Salvaged Soul (The Ignited Series Book 3) (10 page)

Three Kala guards had entered the small room with the Skotadi. One of them carried a knife. From the shine radiating off of it, I recognized it as a diamond coated weapon.

“Stop them,” I said to Micah.

He looked at me, but said nothing.

Behind me, I heard a shout as two of the Kala engaged the Skotadi, and I turned to watch the scuffle on the other side of the glass. Considering how weak and sickly he appeared, the Skotadi didn’t stand a chance. The Kala easily maneuvered him into an exposed position—one that made it easy for the third Kala to use the knife.

“They’re going to do an easy one, Kris,” Micah said to me quickly, as if that made it all okay. “It’s going to be a shallow scrape, it’s going to be placed far from his heart so that you will have plenty of time to heal him.”

I scoffed, refusing to look at Micah. The Kala with the knife did just what Micah said he would do—he cut the Skotadi on the wrist in a move so quick I nearly missed it. The horrendous howl that erupted from the Skotadi indicated that the knife had found its mark.

As the Kala retreated from the room, I spun to Micah. “Do something!”

He held the vial, dangling from its chain, out to me again. “This is all you.”

Something inside of me snapped. Something deep, deep inside of me wanted to destroy the self-righteous brat in front of me with nothing more than my bare hands. But that same small part of me longed to turn and help my suffering kindred just feet away. Whatever admiration I, as his star-crossed soul mate, had for Micah was drowned out by the absolute disgust emitting from my Skotadi half. She was winning the battle for my body at this moment, and I hated him even more for giving her that power.

I glared at Micah, and snatched the vial out of his hand. “I hate you,” I seethed.

Micah’s eyes widened as he looked at me, but I didn’t have time to concern myself with what he saw. My Skotadi was pissed, but as much as she wanted to extinguish Micah’s life, she wanted to save that Skotadi more.

The Kala guards moved aside, allowing me to enter the room. I kept my head down as I passed, to hide my eyes from them. Though surging wasn’t a phenomenon I could necessarily feel, I had come to realize that the angrier I was, the more my eyes surged with the evil residing inside of me.

The injured Skotadi in the room snarled when I first entered, then regarded me with curiosity when I looked up and our eyes met. He saw them. And he didn’t know what to think.

He howled again, gripping his injured arm in agony, and seemed to forget about me. The pain dropped him to his knees, and I followed, stooping in front of him as I twisted the cap off of the vial. I dumped the mixture of compounds—certain healing stones that had been ground into a bluish black sand-like powder—into my hand.

“I’m going to heal you,” I told the Skotadi.

“Not my first . . .” he ground out. If anything, he seemed angrier by that admission.

Of course. My suspicions had been right. They had done this to him before, and Micah had healed him. Likely many,
many
times before.

Now it was up to me to heal him, and I didn’t know if I could do it.

I tossed one last hard glare at the glass. Though I couldn’t see through it, I knew Micah stood on the other side, watching. Then I took the Skotadi’s injured arm and placed the palm of my hand, and the healing compounds, against the gash.

It was superficial, at least. But the beginnings of diamond poison had already begun to creep up his arm, evidenced by the black streaks marking his skin. The streaks disappeared beneath the sleeve of his shirt just above the elbow. Once the poison infiltrated the heart, healing would be impossible and it would be game over in a matter of minutes.

Concentrate
.

I blocked out the Skotadi’s wails, and put my focus into the meditation part of the healing. That much I remembered. But there were supposed to be words to recite . . .

“Micah, I don’t remember the words!” I shouted.

There was a click over the intercom, and then his voice filled the room. “
Sanaret terram aerem
.”

As if I understood Greek.

Bastard
.

I touched the charm around my neck for strength and reigned in my inner demon long enough to focus on the task at hand. Even if it was she who wanted to save this Skotadi, the other half of me—the Incantator demigod—was the one who had to do it.

I repeated the words, pronouncing them to the best of my ability. At the same time, I pushed out my energy—also to the best of my ability, because that was a weakness that I had been working on—and attempted to envelop the negative energy in the Skotadi. Being the first time I was attempting to heal diamond injury, I had no idea what its energy felt like. All I had were Micah’s instructions coming over the intercom, adding to what little I remembered from when he had first explained the process.

The hand I had placed over the Skotadi’s wound warmed with energy. My grip strengthened, and I repeated the words again. And again, more forcefully and with more conviction each time. I put everything I had into pulling the poison out of the Skotadi, but he just wasn’t responding.

His moans intensified until they drowned out Micah’s voice.

“Micah! Help me!”

