Closing my eyes, I breathed out slowly and winced. My temples throbbed something fierce. It was like having a toothache in my entire face and I had no idea how long I’d last before it was time to have another chat with Seth.
I stared. “Holy…”
“Crap,” Deacon whispered over my shoulder.
Silence fell, thick and heavy as we all sat in the car and stared. I knew the same thing was happening behind us in the other Hummer. None of us knew what to say.
Horror engulfed me. This… none of this had been expected.
About an hour earlier, Aiden had found the narrow lane that looked like a fire access road, but was really the five-mile long entrance to the University. We’d made it up the rocky road about a half a mile when the scenery had changed from clusters of juniper trees to… a scene straight out of Red Dawn.
The headlights from our cars cast light on a gruesome scene. Burnt-out Hummers crowded the sides of the road, resting against equally-charred trees and scorched ground. There were so many—half a dozen crispy car skeletons. I couldn’t tell if there were bodies in them, not from this distance.
I swallowed. “Aiden…”
He placed a hand on my arm. “It could’ve been Sentinels trying to infiltrate the University.”
Blinking rapidly, I shook my head. I had a bad, bad feeling about this. Call it a spidey-sense or whatever, but this wasn’t good.
“Can we, like, call ahead?” Deacon said in a hushed voice. “I mean, they’re expecting us, right?”
“They are.” Aiden glanced back at his younger brother. “It’s okay. I promise. Nothing is going to happen.”
“I can’t get a damn signal at all.” Marcus glared at his cell phone like he could wish it into Tartarus. “Nothing at all.” He glanced up, eyes hard as gems. “Any of you?”
Aiden checked his phone. “Nope.”
I wet my lips as my gaze fell back to the scorched vehicles. My heart pounded and my head ached. “There must be a lot of firebug pures in there…”
“No doubt,” Aiden muttered, both brows rising.
Solos appeared on Aiden’s side of the car, running a hand through the dark strands of hair that had escaped his ponytail. In the shadows, his scar was less visible. “You think the Covenant did this?” He gestured at the vehicles. “Their version of torch security?”
“It’s possible,” Aiden replied, but I wasn’t sure he believed it.
“I can’t get hold of them, so I’m assuming you can’t, either, right?” When Aiden nodded, Solos folded his hands behind his head and stretched so that his back bowed. “I guess we can make it through.”
“We can from what I can see.” Aiden sat back, thrumming his fingers off the wheel. “We’ll have to go slow.”
As I watched the two Sentinels, I knew in my core that Aiden and Solos didn’t want to do this. We were blind to what lay ahead. It could be a murderous band of grizzly bears, or a legion of Sentinels waiting to make S’mores out of us. We just didn’t know.
Solos sighed and dropped his arms. “Well, I guess we do this.”
“We really don’t have any other option.” Aiden shifted the gears back into drive. “Let’s do this.”
With a curt nod, Solos loped back to his vehicle. I squirmed in my seat as the Hummer lurched forward. Easing around the torched cars wasn’t an easy feat. It was like driving a boat through a china shop. Thank the gods that Aiden was driving because I would’ve plowed through the wreckage on the first narrow turn.
More burnt-out cars lay by the side of the road every so many feet, and with each one we passed, the scorch marks looked fresher, the acrid smell thicker… as if each time someone had tried to reach the University, they’d made it a little farther than the group before them. And farther up, deep orange flames crawled across the hood of a Hummer, licking at the smoke-filled air.
Oh, this was so not good.
“How will they know we’re friends?” Deacon asked, thinking along the same lines as me. He leaned between the seats, face pale. “Aiden, we should stop—”
Aiden suddenly did stop, but not because of what Deacon was saying. Debris was strewed across the access road, choking the lane. As far as I could see were scattered skeletons of cars. Many of them still smoldered, glowing hellish red in the pre-dawn dark. The apocalyptical landscape was something straight out of nightmares.
“Gods,” Aiden muttered darkly.
