Sin & Surrender (Demigods of San Francisco Book 6) Read online

  “Tripwires?” Thane asked. “Like the kind the Chesters use?”

  The hallway we walked ended at another. Henry pointed right, toward the edge of the building. We turned that way, only momentarily hindered by Bria running into the corner again and getting the cart stuck.

  Once we successfully took the corner, Dylan answered, “Yes. When I was in the Chester lands, one of my acquaintances was a former special ops in the…Army? I can’t remember what branch of the military, but he was special forces and taught me all manner of tactical non-magical warfare. Some of the things he could rig up for an enemy were crazy. I thought Daisy might need all the combat knowledge she could get, magical and otherwise, so I’ve been teaching her what I know.”

  Daisy ran her fingers across the strap of her crossbody bag.

  “Wait…” I braced my hand on her shoulder. “Are you telling me that you have explosives in that bag?”

  Her wide eyes and innocent look told me all I needed to know.

  “No.” I put my finger out. “No explosives.”

  “Why not?” she, Zorn, and Henry chorused.

  “Because you could kill people! Because we don’t need it. Because you’ll ruin these lovely unmarked walls.” I could see I wasn’t getting through to them. I had to get creative. “Because…don’t you want that to be your secret weapon if you get in dire straits in the real world? If you use it here, people will know to expect it.”

  Everyone turned thoughtful. Henry finally nodded. “That’s a good point. Magical people don’t use Chester tactics, thinking it is beneath them. But those who can do magical tripwires are heavily sought-after. Seems silly when any Tom, Dick, and Jane could create them.”

  “Who are they?” Jerry asked.

  “It’s a figure of speech, Jerry,” Donovan said.

  “Missed the context of that one, eh, Jerry?” Thane murmured, his bearing hunched a little, like he was expecting danger to pop out at any moment.

  A soul popped onto my radar up ahead. Dylan put out his hand, his forearm connecting with my chest like a mother slamming on the brakes and trying to protect her child in the front seat.

  “Zeus?” I asked him.

  He lowered his arm, slowed, and everyone slowed with him. “Yes. Five of them, all strong.”

  More souls popped up after he said that. His magic had a better range than mine, but he could only sense Zeus types. “Eight people total, off to the side. In a room, I would gather.”

  “Awesome. It’s go time.” Daisy rubbed her hands together excitedly.

  “No, you’re not—”

  “Only a few Demigods would have that many Zeus types working for them,” she said. The cats rubbed against her legs, clearly on her side, whatever that side was. “So Zander or Flora, but we put a big hole in Flora’s ranks, and she hasn’t had time to assemble a new, stronger staff, so I’m guessing this is Zander’s crew, on the outskirts of things and taking a break. Otherwise they’d be in the center of the hall yelling, You shall not pass, right, Mordie? Like your friends in Lord of the Rings?”

  “What’s the best course of action?” Zorn asked her.

  Adrenaline coursed through me. “Really? We’re taking a break from a dangerous situation in order to engage in a training session?”

  A growl rumbled deep in Chaos’s throat, and I got the distinct impression he was telling me to be quiet.

  Daisy ran her lower lip through her teeth, thinking. “We’ll obviously barge in and scare the bejesus out of them, and then we’ll take them out for the remainder of the day. That’s a given. How is the question.”

  “Thoughts?” Zorn prompted.

  “We want to make a positive impression on Zander, so we can’t use Lexi to take them down through the wall. Zeus people would think that’s cowardice. They might have a defense against Dylan, so we need to send the giant in first, in rock form. He’ll take the brunt of their attack. Then we send Red and Bria around him to stab a bitch. Get one in the neck. That bleeds a lot. I’ll throw some knives as well, just to treat them like pincushions. Mordecai, rip into a throat, just don’t kill. Tear out a stomach if you want—let’s give it some flourish. Who else— Oh! Boman, flash some light and blind them. Dylan, do the thunder. What a ruckus. Henry and Thane, hang back and look pretty. The room is only so big. Chaos, you rip up a… Where are some cool places to have scars? Because your shit doesn’t heal. Sorry, Lexi, I get to swear in battle. That’s a given.”

