Light of the Spirit

by Lisa Kessler

  As soon as they turned into the lot, he slammed on his brakes, barely missing Lia’s pregnant friend. He put the car in park and jumped out. “Where’s Lia?”

  The man tilted his head toward the club. “Hurry. There’s a psycho in a gold mask. I need to get Selena out of here.”

  The paramedic inside him was itching to check the woman’s vitals and make sure the baby wasn’t in distress, but Lia’s safety came first. “Get her to the hospital. Have them check her out. Sometimes trauma can bring on early labor.”

  “I will.” He nodded. “Help Lia.”

  “I’m on it.” He jogged toward the back door, but Hunter caught his shirt, his voice hushed. “I’m going around to the front to be sure he doesn’t try to get out there. Find something to protect yourself. Even a broken bottle is better than nothing. You won’t be any help to her in there without a weapon. And Nate’s on the way with fire power.”

  Fuck. Hunter was right. Cooper was a healer. Going in armed didn’t even cross his mind.

  Hunter vanished into the shadows and Cooper looked for…anything.

  A wooden pallet was leaning against the back wall. It would have to do. He laid it on the ground and stomped through the top board, snapping it, then tore it free from the rest of the pallet. Nails jutted out of the end.

  It would have to do.

  He pulled open the back door and slipped inside.

  Lia searched the green room and finally lowered the knife. He was gone.

  The back door thumped closed, and she flinched. The Kronos fanatic had escaped. At least she was still alive, and hopefully, Rafe and Selena were miles away by now.

  She stepped into the hallway, and something slammed into her so hard, she couldn’t make a sound. All the air whooshed from her lungs, and then the pain caught up. The mask came closer, her blood dripping from his knife. She flailed the pocketknife, slicing across his arm.

  “You bitch.” He sank the blade into her stomach, and her legs gave out. He knelt down, burying his knife in her abdomen over and over as he whispered in her ear, “Your death inspires me.”

  Her attacker finally backed off and turned to go.

  Lia’s vision wavered, but it looked like Cooper was running toward her. He had a board or something in his hands. Everything played out in slow motion. Cooper hit her attacker in the head, and he dropped to the ground. Then Cooper was at her side.

  His voice was so far away. She wanted to tell him she loved him, but words wouldn’t come. She was so tired. Light sparkled around her, embracing her, welcoming her. She stopped struggling for air and surrendered.

  “Dammit. Lia, stay awake.” Cooper pulled off his shirt, trying to put pressure on her wounds, but there was too much blood, too many stab wounds. Her shallow breaths wheezed out her side.

  Fuck, the bastard had punctured her lung and probably perforated her stomach.

  Sirens outside heralded Nate’s arrival. Cooper prayed the paramedics were with them. He slid his hands under her shirt and closed his eyes, welcoming the tingle and warmth through his fingers. His pulse raced. Would it work fast enough?

  The wheezing stopped.

  He opened his eyes. Her skin was so pale. He’d healed most of the stab wounds to her abdomen already, but he couldn’t keep up with the bleeding and lack of oxygen. He was losing her.

  “No, no, no! Lia, you stay with me. Please, baby. Come on.” He tipped his head up to the heavens. “Apollo, if you can hear me, get your ass down here.”

  Suddenly, the hallway was flooded with blinding light that pierced every shadow. Apollo. It had to be. Cooper tried to concentrate, his hands pressed against her side as he whispered, “She’s slipping away.”

  A voice echoed through his head. “My power is too great for your mortal body.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about myself.” Cooper’s voice broke. “Help me save her. Please.”

  The light that filled the room slammed into his back, his skin absorbing it into his body. Cooper’s veins burned as if he’d been struck by lightning. He struggled to focus the light, to force it to her lung, but the harder he tried, the weaker he became.

  Finally, Lia coughed.

  Cooper’s heart fluttered. It was working. Sweat soaked through all his clothes, his muscles seizing as Apollo’s energy continued to drain him, pulling his life force into her body until he tumbled into darkness.

  CHAPTER 18

  Mikolas helped Ted to a chair and handed him a towel for his hand. The seconds ticked by, but Ted’s phone was still silent. Bryce was supposed to check in once the task was complete.

