From Deities (5 page)

“Sky!” Mason desperately
called again. It was all that I heard before the crash of shattering glass. It came splintering down on me like rain, but before I could react, I was pulled through.

Everything happened so fast. I wasn’t sure who held me captive until I got a whiff of the most dreadful stench, like something had spoiled. Recalling how badly the vultures smelled, I knew I was clutched in one of their hands. As my body bounced from the vulture’s running steps, my arms and feet dangled. Being carried away face down, all I could see was the darkness. I imagined there was nothing but dirt and twigs beneath me from the sounds that surrounded me.

After a short pause, the group of vultures surrounding me took a sharp turn. I felt water splashing my face and soaking into my clothes as they ran through a low stream. I never knew there was one here since I hadn’t ventured to this side of the woods before. Then I heard a lot more splashes, indicating more vultures behind us.

My heart pounded and the intake of my breath was short. I tried to think of ways to escape, but from its strength and the speed with which it moved, there was no hope for me. Not only that, I felt sharp, excruciating pain throughout various parts of my body from the shards of glass that had cut through my clothes. While my body shook to the rhythm of the vulture’s pounding steps, the agonizing pain was too much to bear. However, seeing two glowing lights and lightning bolts flashing across space, gave me hope that it was Mason and Nick.

“It has Sky!” Mason shouted. “Don’t shoot her!”

“I know!” Nick yelled.

“It’s difficult to see.” I heard Everett’s voice, too.

“The one in the middle!”

Their voices were near, yet they seemed far away. Hearing grunts and loud screeching sounds from the dying vultures—and flashing lights from the Grand boys—made me believe I could be rescued soon, but maybe not soon enough. There were more obstacles for them to hurdle. Hearing the trees splitting and loud thumps as they fell to the ground, I could only imagine them having a difficult time getting to me. Not only that, there was another flash of light flaring toward them, and I wondered if it was from a friend or a foe.

I practically had
a heart attack when Skylar was taken. My heart dropped so fast, it felt like it jumped out of my chest. It happened in the blink of an eye and I couldn’t save her. What was the point of being able to move with super speed when it was useless to protect her?

Nick followed right behind me, but Everett lagged behind. I knew he’d gone to grab the sword that was safely hidden inside the fireplace. It was difficult to spot the hideous creatures, but I could smell them.

When Everett finally caught up to us, Nick and I lit up like two bright flashlights. After that it was easy to spot the vultures, but in turn, they knew we were on their trail. The one in the middle held Sky. She dangled like a rag doll as he jumped over the broken trees that Nick and I knocked down with our lightning bolts. They were meant to knock him out, but it didn’t work.

There was no way we could have zapped the one holding Sky. There was a possibility that she, too, would feel the electricity and get fired up, and I couldn’t take the chance. I had to let my brothers know, just in case they didn’t see who held her captive.

Running as fast as we could, a speed at which only a god’s descendant could move, we zapped the vultures that surrounded Sky. Retaliating, these vultures knocked down trees and threw lightning at us to slow us down, but we hurdled over and under them. Suddenly, I saw a bright light flash across the space in front of us, which was not fired from the vultures. It seemed to have been meant for the vultures, but it worried me when some came straight at us. Confusion filled my mind. Who would be bold enough to shoot their rays at us? Unfortunately, it was too dark and I couldn’t see that far. My vision was limited to only see within the range my own light projected.

Going after the vultures was bad enough, but following them through the stream was even worse. Their heavy steps disturbed the sleep of the water, but it turned out to be a good thing; it would slow them down. After we crossed the stream, we slipped into another forest.

Suddenly, a group of the vultures jumped in front of us. Little did we know some of them had been hiding up on the branches waiting for us. Damn! I was so pissed. I needed to get to Sky. I also needed to control my anger. It only made the lightning worse, and there was a possibility that I could set this forest on fire if I wasn’t careful.

At first, it seemed as though the vultures didn’t know who to attack since there were three of us. These ugly creatures didn’t have much of a brain. I wasn’t going to stand there and wait for them to decide, so I made the first move. With both of my hands, I jumped and grabbed the first vulture’s shoulders and gave him a jolt of lightning. When Nick saw me in action, he did the same. The vultures convulsed like crazy, sizzled, and turned into ashes.

Apparently, these vultures didn’t have the same powers as us, so we had the upper hand. That was good for Everett. When a vulture went for him, Everett swung his sword for its legs. Instead of swinging all the way, he stopped and diverted his sword to its neck. The stupid vulture had no idea what was happening. It tried to grab Everett while black blood gushed out from its neck, but Everett got away safely.