Though I struggled to hear him, I thought he said,
“Keep trying.” 

I used my free hand to lift the sleeve of the Skotadi’s shirt, and saw that the streaks had passed his shoulder and disappeared behind the shirt where it covered his chest. If the poison weren’t already to his heart, it would be soon.

“He’s going to die! I can’t do this!”

Nothing but silence answered me.

I turned back to the Skotadi, lowered my head, and pushed harder, murmuring the words quietly over and over until the Skotadi’s cries quieted. His arm went slack in my hand, and I knew I had failed. I gently lowered his arm to the floor, then stood and backed away from the motionless body, unable to look at him directly.

The scraping of a foot on the floor behind me spun me around—with thoughts of vengeance on my mind.

Micah stood in the doorway. “You did it right.”

“He’s dead.”

“You did all the steps right,” he insisted with a shrug. “Maybe if you had started sooner . . .”

“Maybe if you hadn’t put me in this position in the first place,” I returned.

“You need to practice, Kris. Before I got good, plenty of Skotadi died in here.”

“That’s sick.
You’re
sick.”

“It’s necessary. We’re fighting a war. If more of us can learn to heal diamond injury, the Kala could finally win it.”

I knew the reasoning for practicing this skill. I knew it made sense, but right now? After failing and holding myself partially responsible for this Skotadi’s death, I wasn’t in the mood to hear it. Not to mention, I was still struggling to hold my own alter ego back, and every word that came out of Micah’s mouth only angered her more.

I needed to get away from him. I took several steps toward him, and the door, but stopped in front of him before exiting. I needed him to know one thing. “I will never forgive you for this.”

“You will, Kris.” He smiled at me confidently. “Besides, he’s just a Skotadi.”

I scoffed. “In case you didn’t notice, I was almost Skotadi a few moments ago. Because of you, and what you did,” I spat viciously. I grabbed Gran’s charm around my neck again, and said, “You’re lucky I was wearing this, because you nearly pushed me over the edge.” I moved to go around him, to get away from him, before that still happened.

He grabbed my arm to stop me. “That would never happen, Kris.”

My teeth were clenched, and I hissed between them. “It still might if you don’t let go of me right now.”

I yanked my arm free and stormed away. The guards at the door were smart enough to let me through.

And Micah was smart enough to maintain a safe distance as he followed me out of the room. He and Richie stayed behind me as I left the building, and sought the relative safety of my dorm room.

Kim was sitting in the hallway, and scampered to her feet as I approached. “Don’t let him anywhere near me,” I told her before slamming the door shut behind me.

Never before had I been happier to barricade myself inside the walls of my room. But I would do whatever it took to keep Micah out of my sight until I was confident enough that I wouldn’t kill him the next time I saw him.

Chapter 10

{Nathan}

Artemis gave Jared and me a moment to take it all in before she led us to the heart of the gods’ home. Fortunately, there was an easier way to get to the bottom of the mountain than taking the stairs.

Behind us towered a tall golden door. It opened to reveal a small room with buttons on the wall, similar to what would be found in any standard elevator. But we weren’t in just any standard elevator that steadily lowered us with the aid of gears and cables. Artemis pushed a button, and the doors
immediately
opened to the grand garden. I stepped out on legs that wobbled as if I had just ridden the world’s fastest rollercoaster. But then my eyes swept over the grand garden, and I forgot all about the elevator.

It was all so very . . . green. Trees and shrubs and other plants I had no name for, of all sizes and shapes, filled the massive space. Splashes of vivid colors, thanks to the thousands of flowers, broke up the green and lined the paths that snaked throughout the grounds. The only other break came from the large pool of water in the center.

Gods were everywhere. On benches under trees, lounging on the rocks surrounding the pool, walking the paths. They all regarded Jared and me with the same look of recognition, like they had been expecting us.

Artemis led us past the pool before taking a turn down another path. This one ended at another large golden door. It glided open without a sound as we approached.

“Wow,” Jared breathed. “This place keeps getting more and more awesome.”

“This way.” Artemis stopped under the golden arch and, with a wave of her hand, ushered us through with a smile.

I didn’t know what to expect, and if I were being completely honest with myself, I had a small pang of uncertainty as we crossed the threshold. Jared and I emerged into the center of a round stadium-like room. I spun around, only to realize that the door we had stepped through wasn’t there anymore. Elevated above us were large seats chiseled out of the stone. Twelve seats exactly.

“The seats of the twelve Olympians,” Jared muttered.

“I think so,” I agreed.

Artemis was one of the twelve Olympians. But, like the door, she too had disappeared.

