He smiled. “We’ve been looking for you, daughter of Apollo.”
Oh shit.
“That’s not your grandfather.” Seth was suddenly in front of me, edging me back. “Not anymore.”
My head couldn’t process that. I got what he was saying, I saw what he meant with my own eyes, but I just didn’t want to understand. I couldn’t.
Granddad kept coming, and Seth tensed in front of me. “Don’t look, Josie,” Seth said softly. “Don’t watch.”
Breath strangled in my chest, and I couldn’t look away. He’d been right—Seth had been right. He tried to tell me that it would be too dangerous to come home, but I hadn’t listened.
I’d led these…these things straight to my family.
“It’s too late.” My grandfather laughed, and it was nothing like his normal laugh. It was cold as death, dank as underground tunnels. “He’s here.”
An icy shiver coursed down my spine.
Seth took a step toward my grandfather, and I knew what was about to happen. A scream built in my throat, but before it could escape, my grandfather threw his head back, and black smoke poured out of his mouth, thick and murky like dirty oil. I didn’t even see where it went.
My grandfather crumpled, folding into himself like there were no bones or muscles in his body. I shot around Seth, but he snagged my waist with one arm, lifting me clear off the ground. Through a haze of tears, I stared at the lifeless body. He lay in a messy pile of skin and clothes. My heart cracked, fissuring straight down the center.
“Pappy?’ I whispered, reaching for him.
“He’s not there,” Seth said into my ear. “He’s gone, Josie, and we need to go. We need to get out here before—”
Dust plumed above the roof as it cracked down the center. The windows in the house exploded, one after another. Glass flew through the air like tiny missiles, heading right for us. My throat closed up as Seth started to turn, to use his own body as a shield, but the glass shards stopped. They just froze in midair and stayed there. Light reflected on the slivers, turning them into diamonds. And then they dropped to the ground.
The house shuddered and the porch trembled as something— someone—stepped out from the warped doorframe. Planks of wood snapped under booted feet. Legs the size of tree trunks were encased in leather, and the wide torso was covered with a half-buttoned white shirt.
It was a guy—a massive guy who had to be seven feet tall, or damn near close to that. He was huge, steroid-size huge. Head completely shaven, eyes exotically slanted at the corners, wide mouth and broad cheekbones, his skin tone was the strangest mix of ethnicities. He wasn’t white or black or Hispanic; he appeared to be several different shades all at once. As he strode forward, the roof over the porch peeled up like a can opener had been set across the middle. The man was beautiful until I saw his eyes. They were pitch black—soulless.
Yeah, I didn’t need to be up on my mythology to safely assume that this—this was a god. Please be a friendly. Please be a friendly.
Seth continued to edge me back, his body coiled with tension. “Hyperion.”
Totally not a friendly.
Hyperion stopped at the top step as he tilted his head to the side. “Step aside, Apollyon,” he said, his voice echoing through me. “Or I’ll burn everything you cherish.”
“That sounds fun and all,” Seth said, blocking me. “But I think I’ll pass.”
The Titan was on the porch one second and then in a heartbeat he was right in front of us. Seth swore violently as he twisted, but even he—as fast as he was—wasn’t fast enough.
Seth was seized by the shoulders and tossed to the side like he weighed nothing more than a bag of potato chips—a half-eaten bag of potato chips. Full of rising horror, I watched him slam into the side of the house, cracking the exterior. He hit the ground, and I didn’t see him move.
Hyperion cocked his head to the side. “You are rather… boring for a demigod, but your father’s scent is all over you.”
Instinct propelled me into action. I spun around and took off between the vehicles. Where was I going? I couldn’t leave Seth. I could circle back, and then what? Scream for help? It didn’t matter. As I reached the opening, Hyperion was in front of me. Crying out, I skidded across the gravel and began backpedaling.
One side of his lips curled up. “Don’t run. It’s rude.”
Forget that.
Whirling around, I ran back to where I came from, breaking out between the cars, but then he was right there. Shrieking, I couldn’t stop in time and bounced right off his rock-solid chest. I fell back, landing on my ass.
He looked down at me, the shit-eating grin on his face. “It’s also pointless to run, little one. I am a Titan.”
I scrambled back across the gravel, heart racing as he casually strode forward. His arm snapped out, digging his hand into my hair. Fiery pain erupted over my scalp as he hauled me to my feet. I grasped at his thick wrist and dug my nails in.
He didn’t even blink as he lowered his head. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?” he asked, and a silver color flashed across his black eyes. “Thousands of years I’ve been trapped with nothing but the thirst of vengeance to keep me sane.” He jerked his arm, and my back bowed as he leaned over me. “Well, the sanity part is up for discussion.” A warm hand circled my neck, cutting off my strangled gasp. “You don’t even know why, do you?”
I opened my mouth, but there was no air. No words. I smacked at his hand, trying to pry the fingers off of my windpipe. Stretched up on the tips of my toes, I was beyond the point of panic and knee-deep in terror. Like with the daimons, there was nothing I could do to fight him, no way to defend myself.
“Oh. Can’t breathe? Sorry about that.” Hyperion’s grip loosened enough to allow a ragged breath to scorch down my throat, but he curled his fingers, digging his nails into my skin like talons. His head came closer and when he spoke, I felt his breath on my cheek. “You think I want to kill you?” He laughed and the cars trembled around us. “No. I don’t want something quick for you. Oh no, I’m going to drag this out for years. Soon, you will call me Master, and when —only when—your father is broken and Olympus is ours, will I release you into the abyss. But until then, you’re going to be my personal PowerBar. Looks like someone already got to you.”
I kicked out, but my feet bounced off his legs with no effect.