Poseidon (The God Chronicles) (19 page)

And then I heard it crash. I looked up to see water rushing at us, trees being ripped from the ground and flung among the advancing attack.

I screamed, pulling harder on his arms, but he wouldn’t budge.

“
Audrey,” he yelled, kicking the trunk with his good leg and moving it out of the way.

Before I knew what was happening, he had grabbed me and pulled me to the ground. Everything around us shook, the rocks rising up out of the ground and covering us, sealing any water out. Angry waves beat on the top of our shelter, washing over it again and again.

In my panic, I had forgotten who Sy really was. I felt the bloodied chest of the man holding me close and fear of the unknown filled me.

“Your leg,” I asked, not knowing where else to settle.

“It’s fine,” he explained. “I only needed it out from under everything for it to heal.

“What about your cuts?”

“I got them from a special knife,” he said frowning.

“Dipped in the River Styx,” I said softly.

“Yes.”

“So you’re going to die.”

“Not unless she manages to plunge it right into my heart or cut my head off,” he said with a smile, trying to make light of the situation. “I won’t let that happen anymore though.”

“Anymore?”

“Don’t be mad,” he said softly.

“You weren’t even going to try and live?” I asked in horror.

“I fought back,” he argued. “But. . .” He sighed, wrapping his arms around me tighter. “I deserve to die for what I did to you.”

“You didn’t do it,” I
cried angrily. “Athena did. She told me the whole thing before dumping me in the Underworld to talk to John about it.”

“What?”

The rocks around us began to crack, the ground shaking beneath us.

“You need to get out of here,” he said suddenly. “Get back to
wherever you were before. Hades should let you back through the gate—if he hasn’t already abandoned us for dead.”

“What?” I said in shock. “I can’t go back, it’s out in the ocean. I couldn’t find it if I looked for years.”

Pieces of our shelter started to fall in on us, light breaking through our lifeline.

“I will kill him for sending you here,” Sy growled. “Hang on to me tight. I’ll get you somewhere safe.”

He stood, breaking through the ceiling with ease. Outside looked ten times worse than it had before, almost everything leveled by the wave. The earthquake was rolling it all out to sea, effectively eating the island up.

A stream of water shot towards us from the ocean and I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut as I held onto Sy. I waited for the cold slap of the salty wave, but it never came. Slowly, opening my eyes one at a time, I peered around Sy to see where it had gone.

“Whoa!” I yelled, letting go of my savior.

“Hang on,
Audrey!” he instructed.

The water carried us forward, pushing against the bottom of our feet, Sy directing its path with little effort. I’d only ever seen one thing like it before and it was when he’d saved me from drowning. I stared at him in awe, my panic forgotten for a moment.

“This is amazing,” I whispered.

“If we’re lucky, Amphitrite has been too busy to notice you’re here,” he said.

“Wait—I thought you said she wasn’t real?”

“I wasn’t!”

A woman burst out of the water under us, the scream tearing from her throat. Sy jumped out of her path, hitting the ground at a roll, holding me close. I still bumped against the ground roughly though, getting my own impressive display of cuts and bruises.

“Run,
Audrey!” he yelled, releasing me when we came to a stop.

“Why don’t you stay a while,” Amphitrite crooned, a silver dagger shining in her hand. A wall of rock grew up around me, blocking off any escape. “I’d like to thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Sy charged at her, pounding her into the ground with alarming force. The earth shook again and a large boulder jumped out the ground, heading right for me. Before I could move, Sy was between us, shattering it with his fist.

“Aw, true love,” Amphitrite sneered.

“Leave her be,” Sy ordered. “Your fight is with me.”

“True,” she smiled. “I guess I should thank dear
Audrey. It’s because of her I was able to gain this form.”

“What?” I asked in shock.

“Don’t listen to her,” Sy said. “She’s lying.”

“If it weren’t for
Audrey, you wouldn’t have left the waters so long that I became the Goddess of the ocean,” she said sweetly. “Thank you, dear.”  She looked at the dagger in her hand, caressing the tip with one finger, her smile flashing dangerously. “Now I just have to destroy the one thing holding me back from full, true power!”

A terrifying scream erupted from her again and she charged, knife raised high. There was blood in her eyes and I backed up in fear, positive that things were about to get a lot worse.

Another stream of water weaved its way through the wrecked island, wrapping around Amphitrite and carrying her back out to sea as Sy jumped on it. The wind picked up, winding the stream every which way until it had formed a twister, the two of them trapped inside.

I could barely make out their forms through the vortex, cringing as it tinted red with blood. I prayed with all my might that Sy wasn’t the one who’d been hit.

I fell to the ground, trying to find shelter from the gale building up around me. There was nowhere to run, no place to hide. All I could do was watch the battle unfolding before me and hope the rock wall I’d been trapped with would hold up.

Suddenly, the water spiral crashed to the ground, the two Gods c
lashing together in a flurry of jabs and near misses. They moved quickly, Sy obviously suffering the worst of the injuries.

I cried out as the silver dagger plunged into his abdomen, a large, bloody cut dropping him to his knees. With one more kick, Amphitrite knocked him face first into the rough surf.

I shrank back as she turned to me, a snide smile on her face. Before she could take a step though, three prongs popped through her front and I screamed as blood rolled out of her mouth.

Picking her up from behind was Sy, a large trident the object he’d stabbed into her. With a snarl, he tossed her out into the water,
yanking his weapon from her as he did. Immediately, she rose from her landing spot, the swell pushing her forward at super speed.

