Page 39 of Deadly Games
Loki just nodded and started walking toward the city gates, Dionysus following reluctantly behind him. Fenrir gave me a look before he set off on his own, but there was no diplomatic way to say you were going to get rid of the body of your best friend’s family member.
Of all the shit I’d thought I would end up doing over break, it sure as hell wasn’t this.
Chapter 19
Kore
I’d been hiding in Atlantis for the better part of two days, holed up in a small room in the furthest reaches of the city. The glamour attached to the pendant around my neck had cost pretty much all I had on me, but it hid my more distinguishing features. I’d traded my lavender locks for black, and my eyes were now a pale but unremarkable blue. The plain clothing and smattering of freckles across the bridge of my nose would hopefully suffice to hide my true identity.
It wasn’t a plan, exactly, and I didn’t feel any better for having had the last two days to think. If anything, I was even more overcome by guilt than I’d been before, and every minute that passed, the burden seemed to grow a little heavier.
All I could think about was Loki. About how he’d found out and how much I wished I could be there to comfort him, even though I was the one who’d caused his pain.
How he must hate me.
I went back and forth on whether I should go back and turn myself in, but every time the guilt was close to winning out, I reminded myself that the prison hadn’t been enough to stop Eris--to stop me--from killing anyone. If I went back, I’d only be endangering the mission. Not that hiding out in a city was much better, but Atlantis had safeguards and I was in a sparsely populated area. The building I’d chosen had only a few units, and mine was the only one that was occupied. It was the safest place I could be for everyone else, for now.
Tomorrow was a luxury I didn’t have to dream about.
Part of me wished I knew how to get back to the Ether, but the pendant Ares had given me didn’t come with an instruction manual. It felt like the coward’s way out, but I deserved to be banished there, and I would be safely out of the way. I still had Hermes’ card, and the symbol was starting to get worn down from how many times I’d rubbed my thumb over it.
Maybe he could get me there. The idea of never seeing the others again was almost too painful to bear, but even worse was the idea of facing them again.
That night, I finally ventured out when hunger became too much of a nuisance to ignore. I bought some cheap fare at a stall in the market, where contraband potions were sold and smuggled into the human world. If I stayed, at least I knew I’d be able to find easy work, but living more than one day at a time wasn’t on my radar.
I kept my hoodie pulled up over my head as I ventured through the back alley, feeling paranoid but unwilling to take the risk of letting my guard down. They were certainly looking for me by now. It would be obvious that my body wasn’t buried in the rubble, and they would come to the natural conclusions. The OSTF was probably combing Atlantis, and all my old haunts back home.
All I could do was hope they weren’t harassing my friends. Knowing Mom, she’d probably publicly denounced me already. I wished I could reach out to Jazzy and Baylor to warn them, but I knew making contact would only put them in more danger. They were ride or die to the end, and ditching class was one thing, but I didn’t want them getting caught up in this mess.
Halfway home, I became aware that I was being watched. A glance over my shoulder offered no suspects in a crowded street of hustling gods and goddesses, but my pounding heart told me it was more than just paranoia.
I still wasn’t sure if Eris had left, or simply integrated herself into my personality, but either way, my intuition had been sharpened ever since her last appearance. I’d always been able to feel the earth like an extension of my own body--or maybe my spirit--but the range had grown exponentially. I could separate the vibrations of footsteps when I focused, and I could tell there were two people moving against the flow of the crowd.
I rounded a corner and quickened my pace, deciding to see if they were really following me or not. There was no reason to come back this way, where there was nothing but a few back alley doors and trash cans. I felt my pursuers draw close nonetheless, and now I knew for sure they were following me.
Breaking into a run, I headed in the opposite direction of my crash pad. I made as many turns and course reversions as I could to throw them off, but they remained steadfast and were gaining ground.
When I felt their paths diverge, I realized what was happening. They were trying to close in on me, and I had only a couple of paths to choose from up ahead. Whoever this was knew the city’s layout well.
Just as I was about to choose the path to the right, which led back to the market, where I could hopefully lose them in the crowd, one of the footsteps disappeared entirely. I didn’t have time to stop, so I kept running until I heard the familiar trill of a raven’s caw.
I froze in my tracks and stared up at the jet black bird perched on the ledge of the building above me at the dead end of the alley, his blue eyes piercing with familiarity.
My heart stopped and turned to lead in my chest, and my feet rooted themselves in the pavement. Time seemed to slow down, until I heard the footsteps behind me, closing me in.
“Kore!” Dionysus’ voice was sharp with worry, and I was almost as shocked by that as I was by the sight of him. For a moment, I was convinced I was dreaming, and it wouldn’t be the first time. Loki always visited my nightmares in his spectral form, but it looked like it was finally time to face him for real.
Part of me was relieved. You could only hide from a part of yourself for so long before you ran out of strength.
“What are you doing?” Dionysus demanded, taking my arm as if I was going to run again. “Why did you run?”
“I didn’t know it was you,” I said hoarsely, even though I knew that was only half the reason. I would’ve wanted to run all the more if I had known it was them, but I was too ashamed to admit to being that much of a coward.
The sound of scuffling behind me suggested Loki had shifted back, and he must have come from wherever he’d first shifted, because he was almost fully clothed, save for his button-down shirt hanging open. I didn’t have the guts to meet his eyes, but the stern set of his jaw was enough of an indication of why he’d come.
Dionysus released my arm as Loki came to a stop in front of me. I was trapped and we all knew it. Now that I knew who was following me, it was no surprise that I hadn’t been able to give them the slip.
There were no words. I just stood there, staring at him like a deer in headlights, even though I was the oncoming semi-truck. My heart was pounding in my ears, making it impossible to hear anything else.
