Chosen (19 page)

Chapter Thirty

K
yana felt herself being lifted. Felt herself being carried from the room in a blur of speed. She was vaguely aware that it was Ryker holding her, vaguely conscious of Cronos's howl of laughter as he realized he'd managed to kill one of his true targets by mistake.

Geoffrey.

Gone.

Violent sobs racked through her until she couldn't see through the tears. He'd been as much her brother as Haven was her sister and he was gone! How was Kyana going to tell Haven? What was she supposed to say? How were any of them ever going to be okay again when there'd never be that annoying Irish accent to taunt and tease them?

How was she ever going to erase the horrible image of his lifeless face and soulless eyes?

She shoved at Ryker's shoulder. “We can't leave him in there with that monster! I won't leave him alone in there!”

“He's gone, Ky,” Ryker whispered. “He'd want you to be safe.”

She clawed at his face, not caring that she drew blood, only relieved that her actions forced him to let her go. She raced back to the stairs, half blind, near passing out. Silas barreled toward her, grabbed her by her arm, and dragged her back again, this time shoving her inside the throne room before she could register what had just happened.

“Leave him!” he hissed. “Cronos isn't done here, Kyana.” He turned away from her, waited till Ryker was inside with them, then yelled to the Witches. “Seal the door!”

They tried but something seemed to be wrong with their spell casting. Kyana shoved Silas away, charged for the door again only to be caught around the waist by Ryker and thrown to the floor. He straddled her, forcing her to stay still.

“Haven!” he bellowed “Seal the door!”

Kyana exhaled, a bit of her madness vanishing as she saw Haven limping toward them. She was alive. She wasn't dead like Geoffrey
.

Oh gods, she's going to find out that Geoffrey's dead and it's my fault!

“What about Geoff? We have to wait for him.”

“Seal the damned door!” Ryker and Silas ordered.

Cronos had stolen the dagger in an attempt to kill
her
. Geoffrey hadn't even seen it coming.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods. No no no no no!

When Haven finished her spell and the door was sealed, the final barrier between Kyana and Geoffrey's lifeless body, she looked at Kyana, a million questions filling Haven's eyes.

Instead of asking them, she looked at Kyana's hand, and as Ryker eased off Kyana and helped her to her feet, Haven narrowed her gaze.

“You got his ring?” Then her eyes opened wider. “Kyana! You have his ring!”

Kyana couldn't speak. She rolled her head so she could stare at the ring lying in her open palm. Somehow, she'd managed to hold on to it throughout her struggle with Cronos. She let it slide from her hand to the floor, watched it roll out of reach.

Who the fuck cared about the damned ring? Geoffrey was dead!

Ryker slid his arms around her shoulder, trying to pull her toward him in a comforting embrace, but she shoved him away, unwilling to be consoled.

Haven's mouth fell open and her gaze searched Ryker in question, but Kyana saw him give a slight shake of his head, effectively shutting her up.

“What about the ring?” he asked, bending to scoop it up.

“If he doesn't have it, it means he's weakened,” Haven said. “Since we do . . . it means we have a bit more power.”

Zeus appeared over Ryker's shoulder. “She's right. We used the conduits to bind him when we exiled him all those years ago. They're the key to bringing him down.”

“That ring is what kept his soul alive. It won't be easy, but with it we have the ability to kill him,” Hades added.

What the hell was wrong with all of them? Why weren't any of them falling apart over Geoffrey's death the way she was? She felt as though she were losing all of her limbs, one by one, and there were Ryker and Haven—

Haven didn't know. She still didn't know! How was Kyana supposed to tell her . . .

She gripped Ryker's hand, wishing he could read her mind and speak the words she suddenly couldn't lend voice to.

Cronos's ring lay pressed between their hands and she pulled free, clasping it, shoving it onto her finger. If it really was one of the keys to bringing Cronos down, she wasn't letting go of it. She was going to make him pay for what he'd taken from her today.

Silas and Ryker had Eyes of Power of their own. This one . . . this ring of dark magic . . . it was her Eye of Power now, and it was going to be what she used to send Cronos to his final grave.

Focus. She just had to focus.

“Kyana? Where's Geoffrey?” Haven asked again. “We need his conduit to complete the quartet.”

Kyana shook her head, unable to find the words to tell Haven about Geoff.

“I'll go,” Ryker whispered. “I'll bring it back.”

