Avenging Heart

by Desni Dantone

  It was quiet. Too quiet.

  We emerged single file into a grand circular room. The walls were created of a thick stone that had collapsed in parts, and piles of broken stone littered the ground around us. Opening from this room were seven more tunnels.

  I moved to start my search for more tracks, but came up short when I spotted the wire at my feet. My fist shot up to halt the rest of the team behind me.

  “Booby-trapped!” Someone shouted a warning from across the room. I turned just in time to see two members of our team blown apart by a bomb. As I jumped out of the way of falling rock, a wave of armed soldiers—a mix of Skotadi and Kala—swarmed us from all sides, filing out of the tunnels one after another.

  “Defensive positions!” Isatan barked.

  I dropped to one knee and let loose a burst of gunfire at the advancing wave. The sound of a dozen automatic weapons reverberated off the walls, rattling my teeth, as I kept my finger on the trigger. As the wall of soldiers in front of me fell, I glimpsed a demigod standing at the entrance to one of the tunnels. He maintained a safe distance while his eyes scanned the chaos around him.

  “Isatan!” I called, and pointed out the demigod’s location.

  Isatan’s eyes burned with murderous intent as he stalked toward the demigod. Though the demigod’s gaze temporarily flicked in Isatan’s direction, he didn’t appear worried.

  Instead, his eyes settled on someone behind me. He withdrew a crossbow from behind his back—my first clue that we were dealing with Cryteus, the son of Artemis. His diamond-tipped arrow sailed through the air, barely missing me as it passed with a sharp whoosh.

  “Arrow!” I shouted as I twisted to follow its path.

  The arrow slammed into Permna before she knew it was coming.

  I caught Jared’s stunned gaze from where he was hunkered down behind her.

  “He shot it!” I motioned toward Cryteus before pulling myself across the ground on my forearms toward Permna. She had fallen onto her back. The arrow protruded from the center of her chest. Her eyes shifted to mine as I rose above her. Blood poured from the wound, and her mouth, as she reached for me.

  “It missed my heart,” she rasped.

  I gripped the end of the arrow with a nod. If I removed it quickly enough, she might stand a chance at living. She screamed in agony as I pulled on the arrow. I immediately stopped with a sigh of defeat.

  “I don’t . . .” I trailed off, and my head dropped when I saw that her eyes had glazed over. Her body dissipated beneath me, and I was left holding a bloody arrow in my hand.

  “Dammit!” I shouted as I threw the arrow to the side.

  I spun toward the sound of a soldier barreling down on me, and fired off a round that dissipated him immediately. I was left with a clear view of Isatan as he zeroed in on Cryteus. Isatan lifted his sword over his head at the same time Cryteus swung his crossbow on Isatan.

  Jared fired off a shot that struck Cryteus in the gut. Not a kill shot, not for a demigod, but enough to alter his aim. The arrow struck Isatan’s shoulder—a nonfatal blow.

  Another shot from Jared dropped Cryteus to his knees. Isatan kept coming, his loud bellow rising above the shouting that echoed off the walls as he adjusted the aim of his swing on Cryteus’s head. At the same time, Cryteus removed a hidden blade from near his ankle, and thrust it up and into the center of Isatan’s chest.

  Both demigods took fatal hits. They dissipated simultaneously.

  “How do we always find ourselves in these situations?” Jared grumbled as he put his back to mine.

  We moved together in a circle as we surveyed the rest of the chaos. Three enemy soldiers charged us from opposing directions. I cut one down with a burst of ammo before we were forced to tackle the other two with our knives. When it was over, we stood to face the next onslaught, only to discover that no one was left.

  Only Bruce, who was withdrawing his knife from the body he currently straddled, remained. The body at his feet dissipated beneath him as he stood to face us.

  “There’s only one,” Jared muttered. “Where are the other two demigods?”

  My heart clenched when the answer came to me. Isatan, his soul rest in peace, despite his leadership skills had been duped by Phisma. They had known we were coming. This raid was little more than a diversion.

  It was a goddam trap set for Kris.

