As if on cue, the sound of mum’s voice echoes down the hallway faintly. “Karma? Hugo, Peyton?”
“I’m in here,” I yell out. My eyes are only just now adjusting to the darkness, and I fumble my way to the bedroom door, reaching a hand out behind me instinctively. A larger, warm hand takes it, and even though I can’t be sure whose it is, the sensation fills me with comfort. “We’re here, we’re okay!”
“What the hell was that?” I can hear Peyton’s voice coming from the other direction, along with the frantic sounds of Hugo and Damien stumbling down the hallway.
I manage to get the door open and step out into the corridor, which is only marginally better lit than my bedroom. I can see mum and dad in the doorway to their room, staring around with wide eyes, still dressed in their sleeping clothes. Hugo and Damien are working their way down the hall, and then I see the confused face of Peyton peering out from the room he and Mads have been sharing. He’s standing in front of her in a protective stance. “Is everyone okay?” I demand, aware that my voice is shaking.
“I think so,” Peyton replies as the group comes together in the middle of the hallway. “Unless—”
“Wait,” I say, my heart suddenly hammering in my chest, “where’s Ruby?”
Mum and dad exchange a terrified look before bolting in the direction of the guest room where the young girl is staying for the time being. In a panic, I wrench myself free of the guys and sprint after them, my head already filling with visions of her caught up in the blast. For a moment, none of us speaks, but then I catch the soft sound of whimpering. Before I’m even aware of it, I’m pushing between my parents and scrambling to her bed where she’s curled up and looking frantically around. Her eyes are glassy with tears, but her terror seems to diminish a little when she sees me. “Karma!” she cries out, stumbling out of bed and running into my arms.
I pull her close, murmuring soothingly to her as I stroke her hair. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here, Ruby.”
“What happened?” she asks, her shoulders shaking.
“The house seems okay,” dad begins, but mum is already making a beeline for the window.
“It’s not the house,” she says, eyes narrowing as she peers out through the blinds. “It’s the barrier. Someone is attacking it.”
“You said it would hold against most gods,” protests Peyton as he and the others cluster in the doorway, each trying to get a glimpse of whatever is going on outside.
“Most gods,” mum replies, and my heart immediately sinks.
“He’s here, isn’t he?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “Neritous is here.”
Mum gives me a slow nod. “And he has others with him.”
I creep up to look over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of several shadowy figures in the dim light of the street lamps outside. The noise will have woken up other people on the street, but that only fills me with more dread: clearly, they aren’t planning on sticking around to get caught. I can make out the forms of Kjetli and Ivar, and before my eyes, there’s another violent flash of white light as they summon an orb of magic. The orb slams into the barrier at the front of the house, the invisible wall causing the energy to dissipate in a shower of sparks…but one look makes it clear to me that it’s weakening, the wards being pushed to their limit.
“What do we do?” asks Peyton.
“Where’s Kit?” asks Killian. “Maybe he can teleport us out of here.”
“He was downstairs, last time I saw him,” mum replies. “We could—”
But we’re interrupted by the sound of another blast, this one bright purple. The other twin’s magic, no doubt. I’m still not sure what kind of gods they are, but seeing them in action tells me that, whatever they are, they’re powerful. And if they’re working against us, that’s a problem.
Storm is already backing out of the room. I grab him by the arm. “Where are you—”
“We can’t bank on them not getting in,” he replies, sounding urgent. “We’re going to have to fight them.”
“There are more of us…,” acknowledges Hugo, his voice trailing off.
“But they’re more powerful,” Seth protests. “We need to get out. This is exactly what I was afraid of.”
I take Ruby’s hand and lead her as we make our way out of the room and down the hallway. Golden sparks are already crackling between the justice twins’ fingers as they warm up their own magic, and even Mads looks ready to fight. Rolling my shoulders, I reach for my power, the now familiar green lightning glowing against my skin. I know I could try to use my new abilities, but there’s no way in hell I’m touching those again. Not after seeing what they did to the last city.
“Maybe we can reinforce the barricade,” mum suggests as we flock into the living room. “I’ve got a few extra warding charms around here somewhere…”
But a third and final explosion sounds from outside the front door, lighting up the night sky in a show of purple, red, and white. They’ve combined their powers, and that’s more than enough to take down the barrier, which seems to fragment and shatter right in front of us like glass. The sound is deafening, and I feel Killian pull me closer as we watch in horror, shielding my body with his own. The power of the blast, now unhindered by the barrier, causes the front windows to explode, showering us with bits of broken glass as the light momentarily blinds us. Storm steps in front of me, ready to charge outside, but he doesn’t even make it to the door before the doorknob flies off, nearly hitting Damien in the process. “What the hell?” he yells, but there’s no need to answer his question.
Neritous, Kjetli, and Ivar walk up the front steps. I feel paralysed with fear as I watch Neritous reach out nonchalantly and push open the door, as if he were walking into a convenience store and not forcibly breaking into someone’s home. The others follow him, turning to look at us with vaguely amused expressions on their faces. Like this is all some big joke to them. It’s enough to make me clench my hands into fists, staring them down with seething rage on my face.
“Ah, Karma,” Neritous says, pausing in the foyer and putting his hands behind his back. “So good to see you again.”
“Wish I could say the same thing to you,” I spit back. “Actually, wait. No, I don’t.”
He gives a condescending chuckle. “You really are a spitfire, aren’t you, Karma? I guess I should have expected as much, considering you’re my daughter.”
“Don’t you dare call me that,” I hiss. “You’re no father of mine.”
Neritous lets out a long sigh, shrugging. “If you say so, Karma. But the sooner you can learn to embrace it, the easier this will be for all of us.”
“Oh, sure,” Killian snaps, taking a step forward. “Just like you forced her to ‘embrace’ her powers back in the States? Just like when you turned your own children against the rest of the gods?”
Neritous rounds on Killian, his eyes flashing. “That’s awfully bold coming from someone who abandoned their station in favour of following a pretty face around the world,” he says coldly. Killian bristles at that, and I start forward, but Seth’s hand flies out to stop me. I know Neritous is just trying to get a rise out of me, but I can’t help it. He knows exactly which buttons to press, exactly what to say to go right for the jugular. “What, don’t you agree?” he asks, crossing his arms and taking a step forward. I wish I could say I didn’t flinch away, but I do, and I hate myself for it. “You two were some of the most feared justice gods in the entire world,” he continues, taking another step closer. “You had the supernatural community in the palms of your hands. All that power, wasted, and for what? A little girl who doesn’t even understand her own birthright?” He shakes his head like he’s disappointed.
“Don’t listen to him,” hisses Mads, and out of the corner of my eye I can see blue sparks beginning to flicker around her hair like a halo. I’m not sure she’s even aware it’s happening, but the extent of her power is clear, and so is the extent of her anger. “He’s trying to make you turn on us.”
“Believe me,” Seth replies grimly, dropping his hand, but not before giving mine a gentle squeeze, “we’re not going anywhere.”
“That’s a shame,” Neritous replies. “Well, no matter, I suppose. There will be others along to replace you sooner or later. That’s the way of things.”
“The way of things?” I demand, my face twisted with anger.
“Karma,” dad says, clearly worried that I’m about to make the situation worse—and honestly, who can blame him?—but I don’t listen.
