Sin & Surrender (Demigod of San Francisco #6)(74)

Kieran leaned forward and bent his head over his suddenly flexed arms. He would kill for his phone.

Thane wasn’t a weak or inexperienced Berserker. It would take a Demigod or Lexi to back him down.

Lexi.

The dots connected, and some of his tension bled away.

That was probably it. Thane had unexpectedly changed, and the crew had called in Lexi to back him down. They’d clearly thought disrupting Lexi was better than breaking up a Demigod meeting.

He turned his attention back to Demigod Lily droning on about the strained communication between her territory and the neighboring non-magical government. He debated taking notes, but none of this concerned him. Her arrogance and unwillingness to compromise was clearly the problem. Her situation would get worse before it got better.

“Have you tried…” Aaron put his hand in the air, waiting to be noticed so he could continue with his interruption. Yet again. This was the third time he’d interjected. He’d interrupted the two presenters before her, too, for no real reason. Clearly he just wanted to hear his own voice.

Kieran checked his watch, and he noticed Dara, next to him, doing the same. She caught his notice and rolled her eyes. At least Kieran wasn’t the only one annoyed that Aaron was making them run late. They should be heading for a short break about now. Kieran could use his coffee and a phone call.

He hadn’t expected the Summit to feel like he’d been locked up.

“If this suggestion is similar to the last two, Demigod Aaron,” Lily said, amazingly calm, “I probably have. Now, if you will please let me finish…”

A blast of emotion rattled Kieran’s nerves, fear pulsing through his links with the crew. Demigod Helga, on his right, frowned and glanced at him before putting a hand to her chest. A couple of other Demigods looked around, shifting in their seats, distracted.

Whatever was happening wasn’t limited to his people.

A rumble shook his computer, perched on his desk. A muffled crash in Thane’s direction made his heart beat faster. Thane was still a ways off, but he would not be easily contained. He’d stepped up a level with his magic since practicing with Lexi. When he let loose, it was as though the heavens were letting loose with him.

“I think your problem is that you put too much stock in communication with the non-magical people in the first place.” Aaron glanced up at the clock. A smile spread across his face and he leaned back, half slouching. “But you probably see things differently. Go ahead and continue. We’ve wasted enough time today.”

Aaron looked across the large hall to Kieran, the first time he’d met his eyes since the promenade. It felt like he was speaking directly to him when he said, “All will be beyond our reach, soon.”

Prickles of uncertainty covered Kieran’s skin. That had sounded like a threat.

“Yes, fine,” Lily said dryly. “Very helpful, as always.”

Kieran lost her next words as his mind spun.

Events connected quickly—Aaron making meaningless interruptions and suddenly losing interest in them, Kieran’s team in turmoil, and now that not-so-subtle threat. Aaron had orchestrated something that affected Kieran, and it didn’t take a genius to know what. Bria had been worried about Aaron’s people summoning the last Spirit Walker. Lexi had been called away from the tea party.

Aaron was making his move.

Kieran let out his breath slowly and clasped his hands, trying to stay calm. Lexi had this covered. Summoning a spirit reduced its power level. Harding was more experienced, but Lexi would be more powerful. Harding also had a soft spot for Lexi. They’d become close over the past several months. If the experience of being summoned and controlled upset him, as Bria suspected it would, it would still only be a matter of time before Lexi talked him around. She had a gift for talking people down off ledges. Aaron was grasping at straws.

Except…why was Kieran’s team spinning in fear?

“Do you feel like something is going on?” Helga whispered, her head bent a little.

He nodded, his mind still racing.

If Harding was in a temper and on the loose, he’d kill more than a few people before Lexi could talk him down. The people in this room would be feeling the loss. They’d be feeling fear from their people as Thane ran through the halls. A big demonstration on technology was supposed to be going on, one Amber and Henry had planned to sit in on. If Harding or Thane got anywhere near that…

The door to the meeting hall burst open amid shouting. Lily paused in her talk as everyone in the room turned toward the door, some anxious, some annoyed.

Lightning flared and the staff standing in front of the newly opened door cowered, sinking in on themselves. The guards must’ve been using magic to keep Kieran’s people out. Dylan strode past them, Henry behind him, fear and anger curling within them. A manic roar followed the clap of thunder, Thane’s unmistakable sound of fury, some ways off but no less potent.

Kieran stood, as did many others.

“What is the meaning of—”

Dylan sent a peal of thunder rolling through the room, silencing Lily and the others. Zander and Flora both waved the sound away, and Zander stood, his power building, and pulled at the weather to bring a storm into the building.

Kieran shoved it away, helped by Demigod Daniela, he had no doubt. She was of Poseidon’s line, as old as the hills, and really crotchety about other people working the weather.