Holidays are Hell(102)

"I'm not hiding it!" Zoe finally exploded, gripping the edge of the Formica table so hard her fingers ached. "I'm human!"

They all fell still, and Zoe felt herself redden.

"I have no power," she said, more normally. "Think about it, smell and watch, and you'll know it's true. I couldn't cross into another reality right now if it unfurled in front of me like the yellow brick road."

Gregor's mouth fell open. "No… my God…"

The disbelief in his voice had her dropping her head. Only another agent could understand exactly what she'd lost.

Phaedre was just as shocked. "Zoe, what happened? Did the Shadows find you? Steal your chi? Make you relinquish it in return for your life?"

Because all those things had happened before to other agents, though not in this troop. Not to anyone under Warren's watch. Zoe nodded. "How else could you sneak up on me without me even batting an eyelash?"

"I was wondering that myself," Gregor murmured, falling back in the booth.

Zoe was so busy reading the pity in his eyes that when her head whipped back, the open-palmed slap coming at her from nowhere, the sting of it had her gasping. The blood that sprayed from her nose had Gregor and Phaedre doing the same.

Pressing her napkin to her face, head tilted back, she regarded Warren over the top of it. "I'd make you pay for that," she said, voice muffled, "but you'd see it coming a mile away."

Warren blanched, which cheered her a bit. "What have you done?" he asked, his whisper ragged at the edges.

"I gave my power away," she said, with more composure than she felt.

"Why? To whom?"

"To someone who needed it more than I did." To someone, she didn't say, we'd all need before long.

"Brave," said Gregor, fingering the inverted gold horseshoe shining from a thick chain around his neck.

"Heroic," Phaedre agreed, on a awed whisper.

"Stupid," Warren said. He shook his head, his expression again shuttered. "Why do you always have to be so stupid?"

Zoe jaw ached from the effort to hold her tongue and temper. She wouldn't get into a pissing contest with Warren just because he was still nursing hurt feelings. He could deal with those himself. She'd had to. "Look," she said, pushing her cup aside to lean forward on her elbows. "The baby's mortal. We're still in the business of protecting mortals, right? Or are we only interested in slaughtering rogue agents who are doing nothing more than looking for sanctuary?"

Warren colored at that. Good. She was useless physically, but at least her words still had some sting. "We protect mortals. You are a mortal."

"Warren," Phaedre chided.

Zoe shrugged like it didn't matter. "That may be… but I'm still Light."

Warren just quirked a brow, and when it was apparent he'd do no more than that, Phaedre reached out and patted Zoe's arm. "Of course you are."

Gregor put his giant palm on her other arm, glaring at Warren. They all stared at him, linked and acting as one—even though he was their leader—daring him to tell the Archer of the Zodiac no.

For a moment she thought he'd hit her again. She didn't have to scent his emotions to know how angry he was. "Fine," he finally said, voice frighteningly low. "But let's get one thing straight. You're just baggage, Zoe. You're no good to us—" She flinched; to me, he was saying, "—to anyone. We'll get back this precious mortal for you, but after that you disappear for good. And you formally relinquish your star sign."

Zoe sucked in a breath. Formally renouncing her star sign meant another agent born under the Sagittarius moon would fill her place on the Zodiac, in the troop. It would void her lineage forever, and nullify everything she'd sacrificed.

And that just wouldn't do.

But Warren didn't need to know that. So she held her indrawn breath, and inclined her head. And Warren was just arrogant enough—and angry and righteous, too—not to insist she do it right then and there. He shot the three of them a grim, closed-mouth smile, then threw down his napkin and rose. "Fine. Let's work it out."

Gregor shot Zoe a relieved smile before following, and Phaedre took her hand, helping her up. Zoe wanted to thank her but didn't know if her voice would hold. Besides, just because they said they were going to help didn't mean they could do it.



The Shadow and the Light had been battling in the valley ever since Vegas was just an X on some prospector's map. Each side was comprised of twelve agents—one for each sign on the western zodiac, and when both sides were full there was balance in the mortal realm. People were then free to make personal and societal decisions uninfluenced by paranormal nudges meant to bring out the shadow or light lurking in their own souls.