The Power

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Seth faced them. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  All of them—all six of them—skidded to a halt. Whatever those guys saw in Seth’s face had them backing up like scolded puppies.

  He chuckled. “Smart idea. Have a nice day, fuckheads.”

  “God.” I stared at Alex as we started walking again. “You’re a ninja.”

  She shrugged, and she kind of looked like one in her black tank top and shorts. Of course, she looked super-cute. Not like a blonde ogre. I glanced back at the guys. They were crowded around the dude still laid out on the sand. Had Alex seriously injured—

  “There he is,” Hercules announced.

  My head whipped around. At first, all I saw was Hercules, but then, several yards ahead was a lone guy coming out of the ocean, a surfboard lifted over his head. Waves lapped at his knees and then his calves. Within moments, he was on the beach, biceps flexing.

  This guy looked like a demigod.

  Tall and lean with a tightly ripped stomach, his dark hair was slicked back from a classically handsome face. Skin bronzed and eyes that were an odd mix of blue and green, he smiled and nodded when we neared him. He looked about my age.

  At least he didn’t seem like he was going to cuss at us.

  I had no idea how this was going to go down. It was something we’d talked about during the ride down here and over dinner yesterday. Breaking this kind of news was going to get crazy.

  “You sure it’s him?” Seth asked in a low voice.

  Hercules chuckled. “I have never been wrong.”

  “That’s not entirely reassuring,” Alex muttered, and then gave the guy a little wave. “Hi!”

  “Hey. Saw you guys had some problems up there,” he said, lowering the board and shoving it in the sand. He smiled at Alex. “That was hot, but you guys should be careful. If you’re not a local, you’re not going to be very welcome here.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up,” Seth said, stopping beside me. “But we’re actually looking for you.”

  The guy’s brows flew up. “Me? I’m sorry.” He took the four of us in. “I don’t recognize you guys, and I think I would.”

  “I’m Hercules,” Herc said, spreading his muscled arms wide as he smiled. “Yes, that Hercules. I’ve come from Olympus to find you—you, the son of Poseidon.”

  My mouth dropped open. Oh my God.

  “Tactful,” muttered Alex as she turned sideways, placing her hands on her hips. “Gods.”

  The guy stared at Hercules and then laughed. “Man, you’re as high as balls, aren’t you?”

  Hercules frowned as he glanced over at me. “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “It means you’re an idiot,” snapped Seth. He shook his head. “He’s not high. He’s just . . . socially inept.”

  Hercules turned to Seth, scowling.

  “We really need to talk to you,” Alex jumped in. “It’s very important and we’ve come a long, long way to find you.”

  “Look, I’m not sure what’s going on here,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “But I’ve got to go.” He started to lift the board. “I’ll see you—”

  “Wait. Please.” I stepped forward, and surprisingly he stopped. “I know what he said sounded completely crazy—”

  “No, it didn’t,” Hercules snapped.

  “Dude.” Seth placed a hand on Hercules’s shoulder. “Can you like, keep it quiet for a minute? Just a minute.”

  The demigod mulled that over. “Maybe.”

  I drew in a frustrated breath. The demigod part was out of the bag, so it was time to go full crazy on the poor guy. “What he said is true, though. My father is Apollo. I’m a demigod, just like Hercules, who is that Hercules.” I jerked my chin at Alex. “She’s also a demigod. Not like you or me, but she’s one too.”

  His light eyes slid from me to Alex. She smiled tightly at him. A moment passed. “Yeah,” he said, drawing the word out. “This is where I end the conversation and bow out politely.”

  He started to turn again, but I shot forward, grabbing his arm. His head whipped around, and I decided showing worked better than telling. I lifted my right hand and summoned the element of fire. Energy coursed through me and, in a heartbeat, flames danced over my knuckles.

  “Look down,” I ordered quietly.

  He hesitated a moment and then his chin dipped. He jerked back, but I kept hold of his arm. “Holy shit, your hand is on fire!”

  Several people nearing us slowed, and Seth moved closer, blocking their view. “I’d put that out before I have to put everyone under a compulsion.”

  Nodding, I shook my hand, dispersing the flames. “As a demigod, you can control fire.”

  “Holy shit,” he repeated, staring at my unblemished skin.

  “But that’s not it,” Alex added. “You’ll be able to control wind and earth, and I bet you already are super-familiar with water, all things considered.”

  Blood drained from his face as he lifted his gaze to mine. “Your hand was on fire. Like, legit fire.”

  “Not really, but kind of.” I glanced over at Seth. “We can explain it all to you. I promise.”

  “That’s not normal,” he reasoned. “That is some serious, not-normal shit right there.”