  Something was wrong.

  Ted stared at the Greek’s back. “Now that we’ve taken this oath, mind telling me how it works?”

  Mikolas took off his robe, tucking it into a gym bag. “What do you mean?”

  “Am I your slave now?” he asked.

  “No.” Mikolas chuckled and started bandaging his hand. “You still have free will, but it will be painful if you try to break the pact between us.”

  “So if I don’t help you nail Pamela, I’ll be in physical pain.”

  “Yes. If you cross me during this endeavor, you’ll develop a visible, blistering burn along the flesh that touched the dagger, marking you as an oath breaker.”

  Ted checked his hand. The bleeding had stopped. One less thing to worry about. His hand was sore, but no more than the rest of his body that Pamela had thrown across the room the night before. “And you’ll get the charges dropped for the hit-and-run.”

  He nodded. “I already made a down payment to damage the DNA evidence. Tomorrow I’ll have my lawyer contact the victim and offer restitution.”

  “Whatever Pamela is, she’s powerful. She didn’t hit me physically last night; it was more like a tidal wave of energy. It threw me to the other side of the room, and the ‘venom’ paralyzed me. I couldn’t move for about a half hour.”

  “Good information to know.” Mikolas turned around. “If Kronos is freed, what do you think he’ll do first?”

  Ted shrugged, staring at his wound. “I guess he’ll demand world leaders to bow to him. We’ll finally have world peace.”

  “Or world war.” Mikolas leaned against his desk. “Do you think kings, presidents, and dictators would willingly hand over their power to a Titan without a fight?”

  “They might fire a missile or something, but once they found out it had no effect, they’d have to surrender.” Ted shifted in his seat. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because I’m trying to envision the Order’s goal fully realized, and Pamela’s behavior concerns me.” He stood up and grabbed his bag. “It seems she wants revenge against Zeus and a second chance with her lover, Kronos. Her commitment has nothing to do with bettering humanity. So I can’t help but wonder…” His gaze locked on Ted’s. “What does Kronos want?”

  Lia coughed, wincing as she cradled Cooper’s head in her lap and shouted, “We’re back here! We need an ambulance!”

  Cooper’s body was still trembling, and his skin was burning up. He had to have called on Apollo. She blinked back tears. He knew another hit of energy from the sun god could kill him. Now all she could do was hope.

  The paramedics rolled in a gurney, and a big guy knelt down with his kit. He frowned. “Apollo?”

  Her heart stuttered as she glanced around the hallway. “Where?”

  If he was still here, maybe he could heal Cooper.

  The paramedic looked at Lia. “What happened to him?”

  She blinked. This must’ve been the guy from Cooper’s station. It was his nickname. Her heart sank. “He had a seizure.”

  The paramedic went to work on Cooper, his partner eyeing her. “You’re bleeding.”

  How was she going to explain the healed wounds? “Opened an old injury. I’m okay.”

  “We should take a look.”

  She shook her head. “Please, just save Cooper.”

  The big guy called out blood pressure numbers high enough to cause a stroke, an elevated
heart rate, and a temperature reading that made the paramedic doubt that the equipment was working. Lia moved back as they slid a stabilizing board underneath Cooper and lifted him onto the gurney.

  “Can I go with him?” she asked.

  “Are you his…?”

  “Girlfriend.”

  The guy nodded. “Yeah, you can come with us.”

  In the back of the rig, they hooked up an IV to give him fluids and placed an oxygen tube under his nose. It was hard to believe that a few hours ago, he was naked in her arms. She struggled to keep from falling apart.

  “I’m Steve Garcia, and that’s Jerry up there driving. We work with Cooper.”

  “He told me you call him Apollo.” She took Cooper’s hand.

  Steve almost smiled, watching the heart monitor. “Coop’s a good guy.” His gaze met hers. “What the hell happened back there?”

  “I was being attacked, and Cooper came to help me. I’d be dead if he hadn’t gotten there when he did.”

