by Sandy James
“But if she knows...”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it. I want to do what I promised to do. If I come back to you—”
“You’re not going alone.” The man had clearly lost his mind.
Ix Chel sighed. Another action that made her appear more human. “The time has come for me to leave. I shall leave you to your discussion and bid you beware.” On that ominous note, she shimmered out of Avalon.
Gina gave in to her frustration, intent upon giving Zach’s ears a good blistering.
Several loud pops echoed across the compound, and she whirled around, wondering if the other patron goddesses had come to protest Zach staying.
Four figures had materialized in the middle of Avalon, and they sure as hell weren’t the goddesses.
“Sekhmet.” Richard had been right—the bitch was Tina Turner right out of Thunderdome.
The lioness goddess roared loud and long. “Now you shall all die.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
One jump put Gina next to the cache of weapons by the sand pit. Yanking a sword from the pile, she turned to face the intruders.
Richard.
Her heart clenched. After what he’d said about working behind the scenes to stop Sekhmet, he was here to help that bitch-goddess attack the Amazons. Next to him stood a man who looked so much like him, she wondered for a moment if they were twins.
The fourth person who flashed into Avalon was Helen.
What the hell had happened to the precious alliance she’d asked for?
“The kids!” Richard shouted at the other man before he sprinted toward the MacKay home.
The intruder who’d arrived with Sekhmet nodded and ran toward the Herrmanns’ house.
Shit.
Someone had to protect the children. Knowing Mina would be in the nursery with the MacKay children this time of day—being watched by the changelings—Gina locked eyes with Zach.
He nodded, picked up a sword and followed her.
Her heart screamed that Richard wouldn’t hurt Bonnie, Darian or Mina, but she couldn’t trust her judgment anymore. If Zach could guard the little ones, she could deal with Richard.
But Zach didn’t know everything yet. She hadn’t had the chance to talk to him about Richard. About Helen, either. Hell, she wasn’t sure which side they were on now.
No, she knew. They’d attacked Avalon, which meant Helen was truly a scorpion, and Richard had made his thorny bed. If Gina faced him, she’d have to fight him. Damn, she didn’t look forward to that.
What would happen if she faced Richard? They’d fought so often, yet neither had the upper hand. Would she be able to kill him if she had to? Could he kill her if forced to fight?
Hoping Rebecca and Artair would hear her, she shouted for their help as she tried to catch Richard, knowing she had to get to him before Zach. If those two fought again, one would surely die. She almost sighed in relief as Rebecca and Artair came hurrying out of the lodge. Then the familiar putrid smell of rotting meat filled her nostrils.
“Revenants!” she screamed.
Artair’s battle cry pierced the air as he drew the sword he always kept sheathed against his side.
The fetid zombies started popping into Avalon’s compound, one after another. A “gift” from Sekhmet, no doubt.
Zach caught up with her and kept right on running after Richard.
Gina beheaded two zombies that materialized behind Zach. He didn’t seem to notice.
“The kids!” Gina shouted at Artair and Rebecca, but they were already thick into the fight. Even if they heard her, there was no way they could get to the house quickly enough.
It was up to her and Zach.
* * *
Zach’s heart hammered so hard, he feared for a moment it would burst right out of his chest. Richard was fast—almost too fast. He was already inside the house before Zach reached the front door.
He’d been right all along—Dick was a traitor. Worse, the bastard was going after innocents.
Flying up the stairs—sword at the ready like Johann had taught him—Zach silently prayed that he could get to the children before Richard could harm them. As he turned the corner to reach the nursery, he skidded to a stop.
Richard lay on the ground, holding his bleeding nose. Towering over him was a creature covered in a mixture of brown and red fur. It could only be described as Bigfoot.
With a back paw planted firmly on Richard’s chest, the Sasquatch turned to glare at Zach. It sniffed the air for a moment before throwing its head back and letting out a roar that sounded like an angry bear.
Richard groaned as the creature increased the pressure of its enormous foot against his ribs.
