Page 115 of Dead End

“Youwereworshipped. Times change.”

“I think my compatriots might have a differing opinion.”

More deities strengthened the wall between us.

“Coward!” I yelled. Of course he was. For ages, he’d hidden behind a faceless company as the leader of a secret board, forcing others to do his dirty work while he kept his hands clean. Those weren’t the actions of a brave and honorable god. Bossu wasn’t revered by those he deemed beneath him. He was feared.

“Why don’t you come closer and say that again?” Bossu taunted from behind the wall of perceived safety.

I withdrew a throwing knife and flicked it with the expert precision of years and years of practice in the woods withPops. The knife skimmed multiple heads before hitting Bossu right between the eyes. The god wrenched the blade from his forehead and wiped away the blood with the back of his hand.

Thick-headed. I should’ve guessed.

Even Bossu’s chuckle was condescending. “You’ll have to do better than that, I’m afraid,” he said.

The gods charged. The earth quivered in response, or at least I thought as much until I spotted a jötunn headbutt one of the gods. Suddenly trolls were everywhere. They gushed from the ground like fountains of water. Large and small, they converged on the battlefield. I said a silent thank you to Madame Thea that our interests had finally aligned.

The smaller trolls scrambled into the trees and dropped onto our enemies from above with axes clutched in their clawed hands. The large ones wielded their blunt instruments, charging through the crowd with anger in their eyes. They were right to join. The fact that they lived underground wouldn’t save them from long arm of The Corporation.

Amidst the chaos, I managed to recover my sword. I’d been wrong to ever think this fight was mine. This was everyone’s fight. The trolls were as desperate and determined to protect who and what they loved as I was. They fought side by side with wolves and mages. Gun flicked his cards like he was dealing a game of poker. When he flung his last card across the clearing, I saw the moment that fear took hold.

In his dragon form, Fafnir’s tail smacked into him; the mage flew, as light and aimless as one of his cards.

“Gun!” I couldn’t reach him. There were too many gods between us.

Feng Po summoned winds so strong they uprooted trees, sending the oaks screaming through the air like missiles. The branches of one tree snagged on Brody’s shirt as it sailed pastand dragged the nature mage along with it. A scream built in my throat but died a quick death when I saw Josie rush to his aid. She freed Brody from the wreckage and jumped right back into the ruckus. I had nothing but admiration for the vampire.

A hard object pelted the side of my head. Shadows crowded my vision. Proprioception and equilibrium were important in a fight, and right now I had neither.

“There you are, rebel rouser,” someone hissed.

I didn’t need to see in order to recognize Fafnir’s voice. I thrust my sword in his direction.

“Missed me.”

“Why did you shift out of your dragon form?” His power had to be waning; it was the only explanation. If I could keep him occupied, I might weaken him enough to…

He swung a roundish object at my face. It crashed against my cheekbone, causing me to bite my tongue. My vision finally cleared, and I saw that he clutched his helmet of dread. I laughed as I spat blood on the ground. “You’re so arrogant, you didn’t even bother to bring a real weapon.” Fafnir hadn’t expected the fight to last long enough to lose his dragon form. The hubris of the gods would never cease to amaze me.

The dragon deity glowered at me as I brandished my sword again. “It will take far more than a flimsy piece of metal to best me,” he growled.

“Won’t stop me from trying.” I jammed the tip of the blade into his jugular notch. Despite the blood that spurted from the wound, Fafnir laughed.

“You cannot kill me,” he rasped.

I pulled my sword from his throat. “Who says I want to kill you?” My words were mere bravado, however. I was beginning to question whether we’d be able to subdue them long enough to carry out our plan.

Dis raised his hammer again and again. The god was tireless and relentless in his pursuit of victory. He raised his weapon high and brought it down with all his might. The blow struck the earth, causing a shockwave that split the very ground in two. The forest trembled, and the trees around us splintered like dry kindling.

Bodies rose and fell. The battle raged on.

I froze in place, Fafnir’s blood dripping from my blade. “Otto?” The vampire’s head bobbed across the clearing. I had to be hallucinating. Otto wasn’t here, nor was he tall enough to be visible in this crowd—unless, of course, the vampire was astride a werewolf. I recognized the coat as Xander’s, but why would he bring the cursed vampire straight into the heart of the battle?

Otto stuck his fingers between his fangs and whistled. My breathing hitched as ghostly soldiers stormed the battlefield.

Great gods above. The phantom Yanmen Army. He and Phaedra had done it. That explained the witch’s absence.

The flood of ghostly soldiers broke The Corporation’s stranglehold. I rushed across the clearing to help Gun. The mage was out cold.

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