Chapter 13
“How are you, kid?” Randall asks as he drives to the volcano. “That was rough.”
“I kill monsters, not people,” I mumble.
“That was the first time you killed a live person and not these crazy monsters that follow you?” he asks, flinching.
“Yeah, that and long-dead demigods come back from the grave once or twice but never someone who hadn’t died millennia ago.” I lean my forehead against the cool glass of the window.
“I don’t even know how to unpack that.” Randall shakes his head. “I guess the distinction matters because they were already dead before. Taking a life is hard and I don’t think anyone ever gets over it, but I believe you when you said it was necessary.”
“No one can ever know about that, Randall. It could be very dangerous for me and my friends.”
“I don’t even have the full picture of what happened out there, so you don’t have to worry about me.” Randall glances at me in the rearview mirror.
“Thank you. This can’t get out in the open or we’ll be hunted and worse.”
“Understood. You have nothing to fear from me, young one.”
My head slams into the window as the entire SUV shakes. I ricochet off the window and slam into Raven.
“What in Hades is happening?” I shout.
“That’s not seismic activity,” Raven grunts.
“Sorry.” I pull my elbows into my sides so I don’t hit her in the gut again. “No. That is definitely a giant.”
“We don’t know if it’s friend or foe?” Greyson asks.
“Most likely a foe if he’s stomping around like this.” I grab the oh shit bar to stop from banging against anything else.
“We need to get out of the car,” Raven says. “We are safer on solid ground.”
“Agreed,” Draven groans, holding his crotch.
“Oops, sorry, babe.” Kira scrambles away from him.
Randall stops the SUV, and we pile out. The ground shakes again and I stumble but keep my footing.
“How do you plan to stop this giant if you can’t even stand?” Randall asks.
“Kira, do you know which giant this could be?” I ask, planting my feet.
“I don’t know, maybe Mimas? If that’s the case, we might be in trouble.” She wrings her hands together.
“Why? How did Hephaestus defeat him?” I ask, not liking the sound of this at all.
“Molten iron. That’s not the problem. He was said to have been trapped in a mountain, but his legs became serpents that keep away travelers with their own poisonous lava.”
“What were the Greeks’ obsession with all things scaley?” Raven shudders.
“I don’t know, but at least we know how Hephaestus killed him the first time.” I pitch to the side and grab a tree for balance.
“I don’t know if I have that kind of fire power.” Kira chews her lip.
“My lightning can burn just as hot. It’s crazy white-hot.” I pat her shoulder. “We can do this together and defeat him so the volcano doesn’t blow.”
“Just the two of you?” Draven steps in front of Kira. “That’s too dangerous. What will we be doing?”
“Me and Kira are the only ones who can defeat the giant, but you guys can act as a distraction. Just don’t get too close to the fire-breathing snakes he has for feet.”
“Not helping, B.” Raven shivers.
“You’re good with a bow, right?” I ask.
“I’m passable but it’s not my favorite weapon,” Raven says. “That’s more Adrian’s wheelhouse.”
“I know and I’m missing the others more than ever right now. Jayden’s hellfire would be extremely useful right now.” I call my whip and sword to me.
Greyson cocks his head to the side. “Can you access his hellfire through your mate bond?”
“I probably could, but I won’t.” I shake my head.
“Why not? If it could help take the asshole down quicker, shouldn’t you try?” Greyson asks.
“No, we have no idea what is happening to them at the academy. They could be in the middle of a battle right now and I won’t take magic he needs to survive to make my life easier.” I step around Greyson, allowing my magic to crackle along my whip and sword.
“That’s valid. Kira, are you up for this?” Raven asks.
“I don’t know if I can call fire the way you need me to.” Kira’s shoulders slump.
“You can. I’m sure of it.” I squeeze her shoulder.
“Okay, let’s do this.” Her voice wobbles.
“Don’t let the assholes in your past control your confidence. You are a badass, just like me and Raven. You can do this. You have done so much to help already.”
“That’s easier said than done, but I’ll try.” She rolls her shoulders back.
“That’s all I can ask for and if it proves too difficult get out of there and I’ll figure out a plan B.” I turn to Draven. “Can you light arrowheads on fire?”
“They won’t be hot enough to kill the giant,” he warns.
“I don’t need them to be. I just need them to distract him.” I grin.
“So, the plan is to shoot flaming arrows at the huge giant serpent while you two hit it with supercharged lightning and molten lava?” Raven nods. “It’s absolutely insane but it could work.”
“It has to. We’ve been here too long already. The rogue attack set us back a bit.” I shrug.