My stomach twisted into knots as I undid my seatbelt. “This isn’t good.”
No one said anything for several moments, and then Marcus spoke, “We’re going to have to walk it from here.”
“How many miles?” I asked.
“We’re about three miles out.” Aiden killed the engine, leaving the headlights on.
All of us climbed out of the Hummer, casting anxious looks at all the burnt-out cars surrounding us, feeling like we’d been driving around with a giant bull’s-eye on us.
Quickly, we weaponed-up with daggers, sickle blades, and Glocks. As I strapped a gun on, I looked over my shoulder and saw that the crew with Solos was doing the same thing.
We looked like we were preparing for war as we came together between the two Hummers. In a way, we were—we had been this whole time. We were at war.
A chill suddenly snaked its way under my skin. We stood in a circle, the nine of us, silent with the exception of titanium clips clicking into place, daggers snapping onto our sides. We were nine. But somehow—in a way I couldn’t explain but knew to be the truth—I knew we weren’t going to return as nine. At that cold realization, I looked at the faces of those around me. Some had been virtual strangers, others enemies until recently, and a few I’d considered friends from day one.
And then there was Aiden.
I took a breath, wishing I could forget the fatalistic feeling taking up residence around my heart. But the somber faces of those around me pretty much told me that I wasn’t the only one who was thinking the same thing at that moment.
As a unit, the nine of us turned. Ghastly, flickering flames lit the road ahead The weight of the daggers and guns was sobering and grounding. We had no idea what waited ahead of us, other than the big, fat unknown, and most likely a big, fat kick in the face. The gravity of that was killing me—killing us.
I squared my shoulders. “Release the Kraken!”
Several sets of eyes settled on me.
“What?” I gave a lopsided shrug. “I’ve always wanted to yell that since I saw that movie. Seemed like the perfect moment.”
Aiden laughed.
“See! That’s why I love him,” I told the group. “He laughs at the stupid crap that comes out of my mouth.”
In response, Aiden leaned over and pressed his lips against my temple. “Keep talking about loving me,” he murmured, “and we’re going to scar some of these guys for life.”
I flushed beet red.
Someone cleared their throat. Another groaned, but I was grinning as I lifted my gaze back to the road. Jokes aside, everyone was waiting for one person to take the first step, so I did. And then we all did.
Our eyes adapted to the darkness, but I stayed beside Aiden, who stuck close to Deacon and Luke, as we carefully made our way around the shells of vehicles. I didn’t look inside them, absolutely refused to, because there was a certain stench in the air…
The night was eerily silent with exception of our footsteps. In South Dakota, I expected to hear the chilling call of the mountain lion, the scurry of tiny creatures, and the squawking of birds that could probably snatch up a baby, but there was nothing.
Dead silence.
The creeped-out vibe didn’t go away after we started making quick progress, covering well over two miles. The destroyed cars littering the roadway didn’t help. There were so many of them.
“Gods,” Lea whispered, stopping beside one of the charbroiled piles. “Oh, my gods…”
I told myself not to look at what so obviously horrified her, but I rarely listened to that little voice of com
mon sense. I turned and almost lost the Skittles.
Behind the charred wheel of a Hummer was a body… or what was left of one. Burnt, blackened fingers still clutched the steering wheel. Nothing else about the body was distinguishable. It could’ve been a male, female, or a hydra. And it wasn’t alone. Charred remains were in the passenger seat…and in the rear seats.
Someone sucked in a sharp breath. “The plates are crispy, but these are New York tags.”
“Gods,” someone else said.
People were moving backward, checking the plates on cars that’d received less damage, but I already knew in my heart. These weren’t Lucian’s Sentinels coming to fight. These were people—innocent pures and halfs—seeking sanctuary.
In the furthest seat of the Hummer, some of the clothing remained, just bits and pieces of singed material, but the color was a deep forest-green. Council robes, I realized slowly.
Mother-freaking Council robes.
