The Struggle(9)

“Josie!” Aiden shouted.

One of the creatures was right at my side, reaching out with those painful, super-gross hands. I rolled onto my side and pushed up. My left hand dragged across the floor, slipping over something smooth and cold. I glanced down, spying the dagger. Wrapping my fingers around it, I shot to my feet, screaming as I brought the dagger down. The sharp blade cut through skin and bone, sinking deep into the skull. Wrenching the dagger free, I stumbled back a step as the thing fell to pieces.

The house trembled as the rift in the floor widened, and through the charred bodies and the fresher ones that now rose, a horse head appeared.

“Am I seeing things?” I asked just as one of the creatures reached for me. I brought the dagger down and whipped back toward the opening. There was another horse head and then another.

“What in the world?” Akasha faded from Alex’s arm.

An undercurrent of power rippled through the room, coasting over my skin. I had no idea what was happening at this point, but three horses rose up out of the ground, dark as night and covered in black armor, and they held riders. The two on the outside were dressed head to toe in black, and the one in the middle wore leathers—leather pants and a leather, sleeveless shirt. A golden band wrapped around his well-muscled upper arm, and an aura of power surrounded him. He had a head full of wavy black hair, and his face was brutal in its beauty, as if his features had been carved out of granite.

The two men unhooked the silvery lassos attached to their waists. With startling reflexes, their wrists snapped and the lassos shot out like lightning, slicing through the creatures like heated knives through butter.

My brows shot out as I watched the two men make short work of the creatures. The lasso thingy would’ve been real helpful about five minutes ago, because within seconds, the creatures were all gone. Nothing more than soot and ash on the floor.

Aiden exhaled heavily. “Nice of you to join us, Hades.”

Luke stepped back, bumping into me. We exchanged looks.

Hades?

The Hades?

Oh my gods.

“Sorry, mate.” Hades spoke, his voice accented. “Was in the middle of entertaining Persephone when literally all hell broke loose.”

“They’re yours?” Alex gestured at the pile of ashes.

Hades smirked. “Were.”

“What in the world is going on?” Alex demanded, resting her hands on her hips as she stared up at Hades—the Hades. “The ground split open and these things came crawling out like cockroaches.”

“You don’t know?” Hades sighed as he forced his horse to turn around. Dismounting, he stood next to the massive beast, and I saw just how tall Hades was. Like, giant kind of tall.

“Yeah, we’re a little in the dark here,” Aiden replied. “We thought it was an earthquake until they started coming through.”

The kitchen door cracked open and Deacon stuck his blond head out. “Is it safe . . .” He trailed off, eyes widening when he spotted the horses, the men, and Hades. “Yep, I’ll just keep Gable distracted a little longer.”

The door shut.

Hades’s smirk grew as he surveyed the room, his all-white eyes beyond eerie, and I just stood there, arms dangling at my sides. The dagger was forgotten in my hand. There were dead things reduced to ashes on the floor—the floor that was currently split wide open. There were horses—giant warhorses I was pretty sure were not of normal size, and Hades—the god of the Underworld—was standing a mere handful of feet from me.

“Should we bow or something?” I whispered to Luke.

Luke slid me a sidelong glance and murmured, “I’m just not going to move or draw any attention to myself.”

“Too late,” Hades said, turning to us. “A half-blood and Apollo’s daughter. I figured we’d be meeting under different circumstances.”

I shivered, thinking “different circumstances” probably meant our deaths.

“What were those things?” Aiden asked.

Hades nodded up at the men. They hooked their super-special lassos to their waists but did not dismount. They sat upon their horses, eyes straight ahead and as silent as graves. Turning in unison, their heels dug into the sides of their horses and turned to stand sentry by the rift.

Understanding dawned, and my stomach dropped. I realized who the two men were—Hades’s servants. His men. They were what Seth had pledged himself to become upon his death, to serve under Hades, taking Aiden’s place.

I suddenly felt sick.

“Those creatures were held in the pits of Tartarus, deep within the fire caverns,” Hades explained, swiping his booted foot through the pile of ashes. “They were once daimons.”