  Garcia shook his head. “He’s got all the symptoms of touching a live wire or being struck by lightning. We’re pumping in cool fluids, but his body temperature is still too high.”

  “I don’t think he was electrocuted.” But she couldn’t tell them what she really suspected. If Cooper did accept Apollo’s help to heal her… Gods, she didn’t even want to consider it.

  The van pulled up at the ER, and the doors flew open. Doctors and nurses swarmed the rig as they rolled Cooper out, pulling his hand free of hers. Her heart clenched.

  Don’t you dare die on me, Cooper.

  Clio came in the hospital room and handed Lia a stack of clean clothes. “How’s he doing?”

  Lia shook her head. “I’m having déjà vu all over again. Hopefully it’ll work out like it did after he saved Reed and he’ll just open his eyes and be fine.” She glanced at Clio and raised a brow. “I thought Trin was bringing my stuff.”

  “She’ll be by later.” Clio fidgeted with the zipper on her windbreaker.

  Lia frowned. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Clio sighed. “You won’t like it. I tried to talk some sense into her.”

  “My night can’t get any shittier.” Lia crossed her arms. “You may as well lay it on me.”

  Clio lifted her gaze. “She’s meeting with Ted…again.”

  “Ted? As in Ted Belkin, son of the guy who almost killed Callie?” Lia stood up and winced, gripping her side. Damn. Apparently, she wasn’t completely healed yet. “You need to stop her. She thinks she can reach that guy, but she can’t.”

  “He contacted her. Something about Guardians.”

  “The guy who attacked me mentioned he thought Cooper was my Guardian. The Order definitely knows about the prophecy.” Lia carefully took her seat again. “Please tell me Trin told you where they were meeting. Get Callie and meet her there. She can’t be alone with him.”

  Clio shook her head. “She wouldn’t tell me where she was going, just that it’s her fault the Order knows our names and that she needed to fix this.”

  “So all we can do is wait?” Lia puffed out a frustrated breath. “I was wrong before. My day could totally get shittier.”

  She pulled out her cell phone. She couldn’t find Trin, but Lia could keep her phone lit up until she answered.

  Ted checked his watch. If Trinity had gotten his e-mail, she’d be waiting at the coffee shop in an hour. But first he needed to settle things with Pamela.

  Her assistant left him alone in her library over ten minutes ago, but there was still no sign of Pamela. Sweat rolled down his back. If this didn’t go well, he may not be alive to make the meeting with Trinity.

  Finally, Pamela appeared in the doorway, her long blond hair pulled back into a tight bun. She walked in slowly, as though she hadn’t just made him wait almost fifteen minutes. She took a chair across from him, a cold glint in her eyes. “Is she dead?”

  He cleared his throat. “She should be. Bryce stabbed her multiple times.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why did you send the enforcer? You promised me you would finish what you started.”

  “And I did. I arranged for him to attack her when she was vulnerable.” He swallowed the lump in his throat and added, “The muses aren’t a threat anymore. Without any help from contractors, their theater is months away from opening. We’ll reach Tartarus before they ever open their doors. We don’t need the murders bringing the police to our door.”

  She raised her hand, and he tensed, readying himself to fly across the room, but it didn’t come. She inspected her nails. “Hunting the muses to stop the theater from reopening was the only way I could get your father’s cooperation. Their deaths never had anything to do with inspiring humanity.”

  Ted blinked. “Then why take such a huge risk?”

  She stood and smoothed her shirt. Her blue eyes met his, and something rippled in them like waves swelling on the ocean. Inhuman. “Losing a child is a torment that never ends for a parent. Immortality becomes a curse instead of a gift, a prison of never-ending pain.”

  She turned for the door, and her voice echoed through the room. “Zeus made his daughters mortal as a gift to humanity—inspiration passed down through the generations.” Her gaze locked on him. “It has been a challenge to track them through the ages. Until this generation, that is. You changed everything when you gave me their names.” A cold smile curved her lips. “So I will let you live. But do not fail me again.”

  She walked out the door, closing it behind her. Ted wiped his brow, his stomach tied in knots.

