Free Salvaged Soul (The Ignited Series Book 3) by Desni Dantone Page B

had known, I would have never let you leave the island. You and Kris got lucky.”
    No kidding. I blew out a puff of air, having realized the bullet we had barely dodged. “I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary,” I told Jared, “but then again, I wasn’t looking.”
    Jared nodded, satisfied with my answer. His demeanor still seemed off. “They don’t seem to know where the island is at least.”
    “That you know of. They’re not increasing their numbers for nothing.” The severity of the situation hit me, and I leveled my gaze on my friend. “You can’t send eleven of our best soldiers on a mission now , when there are Skotadi sniffing around nearby. We should stay here, and you know it.”
    What if they figured out where the island was while we were gone? What if they decided to attack? At least Jared looked as conflicted as I felt about it.
    “This mission is coming from the top,” he said in defense. “They’re requesting the best, we have to give them the best.”
    “The top? Who?” Jared shifted uncomfortably, so I pressed harder. “What is this mission? Where exactly are we going, Jared?”
    He hesitated as if debating what, and how much, to tell me. Finally, he decided to be truthful. “Mount Olympus,” he said. “The gods themselves have asked for our assistance. Do you want to be the one to tell them no?”
     
     
     
    Shit.
    Shit, shit, shit.
    Shit .
    I was due to meet Kris . . . now. But I had one more previously unplanned, but now necessary, stop to make.
    Bruce and I exchanged cordial nods as I rapped on Alec’s door.
    “Well, well, well,” he drew as the door opened. “Coming to say goodbye to me before you leave? I’m honored, really, but I don’t care about you that much. Could’ve saved yourself the trouble.”
    “Funny,” I muttered as Alec stepped back, inviting me in with a wave of his hand. I made sure to shut the door behind me. What I had to say to Alec was for his ears only. “We need to talk.”
    Reacting to the severity of my tone, Alec’s trademark grin dropped and I got a glimpse of his rarely seen serious side. He took a seat on the edge of the computer desk, facing me with his arms crossed. His eyes were alert and ready, his unspoken question visible.
    “This mission is worse than I thought,” I started, causing Alec’s eyebrows to raise in curiosity.
    I was well aware of the enormity of what we were about to do. No Kala hybrid had ever been to Mount Olympus. As far as I knew, no modern day Kala had ever met one of the demigods that lived there, let alone a god. Certainly, neither had ever asked for the Kala’s help before. Whatever had prompted them to do so must be huge—something they feared enough to not deal with it themselves.
    Which meant we were about to go into something that could likely get each and every one of us killed. Because that was the only reason I could think of that the demigods wouldn’t have taken care of it themselves—fear of their own demise. Sure, the gods were immortal, but the demigods were not. And we, a small group of Kala, were expendable in their eyes.
    “We’re going to Mount Olympus,” I told Alec.
    My statement was met by silence as Alec absorbed the gravity of it. He opened his mouth a few times as if to say something, but the words never formed. Finally, he shook his head as if he thought he hadn’t heard me right. “Mount Olympus?”
    I nodded.
    “As in the Mount Olympus?”
    “The one and only.”
    “As in the home of the gods?”
    “Yes,” I snapped.
    He cleared his throat and stood to pace the room. “I’m not a Kala so I don’t know for sure, but my guess is that this is a first?”
    “For us to be asked to go there? Yes, it’s a first.”
    “For them to ask for your help?”
    “That’s a first, too.”
    “Well that can’t be good,” he concluded.
    “That’s why I’m here.” Finally, now that his shock had worn off, we could get down to business so I could get back to Kris.
    Kris. No