Looking around, desperate to see if the children had been hurt by either Richard or the creature, Zach finally saw the kids standing in the corner.
None of them appeared even remotely afraid. Clutching her wooden sword, Bonnie stood in front of the younger children. Darian strained to look around her while Mina giggled, clearly entertained by Bigfoot. Although Bonnie couldn’t be more than five years old, the future Amazon had been trained well.
Where in the hell were the MacKays?
Zach locked eyes with Bonnie. He inclined his head toward the door, planning to distract the furry creature while the girl led the others away from this danger. Gina had to be hot on his heels. She would know where to put the kids so they’d be safe.
A stubborn shake of Bonnie’s head came in reply.
“Go.” Zach more mouthed the order than said it aloud as he pointed toward the door. The children had a safe passage as long as he kept the Bigfoot focused on him. “Now.”
“No.”
Her reply was loud enough to make the creature jerk his head around to look at her. It snarled, pulling wet lips back into a creepy smile.
“Not over there, you big dumb ape. Here!” Zach waved his arms in the air. The tip of his sword brushed against the ceiling. He cursed, lowering it and trying to bring the snarling beast’s attention back to him.
A squirming Richard grabbed the animal’s foot and tried to push it off his stomach. “The kids,” he choked out. “Get—the—kids.”
Who in the hell was he talking to? The Sasquatch or Zach? Or did Richard think the other SOG had followed him to try to hurt Bonnie and Darian?
The creature snarled again, turning back to Richard, baring his fangs this time and banishing the odd smile.
Gina slid across the hardwood floor and flung herself into the nursery. “What the hell?”
“Get the kids,” Zach said, motioning toward them.
“Bonnie,” she said in a calm tone, “come here. Bring Darian and Mina and come here.”
“No. We’re ’sposed to stay with Beagan and Dolan.”
The kid was every bit as stubborn as her parents. “Where are the changelings?” Gina asked.
“Don’t know,” Zach replied.
“They’d never abandon the kids. You don’t think that...thing ate them, do you?”
How was he supposed to answer that? “God, I hope not.”
Gina tried again. “C’mon, Bonnie. Come to Aunt Gina.”
“I’m ’sposed to stay with Beagan and Dolan.” Bonnie pointed her sword at the big, hairy thing.
The girl was truly a future Amazon, showing courage an adult wouldn’t possess. “You can’t fight it, Bonnie,” Zach said. “Not with a wooden sword. When you’re bigger. Then you can fight. Go with Gina.”
Gina crooked her finger at the kids. “Come with Aunt Gina.”
“No!” This time, Bonnie stomped her foot.
“I’ll have to get them.” Gina crept along the wall.
Zach kept making threatening moves toward the Bigfoot to keep it distracted.
Right as she got within arm’s reach of Bonnie, the creature whirled around and roared before it drew those lips back into a fang-baring smirk.
Mina giggled louder as the MacKay children grinned.
There was somethin
g seriously wrong with their senses of humor.
The Sasquatch left Richard to move toward the children.
“C’mon, kids.” Gina reached out for Bonnie’s free hand, but the girl jerked it out of her reach.
As Gina threw herself in the Bigfoot’s path, a bright green light shimmered around it, rising from the fur as a swift wind whipped through the room.
The creature fell to all fours, split in the middle, and the two halves morphed into Beagan and Dolan.
“Holy shit.” Zach’s words were little more than a whisper. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected the changelings to become something dangerous—not with their sweet personalities.
Bonnie tugged on Gina’s shirt. “Told ya. We’re not ’sposed to leave Beagan and Dolan when bad things come here.”
Beagan gave his chocolate brown vest an adjustment before turning back to Zach and nodding at Richard. “Will you bind him with your powers, sir, or shall we tie him head to foot?”
“But—but—” Richard sputtered, trying to get back to his feet. “Gina, I wasn’t here to hurt the kids.”
Zach pointed his sword at Richard’s chest. “Shut up, Dick, before I put a sword through you.”
“Gina, please,” Richard begged. “Helen’s still on your side.”
