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My body locks up. A distant part of me screams to move, to hit the ground, because that’s what you do when people are about to shoot you. The rest of me can’t believe this is happening. My instincts are all fucked up. Time seems to slow down and speed up, all at once.
One of the muzzles flares as they fire. I feel silly, because no one could mistake this for a car backfiring.
I hear a scream, and then a hard body hits me in the side, taking me roughly to the ground. A hand catches my head right as it’s about to bounce off the concrete, but that doesn’t stop my body from flaring in pain in half a dozen locations. There are a few more gunshots. Then tires squeal as the van takes the corner on two wheels and flies away.
Reality comes crashing down on me in waves. The dozen cuts and scrapes from my fall. The weight of a body on top of me. The scent of…Orpheus.
Just like that, time slams back into motion.
“Orpheus!” I run my hands up his chest and cup his face, lifting it so I can look him in the eyes. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
He blinks down at me and gives himself a little shake. “I should be asking you that. I don’t think I’ve ever tackled someone before.If there’s an art to it, I don’t know it.” He gently feels around the back of my head. “Did I catch you in time?”
I’m about to answer when a low curse reminds me that we weren’t the only two people standing on the sidewalk. Panic flares. “Oh my gods. Persephone!”
32
ORPHEUS
Eurydice tries to scramble out from beneath me, but I press her more firmly to the ground. “Wait. We don’t know if it’s safe yet.”
“That’s my fucking sister.” I expect her to sound as panicky as I feel, but there’s a terrifying resolve in her voice. “Let me up, and call Charon. Now, Orpheus.”
My adrenaline is surging so hard, it’s a challenge to think clearly. I’m not certain Iamthinking clearly at all. But she’s right. We can’t stay out here on the sidewalk. There’s nothing to stop the attackers from making another pass. That, more than anything, gets me moving. “Stay low.”
“I will.” She slides out from beneath me and crawls to where her sister and Minthe lie. That’s when I see the blood. It’s a bright crimson against the light gray of the sidewalk. I haven’t had cause to be around severe injuries up to this point, so I have no idea if it’s a little or a lot. The fact that it’s outside someone’s body is problem enough.
I rise to a cautious crouch and pull my phone out of my pocket.Thankfully, it’s intact even after I tackled Eurydice. Charon just put his number into my contacts yesterday, and a part of me mourns the fact that this is the first time I have cause to use it. In crisis.
He answers on the first ring. “Orpheus?”
“There was an attack.” My voice is shaking. That’s not helpful. I take a deep breath and make an effort to firm it. “A drive-by. Eurydice is okay, but someone else was hurt… I don’t know yet if it’s Persephone or Minthe.”
There’s the barest pause as he processes my words. “Hold on.” I hear him barking orders with an urgency that makes my stomach drop. Obviously, I knew there was danger in Olympus right now. But apparently I still had plenty of naivete, because I honestly didn’t believe it would touch us.
I move closer to where Eurydice is carefully guiding Minthe onto her back. Minthe is a little pale, but her color is otherwise good. Persephone clutches her stomach, but I don’t see any wounds aside from a scrape on her cheek.Where is the blood coming from?
On the phone, Charon is back. “Is everyone alive?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He exhales slowly. “A doctor’s on the way, along with one of the security teams. If everyone is okay to move, go inside, but otherwise hold the location.”
I don’t tell him that I’m not a soldier, that I don’t know how to hold any fucking location. I’ve never even held a gun. My brother has tried for years to convince me to take some kind of self-defense class, whether it’s hand-to-hand or range shooting, and I’ve always had a reason to put him off. I’ve never had cause to regret it until now.
If we get through this, I’m going to have Charon set me upwith something, so I never feel this helpless again. So I can protect Eurydice if she ever needs it. “Okay. I can do that.”
“You’ve got this, Orpheus.” There’s still plenty of tension in his voice, but it takes on a reassuring edge that unknots the spot between my shoulder blades, just a little. “Tell me what happened.”
I swallow hard. “Persephone wanted to talk to Eurydice outside. They were already planning on taking Minthe, but I insisted on going outside too. There was a gray van. I can’t tell you make and model off the top of my head, but it was old and beat to shit. The engine actually backfired as they came around the corner and onto our street.”
“Which way did they come around the corner?” There’s sound in the background as he starts moving.
“They turned left onto the street, and then they turned right after they shot at us.”
“Did you get that?” It takes me a moment to realize he’s not speaking to me. There’s a light voice in the background that answers him, and a few seconds later he curses. “Got you, motherfuckers.”
I’m about to ask for clarification when Minthe snarls, “It’s just a fucking scratch. A graze. We have to get inside. Now.” She shakes off Eurydice and turns to Persephone. “Can you stand, or do I need to carry you?”
