred. He brushed his mouth against her jaw, and when she snapped her head back, he let out a cruel laugh.
She kept her gaze locked onto his, trying to get a hold of herself. This wasn’t happening. She would not let him intimidate her, even if he was the God of the fricken Underworld.
Outside a car drove by, the headlights shining in through the window and illuminating his eyes for the briefest of moments. His very black and…green eyes?
Wait a second…
Her mind grew even more frantic and she struggled to come up with something to say. She was just about to open her mouth, when a deep growl cut across the expanse of her bedroom, instantly turning the blood in her veins to ice.
“Get the hell away from my girl.” Hadrian—another Hadrian—stood in the doorway, head tilted down, eyes narrowed and feet spread apart.
Spencer glanced between the two of them, fear twisting in her gut. For a moment, the one that had her cornered simply stood there, smirking down at her, but then he slowly swiveled his head around, setting his gaze on the new arrival.
“Yours?” He chuckled. “Seems you still like playing with other people’s things.”
“I won’t say it again,” the Hadrian in the doorway stated in a voice filled with barely contained rage. “Get away from her.”
The one in front of her held up both hands, giving Spencer the perfect opportunity.
Using his distraction, she wrapped her hand around the nightstand lamp and swung. It was only enough force to make him step back an inch or so, but it was enough for her to slip through. She rushed to the other side, every cell in her body sighing in relief when she stopped at doorway-Hadrian’s side.
Within moments the ice in her veins melted, heating to a boil.
The dick who’d cornered her narrowed his eyes, but didn’t move towards them. Syd had smartly moved a while ago; now standing on the other side of the room entirely.
“Get out,” doorway-Hadrian hissed. He didn’t so much as spare her a glance.
The other version of him grinned once more. “I was interested in why you went back on our agreement. But I believe I understand now. You know this isn’t over, right?”
Doorway-Hadrian gave a curt nod. “Yes.”
“Good.” The other one took a step back, then as if an afterthought, paused. “See you soon.”
Chapter 23:
“Spencer.” The second the other him disappeared—though she knew now it wasn’t really him at all—Hadrian turned on her, gripping her shoulders tightly in his hands and bending to inspect her.
“He just…” she couldn’t even form the words. Her brain felt completely fried.
“Spencer,” he shook her. “Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Spencer, damn it, talk to me!”
Another hard shake brought her out of it and she met his gaze, frowning. There was only one explanation that made any sense. “Please say that was your brother and not some freaky clone?”
She didn’t know why she was so surprised. It’s not like she’d asked him about his family. Though she did recall him mentioning that Zeus wasn’t related to him. Could that guy have been Poseidon then? Was that it? The myths all said that Hades was also the brother of the God of the Sea.
“That’s not important right now,” he told her, “are you alright? I need to know you’re ok.”
“Yes, yes,” she nodded. “I’m fine. He didn’t…I’m fine.”
He sighed and pulled back, rubbing a hand down his face. Then something had his brows furrowing and he glanced back at her. “How did you know I was me?”
She shrugged, a little uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny.
“You knew,” he pressed. “The second you could you chose to run to me. How did you figure it out?”
“Guy was an asshole,” she said.
“You think I’m an asshole.”
“He cornered me.”
“I do that to you all the time.”
“His eyes were green.”
He nodded. “Oh. That would do it.”
It was the feeling that she’d somehow dis
appointed him that made her continue. “And he asked me if he’d left me speechless.”
His confused look returned.
“He didn’t get the cat joke,” she elaborated.
He broke out into a grin and glanced towards Syd. “You good?”
“Dandy,” she spat sarcastically, then lowered some of her hackles. “Thanks. For showing up and all.”
“Brodie.” Spencer dashed into the hall suddenly, remembering their friend was there.
Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, she thought when she spotted his body on the ground at the end of the hallway. He wasn’t moving, and when she dropped down next to him she couldn’t tell if he was breathing.