“Sure she is,” Gina replied. “That’s why she dragged Sekhmet to Avalon.”
As Richard gained his feet, Zach kicked Richard hard enough in the stomach that he collapsed back to the floor, gagging and out of breath.
“Tie him up, guys. I’ll save the binding for Sekhmet.” He nodded at Gina. “We need to get back to the fight.”
Bonnie smiled up at Gina as she released her grip. “Go help Mama and Papa.” She turned to drop her sword and take Darian and Mina’s hands into hers. “Beagan, Dolan and me can take care of the babies.”
No wonder Rebecca and Meagan hadn’t rushed to the house to protect their children. They’d always been in the care of their protectors. He would never look at the changelings the same way again.
As Beagan and Dolan somehow produced twine from thin air, Gina hurried to Zach and smiled in invitation. “Ready?”
“Oh hell, yeah.”
* * *
As Gina shouted a battle cry, Zach followed her out onto the grassy compound. He took in the chaos around him, a bit numb at what he saw.
More creatures. Not Bigfoot this time. No, these looked like zombies straight out of some horror movie. Gray pallor. Skin peeling from their faces and hands. Sing-song groans and moans rising from their chests. Their smell made the bile rise in the back of his throat. They surrounded the women who’d popped in with Richard like a protective shield.
Sekhmet. The lioness.
She stood still as a statue, keeping her eyes glued on Rebecca, who in turn had her bow drawn and ready to shoot. Helen mimicked Sekhmet, her gaze never wavering from the Earth Amazon. Several arrows littered the ground around the goddesses, some sunk in the grass, some snapped in half.
Rebecca had kept them busy.
He’d have to hack his way through the decaying corpses to reach Sekhmet. Rebecca might be able to stop her with an arrow, but not for long.
Thanks to Ra, Zach could hold her a hell of a lot longer.
Just how do I kill fucking zombies?
Gina threw herself into the fray without a moment of hesitation. She lopped off the heads of a couple of zombies creeping up on Sarita, whooped in joy and sent a breathtaking smile his way. Her hair was fire-engine red.
“Revenants,” she said in answer to his unasked question. “Go get ‘em, baby.”
Hearing a growl behind him, Zach whirled around to see a revenant who looked so much like a monster from the Thriller video, he had a brief flash that this was all just some weird movie. As a cold hand touched his skin, reality sank in.
He gripped the hilt of his sword with sweaty palms, channeled his martial arts training and sliced the revenant’s arm off. Then he swiftly beheaded it. The head rolled a few feet away as the body collapsed at his feet.
“That’s my guy,” Gina shouted. She turned, crouched and jumped right over a revenant coming her way. Whirling around, she needed only one swing of her sword to destroy the creature.
Zach fought his way through the rapidly dwindling number of revenants, trying to reach Sekhmet. He needed to do his job and wrap her in his binding. What he’d do once he had her under control, he didn’t know, but perhaps the Amazons would give him some ideas.
An enraged shriek drowned out all other sounds. Focused on Sekhmet’s face, it took a moment for Zach to realize she’d been wounded by an arrow buried just below her left collarbone. The goddess turned to glare at Rebecca.
“Well, hell. I can’t believe I missed her heart.” Rebecca reached over her shoulder to grab another arrow.
Megan hurried toward the goddesses. “Probably ’cause she doesn’t have one, Rebs.”
Sekhmet jerked the arrow out and flung it away. “That was the only shot you shall get.”
Taking advantage of the distraction, Zach stabbed his sword into the grass, stretched out his palms and tried to reach for Sekhmet with his powers. Regardless of how intensely he concentrated, nothing happened. After several tries, he had to drop his trembling arms for a moment to try to regain his strength. As hard as he was breathing, he might as well have run ten miles—all uphill.
Steeling himself against the heat burning inside him, Zach pictured the goddess wrapped in his ties. He raised his arms. The invisible tendrils grew from his palms, but they moved at a snail’s pace rather than shooting across the distance.
