Fenrir gape-grinned at him. “I go where the battle leads me.”
“If you get Jono killed, I’m shoving this dagger through your throat.”
Violet shields cut through the oncoming fae in an unpredictable pattern as Nadine used her magic to funnel the enemy into numbers their side could hopefully handle. Reed shouted orders that had soldiers moving position and bringing everyone else with them who were used to military commands.
The result was groups scattered around the plaza and intersection facing the monument and park, with magic users up front and those with guns standing behind. The setup hopefully reduced friendly fire hits.
“Here they come,” Patrick said.
The Seelie fae with Órlaith followed her and Gerard into battle, leading the charge as Medb’s fae finally broke free of the maze of shields Nadine had created. Patrick didn’t know how long she’d be able to hold them up with so many gods in the mix. He only hoped someone was in place to watch her six.
Thor charged forward with a thunderous war cry, swinging Mjölnir in an arc that sent lightning stabbing outward. The leading push of fae and jaguars coming their way couldn’t dodge the hit. The fae were thrown off their feet, bodies smoking, while the jaguars shattered into millions of pieces of obsidian. When the airborne fae finally landed, they were trampled by their own side.
Off to the left, Ku led the Night Marchers at a cluster of hunters that broke free of Nadine’s shields. The gods acted as individual breakwaters against the enemy, capable of handling more than the mortals behind them.
The Sluagh outnumbered Hinon and the valkyries in the sky. Hinon’s great wings crackled with lightning that danced against the clouds above as the Haudenosaunee thunder god led the valkyries into aerial battle once more.
Nadine’s shields flickered before suddenly shattering, falling victim to Santa Muerte’s shroud and the shadowy spears of darkness that slammed through her magic. The maze of defensive magic keeping Medb’s forces in a manageable group disappeared. Patrick only hoped whatever backlash she was hit with wasn’t terrible enough to put her out of commission. But a god’s attack was different than mortal magic or weaponry.
Unencumbered, the Unseelie fae ranks surged forward, a wave of death they couldn’t possibly escape from. Patrick threw his mageglobes high into the air, aiming for the deeper ranks rather than the front line so as not to hit anyone on their side. Fenrir charged forward with an ear-splitting howl, and Patrick could only follow, dagger held in his right hand, the matte-black blade burning bright.
Jaguars peeled free of the crowd and headed their way, but Fenrir intercepted most of them, tearing the constructs to pieces. One got through, and Patrick aimed a mageglobe down its throat. The construct exploded from the inside out, and obsidian shards flew through the air like shrapnel. He spun on his feet, managing to sidestep a jaguar and catch it in the side with his dagger.
The construct’s roar was like breaking glass that faded when it shattered. Patrick’s combat boots crunched over obsidian shards as he sent a strike spell at the troll staggering toward them, holding what looked like an entire uprooted tree in its hand. The troll swung the tree in an overhead strike, but before it could hit the ground and anyone standing there, a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into his chest.
The explosion of body parts sent bone and blood and meaty flesh flying through the air. The rest of the troll collapsed, tipping over backward as the tree fell to the ground. The earth vibrated from its landing. Patrick ducked his head against the bloody rain and slammed a mageglobe into a group of spider fae clacking their way over a dead hunter to his position.
Nadine’s shields reformed in quick snakelike bursts, creating room for them to fight in. The battle lines had blurred, which meant when Patrick finished clearing his immediate area of Unseelie fae and turned to look for Jono, he shouldn’t have been surprised at coming face-to-face with Tezcatlipoca, but he was.
“Oh, shit,” Patrick breathed out, taking a step back.
The Aztec god wore traditional clothing and a gold headdress decorated with obsidian and jade. The colored heron feathers a meter in length that were attached to the headdress had yet to be torn out by the wind. His right foot was carved from polished obsidian, shiny like a mirror and all the pieces of his constructs they’d destroyed so far.
“You took what belongs to me,” Tezcatlipoca said, his godhead shining through his aura.
Patrick held his dagger between them. “Wade? Yeah, you can’t have him, so fuck off.”
Tezcatlipoca lunged at him, mouth open wide around teeth that would’ve looked more at home in a jaguar. Patrick stood his ground because there was nowhere to run, but he didn’t have to go toe-to-toe with the god because Jono handled it for him by ramming Tezcatlipoca to the ground. Jono’s teeth flashed in the scrum, and Patrick thought he’d get the upper hand, but that was before Tezcatlipoca started shifting.
“Fall back!” Patrick yelled, scrambling to get out of range. “Everyone, fall back!”
He remembered how large Tezcatlipoca was in his jaguar form, how the god had destroyed the Crimson Diamond. Jono seemed to remember as well, sticking with Patrick over continuing the fight. The form that Tezcatlipoca took was larger than any earthly jaguar could ever hope to become and deadly enough to turn the tide of the fight before they even made it to the Battery.
The spider fae hurtling itself toward them from the right was cut in half by Ku’s shark-teeth-lined spear. The Hawaiian war god stepped up beside Patrick and pointed his weapon at Tezcatlipoca in a warning manner.
“Get out of our way, cousin,” Ku ordered.
“I think not,” Tezcatlipoca snarled.
He opened his mouth and roared, the nightmarish sound louder than the thunder from gods and the reactionary storm.
It was not, however, louder than Quetzalcoatl’s answering roar that shook every building surrounding Union Square.
Patrick’s head snapped around, gaze locking on the new arrival. The feathered serpent god flew over the buildings north of them, wings dipping low in greeting to Wade. Breaking free of the clouds behind him came the entirety of the Wild Hunt led by Gwyn ap Nudd.
Jono’s teeth snagged the hem of Patrick’s leather jacket, and he found himself being swung around and dragged from the line of fire. He got the hint. Let the gods fight each other; he had no desire to be caught up in that crossfire.
The shadows of twilight grew darker as Quetzalcoatl dived low. Patrick spared a glance over his shoulder in time to see Tezcatlipoca launch himself at his brother, and the two rose into the air, grappling and fighting each other. Around the pair, the Wild Hunt and the Sluagh clashed together, the screams and battle cries of spirits mixing with thunder.
