Jenna Black - Dark Descendant

Once again, I forced myself to my feet. Even through my closed lids, the flash had been hell on my night vision. However, I could see just well enough to point myself toward the trees before I started running again.

A third bolt incinerated a tree seconds after I made it into the cover of the woods. The concussion knocked me down to my hands and knees, but I was up and running again in a fraction of a second. There were no further bolts as I zigzagged through the trees, slowing my pace just enough to keep from tripping over roots and sprawling on my face.

My ears popped and my vision started to clear—not that I could see much in the darkness. But the return of my physical senses signaled the return of my higher reasoning as well. If I couldn’t see in this darkness, then probably my enemies couldn’t, either. However, they could hear me crashing headlong through the underbrush. My flight was making me more conspicuous rather than less so.

I forced myself to slow down, sucking in one calming breath after another. I hadn’t caught even a glimpse of our attacker, but since Alexis was a descendant of Zeus, it seemed a logical conclusion that he was the one who’d thrown the lightning bolts. And, while the bolt in the water wouldn’t have killed Anderson—at least, not permanently—it would certainly have disabled him for a while.

Anderson’s “treaty” with the Olympians obviously wasn’t anything close to bulletproof. Perhaps Alexis had only been taking advantage of a perceived loophole when he attacked Steph, and the treaty itself was still nominally in place. Maybe that treaty meant Alexis would fish Anderson out of the water, then let him go. But though I’d been forced to retreat, there was no way I was going to abandon Anderson and hope for the best.

Of course, I wasn’t sure what use I was to Anderson in the current situation. My gun lay abandoned on the lawn somewhere, and though I’d have loved to call for help—for the backup Anderson had failed to bring with him, the idiot!—my cell phone was in the backpack at the edge of the pond.

I stopped for a moment to think, listening intently for any sounds of pursuit. The only sound I heard was the wind whistling through the branches above. No doubt Alexis thought I’d done the sensible thing and run for my life.

It was hard to get my bearings in the depths of the darkened woods, but I’d always had a pretty good sense of direction. I relied on that sense of direction now as I attempted to steer myself back toward the security camera I’d knocked out of position earlier. I managed to find it, then groped around on the ground until I found the rock I’d thrown at it. As weapons went, it wasn’t much, but it was heavy enough to do some damage if I threw it just right.

Heading back through the trees toward the pond, I hoped I wasn’t making the world’s biggest mistake.

The situation was pretty damn grim. Alexis, looking smugand superior, stood by the side of the pond. Beside him stood another man—unfamiliar to me, but with a haughty bearing that immediately pegged him as another Olympian. They watched the water as a third man towed an unconscious—or maybe temporarily dead—Anderson toward the shore.

Three men, one rock. I didn’t like the odds. I tried to spot my gun in the grass, but either the shadows hid it, or one of the bad guys had picked it up.

The third man labored out of the water, visibly shivering as he dragged Anderson’s limp body through the shallows and then up onto dry land. Neither of the Liberi looked inclined to help, and I guessed that the third man was a mortal Descendant—a lesser being from the Olympians’ point of view.

“Bind him,” Alexis commanded.

Panting with exertion, Alexis’s flunky turned Anderson over onto his stomach, then dragged his hands behind his back and secured them with a pair of handcuffs he drew from his sopping pants. Unlike Anderson, he’d gone into the water fully clothed. I suspected he was regretting it now as the wind gusted over his wet skin.

“M-may I t-take him now, my lord?” the Descendant stammered, hunching his shoulders and crossing his arms over his chest as if that would keep him warm.

My lord? Talk about delusions of grandeur. Unfortunately, the question made me realize the treaty was truly out the window. I had no doubt the Descendant was asking for Alexis’s permission to kill Anderson and steal his immortality.

“Not yet, Peter,” Alexis said in a tone of almost affectionate condescension. “I’d like to have a few words with him first. Why don’t you run back to the house and put on some dry clothes? He’ll still be here when you get back.”

Peter got to his feet and actually bowed to Alexis. I rolled my eyes, amazed at Alexis’s arrogance even as I tried to figure out how to take advantage of the slightly improved odds. I wondered if Konstantin, the self-proclaimed king, knew Alexis was having people bow to him and call him “my lord.” I would have thought Konstantin the type to reserve such accolades for himself alone.

Peter trotted off to the house, leaving Anderson lying on his stomach in the grass. I couldn’t tell whether he was breathing or not. I’d like the odds a whole lot better if he were conscious. I didn’t know what his capabilities were—other than that Hand of Doom thing, which I didn’t figure he could pull off while in handcuffs—but as long as he was just lying there, any heroics I tried would be useless. Even if I managed to take out both Liberi with my one stone, I wasn’t Maggie, and I wouldn’t be able to carry Anderson to safety.

I wished like hell I could figure out a way to take advantage of Peter’s absence, but with Anderson out cold, there was nothing I could do.

“You really mean to do it?” the second Liberi asked as soon as Peter was out of earshot.

Alexis nodded. “I was happy to bide my time, but if the fool is going to deliver himself to me with a pretty bow tied around him, I’m not going to refuse the gift.”

The other guy looked uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot. “What about Konstantin? He won’t be happy.”

Alexis dismissed Konstantin with a negligent wave. “He can hardly complain about me eliminating his greatest enemy.”

“If he wanted Anderson dead, he would be dead by now. There must be a reason he hasn’t killed him yet—”

“Enough! If you’re feeling squeamish, you can tuck your tail between your legs and go running back to your master. I won’t hold it against you, as long as you keep your mouth shut. And you will keep your mouth shut, won’t you, Dean?” This last was said in a menacing croon designed to turn blood to ice.

“O-of course,” Dean stammered. “I mean, I’m not going anywhere. I’m on your side, always.”

On Alexis’s side of what , I wondered? Was there dissension within the ranks of the Olympians? I had sensed some undercurrents between Konstantin and Alexis when I’d met them at the Sofitel, but I’d assumed much of that was playacting, meant to emphasize how big and powerful Konstantin was.

Anderson coughed loudly, and everyone jumped—including me—though we’d all been expecting it. He turned over onto his side and coughed some more, painful, racking spasms that brought up gouts of water and made him gag. But at least he was alive, and awake. I hefted my stone, but until Anderson had quit coughing, I doubted he would be in any shape to take out whichever Olympian I didn’t hit.

I decided that as soon as Anderson was able to breathe without retching, I’d take out Alexis. I had no idea which divine ancestor Dean was descended from, or what powers he might have, but I did know Alexis could throw lightning bolts, and those were a dangerous long-distance weapon. I had to hope that whatever Dean’s powers were, they weren’t much use in a fight.