This is what I hated about fighting them. They never looked like they should. Several of them had heads of beasts but bodies of men and women, and then just as they picked up a sword, they would turn into beautiful children, and you’d wonder why you were holding a child at the point of your sword.
I lunged into the first Phantom before he could change. Atlas roared behind me as he took out three more. They were coming in fast, too fast. I raised my sword above my head and sliced through two more Phantoms, cutting them in half.
They squealed in terror as their bodies bled dry and disappeared into the ground. From dust to dust.
Another thousand landed next to us. I could hear Ares’s war cry, and then an arrow flew dangerously close to my ear, hitting a Phantom between the eyes.
“Thanks,” I yelled back.
Ares plunged another arrow into someone near me. “No problem.”
With a cry, I lunged for five more. Each of them had enough time to transform. Their faces morphed into young women. I closed my eyes as I killed them.
They kept landing, and we kept killing and fighting. I heard Atlas yell, so I ran in the direction I’d last seen him.
Several Phantoms circled him, all in the form of little boys. I knew why he couldn’t kill them. They had his face. He was killing himself, and I knew his insecurities were pouring forth.
“Atlas,” I said steadying my voice. “It isn’t real.”
“Don’t kill us!” they screamed. “We’re innocent! Take us with you, please!”
“Atlas,” I warned again through clenched teeth. “You must kill them, now.”
One of the Phantoms grew back to normal size, his face contorting into that of Cronus; he dropped his sword. “If you surrender, I will free your father.”
“You don’t have the power,” Atlas spat.
“Oh, but Lucifer does. It will be like nothing.” The Phantom snapped his finger. “A life for a life. What do you say?” The Phantom’s head snapped back; his eyes glazed over, and suddenly it was as if Cronus was talking, not the Phantom. “Son, I love you. Save me, son, save me.”
“Atlas, no,” I shouted above the battle cry.
Atlas locked eyes with mine and then closed them as he plunged his sword into the Phantom’s heart.
I made quick work of decapitating the rest that surrounding him.
“Are you okay?” I asked once I reached him.
Sweat poured from his brow as he leaned over and nodded.
“Are you going to be sick?” I smashed the head of another Phantom as he approached us.
“Most likely.” Atlas heaved and then grabbed his sword. “All better. Let’s go.”
Three hours later, and none of the Seekers or Twelve had fallen. Michael fought with his brothers at the forefront; we moved our forces forward. Thousands of Phantoms had already died.
Apollo and Narcissus, both young and na?ve, charged forward without Michael’s command and found themselves surrounded by a swarm of Phantoms that looked a lot like supermodels.
Great. That was just what we needed.
Atlas and I fought through the Phantoms to get to Apollo and Narcissus. Apollo was fighting with all he had in him, sweat pouring from his face as he continued killing the Phantoms as if he didn’t even know they were attractive females.
But Narcissus was frozen, his sword by his side. I yelled for him to fight, but he did nothing. He was staring at the water, a Phantom near him whispering in his ear.
“Don’t listen,” I yelled above the roar of the fighting. “Narcissus, don’t!”
His head jerked up. With a wicked grin he reached out and touched the water and then looked back at the Phantom. The woman touched his lips and giggled, putting her arm around his body.
“Atlas,” I ground out. “We have to get to him. Now!”
It was too late. The minute my gaze returned to Narcissus, he was in the sky with a thousand Phantoms flying back to where they came from.
It made the battle easier, and in that moment I realized what Michael had truly meant. They weren’t here to destroy from the outside. They wanted to destroy from within. A half-breed on their side, one that had fought as a Seeker for as long as Narcissus had, would be like a thousand Phantoms.
I cringed, thinking of the power they’d just gained over us.
I continued fighting as I watched the Phantoms’ numbers dwindle. Aphrodite made her way through the Phantoms, her hair in a tangled mess as it ran down her back. “Help me, Adonis. I need help.”
I grabbed her arm and noticed blood, staining my hand. “Where are you hurt?”
Her eyes flickered down to her stomach. I gasped. She was in no condition to be fighting. I couldn’t heal her. Seth could. But he wasn’t here.
The fighting continued as my eyes searched for Raphael. He could heal her. At the moment, he was fighting about a hundred Phantoms. I needed to get his attention without getting him killed.
“Aphrodite, stay here.” I hid her beneath a tree and prayed she would still be alive when I got back.
It took me minutes to reach Raphael, and when I did, he did not seem amused I was interrupting.
“What?” he snapped as his sword went into another Phantom.
“It’s Aphrodite. She’ll die without you.” I plunged my sword into a Phantom behind me and waited.
Raphael nodded. “Where is she?”