Sentinel c-5

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  A tear streaked down my cheek, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I pressed my hand against the pocket that held several small coins—the ones I’d brought in case…in case we had to bury someone. We couldn’t even bury Olivia, but she had the coins with her. She’d have them in the Underworld.

  Olivia would get to be with Caleb now. He would find her, and she would be okay. Olivia was with Caleb now. I kept repeating that, because it helped to know that they would be reunited. They would be back together for eternity, and that was something to be happy about, because Olivia had never truly gotten over Caleb’s death. Knowing that still didn’t make this any easier to accept. At some point, Aiden reached over and found my hand. He squeezed.

  I squeezed back.

  We reached the heavily forested outskirts of the Catskills just before dusk. We parked the dusty Hummer in front of a sprawling house at the base of the mountains; Solos had directed us to the address, so we assumed it was full of allies. I stretched my tight muscles, then opened the door.

  Behind us, Seth and Perses had already sprung free from their vehicle and were rounding ours. Up ahead, I could see a mass of Sentinels in front of the house, and there were several lights on inside. It seemed like more than what we’d left with, and sweet relief coursed through me. They had somehow made it around the automatons. Maybe they’d just been waiting for the Apollyon-Titan carpool.

  “Ares has to know about this,” I said, hopping down and walking toward the stone fence separating the gravel road from the yard.

  Seth fell in step beside me, folding his arms. “I’m sure he does, but this kind of warfare reminds him of his glory days.”

  “He’s right.” Aiden hefted the bag of weapons onto his shoulder. “There’s no way two enemies would be stationed this close together in modern warfare, but this…” He waved his arm in the direction of the waiting Sentinels and Guards. “This is like trench warfare.”

  In high school, before I’d returned to the Deity Island Covenant, I had read All Quiet on the Western Front. That was about all I knew about trench warfare, and that was enough for me to want to sneak into the Covenant and act like a nuclear missile.

  I couldn’t bear to lose anyone else.

  Perses strode ahead of us, tall and silent, and I watched him for a moment. He’d relished the skirmish that had cost Olivia her life. The Titan thrived on the bloodshed and death. I didn’t want to hate him, because it was what he was, but there was still no trace of remorse or sorrow for the lives lost.

  Deacon stumbled past us, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes wearily. “I don’t want to see the inside of a car again for as long as I live.”

  “I’ll remind you of that the next time you have to walk any real distance and start whining,” Luke replied, the words light but the look on his face grave.

  He had been so close to Olivia, closer than me. An ache pierced my chest as I stepped through the narrow opening in the stone wall. The only thing I could console myself with was that I knew—I knew—she was with Caleb. She was with the boy she had loved so fiercely, had never stopped loving.

  I was still holding onto that thought like it was a life jacket.

  Solos jogged across the clearing, slowing down as he passed Perses. He cast the Titan a look before continuing toward us. He stopped in front of Luke, placing his hand on the half-blood’s shoulder.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, and those two words carried so much weight.

  Luke nodded and said something in a low voice before he walked past. Deacon’s hand went to his lower back, and a small smile tugged at my lips when Luke moved closer to him as they followed Perses.

  Aiden clasped Solos’ hand as we met him. “How are things here?”

  “Better than what you had to face,” Solos replied. “I should’ve—”

  “There’s nothing you could’ve done,” I interrupted, shifting my weight. I wanted a pillow—STAT. “It seems like there are more Sentinels here than there were with us.”

  “There are.” His eyes gleamed with excitement. “Come on. I’m sure you guys could use something to eat. I’ll explain on the way.”

  My stomach rumbled in response, and Aiden sent me a quick grin. I was too tired to be embarrassed. “So what’s going on?”

  “Our advance scouts met up with a group of about fifty Sentinels outside of the city. They’re from the New York Covenant and were out scouting beyond the line of the automatons. They showed us a way around. We had a minor run-in with a few automatons, but we didn’t lose any numbers.”

  They were lives, not numbers.

  He knows that. Seth’s voice startled me. I hadn’t realized I’d projected those thoughts anywhere. But looking at them that way helps keep the mind clear.

  I guess, I responded without much conviction.

  “They brought us back here. There’s at least a hundred more. They’ve been here since Ares took over. They made it out after he did.” Purpose filled his voice. “They know the set-up inside, where Ares has been holing up, how many he has beyond the walls, and so on.”

  All of that was valuable knowledge, necessary knowledge, and that was what Aiden was telling Solos, and then they were talking about more important stuff. But all I could think was that, if there were Sentinels here that had gotten out after Ares took over, was my father among them? Solos wouldn’t know if he was, but Seth and Laadan had said that that my father had stayed behind with the servants.

  “Are there servants here?” I asked, interrupting them.

  Solos glanced back at me. “Yes. There are quite a few. Most of them aren’t under the effects of the Elixir anymore.”

  My heart tripped up in my chest, and my wide eyes met Aiden’s. There was a reluctant hope in his gaze. I knew he wanted my father to be somewhere among those up ahead or in the house, but he was wary of that fragile dream and the crushing disappointment that was sure to come if he wasn’t.

