Page 9

“Shit, sorry,” I said with a wince, leaning down to inspect his wound.

I grimaced as I rolled his pant leg up, spying a nasty gouge leaking scarlet.

Noah said nothing as he panted, but his pale face and expression told me I’d be hearing about it later.

If there was a later. With an apologetic smile, I tore a strip from my shirt and tied it over the injury, stemming the blood flow.

Relief flooded my system as I helped him to his feet.

The brainiac could still move at least, which infinitely improved our chances of survival. We had to get out of here.

Through the slew of bloodied Potentials and furred and scaled things, we trudged onwards with my sights set on the mansion. If we could make it through those doors, we might find somewhere to hide or weapons to use. If nothing ese it would get us out of the open.

Noah seemed to have had the same thought, his hand clenching around my side as we trekked through the grounds, batting away smaller monsters where we could. For the larger ones, we slinked past them slowly, careful to avoid rousing their attention from the Potentials they were already tearing into.

Noah and I had almost made it past the fountain when I saw them: a flash of blond hair on the right, with the familiar faces of Kendra, Dick, and Lou at Zane’s heels.

They crashed out of the maze, almost perfectly in sync.

Then I saw her. Fallon and Ace fought against some creepy chick in a fountain.

She delivered a killing blow, then her eyes found mine amidst the chaos. Was that relief on her face?

Zane and the others quickly made their way to the fountain as well, ducking and pommelling anything in their way. Before we knew it, we were united once again at the blood-filled fountain.

“Well,” Zane said as we faced each other, a beaming grin on his face. “Isn’t this a coinky dink? I knew the ocean tides would pull the super pod back together.”

“Oh, my gods, Kendra, Lou!” Fallon cried, running right past us guys and straight to her bestie. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

The two embraced, followed by another quick hug with Lou. I scowled at the little ninja from the Steppes, then found myself standing beside Ace, Noah, and Zane, each wearing similar expressions.

“We’re fine, too.” I crossed my arms. “Thanks for the concern.”

Fallon turned to face us, her copper eyes flickering with amusement. “Poor baby, all rough and tumbled from the big bad monsters.” But that sass faded as she spied Noah’s leg. “Shit. Are you okay?”

Noah nodded; his focus shifted to the sky. I looked and saw new creatures hovering in the air, a little too close for comfort. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch,” Noah replied, looking back at her with a half-smile.

“Yes, safe and sound,” Ace drawled, his gaze catching on the same creatures now whirling toward us. “Can we focus on getting the fuck out of here?”

“Ya, now would be good,” Kendra chipped in, her eyes widening. “Right fucking now. Move, people!”

Dick yelped as one of the vulture-like birds swooped, but I hit the fucker in the throat before its sharp beak could so much as open.

“I got your back, bro, remember?”

Dick nodded, his ashy hair bobbing with the movement. “And I got yours, Big Red.”

“Not now, Dick,” I hushed, looking around awkwardly, hoping no one else had heard that little nickname. Of course, Robo-Boy heard, though, snickering away to himself as the group took off for the mansion. I had a feeling I would never hear the end of it.

We sprinted, all of us covering the other, not a man or woman unchecked. It was a little amazing, really. All that time spent training those other Potentials, when what I actually needed was this… Them.

We really were a super pod.

A little bit of pride fired in my belly. Flynn would be amazed at the new and improved Kayden 2.0.

“Just a little farther,” Fallon called over her shoulder. My girl led the group, looking all kinds of sexy in her combat boots, her hair all mussed. She was strong, my little firecracker, but I knew there’d come a quiet moment when what had happened to her sister would take over.

A sudden cry interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see a member of our group had fallen behind. Something crossed between a bear and a wolf snarled behind her, nipping at Lou’s dress. She shrieked, desperately trying to escape, but the creature kept tugging her back by the pink material.

“Lou,” Kendra screamed. The sheer panic in her voice made me look at her and I knew the expression on her face would stay with me forever. A look I knew. One I never wanted to see again. Kendra moved to help Lou, but I was closer.

Before I could dash in like some white knight, however, Zane shoved me aside and zoomed towards the creature. “Help is on the way, dear!”

In all of a blink, he wrapped a hand around the beast’s tongue and pulled, wrenching the pink muscle from its mouth and discarding it carelessly to the side. The creature howled, blood gushing from its wound as it turned tail and retreated.

Zane looked up, his hands stained red, and smiled like he’d just received some birthday cake.

I suppressed a shiver. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

“Thanks, Zane,” Lou huffed, her blue eyes round as saucers. The girl’s hands were shaking, but she soon calmed down at Kendra’s comforting touch. “Maybe this place isn’t so fun after all.”

Fallon had stopped and was quickly joined by the others. “Come on, Lord of the Seas, let’s get to the mansion,” she said, and we moved once more as a unit.

He puffed his chest out. “It’s Captain Zane, Lord of the Seas, Pirate Chieftain and Starfish Soother, to you.”

I looked behind me at the chaos still unfolding. So many Potentials dead before we’d even started. An utter waste, if you asked me.

With a grumble, I trudged at the rear of the pack with a sense of foreboding climbing my spine. It was the feeling that once we were in the mansion we might not get out.

“Move your ass, Lord of Many Names. We’ve got a trial to win.”