A split second later, Abraham raised his arm and shouted, “No more, Annabeth! I will silence your lying tongue once and for all!” He fired his gun at the pythia again.
Quicker than thought, Cassie raised the stone shard to protect her face. The bullet ricocheted off the iron meteorite and reversed direction.
No one registered what had happened until they all saw Abraham Metcalf reel backwards and fall. A small red dot directly between his eyes showed where the bullet had entered his brain and ended his life.
“Father,” Daniel dropped to his knees, checking feverishly for a pulse. In a stunned voice, he announced, “He’s dead. The diviner is dead.”
“Aw, hell no!” Leroy Hunt bellowed in outrage. “I am done with y’all!” He raised his pistol and fired across the cavern in a wide arc.
Daniel watched the scene unfolding around him in numb horror. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion and all of it at once. As bullets whizzed over the scion’s head, Cassie twisted sidewise—struck twice in the ribs. Griffin lunged to pull her down out of the line of fire, a shot hitting him in the arm as he did so. A barrage of projectiles exploded against the reliquary wall, the sound reverberating in the enclosed space like a jack hammer. Lars charged at Leroy and tackled him. Now released from Hunt’s grasp, Hannah sank down, covering her head. Zach ran to protect her.
The entire cavern began to shudder. Deep cracks sprouted from the ceiling, shaking down debris on the combatants. Maddie grabbed the Gladstone bag and dashed to the reliquary. She scooped up the original artifacts and threw them inside along with the rest, dodging falling rock as she went.
Matthew wavered, not knowing whether to assist Hunt or subdue him. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Erik elbowed the Argus agent in the face and grabbed his weapon. Matthew escaped through the tunnel, presumably to summon reinforcements.
Erik rushed to aid Lars who was still wrestling Hunt for control of his gun. The cowboy managed to squeeze the trigger one last time just as Lars forced the barrel upward. A short round of three bullets burst from the chamber, exploding through Leroy’s jaw and shattering his skull.
“We have to clear out of here,” Maddie commanded as more rocks pelted down from the ceiling. “And I mean now!”
Zach pulled Hannah to her feet and out the tunnel. Cassie helped Griffin cross the chamber. His sleeve was soaked in blood, but the pythia seemed miraculously unharmed. She handed the scrivener off to Lars and Erik who hastily dragged him through the exit.
Cassie crouched beside Daniel. She shook him by the shoulder. “You have to hurry before it’s too late.”
“In a minute,” he said in a vacant tone. “You go on ahead.”
“No more than a minute.” She kicked a spare flashlight toward him before darting through the passage to join the others.
The scion glanced at Abraham’s face—the eyes staring up at him in dull surprise. Daniel closed them. “Goodbye, Father,” he whispered. A large rock fell from the ceiling, missing his shoulder by inches. Daniel shook himself out of his stupor and fled for safety.
He had no sooner exited the cavern than he heard an enormous crash behind him signaling the collapse of the reliquary chamber. Another loud crack overhead portended that the roof of the tunnel was splitting as well. The scion kept running and squeezed through the gap in the mountain just as the corridor behind him buckled entirely, blowing particles of dust and rock fragments out into the open air. He doubled over and coughed in an effort to clear his lungs, realizing that his skin and hair were caked with dust. Once he straightened up and rubbed the dirt out of his eyes, he saw Matthew and his guards pointing their weapons at the Arkana group. The two Arkana sentries were aiming their rifles at the Nephilim.
“What are your orders, scion?” Matthew asked stonily.
Daniel assessed the impossible situation. If his men fired on the Arkana, their security team would shoot the Nephilim. He had to pick a side, and he had to do it now.
“Your orders, scion,” Matthew prompted again.
Daniel stared incredulously at the security chief. “How can you even ask me that question, Commander Matthew? You witnessed the judgment of God with your very own eyes. The Lord struck my father down for his many crimes. Would you compound his folly by slaughtering even more innocents?”
“They are Fallen,” the Argus chief protested.
“They are human beings!” Daniel retorted. “If you persist in living by the sword, you will surely suffer the same fate as Father Abraham. Tell your men to lower their weapons. Immediately!”
Matthew nodded slowly and gave a signal to his men to stand down.
“I am no longer your scion,” Daniel told them. “I am your new diviner, and you will do as I say. Go back to the helicopter and wait for me there.”
With chastened expressions, they marched down the hill to their aircraft.
Daniel next focused on the Arkana group who continued to eye him warily. Their own sentries still held guns trained on him, but the new diviner was too drained to feel afraid.
“I’m sorry about your dad,” Cassie offered. “Even if he did try to kill me.”
Daniel regarded her bleakly. “I feel nothing for the man entombed inside this mountain. I can only mourn the loss of a father I never had.” His gaze slid to the Gladstone bag clutched in Maddie’s hand. “Abraham Metcalf’s one true love was power. He gave his whole heart to that collection of trash you’re holding. I never want to lay eyes on any of it again.” He abruptly turned his back and went to rejoin his subordinates.
***
The Arkana group watched
