My Date From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #2)

Sophie Gets Gone (Part 4)

Ooh floaty stars ...

I blinked rapidly, until the spots had disappeared from my vision. I was completely winded.

The one bit of good luck was that I lay in a patch of sunlight. And maybe it could recharge me enough to be able to escape.

Zeus motioned for the Photokia nearest him to come over. The minion placed his foot on the middle of my chest and pressed down until I could feel that one more lean into me and his boot would smash through my body.

I bit my lip at the searing pain of my ribs spearing my torso. I was glad I couldn't remember the location of this planned overthrow, because any more pain and I'd have handed it over with a hand-drawn map.

My father loomed over me. "You can make this stop, you know. Just answer my question."

Ignoring my screaming neck muscles, I turned my head up to face Zeus.

Exhaustion and pain threatened to pull me under but I didn't think closing my eyes would be a good idea in this situation. I forced them open by digging my nails into my palms as hard as I could.

I jutted my chin out at Zeus, stubborn and silent. The stoic effect was only slightly lessened by the tears of pain streaming from my eyes. I squirmed against the Photokia's foot. No go.

Click. Click. Again with the damn pen. "Enough of this, child. Tell me the location."

The Gold Crusher slowly grinding me into the floor turned his head to say something to the minion beside him. He leaned back a bit as he did, letting up the pressure on me.

Now or never.

I hadn't been recharged much, but I had to try. Flinging myself hard to the side and knocking the Photokia off balance, I fired a puny ribbon of light out to shove him farther back, knocked Pop's pen out of his hand, and sent it flying toward me.

I leapt up, my legs wobbly, and narrowly grabbed it. At least I wouldn't have to listen to anymore clicking.

Zeus took a step toward me, hand outstretched for the pen.

As I'd seen, even my highest power level didn't faze Zeus. So I had two options. One, I could meekly comply and see what happened, or two, go for the low tech choice.

Two it was. I jumped up and jabbed him in the thigh with the pen with all my might, then pulled it back out again with a resounding click click for added insult.

Zeus didn't make a sound. Merely noted the hole in the leg of his suit, rimmed with blue ink and blood. His expression hardened. Cold. Severe.

Pure terror was a great motivator for finding my last dregs of energy. As was the accompanying adrenaline rush that hit me.

I ran, my heart racing, desperate to make it back across the room to the door and a way out.

Zeus's hand closed on the back of my neck and I felt something clamp around my left wrist.

My body started to tingle. Not in a good way, either. More like my blood starting to heat up.

I stared down at the three inch, black metal cuff on me embossed with the letters "FeE," then glowered at my father, struggling to summon any power at all.

Zeus squatted down to my level and wound a thick chain attached to the cuff around my upper body. I gasped and arched back as every nerve I had went into screaming overdrive.

Pops smiled serenely. "Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?"

My fingers white-knuckled the pen. Man, did I want to stab him again. Repeatedly.

Tears streamed down my face. My head throbbed and my entire body strained against the sensation of being caught in a vice. With needles attached for extra probey pain.

"What ... ?" It was all I could manage to say.

Zeus held the other end of the chain up in his hand, a matching wrist cuff for my right arm swinging from its final link. He gazed at it, almost dreamily. "It's really a thing of beauty. This binding both calls up your power and prevents it from going anywhere. There is nothing you can do to stop it. And since you can't use your power, it's not like you can blast the manacles off and free yourself. There you are, stuck with an ever-increasing pressure with no release."

He stroked the right wrist cuff, with a long, index finger. "It's calibrated perfectly so that eventually you'll die, but not too soon. Most go mad way before then." Head tilted, he cast a critical gaze over me. "You will for sure."

How comforting.

I ground my teeth together.

"You might want to take a deep breath," Zeus said and manacled my other wrist.

My eyes bugged out. It felt like my power was trying to rip through my skin. By chewing its way out.

"Relax," Zeus said, "it'll settle down in a minute." He leaned down and stroked my hair with his enormous hand in a surprisingly gentle gesture. "Don't struggle. It'll just be worse."

Total psycho! I jerked out from under his touch.

He was right about the pain though. It did settle. From unbelievably unbearable to barely-keeping-conscious tolerable, which was worse. Had it stayed at its initial level, I would have blacked out and been put out of my misery. But, as that wouldn't have been as fun for my father, awake and in excruciating agony it was.

I refused to die like this. Not that I'd planned my demise, but it would have involved being much, much older. Having saved the world. Had sex. Stuff like that.

I shook my head in a couple of sharp jolts, trying to stop the itchy squeezing of my brain. If I could just Velveeta it out through my ears, I'd be okay.

"All good now?" he asked. He picked me up like a trussed turkey and we blinked out of the room.

No. Not good at all.