“Where d—” I started to ask Jared, but a loud, booming voice cut me off.

It came from above and behind us, and we both turned to find the source. Standing before one of the seats, his hands on the railing as he leaned over to get a better view of us, was Zeus. I nearly stumbled backward from the shock, but the surprises didn’t stop there. Another god walked out of the stone wall behind him as if it were an open door. Then a third appeared to his right in the same manner.

Poseidon and Hera.

It was like meeting the President, the Queen, and the Pope at one time.

I stared at Zeus because, well, he was Zeus. But it was his wife, Hera, who addressed us.

“We understand you are the two that we need to speak to,” she said softly.

Why Jared and I were so important, I didn’t understand. Unless this did have something to do with Kris, and they somehow knew we were linked to her.

Who was I kidding? They were gods. Of course, they knew exactly who we were.

“So, tell us . . .” Zeus boomed. “What is the status of the thirteenth demigod, born of Hecate?”

My pulse jumped, because, dammit, this
was
about Kris. I wondered what they meant by ‘status.’ They didn’t know? Before I had a chance to ask for clarification, Jared posed a question.

“What exactly do you want to know about her?” he asked.

“Are her loyalties to the blood of her mother, or to that of her many fathers?” Zeus rephrased.

I hadn’t been aware that she had a choice, but the fact that Zeus had asked filled me with some hope. But then, I didn’t know how to answer the question without throwing Kris under the bus.

Fortunately, Jared was good at the diplomatic stuff. “She intends to be loyal to her mother,” he answered, “however, the blood of her fathers makes it difficult at times.”

“Is there a way to help her overcome her evil bloodlines?” I asked.

Zeus and Poseidon shared a quick look, but I didn’t miss it. Whatever their thoughts were, they didn’t share. But Hera did.

She cast them both an amused glance before turning to Jared and me with a smile. “They don’t actually know the answer to that. We haven’t experienced another like her. She’s the first to have such a strong mixture of both good and evil.”

“But Hecate is under Hades’ control . . .” Poseidon started before trailing off under Zeus’s heavy gaze.

His words had my thoughts spinning. There was still much I was unsure of, but there was one thing which had me hopeful. The fact that Hecate’s blood ran through Kris’s veins meant that she might have a chance of avoiding a future as a Skotadi. But why would Poseidon be worried about Hecate being under the control of Hades? What impact did that have on Kris?

The hard look on Zeus’s face kept me from asking.

“She has not reached maturity yet?” The tone Zeus used was sure and certain, like he was stating a fact, not posing a question.

I didn’t know which answer would be in Kris’s best interest, but I knew lying to the gods to protect her wouldn’t go over well. “No, she hasn’t,” I admitted reluctantly.

I held my breath as they conferred, and tried to interpret if her not having reached maturity yet was a good thing, or a bad thing, as far as they were concerned. I glanced at Jared once to gauge his understanding of the situation. His head shook once, and I knew he was just as confused as I was.

I picked up a few words, mostly from Poseidon, who seemed the most temperamental of the three.

“Long time . . .”

“Pesky demigods . . .”

“Done away with . . .”

“They are our children,” Hera stated fiercely, squaring her shoulders to Poseidon.

“And they are rising against us!” Poseidon fired back.

The floor vibrated beneath my feet, and I glanced at Jared to see if he felt it, too. His mouth curved into a frown as he surveyed the walls surrounding us. I followed his gaze, and eyed a crack in the stone that hadn’t been there a minute ago.

No way could he bring Mount Olympus down on us. Right?

I worried more about what had caused Poseidon’s outburst.
The demigods were rising against the gods?
The demigods were obviously not on the gods’ good side from the bits and pieces of conversation I picked up. 

“With Hecate’s daughter, we will have three,” Hera said softly to Zeus.

“The other two are lost to Hades,” Poseidon argued.

“Not if we get to them first.”

From what I saw, Hera and Poseidon were on opposite sides of a disagreement, with Zeus stuck in the middle. I knew Kris was involved somehow, but wasn’t exactly sure how, and I didn’t know if I should be rooting for Hera or for Poseidon to win this argument.

Zeus regarded Jared and me with curiosity, and I figured he was close to making a decision. “How close is she to reaching maturity?”

Jared and I shared a glance, then he answered, “We have no way of knowing.”

“There is no guarantee to which side she will fall,” Poseidon said as if reminding Zeus of something they had discussed multiple times.

“She is Hecate’s daughter,” Hera chided.

