“Hop in? Dude, are you out of your ever-loving mind? I can’t touch this. I might leave a fingerprint or something.”
“Oh the horror. Guess I’l have to trade the piece of junk in and get a new one if that happens. By the way, don’t breathe on the upholstery or I may have to gut you.” Ash slid into the car without missing a beat.
Even though Ash had been kidding, Nick hesitated. He’d only seen cars like this in posters and online. The price tag for it was more money than his mom made in …
Fifteen years.
At least.
People lived in houses that cost less. He lived in a house that was probably cheaper than the tires on this thing. Dang, what would it be like to own something so fine?
“Nick, get in. I don’t have al night.” Biting his lip, Nick pul ed his shirttail up so that he wouldn’t tarnish the pristine black paint with a paw print. Ash had already put his backpack in the floorboard. Man, this was such a cool car. Careful not to leave a shoe mark on the tan interior, he got in and shut the door. “Are you a drug dealer?”
“No.” Ash let out a short laugh. “I’m a wrangler.”
“A what?”
Ash started the engine with the key on the left side of the steering wheel. How weird was that? “I manage people.”
“What kind of people?”
“People like you. Hard-headed. Stubborn. Irritating and smart-mouthed.” He shifted into high gear and kicked it.
Nick grabbed the door handle and held on for his life as Ash pul ed into traffic at supersonic speed.
“Relax, kid. I’m not about to dent this car.” Nick wasn’t so sure about that. “You like to drive fast, don’t you? How many tickets have you gotten, anyway?” Ash didn’t answer. Probably for the best since Nick didn’t want to end up as a hood ornament on someone else’s vehicle. Last thing he needed to do was distract Ash while he was driving at warp speed.
Or attempting to anyway.
Nick cringed as Ash weaved between two huge semis.
“Gah, do your parents know how you drive? And where did you get your license anyway? The Blue Light Special at Kmart?”
Ash laughed. “Who says I have a license?” Nick let out a cry of alarm.
“Relax, Nick. Remember, I have evil Jedi powers. Nothing’s going to touch us.” He downshifted and they shot forward like a bul et.
“I think I’d rather take my chances with the zombies.
Stoooop …” He swore the car actual y left the ground to avoid being slammed by a car pul ing out.
Yeah … evil Jedi powers indeed.
He looked over at Ash, who was driving through the dark night with his sunglasses stil in place. “How did you get those powers anyway?”
“They were a gift on my twenty-first birthday.”
“You’re that old?” Nick would have sworn he wasn’t any older than eighteen or nineteen.
Ash laughed again. “Somewhat older than that.”
“So what did you do for the gift? Sel your soul or something?”
The humor fled his face. “Something like that.” This was getting good. Nick would kil to have the kind of powers Ash did. “Who’d you sel it to? The devil?” Now, with anyone else, that would be a stupid question, but since Nick had seen what Ash could do, he knew Ash had gotten them from somewhere, not the local Walmart.
Ash paused before he answered Nick’s question. He didn’t like talking or even thinking about his past for a multitude of reasons. But his ownership wasn’t something that was that big a secret, since most of the people he knew had sold their souls to the only person who could control him. “I’m owned by a goddess, Nick.”
“Which one?”
“Artemis. Ever heard of her?”
Nick scratched his ear. “Greek goddess of the moon, right?
”
“The moon’s associated with her, but Selene is actual y the goddess of the moon. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt.”
“And what does she hunt?”
“Most days, me,” Ash said under his breath. Clearing his throat, he spoke louder. “She’s basical y retired now. Most of the ancient gods are only powerful when they’re worshiped by fol owers.”
“Most?”
Yeah, some, like Acheron, didn’t need fol owers to charge their powers. They were the real y dangerous ones because their powers never waned. And unfortunately, Artemis could and did tap into his powers when it suited her to. But lucky for the world, she real y didn’t care about using them except against Acheron himself.
When he didn’t clarify, Nick asked another question. “Are you one of the ones who’s weak?”
“I never said I was a god.” But somehow Nick seemed to sense what he was. Another thing that made him different from everyone else.
Nick fel quiet as he digested Ash’s comments. Ash didn’t say it, but there was something about him that was so powerful he could almost feel it in the marrow of his bones. If he wasn’t an ancient god, he was something …
Equal to it.
“Wel , you know, you haven’t told me what you are, Ash.”
“Just think of me as a powerful immortal and you’l be fine.” Nick cocked his brow as he zoned in on one word in particular. “Immortal?”