Guardian of Atlantis (The Children of Atlantis) (21 page)

The sounds of growls and bodies clashing together yanked Raven out of her thoughts. Ethan and Jay w
ere grappling with each other, e
ach trying to get a better hold of the other. White fangs and gleaming black claws flashed in the lamp light.

Ethan stumbled.

Jay took advantage and shoved him face first to the ground.

Ethan tried to roll away.

Jay jumped on Ethan’s back, digging his claws deep into Ethan’s shoulders.

Ethan howled with pain, but managed to rear back, throwing Jay off.

Both jumped to their feet.

Ethan again faced Jay as the two circled each other looking for a weak spot.

Jay swiped at Ethan’s face with his claws.

Ethan managed to jump back. He rushed in with a swipe of his claws, ripping through his brother’s stomach while Jay was off balance.

Jay snapped and growled. He twisted and sank his fangs in Ethan’s right forearm.

Ethan shook him, but Jay wouldn’t let go.

Ethan sent his fist crashing into Jay’s jaw. Not once, but twice.

Jay released his hold and staggered backwards. He grinned.

Raven swore
he directed the grin at her
.

Ethan, moving a bit slower, charged Jay, trying to knock him down.

But Jay stood his ground, and deflected Ethan’s charge, sending him f
lying several feet away
.

Ethan tried to get up, but fell back to the ground.

Cheers and shouts from the teenagers on Jay’s side ripped through the air.

Raven felt someone grab her arm.

“Come on. I’ve got to get you out of here.” Billy looked a little pale.

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Raven.

Billy tugged her arm. “I have to. It’s Ethan’s orders.”

Raven suddenly realized Ethan was still trying to protect her, even if he died. “No! I’m not going.”

“You’re going, if I have to carry you.”

Raven glared at Billy. “If you don’t let go of my arm, you’re going to regret it. I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re leaving me with no choice. And that goes for anyone else who tries to stop me.”

Billy let go of her arm and stepped back with
his hands raised. “Ethan said—”

“I’m sure Ethan said a lot of things, but I’m not leaving.”

Billy stepped toward her.

“I wouldn’t do that,” warned Raven. “You might make me mad. And I get really ugly when I’m mad. Just look at Jay.”

“But you said—”

Raven glared at Billy.

He stared at her and then
backed away, but not very far.

Raven turned her attention back to the fight.

Ethan was trying again to get up.

Jay walked over to him and kicked him in the stomach.

The kick lifted Ethan off the ground. He curled slightly when he landed.

Jay went for a second kick.

Ethan rolled to his side. He grabbed Jay’s foot and jerked.

Jay, thrown off balance, stumbled to his knee but didn’t go
completely
down. He twisted and punched Ethan in the face.

Ethan didn’t move.

Jay climbed back to his feet. He held his hands away from his body. The claws extended into long, curved daggers. He moved to stand over Ethan.

Cheers erupted from several of Jay’s followers.

“NO!” Raven stepped away from the teenagers surrounding her.

Jay whirled around at the sound of her voice.

“Get away from him you filthy dog!” Raven took several more steps toward Jay. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she knew she couldn’t let him kill Ethan.

“The Guardian comes to save her pet.” Jay threw his head back and laughed.

“No. I’m stopping you from doing something you’ll regret.” Raven hoped her voice wasn’t trembling the way her insides were.

“Regrets for killing a half-blood pup? I’m doing Cerberus a favor. I’m doing Ethan a favor.” Jay glared at Raven. His red eyes reminded Raven of a demon from
a horror movie. “I’ve got
only
one regret
.”

“And what’s that?”

“Ethan won’t be alive to see me kill you.”

“Is that all?” Raven shrugged her shoulders. “Are we
back
to the kill me stuff you’ve been trying to scare me with? Get a clue! It’s not working.”

Jay sneered. His fangs hung ov
er his bottom lip. “You’re going to
die!”

“So here’s your big chance. No one’s going to stop you.” Raven put her han
ds on her hips. “Come kill me, i
f you think you can.” Raven stared at Jay. “That is, if you’re not
too
afraid of me,” she taunted. “
But it wouldn’t surprise me, s
eeing that I’ve already kicked your butt twice.”

Jay roared and rushed toward
her.

“All right, this had better work. You’re not going to have a second chance,” she said
to herself
. She put her hands up in front of her with her palms facing Jay and braced herself.

“Do you r
eally think your hands are going to
stop me?” laughed Jay. He stopped about ten feet or so from her. “I’m going to enjoy ripping you to shreds.”

Raven knew he was trying to scare her, and it was working. But she knew she couldn’t run, not if she and Ethan were going to live. “I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you,” she warned him. “These hands are pretty lethal.” Raven swallowed. “I hope,” she whispered.

“Oh, I’m going to
come a lot closer. I’ll tear your head off with one swipe.” He raised a clawed hand, preparing to swing.

Somewhere in the di
stance, Raven heard someone screaming
her name, but she ignored it. Instead she stared at Jay’s hand, at the claws. Her mind went blank.

Her eyes felt like someone had filled them with sand. She quit blinking because it hurt too much. Instead, she stared at Jay’s claws as they sliced through the air.

Someone screamed her name
again
, but it sounded so far away.