“We know nothing of Hecate’s condition. Not enough to rely—”

“Enough,” Zeus interrupted Poseidon. “I’ve heard enough. We must act now. We cannot wait for the girl to mature. We will send the Kala to rescue our two captive demigods, as planned.
They
will get the job done.”

“And the girl?” Poseidon growled.

“We will wait,” Zeus ordered. “She could be very valuable to our cause.”

From the smile on Hera’s face when she turned back to Jared and me, I knew she had gotten her way. From the sounds of it, I gathered that was the best thing for Kris. Hera seemed to be sticking up for her, while Poseidon . . .

I wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted, but I didn’t think it was anything good for Kris.

And what about these other demigods?

Finally, Zeus turned to us with some answers. “Our children, the demigods born to many of us, have made the poor decision to rise against us, their gods.”

“How do they plan to do that?” Jared asked.

“They have found a way to achieve immortality for themselves and their army,” explained Zeus. “If they are permitted to go through with this plan, they will be indestructible.”

The Skotadi. It had to be, but something was off. “Which demigods?” I asked, hoping my intuition was wrong.

“Six of them so far have turned against us,” Zeus explained. “Only two of our children have remained loyal—Isatan and Permna.”

“All six are from the side of . . . good?” That was the part I had a hard time grasping. That the so-called ‘good’ demigods were the ones who were contemplating overthrowing the gods.

“Yes,” Poseidon gritted. “My son and his friends.”

No wonder Poseidon was so bitter.

“And the four who have sided with Hades?” Jared questioned.

“We see no alliance between the two groups,” Hera answered.

“
Yet
,” Poseidon added bitterly.

As it stood now, six demigods were on the verge of acquiring immortality. If they were successful, I saw no reason that Hades’ four demigods wouldn’t want to follow.

“Isatan and Permna will need to destroy the others before they are able to go through with their plan,” Zeus continued. “However, they are under siege, held captive by a group of Skotadi in a village near here. That is why we have requested your assistance. We need you to rescue them before they are destroyed, and our hope is lost.”

“We believe Hades is sending a demigod to destroy them,” Hera added. “You must rescue Isatan and Permna before he arrives. Until the daughter of Hecate has matured, these two demigods are our only chance to prevent the uprising.”

I stifled a groan. As bad as I had expected this mission to be, it had ended up being much,
much
worse.

“How big of a Skotadi presence will we be up against?” Jared asked.

“We don’t know.”

I rubbed my eyes to thwart off the dull ache that had settled behind them. It didn’t help.

“How have they managed to hold the demigods?” Jared asked, and I looked up.

Good question. They were
demigods
, blessed with supernatural powers and strength. How could a group of Skotadi have managed to hold them hostage?

“We believe they have access to a skilled Incantator, who has created a compound capable of weakening demigods,” Hera answered.

So now we were dealing with an Incantator too? I didn’t have a good feeling about this mission. At all. And I was especially concerned about their intentions for Kris.

“And what of Hecate’s daughter?” I asked, though I feared the answer. “When she reaches maturity?”

Hera smiled, and I noticed that she seemed very fond of Kris, for not knowing her. “Being the daughter of Hecate, and having four other pure bloodlines, she will have a power that reaches far above the other demigods. That strength will be needed for this great feat.”

Shit.

So they wanted Kris, once she reached her potential, to help them destroy the other demigods. Though they claimed she would have an advantage over them, it still made me nervous. Anything that risked Kris’s safety made me nervous.

“What about the demigods who have sided with Hades?” Jared asked, thoughtfully. “If the six turned demigods are destroyed, won’t the balance of good and evil shift?”

Zeus nodded. “Yes, and that is why the demigods must be destroyed systematically. When one of ours is destroyed, one of theirs must be also, until all are gone.”

All are gone? I didn’t like the sound of that. “Except for Isatan, Permna, and Hecate’s daughter, right?”

Zeus glanced at Poseidon, before he answered, “Yes.”

That hesitation was enough to convince me that the gods could not be trusted. Given the elevated power that she would possess, there was no way they would allow her to continue to exist. They would use her, then get rid of her.

And I wasn’t going to let that happen.

I tuned out as Jared requested the specifics regarding the two demigods who were sequestered nearby. I would participate in their rescue, of course. I would complete this mission to the best of my ability, but already my thoughts were on how to get Kris out of the mess she unknowingly had been thrust into.

As always, she was my priority.

All thirty-six soldiers were assembled and debriefed within minutes of our return to Litochoro a few hours later. Arrangements were made for the entire team to head out on the very next train the following morning.

It was a two-hour train ride, followed by a two-hour drive through the most remote parts of Greece to get to the isolated village of Ichalia, where the demigods were held captive.