•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Like all Ancient Hellenic Gods,

He feared the wrath of Zeus,

And had no power over the air or land,

But could cause earthquakes,

The sea god, Poseidon.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

I tore my chin away from Wyatt's chubby fingers. My mind whirled with so many thoughts.

Could he be right? Was I summoning my abilities from someone?

My first guess was Liam, but looking back on it now, Zion had also been present in every situation.

He was absent when Blaze attacked Liam and me. The only moment I tried but failed to make a portal.

What if it's Zion?

I glared at Wyatt. "You don't know what you're saying."

He shrugged, his look nonchalant. The cold breeze brushed the collars of his polo shirt. "It makes sense. At least to me. A human can only draw power from someone he or she is deeply connected to."

My eyes found the damp grass beneath my knees. My attention honed on how fast it soaked my new pair of jeans.

Does Liam know about this? Was it another one of his secrets? I made a mental note to ask as soon as possible.

Wyatt smiled at my obvious attempt to avoid further conversations. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's Zion. Honestly, you guys should be dating by now."

Patricia picked this moment to interrupt him. "Uh, Zion is single so..." She trailed off when Wyatt's hot gaze burned right through her skin.

He got to his feet and took casual strides towards Pedro.

I couldn't control my struggle. "No! Don't!"

My scuffle became more violent when two other male friends grabbed Pedro's arms and tugged him to his feet. His head slumped forward and his breathing was rough with exhaustion.

Wyatt grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head backward. "You still there, Pedro?"

"Get lost." Pedro wheezed.

Wyatt chuckled. "I won't take long. Just make sure you give Zion a message." He readied a fist and drove it straight for Pedro's midsection.

Pedro doubled over from the force but his two companions kept him upright.

"That's for burning my car." Wyatt snarled in his face. "Do you have any idea where that got me? Because of you and Zion, I had to drop out of school."

Pedro spat out blood, his face nearly concealed in the shadows. "Too bad..." He managed a smile that almost looked cynical. "...I reveled in it."

Wyatt growled and clenched his fists.

Patricia began another irritating speech. "The car wasn't his. He borrowed--"

"Don't make me rip out your tongue!" Wyatt lashed out at her for the third time tonight.

He turned back to Pedro and I knew I had to do something. "Wyatt, wait. If you want revenge, take it on me instead."

Wyatt paused for a moment and glanced at me. "Someone wants to be the brave knight tonight." He crossed his arms. "Is he your boyfriend? I thought Zion--"

He froze when something like realization dawned on him. His aghast look slowly turned into something mischievous.

He moved towards me, the full moon hid behind his towering frame. His yellow eyes glinted in the darkness. "Actually, you're not so bad. What better way to hurt Zion than with you and his brother?"

Someone scoffed to the side.

Patricia.

Her frown was evident after she tried to voice out that suggestion ever since they got here.

Hatred washed over Pedro's features. "Touch her and I'll kill you."

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "If I recall, you're in no condition to fight." He scratched his hairy neck and smiled, showing off his canines. "But to be honest, I expected our plan to go wrong."

My eyes never left his. "Someone told you we'll be in a cemetery tonight."

"Precisely." He sent a look to the guys holding me. I was pulled to my feet.

Wyatt stepped a tad closer. "After we got your location, we had to find a way to get Pedro alone. Hunter was out of the question since he's always with..." He made a disgusted face. "...Dimitri."

Wait. He's afraid of Dimitri?

Wyatt continued. "And the only way to isolate Pedro was to create a distraction. A creature dead-set on murdering Liam. Since he hasn't fully ascended, he'll need Zion's help. Leaving you and Pedro to find this..."

He rose the shackles to my face. "We knew Pedro had a god, so he'll be hard to beat. But we use that to our advantage. That's where the pendant comes in." He finished triumphantly.

He caused the skinny rider and his sick horse to attack us!

But he had actually thought things through. Wyatt hooked the shackles to his belt.

"That doesn't belong to you." I pointed out.

"It is now. I have a feeling it has Zion's name on it. Besides, rumors say a Crocotta leader wants to kill you. I'm not surprised though." He leaned forward. "Pandora is a curse."

He was close now more than ever and I used that opening. With every strength I could muster, I kicked his abdomen with my boot, sending him to the ground.

Grateful for the distraction, I head-butted the nearest guy holding me. His grip loosened as he shrieked.

freeing one arm, I grabbed the pocket knife from the grass And plunged it in the second guy's eye. He screamed and tripped on his feet.

I tore away from them, glad to be out of those tight restraints. Even though my head throbbed with pain.

The other Manticores backed away, including Wyatt. He snarled when one of his men ran out of the clearing like the ground was on fire.

"Coward!" He yelled after him then turned to me. His thick eyebrows reminded me of Angry Birds. "I change my mind. We're killing you."

I held out my pocket knife. "Get in line."

At that moment, a thick fog encircled us, making it hard to see beyond the cloudy barrier. The Manticores looked with uncertainty.

I watched as it slowly gained momentum till it was a tall whirlpool of suspended water droplets. They slowly molded into a shape.

Spears.

They weren't exactly frozen. More like water molecules forced into a compact state.

It was odd.

Wyatt cursed. "Everyone get down!"

I dropped to the dirt and coiled into a fetal position, right before the arm-sized needles rained down on us, impaling the enclosed land.

Screams tore through my auditory, loud and deafening. I waited for pain but it never came.

The place fell silent. Reluctantly, I pried my eyes open and froze. Five water-like spears hovered over me, suspended in mid-air. Pointy ends seconds away from breaking skin.

"Chips." It was barely audible.

My eyes found Pedro as he lay a few feet away. His irises had a blue glow. He dropped his hand and the spears crumbled down into their liquid state, drenching me entirely.

But getting wet was the last thing on my mind.

Wyatt and his teammates lay on the ground like fallen warriors. Deep wounds covered their form.

The spears had degenerated, instead, a muddy ground encircled them. I rushed to Pedro and pulled him to his feet. "They'll be up any second now. We need to move."

He slumped against my side, his exhausted eyes had lost their glow. "Ignore me and get Zion."

"I'm not risking it. Manticores have a fast recovery rate. If Wyatt wakes up before Zion and I get back, he could kill you."

We took steps out of the clearing. My priority was getting Pedro out of here.

"Zion isn't going to like this," Pedro said under his heavy breathing. "Bad enough, he's like a protective mom. Now he'll be watching my every move like a hawk."

"We'll worry about that later," I said.

We passed different gravestones, heading towards the converging dark clouds.

Towards Zion and Liam.

I thought we could make it until Pedro started shivering. He stumbled to his knees and cursed. His eyes started their rapid flickering as he tried holding back the pain.

Not again.

But it only meant one thing, Wyatt had gained consciousness...

And he was close.

Please don't forget to vote and comment.

I want to apologize because I feel like this update came a little late. Just want to clear that out.

Also, I'm back in school, so it's been hectic these past few days. But enough about that. Hope you're all doing well and staying safe.

I cherish you all!💜