I saw none. No conflict. No second guesses. I saw only a monster who threatened my friends, my family, and my world.
“You could have been so much more,” I said. “So much better.”
He snorted. “So could you. But you were weak. Unworthy. You threw it all away.”
“Not exactly.” I straightened. “I just set it aside for a while.”
I swatted the gun away from him. Well, it was my hand that struck the gun, but it wasn’tme. I heard the small bones in Alex’s hand crack. The gun struck the wall so hard, the cylinder popped out and part of the grip broke away.
Alex’s face turned white. “How? You can’t—”
“I didn’t,” I said.
“IDID.” ARTEMIS’S WORDS ECHOED THROUGH THE BASEMENT.
I touched two fingers to the hole in my chest. The bullet had passed through my body, so there was nothing to expel. I grimaced as muscle and bone and at least one chamber of my heart knit itself back together.
“The contract,” said Alex. “You can’t hurt me.”
“The spell you repurposed is pretty airtight,” I agreed. “I won’t be doing any harm for the next year and a day. The thing is, Artemis didn’t agree to that contract. And she didn’t have to enter through the door. She’s here throughme.”
Alex had witnessed this once before. We’d been nineteen years old and hunting an ancient vrykolakas, a kind of Greek vampire who’d turned out to be extremely good with a crossbow. I would have died from that shot if Artemis hadn’t chosen to join me in that fight.
This wasn’t me using the strength and power gifted from Artemis. This was the goddess herself, manifesting through her Hunter.
Alex’s eyes widened with understanding. “Oh, fuck.”
“INDEED.”
His tentacle whipped toward my head.
My xiphos sliced through the tentacle like it was air.
The severed piece flopped on the floor like a fish. Black goo dripped from the end. I kicked it away.
I felt full to bursting. The goddess’s presence overwhelmed me. Moonlight spilled from my skin. The strength of mountains filled my limbs. It would have been so easy to lose myself in her power. Her wisdom. Her wrath.
Alex grabbed a wooden spear from my bin of training weapons. He swung it one-handed at the side of my head.
I raised my left arm. The shaft snapped against my forearm.
He thrust the broken end at my throat.
I batted it aside with my sword.
“You can’t stop what I’ve begun,” he snarled. “I’ve performed the ritual. I’m a Hunter of R’gngyk. I’m—”
“I’m sorry.” I stepped toward him. He retreated past the punching bag. “I don’t have time for this. I have to deal with the real threat.”
“Therealthreat?” He swung the broken spear again. The attack was crude, driven by outrage.
I caught the end and splintered it in my hand. When I spoke, Artemis’s anger edged my words. “I thought you were the big bad, Alex. But you’re just another minion. A child who never got past his fear of the dark.”
He lunged for my throat.
I backhanded him into the wall. He slumped, unconscious but alive. His lip and nose dripped blood. His human eye was shut, but the other stared up at me.
HE FEARED HIS OWN WEAKNESS. YOU FEARED YOUR STRENGTH.
