Page 45

CIRCE

“ T here’s too damn many of them!” Artemis stomps another soldier, swiping her blade through another one of the gangbangers wearing tracksuits. No idea where they’re even from.

“She went this way!” I wave, ramming the sword Haru brought me to the hilt in the belly of a professional bodyguard, the man’s clear earpiece flopping out.

Fucking Secret Service … ?

Not that shocking.

At least one United States Senator was there.

Haru’s men regroup around us, clearing a path. Utter devastation guides us onward.

Apparently, we weren’t the only ones with designs on trying to kill Ananke. Piles of her men and her potential clients clog the path toward a cluster of vehicles.

Nearing the lot, I scan for lights, the sound of an engine. Too much noise. Too many opportunists trying to make it here to snag a ride. We’re beset on all sides, all different groups, all fighting each other as much as us.

A flash of a golden mask catches my eye, rushing from the cover of some large rocks, flanked by guards.

“There! Don’t let her get to the SUV!”

Like I gave a command, the white vehicle suddenly lurches into the air, engulfed in fire and smoke as it crashes down. The next vehicle in line goes up. Another.

It’s a goddamn cascade.

One after another the cars explode, coming right toward us from the left.

“Get clear! Now!” I roar, shouldering Artemis and practically lifting Haru by the back of his suit coat and dragging him along with an undignified yelp from the small man. We leap over hoods, skidding between, sprinting for the far side.

Stumbling at the edge of a dip in the land, I lunge forward, flinging Haru ahead of me just as a final rippling tidal wave of car bombs converges in the center of the parking lot, compounding the explosion and incinerating everyone left within the radius.

Smoke chokes me as I skid down the slope, staggering to my feet.

“That was?—”

“Fucking badass!” Artemis howls, lost in the heat of battle. Looks like she got her spark back. She always had that Valkyrian bloodlust.

“And humiliating,” Haru snaps, dusting himself off.

“I saved your life.”

“That’s what you call that? If I remember right, I came to save you , Obake. ”

“Did I embarrass you, Sensei?”

“No respect for oyabun .” He trudges on, following yet more bodies toward the nearby hill.

“Wait! What do you mean?!”

“How do you think I brought all of Yakuza halfway across the world? I am the leader.”

“But we met with your oyabun …?” I catch up to him, thoroughly confused. “Who was the giant bald guy?”

“Ah. That’s my sister-in-law’s brother, Dango.”

“He was enormous! And scary as fuck. Didn’t say a word all through the meeting.”

“That’s because he doesn’t understand what the shit is going on. And the face…always scowling because he’s got IBS.”

Artemis blows a raspberry through her lips as she claps me on the back. “Oh balls, CC. The look on your face…”

I’m about to strangle both of them when we spot movement ahead. Beyond the trunks of a copse of trees, the blades of a helicopter shift, the shrill whir of the motor kicking on.

We take the hill at a dead run, dispatching the handful of guards left like paper dolls. Skidding to stop just outside the clearing, I wince against the dust, scanning for Ananke.

There!

Leaning against the wind and the debris, I leave the rest of my crew shouting after me as I clear the tree line. It’s just her, hustling across, clutching her dress.

“Ananke!” She doesn’t look back. I plod after her, readying my blade. “Daciana Dalca!”

Her head snaps around, her eyes blazing.

“I should have smothered you with a pillow when you were a little girl, you know that?”

“And I shouldn’t have missed that day in Berlin,” I quip, lowering my sword and stalking toward her.

Ananke takes a step back, her lips tightening around her bared teeth. Flinging the train of her dress to the ground, she squares her shoulders.

“Circe. You do not want to play this game with me.”

“You were the only one playing games, Ananke. With my whole fucking life. My identity.”

“I only used a tool for its intended purpose. A hammer drives nails. A drill bores holes. A killer kills. Only you had so much more to offer. You adapted, transformed into others so well. So I molded you. I learned so much from you.”

“You missed a lesson.”

“Oh?”

“Lyra’s aren’t just killers. We’re not just tools. We’re artists. Musicians. Creators.”

“And what have you created, you poor, useless little girl?” She’s backing away slowly.

“A future without you in it.” I launch my sword, lancing it through the air with lightning speed.

Ananke dives, the blade taking her along the back. Rushing in, I snag her dress, drag her back.

“Πα?ω!” she shrieks back at me, the word impacting like a fist to my head.

