The hilt was thick and strong, made of chunky steel, but the blade … the blade was so big and long it must have been as tall as I was. The edge was serrated, and glowed with a very faint magical blue hue.
Cronus nodded to the witch. “Thank you for your help.”
Narida snorted. “Thank you for your blood.”
I narrowed my eyes, some of my brain faculties coming online. “Don’t use it for evil, okay? Only good spells for that blood.”
She glared at me like I was a cockroach that had crawled over her leg, but before she could turn me into lint or whatever she was planning, Cronus wrapped an arm around me and pulled me away from her. “Best way to leave?” he asked, distracting the crone.
She pointed toward the room she’d been sequestered in making the weapon. “There is a secret exit through there. I’m sending your distraction out now. Run and don’t fucking stop.”
Cronus, still half carrying me with one hand and his weapon with the other, hauled ass toward the room. “What about my bag?” I asked, wishing I’d slung my backpack over my shoulder; I’d been too tired.
He shook his head. “No time, and we can’t be weighed down by anything extra. You can barely carry all of that hair, let alone anything else.”
I spluttered. “Absolutely not true. I’m very fit.”
I wasn’t even sure why I was trying to make this a thing. I wasn't fit. I’d never been fit. I only exercised when forced to—when my jeans didn’t fit, mostly.
Luckily, I’d clipped on my Coach fanny pack with passport and wallet when I’d pulled on my shorts. Cronus of course didn’t need that because he could daze the check-in desk and they would think he had a passport. He had enough power for that apparently.
When we entered the dark room, I wondered how Cronus was going to find the exit, but he must have scented the fresh air or something, because he went straight for the panel next to her huge workbench, pushing at a few sections before finding the one that opened to the outside. “Stay close,” he said softly, releasing me so that he could grip his weapon with both hands. “I can fight any of them one on one, even with my powers weakened. But if they kill you, we will both probably die because we are bound.”
#FML
“I’ll be right on your ass,” I promised him. Not like I had any choice, but even if I did, I would still be sticking with him. Better the god you knew, especially when he’d given up trying to kill you.
For now.
Chapter 6
Narida’s path led us out into a thick patch of jungle, where it was dark and damp, and it was only through some small glimpses of blue that I knew which direction the ocean was. “We can’t keep doing this,” I said breathlessly, fighting to stay close to Cronus. “If they can track us this easy, then there is nowhere we can run or hide. Eventually they’re going to get to us.”
He made a rumbling, pissed-off sound, his massive back heaving as he cut down some more bushes that were blocking our path. I ducked my head, narrowly missing a branch that had snapped off near me.
“I needed the weapon,” Cronus said between swings of his weapon, “to have something strong enough to penetrate the skin of a god.”
“Uh huh,” I said. #WhereWasHeGoingWithThis
“Once I regain my full powers, they won’t be able to touch me. That’s why they are trying so hard right now. I just need to hold them off until my powers return, then I can kill Zeus and end this nightmare. Stop complaining that I’m going too fast for you while I try to keep us alive.”
Going too fast? I’d fucking show him too fast, the arrogant asshole…
My angry thoughts were cut off when the trees to the right of us basically exploded in our faces. With a shriek, I dove to the side, only to be yanked back by the bond between us. Apparently I’d gone too far from the god in question.
Pulling myself up, I pressed close to his back, peering around to see a golden woman standing there. “Athena,” Cronus said. “What are you doing here? This was never your fight.”
I racked my brain for the small pockets of Greek Mythology I knew. Athena … she was definitely associated with war, I remembered that, and maybe … wisdom ... or painting. Fuck. She was associated with