Labyrinth: Acropolis Series Book II (8 page)

"Maybe we could help you," Bruno says
carefully.

Lyre laughs."What? Are you serious?"

Bruno glares at her as Fiona stands up
slowly.

"I agree with Bruno. You were all in that
dining room today. You heard exactly what I did. This hybrid king
and his bonded Naphil want us to retrieve the Spear of Destiny. We
can't do that if we have a wild card leader and a bickering
army."

Lyre throws her hands up in the air."We don't
have to do it at all! Let them go after the spear on their own. We
have nothing to do with it."

"Don't we?"

The question is a bold one, and I'm surprised
to discover it comes from me. All eyes move in my direction, but I
don't flinch.

"I don't know what has happened in Hell. I've
never seen the place, never lived there, never even knew there were
such things as kingdoms and levels, but today we learned there is
at least one level usurped by a hybrid, a hybrid who wants to give
people like us a place to live that doesn't include Lucifer or
barracks guarded by gargoyles. We've been given a chance to be a
part of that. Can you really walk away from it?" I ask.

I'm doubly surprised by my fervor. I don't
really know the hybrid king, but I honestly want what he's offering
us. Safety. Maybe then, I can see my mother again.

I see the muscles working in Lyre's
jaw, but she doesn't argue. Instead, she looks me in the eye."You.
They want
you
to lead, and yet
all we know about you is that you're a coward with a penchant for
causing disaster."

I don't blame Lyre for her ire. I actually
admire her for it. If I were in her shoes, I'd be just as reluctant
to follow a stranger who seems to attract trouble.

"She could have killed you once with your own
power," Deidra points out shyly.

Lyre's eyes hone in on the imp and Deidra
moves farther behind me, her fear almost palpable. It makes me
cringe, and I have to remember to release the emotion. Ace snuffles
at the cottage's door, and I know he's broken loose from the thick
chain Alessandro requires him to wear when I'm not near. I ignore
him.

"The imp's right," Hesther says. She is
sitting up, her knees to her chest, her toes flat so the fresh
polish covering them won't streak. "She is also the reason the
Reinhardts led us out of the Acropolis."

I shake my head. "No," I argue. "They did
that for all of the hybrids."

Gwenyth shrugs next to her sister."Maybe. But
it was your presence that started it all."

Gray tosses an arm across the back of the
sofa, his angular face peering hard at Lyre. "The girl calmed and
bound a freakin' drex. Dude, that's always been enough for me."

Lyre lets her gaze linger on me a moment,
considering, before turning to Bruno. If anyone should lead us to
the spear, it should be him. The group already trusts Bruno, and he
revels in the authority.

"And what do you think?" Lyre asks him.

Bruno stares down at her, his face calm.

"I say we help her learn to reign in her
power, and we go after the spear. I don't know about you, Lyre, but
I'm ready to have a place to call home."

Not a single one of us can argue with him
there. Lyre sighs.

"So be it."

***

"Do you have no control at all!" Lyre growls,
picking herself up off of the floor for the umpteenth time, a large
sweatshirt hanging over her lingerie. After she managed to flash
all of us three separate times, Bruno made her don the oversize
shirt, his eyes bright and his words brusque. None of the guys want
anything to do with Lyre sexually, mainly because a dalliance with
the raven-haired Demon is just plain dangerous to their sanity and
ego if she uses her powers, but it doesn't stop them from being
attracted to her.

Bruno sighs from behind me. "She's right, Em.
Your control seems off."

For the past few hours, the hybrids
have been projecting emotions at me until there were too many to
block. Bruno has helped me channel it, using it to attack Lyre
without actually harming her. Or at least not harming her
badly
. I have to admit, the way she
rubs her backside now is just a tiny bit satisfying, and I have to
fight not to grin.

"God, some days I really can't believe your
mother is Enepsigos!" Lyre grumbles.

I feel the sudden childish urge to stick my
tongue out at her but manage to refrain. My gaze moves to Bruno
instead.

"You can't control emotions," I say
stubbornly. I know how my power works because I'm the only one who
can
feel
it. "You can only
release them."

