He tilted his head and took a step forward, his mouth curving into a lascivious grin. “Experience what exactly?”
“What it was like to be surrounded by you,” I said, gesturing to the mirrors around us.
Again, he caught his own eye and couldn’t help sending a reciprocal smile to the hundred other Aten’s in the room.
It was just distracting enough, just enough to put him off guard, and it was exactly where I wanted him.
If I were Vivien, I’d have something pithy or punchy to say in the moment to let him know the tides were about to turn. But that wasn’t my style. I was a woman of action.
Slipping my hand into my pocket, I pressed the little red button.
A massive bin opened overhead. My nostrils burned at the terrible stench that permeated the air. His cry of outrage was garbled as rotting seafood and sticky pancakes came down on him in an unexpected torrent.
Though it happened quickly, time slowed to a crawl for me as I pulled out my sword.
“You bitch,” Aten hissed, wading his way through the mountain of trash I’d buried him in with significant help from Echo and Aoiki.
His heat turned white as rage swept over him. My death burned in his eyes. Aten wouldn’t suffer humiliation and he would make me pay.
I had seconds before he blasted me into fire and ash.
But taking him down in a specific type of garbage was only half the plan.
A hungry growl resonated in the maze of mirrors. Aten paused.
Then a mass of muscles and fur leapt from the rafters and directly onto Aten. Sheshem and Aten went down with a chorus of hungry snarls and angry yells.
Looking up, I searched the rafters for Xander, but he wasn’t there. I wished he’d join us now, but he’d come when he could.
The plan was to lead Sheshem here. Aoiki explained she was great with cats, though I didn’t even know what the hell that meant in this case. But she’d delivered.
I did what Xander taught me. I couldn't outmaneuver or use power to defeat Aten. I had to be smarter.
And delegating the fucking up to a massive hungry cat god seemed like a great idea.
Now all I needed to do was find the opening to leap in and run Aten through with Bob and finish this.
The two gods fought but Sheshem had the upper paw so to speak, and was currently trying to gnaw on Aten’s head even as the sun god let out a stream of curses.
Just as I saw my opportunity and was about to spring into action, a massive metal hoop fell over Sheshem’s head.
“I’ve got him Max,” Alfonso cried.
Oh, no. Oh,fuckno.
Why were they here? Or ratherhowwere they here?
Xander should have seen them and stopped them.
Max stood behind Alfonso as they both gripped a massive pole attached to the metal loop. They began to tighten it around Sheshem’s throat, but the god spawn let out a bloodcurdling roar, shaking his head and backing away from the two idiots.
Before I lost my chance, I lunged between the bucking Sheshem, sword poised to plunge into a bloodied Aten.
A force like a cannonball slammed into my side, knocking me off course.
The moment slipped from my fingers in slow motion as I careened sideways, away from my mark.
The heavy weight of Sunny held me down in a sticky puddle. The sharp edge of a knife bit into my jugular as she stared down at me with a wild gleam in her eye. “You will not hurt my god.”
