The Demigod Diaries

Page 21

Wait…No, that wasn’t a whisper. It sounded more like a hiss.

Claymore pulled his gun from his jacket and pointed it at Lamia’s head. He didn’t understand what was happening—some sort of hallucinogen in his coffee, perhaps. But he couldn’t let this woman—this creature—get the best of him.

Those talons could be an illusion, but she was still preparing to attack him.

“Do you really think I would act so cocky around a lunatic if I wasn’t prepared to defend myself?” he asked.

She snarled and advanced, raising her claws.

Claymore had never shot anything before, but his instincts took over. He pulled the trigger. Lamia staggered, hissing.

“Life is a frail thing,” he said. “Perhaps you should have read my books! I’m merely acting in self-defense!”

She lunged again. Claymore fired twice more at the woman’s head, and she collapsed to the floor.

He’d expected there to be more blood…but it didn’t matter. “You—you saw that, Burly, didn’t you?” he demanded. “It couldn’t be helped!”

He turned to Black, and then frowned. Burly was still polishing coffee cups.

There was no way for Burly not to have heard the gunshots. How was that possible? How?

And then yet another impossibility happened. The corpse below him started to move.

“I hope you understand now, Mr. Claymore.” Lamia rose and stared at him with her one remaining serpent eye. The entire left side of her face had been blown off, but where blood and bone should have been there was a thick layer of black sand.

It looked more like Claymore had just destroyed part of a sandcastle…and even that part was slowly re-forming.

“By assaulting me with your mortal weapon,” she hissed, “you have declared war on the children of Hecate! And I do not take war lightly!”

This…this wasn’t a dream, drug-induced or otherwise. This was impossible.…How was this real? How was she still alive?

Focus! Claymore told himself. Obviously it is real, since it just happened!

And so, being a logical man, Claymore did the logical thing. He gripped his gun and ran.

The last time he’d seen a boot was years ago, on a rental car he’d illegally parked in Manhattan—but now, of course, on this morning of all mornings, there was one on his car tire. Driving away was no longer an option.

Lamia was getting closer. She shuffled out of the café, her left eye slowing regenerating into an angry stare.

A car drove by and Claymore tried to wave it down, but just as had happened with Black, the driver didn’t seem to register him.

“Don’t you understand?” Lamia hissed. “Your mortal brethren can’t see you! You’re in my world!”

Claymore didn’t argue. He took her explanation for it.

She wobbled toward him, taking her time. She seemed less like a serpent now, and more like a cat toying with its prey.

There was no way he could fight her off, either. He only had five shots left. If three bullets to the head wouldn’t stop her, he doubted that anything short of a hand grenade would.

He had one advantage. He wasn’t an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but Lamia looked like she would have a hard time getting from her couch to the fridge. He could run and outlast her, no matter what kind of monster she was.

She was about ten feet away now. Claymore gave her a defiant smirk, then turned and sprinted down Main Street. There were only a dozen shops in the center of town, and the street was too open. He’d have to turn on Second Avenue, possibly lose her on one of the side streets. Then he’d return to his home, trip his security, and get in touch with the police. Once he was there, he’d…

“Incantare: Gelu Semita!” Lamia screamed behind him.

That was Latin…an incantation. She was reciting some sort of spell.

He didn’t have time to translate the phrase before the air around him seemed to drop thirty degrees. Even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, hail started to fall. He turned, but Lamia was gone.

“Incantation: Path of Frost…” he translated aloud, his breath steaming. “Really? She’s using magic? This is ridiculous!”

Then her voice spoke behind him: “You truly are an intelligent man, Mr. Claymore. Now I understand why my brother seeks you.”

He spun toward her voice, but again she wasn’t there.

Playing more games with him…Fine. He would have to do more than just run away. She wasn’t human, but he would approach her like any adversary. He would have to study his opponent, learn her weaknesses.

And then he would make his escape.