Bruno frowns. "Then you are a wildcard."

Fiona's bean bag crackles as she leans
forward, her legs together and her hands on her knees. "Wait, maybe
not. Does it necessarily have to be Emma who releases the
power?"

I'm confused, and I don't hide it.

Gray stands up, a small smile on his face. It
changes his features, and for the first time, I realize Gray isn't
a bad looking guy.

"You might have something there, Fi," he
says, his eyes meeting Bruno's. An unspoken conversation seems to
pass between them.

Bruno looks thoughtful, and Deidra moves next
to me, her expression sour.

"Am I the only one who thinks these people
speak in a different language about eighty percent of the time?"
Deidra complains.

I laugh and put an arm around her shoulder.
"I'm with you, Imp. Definitely foreign talk."

Gwenyth and Hesther are on their knees on the
couch, their arms on the back as they stare at us, their giggles
obvious.

"It's possible," Gwenyth says.

"Think about it, Bruno," Hesther adds.

Lyre is leaning against the living room wall
now, her expression cross, her hands still rubbing inconspicuously
at her derriere.

"It's a crazy idea," she says loudly.

No one is paying attention to her, and I can
feel the excitement as it moves through the room. I'm still
confused, and I arch a brow before looking down at Deidra.

"Pig Latin," I mutter.

She grins. "Hog wash."

I laugh. "Klingon."

Deidra gives me an odd, confused look, and I
throw my hands up.

"Seriously?" I ask. "You know, the Klingon
language? Star Trek?"

Deidra shakes her head. I sigh.

"Okay," I say. "Na'vi?"

Deidra nods and grins.

"Now that one I know," she says.
"Avatar."

Bruno shakes his head and actually rolls his
eyes. "It's not a foreign language, you two. Fiona is definitely
onto something. And it will take all of us."

"I'm in," Gray says immediately. Gwenyth and
Hesther nod their agreement and Fiona claps.

"This is ridiculous," Lyre says, but she
doesn't disagree.

Deidra and I shrug.

"Why not?" I say before bending to whisper in
Deidra's ear. "Atlantean."

She laughs as all of the hybrids gather in
the middle of the room. Bruno looks up at me.

"Ready?" he asks.

Whether or not I am, I nod, and the room
suddenly fills with power.

Chapter 10

Conor

It's too early to be doing anything other
than sleeping, and I hide a yawn as I sip carefully on the
Styrofoam cup of strong, black coffee I hold in my hand before
stepping over the stone fence surrounding the training field near
the hybrid's cottage. There is fog along the ground, the mist
weaving over the rocky terrain and sparse grass, leaving behind a
dampness that seems to seep into the bones.

"Nothing like Mississippi, is it?" Dayton
grumbles from behind me, and I grin impishly as she stumbles over
the stone wall. Next to Deidra, Dayton is the shortest person
present.

"I don't know. The humidity doesn't seem all
that different," I point out.

She shoves me from behind."You could
have helped me over the wall, you barbarian. This whole 'my mom
raised a Southern gentleman thing' girls have always fallen for is
such a
lie
."

I gesture at the training field, and Dayton
looks over at the group in the distance.

"And have Marcas see me touch you? I think
not."

Dayton snorts. "Such a fucking lame excuse,
Con!"

I shrug. "Maybe."

The two of us saunter groggily toward the
ensemble gathered. Marcas and Luther are facing all eight hybrids
while Will, Marion, and Grace stand behind the Demon brothers with
arms crossed.

"Took long enough," Will remarks wryly as
Dayton and I settle in next to him.

I yawn dramatically."No one has ever accused
me of being a morning person."

Will shakes his head before turning back to
the training in progress.

"And here you're supposed to be joining the
hybrids in the fray, traversing the world of darkness, slaying the
heebie jeebie bad guys. You know, being gung ho and all that
jazz."

I glance at him from the corner of my
eye.

"I've seen my birth certificate, Cuz. Nowhere
on there does it say Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee."

Luther throws us a look over his shoulder,
and I salute him with my cup before quieting.

