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He shrugged. “Damage control. The same as the rest of you. He really is out of control, isn’t he?”
We all glanced at each other, surely thinking the same thing. Hades had let X get this far. But we didn’t have to say it out loud because Hades knew. If he was here with us, he knew exactly what we thought.
Though I struggled to keep the surprise at seeing him off my face, of course. And it looked as if he and Elyse had made up with the way they exchanged glances, smiles, and stood close enough for their hands to touch. A nice change. But that didn’t do anything about the mess in front of us and by the looks of things, Chicago was going down. Smoke, fire, and dust flooded the once decent city. Sirens wailed in the distance, cars backed up on the streets, sitting in traffic that headed out of the city at a snail’s pace as everyone evacuated Chicago.
“Well, the only thing we can do is give him a taste of his own medicine and see how far we get,” Poseidon suggested.
It was as good a plan as any, and I nodded.
I flew toward X’s head while the others spread out on the ground. Not all gods could fly.
Poseidon moved toward the edge of Lake Michigan and lifted his hands. The water trembled then raised at Poseidon’s command.
Dark, ominous clouds rolled over the heavens, promising a horrendous storm. Poseidon worked his magic, a reminder of how powerful he was.
From the other side of the lake, Hades marched toward X with an authority that trumped all others. Perhaps he believed he could put X back where he belonged by merely being there. But X glanced at Hades, then forgot about him, turning away as if he didn’t matter.
I charged X with my sword out, ready to give him everything I had. From the wreckage all around me, overturned cars and charred buildings, I forged weapons, manipulating the metal and throwing them at X in an onslaught that would have killed anyone, even crippling some of the gods momentarily.
But X shrugged off my attack, waving at his head as if he were trying to swat away a fly.
I looked around to find Elyse and saw her headed toward X, facing him head on.
He laughed when he spotted her. “You don’t know when to quit, do you? Death doesn’t even seem to scare you off.”
“Been there, done that. I didn’t care much for it.”
I didn’t know where her newfound confidence had come from, but I appreciated it. She was in this again, ready to do what she’d been trained to do. And we were all there to help her.
All of us except Heracles. I wasn’t sure where he was. And of course, Apollo. He wasn’t going to be able to help, but I was willing to bet he stared down from the air, kicking himself for getting caught.
What an idiot. He shouldn’t have gone after Elyse, or he would have been here. Although it wouldn’t have made a difference—X was growing out of control, and there was nothing we could do about it. Besides, Apollo wouldn’t have stayed away from Elyse. Because it was impossible, and I hadn’t been able to, either.
“We’re getting our asses handed to us here,” Poseidon growled, coming toward me when his water and dark clouds overhead had done nothing.
X simply chuckled like a hyena in the distance at our attempts.
“Well, not exactly,” I pointed out. “He’s not even bothering to acknowledge us. Can you really have your ass handed to you when you’re being ignored as if you’re nothing?”
“He shouldn’t be ignoring us,” Poseidon said.
“So, what? Should he shudder at the sound of our names? We weren’t the ones who released him, Hades was. And even he can’t seem to put him back in his cage. I don’t think X has anything to worry about. Not unless there’s some kind of god or goddess who rules over the safety of the Earth. Last time I checked, we don’t exactly have one of those.”
Poseidon shook his head and moved to where Hades was still trying to take X down. It was a battle practically drenched in darkness, and we couldn’t see much in the dark cloud. But the magical repercussion rocked through the air, digging claws into my flesh. So strong and intense, it knocked over homes and stores, flooding the park and Navy Pier, and pushing away metal cars.
I tottered on my feet. Water rushed farther inland toward the main city.
“There’s no way we’re going to stop this,” Poseidon admitted, shadows dancing under his eyes.
But he was wrong. Elyse could stop this. She had power in her she hadn’t realized yet, power that could bring all of this to an end. But everyone insisted Elyse couldn’t find out about it if it didn’t come from within.
But now was the time to do something about this shit. And if someone didn’t tell her, how the fuck was she supposed to figure it out on her own?
“Where are you going?” Poseidon asked when I flew away from him.
“To find Elyse. To help her.”
I wasn’t even lying. And when I looked over my shoulder at Poseidon, his wide eyes told me he understood what I was going to do.