It dawned on me suddenly that it was a really good thing that we’d gotten out of those damn Hummers, because these people—they’d been trapped. And this whole road was nothing but a graveyard.
“We need to get out of here,” Aiden ordered, and my heart dropped. “We need to go now.”
Lea whirled around. “But where are we going to go? This has—”
A ball of fiery light split the darkness ahead, casting an eerie glow over the debris and the burnt, twisted ground. It flew past the car I stood by, smacking into a small juniper tree, enveloping it in flames and thick, bitter smoke.
I jumped. “Holy…”
Everything happened so fast. Balls of fire seemed to come from the heavens, raining down on us. Everyone scattered, splitting into smaller groups as we moved off the road and into the uneven terrain. A hand found mine—Aiden—and I was running with him and his brother. Luke was behind us. In seconds, I lost sight of everyone else.
CHAPTER 32
We were running, running away.
Fire still fell, splattering off the earth, shaking the ground. It was chaos as we scrambled over the small hills, hitting the ground each time the sky lit up and another volley of fire filled the air.
And where in the hell was popping-in-when-you-least-expect-it-Apollo when we needed him? Sure, he could poof in when I was about to get some kissy-face time with Aiden, but oh no, when we actually needed him, he was nowhere to be found.
I started to push up, but Aiden held on. “I have to find Marcus! And Olivia! Laadan—”
“No.” His grip tightened. “You’re not running out in the middle of this!”
On the ground beside me, Luke moaned. “I think… my arm is on fire.”
“What?” I rolled toward him, grabbing at the back of his shirt, aware of Deacon trying to scramble past his brother. Flipping him onto his back, I winced as another blast hit far too close. “Gods…”
His right arm was an unnatural, bright shade of red from the elbow to the wrist. Patches had already begun to bubble. He offered a wobbly smile. “Well, I’ve been wanting a tan.”
I stared at him, and then Deacon shot around us, grasping the front of Luke’s shirt. Before the bronze-haired half could utter a word, Deacon planted one on him. I fell back on my side, breathing heavily.
Then Deacon lifted his head, eyes wide. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. Okay?”
Luke nodded slowly.
“What is it with the St. Delphi brothers and their attraction to halfs?” Solos grunted, hitting the hill near us. Laadan was with him, her hair falling loose from her neat chignon, pants dirtied and singed. “Don’t get me wrong,” he went on. “Being a half and all, I totally support equal love, equal rights, down with the Breed Order and blah, blah, blah.”
“We just have good taste,” Aiden replied, as he glanced over his shoulder at the half-blood Sentinel. “Unlike some…”
Solos snorted.
“Do you know where Marcus and the girls are?” I asked, eyeing the calm-for-now sky. “Did you see them?”
He nodded. “They’re on the other side of the road, down in a ditch. They’re okay.” Solos glanced over at Laadan. “She saved my rosy red butt, you know? A ball of fire was heading straight for my head, and she just lobbed it away with air.”
Laadan shook her head. “It was nothing.”
“It was something—”
A deep shout shattered the air, like a chorus of battle cries. A sound I’d never heard before. It wasn’t human; it wasn’t animal, but a twisted and revolting mixture of both. Suddenly it became all too obvious what was coming.
Hephaestus’ automatons.
It didn’t make sense. They were supposed to be protecting the Covenants. Had they deemed us a threat? Well, obviously, since they were trying to turn us into crispy critters. But those people in the cars… No way would they attack first and ask questions later. It defeated the whole purpose of having them here and moving Council members to the University unless…
I looked at Aiden. “The god… is it Hephaestus?”
Aiden opened his mouth, but the ground trembled under the weight of the approaching storm. Over the rise of the hill, no more than a few yards away, tall and imposing shadows marched out from behind the stand of trees. When they stepped under the slice of moonlight, I sucked in a shrill breath.
Holy daimon butt…
Their thick-as-tree-trunk thighs and large hoofs were made of titanium. Dark, matted hair covered their broad chests and muscular arms. Each head was that of a bull—two horns and a long flat snout that sloped into a mouth full of strong teeth and jaws.
