“The back is good for scars. Those’ll get a sympathy lay, right, Zorn?” Donovan grinned.

“Good call.” Daisy nodded. “Chaos, rip up a guy’s back, not a girl’s—guys are superficial, and she won’t get laid because of it. We’re not tryin’ to ruin lives here. At the crescendo, Havoc, you do the roar that flaps their souls. That’s a real mood killer. For an extra flourish, Lexi, you stand just outside of the commotion with your hair blowing in your weird fake breeze.” She clapped. “Yes? Sound like a plan?”

“What about me?” Donovan asked, respect twinkling in his eyes.

“You stand by in case they throw something at us we don’t expect, which is highly probable. Three of those buggers aren’t Zeus—who knows what they could be.”

Daisy ended by looking at Zorn for approval.

“You forgot me,” he said.

Her face colored. “Oops. Sorry. Drift in as gas around Jerry, figure out who is the most dangerous, and put them out early. A few kidney shots and a loss of consciousness should do.”

Zorn nodded, and so did everyone else. We’d be going with Daisy’s plan.

I couldn’t help but feel a glow of pride. A non-magical teenager was setting the strategy for a Demigod’s crew. That was pretty amazing.

My pride quickly turned to worry. “You should hang back,” I told her as we jogged for position.

Dylan pointed at the door harboring the enemy, two up and on the right.

“I’m just throwing knives,” she whispered. “I’ll be hiding behind Jerry. I’ll be fine.”

Excitement lit her eyes and filled her voice. If she’d been any other teenager, I might have thought her eagerness would wear off as soon as she got a look at the action. But she’d seen plenty of action so far, right up close, and she’d been left behind more times than not. Her excitement was to finally fight with her family.

On some deep level, I felt like I’d failed her. She should be safe at home, far from anyone who might want to kill her for being non-magical, but this was no time to dwell. Wallowing in guilt would distract me and potentially get someone killed. We had to fight through this if we ever hoped to find a future of safety.

“They will be highly organized and excel at their magic,” Dylan whispered as we neared the door. Murmuring came from within. No souls moved position. Those inside were probably sitting and chatting, or maybe gearing up for round two. “They will be used to structured battles. They won’t like being caught off guard.”

“Then they certainly will not like the absolute clusterfuck of crazy we are about to throw their way. Great heavens, I love my job.” Bria’s grin was jubilant.

As Jerry’s skin turned into a stone crust, Red stepped up and, with a practiced movement, rammed her foot against the door near the handle. It cracked open like a nut and swung wildly, banging against the opposite side.

All eight of the people inside looked up with wide eyes, momentarily freezing. Their inactivity was short-lived. A blast of electrical current zipped from the front runner’s palm and slammed into Jerry’s chest with enough force to knock a normal person on their ass.

Jerry was not a normal person.

He barely bumped back before advancing again with slow, deliberate movements.

“Zorn, take out the rear,” I said, seeing how their formation had altered in a blink, those in the front administering the assault. The weak had fallen behind—they weren’t used to people fighting dirty.

Welcome to battling a person of Hades.

A woman on the side put out her hand, aimed at Jerry. She probably had the magic to force Jerry to shift back into his skin, but if Demigod Flora hadn’t been strong enough to do it, this chick certainly couldn’t.

Bria and Red darted in, Red faster than thought and Bria not far behind. They slammed into the magical workers, knives slashing and sticking in practiced, brutal movements. Blood splattered a polished wood table and the recipient of Red’s vicious attack groaned, grabbing his neck. Blood oozed between his fingers. She’d done as Daisy had suggested.

Dylan stepped out from behind Jerry, and in a move I hadn’t seen yet, he slapped his hands together and then flung them out like he was playing patty-cake. Lightning rode the rumble of thunder, the sound muted for those on his side, electricity spitting and blistering in a wave. The enemy visibly quaked.

A spark died between the palms of a woman who’d been about to unleash her magic on us. Daisy saw an opportunity and dashed out with her throwing knives. Three of them rammed into the woman’s chest in quick succession, the placement a perfect triangle. Daisy darted back behind Jerry as a sliver of lightning zipped toward her from a man on the left.

I almost brought the male lightning slinger to his knees, but I held back. It was a gut reaction and unnecessary.

A woman screamed in the back before a man slid to the ground. Oops—I was wrong, the scream had come from him.

Zorn popped out of existence, his disappearing act startling the hell out of the woman next to him. It was like she had no idea what magic Zorn had. Her hands came up and the air shivered near her fingers. Zorn appeared again, his face screwed up in confusion, lowering his hand as though he didn’t understand what was happening.

A fierce growl vibrated through the room. Mordecai streaked past Jerry, darted around the edge of the group, and launched himself at the woman, blasting through the wavy air. His form went limp for a moment, but his heavy wolf body slammed into the woman. She must’ve been using some sort of mind control, because it wasn’t a force field she’d erected. They tumbled back together and she yelled out in surprise.