Chapter Thirty-Three

My lips parted of their own free will and my voice thundered in the room, "I am Alecto, the furious. I refuse to wait around for orders from a pretend god. I waited a thousand years to take on Olympus. When Zeus dares to show himself he will know who he faces and why."

So Fury-Autumn—Alecto, apparently—piloted my body while I was stuck in shotgun, merely a passenger. All along it had been her conviction that this is where I belonged, her confidence in this war. Alecto had wanted to fight and kill and fly over a battlefield soaked in blood, not help Hector and the gods restore the ambrosia to its rightful place.

Alecto's conscious seeped into mine. What made me human—fear, compassion, empathy, a sense of wrong and right—burned away to make room for something older, something stronger, something better. I was never before so complete as I was when I was the Fury. The Fury overtaking my body bolstered herself all around me, forcing me into a corner of my own mind, where I huddled in the prison cell of Alecto's new body.

I shook my head—or I tried to. The muscles refused to respond to my command.

Get out of my head! I screamed wordlessly. Alecto ignored it, seemingly unable to hear me. But I knew that she could, she wasn't alone in my head and there wasn't enough room for her to store me away in a dark corner. I was very present, determined to be very loud. So far, this wasn't even the strangest thing that had happened to me in the Underworld.

Alex stowed her knives. She looked at me, I mean Alecto, and nodded. Not only had she been the first to strike me down in training, but now she was the first to follow me into battle. In the mirror, Alex tied hair away from her face before standing ready in front of Alecto. Confidence laced with power oozed off of her, like water rolling from her shoulders; Alex was ready.

Didn't anybody realize what I'd just said? Their disregard for my outrageous statement cut deep.

Alex's reflection looked at me with lethal eyes, ready eyes. Her wings miraculously reappeared behind her, making her all the more dangerous. I knew she had been hiding them but it had been so long since I had seen her wings, I nearly forgot that she had any. Like my reflection's wings, they were thin and weathered, wiry and oh, so strong. My initial predilection towards them had once repulsed me; now I found them intriguing, powerful.

Lindsay's wings on the other hand had not appeared. "How would you know about Alecto?" she demanded. The irony that my nemesis was the only one who seemed at all bothered by my proclamation was not lost on me.

Gregory snaked him arm out and grabbed Lindsay by the elbow, holding her back. Lindsay was the last to understand that I was not in control anymore, but the instant it clicked in her head something changed. An angry haze swept over her, leaving behind the cold, murderous look that screwed up her human features.

Was that jealousy in her red-tinted eyes? Fear? Hatred?

Something about Alecto set her off. Lindsay shook loose from Gregory's grip. Fists clenched, feet planted firmly on the mat, she changed.

A ripple began at her head and filtered down her body. Her transformation was familiar in my eyes, now Alecto's, and I recognized the snake on her abdomen. Had I been in charge of my own voice I would have asked about it.

What did it mean?

Did I have one beneath the thin armor I wore?

Where did it come from?

Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much? A voice sounded in my head—not mine.

Proof! I knew you could hear me. I stuck my tongue out at her. Rather, I would have if I'd had control over my tongue.

Give me my body back, I thought to her.

Never, she cackled silently at me. Her reflection did not betray the triumph I felt in her laughter.

I wanted to see Hector. Without being able to ask them it was hard to tell if my companions recognized the difference in me but they had to; they knew me, and the outward portrayal of Fury-ness was so not me. But Hector would notice the switch, I was sure of it.

Your Hector is unavailable to you for so long as you live, little Autumn. Give up now before you cause yourself more pain. Alecto's condescending words were not soothing in the slightest. Her sarcasm only fueled my conviction to escape.

And I was definitely going to escape.

Gods and Furies do not fall in love, do not delude yourself that he will miss you.

I bristled at her words, protests unuttered. Who said anything about love, Alecto?

This time she laughed out loud. Gregory raised an eyebrow. From his stand point it looked as if Alecto was laughing at Lindsay; Lindsay growled in response.

Being a passenger in my own skin was unnatural; the situation was growing more dire by the second. I pleaded to any god of any kind who would listen: I promise never to take for granted having control of my whole body ever again.

I did not magically gain control of my body. Worth a shot.

Lindsay, with her wings out and her Fury face on, barely breathed. She and Alecto stared each other down, unmoving. And I had a front row seat to the show, lucky me.

But nothing was happening between them. Gregory stood back, wary; I'd never seen him so obedient before. Maybe he was as weak as Alex let on when he finally showed himself to me—had that only been a few days ago? Alex watched with a small smirk, ready for a showdown to burn off the nerves before battle. Then there was me, exclusively an observer. I wondered why Lindsay seemed to be herself when she was the Fury where Alecto and I existed as two completely different entities.

Alecto didn't have the time to answer my endless ruminations. A sudden heat gathered in her hands—apparently I could still feel everything even if I couldn't control my limbs—and a ball of fire surged from her hands heading straight for Lindsay.

Seriously: a ball of fire. The size of my face. Hurdling through the air.

The deadly flame ball missed its target as Lindsay jumped to the right just in time. She came back with a whip that lashed out to wrap itself around my wrist. It burned but not for long; Alecto grasped the cord in her free hand and it turned to ash, relieving the burning ache on my skin. Alecto grinned at Lindsay toothily. A challenge.

As a teacher and an antagonizer, I did not think that Lindsay was a great person. It's safe to say that I'm not an admirer, secret or otherwise, and would never be a part of her fan club, no matter what the perks are. But I'll admit that she impressed me when she wasn't holding back against Alecto.

She'd clearly been holding back against me.

After Alecto burned away the whip, the snake tattoo reappeared around Lindsay's stomach. Lindsay flipped a dagger at Alecto's face. It missed but was enough of a distraction that Lindsay could get close enough to her fellow Fury to tackle her to the floor. Alecto rolled us over but Lindsay wiggled free enough in the movement to jump back to her feet and swiftly kick Alecto in the ribs.

Ouch. I wanted to scream at them Stop, I'm still in here! but it was like yelling at soundproof glass: pointless.

Lindsay kicked again but it didn't stop Alecto from pushing off the ground and attacking. She ran at Lindsay, using her shoulder to ram into the Fury's stomach and take her off her feet. Lindsay ended up on the floor again, flat on her back.

Their fray only lasted a moment but it was enough: Alecto stood over Lindsay's form, which was splayed out on the floor and vulnerable. I could tell that the others could feel it too, the heady cloud of power that oozed from my body, from Alecto. Lindsay would not look Alecto in the eyes and did not move until Alecto lost interest and turned her back.

If I'd known that was all it would take to get Lindsay off of my back, I would have done it ages ago.

That was kind of cool, I told the invader in my head, but I'd like my body back now, please.

She didn't acknowledge my presence or my plea. Instead she smiled at the other two people in the room. Gregory did not meet her gaze but Alex beamed back at her.

"You are but a clone of a real power—an attempt by Zeus to cull and control my bloodline. Make no mistake; for all your dedication and audacity, I am better than you by far, daughter-mine. You are powerful, take pride in that. Hades does not deserve you," Alecto turned off the emotion that softened her face when she addressed her daughter-mine and she looked around the room, regal once again. "Let the Olympians come."

She spoke no more as she marched out of the training room, three sets of boots on her heels as they made their way through the corridor and to the portal.

A/N: There are only ten chapters left in Furious! If you've made it this far, I'm so grateful for you.