  ~ ~ ~

  ~ Kris ~

  No one knew what was happening—not even I knew—but they looked to me for the answer.

  As the shaking beneath our feet intensified, creating a crack in the concrete that ran from one side of the room to the other, I shouted, “Get your weapons!’

  It was all I could think of, because I had no idea where the shaking was coming from, or what was causing it, but I knew it wasn’t naturally made.

  “Eromna?” Lillian suggested warily.

  The demigod of earth manipulation?

  Alec and I eyed the widening crevice under our feet as concrete and dirt collapsed into the depths below.

  “Looks about right,” Alec muttered.

  “Trapped in a basement with no way out,” I sighed. How in the hell were we going to get out of this one?

  I took tentative steps toward the door. Though I knew something incredibly unpleasant waited for us on the other side, it was our only way out. But damned if I would allow more blood to be shed over me. And that would surely happen if we stayed there.

  As I approached the door on wobbly legs, Alec and Lillian by my side and the rest of the soldiers following closely behind, the door flew from its hinges with a loud crack. Blocking the entryway towered a broad man.

  “Phisma!” someone shouted from behind me, earning a cold laugh from the demigod.

  “I see my reputation precedes me.” His eyes met mine with immediate recognition, then they shifted to the side, coming to a rest on Alec. His lips curled into a cunning smirk. “Two objectives at one time. How marvelous.”

  I moved to stand directly in front of Alec as a swarm of hybrids poured through the door behind Phisma. They fanned out, clashing with what remained of our small army. As gunshots and the clash of metal on metal erupted around us, I pushed Alec and Lillian back, keeping as much distance as I could between them and Phisma.

  He wanted Alec gone. I knew that. And I would die before I ever let anyone get near him.

  Phisma took careful, calculating steps toward us as we backed away from him, his eyes never leaving mine as he watched me for signs of attack.

  Not yet. Attacking him would leave Alec unprotected. And I had a better idea. Or so I hoped.

  The floor and ground opened beneath us as another stronger rumble shook the building around us. I glanced up to observe cracks in the ceiling as debris rained down on us.

  “Is your friend going to bring the entire building down on all of us?” I questioned Phisma.

  He shrugged. “You and I will survive. Can’t say much for your friends.”

  “So where are your partners?” I asked, forcing my voice to remain light despite the fear running through me.

  Just a few more steps . . .

  “Eromna is here. Obviously.” He waved his hand at the widening fissure beneath our feet. “Cryteus will join us once your other friends are dead.”

  I swallowed the newly formed lump in my throat. I knew that included Nathan, and the others who had gone with Isatan and Permna. Only one demigod had waited to ambush them. I hoped that meant they would be returning, instead of Cryteus. Surely they found a way to defeat him, and they would soon return to help me.

  “None of this needed to happen,” Phisma continued. “All you had to do was join us. Now, because you refuse to do so willingly, your friends will die.”

  His words made me pause, because he was right. My gaze lifted over Phisma’s shoulder to observe the members of our small army fighting the hybrids who had accompanied Phisma. I hadn’t had time to count exactly how many there had been, but a quick scan confirmed that there were noticeably few
er left standing.

  Again, people were dying because of me. But many more would die if I gave in. Including Callie.

  Behind me, Alec and Lillian crossed the threshold into the storage room. I took special care as I backed in after them. I held Phisma’s gaze steadily as he continued to advance on us.

  He smirked at the sight of us trapped inside the room. His cockiness blinded him to the thin trip wire at his feet. Alec grabbed my shoulders to swing me into the farthest corner of the room as the blanket of red powder rained down on Phisma. Alec’s body shielded me while Phisma shrieked in surprise.

  “It’s done!” Lillian exclaimed. “Take him now.”

  Alec stepped back to release me from the wall. He dropped to a knee in front of me, and withdrew my diamond-coated knife from its sheath around my ankle. He placed it in my hands with an encouraging nod.

  I approached Phisma where he lay on the ground, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. As I knelt in front of him, I briefly wondered what dream he was walking in and if he would remain permanently in it, or be transported straight to his own corner in the underworld.