  He still didn’t know who she was, but between the paralyzing venom and the way the waves swelled in her eyes, maybe Mikolas could narrow it down. If they could find her weakness, they might be able to stay alive.

  By the time Ted reached the coffee shop, he was already a half hour late. He scanned the space and found Trinity looking at her phone. She straightened as he approached the table.

  “I thought you had a change of heart,” she said.

  “Sorry I’m late.” He pulled out the chair across from her. “Thanks for meeting me.”

  “I’m fielding a bunch of panicked texts from my roommate.” She crossed her arms. “Her boyfriend is in the hospital, and she’s lucky to be alive. They arrested a guy in a Kronos mask at the scene. A friend of yours?”

  Until he sat down, he wasn’t entirely sure why he had sent that e-mail to Trinity, but it was crystal clear now. “I’m sorry.”

  Confusion lined her forehead. “Sorry? For killing my friends? For literally burning my dream to the ground? Or for abandoning me in college when I thought I was going crazy? Oh wait, you’re starting to finally regret telling your group of fanatics our names so they could pick us off one by one. Have I forgotten anything?”

  “For all of it.” Normally, harsh words thrown in his face fanned the flames of rage in his belly, but all he could feel was guilt. “I was desperate for my father’s approval. I lost sight of everything else.”

  “Doesn’t change anything.” She crossed her arms. “Why the sudden development of a conscience?”

  “I don’t have time to get into everything.” He removed the bandage on his hand, showing her the cut. “Today I made a blood oath with Mikolas Leandros.”

  She frowned. “You weren’t already committed to killing us?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Mikolas has been trying to change the Order’s course. He threw me out for burning the theater down. He decided murder was too risky.”

  Her eyes widened. “Then why did someone stab Lia tonight?”

  “Because there’s a goddess or something—we’re not sure who she really is—but she wants you and your friends dead. She has some kind of vendetta against Zeus. She’s powerful. I had to send Bryce. I had no choice.”

  Trinity shook her head slowly. “You spineless bastard.”

  He swallowed. “I deserve that, but I’m doing what I can to help you right now, if you’ll listen.”

  She got up. “This i
sn’t helping, Ted. Lia’s boyfriend could be brain dead, and it’s all because of you.”

  “Her Guardian…” He stared at the cut on his hand. “Have you found yours yet?”

  She settled back into her chair. “How do you know about Guardians?”

  “I got a picture of your scroll and had it translated.”

  “That’s why you ran him over the other night, isn’t it? You couldn’t get to Lia so you figured taking him out would leave her unprotected.”

  Hearing his crimes coming from her lips hurt much more than the bruises covering his back. “You didn’t answer me.”

  “Why would I tell you anything, Ted?”

  He lifted his gaze to her face. “Because an immortal is masquerading as a woman named Pamela Costas, and if she finds you, you’re going to need a Guardian. We’re mortals. I don’t know how to stop her.” His voice softened. “That’s why I wanted to warn you.”

  “You wanted us dead,” she snapped.

  “Never you.”

  “Bullshit. You must’ve known I was in the theater when you chained those doors and threw Molotov cocktails through the roof.”

  He broke eye contact, nausea churning in his gut. “I guess I was so caught up in the mission to free Kronos that I lost sight of everything else.” He took a breath and met her eyes. “Until Pamela attacked me, it never occurred to me that while we have been so laser-focused on freeing Kronos because we want to bring back the Golden Age of Man, we’ve had no idea what he actually wants.” He lowered his voice. “And if he decides to end the world, we won’t be able to stop him.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Lia looked up, hoping to see Trinity. Instead, an older woman approached with a cane.

  Lia rushed to the door and embraced Agnes Hanover. “How did you get here?”

  Zack came around the corner and tipped the brim of his purple hooligan hat in her direction. “I brought her over.”

  Lia raised a brow as she turned to Agnes. “How did you meet Zack?”

  Agnes glanced at Zack and back to Lia. “He’s just moved in to the Village. We were playing a game of backgammon when Steve Garcia called. I’m Cooper’s emergency contact at work.” Agnes made her way to Cooper’s bedside and hung her cane on the railing before taking his hand. “Will he be all right?”