Magic Trials (Half-Blood Academy #1)(14)

I was heading to my death because of that asshole’s sick game.

I didn’t retort despite her derision. I needed more intel on the demigods, the Academy, and most importantly, the Ritual of the Blood Runes.

I arched an eyebrow at her, hoping to goad her into talking more. “Oh yeah, you think?”

“With her brazen spirit, she might just pass,” Cameron chimed in. “She’s the first creature I’ve ever seen who isn’t afraid of Demigod Axel. Did you see how she resisted his power, as no mortal could ever do?” He turned halfway to peek at me over his broad shoulder. “If you pass the trial, you can join my team. I can probably use someone like you, but you must drop that bad attitude of yours.”

This time I snorted. “I don’t have a bad attitude, and I’m not a follower. I take shit from no one.”

“Bah!” Marie said. “They’ll break you, and I’ll be there to watch instead of catch you.”

“Thank you,” I said in mocking gratitude. “You’re such a good friend.”

Suddenly, Cameron poked his head out the window, then flung his hand backward. Lightning shot out at a truck that had nearly rammed into the rear of the van.

The truck flapped up into the air and then plummeted to the ground. The entire highway shook like we were in an earthquake.

Our driver floored the gas pedal at the same time as Cameron’s attack, so our van was at the edge of the shockwave.

The next second, the van bumped an armored car in the right lane.

Marie moved to the left window, rolled it half down, and blasted bullets into three motorcycles approaching from behind us.

I had damn fast reflexes, yet I’d missed how a lightweight machine gun had appeared in her hands. The Dominions weren’t fools. While conversing with me, they’d stayed vigilant for any looming danger and reacted super fast.

The rest of the soldiers also moved into seamless action.

Bullets, lightning, spells, and fire exchanged between the Dominions and our attackers. Two of the motorcycles were tossed into the air by a soldier’s magic and Marie’s bullets, but more enemy forces were coming.

Cameron kept throwing lightning with a wicked grin on his face. He ducked back into the van every now and then to avoid the spell fires and the bullets that ricocheted off the armored body of the van.

The lieutenant was a descendant of Zeus, the God of Sky.

Luckily, he hadn’t thrown lightning at me when we’d fought.

I didn’t see the other van that held Circe and Jasper. They had less manpower, and my stomach twisted in worry for them.

The asshole demigod shouldn’t have separated my team from me.

“Give me a weapon,” I shouted. “I’m not going to be a sitting duck here.”

“Just sit tight and enjoy the show,” Cameron said while tossing another lightning bolt at a new car that chased us.

“You can’t just throw those fancy bolts of yours all day, can you?” I asked, planning to steal a firearm from either Marie or the soldier on my other side.

“Nope,” Cameron said, producing a shotgun and firing it with one hand. “You think I’m a god?”

“You’re obviously very far from a god,” I said.

Another enemy automobile slammed into a civilian vehicle after being hit by Cameron’s merciless bullets plus lightning bolts.

Our van sped onto a bridge made of steel, concrete, and cables. To my surprise, the attacks stopped abruptly.

“Why didn’t they follow?” I asked.

“We’ve reached our territory,” said the soldier on my other side. “This is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. In case you don’t know, Half-Blood Academy is on Staten Island.”

“Thank you,” I said. “That’s very informative.”

He chuckled. In addition to tattoos, he had a diamond stud in his left earlobe.

“Could you check my friends’ statuses in the other van, Cameron?” I asked.

“You think I take orders from you now?” Cameron snorted.

“Please,” I said. “I need to know that they’re safe.”

“The other van wasn’t attacked,” Cameron said. “It seems trouble follows only you. You know what? I changed my mind. Even if you survive the trial, I don’t want you on my team. You’re more trouble than you’re worth. Sticking around you for too long, you might get us all killed.”

“Thank you for the confidence,” I said.

Marie nodded in agreement. “We’ve never had an incident rounding up descendants until you. And none of the demigods ever supervised a recruit mission before.”

“I’m not bad luck,” I shouted. “I’m an asset. I took out several criminal lords and gangs in Crack when I was a few years younger.”

The soldiers traded an unconvinced look.

“You might not be the worst luck to yourself,” Marie concluded, “but you are to others, like the criminal lords.”

“I protect the innocent,” I protested. Like Jasper and Circe.

In no time, we crossed the bay and reached the other end of the bridge.

Soldiers wearing Dominion badges were posted at all the checkpoints. There were even air patrols above the lush, green island.

No one stopped us, and our driver no longer raced like a maniac.