Pressing her fingers to the side of his neck, she felt for a pulse, sighing in relief when there was a dim thrum. She turned to find Hadrian standing over them.
He’d changed out of the armor, back in his black skinny jeans with a v-neck white T. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned with the unconscious boy on the ground. Instead his gaze stayed locked on her, as if he still didn’t quite believe that she was alright.
“What did your…?” She waited pointedly, feeling a little triumphant when he visibly caved.
“He’s my brother, ok?”
“What did your brother do to him?” Finally, some answers. She was glad it hadn’t been some weird clone creature.
Hadrian glanced down at Brodie absently then shrugged. He propped a shoulder against the wall. “Ripped a malicious spirit from his body. The process is pretty painful. It leaves a mark on the vessel it vacates.”
“Can you pick him up and bring him into my room?” There was no way she was strong enough to lift all two hundred pounds of Brodie Ralf.
When he looked at her like she was insane for asking, she took Brodie’s ankles and began to tug. Even dragging him down the hall appeared to be too much for her. She made it only a few feet before she ran out of breath.
Hadrian brushed her to the side, lifting the boy up with ease and carrying him back down the hall. He practically tossed Brodie onto the bed, not able to get rid of him quicker. He held his hands out towards him, as if presenting it to her.
“Will he be ok?” Spencer asked then, ignoring his mockery.
“Who cares?” Syd said from the window seat. She was eyeing Brodie with malice now.
“Odd way to treat a friend,” Hadrian told her.
“He’s no longer a friend of ours,” she responded.
“He was possessed. That definitely wasn’t him here tonight,” she went on. “That was something else on the other side of the door.”
“He hasn’t been possessed that long,” Hadrian said. “I’d say about a month now.”
His crossed ankles nonchalantly and leaned back against the wall. “Spirits can only enter bodies with weak convictions. Someone who is weak, or broken. Vulnerable. Brodie was already low after Micah’s death, already using alcohol as a scapegoat.”
Which basically just meant that Micah’s death had seriously damaged him. And she hadn’t even noticed. If she had, would she have been able to save him? Help him before the spirit had taken over his body?
“What kind of mark does it leave behind?” His earlier words came back to her, and she absently rubbed at the place where she knew her death mark was. “Is it similar to Syd’s and mine?”
“No,” he shook his head. “His situation differs from your own. He was not marked for death. Those who have been possessed acquire the Egyptian symbol for soul at the base of the back of their neck. It’s always in the same place. It’s a circle with an ex in the center.”
She thought back to when she’d taken a look at Ferris’s neck tattoo during Syd’s “resurrection”. He’d had that very symbol in the center of the butterfly. When she mentioned as much Hadrian nodded.
“Everyone who has contact with souls is identifiable to others who do as well. Ferris’s tattoo is that of the Ferrymen, or the Reapers. They all have the same one on the sides of their necks. Because their job sometimes requires them to become involved with mortals, they have the ability to make it visible and invisible at will.”
And now she knew what the death mark and the possession mark looked like. The only problem was she couldn’t see them. That was going to be an issue. How was she going to protect herself and her friends if she couldn’t even see an enemy coming?
“I never would have suspected Brodie of attacking anyone,” she told him. “Let alone me and our friends. How do I know who else they’ve affected? Why is this happening to me, Hadrian?”
It was obvious he had answers; he had to, being that he was the God of the Dead. He knew what was going on and he was just refusing to tell her. The real question was why?
“What could be so bad you have to keep it from me?” she asked quietly. “What’s the big secret?”
For a split second it looked like he might actually tell her, but then the light dimmed in his eyes and the sarcastic bored version of him returned full force.
“You’re not protecting her by lying to her,” Syd said then.
Heat flashed over his face, and his head snapped in her direction. “I never claimed to be doing anything to protect her. For all you know, keeping information is to protect myself. You know who I really am now, mortal. Just because I attended one of your high school parties and came here tonight does not mean I care at all about your meaningless existence.”
