Sin & Surrender (Demigod of San Francisco #6)(80)

Energy! Kieran had somehow figured out how to feed me energy through the soul link.

I saw him at the door, his hand coming out to brace himself. He struggled up straight, ready to head in after me.

“No,” I yelled at him, flinging out a hand. “He’s got more power than me. If you are giving me your energy, you won’t have a solid defense against him. Stay back!”

Red ignored what I’d told Kieran and ran at the zombie, throwing knives. When she got closer, she pulled out a gun, stood over the body, and shot down into his chest, quick-fire. It wouldn’t kill him, given his body was already dead, but it would give him some serious motivation to find a new suit.

“Get out of there—”

I let out a strangled cry when her body fell to the ground and her soul popped out. A violet link latched on to her spirit immediately, sucking at her energy.

Gritting my teeth, I ripped away the siphon and shoved her spirit across the room. I’d put it back in her body after I got rid of Damion.

I didn’t waste the time her distraction had given me. As strength poured into me from Kieran, more than he should have given, I attacked Damion’s soul prongs with ferocity. I cracked one, crumbled another, and pried a third clean off. It was so much easier now, and it occurred to me that his attack had been so successful because he’d drained my strength in the beginning. I’d have to remember that.

Jack popped up beside me. His eyes widened as he noticed Thane howling. “Jesus, Lexi, what’s going on? What do you need? How can I help?”

“Try to help me wrestle this spirit out of its body.”

“On it!” He dove forward, his hands passing through the cadaver. I honestly didn’t know what he could actually do, but the distraction was what I was going for.

Damion’s magical touch clutched at me again, but I deflected and continued to attack those damn prongs, so much stronger than in any living body. He’d fortified them to withstand me.

Thane stomped on the Spirit Walker’s body, crushing his head and neck. Jerry ran forward to join the fray. They were all helping, my crew. The fear of death wasn’t stopping them.

Power swelled, filling the room, and Kieran pushed Jerry out of the way with air. He also shoved Bria, who’d dashed in, trying to grab Thane’s attention and get him out of the Spirit Walker’s reach.

Thane was resisting all on his own. I’d created a monster, and I was so thankful for it.

Thane whipped down at the half-flattened body, which still somehow housed the spirit. He pummeled the ruined cadaver, his howls agonized, his face screwed up in torture. I took one step closer, then another, dodging Thane’s fists. The decreased distance made my magic stronger. With a strong grip on Damion’s soul, I magically smacked the last prong like a hammer.

Thane kicked the body. It flew at Jerry, who was pushing himself to his feet.

The final prong snapped and the soul popped out, into my grasp. With his bald head, bushy eyebrows, and broad face, his expression held hatred and rage.

The body hit Jerry and knocked him back. He staggered in place and then flung the body away before retching.

“Take Thane down,” Kieran yelled, jogging into the room.

To my great surprise, Zander and the regal woman from my hearing ran into the room after him, magic ballooning with them, focused on poor Thane. Thane turned toward them and let out a great roar. Zander flinched, and the regal woman took the lead, her head turning down a little and her eyebrows lowering, a warrior entering the battlefield. I wondered if her magic came from Ares.

Thane cracked his whip at her. She didn’t alter her course. She stuck out an arm, and the whip slashed through her light sweater and opened a deep red gash. She didn’t even flinch, and I wondered if that arrow shooter who hadn’t balked from my magic was on her team. She kept running, but my attention shifted to someone else.

Magnus had just entered the room.

He saw Damion caught in my grip and quickly skirted the scuffle with Thane, heading toward me.

“No!” I jogged backward and threw out my hand to slow him. “This spirit is not going into another spirit cage—which I really wish someone would’ve told me about. This spirit—”

“Will be handled by me.” The words rang through the room. The pressure I’d grown accustomed to—the feeling of invisible eyes watching—lifted from my shoulders. The little black shadows that had been plaguing me, darting to the sides and out of my vision, now came toward me, enlarging as they did. They coalesced into one shadowy being who stepped out of the spirit realm…and into the world of the living.

The shadows slowly peeled away into the face of Harding—the spirit I’d known as Harding, anyway, with his bedroom eyes, tousled hair, and lazy smile. His level of power lit up my world, off the charts and nothing like I’d ever felt from him in the past.

Magnus lost his breath and staggered backward, against the wall, his eyes as big as saucers. Kieran froze solid, his eyes fixed on Harding. But we weren’t the only ones who saw him this time. Zander and the regal woman, who’d been focused on dodging Thane, jogged backward in obvious shock. Only Bria didn’t jolt in surprise.

Thane, still going, spun and roared. Harding flicked his hand, and Thane jerked back and reduced into his human form. He was left breathing heavily and staring at his hands in confusion.

“Hi, Alexis,” Harding said with his little smirk. Someone at the door gasped.