  He didn’t make a noise as I plunged the knife into his chest, and I had to look away from the blood that seeped through his robes. I held the knife there until his body dissipated. Once finished, I stood on wobbly legs and turned to find Alec and Lillian watching me.

  The ground beneath us suddenly lurched. The earth screamed as it crumbled and shook beneath us.

  “I guess Eromna got the memo that Phisma is gone,” I shouted to Alec and Lillian.

  Alec’s eyes darted over my shoulder. “And he’s pissed.”

  I turned to find Eromna standing in the doorway. His murderous glare was directed at me.

  Beyond him, the floor split apart into two big chunks, and was swallowed up by the earth. Gone with the floor were all the remaining hybrids—ours and theirs—except two, who I couldn’t recognize from the distance. They appeared trapped on a narrow sliver of concrete that was slowly eroding from beneath them.

  Eromna approached us. Steps rose out of the wide crevice separating us from him as he walked across it, before disappearing behind him—like his own personal bridge.

  We were trapped inside the storage room by the wide layer of powder that lay on the floor at the entrance. He could not step through it, but neither could I. He stopped just out of its reach, and I pushed Alec and Lillian behind me, to shield them the best I could.

  “Got a plan?” Alec whispered.

  “Nope,” I returned.

  Eromna’s gaze lifted to the ceiling. His lips twisted into a sinister smile as a crack formed above us, sprinkling us with chips of plaster.

  I needed a plan . . . before he brought the ceiling down on us. I eyed the wide crevice behind him, which had stopped expanding now that his concentration was elsewhere.

  My hands fisted at my side as I let my powers flow closer to the surface. With a surge of concentration, I shot a wave of power into the center of his chest. The force flung him onto his back at the edge of the crevice. Another push with my mind tossed him over the side.

  He disappeared from sight, but I doubted he was really gone. There was only one documented way to destroy a demigod that I knew of, and a fall into the center of the earth wasn’t it. But then, I doubted this scenario had ever happened before.

  Either way, he was gone for now.

  Lillian scrambled to the doorway and began sweeping the red powder to the side with her hands so that I could step out of the room. Alec stopped her.

  “This is quicker,” he said, then proceeded to scoop me up, and carry me across the threshold. As he set me down, I saw two hands appear at the rim of the crevice, followed by the rest of Eromna as he climbed out.

  I squared my shoulders as he stood, piercing me with a hard glare. I tightened my grip on the handle of the knife in my hand and took careful but steady steps toward him as the floor beneath me rolled and shook violently.

  This was it. I knew it. He knew it.

  A strong vibration threw me onto my knees. Standing was impossible. The floor cracked beneath me, and a bright orange glow seeped through the cracks from below, giving me the impression that I hovered above the fiery pits of hell.

  A pair of hands grabbed me under my arms, and guided me to my feet. Catching the excited gleam in Eromna’s eyes, I spun on Alec. “Get back!”

  “I can help you, Kris,” he shouted over the rumbling.

  “Not if you’re dead.” I pushed him back and away with a wave of energy as a chunk of ground collapsed beneath us. Only an incredible burst of speed toward the edge kept me from falling into it while Alec landed on his back ten yards behind me, in relative safety.

  I turned back to Eromna determinedly, the knife still firmly in my hands. I considered slipping into a state of invisibility so that I could sneak up on him, but feared he would collapse the entire floor beneath me once I disappeared from his sight.

  I felt myself weakening from using so much of my powers already. I needed to end him now before I lost all ability to fight him. As I resumed my advance on Eromna, relief appeared in the doorway behind him.

  Nathan, Jared, and Bruce lifted their guns in the air. This was my opportunity. While they fired an onslaught of bullets at Eromna, temporarily stunning him, I swiftly closed the distance between us. He spun toward them, his eyes fixed on the already cracked ceiling above them. They were forced to stop their assault as a large chunk of concrete crashed toward them. I watched long enough to make sure they had jumped out of the way before I focused my attention on Eromna.

