Paladin (Graven Gods 1) (22 page)

We were surrounded by what looked like every Valakan priest, thug, and sociopath in the entire city. They stood around us in a wide ring three deep.

We were so badly outnumbered, I felt like Custer at the Little Big Horn. And it was likely to end just as badly.

But what really terrified me was the echoing absence of Paladin.
I let my mother’s god get captured, and now we’re all fucked
.

Valak, unsurprisingly, was gloating like a Bond villain. Unlike 007, however, I knew I didn’t have a prayer of getting out of this mess.

“Well done, brothers,” he said, pacing inside the ring of men who surrounded us. “You executed the plan flawlessly.”

I concentrated on pretending unconsciousness. Luckily he was too busy strutting to notice or I’d never have gotten away with it.

“This girl is the talented product of generations of careful breeding.” Valak laughed, sounding so smut I wanted to slap him. “Wearing her, I can use all the power I’ll get by draining Paladin.”

He pointed to Mark and Calliope. “Next I’ll drain these two, and we’ll be able to achieve what we’ve been denied so long.” I listened to the click of his boots. “Women. Money. Power. Everything we’ve ever wanted which sanctimonious pricks like Zanos have denied us. The ‘god of the city’ --” He sneered the words. “--Will no longer stand in our way. And neither will anybody else. Not the governor, not the fucking president. If they try, we’ll wipe the floor with them.” Valak paused. “Why?”

“Because we deserve it!” his men roared back, as if replying to a familiar cue.

Fabulous. He’s not just a psycho, he’s a delusional psycho. And I’ve enabled him
.

“Now, for his superlative service, Sodohr will be permitted to seize Ulf’s old body, removing the current mortal occupant.”

The motherfucker’s giving us away like Goodwill clothing
.

“Onnir will be awarded David Stone’s body.” Valak gave a skinny pockmarked man an insurance-salesman grin. “I know he’s young, but he has abilities you’ll be able to exploit. If you continue to serve me well in the coming battles, I’m sure we can soon get you an upgrade to an older and even more powerful Demi.” He laughed, and the sadism in the sound sent a waterfall of ice down my spine. “A lot of hosts will become available once we destroy Zanos and his weaklings. Those who distinguish themselves in the coming war will find many opportunities to advance.”

Despite my throbbing skull, anger began to heat my blood despite my sheer terror.

The really appalling thing about the speech was that it could work. Once Valak devoured Paladin and Ulf, Zanos-James would have a hell of a time taking the bastard out.

With the Demi population dead, he’d be able to turn this pack of rapists, murderers, and psychopaths loose on the city. Yeah, sooner or later the surrounding gods would get together and wipe them all out, but a lot of innocents would end up dead in the meantime.

Starting with Paladin, Calliope, Mark, Dave and me.

And it was all my fault. Or it would be, if I didn’t get off my ass and do something. But what?

Despair sucked at me, almost as painful as the vicious hammering in my head. There had to be something I could do. Some spell, something. Even Valak said I had talent…

And I had access to a lot more than that.

Hope shot through me. Just as I’d been able to fight off the Dimwit Posse thanks to muscle memory, my brain still held the magical circuitry Paladin had used. Normally, his consciousness occupied that part of my brain, but with him gone, it was all still there, along with a deep understanding of the way magic worked. The spells might not have Paladin’s raw power behind them, but I could still use them.

I looked up under my lashes at Valak, careful to remain motionless. Luckily he was paying no attention to me, still pacing around doing a serial killer’s version of Henry V at Agincourt, telling his acolytes about the wealth, women and power they would enjoy once they won.

Aaaannd… My rising hope begin to fade. There was no way in hell I could take him out by myself. I just didn’t have the power.

Still, I was damned if I’d give up and roll over for Valak. I needed more juice if I wanted to hurt him. And Elder Gods, I wanted to burn the bastard off the face of the earth.

He held something up over his head, and it caught the light with the faceted flash. It was the gemstone Paladin was captive in. “This smug, arrogant bastard has opposed my every step for the past four thousand years. Tonight, I kill him at last. And the magic I drink from him will give me the power to take everything we deserve!”