No way in hell. She couldn't lose him too.

“We both go. I have something Cronos wants. I can make sure you have time to grab the amulet.”

“Not if you're not completely in the game, Ky. If you lose it because you're blinded by hurt—”

“I've never been calmer in my life.” And to her surprise, it was the truth. The numbness, the pain . . . it all evaporated as she imagined herself killing Cronos. As she imagined them winning.

Geoffrey would be properly mourned. Would be missed more than he could ever have known.

But first, he would be avenged.

Geoffrey and Artemis. They were her primary motivation now.

That and keeping the other pieces of her family from harm.

“Let's go,” she said, pushing to her feet and taking Ryker's hand. “Someone unseal the door. It's time to finish this.”

Chapter Thirty-one

A
s she ran up the massive staircase leading to the turrets with Ryker beside her, the ring on her finger pulsed with heat the nearer they came to its master. She was counting on him wanting it back badly enough to focus on her and let Ryker get to the amulet. If he didn't, they could be in for a world of hurt.

Her fears were realized when they turned the final corner and came face to chest with Cronos, casually making his way down each step as though he had all the time in the world to finish off his prey and no worries that he'd fail.

Asshat.

Ryker pulled her back a step with him. She felt him tense as though tempted to run at Cronos, but she held on to him and slowly raised her hand so Cronos could see the glint of the bloodred sickle in the center of the onyx ring.

“You want it back, Cronos?” she sneered, easing Ryker toward the stone wall of the staircase. “You'll have to come and get it.”

She wiggled her fingers at him, praying he'd take the bait.

“What do you want more, Cronos?” Kyana taunted. “The ring or Ryker?”

Cronos tsked. “So very angry for such a beauty. Are you certain I can't persuade you to spread your legs and let me crawl inside you—show you what real power feels like? What a real
man
feels like? A splendid wife you'd make me, Kyana Aslan.”

She shuddered, her fist clenched so tightly, tiny pricks of blood trailed down her fingers as her nails pierced her palms.

“I
know
what a real man feels like, Cronos. And for the first time in my life, I can face dying with the knowledge that I have loved one. That makes me stronger than you. That makes me fearless. So come to me,
big boy
, and let me show you what a real
woman
can do to a puppy like you.”

Ryker tensed beside her and she knew he understood what her confession meant. She didn't have time for sweet nothings and whispered promises, but if she was going to die, she'd go knowing Ryker had heard her admit that she'd loved him. She wished he'd stop staring at her, though. She was trying to concentrate on not fainting.

She could feel him rethinking their plan. Not breaking eye contact with Cronos, she hissed, “Go!”

He hesitated, then bounded up the stairs, sweeping low beneath Cronos's arms, and barely missed being snatched by clawing fingers.

“I have what you want, not him,” she yelled, pulling his attention back to her and away from Ryker, giving him a chance to disappear up the remaining stairs.

Cronos lunged at her, the weight of his body sending her somersaulting down the steps, injuring the few remaining bits of her that weren't already bruised and battered. She held on tight, hoping she'd land on top of him. That he hadn't used magic gave her hope. It meant he was saving his juice and wouldn't toss it around willy-nilly.

She held on to that thought as the last stone step smashed into her spine and her head smacked marble. Stars burst behind her shut eyes. The seconds it took to clear her vision gave Cronos the advantage. He pinned her with one hand, reaching for his ring with the other. She tucked it beneath her body and bucked, nearly successful in throwing him off her.

He grabbed her by the throat and lifted them both to their feet. She hung in the air like a sock puppet, feet dangling and helpless. Then he smashed her against the wall and pinned her arm out, clutching her fist until she was sure every bone in her fingers would snap like twigs.

Then she was falling, once again colliding with the marble floor. Cronos's body flew over her head, followed by Ryker, who landed with a graceful roll back to his feet. He tossed something at her, and she was barely able to make her hands work to catch it.

It was Geoff's amulet.

She clutched it to her chest, stumbling to her feet.

“Get back to the others!” Ryker yelled, sliding his staff from his belt as he tried to pull her behind him.

“Your staff alone isn't powerful enough to kill him, Ryker!” He was like a damned cockroach. The two of them alone didn't stand a chance.

Cronos rose to his feet, his body humming with an energy that terrified her. He was about to release a burst of power that they might not survive.