  “The back is good for scars. Those’ll get a sympathy lay, right, Zorn?” Donovan grinned.

  “Good call.” Daisy nodded. “Chaos, rip up a guy’s back, not a girl’s—guys are superficial, and she won’t get laid because of it. We’re not tryin’ to ruin lives here. At the crescendo, Havoc, you do the roar that flaps their souls. That’s a real mood killer. For an extra flourish, Lexi, you stand just outside of the commotion with your hair blowing in your weird fake breeze.” She clapped. “Yes? Sound like a plan?”

  “What about me?” Donovan asked, respect twinkling in his eyes.

  “You stand by in case they throw something at us we don’t expect, which is highly probable. Three of those buggers aren’t Zeus—who knows what they could be.”

  Daisy ended by looking at Zorn for approval.

  “You forgot me,” he said.

  Her face colored. “Oops. Sorry. Drift in as gas around Jerry, figure out who is the most dangerous, and put them out early. A few kidney shots and a loss of consciousness should do.”

  Zorn nodded, and so did everyone else. We’d be going with Daisy’s plan.

  I couldn’t help but feel a glow of pride. A non-magical teenager was setting the strategy for a Demigod’s crew. That was pretty amazing.

  My pride quickly turned to worry. “You should hang back,” I told her as we jogged for position.

  Dylan pointed at the door harboring the enemy, two up and on the right.

  “I’m just throwing knives,” she whispered. “I’ll be hiding behind Jerry. I’ll be fine.”

  Excitement lit her eyes and filled her voice. If she’d been any other teenager, I might have thought her eagerness would wear off as soon as she got a look at the action. But she’d seen plenty of action so far, right up close, and she’d been left behind more times than not. Her excitement was to finally fight with her family.

  On some deep level, I felt like I’d failed her. She should be safe at home, far from anyone who might want to kill her for being non-magical, but this was no time to dwell. Wallowing in guilt would distract me and potentially get someone killed. We had to fight through this if we ever hoped to find a future of safety.

  “They will be highly organized and excel at their magic,” Dylan whispered as we neared the door. Murmuring came from within. No souls moved position. Those inside were probably sitting and chatting, or maybe gearing up for round two. “They will be used to structured battles. They won’t like being caught off guard.”

  “Then they certainly will not like the absolute clusterfuck of crazy we are about to throw their way. Great heavens, I love my job.” Bria’s grin was jubilant.

  As Jerry’s skin turned into a stone crust, Red stepped up and, with a practiced movement, rammed her foot against the door near the handle. It cracked open like a nut and swung wildly, banging against the opposite side.

  All eight of the people inside looked up with wide eyes, momentarily freezing. Their inactivity was short-lived. A blast of electrical current zipped from the front runner’s palm and slammed into Jerry’s chest with enough force to knock a normal person on their ass.

  Jerry was not a normal person.

  He barely bumped back before advancing again with slow, deliberate movements.

  “Zorn, take out the rear,” I said, seeing how their formation had altered in a blink, those in the front administering the assault. The weak had fallen behind—they weren’t used to people fighting dirty.

  Welcome to battling a person of Hades.

  A woman on the side put out her hand,
aimed at Jerry. She probably had the magic to force Jerry to shift back into his skin, but if Demigod Flora hadn’t been strong enough to do it, this chick certainly couldn’t.

  Bria and Red darted in, Red faster than thought and Bria not far behind. They slammed into the magical workers, knives slashing and sticking in practiced, brutal movements. Blood splattered a polished wood table and the recipient of Red’s vicious attack groaned, grabbing his neck. Blood oozed between his fingers. She’d done as Daisy had suggested.

  Dylan stepped out from behind Jerry, and in a move I hadn’t seen yet, he slapped his hands together and then flung them out like he was playing patty-cake. Lightning rode the rumble of thunder, the sound muted for those on his side, electricity spitting and blistering in a wave. The enemy visibly quaked.

  A spark died between the palms of a woman who’d been about to unleash her magic on us. Daisy saw an opportunity and dashed out with her throwing knives. Three of them rammed into the woman’s chest in quick succession, the placement a perfect triangle. Daisy darted back behind Jerry as a sliver of lightning zipped toward her from a man on the left.