“Never!” I growl, shaking my head against the fleeting effects of her manipulation.

Panic washes across her face, she claws and kicks, trying to get away from me. I almost have her when she says something that stops me in my tracks.

“The baby was real! Your Eva. She’s alive .” Ananke screams over the roar of the blowback.

My heart stops.

I freeze, my mouth hanging open for a second. A split second she uses to dig out the gun stashed in her garter, fling her hand up and?—

“Circe!” Artemis tackles me.

We hit the ground in a heap, tumbling. “No!”

“Did she hit you?”

“No, Arty, I had her and she said—let me up?—”

But the helicopter lifts off, weaving and rising fast. Through the whipping mess of my hair, I see her huddled in the open door, covered in blood but gripping the bar tightly as she ascends. Her eyes never deviate from me.

“The chopper! We need to get to the—” I start, my arms dropping to my sides as the noise fades and Ananke drifts away.

It had to be a lie. A ploy to startle me…

“Oh yeah? Yew sound jist like the Termeenator.” A gangly, filthy man steps up beside me.

“Gumbo?”

“Ayup. Whodja think blew the whole place to holy hell?”

A huff of laughter lifts my shoulders. My gaze trails after the last spot I saw Ananke.

“She got away.”

“I reckon she did. S’why I tagged her.”

“You what?”

“Circe!” Artemis’s frantic cry steals my attention. Rushing up the hill toward us, I spot familiar faces, Ero, men who must be his brothers. Behind and around them, broad-shouldered men in leather coats and the few remaining Yakuza fire off shots behind them, aiming for our vantage.

“Ero!” I shout, relief washing away my woe.

Until I see the tide rushing up the hill at their backs.

Most wear Ananke’s symbol on their arms, a swatch of gold over their suits. All of them are armed to the teeth, no longer with guns, but anything they could get their hands on. But it’s their eyes that raise my hackles.

Dead, vacant.

They’re all brainwashed. And she ordered them to kill us all.

With wild abandon, I throw myself into Ero’s arms as he arrives, kissing him viciously. We pull away smiling, turning back to face the enemy. His hand laces into mine.

“Cirs, these are my brothers. Aless, Ciro, Adriano.” Ero nods his head at each one.

“Intros, really?” Ciro barks. “Timing bro.”

Our allies tighten up in file, retreating toward the ravine. It’s the only defensible way out of the valley. Scooping up a stray rifle, I pop off a few shots, slowing the lead Pantheon soldiers. Ero reloads, cocks his gun.

“Come on, we have to get the fuck out of here!” Aless shouts, waving others on ahead of him.

“I don’t want a single fuck from this place,” Ciro spits. “Worst Broadway show I’ve ever seen!”

“Gloria and Isabella are waiting for us near the old road!” Adriano announces, shoving into the Ero, and I stare back at the oncoming hoard closing the distance with alarming speed. We won’t make it before they start tearing into our backs, nipping at our heels all the way to the rendezvous.

The train of survivors dwindles, most of them already climbing up through the ravine.

“Ero! Circe! Come on!” Aless yells, taking a few steps toward us.

“No can do, brother.” Ero glances back.

“The fuck you can’t, get your ass up here!” Alessandro bellows.

“Is that an order?”

“Does it need to be?!”

“Probably make it worse if it was. Don’t know that I ever want to obey another order as long as I live.”

I stifle a giggle, readying my weapons. “Agreed.”

“Ero…” Aless growls, shaking his head. “Take one last request then, from your brother, once upon a time, your don…”

“Shoot.”

“Show them how Diamantes never break.” They share a last look, and he’s gone.

We stand there and wait, staring at the press of bodies stomping right at us. Our eyes meet, a silent agreement.

“Ready to clean up your mess?” I snicker.

“Excuse me?” Ero smirks, tilting his head.

“I mean, this is kind of all your fault.” I wave at the army ahead of us.

“Uh, I wasn’t patient zero for Dr. Anankenstein.” The first wave reaches us, mowed down in a hail of bullets. We reload, kicking and bashing as we hold them at bay.

“Wow. Low blow. And a fucking terrible pun.” I lash out, spraying the two of us with blood. Our battle cries intertwine like ancient gods of war.

“God, you’re an insufferable twat.”

“You’re an intolerable fuckwit.”

“I fucking love you.”

“I know you do…”