Sin & Surrender (Demigod of San Francisco #6)(36)

Mordecai rolled off, shook his head to clear it, and, before the woman could get her hands back up, attacked her throat and chest. I hoped to hell she had blood magic.

Zorn, freed from the woman’s magic, pivoted and pushed forward, aiming for a guy in the middle of the group. I didn’t see where his machete went in, but I saw the tip come out, through the other end of the guy’s shoulder. I grimaced as Zorn pulled the weapon free and the man jerked, his mouth rounding and his face turning pale. His eyes swung around wildly, looking for the source of the attack.

Trying to add the flourish Daisy had suggested, I waved at him and gave his soul box a little squeeze.

His eyes widened and he froze. Zorn stabbed him again, in the other shoulder. I slashed his soul box and broke one of the prongs keeping his soul in place, trying to scare the bastard and give him a story to tell his friends.

Instead, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he dropped to the ground.

“Oh shit,” I breathed, spirit rolling around me like a tornado.

“What happened?” Henry stepped forward. “What went wrong?”

I checked the guy’s soul to make sure it was still in its casing. Strangely, his spirit felt kinda…watery. Like it was going to slip right out of its confinement. It was like I’d pushed him past his point of no return, and he was easing himself out of the world of the living.

“Stop!” I yelled, ignoring Henry and stepping into the room. I pushed Jerry, trying to get some space. When he didn’t budge, I went around and put out my hands. “Stop. Everyone stop! I might’ve accidentally killed someone. Hold on so I can see if I can fix it!”

“That’s not how it works, Lexi,” Dylan said, slamming those still standing with thin bands of lightning from his fingers.

“What do you mean that’s not how it works?” I gripped the man’s soul, not letting it slip out of the casing. At the same time, I mended the prong I’d broken. “Dang it, why are Zeus people so easy to scare with my magic?” I ducked under Jerry’s arm, which had come out to try to push me behind him. “All I did was rattle him a bit. He wasn’t anywhere near death, but now it feels like he’s trying to abandon ship.” I crouched by his head and put my hands on his temples.

“Red,” Henry called.

“Got it.” Red leapt over me and grabbed a guy scrambling up off the ground, his clothes smoking from where Dylan had gotten him. She flung him across the room.

“Shh, it’s okay. Everything is okay.” I rubbed a thumb across the hurt guy’s forehead. His soul was still trying to escape. It was the craziest thing—I’d never felt it before.

“You don’t just stop a battle because someone went down,” Dylan yelled, and lightning jumped from his hands again.

“This isn’t a real battle,” I yelled, “and he didn’t just go down—he is dying.”

“Lexi, accidents happen.” Donovan batted the air with his hands. Red spun, and something just missed her and slammed into the wall.

A rock flew up from outside, crashing through the window and slamming into one of the two enemies still standing. Glass rained down, and I ducked my head. The woman had fallen to the floor, and Bria descended on her, stopping her from getting back up.

Dylan redirected a buzzing ball of light, and Daisy jumped onto the back of the last man, wrapping her legs around his upper body, trapping his arms to his sides. She reached around and raked her dagger across his jugular. When he tried to jerk away, she unwrapped her legs, pushed off with her hands, and kicked her feet against his back, helping him fall forward. She hit the desk and rolled off, landing on her feet while he crashed down through two chairs, grasping at his throat. It was as incredible as it was gross. Also highly distracting.

“Get Daisy out of there. I don’t want to use my magic on that guy; these people are very fragile,” I hollered.

“I sure do hope this room is being monitored,” Donovan said with a grin as he magically lifted the last man, whose hands were glued to his profusely bleeding neck, and tossed him out of the window.

“Well, that’s…” I huffed and turned my attention back to the man on the ground. Everyone else would heal (I hoped), but this guy just didn’t want to. His soul was trying to escape fast. “Hang in there, buddy. You’re okay. Everything is okay.”

“What’d you do?” Boman looked down at me, and I realized he hadn’t gotten much of a chance to fight.

Thane stepped into the room. “We got five coming down the hall, all dressed in black. Probably Hades.”

Boman’s eyes lit up. “Lexi, we’ll call you if we need you,” he said, and jogged out.

“We won’t need you.” Dylan winked at me, following him.

Bria dropped down on a knee next to me. “Lexi, they won’t penalize you for an accident if we get lost. Let’s go.”

“I have a feeling that one guy in the last fight isn’t going to find his way back to rational thought, which means this would be my second ‘accident,’ Bria. What if they keep happening? I’ll be called in, you know I will. This guy isn’t that hurt—there’s a chance he’ll be fine if I can get him to hang on.”

She sighed. “Fine, okay. If he isn’t hurt, then what’d you do?”

“Nothing I haven’t done to all of you. Just rattled his soul cage a little, no biggie. But now he’s trying to die on me. It’s really weird. I don’t know what to do.”