  I almost brought the male lightning slinger to his knees, but I held back. It was a gut reaction and unnecessary.

  A woman screamed in the back before a man slid to the ground. Oops—I was wrong, the scream had come from him.

  Zorn popped out of existence, his disappearing act startling the hell out of the woman next to him. It was like she had no idea what magic Zorn had. Her hands came up and the air shivered near her fingers. Zorn appeared again, his face screwed up in confusion, lowering his hand as though he didn’t understand what was happening.

  A fierce growl vibrated through the room. Mordecai streaked past Jerry, darted around the edge of the group, and launched himself at the woman, blasting through the wavy air. His form went limp for a moment, but his heavy wolf body slammed into the woman. She must’ve been using some sort of mind control, because it wasn’t a force field she’d erected. They tumbled back together and she yelled out in surprise.

  Mordecai rolled off, shook his head to clear it, and, before the woman could get her hands back up, attacked her throat and chest. I hoped to hell she had blood magic.

  Zorn, freed from the woman’s magic, pivoted and pushed forward, aiming for a guy in the middle of the group. I didn’t see where his machete went in, but I saw the tip come out, through the other end of the guy’s shoulder. I grimaced as Zorn pulled the weapon free and the man jerked, his mouth rounding and his face turning pale. His eyes swung around wildly, looking for the source of the attack.

  Trying to add the flourish Daisy had suggested, I waved at him and gave his soul box a little squeeze.

  His eyes widened and he froze. Zorn stabbed him again, in the other shoulder. I slashed his soul box and broke one of the prongs keeping his soul in place, trying to scare the bastard and give him a story to tell his friends.

  Instead, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he dropped to the ground.

  “Oh shit,” I breathed, spirit rolling around me like a tornado.

  “What happened?” Henry stepped forward. “What went wrong?”

  I checked the guy’s soul to make sure it was still in its casing. Strangely, his spirit felt kinda…watery. Like it was going to slip right out of its confinement. It was like I’d pushed him past his point of no return, and he was easing himself out of the world of the living.

  “Stop!” I yelled, ignoring Henry and stepping into the room. I pushed Jerry, trying to get some space. When he didn’t budge, I went around and put out my hands. “Stop. Everyone stop! I might’ve accidentally killed someone. Hold on so I can see if I can fix it!”

  “That’s not how it works, Lexi,” Dylan said, slamming those still standing with thin bands of lightning from his fingers.

  “What do you mean that’s not how it works?” I gripped the man’s soul, not letting it slip out of the casing. At the same time, I mended the prong I’d broken. “Dang it, why are Zeus people so easy to scare with my magic?” I ducked under Jerry’s arm, which had come out to try to push me behind him. “All I did was rattle him a bit. He wasn’t anywhere near death, but now it feels like he’s trying to abandon ship.” I crouched by his head and put my hands on his temples.

  “Red,” Henry called.

  “Got it.” Red leapt over me and grabbed a guy scrambling up off the ground, his clothes smoking from where Dylan had gotten him. She flung him across the room.

  “Shh, it’s okay. Everything is okay.” I rubbed a thumb across the hurt guy’s forehead. His soul was still trying to escape. It was the craziest thing—I’d never felt it before.

  “You don’t just stop a battle because someone went down,” Dylan yelled, and lightning jumped from his hands again.

  “This isn’t a real battle,” I yelled, “and he didn’t just go down—he is dying.”

  “Lexi, accidents happen.” Donovan batted the air with his hands. Red spun, and something just missed her and slammed into the wall.

  A rock flew up from outside, crashing through the window and slamming into one of the two enemies still standing. Glass rained down, and I ducked my head. The woman had fallen to the floor, and Bria descended on her, stopping her from getting back up.

  Dylan redirected a buzzing ball of light, and Daisy jumped onto the back of the last man, wrapping her legs around his upper body, trapping his arms to his sides. She reached around and raked her dagger across his jugular. When he tried to jerk away, she unwrapped her legs, pushed off with her hands, and kicked her feet against his back, helping him fall forward. She hit the desk and rolled off, landing on her feet while he crashed down through two chairs, grasping at his throat. It was as incredible as it was gross. Also highly distracting.

