by Sam Ryder
So this is the part where my Demigod self goes bananas, kicking ass and taking names, plowing my way through twenty rows of demons to knock the head of the big ol’ demon clean off his neck, right?
That’s what might happen in a movie or a video game or some comic book. But this dark world wasn’t like that. Yes, I fought like a lion, but there was no way to survive this encounter. Not without help.
So, of course, that’s when we got help, right when we least expected it.
She emerged from a tunnel to the left, the very same that I’d walked through the first time I’d entered this domed cavern of death. She was on horseback, or I should say Galut-back. Shadowflash snapped its jaws and snorted, a plume of breath whispering from its nostrils.
Of all people, feline or otherwise, I would’ve least expected Silk to arrive. Honestly, I thought she’d gone back to her tribe. For all I knew she’d played us, spying on us. Or she simply couldn’t handle working for the Three again. Whatever the case, I didn’t expect to see her anytime soon, and certainly not here.
“Hey assholes!” she shouted, her voice echoing across the space. For a weird moment, the demons turned, pausing in their wailing and gnashing of teeth. Turned to stare at the newcomer.
Silk didn’t hesitate, already holding Valencia’s Locket in her palm, aimed in our direction. I remembered the story of the goddess Valencia, how she’d imbued the locket with her power, building it up over time. I remembered how her enemies had gathered around her.
I whispered, “Thank you,” both to Silk and the long-dead Valencia who was said to live on inside the locket.
Silk smiled just before she opened it.
I closed my eyes, though my eyelids did little protect me from the blast of light and energy in the confined, dark space. I shrank back, smashing into the wall, raising my arm over my eyes. I was tangled with other bodies—the women I fought with, also trying to escape the devastating goddess-power of the locket.
There were shrieks and screams and the clatter of hollow bones hitting the ground. And then…
Silence.
I opened my eyes, blinking at the stars that assaulted my vision. Thousands of bones littered the ground, some smoking and smoldering. Several demons hadn’t been incinerated—those closest to us. Silk had been careful to only release enough power to kill everything right up to us. Those that were closest had been injured badly but not vaporized. Their legs shattered, they reached for us, clawing. Even in the throes of death they wanted to spill our blood. I untangled myself from the other women, standing tall. With one mighty swipe of my hammer I killed them all.
I gazed across the area, not at Silk but at the beast that had caused us so much trouble. It stood, hulking, snarling, teeth bared in defiance. I expected it to flee once more, and it looked like a part of it wanted to. Perhaps because the Morgoss were tethered to it and were commanding it to retreat.
Not. This. Time.
Its instincts to fight, to kill, won the internal struggle and it stalked toward us, ignoring Silk, laser-focused on me in particular—maybe because it viewed me as the alpha. Kill me and the others would fall. It was wrong about that—none of the women would go out without a major fight.
I stomped forward too, mind calculating my options. Facing it one on one and expecting to win was a longshot, but I also didn’t want the women to be put in danger anymore. This had been my idea, so I was the one who needed to end it.
We closed in on each other and I saw the monster gathering its strength, planning to push it all into a single blow that would end the fight before it began. I pretended to do the same, cocking my hammer arm back as if to swing with all my might.
We were still twenty feet apart, so I wouldn’t be close enough to hit the bastard for at least another three steps. But that wasn’t my plan. I timed it perfectly.
I threw the hammer skyward, toward the spot where a massive stalactite met the domed roof above where the demon was walking. Not right above, but above where the demon would be in a few steps. Where we both would be, meeting in the middle.
The demon tried to stop, but his single-minded momentum carried him forward for a few more steps. My hammer hit the stalactite, light flashed, stone cracked.
The stalactite fell like a guillotine.
I knew the demon was fast, but even it could not move quick enough to avoid the hit completely, though it did manage a dive that almost brought it clear of the danger. Instead, the stone spike caught its legs just below its torso, pinning it to the ground.
It roared, writhing and bucking its upper body to try to wrench itself free.
The stalactite was massive, a car-like boulder. And not some wimpy smart car. A fucking Hummer, an H1.
“Holy shit, Ryder,” Beat said, sidling up beside me. The cerulean glow in her eyes was gone now, though she looked completely uninjured. “Nice throw.”
“Didn’t think I was more than just a pretty face, did you?” I said, grinning.
“Honestly, not really.”
“Thanks a lot,” I said. “But thanks for calling my face ‘pretty’.”
“How are we going to get to the heart?” Lace asked. The creature was pinned, but not fully helpless. The way it was thrashing about at least one of us would die if we got too close.
“Eve could put an arrow in its head,” Vrill suggested.
Eve shook her head. “We can’t kill it until we cut the heart out or else Minertha may die.”
While Vrill and Eve continued debating, Beat wandered over toward the monster, tracking a wide path around it to avoid getting bludgeoned by its meaty fists. I watched her, frowning.
Then, once she was in its blind spot, she changed direction, charging toward it. She slipped her broken spear around its throat and pulled tight, choking it.
The fucker went bananas, trying to reach back to grab its attacker, but Beat had flattened herself on the ground while still pulling the spear tight against its neck. Her arms rippled with taut muscles as she held him down, choking him out.
