Page 94 of Ares' Shield
“It kinda was.” Jayden laughs.
“Really, Jayden? Why is it me that everyone always asks to do crazy things? Hopefully the next time a god asks for crazy help, they will ask you.” I narrow my eyes on him.
“Not likely.” He shakes his head.
“Yeah, because I have lightning and am a total badass. Bring on the fuckery.” I slump back in my seat.
This is going to be fucked if I have to do anything like that again. What the hell could the gods possibly want from me this time?
18
Iscan the highway outside of Baker. “Where is everyone?”
The entire highway is deserted. There isn’t another car in sight which I would think isn’t normal for the time of day and the main highway going to Vegas.
Jayden’s hand tightens on the wheel. “I don’t know. It’s super weird.”
A rumbling fills the air and the cacti sway in the desert around us.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask.
Raven sits forward, poking her head between the seats. “Was it an earthquake?”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “What are we, human? Are you really coming up with the most logical explanation here?”
“I believe we thought the damn boar was an earthquake at first.” Raven rests her chin on her hand.
“I don’t want to go into whatever this is blind.” I peer out the windshield searching for any possibility.
I grip the hilt of my sword but there’s nothing out there. I glance at the sky but would there be a rumbling if it were birds? There wasn’t a rumbling warning the first couple times we encountered them.
The ground rumbles violently and Jayden swerves into another lane.
“That wasn’t a damn earthquake. What is it?” Jayden leans closer to the steering wheel.
I lean forward as well and search the desert for anything that might be off. “I don’t see anything. What am I missing?”
“There has to be something out there though,” Jayden says.
A rhythmic rumbling starts at my right, and I turn just as a huge boulder comes crashing toward us.
“Jayden,” I scream. “Watch out.”
“What the fuck.” Jayden swerves and speeds up the SUV.
Where the fuck are the boulders coming from? I squint out my window, but the sun is too bright and is casting a mirage over the desert sand.
“Is that a statue?” I ask no one in particular.
Raven leans back and peers out the window. “I don’t see anything but the bright-ass glare from the sun.”
“Why would there be a statue in the middle of the desert?” I lean my forehead against the glass and narrow my eyes as another boulder comes flying at us.
“Incoming, Jayden,” Raven yells.
“I think the statue is an automaton.” I breathe. “I swear it just threw that giant-ass boulder at us.”
“Shit, shit, shit. I think you’re right, B.” Raven unbuckles her seat belt.
