Della flipped through the air and landed right in front of Ryder. He was lost in battle, red-eyed and covered in blood. Just a half-second before he released his sword to take her head, he recognized who stood before him.
She said something to him that I couldn’t read from here. I surreptitiously glanced at the Fates surrounding me, but their eyes were on Nix and Zeus fighting at opposite sides of the plaza.
They didn’t sense Delphi’s presence; I thought that was strange. They were supposed to be able to see all and yet they didn’t notice when their sworn enemy showed up?
Maybe their powers weren’t as omniscient as they would like us to believe.
“Your best friend just arrived,” I told them. For the first time since I met them over a year ago, I felt the power shift between us. I had something to hold over them.
Finally.
I pointed Delphi out in the crowd just as she switched swords with Ryder. He held up the new blade with something like awe. The silver blade glinted in the light of the fire and promised death.
He spun around suddenly, taking the head of one of the demi-gods with him. The massive Greek had been sneaking up on him with fire covering both of his outstretched palms. Ryder seemed to have sensed the threat and acted on instinct. The corpse dropped to the ground, the head bouncing away down the stained limestone path. The fire in his palms died out to nothing.
Ryder’s smile was both boyish and sadistic at the same time.
He seemed possessed with something more than himself. He had no reservations throwing himself into this battle entirely.
He had been awkward and fumbling minutes ago. Now he was as capable and skilled as anyone here.
The god-killer only enhanced his brutal talent.
I felt it the second the Fates’ attention landed on Della. Their thin bodies snapped to attention and I nearly choked on their aggressive hatred.
“The Oracle,” Enid hissed. “How dare she taint us with her presence?”
“Let’s catch her,” Isadora snarled. “And force her to show her face to the world.”
The two older Fates jumped down to the ground with spry energy. They pulled swords from the folds of their gray gowns and dragged the tips along the ground in disconcerting synchronicity. Veda followed after them a few feet, producing matching swords from her own robes.
She glanced at me over her shoulder and smiled. “Until later, Siren. Don’t run far.”
I didn’t bother acknowledging her, but her words pulled at something that had been marinating in my head.
Don’t run far.
But I had run before. I’d run to the one place I knew I would be safe.
The one place I subconsciously knew I would be in control.
I didn’t have a weapon. No swords appeared for me; no weapons materialized out of nowhere. I only had the power in my blood, the ancient energy that could end this world.
A gigante approached me with clear intentions to capture me and drag me back to his master. He swung his club-like arms at me, but he was too big to be anything but inaccurate and awkward. I dodged out of the way and circled around behind him.
Compelled by instinct and the rushing power inside of me, I pressed my hand to his spine and filled him with water. He staggered as saltwater submerged his lungs. His huge body swayed once to the right before he landed heavily on his knees, choking on gallons of water.
He smelled like rot and mold and I loathed touching him, but I had couldn’t quell the instinct to use more of my power. Somehow the energy had taken hold of me and I couldn’t let go of it. It flared inside of me, driving me farther than I had ever gone before, farther than I ever wanted to go.
I moved in front of him again and beckoned him with one finger. He leaned toward me immediately, hypnotized by the power swelling around me.
I leaned into his ear and with all of the softness I could manage, I sang into his ear. Unfamiliar directives assaulted my tongue, demanding that I speak fatal commands. The power asked for blood. The power wanted me to reveal the depth of my authority, to prove how deadly I could be… how utterly consuming I was.
Kill, my blood whispered.
Maim.
Destroy.
