Chapter Twenty-Two #3
Crap, what was she supposed to do? Well, keep low, for a start, as another projectile whizzed overhead.
Catching a brief glimpse of a wooden carved knight with a pointy lance.
Damn, Asher had somehow managed to tear free some of the small whimsical carved sentinels decorating the tops of the bookcases.
And cobbled together heavens knows what into a machine that spat them out at great speed but seemingly lacked much directional precision.
Erik, her cousin who’d carved the figurines, was going to be pissed.
A loud hollow thump, bang and clang rang out, dust falling from the ceiling as the steel emergency doors began to cave inwards. Their rescue party needed to hurry. How much longer could Nico keep dodging a highly motivated Qetesh’s sword?
“They’re coming through, Qetesh.” Neith growled out, limping towards the Portal still shimmering in place on the nearby wall.
“I…” Qetesh screeched in pain, hopping, lifting one barefoot, an enormous viciously pointed three corner jack embedded there. Theo it seems hadn’t been idle whilst chaos had erupted around them.
The break in Qetesh’s concentration allowed Nico to step forward, bring a fist down hard on her wrist, forcing her to drop the sword, even as his other hand came up, gripping her by the throat, squeezing hard, shaking her a little.
“Ni-Nico…” Qetesh fluttered her eyelashes, trying for a seductive look. Ruined by the blood slowly dripping down over her nose, cheeks and chin from the cut on her forehead. “You and I…”
Nico held up his other hand, the tiny silver ring wedged onto the tip of his smallest finger gleamed.
“I believe this is yours, and I’m officially returning it to you.
” Full of nothing but loathing for her and her manipulative and controlling ways, Nico slapped his hand against her cheek, the ring reacting like it was a fly and Qetesh was sticky paper.
Qetesh’s skin under it abruptly beginning to blacken.
Qetesh howled and shrieked. “Get it off me.” The blackness spreading rapidly, her skin beginning to flake away.
Eyes wide and full of terror. Within seconds the side of her face was gone, her nose next, as it spread outwards.
Horrified by the sight of Qetesh disintegrating before his very eyes, and not knowing if that blackened disintegrating skin of hers was contagious, Nico released his hold, stepping away.
Ten seconds later, not even enough time for Qetesh to cry out again or look to her mother for help, the demi-goddess was nothing but a pile of ash and dirty torn clothes.
“No.” Hathor’s face was contorted in rage. “Qetesh!”
Neith was at her Mother’s side, pulling her towards the Portal, Hathor resisting her a moment, but then the steel doors buckled completely, ripped away on the left side, gaping open.
Several large hands appearing around the edge, pushing, straining, the shutter groaning as it was slowly wrenched out of the wall.
Neith dashed through the portal first, Hathor pausing, looking back at the ash pile remains of her daughter, expression dark, a fierce scowl clinging to her lovely features.
The steel shutter jerked forward, finally providing enough of a gap that several of Maat’s Warriors who’d been ramming it could squeeze through.
Hathor glared their way. “This isn’t over.” She hissed the words. Turning, leaping through the Portal.
Flynn, the closest Maat Warrior dived forward, attempting to stop Hathor from getting away, just managing to get a hand around her ankle.
For a moment it looked like he might be able to pull her back to the Southern Sanctuary, but then a slim elegant hand appeared, encircled his wrist and with a yank, Flynn sailed through the shimmering Portal, and it winked out of existence.
“No. Flynn!” Dash, his brother by sword and twin by blood, hit the wall, smashing his fist against it so hard the plaster cracked and crumbled away. And then he kept on hitting it until Rafe captured him by the shoulders, pulling him away.
Merciful Lady Above. Gigi glanced down at Qetesh’s remains and then at the cracked plaster where the Portal had been.
There was no victory here. Though at least Sunny was safe.
But as Hathor had promised, this wasn’t over.
The Goddess still wanted the baby. And they had no idea where Flynn had ended up.
If he was safe, or Hathor’s prisoner, or dead.
