Blood and Kisses - By Karin Shah Page 0,83

but she’s dead. One more death on your oh-so-convenient conscience.” Akos swung a fist at Gideon. Gideon blocked it and hit air with a strike of his own as Akos leaned away. “It’s a pity,” he continued. “I think she really loved me, but she made one mistake. She turned you.” Hatred made his final words a venomous snarl. “She said it would make you suffer. Unfortunately I see no evidence of that.”

Thalia wondered why Akos loathed Gideon so much, far more than mere competing generals should imply.

“What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?” Gideon asked.

“You were born.”

Akos used his foot to pick up the rod Gideon had impaled him with. He passed it from hand to hand, oblivious to the blood soiling his hands. “My mother was one of Akhenu’s concubines. When you were born, he had no need of a bastard son. My mother and I were abandoned out in the wilderness to die, but my mother fooled him. She managed to make it back to her own people.

“I always intended to introduce myself to him when my army marched into Elilu, but you killed him and robbed me of that chance.” With that, he hurled the rod at Gideon like a javelin. Gideon ducked, and it pierced the corrugated aluminum wall behind him, sailing out of sight, leaving a gaping hole.

Thalia felt her eyes widen at this display of strength. She knew Gideon was strong, but was he that strong? Her shield dimmed as worry broke her concentration. She swallowed, gritted her teeth, and fed more energy to the magic barrier.

Akos and Gideon now fought hand-to-hand, trading blow after blow. The taunting had stopped. Grunts of effort, and the thud of blows finding flesh were the only sounds Thalia could hear. They didn’t shape-shift. Thalia got the feeling this fight was too personal for that. The fun and games had ended, and the real battle had begun.

Their limbs blurred as they struck and parried. Thalia couldn’t tell who was winning. Akos lashed a kick Gideon couldn’t move fast enough to evade, knocking him back against the wall. Gideon’s head hit the wall with a hollow clang, and he slid to the ground and stayed there, unconscious.

Thalia yearned to run to him. Her body lurched forward automatically, but she planted her feet. Akos needed her death first. For Gideon’s sake, she must to maintain her shield.

“Thalia?”

She turned her head, searching for the female voice.

A woman stood in the corner. Her clothes were torn and stained, but her face was all too familiar.

“Lily.”

Her cousin smiled and came toward her, arms outstretched. Distracted, Thalia’s shield flicked like a short in a florescent bulb.

She fortified the spell. No matter how much she longed to believe her cousin was alive. She knew the truth. The dream she’d had so many nights earlier was finally happening.

“Thalia, it’s me. You don’t need to be afraid.” Lily advanced as if to embrace her and hit the shield. With a shriek of pain, Lily recoiled and the illusion dropped away, revealing a female revenant. The creature hissed. Fangs bared, she attacked, but the shield was too strong. Repelled, she staggered back, her skin black and charred where it had touched the shining blue energy. Again and again, she attacked and was deflected. Finally, she reeled back and dropped to the floor, twitching, clearly unable to stand.

Thalia felt a drop of sweat slide down her cheek. A shadow flashed by.

Akos.

She spun to confront him. He raised his hands and began to siphon magic from her shield. Thalia fed more power to it. It wavered, growing dimmer and brighter in turns as she struggled to keep up with the drain, reminding Thalia ominously of Mina’s description of what had happened in her vision.

She fell to her knees with the effort. Finally the shield faded altogether, and with a shout of triumph, Akos advanced to fulfill the prophecy.

Thalia scrambled back against the door, frantically feeling above her head for the elusive handle.

Heath burst into the warehouse from a side door.

“Poena!” he yelled. Yellow comets burst from his palms. They hit Akos in a shower of sparks. He screamed, face contorted with pain, and waved a hand in Heath’s direction.

A tidal wave of black mist enveloped Heath, knocking him to the ground. It wrapped around him like a cocoon and hardened, making it impossible for him to speak or move. He struggled for a second, then was still. She couldn’t see him breathing.

“Heath!”