As if she could see them coming, Sekhmet side-stepped the bindings and stayed focused on Rebecca and Megan. She shot a stream of fire from one palm that both Amazons had to dive aside to avoid.
Zach collapsed to his knees, not expecting the exhaustion that came with using his powers. Gasping for air and feeling as though every inch of his skin was aflame, he tried to regain enough power to make another attempt. This was what he had been given the power to do. To stop Sekhmet. And he was failing miserably.
Sekhmet turned to roar at the Amazons again. “This isn’t over. I shall drink your blood, I shall—” Another arrow sank into her chest. The goddess shrieked, jerked the arrow out and smashed it in her fist.
“You villains are all talk. Yada, yada, yada.” Rebecca plucked another arrow from her quiver.
Helen smirked although she made no move to help the lioness. “You bluff, you cannot kill me. Nor can you kill Sekhmet.”
“Oh, I think I can.” Rebecca aimed at Helen.
The arrow flew through the air, but Sekhmet roared and backhanded it away like a hockey goalie. Although dark blood soaked her gold dress, she laughed loud and long. “Now, you shall die.” With a muttered incantation and another backhand, she sent Rebecca sprawling on her back.
Megan shouted a battle cry, raised her sword and ran at Sekhmet and Helen. She didn’t make it more than a few yards before she, too, was lying in the grass, battered and bruised by Sekhmet’s powers.
Why hadn’t she used them sooner?
Because she’d been hoping to watch the people of Avalon die. She’d underestimated the Amazons, and now she was paying the price.
Sarita and Gina exchanged quick glances and nods. Instead of charging, they stalked the two trapped goddesses, clearly looking for the right opening.
“Yield now, and we won’t destroy you,” Sarita called out.
Sekhmet’s growl echoed through the air. “You have not the power. You cannot harm the likes of me. I am the Destructor.” She shoved her palms at Sarita, who stumbled back from the force of the winds flaying at her.
Zach struggled to his feet. Ra had given him this power and told him it was his destiny to destroy Sekhmet. Hard to believe when his first attempts had been about as intimidating as the buzz of an insect.
He’d have to try harder.
Gina and Sarita had split ranks to approach Sekhmet and Helen from opposite
directions. Artair joined Gina and Sarita to surround the intruding goddesses as Johann ran to his house, probably to chase down the SOG who was still inside. The distraction of the four warriors gave Zach the perfect opportunity.
Sekhmet growled first at Gina then turned to snarl at Sarita as if choosing which would be her most dangerous foe. She chose Sarita.
With no warning, the goddess crouched before springing over Helen to land on Sarita, knocking the weapon from her hand. The goddess sprawled over the Water Amazon and put both her hands around Sarita’s throat.
Helen mumbled a few words in what sounded like Latin, and more revenants arrived, each accompanied by a sound like champagne corks being popped. Artair whirled around to strike down another as Megan and Rebecca charged the herd.
Zach took a deep breath and tried again. This time his fear for Gina and his friends gave him more strength. The tendrils came fast and furious, whirling through the air to strike Sekhmet.
The lioness released Sarita’s throat, roaring and twisting to break Zach’s invisible shackles. Sarita rolled to her side, coughing and choking.
Helen stepped between Zach and Sekhmet, swiping her hands and cutting through the bonds.
The release of the bindings sent Zach tumbling backward.
With a few chants, Helen took Sekhmet’s hand, stooped to also grab Sarita’s shoulder, and the three disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Sarita,” Gina rasped.
Zach didn’t need to hear another word to know how much she was hurting.
“Damn it.” Rebecca’s anger set off a small earth tremor. She beheaded the last revenant still standing and kicked the head like a soccer ball.
He tried to hurry to Gina, but his legs didn’t want to cooperate. His skin hurt all over, as though someone had rubbed him head to toe with sandpaper. Every muscle ached from exertion. If they went on a rescue mission now, he wouldn’t be much help. But for Gina, he’d try.
“You okay?” he asked her.
“Yeah, but—they’ve got Sarita.” Gina met him halfway, dropped her sword and let him take her into his arms.