by D. S. Murphy
“How’d you do?” Heph asked.
“It’s not like practice,” I said quietly. “In a real battle, it’s hard to grab the threads without accidentally touching my teammates; and if I touch their thread at the wrong moment, they’ll freeze up. Someone could get hurt, even die.”
“Then the lesson is learned,” Alice said. “Every decision is a mortal one. Now you know the weight on Able’s shoulders. No matter what he chooses, someone will die. He can do nothing, and escape the responsibility, or make a decision and bear the burden.”
“So in a way,” Heph continued, “it’s not that he doesn’t trust you. But you are human. We’ve seen humans destroyed by regret, doubt and fear. Even if you could come back from Egypt successfully, by allowing you to make the decisions, he’s also transferring that weight of responsibility. Before he offers you the freedom to choose, he wants to make sure you can bear the consequences.”
“And right now I can’t even manage two centaurs,” I said.
“Something like that,” Heph nodded. “Which isn’t to say you aren’t useful, and I know Able recognizes that. Look what you did in your match; the right thread at the right time can change the outcome of the battle. This was practice, but someday it won’t be.”
I sighed and crossed my arms. I was still angry, but I maybe Able was right. I wasn’t ready. If only there was a way of collecting more threads at the same time. I rubbed my fingers together absently while Sam announced the next match: seekers against torches. The seekers were allowed a water break and twenty minutes of rest before the next match. I heard some grumbling that they weren’t given more time.
“Won’t they run out of magic?” I asked. Magic was a renewable resource outside of Nevah, something to be saved and treasured. It seemed foolish to throw it away on a practice match.
“Maddie found plenty of old charges in my scrap pile; plus those barrier shields are built to run on low energy.”
“Wait, you made those?”
“I might have helped a little,” Heph grinned. “The seekers are seriously outmatched here, and Able didn’t want the matches to end too soon.”
I saw Jessie and Taylor hauling a new box of scrap metal to reset the box-like devices, and wondered how the torches would fare against the shields. While we waited, Sitri appeared next to me. I hadn’t even seen him during the first match, I wondered if he’d been avoiding me. He didn’t say anything at first, but he stood so close our arms were almost touching. The back of our hands brushed together, and even though I was wearing my leather gloves, I felt a thrill run up my spine. I looked at him, but he was still staring straight ahead at the field.
“You did well,” he said finally. “In the first match. I wanted to stay close, to protect you, but Able told me to give you space. He doesn’t want you to feel too safe.”
“Mission accomplished,” I said. I was annoyed at Sitri for thinking I needed protection, but also at myself, because it was true.
“Listen, keep your head down during the next match. The family, they’ve never been beaten before. I think they’re nervous this time.”
“Nervous about what?”
“About you,” he said. “The games are meant as a display of power. They don’t want to lose, and you’re the wild card. They’ll come after you, hard.”
“They don’t need to worry,” I said. “I know what they’re capable of.”
“I’m not saying you should hold back,” Sitri said. “Able’s right, you need to learn to control your power. But try to stay out of their way.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I said.
***
Sam shot the pistol and the match started. The torches blew past the midfield and cut through the seeker forces with military precision. They were twice as strong as the humans, and less distracted by the displays of magic. As soon as they reached the wall of magic, they began building a tower of bodies – standing on each other’s shoulders, in levels of four torches that formed a tight ring. More than twenty torches squeezed together on the bottom to form the base. Another hundred formed a ring to protect the tower from the remaining seekers.
“It’s like a Jenga tower,” I said, watching the tower grow and sway. Magical projectiles sometimes took out a torch, causing the tower to ripple and wave like a serpent, but the empty space was quickly filled by another torch. Once the tower was tall enough, the torches scaled up it and jumped over the magical barrier to take out the defensive posts. As soon as one section of the shield faltered, the whole tower toppled forward, overwhelming the seekers.