“Don’t kill him!” Eve shouted.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Beat said through gritted teeth. “Now help me with his arms.”
I didn’t need further urging, discarding my hammer. Even being choked and with legs pinned by the stalactite this foe was dangerous. Its claws thrashed blindly about, looking for a victim to impale. I timed my attack, waiting until its arm flew downward, leaping on it like it was a snake and I needed to avoid its venomous fangs, grabbing it just below the hand at the wrist. I pressed my knee into the flesh and muscle, putting all my body weight onto it. I could feel the monster’s strength straining against me, but I was too heavy. Its other arm, however, shot across its chest to take a swipe at me. It missed, unable to reach me.
On the opposite side, Eve fired an arrow at its arm just as it came down. The arrow went through its forearm, punching its arm downwards and slamming it into the ground. The arrow stuck fast in the ground, holding it fast. She shot three more arrows in a line up its arm, just to be sure.
Lace said, “Mind if I do the honors?” She wicked her claws in and back out. Shick-shick!
“Yes,” Vrill said. “I want to do it.”
There was something in her eyes that made me hesitate. Vrill had hated the Three for so long…could she be trusted? Or was this her plan all along, to bide her time until she had an opening to take one of them out?
I cursed myself, hating my own thoughts. This was Vrill I was thinking about. Yes, she had anger in her heart. Who wouldn’t after losing a loved one? But she was not the kind of person who would seek revenge for the sake of revenge. She’d channeled her anger into helping new Warriors escape their bounds. She’d helped me.
“Do it,” I said.
“No fair,” Lace complained.
I ignored the cat woman and focused on Vrill. I nodded at her. She nodded back, clambering up the massive swell of the monster’s chest. It tried to snap at her but Beat had its head locked down. Its survival instincts kic
ked in and I felt it straining harder against my weight. I pressed back—I wouldn’t put Vrill in harm’s way.
I could tell it was straining against the foursome of arrows on the opposite side as well, but they held fast.
Vrill kneeled on its chest, daggers raised. She plunged them down on either side of the glowing spot where Min’s heart pumped through its translucent skin. And then she began to carve.
The monster’s hide was thick, so it took a few minutes of sawing and hacking for Vrill to make real progress. It was gruesome work, but she did it methodically, emotionlessly. The monster was fighting harder now, the fear of death pushing adrenaline through it, strengthening it. One Eve’s arrows popped out as it flexed.
She cursed and reached for another arrow but she was out.
Another arrow popped free. Then another.
The monster roared and the final arrow began to move.
Lace hissed and jumped forward just at the arrow wobbled and popped free. She slammed her claws down on its arm, puncturing its flesh in four equidistant spots, pinning it to the ground once more.
Finally, the fight went out of him. His head slumped to the ground which made Beat’s spear shaft punch further into him. He was trying to die on purpose now, probably under orders via his connection to the Morgoss. If they couldn’t have Minertha’s heart, no one could. “Hurry!” I said.
Vrill seemed to realize what was happening and quickened her bloody work. I felt the monster’s body shudder. No. Shit. No.
Vrill dug her blade in and carved, growling from the effort. And then—
And then—
She pulled out Minertha’s glowing heart, still pumping with power and life. She raised it up as the monster died, a mountain of lifeless flesh and muscle and bone.
She also raised her other dagger in her opposite hand, edge gleaming.
Her eyes met mine and I could see such sadness in them that it broke my own heart.
She sheathed her dagger and climbed down.
It was over.
FOURTEEN
A FINAL UPGRADE
“For a second there I thought you were going to slice Min’s heart in half,” I said to Vrill as we walked toward the back entrance to the goddesses’ cave.
“For a second there I thought I was going to slice it in half too,” Vrill said.
I stopped short. “Wait. Seriously?”
Half her lip curled up. “No, Sam. Not seriously.”
“I’ve officially created a monster,” I said. “I can’t even tell when you’re being sarcastic.”
“Isn’t that the point or sarcasm?”
I laughed. It was a genuine question because she was still learning the oddities of humans. “Yes, it is. You are quite adept at it.”
“Thank you, Sam.”
“You’re welcome.”
The flight back on Mrizandr had been short and thrilling. Silk had wanted to ride back on Shadowflash but I requested that she fly with us while her faithful steed ran on the ground beneath us. Grudgingly, she accepted. She explained everything. Why she had left: because she didn’t think she would be accepted if she wanted to be with her Galut. She thought she would have to choose being with us or being with her monster. Why she had returned: because she knew she needed to be a part of something bigger than herself. How she had found us: Millania had told her where we had gone and what our mission was; she’d followed us, tracking us all the way to the domed demon hidey-hole.
And thank the Three she did. Without her…
Yeah. I wouldn’t be telling you this story. So I was grateful for Silk. I was grateful for all the women I’d been with on that mission. They were survivors. They were fighters. They were badass. No one had died.
No one.
It felt impossible, but for what felt like the first time since I’d arrived on Tor, a day hadn’t ended in tragedy and loss and pain. Okay, maybe there had been some pain, but even that felt lesser than usual. Victory had a way of making other negative things easier to swallow.
