AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As regal as any royal,Elodie walked out with her head held high. Rather than bother withsome stalling monologue, she opened her mouth and sang.
And nothing happened.
Cretan smiled, though theexpression was closer to a sneer. “You can learn a lot fromlegends,” he said. “Even though they got the story of theminotaur’s defeat of Theseus all wrong, Odysseus having his menstuff their ears with wax to not fall under the spell ofsirens…brilliant move.”
None of them could hear hersong then. She couldn’t draw them closer to compel them.Terrific.
That left Elodie with onlyone option. Let her monster loose and dare them to comeclose.
* * *
The second mist started toform around Elodie, Chance knew what she was about to do. Delilahwas coming. She should be here any minute, but no way was heletting the love of his long life face down ten minotaurs on herown.
Before she could finish herchange, he burst from the cabin, drawing his bow as he did. “Holdyour human form,” he yelled.
Then he started shooting.
Golden arrows this time. Not lead.
Every one of those beastswere about to fall in love with a siren. Even unable to hear hersong, Elodie was too beautiful for these creatures to not to havealready felt at least a stirring of lust. Hopefully enough to makethem hesitate to attack her now.
Usually, he got a chance toline up, make sure his aim was true so that the arrow struck boththe people he was aiming to help find love in one shot. ButChance’s uncle was the god of war, and a cousin was the goddess ofthe hunt. He’d been well trained with his weapon. In rapid firesuccession, he shot and shot and shot. And his aim wastrue.
Never once striking Elodie,his arrows hit each minotaur with satisfying accuracy, straightthrough the heart, every single one. His arrows were silent, but heimagined the thunk of each strike. What he failed to do, though,was pay attention to their leader. As he turned his back on thelove-struck creatures to his right to aim for those on the left,Cretan charged.
The minotaur’s roar wasnothing to the thunder of his hooves as he pounded across the icyfield. Chance had never seen one in action before. He’d heard oftheir power, their strength. Near undefeatable. What no one hadwarned him about was their speed.
Only Hermes, made faster byhis winged shoes, could have kept up. Chance hardly had time toblink before the thing was on him.
Except an obsidian tentacleknocked him out of the charging bull’s path.
Chapter 16
Dragons shifters changedshape with a shimmer. Wolf shifters in the blink of an eye, toofast to discern the process. Werewolves rearranged their bones. Butsirens…
Sirens unleashed.
In a violent swirl of mistand electric charge that looked like lightning, Elodie burst fromher skin into her true form.
Not a mermaid exactly. Not anymore.
Her grandmother on her rocknear Scylla looked more mermaid than Elodie did. But the sirenswere devoted to Persephone and had begged for wings to search forher when she’d been abducted by Hades. Demeter, in her mother’sneed to save her child, had granted them that wish.
Elodie’s skin turned toscales obsidian dark, her eyes to slitted red irises with nictatingmembranes, her fingers and toes to webbed talons to both swim andrend flesh from bone, her teeth sharpened to rows in her mouth likea shark. She stood on feathered legs with an octopus’s tentaclesflowing from her center, already seeking her prey. And from hermore human arms, great feathered wings emerged, black as a raven.Only her hair remained the white blonde of her humanform.
Rather than flinch or runor faint—most fainted when they saw her this way—Cretan turned hisrage from Chance to her.
The minotaurs whom Chance’sarrows struck, stared at her in awe. One or two started to movetoward her as though they might protect her. The ones whom Chancehadn’t hit roared their own challenge, but the sound cut offabruptly as more arrows flew, striking each in turn.
Elodie’s monster smiled. Good.
Cretan charged, but shelashed out with her tentacles, sweeping his legs out from underhim. Both stalking and slithering forward. Using both her legs andtentacles, she stopped when he regained his feet and chargedagain.
Damn he was fast.
She couldn’t let him strikeher. At that speed, lowering his head and using his horns, he wouldeither impale her or pulverize whatever he hit.
But she didn’t move.Instead, the mist swirled and lightning flashed and she grew inheight and form until she towered over him. At this size, hischarge would be merely a sting.
