I looked at him, mouth hanging open.
“You were messing with me! You wanted me to think you were going to make me freeze to death and walk all the way to Sicily!”
“That would be pretty hard, since there’s ocean between here and there,” he said, not quite hiding his smile like he was trying to.
“All clear,” Arsenio stated as we neared him.
“Good,” Cristos mused, nodding. “Let’s get going.”
Still pulling me beside him, he walked to the back of the car, pulling keys out of his pocket and opening the trunk.
Looking around, I almost wished another car would appear on the road. I could call out for help and be saved. Except I really wouldn’t be. The Titans would find me, or Cristos would again, and I’d basically be a sitting duck no matter where I went.
Cristos cleared his throat and I looked back at him.
“What?”
“Get in,” he said, motioning to the trunk, his hand still on the open lid.
It took a second for the words to process, my expression blank as I stared at him. As soon as I realized he was serious, my mouth popped open once more.
“I am not riding in the trunk,” I growled defensively.
“I agree,” Arsenio said from behind me.
“Stay out of it,” Cristos said, eyes still looking evenly into mine. “And yes, you are. It’s either the trunk, or the roof.”
“You wanna bet?” I challenged him, not backing down.
“She can’t ride in the trunk,” Arsenio butted in again, his voice revealing his exasperation.
“Yes it can.”
“I can if you want it burned right off the back of your car,” I replied vehemently.
“This is ridiculous,” Arsenio sighed. “Cristos, we have to cross the border. Don’t you think it will be a bit suspicious when they open the trunk and find a bound woman in there?”
“It can’t be in the car with us and the weapons. I’m not taking any chances,” he replied coolly, eyes never leaving my own.
“Put the weapons in the trunk then,” Arsenio laughed humorlessly. “And stop being so pigheaded. What is she going to do? Attack us and crash the car? Fine. Even if that happens, she’s handcuffed and tired. We’d catch her again in no time.”
“Or the Titans will,” Cristos offered, finally looking at his companion. “And I’m not willing to risk that.”
“I’m not riding in the trunk,” I muttered again. “And I’m not going to crash the car. I don’t want them to get me just as much as you.”
His eyes came back to my face, a strange look in them as he studied my features.
“Fine,” he finally growled. “I’ll put the weapons in the trunk. But as soon as we cross the border, you’re trading places with them.”
I sighed, rolling my eyes as I turned to look at Arsenio. His expression seemed to match most of what I felt at the moment.
Cristos slid his bag from his back, placing it in the spot he’d expected me to occupy, and then motioned for Arsenio to do the same with his.
“No funny business,” he remarked as he opened the driver’s side door and motioned for me to climb into the back of the two door car.
I didn’t even dignify him with a response.
Sliding into the back of a car that isn’t really meant for more than two people while wearing handcuffs proved to be slightly difficult, my frame trying to fit into the space without slipping and falling on my face. Finally, I managed to arrange myself across the seat, my back against the side of the car behind the passenger seat and legs stretching across the bench, feet resting behind the driver’s side.
As soon as I was in, Cristos climbed into the driver’s side, Arsenio sliding into his spot across from him.
“Where did you get this car?” I asked as the engine roared to life.
“We have vehicles stationed around hot spots. Since Moscow has been a big contention site, we put this one further away, where it was less likely to be damaged,” Arsenio answered, buckling his seat belt.
“No more talking,” Cristos added, doing the same.
Quietly, Arsenio passed me a blanket that had apparently been on the floor in front of him. A shrug was all the answer he gave to Cristos’s glare.
Thankfully, I wrapped the warm cloth around my body, instantly feeling like I could go right to sleep.
As we pulled onto the road, the car accelerating to its top speed in seconds, Cristos turned on some loud music, further enforcing his no talking rule.
The miles flew by, towns coming and going as we headed to our destination. The further from Moscow we got, the poorer the towns became, until finally there was nothing but us and the road. Soon, we would cross the border into whatever country they’d decided to travel through.
Eventually, with nothing to say and only my own tired mind for company, I slipped off into sleep, snuggled in my warm blanket.
The glass above me cracked, pieces of it falling on me, startling me awake as the car suddenly shot forward, wheels swerving all over the road.
Cristos swore loudly, anger clouding his features as he managed to gain control of the vehicle once more, slamming the gas pedal into the floor.
“What’s happening?” I asked in a panic, looking out the now broken rear window, the wind howling through the opening.
No one answered me. It might have been that they couldn’t hear me, or that they were concentrating on something else.
Arsenio tore his seatbelt off, moving to climb in the back with me, waving his arm in an attempt to tell me to get out of the way.
I looked to where he was pointing and noticed a button. It unlatched the seat and opened into the trunk.
They needed their weapons?
Dazed from being woken up and thrown around in the seat, I turned to look out the window again, in what felt like slow motion.
That was when I saw it.
It was a beast, with massive golden, feathered wings. It looked like a bird human hybrid, its body feathered and animal feet sporting massive talons. Its face looked like that of an old woman, wrinkled and smiling in glee as it flapped down towards me, feet stretched out in preparation to snatch something.
