Page 118 of Zeus' Spark
“Is that teeth marks or beak marks?” Jayden asks, sounding disgusted.
“I don’t really want to know.” I shiver as Raven shushes us.
“Do you feel that?” she whispers.
A slight tremor quakes through the ground.
“Tell me there are no fucking dinosaurs in Greek history, guys,” I whisper-shout.
This all reminds me a little too much ofJurassic Park.
“Just dragons, and I don’t think that’s a dragon.” Jayden squeezes my hip reassuringly.
It doesn’t help my nerves because whatever is shaking a fucking mountain is big.
“We have to keep moving. Just stay alert,” Greyson says quietly.
Gravel and dust rain down from the top of the mountain the closer we get, and the rhythmic tremors get worse.
Whatever monster is up there stomps or something because the ground shakes worse than ever. I lose my footing, tripping and nearly pitching over the side of the narrow trail.
“Beth,” Jayden yells.
His shadows wrap around me and pull me into his hard chest.
“This is so fucked up,” I grumble, breathing hard.
My hands shake as we continue up the mountain.
The stench of death only gets worse the closer we get to the top, and I can’t help but feel bad for Greyson. His senses are much stronger than ours.
“Gods, the smell is awful,” Greyson complains.
“You didn’t smell the sirens. This is nothing.” Raven shakes her head.
I can’t see her face from behind her, but I recognize the grin in her voice.
“It’s not nearly as bad,” I agree.
That shit was human remains. This is animal remains from what I can tell.
Raven pushes back the branch of the tree in front of her, holding it for me, and gasps. “Wow.”
The path widens, and I move next to Raven. The cliff is just a giant gray stone that looks out over the mountains down below.
“It’s like we’re on the top of the world,” I say, breathless.
The world below is green as far as the eye can see. It’s absolutely breathtaking.
“Um, guys?” Jayden calls.
We turn to a shallow cave littered with bones and nine feathered crowns in the back.
“Well, that’s what we came here for, but where is the monster?” Raven scans the area.
“Wait,” I hiss. “Did you notice something? The tremors have stopped.”
Dread pools in my belly as I scan the forest around the cave. The skin at my neck prickles with unease.