  He was behind the walls when I was last here. Seth’s words were as heavy as Solos’ apology. He could’ve made it out since then, but…

  But Ares knew that my father was there. I sighed. It was stupid to hope, wasn’t it?

  “Never,” Seth said out loud.

  Aiden glanced back, brows furrowed, but then he turned back to Solos.

  Stones sat in my stomach. Man, that disappointment wasn’t far behind. I tried to shake it off, because we had such huge things to accomplish. We would have to move on Ares quickly, probably by the following nightfall, but I wanted to see my dad. I needed him to know that I knew who he was.

  If things went south fast, I wanted to see him before I…

  I didn’t allow myself to finish that thought. I had to trust that Apollo would find a way to stop the Olympians from snuffing me out once I became the God Killer. He’d said he would take care of me. He’d sworn, and supposedly gods kept their promises.

  Except in Solos’ case, and just about every other story I could think of.

  Sigh.

  As we crossed the lawn, the Sentinels that had been gawking at Perses did the same as Seth and I neared. Several muttered curses when they laid eyes on the First, their gazes cold and unfriendly.

  “Friends of yours?” I asked, watching one of them rest his hand on his gun.

  Seth gave a lopsided shrug. “I’m sure we may have exchanged a few words before…”

  “Before you pulled your head out of your ass?”

  A laugh burst from him. “Exactly.”

  “You should sleep well tonight.”

  He stepped around a bag full of what looked like rifles. “I doubt any of us will really be sleeping.”

  I recognized some of the faces from the University, but there were a lot of strangers in the crowd, and many of them were my age. Young. I didn’t feel young, not anymore, but I guessed technically I still was, and so were they.

  Solos introduced us to the Sentinels who were in charge of the group from inside the Covenant. They looked battered but hopeful as they saw with their own eyes what Solos must’
ve been telling them.

  The Apollyons were unified, and we’d brought a Titan with us.

  It sounded kind of badass, but then again, we were going up against Ares.

  We headed into the house, which was really a mansion. Someone said it’d once belonged to a mortal in the government, but they had abandoned it when Ares brought in the mortal troops. Food was given to us, and I tried to eat quietly while Aiden conversed with the different Sentinels. I didn’t see where Luke and Deacon had roamed off to, but I hoped, wherever they were, Luke was doing okay.

  I picked at my sandwich, my stomach too full of knots to be hungry. Part of me worried that I was throwing way too many vibes at Seth, but I suspected he was blocking me. After all, he was a hell of a lot better at it than me.

  Giving up on the food, I set the plate aside, left the large sitting room, and investigated the house. I lost count of how many rooms were downstairs after I walked through what looked like the third sitting room. Who needed this many rooms? And why were there so many short halls? It was like a maze.

  Sighing, I pushed the shorter strands of hair that had escaped my ponytail out of my face. I knew I should be back in that room with Aiden and Solos. They had been talking about plans for tomorrow. I should’ve been leading those conversations—or at least paying attention. Or pretending to listen by being in the same room as them.

  “You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

  I jumped at the sound of Seth’s voice, surprised that he was able to sneak up on me. Turning toward him, I found him under the archway. Well, there went the idea that he was blocking my feelings.

  “Are you following me?” I asked instead of acknowledging his statement.

  “Yes.”

  “Shouldn’t you be following Perses?”

  “Why?” He tipped his head down, and a lock of blond hair fell across his forehead. “He’s behaving. Right now, he’s outside with the Sentinels, getting them all wound up.”

  I sat on the edge of an antique couch that had the hardest, most uncomfortable cushions ever. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I think so. He’ll get them ready to battle. We’re going to need everything we have to get past the army Ares has and inside those walls.”

  I nodded slowly. “You think we can do it?”

  “Most definitely.” One side of his lips quirked up.

  “And you think we can take out Ares?”

  “I do.” Seth strode over the couch and sat beside me. My initial reaction was to get up, especially since he was having so many problems ignoring the allure of the power that rested inside of me, but I stayed put. “Perses will make sure we get to him, and then he will weaken Ares, giving us time to make the transfer. You remember how to do it?”

  “Yes.” I clapped my hands together in my lap and peeked at him. The amber hue of his eyes was deeper. I decided to take a stab at the argument again. “Waiting until the very last minute is risky.”

  “You doing it now is risky, Alex. You don’t know what it’s like. I know—”

  “I believe you,” I said, and I really did. The power had corrupted Seth, and he was only the First. Becoming the God Killer was apparently going to turn me into an aether-crazed Terminator. Besides, yelling at him hadn’t worked last time. “If I can’t handle it after I take out Ares, you’ve got to get away from me. Quickly.”

  His frown did nothing to lessen his beauty. “I don’t think I’ve said this to you right.”

  My brows rose.

  His frown deepened. “You can handle it.”

  Now I was confused. “That’s not what you said before.”

  “Like I said, I’m saying it wrong.” Seth twisted toward me. “And I’m not being honest.”

  The knots in my stomach tightened, and I resisted the urge to hit him before he spoke, because I figured whatever he was about to say would deserve a five-finger hello to the face. “Seth.”

