Chapter One
Izzy
My legs tremble as I stop beneath the massive oak tree and glance around myself again. From here, I can see the campus spreading around me, which means I can see if anyone is approaching.
And that was exactly what I needed, to read a book without being harassed by any of the many supernatural beings that wanted to kick our asses. Not that sitting out in the open will stop them…nothing seems to stop the worst of them.
This is as good a place as any. Sitting down, I pull out the book from my backpack.
Hands shaking, I tug the microfilm free from the page I’d stuck it in and stare again at my mom, holding my sister and I, before the fire that consumed our house. I’d been researching, using the laptop supplied to me by the school, but still, all my leads had turned up empty.
Mr. Time needs to meet with me soon and give me more than this to go on.
Gently tucking the film back into my backpack, I take a deep breath. I haven’t wanted to open the glowing book since we’d arrived. I’d been scared that what we were already facing was enough. But now, I knew I’d put it off long enough and needed answers.
So, hesitating only a moment, I opened it up.
The glow fades, revealing...empty pages. I flipped through the book, frowning. This can’t be right. There had to be something more significant than empty pages in a magical book that I found the night we became gods, right?
Turning the book upside down, holding it in the light, scanning everything, I still find nothing.
“Damn it.” There goes my hope that it might contain something that could help us.
Disappointed, I shove the book back into my backpack. I seriously waited all that time for empty pages.
Great, just great.
I’m about to pull out my copy of Magic for Dummies, a book given to me by that crabby old witch with the tattoos, Mrs. Brenda, when a commotion at the school gates draws my eyes. Students rush down the main school path to mill around in the gate. Excitement electrifies the air in a way I haven’t seen before.
Zipping up my backpack, I swing it onto my back and head over, curious what could get the students to act like this. I run through the possibilities in my head and come up with…nothing. Nothing at all. These supernatural beings that were sent to this reform school seem to have seen it all.
The gates draw open, and I spot eight people standing on the other side. Seven men and one woman. There’s an air of confusion on their faces, but they’re also built as if they were born to fight. I try to identify them as vampires, shifters, or witches, but they don’t seem to fit the typical ones I’ve met.
As they move through the crowd of students, people shake their hands and clasp their backs, and cheers rise up around them. It stands at such odds with the welcome we received that again, I’m confused.
Do supernaturals have celebrities? I was pretty sure if they did, then these were them.
A vampire near me spots me, and his eyes go dark. “You’re going to get it now,” he whispers.
A shifter hears him and grins. “I told you, no one is untouchable.”
Uh, okay. I look away from them and back at the newcomers, feeling uneasy. These guys are so excited about what they clearly believe to be bad news for my men and me.
One of the new men, the tallest of the group, has dark eyes and dark hair. His shoulders are almost impossibly wide, but he has the trim build of a fighter, not the bulk of a shifter. He pushes his way through the group, then his gaze moves to me.
His eyes widen, and suddenly, he switches directions and heads straight for me.
My pulse picks up. Something about the way he looks at me makes me want to run or fight, I can’t decide which. I only wished I knew what I was up against.
“You’re one of them,” he says when he reaches me, his tone filled with disbelief.
I shift uncomfortably on my feet. “One of who?”
“The gods.” He says the words softly, as if they’re a secret between us.
“What makes you say that?” I ask, dodging his question.
He studies me for a long minute, his gaze running from my feet all the way up to my face. “They said I’d know it when I saw a god, so I thought you’d be…different. Inhuman in some way. But you’re not. You look like just a girl, and yet, I know you’re a god. I can feel it in my soul.”
My heart races. “What are you talking about?”
He leans in closer to me. “Do you know how the gods were captured?”
“Not exactly,” I say, that desire to fight or run still building inside of me.
“Godslayers destroyed them.”
His words hang between us. “Godslayers?”
“The godslayers were once human, then were awakened when the gods walked the earth. Their job, at one point, was to keep the gods in line. But when they realized that the gods could never be controlled, their task changed: protect humanity, at all costs. And that’s when they began hunting the gods.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Oh.”
His eyes narrow. “And do you know what happened when you assholes were reborn? Perfectly normal humans had their lives turned upside down. They became godslayers. They lost their real lives as they were reborn into beings with strange memories and powers, but with a sole task of imprisoning the gods once more.”
“You know a lot about all of this,” I say, inching backwards from him.
He smiles. “That’s because I’m one of them.”
I feel myself go pale. “Are you planning to hurt us?”
That smile of his widens. “No. I plan to destroy you.”
The air between us crackles with energy, and I can suddenly feel power welling up inside this man. Power that rivals my own. It’s overwhelming to stand beside, like a blazing fire. And I know, in this moment, we’re going to fight.
And I don’t know if I’m going to win.
“Izzy!” Wilder calls from somewhere behind me.
Suddenly, some of the fear inside of me calms. “Do you know who that is?” I ask him.
Some of the godslayers’ magic abates. “Who?”
“Your worst nightmare.”
Chapter Two
Wilder
The guy who stares Izzy down is looking at her in a way I don’t like one bit. I shove my way to her side and meet his gaze. Just for a second, I swear I see a flicker of fear in his expression, before a cocky smile crosses his lips.
“Which one are you?” he demands.
“I’m Noah Wilder.”
“Which god,” he corrects. “I can sense that magic, asshole vibe from you--”
“Weird, I get an asshole vibe from you too, but without sensing any superpowers,” I say.
“He’s got some kind of magic,” Izzy says. Her face is troubled, and it makes me want to hurt someone until she doesn’t have to worry anymore. But that won’t help anything.
“Yeah, you’ll find out all about that firsthand soon,” he promises.
“Do you have a name?” I ask. “Or just a lot of empty threats?”
“I’m Lucas,” he says. “And like I asked. What god?”
“Let it be a fun surprise,” I say. Then I hesitate, not wanting my words to sound like a threat. “But just so you know, we don’t want any trouble.”