As Cronos took a step toward her, she took a step back, forcing Ryker to do the same. If they could just lure him downstairs, there was an entire temple full of gods and goddesses who could help subdue him. One step, two steps.
Come on, bastard, follow me.

When he was nearly on top of them, she spun, grabbed Ryker's hand, and fled for the throne room, screaming for Haven to unseal the door for them. She could hear Cronos's steady footsteps behind her as she and Ryker skidded into the crowded room.

“Get your trident out!” she screamed, spotting Silas near the door. “We have the amulet—”

“Where's Geoffrey?” Haven demanded, looking truly worried.

Kyana had to look away.

“If all four of the Eyes of Power are discharged at once,” Haven continued, “it will destroy him.”

Behind them, the door was being locked once again. But it wouldn't keep Cronos out for long. He was definitely powerful enough to break whatever seal the Witches were casting.

“How will we keep him off us long enough to pull this off?” Silas asked, his face suddenly pale as he fumbled with the trident in his hands.

“A shield. It is all we can do.” Zeus stepped forward, looking decades older than he had days ago. “All of our powers stem from Cronos and will be virtually ineffective against him. All we can do is try to keep the Eyes contained and try to keep most of us alive in the process.”

“Geoffrey isn't here! Does no one realize that? We need him to wield that amulet!”

Kyana shook her head, terrified of the moment this battle was over and she'd be forced to tell Haven the truth. “I can do it. I used Ryker's staff once.”

“You'd just received Artemis's powers, Ky,” Ryker said. “Unique circumstance. The owner of the conduit is the only one who can bring out its full power.”

She felt a firm grip take hold of her biceps and turned to find Haven staring wide-eyed at her. “Find Geoffrey. Let him do it. He's the only one—”

“If we need Geoffrey,” Kyana said, her hands suddenly trembling, “then I'll
be
Geoffrey.” She spun on heel and pointed to the locked wall on the other side of the room. “Open the siphoning wall.”

No one said anything for a moment, then realization seemed to fill the room at once.

“No, Ky,” Ryker said, stepping in front of her. “It's not possible.”

Kyana turned her gaze to Zeus. “Is it?”

With a regretful look to Ryker, he nodded. “It is possible to wield the power for a short time. But Kyana, it
will
kill you.”

Since meeting Geoffrey more than a century ago and Haven and Ryker a decade ago, she'd known in her heart she would have died for any of them. Now it was time to prove it.

“Open the damned wall.”

Chapter Thirty-two

E
very deity in the room seemed to understand that Kyana's idea was the only one on hand and that, despite the outcome, it needed to be done. Every deity, that was, except Ryker. It took Zeus and Ares taking Ryker's staff and physically restraining him to keep him from stopping Kyana as the sentinels disobeyed their god and opened the wall.

She gave him a look that she prayed conveyed her feelings, but she wouldn't apologize for doing what needed to be done.

“The powers of the Goddess of the Hunt are already fully siphoned,” she reasoned aloud. “Another Chosen can take my place if this goes badly.”

And judging by the pitying looks everyone was giving her now as she walked toward the wall, it probably would.

A sentinel handed her a rounded bottle that glowed with light blue liquid. “That his?”

He nodded.

“Kyana . . . you can't do this!” Ryker roared from behind her. “I will!”

“You have a power in you already that is far stronger than that of Artemis,” Zeus said. “Kyana has a better chance of surviving than you.”

“Then let me.” Haven lightly touched Kyana's arm, turning her as she opened the bottle and smelled the contents. “I don't have a power in me. I can be a temporary Vessel for Geoffrey like Silas is for Poseidon.”

She leaned in closely, her eyes damp and her cheeks ruddy. Kyana could tell she was trying not to break down and was thankful for it. Already, the pain in Ryker's cries of outrage was killing her.

“He's dead, isn't he?” Haven whispered. “That's why you won't answer me. Why you won't look at me. Geoffrey's gone.”

Kyana began to shake her head, then gave one soft nod instead. “I'm so sorry, Haven.”

Haven lifted her chin, and though her voice was steady, her tears fell freely now. “Then let me do this for him. Please.”

Haven needed to avenge Geoffrey as much as Kyana. To have a part of him forever with her. Who was she to deny her friend this? With a nod, she held out the vial.

“It would take more time than we have for someone without any godly blood to adjust to having the powers of a god in you,” Zeus cut in, placing his hand around Kyana's, preventing Haven from taking the bottle. “Consuming all of a god's powers at once instead of letting them gradually infiltrate your system will make you useless.”