After we’d landed, I’d suggested that Vrill and I go to visit the Three and present Minertha with her heart. The others agreed so Beat, Silk, Lace and Eve headed back to camp to prepare the evening’s meal and check on the rest of the group.
Now, here we were, standing at the hidden entrance to the Three’s lair. I could make out the pulse of Min’s heart through Vrill’s shoulder satchel. I raised my fist to pound on the stone but the slab of rock opened to the side before my hand could fall.
Airiel was right on the other side of entrance. Her golden hair fell in waves around her shoulders and neck. Her silky dress clung to her curves, a hint of pale flesh seeping through. I expected to get one of her warm, inviting smiles, but instead she wore concern like a mask. “Hurry,” she said, swiftly turning away.
Vrill and I exchanged a confused glance. Were we too late? Had Minertha taken a turn for the worse?
I strode forward but stopped when I sensed something missing. I looked back to find Vrill still outside. She was holding the satchel containing the goddess heart in her hand. She tossed it to me, shaking her head. Then she turned away.
“Wait,” I said, but the slab of stone had already closed. I wanted to go to Vrill, to talk to her, to explain to her that it was all going to be okay.
Because I had sensed it before: She wasn’t being sarcastic when she said she thought she was going to slash Min’s heart with her dagger. It was true. She had contemplated it. Maybe she had thought it would give her a sense of closure about Darcy. Personal revenge or vengeance or something. I wanted to tell her that it didn’t matter what she’d thought about doing. It mattered what she had done. She’d helped us recover the heart. I wanted to tell her she was a good person—the best I’d ever met.
But that would all have to wait because of the concerned look on Airiel’s lovely face.
I rushed forward, curling around a large column of stone to find the Three gathered together in their normal spot, where the round, plush bed was nestled against the backside of the pillar. Airiel was standing on one side of the bed, still wearing that frown and staring at the other two.
I followed her gaze where I was surprised to see Minertha sitting up and looking none the worse for wear, though I could see her life meter bobbing over her head. 5. She was still very much alive, and now that we’d recovered her heart she could begin the process of healing as Airiel had done. I swiftly opened the satchel and handed her the pulsing heart.
She stared at it in awe, her face lit up by her heart’s throbbing glow. She pressed it to her own chest and the heart seemed to melt into her skin, light radiating across her stony chest. The heart vanished inside her, its presence only seen by the most subtle glow on her left breast.
She was very much alive and from here she would only get stronger.
No, it wasn’t Min that Airiel was worried about.
It was Persepheus.
Of course it was.
I remembered how she’d appeared to me in that dark underground tunnel. How she’d breathed life back into me. How she’d saved me. Lace too, by default. If not for that final bit of magic we both would’ve surely perished down there.
Give how weak she’d been when we left, the sheer effort of saving us must’ve drained what was left of her reserves. The proof was in the number over her head as she lay on the bed. Her life meter wasn’t as clear as the normal life meter numbers were. It was fading and fuzzy around the edges. And that number was
1.
She had almost nothing left, clinging to life like a critical patient in an ICU ward, kept alive by beeping machines. Except she had no machines. And she had no heart. For the first time since I’d met her, she’d been completely and utterly selfless. She’d agreed with our mission to recover her sister’s heart. And then she’d helped us do it, sacrificing the little life she had left for us and for her sister.
I wish Vrill could see it. But maybe Vrill didn’t want to see it. Maybe she wasn’t ready to let go of her ange
r and pain. Not yet. Someday maybe, but not today.
“I—” I didn’t know what to say. Except… “Thank you, Persepheus. Thank you.”
Her eyes cracked opened, but her gaze seemed unable to focus on me. “Sam Ryder?” she said. “Good. That is good.”
“What can I do?”
“You have done…so much. So much already.”
“No,” I said. “The work isn’t done yet. Not until we get your heart back. Not until we save you.”
The sea goddess managed a small smile, her lips parting with what appeared to be considerable effort. “You are heroic. But even with two of the Three alive, you have a great chance at defeating the Morgoss and saving our world. I have only a few grains of sand left before my life is forfeit. You have done well. I can die in peace now.”
“No,” I said. I wasn’t ready to fail. Maybe back on Earth I was content with my meaningless life, never really accomplishing anything. But here on Tor I’d found a new me, a second opportunity at really, truly living. “I am GOING to save you.” It was strange—I heard my own voice and knew it was mine but also felt like I was out of my own body listening to a stranger. The changes wrought in me through my various upgrades had physical, but the changes that could not be seen were still far greater. I liked them. “You said before that…physical experiences…could help raise your life meters, even if only by small measures. Right?” Yeah, I was talking about sex.
“Yes, Sam Ryder,” Persepheus said, “but I am too weak for even that right now. I am just…so tired.”
“Let me try,” I said. “Please.”
Persepheus stared at me, finally seeming to focus on my face. “I accept. But only after your final upgrade.”
“What?” I said at the same time as Minertha said the same word.
Minertha followed up hers with, “Sister, no. The risks are too great.”
I was missing something. “What are you talking about? I’ve never heard of a final upgrade. And what risks?”