Page 7 of Gods' Battleground

My laugh was a tad manic. “No time for vacations.”

He shot me a worried look, like he thought I would fall to pieces right in front of his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” I assured him. “Yes, I have a lot on my mind, but I have everything under control. I’ve handled stressful situations before, Jace. I always pull through with a cool head, a smile, and a joke.”

A sharp twinge in my gut told me we were close to Vertigo. Very close. My eyes snapped to the exhibit in front of us. The glass case was open.

“The map.” I stared into the open case. It was empty. “It’s gone. We’re too late.”

CHAPTER 3

VERTIGO

Ispotted a camouflaged figure hidden in the shadows, creeping toward the exit. A large messenger bag hung from her shoulder. And I bet I knew what was inside: the map.

I clapped my hands, and a gust of wind cut through the hall. My elemental spell snapped like a whip at the thief’s ankles, throwing her off her feet.

The woman rose slowly from the ground, cradling her elbow. She must have banged it on the floor when she’d fallen. She wore a baggy brown jumpsuit that was at least two sizes too big for her, as though she’d stolen it in haste. The jumpsuit bore the logo of Green Factory, the big witch-owned chemical plant in town.

“Vertigo?” I asked, approaching her slowly.

A spark of insanity flashed in her cat-yellow eyes. “You’re Leda Pandora,” she said with an uneven, deranged laugh. Her gaze flickered to Jace, and she added, “And Jace Angelblood.” She pointed a gun at us.

“Wait.” I stepped forward, hands raised in the air. “I just want to talk.”

“You lie!” Vertigo hissed, hands shaking. “You want to take me back. I won’t go.” She ran a hand through her long dark hair. “You can’t make me. You don’t know what it’s like there.”

I felt a twinge of guilt. Like the other gods, Faris collected special people. People with powerful, unique magic. But he had so many more ‘players’ in his Orchestra than any other god did. I didn’t want to think about what he made them do. But maybe I should. Those people were effectively slaves. And that wasn’t right. It wasn’t right at all.

I’d joined the gods’ council to make a difference, to be the voice of humanity, to promote the greater good. And instead here I was, chasing down Faris’s escaped prisoners, people like Vertigo, whose greatest crime in life was having the misfortune of being born with rare magic.

I made a mental note to find a way—somehow—to free all the gods’ slaves. Yeah, that wouldn’t be hard at all. Just another item for my already impossible to-do list.

I started laughing. And that laugh was every bit as insane as Vertigo’s.

“Leda?” Jace looked at me, his expression etched with concern.

I ran my hand through my hair, just as Vertigo had done, wondering where I had gone wrong. How had I ended up here, championing a choice I knew was wrong, hunting down a helpless person?

“Yeah, so I think you might have been right about me, Jace,” I said, my laugh growing even more turbulent. “I’m definitely not handling the stress. I didn’t realize it until now—how thin I’m stretched. Like jam spread on toast.” Dizziness knocked me into him.

He caught me. “I’ve got you. It’s ok, Leda.”

I looked up into his worried face. Giggles exploded out of my mouth. “Maybe I should have taken that vacation after all.”I swallowed the giggles and cleared my throat. The whole world was rocking like a boat in a storm, but it was all right. “It’s ok, Jace. I can handle one more battle before I have a total mental breakdown.”

“I don’t think it’s you that’s the problem,” he said, his voice strained. “It’s her.” He pointed at Vertigo.

She fired off a few shots, then ran out of the room.

“Hmm.” I frowned. “Perhaps Vertigo isn’t as helpless as I thought.”

Jace rubbed his head. “Her magic is very debilitating.”

“Yeah.” I was so dizzy, I nearly fell over.

“We need to capture her,” Jace reminded me.

“Oh.” I blinked a few times to clear my vision, but the room didn’t stop spinning. “Let’s go.”

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