  His pupils were dilating, swallowing the bluish-green hue, and that couldn’t be a good sign. Nope. Not at all.

  “A minute is up,” Hercules said, crossing his arms. “Do I still need to stay quiet?”

  “Yes,” Seth and Alex replied at the same time.

  Hercules sighed. “You guys suck.”

  “We would like to talk more with you.” I kept my voice low and level. “Is that okay? Because we really need to explain . . .” I trailed off. A weird scent tickled my nose, one that did not belong oceanside.

  The scent was dank and musky, rich as fresh soil after a heavy rain. Tiny hairs rose over my skin.

  Seth cursed, hands flexing at his sides. “We’ve got shades.”

  Chapter 27

  Seth

  We didn’t have the greatest plan when it came to how we were going to break the news to Poseidon’s son, but seriously? Just blurting out what was going on? Hercules was a fucking giant pain in the ass, but right now he wasn’t our biggest problem.

  The scent of the Underworld surrounded us.

  Adrenaline spiked through me as I scanned the beach, not seeing anything out of the norm. Surfers were crowded nearby. Girls in bikinis walked, but a shade could be in any one of them. I wasn’t surprised. Things had gone way too smoothly on this trip. This was the risk I knew we faced, because if there were shades, there were Titans.

  “We need to go,” I said, grabbing the guy’s arm as my gaze met Josie’s. “Right now.”

  He dug his feet in. “I’m not going anywhere with you—with any of you.”

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” Alex reasoned, which was hilarious considering this guy had just seen her singlehandedly take down a guy a foot taller than her. “We’re here to protect you.”

  “From what?” He yanked on his arm, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

  “From the Titans who want to drain you dry,” Hercules replied, and for a very brief second I entertained the fantasy of dropkicking him upside the head. “They will turn you into a shell of who you used to be.”

  “What?” the guy’s voice pitched up, and panic flooded his already pale face.

  “Jesus,” muttered Josie, and the scent of the Underworld increased. “We will explain everything. I promise you, but we need to get you out of here.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with any of you. I’m going—”

  “Yes. You are.” Done with this, I pulled out the gun as I shifted, blocking my hand as I pressed the business end of the Glock against his lower back. “Don’t freak out. I need you to stay calm, but what you feel against your back is exactly what you think it is.”

  Josie’s eyes widened.

  “Oh God,” the guy gasped with a shudder, and for a moment I thoug
ht he might pass out.

  “We don’t have time for this. You’ll thank us later, trust me, but right now I need you to start walking.”

  The guy didn’t move.

  I sighed. “What is your name? Mine is Seth. Queen Kung Fu is Alex. You already know who the steroids guy is. That is Hercules, and the beautiful blonde standing in front of you is Josie. What’s your name?”

  A moment passed. “G-Gable.”

  “Okay, Gable, we’re going to walk up this beach and then up to the road. We’re going to put you in our car, and then we’re going to leave the place, hopefully without incident,” I explained slowly, clearly. “You don’t want any incidents, do you?”

  “No,” he said.

  “Perfect. Now you’re going to start walking.” A second later, he started walking. I glanced over at Alex. “Call Aiden and let him know we found him. Tell him we’ll meet them over at the motel.”

  “On it.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the throwaway phone as she walked ahead, watching the beach as she dialed Aiden’s phone.

  Josie worked on assuring Gable of the fact that we didn’t plan on shooting him in the back while Hercules actually became sort of useful as he picked up the surfboard and flanked us.

  Escorting Gable toward the trails, I kept an eye out for any strange behaviors. People were watching us, mainly because I was super-close to Gable. No one saw the gun, and we needed it to stay that way.

  The walk up the trail wasn’t as fast as I’d hoped. Gable stared at Josie as she continued to talk softly with him, explaining what was happening. I don’t think anything was getting through to the guy. Every so often, his arm trembled.

  At the top of the hill, the SUV came into view, and still no sign of a shade. Josie placed her hand on Gable’s other arm. “Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to take you to meet our friends. They’re . . . um, excited to meet—”

  Gable suddenly spun on me, twisting so that he could work his arm out of my grasp as he dipped low, muscles tensing. He shot back up, aiming his elbow for my nose.

  Awesome defensive move. Boy took some classes. That move would’ve taken me down.

  If I weren’t the fucking Apollyon . . .

  My movements were too fast for him to track. Blocking his arm before it could connect with my face, I knocked his elbow away and then slammed my hand into his shoulder. He fell back into the side of the SUV. His eyes flew wide, and before he could recoup, I was in his face, gun shoved into his side.