Spencer’s mouth gaped open when instead of backing down or cowering, Syd stood at her full five-six height and glared.
“I may be blond, buddy, but I’m not blind. You don’t care about what happens to me? Ok, fine, I get that. But let’s be honest here—if that’s even something you’re remotely capable of being—you do care about what happens to Spencer. Very much so in fact. So unless you want to see her end up as spirit chow, or whatever, you’ll spill. Now.”
She’d forgotten how ballsy her friend was.
He didn’t seem as pleased by Syd’s outburst, but he remained on the other side of the room propped against the wall, so that was something. He stared back for a long while, either collecting his thoughts or just collecting himself so he didn’t kill her.
“The man you saw me fighting before,” his smooth voice cut across the silence finally as he addressed Spencer, “he is the one who shoved Sydney into the pool.”
“Why?” the blond gasped, sitting back down in the window seat quickly. She’d paled all over again.
“So that I would bring you back,” he stated simply. “The goal was never to actually take your life. It was counted on that I would not allow you to remain dead.”
She made a face. “Who would be stupid enough to think that you’d give a crap about my life?”
“No one,” he said back, a bit meanly. “It was not you they were betting on me to be concerned for.”
“Spencer.”
“Whoa,” Spence held up her hands. “I doubt that.”
“It’s true,” Hadrian agreed, landing his intense dark blue eyes on her. “They knew that I wouldn’t want to see you hurt by the loss of your friend, so they killed her at a time they knew I would be around to help. It was a rouse. A test.”
“They were curious,” she whispered.
“Yes.” He didn’t sound overly happy about her word choice. “That night I confirmed their suspicions.”
“About what?” she asked, realizing a second too late that she maybe didn’t want to know. She braced herself for his response.
The corner of his lips turned up ever so slightly; at this point, if she hadn’t known to watch for it she probably would have missed it all together. He still kept his pose by the wall, staring down his nose at her in a way that made her skin begin to tingle, and not necessarily in the bad way.
“About us,” he said softly, matter-of-factly, like there was no question about it and no disputing it.
She wanted to tell him that there was nothing going on between the two of them, wanted to believe it herself just as much as
she wanted him to. But before she could so much as find the right wording, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention.
The panic hit her first, coming too fast for her brain to catch up. A second later Micah stepped from the shadows, and her shoulders drooped in relief. She went to him without thinking, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest.
He held her, his strong arms forming what felt like the most protective barrier on the planet. The familiarity of it, of having him near, swarmed through her.
It was easier to settle her stirring emotions towards Hadrian with Micah here. Concentrating on him made her body relax and the shots of electricity under her skin abated.
“What’s going on?” Micah asked then, in a tone that belied just how much he had actually heard.
She stiffened slightly in his hold, but he didn’t let her go. She could still see Hadrian, and got a clear shot of his eyes narrowing into thin slits as he bristled.
“I was explaining to the girls how you being here has busted a hole in the Underworld,” Hadrian stated, a slight bite to his words.
“What are you talking about?” Spencer managed to remove herself enough to lift her head.
“You wanted to know why suddenly ghosts seem to be around?” he chided. “All of these bad things are connected, and they’re connected to the two of you. You’ve been holding open a gateway to the Underworld, the likes of which has not been seen for centuries. Malicious spirits have been slipping out, entering the mortal world. Taking over bodies.”
“But why come here?” Spencer didn’t understand.
“They’re hanging around you. And Micah. Thayer’s figured out that you’re the ones behind all the escapes, and he isn’t pleased with it, being the God of Death and all.”
“Why should that matter to him?” Syd countered. “He doesn’t rule over spirits, you do.”
“Because a possession can kill someone before their time,” he elaborated. “Take Brodie for instance. If he hadn’t been exorcised tonight, I’d have given him a week tops. The spirit that had him was too strong. It was slowly chipping away at his soul.” He glanced Syd’s way briefly. “Making it spirit chow, you could say.”
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