“Dear gods,” I heard Laadan whisper.
There were over a dozen of them forming an unbreakable line between us and the University, and I doubted they were acting as sentries like they were supposed to be.
One of the larger automatons opened its mouth and snorted loudly.
“I bet his breath stinks,” I muttered.
Deacon nodded. “No doubt.”
Then it opened its mouth once more and a stream of fire shot forth. A ball formed, heading straight for the ditch on the other side of the road. The girls scattered over the hill.
The first gunshot came from Solos, directed at the monstrosities. Then Marcus was on his feet and so was Aiden, their guns blazing. Titanium bullets ripped through the air, smacking into the automatons but doing little to stop them.
Fire streamed toward our group and we broke apart. My hand was on the trigger, systemically squeezing at anything that looked like a whacked-out version of a minotaur. And they returned fire with… uh, fire.
Flames spread across the ground and I darted around the blaze. The automatons raced toward us, spitting fire, then fighting.
The first one reached Marcus, hitting him with the broadside of its beefy arm. Marcus flew back several feet, landing in a groaning heap. Another was before me and I dipped under its flying arm. Springing up, I leveled the gun at the back of the automaton’s head and let loose. Silvery-colored blood and gore splattered the low bushes as the automaton dropped and then turned to dust.
Well, that was one way to kill them. Sort of like zombies…
I swung around, realizing the daggers were absolutely useless and the Glocks were only helpful if we were able to sneak up behind one. Heart pounding, I hit the ground as another fireball shot straight at me. Crap. This was bad—beyond bad. This was a nightmare come to life. Horrified to the core, I froze for an instant on the dry, burnt ground. Tiny stones prodded my stomach and thighs. Oddly, I felt every one as if it were the prick of a hot knife.
Everything slowed down and the air halted in my lungs.
Marcus was back on his feet and he fought back-to-back with Lea, darting forward with their sickles blades, lobbing off an automaton’s arms. But the thing kept coming at them. Solos was trying to keep Laadan out of the line of fire. Soot covered Aiden’s flushed cheeks as he delivered a blast of fire at the creatures. Deacon actually had a gun in his hand as he stayed near Luke. Olivia was cornered in some
trees.
In a rush, I recalled the premonition I’d had earlier. They were going to die, all of them. Like those well-done bodies in the cars, they would be char-broiled and that would be the end of them.
Something snapped inside me—something primitive and absolute. Power rushed through me and my skin tingled with the appearance of the marks. The shadowy battlefield was suddenly tinted with shades of amber. I welcomed the almost-foreign surge of energy, even though it was like poison in my veins. My brain clicked off and I was no longer Alex.
I was the Apollyon. I was the beginning and the end.
Loose strands of hair began to rise above my head, and I’d swear that for a moment time really did stop as I rose to my feet. The sickle blade and dagger fell from my fingers, and then I curled my hands into fists.
Oh, it was on like Donkey Kong.
I flew over the barren land toward Olivia as she tried to fend the thing off. I dipped under the automaton, springing up between it and Olivia, slamming my foot into its hairy stomach. He went down on one knee, rattling the nearby trees.
Absolute power—unforgiving and hard, pure as it was deadly—coursed over my skin. I reared back, summoning the fifth and final element. Intense blue light erupted from my palm.
Akasha ripped from me, arcing through the air like cloud-to-cloud lightning, homing in on its target and striking true. The sky crackled and heated. One second, the automaton was on his knee, and the next he was nothing but a pile of shimmery dust.
“Good gods,” came Olivia’s hoarse whisper.
Another automaton took the fallen one’s place, swinging out with a metal hand that clinked and clicked. Fire sparked from its open mouth. I spun, catching the broad side of his arm and twisting. The hoarse shout of pain was lost in the clash of metal, the thunder of bullets finding another automaton.
Apollyon (Covenant #4) Page 29