Sin & Surrender (Demigod of San Francisco #6)(79)

It must have appeared in the same position for Damion, because he watched it fade away. His head swiveled as a roar shook my bones. He stared at me for another silent moment.

“You dare keep me from spirit?” he asked in a low voice.

I lifted my eyebrows in a silent question. I hadn’t known that was possible, and I certainly didn’t know how to do it. I was pretty sure the Line was acting of its own volition on this one.

Another roar, closer this time. Something large and heavy hit the wall outside the room, probably the other half of that statue.

The Chaos magic had called Thane to the room. Which made sense, since nothing was more unpredictable than a Berserker set loose, but I wouldn’t be able to fight him. Not tied up like I was.

Go with the flow, just like I taught you, and seize your opportunity to shine.

This wasn’t any different than any of the other times I’d given chaos magic the reins. If I hadn’t used it at the magical government building, I would’ve been exposed, pushed into training, and either taken or killed by Magnus. If I hadn’t gotten that steak, we would’ve gone hungry. If I didn’t flow with it now, this Spirit Walker on Demigod steroids would tether us together, rip me out of my body, and make my life hell for all of eternity.

Okay, so it was a little different, but we didn’t get to choose what we survived, just how we survived.

“Get ready,” I yelled out, staying loose with my hands at my sides.

I left his soul alone and just worked on his grip on my soul. All my energy, all my focus, went into detaching him. If Thane came in here and battered one or both of us, I didn’t want the act of flying across the room to rip my soul out.

“What’s the plan?” Bria yelled.

“React when the time comes, and don’t die!” My limbs shaking, my energy faltering, I worked as fast as I could—ripping at his grip, rebuilding my soul prong, and clipping off that violet cord.

“Great plan,” Bria said, and she wasn’t kidding. It was usually the one she used, after all.

Someone screamed and ran into the room a moment before Thane burst in, huge and muscular, his whips flying around him. He caught sight of Damion and me, paused for a moment, and then lifted his head and roared.

Damion flinched, his head jerking to the side. He might’ve been able to shrug off my attempts to mess with his soul, but he clearly hadn’t had practice with a Berserker of Thane’s magnitude. There was more than one form of death incarnate.

Havoc darted toward Damion, finally seeing an opportunity. She growled and latched on to one of his legs, tearing through it with her claws before clamping it with her teeth. Bone cracked. Damion couldn’t feel it to scream.

Mordecai jumped down off the stage.

“No!” I yelled at him, but he dodged in Thane’s direction and ran with the speed of a large wolf.

I pried most of Damion’s hold off my soul. He only had a toehold left, but he was now prodding my soul instead of stroking.

“What are you doing?” Damion howled, trying to kick the cat off with his other leg. The broken leg buckled at the thigh and the body fell. Havoc went after his good leg, trying to keep him immobile. “I am your only hope if you want to live free!” It occurred to me that he was talking to me and not the cat. “I’m your only hope. Without me, you will become their puppet. They will always be stronger than you. They will always rule you.”

“I’d rather trust Kieran than a guy who thinks my magic is only good for killing.” Sweating, hardly able to stand, I kept on, nearly there. His touch weakened further, but still he clung on.

Mordecai ran in our direction, silently urging me to come with him. He didn’t seem to realize Damion still had a grip on me.

“No, no, no,” I said, waving him away and shutting my eyes to focus.

His hold on me was an intricate mix of spirit and power, but I could feel the cracks. I forced my way into those cracks and injected my own magic. I felt it start to give. His energy sucker attached again, but I ignored it. I couldn’t waste time on that.

Thane’s heavy footsteps pounded the ground. Tables flew out of the way as he followed Mordecai. Jerry yelled for me to get out of the way. Rocks underneath shook and vibrated the earth.

A little bit more. I just had to push Damion a little more.

My head swam with dizziness, my energy almost depleted. A swoosh made me open my eyes right before Thane’s huge hand smacked into my upper body.

Pain lit up my world. My feet lifted off the ground. The connection on my soul was yanked taut, clattering my soul against its casing. I clutched at my chest as I popped off the last shred of Damion’s presence. My soul flopped back into my casing where it belonged as I flew through the air, ass over end.

Bright white lightning filled the room—Dylan! He’d returned! Kieran was running in, too!

I turned my head and squinted even as I crashed into a table and something hard and heavy fell on top of me. I shoved it to the side just as the lightning subsided. Thane stood over Damion and howled, a sound I recognized. Damion was going for his soul.

“No, please.” I struggled to my feet, fighting a wave of dizziness, utterly spent. I pushed on, staggering, trying to throw the exhaustion off magically and get to Thane. To help fight Damion, even if it killed me.

Something pure and vibrant pumped into my middle, and it took me a second to realize what it was.