But Kyana
had
a god's blood within her already. She could do this.

Before anyone else could prevent it, Kyana lifted the bottle and drank. Haven and Ryker begged for her stop, but it was too late. The liquid seared its way through her blood, sending her to her knees. She retched, heaved, nearly fainted as each and every vein in her body expanded to welcome the new cells.

“Open . . . the . . . door!” she roared, terrified that this change would kill her before she could take Cronos with her. “Now!”

She looked up to find Ryker staring down at her in horror. Then he leaped into action, obviously coming to the same fear-based conclusion she had—they had only a couple of minutes to do this right. They'd have to deal with the consequences later.

He and Silas lifted their conduits, aiming them at the door. Kyana slipped the amulet around one wrist and raised her ringed finger, positioning both conduits in front of her face. The ring might not be at full strength without its owner, but with the other three at full capacity, hopefully it would be enough.

The door burst open and Cronos flew through, hovering above them all as flashes of red lights seeped from his body, striking those around them.

Bodies fell beneath tables for protection as Silas was thrown through the entrance, his body colliding with Haven's as they crashed atop the long council table and slid to the other side. A moment later, Ryker backed toward Kyana, his staff raised in his fists.

“
Evacuo
,” Zeus said. “Say it!”

Kyana craned her neck upward to see Cronos hanging from the ceiling by his feet, his arms stretched toward her as he soared downward, his hands groping for hers in his attempt to steal his ring back. She clutched her hands to her stomach and bent over her knees.

“
Evacuo!
” she shouted, though she knew it would do no good unless she could aim the damned conduits back at him.

But it was hard to concentrate when it felt as though her body was being ripped apart from the inside out. Like her organs were on fire and her skin was busting open.

Pandemonium exploded all around her as she fought to keep the ring from him.

Hands ripped at her hair but Kyana didn't dare move, didn't dare look up. The shouted orders, the cries of pain, the bodies falling as the deadly red lights bounced around the room.

The weight on top of her doubled and she felt a struggle of bodies on top of her spine. She hunched deeper, pressing her forehead to the cold marble, the ring clenched so tightly, her fingers grew numb.

Something hot seared her cheek, making her eyes burn, but still, she couldn't bring herself to open them.

Then the weight was gone.

“Kyana! Move!”

Kyana didn't hesitate to obey Ryker's command. She fumbled to her feet and made a beeline to the other side of the room, leaping over bodies, too afraid to look down and see who they belonged to. Haven grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the table.

Kyana followed her gaze to the center of the room where Ryker and Cronos were going toe to toe. Ryker's staff burst with light, tossing Cronos off his feet. But Cronos didn't need a conduit to be deadly. He simply raised his arms and spread the bodies around him to give himself moving room as he confronted Ryker again.

“Silas! Ryker! The Eyes! Now!” Kyana shouted, desperate to get help for Ryker before Cronos could unleash the deadly intent that was flickering in his dark eyes. “
Evacuo!
”

Silas spoke the word as well, joined in by Ryker as Zeus maneuvered himself between their fight and took a blow to his gut that granted Ryker enough time to raise his staff and aim again. Kyana cupped the ring and amulet together and aimed as well, the word
evacuo
spilling from her lips over and over in high-pitched desperation.

As Cronos lunged for Ryker, a group of gods around him lifted their arms and a sphere of white light enveloped Ryker. Cronos stumbled, reaching for Ryker and hissing as his hand breached the shield and began to smoke.

Kyana found herself surrounded as well, and watched as Silas was adopted by his own protectors, their spheres coating them all in an aura of defense that angered Cronos as much as it seemed to burn him.

“
Evacuo!
Say it!” Zeus demanded again, his own arms lifted as the leader of Ryker's group. “Do not break your focus until it works!”

In her haste to once again aim conduits in Cronos's direction, Kyana fumbled with the ring, catching it before it hit the ground. “
Evacuo!
”

“
Evacuo!
”

“
Evacuo!
”

Enraged, Cronos struck out, a blaze of yellow light catching Ares in the stomach and causing him to break his hold on Ryker's shield. If Cronos managed to take down everyone holding Ryker safe, Ryker would be left exposed before the Eyes could do their job.

The blazing red lights were beginning to fade. Cronos was weakening. And as soon as his powers were stripped, they could kill him.

