"You're stalling," Jonny said. "What the fuck -"

Pain pierced his back. A flurry of arrows rained from the forest. Several slammed into him before his defenses went up, and the rest deflected off him. He felt without seeing they were made of the same material as the first, material that attracted his power like magnets and prevented him from unleashing it. Pain ripped through him, and he dropped to one knee, unable to reach the arrows to stem the bleeding or eject them from his body. They were immune to his magic.

"The Others knew a thing or two about keeping a god in check," Valon said. "I can't stop your power, but I can distract it."

"This is not going to end well for you, Valon." Jonny tested his power, startled by how effective the arrowheads were.

"Now it's almost a fair fight," Valon said and drew two knives. "You ready?"

Jonny straightened. Blood streamed down his back and legs. His thoughts went to Ashley then his vamps. Charles was right. If Valon won, Jonny's death would be the first of many. Even without humanity in the equation, everyone he loved would be slaughtered.

Valon was bigger, stronger and faster, but Jonny knew how to fight such an opponent. He'd tested himself against Ashley, who could run circles around him with her speed and skill.

"I'm not the boy you think you know," he answered. "I won't let some asshole with no vision run my domain. It takes more than strength to be a god."

"We'll find out, won't we?"

Jonny found himself wishing he could reach the arrows to yank them out of his back. He had access to some of his power but not all. A game of trial and error with Valon was likely to end in death.

He began to suspect Charles was right. When it boiled down to it, duty was a strong enough reason to fight. But knowing what happened if he failed - the fate Ashley, Charles and his loyal vamps faced - lit a fire inside him he hadn't thought existed.

Losing was not an option.




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