  He spun to face me as my hand thrust out, sinking the blade into his chest. The ground lurched, knocking both of us toward the wide chasm. With the last ounce of strength I had, I twisted the knife, finding his heart. His hand clamped down on my arm, pulling me with him as he tumbled into the crevice.

  He dissipated beneath me, but my momentum kept me moving forward, toward the wide chasm.

  A pair of hands clamped down on my ankles, stopping my plummet into the unknown depths below. I gasped as I rolled onto my back to find Alec sprawled on his stomach. The death-grip he had on my ankles released, and he crawled forward to pull me away from the edge.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  I nodded, not trusting my voice to work yet. Over Alec’s head, Lillian hovered, terrified but unharmed.

  The rumbling had stopped, and in its place, a deafening silence settled around us. I shifted to glance toward the door, and saw that Nathan, Jared, and Bruce were all safe. On the other side of the room, two more hybrids, whom I could now recognize as Jas and Kira, stood on a tiny island of concrete in the center of the chasm.

  We were all that remained.

  Chapter 10

  Alec emerged from the storage room seconds later with a long rope in his hands. He tossed it across the chasm to Nathan.

  “Get them first.” He nodded his head at Jas and Kira, whose small platform continued to erode from beneath them.

  Nathan handed the rope to Bruce. Built like a tree, he was the perfect anchor. While he held one end of the rope, and Jas held the other, Kira crawled across the void.

  Nathan stepped to the edge of the crevice separating us. “Phisma?” he questioned warily.

  “Dead. Cryteus?” I returned.

  “Isatan killed him before . . .” He trailed off with a sorrowful grimace, and I filled in the blanks.

  My heart sank, and my stomach clenched. “Permna too?”

  “I tried to . . .” Nathan trailed off, but not before I detected the catch in his throat.

  I wanted to jump across the chasm to give him the hug he needed to chase away the thoughts that haunted him. As difficult as it was to lose so many members of our army, the loss of the two other demigods in our group hit me the hardest. I would certainly miss Permna’s kindness. Even Isatan, though he was an ass most of the time, would be missed as the glue that held us all together.

  Now it was only me. My knees buckled sli
ghtly under the weight of the responsibility that now rested on my shoulders. Three more demigods—the most important to Alec and me—to get through yet. How in the hell was I going to pull that off by myself?

  Behind Nathan, Kira reached safer, more stable ground. While Jared tended to Kira, Bruce planted his feet in preparation of Jas’s weight on the rope, though I wasn’t sure how Jas planned to climb across without anchoring the other end of the rope.

  Without hesitation, Jas launched himself off the ledge. I gasped in horror when I lost sight of him.

  “He’s fine,” Alec assured me. “He’s climbing up.”

  Only then did I notice Bruce’s stance. He leaned back on his heels, supporting Jas’s weight as he used the rope to climb to safety. Fortunately, it only took a moment for his head to pop up, because I was sure I hadn’t taken a single breath since the moment he had jumped off.

  Then it was our turn. Nathan tossed one end of the rope across to us, and Alec caught it easily. He glanced between Lillian and me as he pulled the line tight, and anchored his feet.

  “Who’s going first?” he asked.

  I turned to Lillian. “Go.” Sure I could take down a few demigods, but I needed another minute to prepare myself for this.

  I watched Lillian as she pulled herself across the rope. She appeared to be using her arms to pull her weight. She balanced herself with her feet curled around the rope as they trailed behind her. I doubted it was as simple as she made it look, which I found out a minute later, when it was my turn.

  I kept my eyes up to avoid looking at what would swallow me if I screwed up and fell off the rope. Though I was blessed with strength as a demigod, I found myself tiring halfway across the divide. My energy was nearly expended from using my magic, and the rope pull was burning through what little I had left.

  “You got it, Kris,” Nathan called. “You’re almost there.”

  I lowered my head and pulled hard three more times before a hand thrust out in front of me. I looked up into Bruce’s warm eyes, and smiled in gratitude as he hoisted me the remaining two feet onto solid ground.