Page 12 of Scion of Chaos

“Where’s a fucking blacklight when you need one,” I mutter, and then a thought occurs to me. I reach into the bag and pull out one of the shards. It glows purple when I stroke it, and I hold it over the sheet, pushing some of my newfound power into it until the glow brightens considerably.

“Hell yes! It’s working.” I sweep the light over the sheet until the dull glow of plain fabric brightens to a more vibrant ultraviolet. The spot is right in the center, and when I drop a hand to brush my fingertips over it, it’s definitely stiffer than the fabric around it.

I pull out my multitool and cut the section out, stick it in a baggie like I just collected evidence from a crime scene, then head back to campus.

7

Vesh

Only a few shards remain when the flap of wings fills the air again, along with the rhythmic clatter of Cerberus’ claws running across the bridge toward me.

“Report,” I say when Campe shifts while still airborne and drops to land on her feet at my side. Cerberus settles on my other side sending a trio of low, accusatory “woofs” in Pan’s direction.

“I don’t think you’ll like what we found,” Campe says.

“I don’t fuckinglikeany of this. Time is wasting, and I still have to go give Chaos the bad news.”

Erebus’ shadow still spans the gap left in the gates, extending dark tendrils that begin levitating the remaining shards. It takes some of the burden off, and I smile grimly in appreciation.

Campe’s attention shifts to the box holding the opportunistic ass I had to go drag home. Of course he had something to do with it.

“We found satyr semen at the bottom, Vesh,” she says. “It was mixed up in the roots of the vine that grew out of their waste.”

I growl at the news. Impatient with the pace of the repairs, I summon all my power and stretch my hands out at my sides, palms facing forward with chaos magic surging through my fingertips. Erebus wisely evacuates the doorway, materializing beside me as I let out a roar. The broken pieces of the doors rise into the air and snap back into the opening. Then with a loud groan, arms shaking from the effort, I fling all my power at the doors. The fissures between the shards glow with ultraviolet light as they fuse. When the light fades it’s as if the escape never happened, the doors once more a solid barrier of dark glass.

The entire prison shudders from the force, but the doors hold, the echoing howl of the void on the other side falling silent. As an afterthought, I push an extra layer of power at them. This is the first escape attempt that’s ever succeeded, and it’ll damn sure be the last.

With the last ounce of energy I have, I haul the box over and the sides drop open with a reverberating clang. Pan huddles in the center, arms wrapped around his knees, and peers up at me.

I frown, registering for the first time that something is off about his appearance.

“Where the fuck are your horns?”

He lifts his hands and drifts his fingers over the nubs growing from his skull. They used to be enormous, majestic coils, but now are now no bigger than his thumbs. I’m surprised I didn’t notice their absence earlier, but I was too distracted by the lure of Nemea’s lush bottom and the scent of her arousal to care much about Pan’s appearance.

“Hopefully still buried in Hyperion’s stomach. I suppose it’s too much to hope the bastard dies of sepsis.”

“Are you sure you didn’t negotiate a ride out with them and just use your horns as payment?”

His eyes widen and he shoots to his feet. “Fuck no! I tried to hold them back, but I’m no match for all four Titans. Where were the rest of you when I called?” He shoots an accusatory glare at the others.

“We’re still short-handed while Typhon heals,” Asterius says. “We were all patrolling our sectors.”

“Cerberus got here a split-second too late,” Alcides says. “You were already gone. Wheredidyou wind up, anyway? Did you see where Hyperion and his brothers went?”

“I didn’t go to the same place as them. The second I went through those gates, I got pulled elsewhere.Youknow exactly where I landed, Vesh.”

Cerberus pads over, all three noses lifted and alert. One head sniffs in Pan’s general direction while another aims at me. The third lets out a gruff, inquisitive bark.

Campe chuckles. “You wanna tell us whereyouwere, boss? Because Cerby seems to think you were both in the same place.”

“Retrieving his lecherous ass.” I cross my arms. “Explain to me how your semen wound up at the bottom of the Titans’ pit.”

He glances at the others, jaw clenched. His gaze shifts to the floor after a second, his cheeks reddening with shame. He spreads his hands in supplication. “I know this is going to sound like I’m passing blame. I’m not; it was all my stupid fault for getting distracted and stopping where I did to jerk off. There aren’t exactly an abundance of options for sexual release here, you know. No offense, Campe.”

“Sweetie, if I wanted your dick, you know I’d have had it many times over by now. But I also know you aren’t that particular about who or what you stick yours into.” She eyes three of the other guards. Cerberus is studiously ignoring her, one head licking some nonexistent wound on his front paw, while Asterius and Chrysaor are both more interested in their fingernails. I don’t police my guards in their free time, but it isn’t lost on me that the more randy of them wind up in one another’s beds on occasion, out of necessity more than any particular affection.

Pan looks indignant. “I don’t fuck the prisoners.”

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