We trudge through the forest, stopping several times when a thump on the ground sends us all off-balance.
“This is how the damn thing defeats his enemies before they ever get to him,” Raven snarls. “We’ll be too bruised to stand a chance by the time we get there.”
“Ah, shit. Move.” I shove Raven out of the way as fire spews in the exact spot we were just standing. “It knows we’re here.”
“You think?” Raven bats my hands away and reaches into the ether for her bow. “I’ll go to the left and you guys sneak behind it to the right.”
“Perfect.” I grab Kira and haul her with me around the side of the mountain trail to the right.
“Hey, you big ugly giant. Look over here,” Raven shouts, nocking an arrow and Draven lights it with his palm.
“Are they going to be okay?” Kira whispers.
“Raven will keep the guys safe. We need to worry about the giant.” I glance over my shoulder before sprinting up the side of the mountain.
“What if the distraction doesn’t work?” Kira whispers. “I’m sure this giant has normal arms and he’s huge.”
As if she spoke it into existence, a hand slams on the ground right in front of us. I grab Kira, dive to the side, and roll. “Let’s not give him ideas, okay?”
“Yeah,” Kira says. “Let’s just get this over with.”
We pick our way up the mountain, trying our best to keep quiet as Raven hurls taunts at the big ugly giant far below. I point to Kira’s left, and she nods, getting into position behind Mimas’ head or where I think it should be. He hasn’t surfaced from inside the mountain just yet.
“Raven needs to draw him out or we won’t be defeating him at all,” I whisper. “Unless…”
Shit. They are all going to be so pissed at me.
“Brace yourself, Kira,” I shout and flick my whip at the giant.
“What are you doing, Beth?” Kira hisses.
“We can’t get a good shot at him if he doesn’t show himself.” I channel my magic from my hands into the whip and snap it at the giant’s head again with the full force of my power.
A bellow rattles the mountain and my teeth clack together as I stumble to the side full force hitting a tree with a thwack. Pain sears up my side where I made contact with the tree. One green eye blinks open from the side of the mountain, glaring at me.
“So much for the distraction,” Kira mumbles.
“It wasn’t working. This is much more direct.” I shrug and drop my sword back into the ether.
Raising a hand, I call the lightning, lighting up every nerve ending, and point the open palm at the giant. Kira sidles up next to me, palms raised in the same way as mine, but before she can attempt to call fire, we are both airborne. A huge hand slams into my body as the giant roars his pain.
White spots dot my vision as I slam into the side of the mountain, rocks digging into my back and slicing at my arms.
“Kira,” I shout. “Are you okay?”
“Define okay,” she groans, slumping to the ground in a heap.
“Can you move? You really want to fucking move.” The forest sways as I attempt to stand but tilt sideways.
“Yeah, and now I’m pissed off.” Kira stands, her hands glowing blue as flames lick across the skin on her palms.
She doesn’t flinch. I scramble to my feet and stalk closer to the giant and shake my head to clear the dizziness. This is crazy. This giant needs to be stopped before we all die from blunt force trauma from being slammed into trees.
“Let’s fucking end this.” I call my magic more than I have called it yet.
The sky darkens as clouds roll over the sun and lightning builds above us in the sky. Kira stands tall, her own magic pulsing angrily as she forms a large ball of fire so dark blue it’s nearly black.
The giant thrashes, snake legs hissing far below as we stalk closer. “On the count of three.”
“One,” Kira says, widening her hands and the ball grows to about half her size.
“Two.” Lightning forks and sizzles with electricity above the giant’s head.
He bellows in fury, but it doesn’t topple us this time, too focused on the magic and keeping ourselves steady.
“Three.” Kira hurls her ball of molten lava at the giant as the sky opens up with twelve arcs of lightning slamming into the giant’s head.
The giant roars and I distantly hear Raven curse as fire erupts from the giant’s snake legs down below us.
Cracks form beneath my feet as I push my magic into the sky, continuing the strike on the giant even as the earth crumbles beneath my feet.
“Fuck, Mimas was the mountain. We need to get out of here before he crumbles to ash.” I grab a still dazed Kira, her magic still building as she throws one fireball after another at Mimas.
“Not yet,” she shrieks. “I can do this.”
“Kira, we’re going to be trapped under tons of rock and rubble. He’s gone. We have to move.” I yank her away from the giant’s head and race down the mountain. “Get the SUV and get the fuck away from the mountain.”
“What?” Raven calls back.
“Get the fuck away! There’s going to be a landslide,” I shout.
“Shit.” Raven does as she’s told and hauls the others away from the chunks of falling rock just before they are all crushed.