  “Alex—”

  “What in the hell could you possibly not be honest about now?” I demanded as a rush of anger rose inside me. “That you’re waiting until the thirtieth hour to divulge?”

  Seth looked away, his chin jutting out stubbornly. “You could lay off the attitude.”

  I flipped him off.

  A reluctant-sounding chuckle parted his lips. “Okay. Do I think you’re going to go a little power-crazy? Probably. You’re already a little crazy.”

  My eyes narrowed.

  “But you’ll handle it. You always handle everything, and I…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “We have to wait until the last minute because I’m not sure I won’t try to stop you. I’m not sure I won’t try to take the power myself.”

  I stared at him, the scowl slipping off my face as his words sank in. Holy babies in a manger, this was a big deal. Apollo had been right. I had wanted to believe Seth that night at the University, but Apollo had been right.

  Two pink spots appeared in his cheeks. “You’re looking at me like… like I said the worst thing possible.”

  “Well, that is pretty…um, well, it’s something.” I shook my head. “Seth, if you think you’re going to stop me and try to do it yourself, how in the hell is waiting to the last minute to do it a good idea?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he looked away, focusing on a really creepy deer head hanging from the wall.

  Seth?

  Lowering his chin, he rubbed the palm of his hand over his cheek. I’ll let you do it then. I know I will.

  How? What if you don’t? What if—?

  “I will,” he snapped, lifting his head. His eyes were glowing. “I know I will then.”

  “Excuse me if I’m not reassured by that!” I started to stand, but he grabbed my arm. The tiny hairs on my body rose.

  “I know I will, because too much will be riding on me to let you do it.”

  Was he saying that he’d perform better under the pressure? That somehow having our heads on the line would ensure he wouldn’t suck me dry? What the hell was that? I tried to pull my arm back, but he held on. “I think we should do it now.”

  He closed his eyes.

  “I’m serious. We could do it now.” My heart was trying to come out of my chest. “I’ll get Aiden, and then we’ll do it. Afterward, he’ll make sure we’re separated and—”

  “I’m not going to fail you or anyone. Not again. We’ll do it then, as planned.”

  “Seth…”

  The marks of the Apollyon went crazy, spinning and twirling across my skin, reaching his. His face contorted, and I felt the cord jump inside me. My pulse kicked into overdrive as every warning sensor went off. The last time, he’d said—

  Suddenly, the tip of a Covenant dagger was under Seth’s chin, pushing into the delicate skin of his throat. My gaze dropped to where Seth’s hand was wrapped around my forearm and then back to the tip of the dagger. Definitely a silent way of saying “let go.” Seth released my arm, finger by finger.

  I looked up, and my gaze locked with eyes the color of warm chocolate.

  Air halted in my throat, and my voice cracked on one word. “Dad?”

  CHAPTER 22

  The huge, potential problem of Seth taking the God Killer power from me at the last and possibly worst moment known to mankind was suddenly insignificant.

  I was staring at my dad.

  My father.

  He looked just like I remembered—a classically handsome face lined by the weather and his life, but his brown eyes were lively with intelligence and awareness. He was thinner, gaunter than before.

  And he was wearing a Sentinel uniform.

  Something in my chest came unhinged, like a door had been thrown open too fast and too hard. Tears poured into my eyes.

  He was in a Sentinel uniform.

  My father also held a dagger against Seth’s throat.

  “It’s okay,” I said, my voice hoarse. I glanced at Seth, who looked as surprised as I felt. “Seth?”

  Standing slowly, Seth raised his hands. His amber gaze was l
ocked on my father. “I’m not going to hurt her.”

  My father didn’t look convinced. His lips curled in a sneer as he kept the blade against Seth’s throat, but he let Seth back away. The First headed for the door, stopping once to look at us, and then he disappeared through the archway.

  I stared up at my dad, too afraid to look away because I feared he might actually vanish, too scared to stand because I knew my legs wouldn’t hold me. My throat clogged with emotion, and his face blurred. This whole time, from the moment I first received Laadan’s letter, I had hoped that I would see him again, but I never really thought that I would.

  And here he was, on the night before battle, standing before me.

  “Dad?” I croaked. It was all I could say. It was like I’d lost my ability to speak in comprehensible sentences.

  He expertly sheathed the Covenant dagger the way we’d been taught in training. For a whole minute, he didn’t move or look away. His gaze crawled over my face, and the lines around his eyes deepened, as did the furrow between his brows. I knew it was the scars, and even though he had never been in my life—couldn’t have been—they had to affect him deeply.

  Letting out a breath that he seemed to have been holding for years, he sat beside me on the couch. I didn’t know what to say. There was so much pressure in my chest and my throat.

  He reached out with one hand and cupped my cheek. His hand was cool, but I didn’t care. I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears. The pressure increased, pushing at the seams. My dad didn’t say anything, because he couldn’t, but his touch…it was better than any words that could be spoken.

  I struggled to pull myself together, waiting until I was more sure I wouldn’t start sobbing all over him before I spoke. And of course, I said the stupidest thing possible. “It’s really you?”