Too late, I realized the thing she was snatching was me. In desperation, I tried to climb out of reach, up into the front of the car, but I was too late.
With the wind howling in my ears, Arsenio grabbing for my still cuffed hands, talons wrapped around my waist, pulling me through the broken glass and away from the car.
A scream tore from me as I flailed around, trying desperately to free myself from the beast’s clutches.
“Give it up, sweetie,” it cackled. “You’re not getting away this time.”
Frantic, I looked back down at the road, catching sight of the car. It was being attacked by three more of the beasts. Their strategy was effectively keeping Cristos or Arsenio from coming to my aid.
With a sudden push of fear, I lit on fire, the Titan in me fighting to take over and do something. I burned so hot, the handcuffs I’d been forced to wear for days melted right off me. Unfortunately, my new captor seemed unfazed by the display.
“Nice try!” the bird laughed, still carrying me higher.
Her bird feet had been covered in an armor I hadn’t noticed before, keeping the fire from touching her, even at its current temperature.
I needed to do something, anything to get away. But was falling to my death really better than getting taken by the Titans?
In a split second decision, I chose the first option.
Letting the Titan loose a little more, the fire went out and I felt my fingers morphing painfully, the bones rearranging themselves to form the snakes that had saved me from the enemy’s grasp last time. Almost unbelievably, they appeared, quickly stretching out with their own minds, biting into the unprotected legs of the bird.
She screamed, wings flapping harder as she jerked around, trying to get us to let go, but I was determined to be the winner. The snakes kept striki
ng, over and over again, blood gushing from her wounds, until, finally, she released me, crying as she attempted to nurse herself.
Time seemed to slow down again as I fell, the breath rushing from my lungs as I flipped over and over, tumbling down to the far away earth. The Titan within banged against the walls that held her back, urgency in her movements as the snakes faded away into my normal, human fingers.
Closing my eyes as the last of my breath sucked from my mouth, I felt a sudden peace in knowing that everything would be over soon.
My Titan broke free, shredding the walls she’d been trapped behind, taking over, and coming to my aid once again.
Sucking in a painful breath, an agonizing scream blasted from my lips as I opened my eyes, my back practically tearing itself open at the Titan’s beckoning. It felt like she was destroying me, killing me to free herself. Just when it seemed I wouldn’t be able to take the pain any longer, beautiful, white, feathery, angelic wings sprouted out around me, catching the air and jerking us to a stop a few hundred feet from the ground.
I flapped them in wonder, caught off guard by their beauty and sheer extent. They were at least twice my size, large enough to wrap me in a cocoon with hardly any effort.
For the first time, I felt like I was working with my Titan. I could feel her pulling at my senses, battling to take over completely. She hungered to hunt those who would hurt us, to be safe again.
With one mind, we looked to the car, still being attacked as it tried to outrun the birds, and dove.
Chapter Twelve
Cristos
“Damn it!” I yelled again, swerving off the road as another pair of large talons harpooned themselves through the glass of the windshield, effectively shattering it the rest of the way.
“Arsenio, where is my sword?” I roared, slamming on the breaks.
Grinning as one of the attacking harpies tumbled from the hood of the car, I punched the gas again, running her over in the process. She wouldn’t stay down long, not with the armor they had on.
A new pair of talons punched through the top of the car and Arsenio’s answer was lost as he tried to swat off his own attack with a headrest through the back window.
This was proving to be very difficult.
The broken windshield made it hard to get any speed up on the car, the wind blinding me any time I was able to break through the attack enough. We were at a standstill, which wasn’t going to end well for us.
In a rage, I slammed on the break and ripped the gear shift from its spot between the seats, jabbing it at the bird lady in front of me.
I needed my sword, but for some reason had agreed to put it in the trunk. If we made out alive, I was going to wring Arsenio’s neck for that.
Suddenly, the harpy I’d run over appeared on the hood of the car again, one wing bent and murder in her eyes.
“Great,” I mumbled, gearing up for a good fight, sword or not.
Lunging the best I could over the steering wheel, I brandished my much shorter, make shift sword at my attacker, succeeding in only making her laugh, grabbing the stick from me with her talons and throwing it off the side of the road.
“Just how strong is Adrastia without Daddy’s sword, I wonder?” she cawed out, her cackle sounding like a crow’s call.
Despite myself, I felt some of the color drain from my face at her comment, the same thought running through my own mind. Anger at the small sign of weakness urged me forward, and I grabbed the open edges of the windshield, intent on climbing out and really joining the battle.
With a jerk, I slipped back into the car, multiple pairs of talons suddenly breaking through the roof and hauling the vehicle up into the air. The sound of heavily beating wings slammed into my ears even more, the wind picking up as we were carried helplessly higher, with only one outcome I could see.
When the harpies dropped the vehicle, their laughter and cries screeching off the hills around us, it felt like time was slowing down for a moment. Everything unraveled around me, the top of the car ripping off in their feet, and then falling after us, as if trying to catch up with the rest of its body. The air sucked from my lungs and an overwhelming dizziness overtook me. The harpies flew down with us, shouting insults, gleefully awaiting the sight of our broken bodies when we hit the pavement below.
