The Dark Calling (The Arcana Chronicles #5)(87)

Jack flipped off his rifle’s safety and checked the chamber. “A suit of Minor Arcana wanted to kill her because of Tee.”

“Tee?”

Jack rolled down the window. “P’tee gar?on.”

Aric turned to me with his brows drawn. “Little boy?” His gauntlets tightened on the wheel. “Our . . . son.”

Guess Death is back to believing.

“Your son—biologically.” With that parting shot, Jack hung out of the window, taking aim with the rifle. I snagged his belt, clutching him as he blasted our pursuers.

After taking out a truck tire and a buggy’s driver, Jack popped back in to reload. “They planned on beheading Evie. She disagreed with the plan, so she took out the entire suit of ’em.”

More trucks and buggies dogged our tracks, trailing plumes of spray. “Can we talk about this later? They’re still behind us!”

Aric muttered, “It’s not the mortals I’m worried about.” Globs of wet sand splattered the windshield. The wipers couldn’t keep up.

We launched off a dune, suspended in midair for a long moment; again, two arms crossed over me just before the teeth-rattling landing sent us momentarily airborne a second time. A crack spread out along the windshield.

Aric said, “I didn’t think it was that high. Forgive me.”

“Forgive?” A hysterical laugh burst from my lips.

A buggy raced closer, the passenger firing on us. Back at the window, Jack took a bead, then squeezed the trigger once. Fire leapt from the vehicle’s front. An explosion shot it into the sky. The flames reflected over a sheet of water that seemed to be rising by the second.

“Well aimed,” Aric said, with another glance at the rearview mirror.

Jack scowled. “Do what I can.”

The remaining vehicles bottomed out, headlights receding behind us. I said, “They’re getting stuck!”

Jack twisted around to watch. “Uh, Reaper, you better drop the hammer. I mean, now.”

Aric leaned forward against the wheel, squinting at the coated windshield. “Can’t see a damned thing.” But he floored it, driving blindly. Soon we were hydroplaning across the surface.

“I ain’t kidding, Domīnija.” Jack holstered his rifle in the rack above us. “Head for that incline.” He turned the spotlight to mark a large dune ahead.

At the base of the rise, the wheels bogged down, the engine straining. Aric’s leg was straight, the pedal all the way down. “Come on, come on.”

The tires gripped at last, and we broke free; the Beast chugged up the dune. Once we reached a higher plateau, I glanced back.

The lights twinkling in Jubilee began to topple. The entire water-drenched shelf was giving way.

I watched all that ground get sucked into the trench like a hungry inhalation. As depicted in her temple, Circe had devoured another port.

Terror from the abyss.





42





Jack, Aric, and I rode in stunned silence until we’d reached even higher ground. At every mile, I’d expected that sinister seep to catch us.

“How do you . . . fare?” Aric finally asked me with a glance at my stomach. He would have no way of gauging my pregnancy through my coat.

How did I fare? Wow, he’d stumped me.

When I didn’t answer, Jack said, “She’s healthy, all things considered. Been eating good since the lion.”

Aric swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I am pleased to hear that.”

I still couldn’t believe I was sitting next to him. Couldn’t believe what had just happened to Jubilee. “Why did Circe do that?” I asked in a deadened voice.

“She never intended to hurt you—just the opposite. Unfortunately, she lost control of her powers. It’s happened in previous games.”

“And we can never forget what’s happened in the past.”

He parted his lips to say something, then must’ve thought better of it. Smart man.

But the quiet left me too much time to think. I’d taken down all of the Cups, mainly to save Aric. He’d already been on his way here.

Would a future Empress read about my gory attack with horror? I told myself that all the Cups would’ve died in Circe’s catastrophe anyway.

“Those Minors were clairvoyants,” Jack said. “Seems they should’ve foreseen the loss of their settlement—and their lives.”

Aric shook his head. “The future is fluid. Through their own decisions, they altered their fates. Provoking two Major Arcana was . . . ill-advised.”

Once we reached what remained of the old coastal road, Aric stopped the truck. “Which direction?”

Jack shrugged. “Doan know, me. Where you wanting us to drop you off?”

In a low tone, Aric said, “I know I have no right to . . . anything, but I will do whatever it takes to protect her.”

“Merci for the assist back there, but this isn’t your party anymore. Evie and me are heading out together.” After last night, Jack must’ve taken my advice; he was demanding my future. “We made it work for a time in Jubilee. We can again.”

“You call that making it work, mortal?”

“You’re one to talk, Reaper.”

Aric exhaled. “You’re right.” To me, he said, “If you bid me to leave you, I will only follow.”