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Sekhmet had the ability to produce the power of the midday sun, and it seemed Kaleigh had decided to go nuclear. The goddess’s body might be able to survive such a transformation, but the supernatural’s body couldn’t, no matter how impressive her stats.
A hush fell over the crowd.
“Kaleigh, don’t!” I pleaded.
Her eyes burned ruby red. She was too far gone to heed my advice. The elixir had corrupted her ability to think rationally.
A blast of heat rushed toward me, and I dropped to the mat to avoid it. If I didn’t handle this right, Kaleigh was going to kill us both.
The spectators started to chant Sekhmet’s name. They were lucky the real goddess wasn’t here. She’d smite them all in a single breath. Supernaturals and humans had no idea what they’d be up against if the deities ever returned to reclaim the world they lost.
I braced myself as light blasted from the would-be goddess, blinding me. I felt my body lift off the ground. The world fell silent. I wasn’t sure when I landed, or whether I was still airborne. Pain radiated through me, so much of it that the injuries blended together into one giant thrum.
Sekhmet for the win.
Through the void, I heard the familiar dreamlike sound ofReverie. It seemed that Death had come to escort me home.
The piano chords poked me gently. A vision of my grandmother flashed in my mind. “You must practice, Lorelei,” she said. “It’s the only way to improve.”
I smelled the stench of charred skin. Felt a rubbery surface against my skin.
The music wasn’t accompanying me to the Great Beyond; it was keeping me anchored to the earth, to this plane.
Slowly, I opened my eyes to locate the source of the sound. The spectators were a blur, save one. No one seemed to notice the well-dressed demon with the phone in his hand. My eyes locked on Kane’s. He didn’t smile or yell my name.
I clawed the mat and pulled myself to an upright position. The crowd lost their minds. Kaleigh wailed her displeasure.
Without touching me, Kane had raised me to my feet.
My emotions rushed to the surface, too powerful to stop. This was the reason I avoided music, especially now when I was too weak to keep my walls intact. All at once, they came crashing down. I let the music move through me until it penetrated my soul and coaxed me back to life.
Then I turned up the dial.
My body blurred as I sped toward my opponent. I threw myself on top of Kaleigh and spread my fingers across her face. I slipped into her head with ease. The interior was a jumble of images, presumably because of the elixir, but I located Kaleigh’s nightmare and ripped open the fabric between dreams and reality.
I didn’t miss Albert’s stunned expression just outside the ward. There was only one goddess with this ability, and it was highly unlikely they’d crafted an elixir for her.
Because I was standing right here.
I moved to the side and observed the army of large, hairy spiders as they crawled over their target. I was in no danger; they would respond to my commands if necessary.
But it wasn’t necessary.
It was painful to watch Kaleigh succumb to her worst fear. Anguished screams tore from her throat as she huddled in the corner in the fetal position. I hoped she knew I took no pleasure in this. At least the spiders weren’t venomous. Worst case scenario was that Kaleigh would pass out and the match would be forced to end.
The ward around us sizzled and sparked. I looked down at my bare feet just as the mat below me sent an electric current up my spine—and everything went black.
CHAPTER19
My eyelids fluttered open. I expected to see a stadium of spectators peering down at me with anticipation, except I was no longer in the ring. I was strapped to a table in the lab at the compound.
Dr. Edmonds turned to smile at me from his position at the monitor. “Welcome back, Clay.”
I wiggled my fingers. “I’m not dead.”
“An incredible match. Unprecedented, in fact.”
Across the room, I spotted Kaleigh strapped to a table. “Is she alive?”