Please, please, please
.

Kyana didn't know how much longer she could hang on. She coughed, blood spewing from her mouth as she fought not to double over. Inside, her body was melting with the flames of Geoffrey's powers struggling with Artemis's. One of them was about to win, and in doing so, was going to kill her.

Her chest painfully tight, she held her arm steady, waiting for the power to stream from Cronos. Little slivers of black popped out from his cloak like slugs, slithering toward the staff, the ring, the amulet, and the trident. But not many. Cronos was too strong for that to be all there was to his power. And so she waited, watching as, one by one, gods were taken from the fight.

Silas's shield flickered as his protectors went down, one after another. Helios, Hera's Chosen, and another Chosen Kyana didn't recognize were sent to their knees. Athena, thrown through the massive window behind her, glass shattering as her body was tossed to the Dark Breeds battling outside. Her distraught Chosen dropped her guard and was immediately punished for it. A green light shot from Cronos's hand to pin her above the fireplace, where she struggled fruitlessly to free herself.

“Coward!” Kyana clenched her fist, shoving it upward so the ring was clearly visible. “I'm the one with your ring! Too afraid to come and get it?”

As he spun to face her, another dozen sluggish black oozes crept down his face. He winced, stumbled again.

“Whore!” His bellow filled the throne room, causing Kyana's head to pound, but she kept her hand steady and her gaze taunting him.

Evacuo already!

The process was torturously slow, and as the weight of more black ooze seeped into Cronos's ring, it became almost too heavy to continue clutching with one hand. Her gaze swept to Ryker. He was covered in sweat, his face pale. He looked so mortal at that moment, she wanted to cry.

She coughed again, this time spilling blood from both her mouth and her nose. The world around her was beginning to dim. She had to hold on.

Just a few more minutes . . .

Something struck her hard but the shield kept her on her feet. She craned her neck to find Cronos hovering above her, his hand outstretched toward the old Hades as he ripped his son off his feet. He gave Hades a wicked grin before throwing him outside to join Athena in her fate with the Dark Breeds.

“Who wishes to join him? Zeus? My brave, traitorous firstborn? Or perhaps you, Poseidon? I should have killed you before you took your first breath. A weaker babe I'd never seen. What sort of god have you turned into? Still whiny? Still unworthy? Let's find out.”

Cronos's long black hair framed his face like a shroud, leaving Kyana with only the smallest glimpse of his piercing black eyes. But as he moved to glide toward his youngest son, he dropped from the air in the center of the room.

Huddled on his side, he let out a gurgle and pushed himself back to his feet. As he did so, Kyana caught the slightest glimpse of a tremor, and hope lit her on fire as she wobbled on her feet.

It was working. With each step toward Poseidon that Cronos attempted, a hundred black oozes fell from beneath his cloak and slithered across the floor toward the Eyes of Power. His anger renewed, he spit out a string of Latin words that sent the last of Silas and Ryker's protectors flying. Their auras shattered, and panic nearly caused Kyana to lose her focus.

From somewhere deep inside her, beginning with a strange tingling from the amulet perched on her wrist, foreign words tripped through her mind and flitted off her tongue. It was as though Geoffrey was speaking through her, helping her.

By the power within me, I send you to hell
.

“
Ab intra me, et ego mitto vos as infernum!
” She felt the power of those words deep within her soul, giving her the strength and the will to take a step closer, to die on her own two feet rather than on her knees before pure evil.

“No,” he hissed. “No!” The hem of Cronos's robe began to smoke and Cronos faltered.

Inch by inch, flames ate up the side of the material and Cronos began to breathe quickly, his fear evident as he struggled to pull the garment from his body.

“
Ab intra me, et ego mitto vos as infernum!
” she repeated, taking a step toward Cronos. Blood seeped from her mouth and nose, her eyes and ears. Her body was losing the war waging within it. They had to finish this now. Cronos could not win.

She looked at Ryker and Silas. “Say it!”

Ryker stepped forward, placed the tip of his staff in the center of Cronos's chest. “
Ab intra me, et ego mitto vos as infernum!
”

Cronos's chest began to smolder. Pulling himself to his feet, he knocked the staff from Ryker's hand, his eyes so red they looked as though he was being eaten alive by fire.

And the last thing she saw before blackness claimed her was Cronos's face, twisted in pain, as the flames devoured him.