Thinking we were in the clear, we dashed forward, but suddenly ad to halt when more came at us. This group was a bit more advanced. They, too, shot out lightning. This was going to be bad for Everett. It also meant that Sky would be out of my reach.

“Everett, stand behind us,” I ordered. I didn’t mean to sound forceful and demanding, but his life was at stake. The vultures could seriously hurt him with their bolts. As Nick and I stood side by side and fought back with our lights, Everett managed to stay behind us.

I could tell from the way they maneuvered and worked as a team that this group of vultures was smarter. Not only that, their lights moved like whips. Whack! Whack!
Shit
! One lashed across my shirt and burnt through it. Then I wondered if I could move my light like them. Before I could try, the five vultures joined their bolts into one, and it was coming straight for us.

“Shit!” Nick yelled, combining his light with mine. “Theirs is so much bigger and brighter. Can we take them?” Our light hit theirs, creating a massive spark, blinding our vision. The impact caused individual lights to shoot out.

“Hell, yes.”

Feeling like more distance was between Sky and me, I became desperate. I didn’t care if I burned down this forest. I was going to get to Sky…
now
. What I was about to do next would drain me, but it was the only thing I could think of.

Feeling blistering heat course through me, with one hand raised to the sky, I called upon the lightning. Thunder roared loudly as lightning lit up the dark sky. I directed it to the vultures, and to the light Nick and I were emanating.

“Ace in your face!” Nick shouted. Just as Nick said those words, the strength of our light expanded, and at the same time, the lightning impacted on the vultures.

“Get down!” I directed. Nick covered Everett, and I created a shield around us with my light. The vultures exploded, and the intensity of the lights the vultures and we created shot out everywhere. Seeing flames worried me. We’d cause a fire, but right now that was not my main concern. Being that we were free to go, we had to make up for the distance lost. We would take care of the fire later. Although I hated to admit it, it would have been convenient if Poseidon’s descendants were here.

Thunder boomed across
the sky, followed by flashes of lightning. It brightened the dark just as long as the duration of the light. When there was no rain, I knew at that moment Mason had caused it. He must have been desperate to use so much power like that. When the smell of burnt wood filled my nose and smoke rose from the air, I got extremely worried. Did Mason cause a fire?

As the vulture that held me captive sidestepped around trees and bushes, the glass lodged in me kept shifting, causing excruciating pain with each movement. Unable to handle the pain, I managed to pull out a long piece of glass that penetrated through my upper arm. With it, I stabbed the vulture’s thigh. The vulture halted from pain, pulled out the piece, and kept on going.

The release of the glass caused the blood to seep out. I could feel the wetness as the liquid streamed down, most likely leaving a trail of my blood behind. With a pool of blood in the palm of my hand, I smeared it into the vulture’s cut, hoping it was enough to turn him into a statue.

Suddenly, it dropped to its knees and released its hold on me. I tumbled to the ground and tried to observe the scenario around me. Seeing lightning bolts from behind gave me a clear view of the icicle darts heading toward me from all different directions.

“Get down!” a voice said out loud.

Hearing the order, I curled myself inward while I watched the vulture—who had turned into stone—get blasted into tiny little pieces that should have splattered on me. When I felt something cold engulf me instead, I looked up to see a bubble of water shielding me.

It was the strangest feeling to be inside something that was created by water. It was hard and cold, like ice, but the shield quickly vanished, leaving me vulnerable again.

Vultures’ horrendous, screeching cries echoed around me, while flashing bolts and icicle spheres darted across my vision. It indicated that this was not over yet. Time seemed to stop as I watched with amazement and horror. Blinded by all of the bright, silver lights, I tried to stay away and keep safe since I had nothing to fight with.

“Sky.” Mason suddenly appeared beside me.

“Don’t touch me.” I panicked, showing the blood on the palm of my hand, then I scurried next to a tree. When I spoke, a cloudy mist puffed out of my mouth from the cold. I had thought my shivering was from being terrified for my friends. Now I knew it was the combination of that and the cold.

“Okay, but I need to help you.” Mason got down on his knees next to me.

“Watch out!” a voice shrieked from the distance and someone landed next to Mason. Nick had stepped on the icy path that had been created by one of Poseidon’s descendants.

“Where the hell did this come from?” Struggling to get up, Nick looked flabbergasted. I could understand why. It was the first time he’d fought alongside them.