His men roared their approval, no doubt imagining all their psychotic wet dreams coming true.

I was out of time. I had to do something.
Now
.

I could sense the structure of the gem’s spell, how it would hold Paladin paralyzed while Valak drank his magic and killed him. But what if I shattered the gem? I knew a spell that would do the job, but I didn’t have the power to break my bonds so I could work the magic.

Valak grinned like a shark, lifting the gemstone like a man giving a toast. “Today I become god of Graven!” That toothy grin widened, and his black eyes shone with satisfaction. “And my greatest enemy dies.”

In that moment of despair, I was intensely aware of the weight of Calliope draped across my thighs, the heat of Mark and Dave on either side of me. They were all going to die because of…

I froze, heart leaping.

That arrogant asshole
. In trying to create good theater for his followers, he’d made a serious mistake. The spell that held us captive would ordinarily have prevented us from communicating, but because we were in physical contact, I could establish a skin-to-skin link. I didn’t have the power to break the spell on Paladin alone, but all four of us together might be able to pull it off. Particularly with Calliope, who had more magic than the rest of us put together.

Now. Now now now
!

I shot a spell into the minds of my friends, jolting them awake. “
We’re in deep shit, and sinking fast. You have to trust me because there’s no time to explain. Direct your power into me. All of it
!”

“
All of it
?” Calliope demanded. “
But
…”

I knew what she was thinking. That much magic could fry my mind, particularly if I didn’t know how to direct it. “
All of it, Cal! Now! Or we’re all dead and Paladin will die with us
!”

Through the link, I felt them gather themselves. And
blast
.

It felt like I was being cooked as magic surged into me everywhere we touched. Teeth clenched against the pain, I gathered the thundering magic and channeled it into a spell I blasted into our bonds. The imprisoning spell strained, bulged. And shattered.

My skin sizzled. I had maybe a fraction of a second before Valak realized I was free. Focusing the magic into a laser-tight beam, I shot it into the gemstone Valak held aloft. It struck a heartbeat before the chaos god started trying to absorb Paladin’s power. The gem shattered as if I’d hit it with a bullet.

Paladin came boiling out of the exploding shards and slammed into his enemy. Valak’s eyes widened, triumph turning to horror as the helpless victim he’d expected instead hit him like a firestorm.

I felt the dark god reach out through the link he shared with his men, trying to draw on their magic in order to shield himself from Paladin’s rage.

Magical energy exploded with a psychic boom that made the bones of my skull pulse. I barely managed to throw a shield over the three of us in time.

Mark and Dave huddled against me. I clutched the cat, praying we’d survive as raw energy raged just beyond the shield. It was all I could do not to scream.

Valak’s thugs weren’t so restrained. They shrieked, bellowed, howled. Flaming sparks pounded on my shield, whipped by the cyclonic winds of the gods’ battle. I felt the barrier begin to thin and fed power into it, terrified we’d end up dead.

The warehouse lights exploded, plunging us into darkness lit only by lightning flashes of magic and blazing sparks. “Shit!” I gasped, fighting to maintain the shield. “Shit piss fuck! Oh, God, Paladin!”

The screaming stopped as if someone had sliced it off with a blade.

The storm of sparks died, punctuated by meaty thuds.

Bodies hitting the floor?

For a long moment, I froze, listening to my own hoarse breathing and my friends’ gasping pants. I couldn’t see a damn thing except dazzled explosions of purple light. Something wet rolled down my face, and I wondered whether it was blood or tears.

It seemed to be over. The question was, who’d won? Or rather, who’d survived?

I sat up, knuckling at my eyes. At least the liquid blinding me wasn’t sticky enough to be blood. I blinked and managed to generate an illumination spell.

Then I wished I hadn’t.

The dim blue glow revealed a circle of bodies. It looked like the Valakans had simply dropped where they’d stood, falling in limp, sprawled heaps of arms and legs, faces blank and eyes empty. But what had happened to Valak himself? I raised my head and looked around nervously.

And spotted his body lying sprawled on the floor, his feet inches from Mark’s head.

I had no idea whether all those still forms were dead or simply unconscious, so I gingerly scanned them with the dregs of my magic. The good news was that all except one were dead.

