Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Aric takes off and I’m done asking questions, I am right behind him.
But there’s something right behind me.
Hooves. It sounds like hooves. Not some happy clip-cloppy sound of a horse on a hack being ridden by one of those English girls who wear all those sexy horse-riding outfits, either. More like the sound of hooves when a monster is at your back and any moment now, it’s gonna grab you with a clawed hand and rip you to pieces.
“What the fuck!” I yell. “What the fuck is happening?” This is when I overtake Aric. I mean, I am the son of Hermes. The whole ‘wings on his feet’ might just be a metaphor, but the speed is real, not to mention genetic, so I’m quick as fuck.
But he’s got the lighter, so I can’t see where I’m going until a wall is nearly in my face. I almost smash into it, barely turning in time, only to find myself presented with another wall!
“This place is like a maze!” I yell.
“No shit,” Aric yells. “That’s because it is a maze! It’s the fuckin’ Labyrinth! And that thing chasing us is the Minotaur!”
None of these words makes sense. There’s no Labyrinth. There’s no Minotaur. That shit was taken care of a decade back. But just as these words are forming in my head, Aric says, “Watch out!”
Which makes me stumble, allowing him to pass me, and then a burning across my back, the likes of which I’ve never felt before, makes me fall forward onto my knees.
I quickly scramble, turning my body around to face the oncoming threat and when I look up, I’m staring straight into the glowing red eyes of a monster that shouldn’t exist!
8 - QUAID
When I grab Star’s arm, three things happen at once.
First—the world blinks and everything—including Star and me—turns into nothing but a teal green outline.
Second—the lighter flicks off, so everything around Declan and Aric, goes dark.
And third—the space in front of Aric goes… blurry, or something. And he goes flying backwards, landing on his ass.
Then, Star screams.
Out of instinct, I clamp a hand over her mouth, because that blur disappears again, but not before I get a glimpse of horns.
I pull her to my chest and walk backwards, melding right into the wall and removing us both from the situation.
Then I whirl her around—everything about her outlined in teal green—and deactivate the tech inside my glasses. Her eyes are wide with surprise, looking at me like I’m a freak. Because the world is not supposed to be nothing but a glowing outline. But it only takes a moment for that to disappear and for us to become ‘real’ again.
She opens her mouth to scream, but I clamp my hand over it again and shake my head. Then I whisper, “Don’t make a sound. We’re out of immediate danger, but if we landed where I think we did, it won’t be safe for long. Do you understand me?”
She doesn’t move. Doesn’t even blink.
“Star!” I whisper yell, kind of shaking her at the same time. “Do you understand?”
I get a nod this time.
“Good. I’m gonna take my hand away from your mouth and you’re gonna remain silent and still.” Slowly, I remove my hand.
And immediately, she’s broken her word! “What the hell! What the fuck?”
“Shhhh,” I say. Very insistent now. “We’re in a lot of danger and—”
But my words are broken by a scream somewhere else in the maze.
Star whirls around, looking in all directions in the dark. “What the fuck was that?”
I sigh. “Declan, I think.”
“What?” Now she’s looking at me again.
“Don’t worry. He’s a demigod. He’ll pull through.”
Star grabs me by the collar and starts shaking me. “What the fuck is going on!”
I grab her wrists and hold them tight. “I get it, it’s confusing. You lost your memory. You have no idea who you are. And the three of us all showing up on the same night—well, it’s a lot. So I get it. But you need to calm the fuck down and listen to me. Because both of those men back there, they claimed you. I don’t know how Aric did it, but Declan did it with that trick of a kiss and—”
“Kiss?” She’s hysterical. “Who the hell cares about a stupid kiss! Three seconds ago, I was a glowing green outline! We… you… I went through a wall! A wall, Mr. Nobody! A fucking wall!”
I push her away from me, kinda hard, too. “Don’t call me that! I was the one who saved your ass! Twice!”
She stares at me, stunned by my angry outburst.
Which affords me the opportunity to take a breath and get myself under control. “I’m just gonna spell it out for you, OK? Because you’re clearly in a state.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “A state?”
“You’re not who you think you are. You’re not even mortal. This life you’re living? It’s all a lie. You were sent here to the mortal world because you’re a lynchpin in an ancient Titan prophecy.”