The Wicked Within

The corners of her mouth drew back into a smile, like some puppet master was pulling the strings. “Wake me up,” the strange whisper came from her lips. “Wake me up and I’ll set you free.”

“Who are you?” I asked. “I won’t wake you up until I know who you are and why you want to return to our world.”

Zoe went silent for a long moment. I was about to try to get the god talking again, but then she spoke, fast, as though uttering a prayer that hadn’t been uttered since time began. “I am Yesterday. I am He who is Above. Born under the Morning Star. I am the Sun and the Moon. Ruler of the Skies. Guardian of Pharaohs. I am the Great Falcon. I am War. I am Protection. I am He Who Comes Forth Advancing. I have opened a path. I have delivered myself from all evil things.”

The room seemed to still, the sounds from outside dimming. I didn’t know what had changed, but I sure as hell felt that something had. Bran stood in the doorway, his face pale, his sword arm limp, his eyes dazed.

Zoe clutched the front of my bloody shirt and pulled me so close our noses brushed. The voice was urgent and demanding. “Now bring me back.”

Zoe shoved me away with a force that was not her own. I landed on my rear, heart pounding. The sounds from outside raged on, filling the dead silence. Explosions lit the dark room with flashes. Glass shattered down the hall, bringing everything back into focus. We were running out of time.

“What now?” I asked Bran as Zoe sat down, her legs crossed and her hands resting limply in her lap. Her eyes were locked on me. Then they shifted to Sebastian. “Wake me up and I’ll set you free.”

That was the offer. Made to me, and now to Sebastian. He just stood there, staring at Zoe with troubled eyes. “That’s the bargain,” I said. “Whoever wakes him up is set free from their curse.”

“Vampirism isn’t a curse. It’s part of my makeup,” he answered. But I could see the longing in his eyes.

“And that god can change you back. To the way you were before . . . before the temple. That’s what he means.” I wanted it to be true. Sebastian could go back to the way he had been. And at that moment, I knew it should be him and not me. “Right, Bran? That’s what it means.”

“Yeah, that’s what he means. And if he’s the father of Athena’s child . . . Athena won’t stand a chance.”

“Who is he? Is he good? Do we wake him?”

“Yeah, he’s good. But you have to remember, Athena was good once too. It’s a risk. One I think we—”

Bran was hit from behind by a massive black wolf. They rolled into the apartment as Kieran shouted, leaping aside just in time. Bran and the wolf smashed through the coffee table and hit the far wall, denting the drywall. Teeth gnashed, and angry red claw marks appeared on Bran’s chest. Sebastian was building energy over his hand. I ran to help Kieran as a second shifter appeared.

Through it all, Zoe sat waiting.

A vampire joined the fray on the landing. I chanced a look over my shoulder to see Sebastian shove a massive ball of energy at the wolf, knocking it off Bran. Bran recovered and swung his sword to lethal effect.

The landing was filling up. Shit. We were going to be overrun, trapped. Damn it. I exchanged a desperate glance with Sebastian. I ducked and landed a punch to the vamp’s midsection, shoving my power into my fist when I did. She screamed. I spun again and grabbed her wrist, still pouring my curse into her. As she spun away from me, her arm broke off and she smashed into the wall.

Kieran killed the second shifter. But she was tiring too. Bran hurried to fight by her side.

“Ari!” I spun at Sebastian’s call. Confused, I hurried over as he closed his eyes. The hairs on my arms lifted as energy, thick and suffocating, gathered in the room. His hand clamped down on my wrist. And then the scene froze.

Everything froze—but us.

“God, Sebastian. What are you doing?” My heart skipped. He was bleeding from the nose. I reached out but he caught my hand.

“Go to Zoe. Wake up the god.”

“But—”

“Hurry. I can’t hold them all for long. This is what we’ve been after. A way to end your curse. A way to end Athena.”

I should’ve been jumping at the chance. And yet, it didn’t feel right. I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but, “I’m a god-killer, Sebastian. If this god rises and wreaks havoc, I’ll need to stop him. I can’t do that if I don’t have my power. I can’t risk giving it up until all this”—I waved my hand—“chaos with Athena is over. My chance lies with the Hands. This is your chance. You take it.” Pain squeezed my chest. “You do it. You never wanted to be a vampire. You never would have been if it wasn’t for me.”

He shook his head, frowning. “No—”

I grabbed his shoulders. “Yes. You have to. It’s killing you, being what you are now. I can see it.” My throat went thick. “It’s your turn. Mine will come later. If we raise this god, I’m the insurance policy. If all goes to shit and he’s crazy like Athena, I’m the only one who can kill him. And if he fails, I’ll still need my power to bargain with Athena. She’ll kill me if I’m curse free. It means her child will never be resurrected.”

Sebastian trembled from the massive amount of power he was using to freeze our tiny corner of the world. He couldn’t keep it up much longer. His gaze flicked to the frozen battle on the landing. Relief filled me. He was going to do it. He gave me a sharp nod, swiped at the blood trickling from his nose, and then stepped back.

“If this works, I’ll meet you someplace safe . . . at the hospital,” he said. “Just stay out of trouble until then.” With a parting look, he closed his eyes and raised his hands, pulling in energy and moving in a beautiful flowing motion, gathering it like I’d once seen him do in his father’s garden. And then he shot out his arms, opening his eyes. They flashed bright blue. I was pushed by the force, stumbling as I watched our attackers disintegrate.

In the blink of an eye, Sebastian had Zoe in his arms and was gone.

Gone.

And we were left stunned by the magnitude of his power.

Bran recovered and stalked toward me. “What has he done?”

“He’s going to wake the god.”

“Goddamn it, Selkirk! We agreed!”

“But you said—”

“I never got to finish what I was saying. Do you know what he’s waking? A supreme fucking deity!”

“Who—”

He seized Kieran’s and my wrists. “We’re getting out of this apartment. If I’m going to fight, I’ll do it out in the open.”

“Bran.” I pulled against him. “Wait. Who is the god?”

I was almost afraid to know.

NINETEEN

HIS POWER GAVE OUT A few feet above his grandmother’s garden. Not the location he’d been aiming for, but at least it wasn’t pavement. They landed with a thud, his back hitting the ground first, then Zoe’s weight hitting him from the front, knocking the breath from his lungs. He released her, and she rolled off him. His muscles trembled, his mind was exhausted, and pain shot arcs through his brain. Nausea rolled through his gut. Too much power; he’d used too much. It took several seconds for his vision to focus, the blurry night stars finally snapping back into place.

Hell, he hadn’t even realized he could draw that much power.

Zoe sat up and looked around with her possessed eyes as he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. She waited until he drew in several ragged breaths and said, “Now wake me up.”

Sebastian’s entire body was shaking hard now. Keeping his balance, even in a sitting position, was difficult. “Just . . . give me a minute.”

She grabbed his arm and leaned in close. “I have waited long. Too long.”

“Then you won’t mind a couple more minutes. I don’t even know how to wake you up.”