  “Get Daisy out of there. I don’t want to use my magic on that guy; these people are very fragile,” I hollered.

  “I sure do hope this room is being monitored,” Donovan said with a grin as he magically lifted the last man, whose hands were glued to his profusely bleeding neck, and tossed him out of the window.

  “Well, that’s…” I huffed and turned my attention back to the man on the ground. Everyone else would heal (I hoped), but this guy just didn’t want to. His soul was trying to escape fast. “Hang in there, buddy. You’re okay. Everything is okay.”

  “What’d you do?” Boman looked down at me, and I realized he hadn’t gotten much of a chance to fight.

  Thane stepped into the room. “We got five coming down the hall, all dressed in black. Probably Hades.”

  Boman’s eyes lit up. “Lexi, we’ll call you if we need you,” he said, and jogged out.

  “We won’t need you.” Dylan winked at me, following him.

  Bria dropped down on a knee next to me. “Lexi, they won’t penalize you for an accident if we get lost. Let’s go.”

  “I have a feeling that one guy in the last fight isn’t going to find his way back to rational thought, which means this would be my second ‘accident,’ Bria. What if they keep happening? I’ll be called in, you know I will. This guy isn’t that hurt—there’s a chance he’ll be fine if I can get him to hang on.”

  She sighed. “Fine, okay. If he isn’t hurt, then what’d you do?”

  “Nothing I haven’t done to all of you. Just rattled his soul cage a little, no biggie. But now he’s trying to die on me. It’s really weird. I don’t know what to do.”

  Bria felt his pulse. “Slip into that other plane and see if your dad is there. If not…fuck, let’s sing him a lullaby, I don’t know. Want me to light a nice-smelling candle or something? Rub his feet?”

  “Be serious.”

  “It’s hard when you act like this.”

  I fell into a trance, just enough to peek into the spirit plane. I didn’t want to leave my body for any reason, not with Lydia and Aaron hanging around this place and Hades players out in the hallway.

  Amazingly, Harding waited in a foggy mist. Since I’d only dipped a toe into spiri
t, his appearance was gauzy and only half realized, but it was him all the same. I could feel his soul.

  Relief flooded me at his presence, immediately followed by fear. He shouldn’t be here! With the Hades Demigods well able to move through spirit, he could easily get found out.

  “Oops, you found me. Hello.” He squatted, making his head level with mine. “How are you? You do realize you’re doing something I haven’t taught you yet, right? This is an entirely different plane of spirit, one very few ever use. And here you are. You really do rise to the occasion in a crisis. What a marvel. You’re going to go really far—”

  “Yeah, yeah, later.” I quickly told him what I’d done and what was happening.

  After I’d finished, he looked at me gravely for a moment.

  “Bad news?” I asked, fear kindling within me. Despite what everyone said about accidents, I knew I had less room for error than most. My magic was already scary, and I was undoubtedly seen as a troublemaker. Two of the Hades Demigods had a vendetta against me, and if Demigod Zander ever caught on to who trained me, he’d be wary as well.

  I was skating on thin ice, and I knew it.

  “Bad news for you? Not so much. For me? A bit.” He looked both ways, although I had no idea what he was seeing. From my perspective, there was nothing but hazy gray. “I’ve been watching you from afar so I wouldn’t be discovered. Dang, lady, I wish you weren’t so helpless and naive and likable and hot, all at once. Move over.”

  “Watching me from afar? You’re the…things that are always just out of sight?”

  “Yes and no. I said move over.”

  I tried to scoot over, forgetting that I was still half in spirit. The act sent me reeling out of spirit. I sucked in a startled breath and nearly tipped over, out of balance.

  Harding stepped through the spiritual plane like it was a window, his foot touching down on the spot I had just occupied—the one I’d used to peek through.

  Bria’s eyes pulled together and her body went rigid. “What is that, Alexis? Who’s here?”

  “Ah, my favorite Necromancer. Fantastic.” Harding crouched down beside me, over the prone man, whose lips had started to turn blue.