Moving aside as the worried parents raced forward to check on their children, Gigi felt dazed rather than triumphant.
Flinching as a piercing whistle split the air, issued by Hadleigh, followed by the rapid thud of something moving fast across the tops of the bookcases and then Asher was flying through the air, landing safely in his mother’s arm.
“Can you tell me what’s stuck in my back?”
“Huh?” Her attention shifting to Nico now standing before her, twisting away from her, so she could see the projectile lodged rather deeply just below his scapula.
“Oh, it’s a dancing fairy.” She recognised those wooden legs.
“No, don’t try and pull it out. I think it’s holding a wand and I can’t see her head which means she’s lodged pretty deep inside of you. ”
“A fairy?” Nico looked sceptical, but resisted the urge to try and tug the bloody thing out.
His body was still flooded with adrenalin, once that backed off he was sure pain would rush in to replace it.
“We did it.” He glanced down at the remains of Qetesh, everyone rushing around had been very careful to give the pile a wide berth.
“We broke the curse. I can’t even sense the silver ring. I think it evaporated along with her.”
“But how? Why did she disintegrate?”
Shaking his head, Nico shrugged. “I have no fucking clue. But it was like that ring was diseased or tainted or something there at the end when I returned it to her.”
“Well now you’re officially free of all curses.
Congratulations.” Gigi forced a smile but her stomach felt hollow and a little queasy.
They could finally be apart. Ditch the pretence of being a couple and get on with their respective lives.
She knew it was coming, but still, it didn’t stop the ache.
Yet it seemed selfish to think about her own breaking heart when there was still so many things left to deal with.
Glancing over she noted Nell was in the process of checking over each of the babies.
Gaia sobbing silently, clutching at Theo like she would never let him go.
Hadleigh had already strapped Asher to her chest, and by the time she’d closed the last lock his head was dipping forward, eyes closing, exhausted.
Whilst Marcus was kneeling by Riordan, checking on her vitals.
Someone must have called the police, as two of Riordan’s brothers, in uniform, hovered over their sister protectively, unsure of what the hell was going on but clearly angry that she’d been here and gotten hurt somehow.
Just exactly what Riordan would remember about the events here and her actions remained in question. If she was lucky, nothing. If not, then the family, the entire community, would be there to help her.
Marcus stepped over to Nico, running an assessing eye over his injuries. “You need to get to the hospital and get that thing removed. And some of those cuts are going to need stitches.” Noting the cut across Nico’s hip, the one on the back of his wrist and the slice of flesh missing from his arm.
“You should come with us.” Nell had finished her examination of the babies and was now standing beside her meld mate, who was holding Sunny’s car seat like he would never let it go again.
Drum and Nell anxiously gazing down at her, the baby girl seemingly placid and calm, currently staring at her own wriggling bare toes in fascination.
“I want the babies checked out at the hospital. Maybe run some tests, just to be sure. And you’re going to need surgery to get that projectile out.
It’s acting like a plug currently, trust me, you’ll be wanting some pain meds when we remove it. ”
Damn, Nico glanced Gigi’s way, her face pale still, but she looked fine, not a scratch on her, which he was heartily grateful for.
But she wasn’t saying anything about coming with them.
Was this the official end of them? An awkward goodbye in front of too many witnesses? It certainly seemed so. “I, um—”
“We’re heading out. Now.” Drum’s words were low and growly, like approaching thunder warning all those nearby to seek shelter.
Everyone started moving, those heading to the hospital ducking out past the buckled steel doors, as the nearest Sanctuary Portal was located downstairs on the ground floor in the High Council offices.
Nico had little choice, swept along by the group.
Mierda, his last glimpse of Gigi was of her patting Patricia’s shoulder in sympathy as they gazed around at the damage left behind.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to end between them, was it?
Perhaps he should go back, they could talk, except the world was suddenly going a little grey around the edges.
He heard someone, several someone’s voices but they seemed a long distance away.
He tried to turn around, but the world slid sideways, the grey turning black and he sensed the ground coming towards him at speed, and then nothing.