“He’s not shaking us off—he’s trying to knock us off,” Henry said.

“He likes to play with his food, as I said,” Zorn murmured, barely audible.

“Maybe he can’t shake the mountain this far down,” Boman added.

Kieran shook his head as the path flattened out just a little. In a moment, he saw why. An inlet ran off the ledge into a short tunnel. Beyond that, cloaked in white fog, was an area open to the skies. Alexis was deeper in the mountain and farther right, but not higher. She must’ve entered through this passageway.

He ducked into the tunnel, lifting the fog just enough to see the ground ahead. Rocks of various sizes littered the way, some smashed in half, some gathered in little piles.

“Look.” Boman pointed above them, where the sleek and shiny tunnel ceiling had cracked. Dirt pooled in various places, hinting that the damage was recent.

“You are not welcome here,” a voice boomed out, filling the tunnel before leaking out. The ground beneath them rumbled. The sound of rocks grinding together spoke of a larger defense just out of view. A strong current of fear flooded his middle—Alexis!

He was moving before he could think it through. Rage, hot and heavy, lodged in his chest. Terror drowned him.

“Zorn, go gas,” Kieran barked, wondering if the giant could feel a Djinn in gas state through the rocks. No matter: Kieran would make sure the giant was plenty distracted. “Get past him and look for the others. Boman and Henry, stay with me. If you see an opportunity, take it.”

He didn’t need to be more specific. They were experienced enough to read the situation and respond appropriately to whatever opportunities arose.

As soon as Zorn darted forward, Kieran tore away the fog, revealing himself to the giant across the way, standing at the mouth of another tunnel. Aside from the rocks strewn across the ground, boulders of various sizes lined the three shelves built into the sloped walls of the tunnel, funneling down to the path.

“You have granted your own demise,” the giant said, and the rocks rose from the ground. The ones stacked above the path pushed off their perches and sped down the sloped stone, curving in their trajectory toward him.

Fire building within him, Kieran stalked forward and shoved with air, ripping the rocks back up the sides of the crevasse. He shoved again, the strain incredible, now fighting against this level five with a great mastery over his art. He thrust his hands into the sky, directing the air. The rocks cracked and splintered as they slid against each other. And then they soared up over the side of the mountain and away, falling down the steep slopes.

The ground shook beneath Kieran, and the giant’s face, strangely blotchy—was it tear-streaked?—reddened with effort. He was trying to pull up more rocks, or maybe alter the landscape.

He would have time for neither.

Kieran was on him in a heartbeat, lifting him up by his neck and forcing him backward into his lair. He slammed the taller man against a polished rock wall and leaned in.

“Where is she?” he demanded, voice laced with venom, feeling Zorn work deeper into the mountain. The giant’s eyes widened, but he didn’t answer. Kieran squeezed harder, digging his thumbs into the giant’s neck. “Where is she?”

“You are here for her,” the giant wheezed out.

“Of course I am here for her, you sack of shit. If you have harmed her, I will tear you apart so slowly that you will feel each piece of flesh I take from your miserable, worthless hide.”

“You are the mark holder.”

Kieran flung the giant around, bashing him against an adjacent wall before grabbing him again with two hands, silently threatening to do it again. “Tell me where she is. Now!”

If the giant felt fear, he didn’t show it. Instead, respect lit his eyes. “You put that mark on her for love.”

“A thousand times over. Where is Alexis? This is the last time I will ask.”

“She and her companions are in my caverns, turned around. I did not have the energy to get them. Your man is showing them out now.”

“Boman,” Kieran barked.

Boman took off at a run, tracking the other members of the Six through the blood link they shared through Kieran.

In no time, Kieran learned why Alexis had been so worried.

“We’re okay!” Alexis said, running out of a room at the back. “Kieran, we’re okay. Don’t hurt him. We just got lost, that’s all. Let him go. He didn’t try to hurt us. Okay, I mean, he did, but that was before we came to an understanding. And also before Thane went Berserk.”

Kieran felt the breath whoosh out of him.

“Zorn,” he said. Zorn took Kieran’s place, pressing a knife against the giant’s jugular.

Kieran wrapped Alexis in his arms, squeezing her tightly. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m fine, honestly, Kieran. Thane got a bit beat up, and none of the cadavers made it, but we’re all good.”

“Thank heavens.” Kieran buried his face into Alexis’s neck, rocking her back and forth. “You idiot. What were you thinking? You should be dead. He kills everyone that crosses his stoop.”

“Did you really forgo binding her with a blood oath?” the giant asked, his tone indicating he was unworried about Zorn. “Or was she lying to me?”

He ignored the giant for a moment longer, allowing his eyes to roam Alexis’s face and then settle on her lush lips. He shook his head again, the fear and worry for her slow to unravel while in this place.

“How can I protect you if you do things like this?” he asked quietly, thinking about the option to meet Demigod Lydia. He could not have Lexi taking a different path than his plans, not with her. A Demigod was dangerous enough for Alexis, but a Hades Demigod was worse still. Kieran would have a hard time protecting Alexis if things went pear-shaped and he didn’t have complete control. There was plenty of wiggle room in the rules for Demigod Lydia if she decided to double-cross Kieran to get to Lexi.

A thread of fear wormed through him, and he pushed the thought away. Now wasn’t the time. He’d contemplate the risk to Alexis with the possible reward of a Hades ally against a strangely idle Magnus soon enough. First he needed to deal with this giant.

“How can you expect me to stand by and do nothing? Most of the danger you’re in is because you’re with me,” she replied, resting her hands on his chest, her eyes wide open all the way down to the soul that was connected to his own. “I love you, Kieran. I’ll fight to keep us in our bodies and on this earth together.”

He ran his thumb across her chin and snuck a quick kiss. “I love you too. I’ll show you tonight.” He winked, and then let his feelings seep away so he could deal with the giant. They needed to get out of here before they lost the light. Even twilight would be treacherous on that mountain path. If he couldn’t enlist the giant or part ways with him amicably, things were about to get bloody.

7

Alexis

I watched as Kieran’s face closed down into a hard mask. Time for business.

He turned and motioned Zorn out of the way, pausing for a moment to take stock of Jerry. “Alexis never thinks to lie,” he said. “Anything she told you would be the truth as she knows it. I’m Demigod Kieran, the unofficial leader of magical San Francisco.”