Broken Jaw was standing. He spun around, his dagger arced low. I felt the hiss of the sharp blade along my stomach. Material split, but that was as close as he got.
Aiden appeared behind him and gripped the sides of his head. There was a quick twist, another sound that would creep back in and replay over and over again later, and then the Sentinel dropped.
Aiden’s eyes met mine and they were the color of steel. “Even though that display of power was hot as hell, try not to run out in traffic anymore.”
I started to respond, but a shadow slipped up behind him. My heart stopped. “Aiden!”
Before I could even raise a hand, he spun around like the wind, letting go of the dagger. It smacked into the chest of the white-garbed Guard sneaking up on him. Darting forward, he pulled the blade free before the Guard collapsed, and then threw it again, taking out the other Guard who’d cornered Solos.
Damn. Aiden was a badass ninja.
Only a couple of minutes had passed and we’d been lucky so far, but approaching headlights warned that we were out of luck.
“Olivia, get Lea and go around to the other side of the car.”
Her gaze dipped to the fallen Sentinel once more and then she nodded, taking off. She grabbed Lea’s arm and pulled her toward where Luke and Deacon started to emerge from the embankment.
A sedan stopped behind the crumpled Hummer. Sheathing the dagger, I jogged up to the car just as the driver’s window rolled down. A middle-aged mortal surveyed the scene with growing horror.
“Oh, my God,” he said, holding a cell phone. “I can call for help—is that a body?”
I knelt down, forcing the mortal to look me in the eye. “There’s nothing to see here. You will see nothing as you drive past. You will go home and… kiss your wife or whatever.”
The mortal blinked slowly and then nodded. “I’m not married.”
Whoops. “Uh, do you have a girlfriend?”
He nodded, eyes trained on mine.
“Okay… then go kiss her and tell her… that you love her?” Gods, I sucked at compulsions. “Anyway, go. There’s nothing going on here. Move along.”
As the car drove past, I turned to find Solos gaping at me. “What?” I demanded.
“Did you just Jedi-mind trick him?”
A small grin pulled at my lips. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“Dear gods,” he mumbled, turning back.
Shrugging, I followed him and passed Aiden. He was stopping at each body, placing two fingers on the still forms. I watched as sparks flew from his fingers and traveled over the bodies with an unnatural quickness. Violet-hued flames covered the fallen, and within seconds nothing remained but ashes. The air was thick with the scent of juniper, blood, and burnt flesh and metal.
South Dakota had never smelled more gross.
When Aiden headed toward the two Hummers, I turned and saw a body near the rear of our car. Swallowing down the bitter taste building in my throat, I went to the Sentinel and knelt. As weak as it sounds, I couldn’t look at his face as I placed my hand on the motionless shoulder. It too became nothing but ashes.
Heart heavy, I stood. “Sorry.”
Aiden reappeared, taking my hand. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “You?”
“Yes.” His gaze moved to the pile of ashes and his hand tightened. “We need to get going.”
On the other side of the Hummer, two Sentinels were on their knees before Solos in the dirt and gravel. I recognized one of them as the guy I’d flung into the tree. Both were bruised and bloodied.
“Who is the god behind this?” Solos demanded.
One lifted his head and spat a mouthful of blood. Tree Guy laughed.
“Did I say something funny?” Solos knelt before them. “I didn’t think so. I’ll ask one more time. Who is the god behind this?”
“Kill us now, because we aren’t going to talk.” Tree Guy lifted his head and his gaze settled on me. “You guys can’t win in this. They are going to change the world, and if you stand in their way, they will destroy you.”
I stepped forward. “By ‘they’ you mean Seth, Lucian, and this god? You do realize that not a single one of them gives a flying monkey’s ass about halfs, right?”
Tree Guy laughed again, the sound broken and chipped. “And you do realize that you can’t escape him, Apollyon?”
Anger flared. “I think I’m doing a pretty good job at staying away from Seth, jerk-face.”
The other Sentinel arched a brow. “Do you think we’re talking about the First?” He laughed. “You have no idea what you’ve stepped in, little girl. This is bigger than you and the First, bigger than a simple Council seat.”
A shiver shot straight down my spine and I took an involuntary step back. “What is?”
Neither of the men answered. They said nothing as Solos questioned them about Lucian’s plans. Marcus stepped in then, but when he used compulsion on them, they remained silent.
“They’re not going to talk,” Marcus said, hands clenched at their sides. “Either it’s a stronger compulsion than a pure can do, or it’s blind loyalty. Either way, we are wasting precious time and risking too much.”
“We can’t let them go,” Aiden said quietly.
My heart sank a little in spite of the fact that, if given the chance, these two men would slit the throats of those standing next to me. They were young, maybe a few years older than me—too young to be out here, about to die. But Aiden was right; we couldn’t let them go.
Marcus quickly rounded up Deacon and the others, taking them back behind the damaged Hummer Solos had been driving. It was still drivable, but would draw attention if we had the thing out during the day.
Placing my hand on Aiden’s arm, I twisted toward him. “I can—”
“No.” He used that voice that I’d come to loathe and respect—the no argument tone. “You will not do this.”
Laadan, who’d stayed out of the fight with Deacon, turned away.
I wanted to, because an execution was the last thing I wanted to see, but as Aiden broke free of my side and headed toward them, I forced myself to stand still. If he had to do this, then I had to witness it. It was the most I could do, and the least.
Aiden moved lightning fast. The kills were clean and quick. They hadn’t felt it. Their bodies slumped forward, separated from their heads.
No matter how quick and painless Aiden had made it, I knew that he would feel this in the dark corners of his soul for a long time to come.
CHAPTER 31
Back on the highway, I tried not to let the chilly wind blowing in my face get on my nerves. Things could be worse. People I care about could have ended up dead. They could’ve been like those unfortunate souls we’d put down like rabid dogs.
Right now, we all had it pretty good, with the exception of that creeptastic warning the Sentinel had given us—or me.
Glancing at Aiden for like the hundredth time since we’d gotten back into the car, I chewed on my lower lip.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.
I took a deep breath. “So, we know that the god is a ‘he’, and apparently I don’t know what I’m stepping in.”
“Do any of us know what we’re stepping in?” Luke commented dryly.
“I don’t think we do,” I said, staring at the dark stretch of highway. “Was it just me, or did it sound like they were loyal to the god, and not Lucian or Seth?”
“That’s the way it sounded to me,” Aiden said.
“Unless even their loyalty came from a compulsion.” Marcus sounded bone-weary. “But it doesn’t matter. Loyalty is just as bad as a compulsion. The end result is the same.”
I nodded. “I wonder if Lucian or Seth know. I mean, I know it doesn’t matter, but Seth and Lucian both have egos the size of a god’s. If they think they have complete control over their army or whatever, but they really don’t? That isn’t going to be pretty.”