"We know what each one of you are
capable of," Marcas says as he marches in front of the hybrids.
They don't look the least bit exhausted. I'm assuming I've missed
the whole "the spear is hidden within a deadly labyrinth spiel."
That would wake anyone up. Well,
almost
anyone.

"What we don't know is how well you can not
only control your powers but work as a group. Demons are not raised
to work as a unit. We fight together, yes, but in the end, it is
always about the Demon. You will need to rise above this. Unity is
the hybrid advantage."

"So we're hybrid musketeers now? All for one,
one for all crap?" Lyre asks.

A few of the hybrids snicker as Marcas
moves quietly in front of Lyre. The man is menacing enough to make
even Lyre uncomfortable. His expression is never anything but even,
his emotions hidden away in some black hole that only Dayton can
access. No one knows what kind of life Marcas has led as the first
born son of Cain and Lilith, and honestly, no one really
wants
to know.

"When you are about to die, and your killer
is standing over your weak, vulnerable body, are you really going
to care who saves your life? Or better yet, will you care if no one
rescues you out of some misguided need to save only
themselves."

Marcas taps Lyre on the forehead.

"Rise above this, Hybrids. In the end, this
kingdom will fall under the feet of the selfish, but it will rise
from the ashes of sacrifice."

Bruno moves so that his body stands partly
between Lyre and Marcas.

"And what if we've already chosen to
unite?"

Marcas eyes him. "Then I would know I was not
wrong in choosing you."

Bruno nods, his eyes moving down the line of
hybrids standing with him. I am suddenly awake, my coffee
forgotten, and I place it on the ground at my feet.

"They're working as one?" Grace asks.

It's a rare sight, Demons joining together,
and none of us know how to answer her. Bruno gestures at Emma, and
she moves toward him, her head held high, her hair brushed down the
back of a red v-neck short-sleeve top. Around her throat, she wears
a small heart-shaped ruby on a short silver chain. Her eyes are as
red as the ruby.

Bruno faces Marcas again, a hand grasping
Emma's shoulder firmly. "Yesterday, you chose Emma as our leader.
Her powers are strong, yes, but we think you're wrong."

"Oh . . .
oh
," Dayton says softly. "Well, this should be
interesting."

Marcas stares at the dark-haired hybrid.
Bruno's stance is defensive, his legs slightly apart. He is bracing
for something, and it makes the rest of us tense.

"Lyre," Bruno whispers, and the raven-haired
she-Demon rolls her eyes as she holds her hands out. A flame grows
within her palm, and she curls her fingers as the blaze grows. Her
eyes are bright, excited, but she does nothing. Fiona moves in
front of Emma, kneeling so that one palm is against the ground. A
line of blue electricity moves across the soil at Emma's feet.

Gwenyth and Hesther sidle up behind Emma,
each one of them placing a hand on her shoulder. Lyre's flame
flares, and Fiona's electric beam brightens. Deidra peers out from
behind Emma's jeans, her fingers pointed at Fiona's power.
Electricity crackles as it lifts from the ground before mingling
with a dark yellow energy, turning the entire thing green. Gray
steps in behind all of them, his eyes blank, his hands lifted, and
I realize my hearing is now muted, my eyes shaded.

"What the hell!" Will swears, but I reach out
and place a hand against his arm.

"Whoa there, Sir Galahad. I think he's
protecting us," I say carefully.

Bruno uses that moment to raise his hands
above his head, his eyes going black.

"Emma," he utters through clenched
teeth. "
Now
!"

Emma's eyes glow redder as she reaches toward
the power surrounding her, and the energy is suddenly fused. Lyre's
flame is extinguished, and the green energy is gone to be replaced
by a neon green ball of power with a red burning center and
electric blue lines moving like lightning around the orb. Emma is
tense now, her eyes void of any emotion, the power reflected in her
pupils.

In her hands, she holds the power of five
hybrids, and she lifts it confidently, focusing on Bruno as the air
around him begins to swirl wildly, soil and leaves twisting to meet
in the atmosphere.

And then Emma throws her arm back, and
Marion, Grace, and Will all call out, "No!"