The bad news was that the survivor was Valak. “
He killed Paladin
!”

I stared at Valak in anguish and grief. Even unconscious, power boiled off him. It seemed he’d inhaled not only Paladin’s power, but that of his dead followers.

The sickening realization rolled over me like the wheels of the truck. Valak had won after all. I screamed in shattered desolation. I’d been so sure Paladin was going to win that fight…

Yet obviously he hadn’t, or he’d be back in my body where he belonged.

“
Oh, gods, Paladin! No no no
!”

I sucked in a hard breath, clawing for self-control.
I can’t just lose my shit. I’ve got to get the others out of here, or it’s all for nothing. He’ll wake up and kill us
.

I tried to cast a spell to bind Valak, only to realize that I must’ve used up the very last of my juice with that scan. I’d simply expended too much energy.

Gathering Calliope into my arms, I scrambled to my feet. Mark and Dave Stone stirred, both looking dazed. I snapped, “Get up! Get up now! Valak won! We’ve got to get out of here before he kills us all!”

“What?” Calliope stiffened in my grasp. “No, Paladin is…” The cat’s tail lashed, and I sensed her magic roll in a scan. Evidently she had something left after all.

“Shit!’ Mark rolled to his feet, hauling the boy with him. “Come on, kid, get up! We’ve got to go. Damn it, where’s Ulf?” He looked around desperately, scanning for the gemstone his god had been trapped in.

“Mark, we don’t have time!”

“I’m not leaving my god!”

“Damn it, we’ve got to get out of here. Now!” I’d grieve for Paladin once the others were safe, or his sacrifice would mean nothing. I pushed Dave toward the warehouse’s loading dock door. “Move!”

But before we could bolt, Valak’s body began to glow, throwing off waves of magical energy. In seconds, it grew so bright it was impossible to make out his features.

What the fuck is happening now
?

He surged to his feet with a deep male bellow.

I started to leap across the ring of bodies, but Calliope dug her claws into my arms hard enough to make me stumble. “No!” The cat cried. “Look at him! Summer, look, it’s Paladin. I feel his magic. It
is
him! He
won
!”

I glanced around and froze, staring at him. Valak’s face had changed. His bone structure had assumed the contours of Paladin’s familiar, handsome features.
Is this some kind of trick
?

“Summer?” He even sounded like Paladin now, his voice much deeper and richer than Valak’s oily tones. He took a step toward us, and I froze, heart hammering furiously. “It’s me, Summer.”

“Paladin?” My voice shook.

“Yes, that’s Paladin.” Calliope leaped down from my arms. When I still hesitated, she looked up at me. “It really is him.”

Afraid to believe, I reached out with what little magic I had left. And
felt
him, warm as sunshine on my face after a night of arctic darkness. The only real difference was that his magic seemed far more powerful than before. With a cry of relief and joy, I threw myself into his arms, hard enough to rock him on his heels.

He laughed in the same deep boom I’d heard in my head a hundred times. And yet, I realized he felt different than he had in my most vivid dreams of him. Mostly because he was taller. The Paladin of my imagination had been perhaps 5’10”, but his new body was easily 6’3”, tall enough to tower, though he was just as powerfully built as he’d been in my vivid fantasies.

“I don’t understand!” I whispered, drawing back to stare up into his face. “How are you… real?”

I knew that smile, knew the expression in his eyes, so different from the power hungry sadism in Valak’s. It
was
him. “I destroyed Valak and claimed the remains -- body and magic.”

“But I felt him start drawing on the magic of all his men! How did you manage to overcome him with all that juice backing him up?”

His expression turned grim. “I knew if I didn’t, he’d kill you. When I felt him start drawing on his psychic link with his worshippers, I just fought him for it.” The hard line of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. “Turns out my will was just a little stronger than his, so I took it all. From every last one of the bastards.”

And when it came to magic, will was everything.

“Ironic justice,” Calliope commented, staring around at the bodies, “Considering the fucker intended to do the same thing to us.”

Looking up at him, I realized why the resemblance to my mental image of Paladin wasn’t perfect. He’d changed Valak’s facial structure and voice to match my mental image of him, but the body’s height and build remained the same.