Sy ran out to meet her and they collided together with a sonic boom, waves spewing out in every direction. As they fought, meeting each
other’s blows evenly, I started to notice movement behind them. Something was snaking out of the water, inching towards Amphitrite. Suddenly, a giant squid surfaced, wrapping its tentacles around her and pulling her out over the sea.

I screamed, unsure of what was happening, as the monster
whipped her around a few times, nearly hitting Sy. Finally, it began to slink away, taking the angry Goddess with it. A few arms remained above the water for a moment, a testament that I hadn’t imagine the scene straight out of a movie.

Sy rode the water back to shore and walked to me, his breathing labored.

“It’s over,” he said. “There’s no way she can beat the Kraken.”

“Are you sure?” I asked fearfully.

“Come here,” he said, reaching out for me as his trident dissolved.

I went to him, bur
ying my face in the remains of his shirt. He grimaced, his wounds obviously hurting him more than he was willing to admit.

There was a howl and we turned around in time to see the sea creature lifted into the air, its arms flailing in every direction. A jet stream of water shot at it from the side,
cutting clean through its head as the angry deity threw it at us. Another shout tore from my throat before it crashed on the shore next to us, a massive, bloody heap.

“Better luck next time,”
Amphitrite said from behind us.

We whipped around, Sy’s trident appearing back in his hand.

She smiled, a wave washing past us and picking her up. She dissolved into it, rushing back to the ocean.

Out of the corner of my eye, as if in slow motion, I saw her reforming behind Sy, the dagger in her hand raised high.

“Look out!” I cried, but it was too late.

The dagger plunged into him, aimed straight at his heart. A cry broke from his lips as he fell to his knees, the blade falling to the ground next to him.

“Too bad, so sad,” Amphitrite said, feigning tears.

Sy grabbed the
knife, his strength fading fast as water moved in to wash over him.

“
Audrey,” he said, struggling to his feet.

“No,” I cried. “You have to be okay!”

“I’m afraid not,” Amphitrite said triumphantly. “He’ll be gone forever in minutes. Thank you my dear.”

She stepped up to me, placing one hand on the side of my face. I jerked back, slapping it away. Her laughter bounced off the rocks, burning into my ears.

“What’s the matter? I’ve finished your husband’s murderer. I thought you’d be thanking me.”

“It wasn’t him,” I cried. “Besides, you’re the one who convinced him to do it, you murderer!”

She screamed at me, her arms reaching out. For a second she seemed frozen—and then she fell to the ground, her own knife stuck in her back. Blood gushed from the wound; her heart had been torn clean through.

I spun around to Sy, who had fallen back to the ground, his own blood leaving in the same fashion.

“I’m sorry, Audrey,” he panted.

“Don’t be sorry,” I said, wiping a tear away.

“I love you,” he said with a weak smile.

“I love you, too.”

“I knew you did,” he claimed with a pained laugh. “But you were too stubborn to admit it.”

“I’m sorry,” I cried.

“It’s okay,” he laughed again. “Will you help me to the water?”

I went to him and wrapped my arms around his chest, pulling him close to me. After a few short steps, we were in the water, wading out until we were waist deep.

His lips met mine then, moving softly and slowly—a goodbye.

“I love you,” I said again.

He sank into the water, dissolving into it as Amphitrite had done before.

“I love you, too.”

And then I was alone, left on the destroyed island as the clouds parted and sunlight streamed through onto my newly repaired and shattered heart. 

Chapter Eighteen

Once again, I had lost the man I loved to the ocean.

I sat on the shore, looking over the smooth water, the sun shining brightly down. No one would even know there’d been a storm if it weren’t for the destruction behind me. There were no signs of a battle either, except for the mangled, red carcass of the
Kraken. Amphitrite’s body had dissolved away as well, not even any bloodstains left to tell the tale of her existence.

Sy was gone forever. I’d spent so much time insisting I didn’t have feelings for him—that I didn’t love him. I wanted so badly to say I only loved John. It had been a lie though, one I hadn’t realized until it was too late. When I saw the
knife in his back, I knew immediately that half of my heart was dying with him.

I became aware of someone sitting next to me. They had arrived suddenly, appearing as if from nowhere.

“Which one are you,” I said bitterly.

“
Audrey,” she said softly, her light brown hair moving slowly in the breeze.

I looked over at her, surprised to see she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, much like my own.

“You’re the first God besides Sy I’ve seen dress to fit in with the times,” I observed, turning my gaze back to the water.

“I haven’t been one very long,” she laughed. “It’s all pretty new to me.”

“Interesting,” I said, not really paying attention.

“I’m Karly,” she
introduced herself, holding her hand out to me.

I didn’t take it.

“I came to take you home,” she informed quietly after a moment.

“I can’t leave,” I said honestly. “If I do, there’s nothing but my memories to keep him real. Here, there’s proof he
existed.”

“It won’t stay this way forever.”

“I know,” I acknowledged a tear escaping my eyes. “But I’d like to stay all the same.”

“May I sit with you a while longer then?”

“Sure,” I said helplessly.

Silence stretched between us as we stared ahead. I didn’t know what I was waiting for. I’d seen Sy
disappear, every trace of him gone. Even the bloodstains on my clothes had washed out when I helped him into the water.

“Driftwood,” I mumbled.

“What about it?” Karly asked politely.