My senses finally snapped into place and I pushed myself up, struggling against the force of gravity, and flung myself over the side of the broken metal, grabbing onto the legs of one of the beasts nearby to keep from falling.
The real battle began then, my strength against hers, a fight to see who would bow first. Dangerously sharp talons scratched against me, gouging my skin and bringing blood to the surface, but I refused to let go.
For a fraction of an instant, I saw the car still falling slightly below us, Arsenio burying himself into the seat the best he could, awaiting impact.
Immediately, my attention was drawn back to the task at hand, the beast snapping her human like but very sharp teeth close to my face, practically bending in half trying to get to me.
Climbing up the monster, I caught hold of one of the wings and pulled as hard as I could, smiling greatly as it cracked beneath my touch, the wind suddenly blasting against me as we fell down together.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to enjoy the sickening crunch at the bottom, something else grabbing me out of midair. But, instead of the talons I was prepared for, it was human hands.
I glanced up at who held my hand, seeing the Titan, in all its terrifying power and glory.
Avalon had sprouted monstrous wings, with feathers so snowy white she looked almost like an angel. There was something different about her, a hardness that fought back against the harpies as she pulled me up closer to her, wrapping her arms around my chest to keep me from falling as she yelled to the retreating attack force. As I watched them go, it wasn’t lost to me that many of them were hurt, burnt feathers sticking out and blood coming from several wounds.
Desperation for Arsenio suddenly struck me and I struggled to look down, trying to see if he had survived the crash, but Avalon’s wings were in the way, beating furiously as we slowly descended back to the ground.
“Are you okay?” she panted, greeting me with eyes full of worry.
I didn’t answer, just staring at her as my feet finally brushed against the earth.
“You’re bleeding,” she said, concern etched into her features as she reached a hand out to my face, her wings stretching out to their giant like span.
With a heart stopping halt, she shuddered to a stop, her beautiful eyes suddenly filling with the most pain I’d ever seen anyone display. Her mouth twisted into a silent scream as she wavered, hands shaking, until finally the sound broke from her and she crumpled forward.
Catching her in my arms, my own wide eyes watched as the wings folded back in on themselves, burying into her flesh. Her body convulsed in my arms, face pressed against my chest as fingernails dug into my back, the pain she was feeling obvious. It was so much, she passed out before the task had been completed and I was left with my Titan savior grasped in my tight embrace.
“Is she all right?” Arsenio’s breathless voice asked behind me.
I turned slightly, taking in his scratched up and bleeding form before answering.
“I don’t know,” I replied, gingerly rearranging her so I could stand up.
Her head rested on my shoulder, hands in her lap, and legs held up in my arm, as I turned to look at my cousin once more.
“I thought you were dead,” I stated simply, not realizing the truth of it until it had left my lips. “How did you survive that fall?”
“She caught the car,” he replied, nodding to Avalon. “Right before it hit the ground. I thought it about ripped her arms out of their sockets—she dropped me again right away—but it was enough to slow me down and keep me alive. She was on her way to you before I could even sit up and see what was going on.”
I looked down at the body in my arms in wonder. This was th
e strangest Titan I’d ever come across, most definitely. Not only had she spent the last week allowing me to treat her no better than dirt, but she’d saved the both of us, injuring herself in the process.
“We need to get out of the open,” I said slowly, still looking at her face, peaceful in its state of unawareness. “Grab whatever you can from the car and let’s go.”
He limped over to the hunk of broken metal, pushing aside what had been the lid to the trunk, and started rummaging through things.
“Most of our supplies are broken,” his voice wafted over to me. “But I think some can be salvaged. The food is destroyed, though. It’s all scattered and pounded to a pulp.”
“Take what we can use,” I replied, still lost in the features of Avalon’s face.
It was like I’d never seen her before, which I hadn’t. Not like this anyway. She was even more beautiful than the day she saved me from the ice Titan’s attack. Gone was the fear and hatred I’d seen every time she looked at me, replaced by complete trust to take care of her.
Even more surprising was the sudden urge I had to do just that. I wanted to hunt down the harpies and tear out every throat, to seek revenge for what they’d put her through. I wanted to strangle myself for tying her to a tree each night, refusing her warmth and care, and starving her to death. I’d slapped her face, spit on her, and refused to call or even think of her as anything more than “It.”
With a lurch, I realized I’d been the one acting like a monster. The Graeae had scared me, enough to make me forget the human side of her did matter. All I could see was what I thought was a beast, what needed to be destroyed to keep my own fate from cursing me. Long gone from my mind were the stories of Titans who had helped the Olympians, and likewise my own kind who had betrayed their family and sided with the enemy.
Here I was now, with this helpless being in my arms, thrown into a world she didn’t understand and most surely feared. Her body was changing, displaying things she’d never known about, and her mind was struggling to accept it. I’d seen the fear inside her on more than one occasion, even reveled in the fact that she was terrified.
Adrastia (The God Chronicles Book 4) Page 9