  “That’s not possible,” he said, chest rising and falling rapidly. “No one can move that fast. No one—”

  “No one who is mortal,” I said, getting my face all up in his. “I’m going to be a nice guy for once and pretend you didn’t just try to break my nose, but you get one free pass from me. That’s it. After that, I don’t give a fuck who you are or how important you are. I will lay you out and it won’t be pretty.”

  Gable’s chest stopped moving. On the other side of the SUV, Alex opened the door. Hercules was at the rear, eyeing the vehicle and the surfboard he carried.

  “Seth.” Josie leaned into me, and I inhaled deeply, catching the scent of the shampoo she’d used this morning. Shea butter. There was something calming about that. “He’s scared. He has every right to be.”

  I met Gable’s stare. Very little of the bluish-green eyes was visible. “He should be scared.”

  “That’s not helping,” she replied, and then she faked a smile like only she could. “Gable, I really need you to calm down and work with us here. We’re not going to hurt you. If we were, he would’ve already done it.”

  Gable’s frantic gaze swung to Josie. “Are you holding me for ransom? Because if you need money, I can get it. You don’t have to do this.”

  “Gods,” I grunted, shaking my head. “We’re not holding you hostage.”

  “Hey!” Gable jerked as his focus shot over my shoulder.

  I glanced over, just in time to see Hercules step to the edge of the overlook and toss the surfboard over the cliff like he was throwing a football. I almost laughed. Almost.

  Hercules turned around, seeing all of us staring at him. “What? It wasn’t going to fit without doing . . . stuff to the seat.”

  Gable snapped out of it, and a different kind of horrified expression flooded his face. “My board! What the fuck, man? You just threw my board over a cliff!”

  “We’ll get you a new one that Hercules won’t smash,” Josie promised, and I snickered at that. “But we need—”

  Wind picked up, and there it was again. Musky. Dank. The smell of death. Shit. Josie sensed it too.

  “We need to go.” Alex jogged around the front of the SUV. I pulled Gable away from the back door. She threw it open.

  Gable twisted in my grip, but I got him turned around, prepared to throw him head-first into the car if necessary. I started to lift him up when a dark, oily heaviness permeated the air around us. I looked over my shoulder.

  An older man came up the trail, looking like any guy who would be out on the beach for a stroll. Loose khaki pants, white T-shirt, and sandals. A silver watch glinted off his wrist. The stench of death was strong, but he was still too far away to tell if he was a shade or some guy out for a walk.

  “Everything okay up here?” he said.

  “Don’t,” I heard Alex warn Gable in a hushed whisper.

  Josie spoke up. “Everything is fine. Thanks.”

  “I don’t know about that,” the man replied. “Doesn’t seem like it’s okay.” He started toward us, steps purposeful and precise. “Seems like something is going on here.”

  My eyes narrowed as Josie tensed beside me. The moment he got close enough to see his eyes, I cursed. They were watery, washed out, and devoid of most color.

  The man was possessed by a shade.

  “Hercules,” I snapped.

  Thank the gods, he got the message. Head bowing, the massive lump of flesh and muscles charged forward with a smirk.

  Knowing what was up, the shade stepped back. “You stupid cattle,” it spit. “Give it up now. My liege will make it painless—”

  Hercules slammed his fist into the man’s jaw. Bone cracked. The impact spun the man around in a full, perfect circle. He started to go down, but the man jerked once and then twice. Mid-fall, his back arched and his mouth dropped open.

  He let out a horrible screeching sound, like metal grinding on metal, and the black smoke poured out of its mouth, flooding the sky.

  “Holy shit.” Gable fell back against the side of the SUV. “Holy. Shit.”

  The black smoke spiraled like a mini-tornado before arching down sharply. Hercules grabbed at it, his fingers going through the smoke. It shot across the side of the road, zig-zagging like a damn snake. Then it was out in the road, dodging traffic until it was no longer seen.

  “We really need to go before anyone questions that or the dead guy.” Josie opened the passenger door. “Like, for real.”

  Good call.

  “You saw that?” I asked Gable, and when he didn’t answer, I tapped the side of his face. He blinked rapidly. “We aren’t messing around here. You get me now? That thing was after you.”

  “Me? I-I don’t understand. I’m not anything special.”

  “I’m something special. You’re kind of special.” Hercules sidled up beside us. “But I already told you. You’re the son of Poseidon, and the Titans want you because they can feed off you.”

  “Oh,” Gable murmured, dazed. “You did tell me that.”

  “Yep.” Hercules smiled.

  Gable wasn’t struggling as I shoved him into the back of the SUV. What he’d just seen had sucked the fight right out of him. Alex was on one side of him, Hercules was on the other.

  I caught Herc’s attention. “Keep him under control.”

  He one-finger saluted me.