The grittiness in her eyes grew worse and more painful. And then she couldn’t see anything. Her finger tips tingled. It spread to her hands and then to her arms. The tingling was everywhere. She touched something furry.

Two seconds later, she heard a thud.

Raven tried blinking.

She heard gasps.

“Oh, my gods!
”

“How did she do it?”

“What is she?”

Raven felt th
e ground tremble
.

And then, silence.

Raven blinked several more times. The tingling in her body was gone. Her vision cleared.
The painful gritty feeling in her eyes was gone.
She gasped and closed her eyes. Slowly she opened them again. Raven drew in a ragged breath as she let her hands drop to her sides.

She stared, unable to look anywhere else.

Jay was no longer a threat to anyone.

Raven su
ddenly felt sick at her stomach.

Her legs trembled.

“What have I done,” she asked herself.
“I had to do it,” she whispered. She couldn’t take her ey
es off the stone statue lying
at her feet. “He was going to kill me. He was going to kill Ethan. I didn’t have a choice.”

She felt an arm go around her. The smell of sweat, of blood, of Ethan wrapped around her
like a warm blanket
.

“Raven?”
Ethan’s soft voice filled her ears.
“Raven, look at me.”

Raven wanted to look at Ethan. She wanted to look anywhere but at Jay’s stone statue, but she couldn’t take her eyes away from the sight of what she had done.

She felt a part of herself die.

Raven knew she would never be the same. How could she with what she’d just done? Her body trembled. Nasty bile filled her mouth. She swallowed and prayed the vile stuff would stay in her churning stomach.

Raven felt a hand on her j
aw. Slowly it
forced her to turn her head. Ethan’s bloody face came into view.

“Ethan?” she whispered. “What did I just do?”

“What you had to. What I was going to do.” He pulled her against him,
and
wrapping his arms around her, he held her until the trembling stopped. “You’ve got to stay strong. Show no weakness,” he whispered in her ear. “You have some explaining to do.”

“I know.” Her voice was flat, emotionless.
Raven pulled out of Ethan’s warm embrace
and stepped away from him. She looked around. Both groups of teenagers were staring at her. Raven looked back at Ethan. “You’re bleeding.”

“The bleeding’s already stopped. By morning, the rest will be gone.”

Raven nodded. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at the faces surrounding her, all expecting her to do something or say something. But what could she say
,
when she wasn’t e
ven sure how to explain what she had done.

“I need—” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. “I’m not here to make slaves of anyone. I can barely control my life, how can I control someone else’s? What I do know i
s
Zeus wants Atlantis really bad, and I don’t think he’s the only one. I don’t want any of the power.” She looked at Ethan. “And honestly, I don’t want the responsibility. But I’m stuck with it because I don’t want the wrong people to take control either.”

M
urmurs rippled through the teens
.

Raven lo
oked at both groups
. “I don’t know if what I just did
was
right or wrong. I guess it depends on how you look at the situation.
But it’s something I’ll have to live with the rest of my life.
” She kept her
eyes away from the statue. “
I couldn’t le
t Jay kill Ethan, o
r me. I’ve got too many people chasing me to have to keep worrying about Ja
y constantly popping up. But i
t’s no excuse.”

“Who’s after you?” asked a tall blonde female from Jay’s group.

Raven looked at her.
“Agent Morrison and her men in black for one.”

“Why does she want Atlantis?” asked the blonde.

“I don’t know if she wants it for herself, for the government or what.
But she wants it.
”

Pauline stepped forward. “Who else is after Atlantis? We need to know so we can protect you from them.”

Several teens nodded their heads in agreement.

“Meritus Myers. She’s the world history teacher and Zeus’s daughter.
And then there’s Zeus who wants Atlantis.
”

Murmurs went through the groups.

“I think Meritus
and Marley are working for Zeus. And yes, I know he’s a Hellhound.” Raven took a deep breath. “Someone murdered my dad, Douglas Weir, and kidnapped my mom, Suzanne Weir. I don’t know who, but it’s all connected.”

“Raven, who
are
your biological parents?” asked Ethan, putting his arm around her waist.

She shook her head.

“It’s obvious you’re not a normal Atlantian.”

“Great! Just call me
abby
-normal Raven.”

“Raven?”

“You really don’t want to know.”

“Who are your biological parents?” Ethan asked again.

Raven felt the power rolling off of him, but it didn’t have any effect on her. She closed her eyes.

“Raven?”

She opened her eyes and looked straight at Ethan.
“Poseidon and Medusa.”

Ethan’s face remained emotionless but Raven heard the gasps of horror coming from everyone around her. She turned her back to everyone and started walking to the lake.

“Raven, wait.”
Ethan was beside her faster than she thought he could move, especially hurt. “Where are you going?”

“I’m getting my bag and then I’m going home.”

“It’s not safe for you to go anywhere alone, and especially to your house.”

“I have to. Dad kept journals. He wrote everything down. He used to tell me one day I would read them and understand. At the time it didn’t make sense, but now. I’ve got to find them. I may be the Guardian, but I don’t have a clue where Atlantis is. I’m not even sure if this contains the key codes.” She gestured to her necklace.
“Pretty pathetic, huh?
And on top of that I’ve got Medusa and Poseidon as my biological parents.
I’m the daughter of a monster.
” Raven shrugged her shoulders. “I have to go.”