"No!" He raced forward and grabbed his twin as the car reached them. Turning so his side would take the impact, he prayed he could cushion Ariston enough that it wouldn't kill him. He couldn't lose his brother now. Not like this. Not when there might've been some chance, however small, that they would get beyond their rocky past.
The van skidded to a stop as it reached them, but Adonis hadn't been fast enough to get them out of danger. The front end slammed into his back and hip, and it felt like he'd walked into the path of a passing train. They went airborne, and though every part of him hurt, he clung tightly to Ariston, turning enough that when they reached the ground, he hit it first, the back of his head bouncing like a rubber ball.
They both groaned as they skidded across the concrete. Theron leaned over him and shook his head. "We could have used you, Adonis. Too bad you probably won't survive the night. I have some friends who are dying to meet you." He scrunched up his face. "Well, they've already died."
Adonis gasped for breath, realizing the wind had been knocked out of him as he tried to sit up. He turned over to his side as his breathing regulated and groaned. It didn't feel like anything was broken, but he'd been hurt bad. His brother on the other hand wasn't moving. "Ariston?" He shook his shoulder gently. "Hey, wake up, man." He shook him again, harder this time.
His brother's lips opened as he breathed in deeply, and otherwise didn't move. He was out cold, possibly concussed. But alive. Mortality was so damned fragile that it almost made him think remaining immortal was worth it. Except, immortality prolonged a life; it didn't mean death couldn't overcome it. He needed to get his brother to safety, and fast.
"Leave the doors of those vans unlocked. It'll be dark soon. We need to get out of the city before they can get up and do anything."
Maron came into view, horns presenting a contrast of character to the popped collar of his Polo-style shirt. "What about his panpipes?"
Theron shrugged. "Search him. Take the instrument, and take their phones so they can't call for help."
Maron nodded and came closer, hooves clacking on the cold concrete. He hesitated. "I don't think I hit him hard enough with the van."
Theron returned and met Adonis' glare with a grin. "Next time, break some bones like good ol' Jacen and spare yourself this." He lifted his leg and his booted foot slammed down into Adonis' face.
The world faded to black.
Sage stared at the potted plants in the middle of the floor and up at Daphne again. "Do I have to? I already know I can go invisible around plants." They had spent the afternoon discussing what to expect with being a wood nymph, her powers and her weaknesses. Apparently, she could disappear in order to hide, which she both knew already and found a bit…disappointing. Her power…was to hide. Sage didn't want to hide from danger—she wanted to face it dead on!
She also found out that plants and sex energized her like a battery, and she could sometimes make plants grow faster or control them subtly when she was not deprived of being around both or either. Those skills she would be able to hone as she matured a bit more into her powers, and she looked forward to having some fun once she could do them.
What she really wanted to do right now was search for Adonis and his brother. The others had come back, having found nothing out of the ordinary, before the sun started to set and their glamours were about to disappear.
What if Adonis had run into trouble? What if he and his brother were dead? She glanced outside at the darkening sky. "I don't want to sound disrespectful when you're going out of your way to teach me about being a nymph, but I really need to look for Adonis." She wrung her hands with a lack of anything more useful to do with them. "I have a feeling in my gut, and my instincts are rarely wrong when I feel this way."
Daphne bit her lip and shook her head. "The others will—"
"Oh, I am sure they will search for them!" Sage immediately felt guilty for shouting, and calmed herself, softening her voice. "I'm sorry. I can't sit around and do nothing, okay."
The other nymph winced and her color paled. Something haunted her expression, and she swallowed a lump of emotion. "I understand, far more than you will ever know."
What had Daphne gone through in the past that had been conjured up by her words? "I didn't mean to offend." She leaned over to pick up the smallest of the plants to place it back on a table.
Daphne shook her head and lifted a hand to stop her. "Long story short, I spent most of my life afraid of Apollo, then was held prisoner by him, and then found myself in this very inn being told to run and hide as soon as danger arrived."
Realization nearly had her dropping the plant. "Wait…Apollo and Daphne. "That was you?" She set it down before she succeeded in dropping it.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I have not read the version the humans know, and I am not fully ready to talk about that experience with someone other than Melancton. It's…difficult for me."
"Understandable." Jeez, this was the life Sage was worried she wouldn't be accepted into? She didn't want to know what Apollo
