Free Labyrinth: Acropolis Series Book II by R.K. Ryals

Demons are not raised
to work as a unit. We fight together, yes, but in the end, it is
always about the Demon. You will need to rise above this. Unity is
the hybrid advantage."
    "So we're hybrid musketeers now? All for one,
one for all crap?" Lyre asks.
    A few of the hybrids snicker as Marcas
moves quietly in front of Lyre. The man is menacing enough to make
even Lyre uncomfortable. His expression is never anything but even,
his emotions hidden away in some black hole that only Dayton can
access. No one knows what kind of life Marcas has led as the first
born son of Cain and Lilith, and honestly, no one really wants to know.
    "When you are about to die, and your killer
is standing over your weak, vulnerable body, are you really going
to care who saves your life? Or better yet, will you care if no one
rescues you out of some misguided need to save only
themselves."
    Marcas taps Lyre on the forehead.
    "Rise above this, Hybrids. In the end, this
kingdom will fall under the feet of the selfish, but it will rise
from the ashes of sacrifice."
    Bruno moves so that his body stands partly
between Lyre and Marcas.
    "And what if we've already chosen to
unite?"
    Marcas eyes him. "Then I would know I was not
wrong in choosing you."
    Bruno nods, his eyes moving down the line of
hybrids standing with him. I am suddenly awake, my coffee
forgotten, and I place it on the ground at my feet.
    "They're working as one?" Grace asks.
    It's a rare sight, Demons joining together,
and none of us know how to answer her. Bruno gestures at Emma, and
she moves toward him, her head held high, her hair brushed down the
back of a red v-neck short-sleeve top. Around her throat, she wears
a small heart-shaped ruby on a short silver chain. Her eyes are as
red as the ruby.
    Bruno faces Marcas again, a hand grasping
Emma's shoulder firmly. "Yesterday, you chose Emma as our leader.
Her powers are strong, yes, but we think you're wrong."
    "Oh . . . oh ," Dayton says softly. "Well, this should be
interesting."
    Marcas stares at the dark-haired hybrid.
Bruno's stance is defensive, his legs slightly apart. He is bracing
for something, and it makes the rest of us tense.
    "Lyre," Bruno whispers, and the raven-haired
she-Demon rolls her eyes as she holds her hands out. A flame grows
within her palm, and she curls her fingers as the blaze grows. Her
eyes are bright, excited, but she does nothing. Fiona moves in
front of Emma, kneeling so that one palm is against the ground. A
line of blue electricity moves across the soil at Emma's feet.
    Gwenyth and Hesther sidle up behind Emma,
each one of them placing a hand on her shoulder. Lyre's flame
flares, and Fiona's electric beam brightens. Deidra peers out from
behind Emma's jeans, her fingers pointed at Fiona's power.
Electricity crackles as it lifts from the ground before mingling
with a dark yellow energy, turning the entire thing green. Gray
steps in behind all of them, his eyes blank, his hands lifted, and
I realize my hearing is now muted, my eyes shaded.
    "What the hell!" Will swears, but I reach out
and place a hand against his arm.
    "Whoa there, Sir Galahad. I think he's
protecting us," I say carefully.
    Bruno uses that moment to raise his hands
above his head, his eyes going black.
    "Emma," he utters through clenched
teeth. " Now !"
    Emma's eyes glow redder as she reaches toward
the power surrounding her, and the energy is suddenly fused. Lyre's
flame is extinguished, and the green energy is gone to be replaced
by a neon green ball of power with a red burning center and
electric blue lines moving like lightning around the orb. Emma is
tense now, her eyes void of any emotion, the power reflected in her
pupils.
    In her hands, she holds the power of five
hybrids, and she lifts it confidently, focusing on Bruno as the air
around him begins to swirl wildly, soil and leaves twisting to meet
in the atmosphere.
    And then Emma throws her arm back, and
Marion, Grace, and Will all call out, "No!"
    But it is too late. The power is