I glanced back at the torch’s base; their flag was protected by three square rings of torches with interlocking shields. A handful of seekers were still trying to break through it, and I even saw a few try to fly over the rings and grab the flag, but twenty archers in the center quickly shot them out of the sky. The main force of the torches on offense grabbed the flag and found little resistance on the way back to the midfield. They celebrated quietly, with smiles and pats on the shoulder. Many pressed their foreheads together, something I’d seen them do before.
I looked for Puriel but didn’t see him at first. When I finally found him my throat went dry. He was off to the side of the field near the woods, staring at the trees with his back to the games. I crossed over to him, and when I got closer I could see his shoulders heaving like he was taking deep breaths.
He heard me approach and his neck snapped to look at me.
“Stay back!” he growled. His eyes were wide and dark, and his mouth stretched unnaturally, like he was wearing a mask and it was about to tear. He was sweating and his muscles were tense as he struggled to contain himself.
I stepped closer until I was next to him. I didn’t know what to do, so I did what I’d always done with Sarah when she was having an episode at JDRI. I held his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes, then I matched his breathing. I’d read about it in a magazine a long time ago, something called mirroring. Once we were in sync, I slowed my breathing. His eyes were burning chunks of coal, and I could feel the rage and hunger inside of him. His eyes were full of fear and panic, but I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Finally, his breathing slowed, and his eyes returned to normal – glittering chunks of obsidian, dark gray and clear with flecks of orange. He blinked and exhaled slowly.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said weakly.
“It’s the magic, isn’t it?”
“There’s just so much,” he said, glancing towards the field. “And in the battle, once my adrenaline spikes, the hunger, I couldn’t control it.”
“I thought Able was going to help you control it?”
“He has been,” Puriel said. “He gives me a small dose daily. It keeps my head clear, enough to resist. Usually. But the hunger never goes away.”
I nodded. Once a torch tasted magic, the hunger grew until it destroyed them. This is what the daughters of Triton had warned me about.
“We’ll find a way through it,” I said.
“On the field, all that magic, just sitting there. I wanted it so badly. I could have hurt people. Promise me something. If I ever lose control, if I’m not myself, promise me you’ll stop me.”
The blood drained from my face.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“It’s a risk, having me here in Nevah. You saw what I did to Athena. Imagine what I could do here, with this much magic.” He looked this time towards Heph and Alice. Sarah was standing near them and his eyes lingered. He cared about her, but he was afraid he’d hurt her. I’d assumed once we got back to Nevah, Able would find a way to fix him; that he wouldn’t be allowed to stay if he posed a real threat. Now I wondered, just how much of a risk Able was taking, and whether he was taking it because I asked him to.
I’d been so focused on undoing Zeus’s spell and saving Sitri, I didn’t realize that Puriel was suffering. For the first time I wondered whether he could even be saved. All leeches turn into monsters, everyone kept telling me, it was just a
matter of time.
“You’re strong,” I said. “I’ll talk to Able, we’ll figure something out.”
“But if I lose control,” Puriel pressed.
“If you lose control, I will stop you before anyone gets hurt. I promise.”
Puriel nodded, and I leaned forward to press our foreheads together like I’d seen the other torches do. He relaxed after that, and even smiled a little.
“Thank you,” he said. “Now, I think it’s your turn.”
He nodded towards the field and I saw the roots gathering on one end and the heirs on the other. “Great,” I said. Part of me wanted to sit this one out and stay with Puriel. The forest was calming, and behind me I could hear birds chirping. I watched a spider spinning a web, connecting the spokes together with thin threads of silk. It spun one thread while simultaneously fusing two others together. I rubbed my thumb and my fingers together, mimicking the movement.
“You know the story of Arachne, right?” Puriel asked, nodding towards the spider web.
“Remind me?” I asked, eager for the distraction.
“She was a shepherd’s daughter, who boasted that she was more skilled at weaving than Athena, goddess of crafts. Athena took offense, and challenged her to a contest. Athena’s weaving depicted four examples of mortals who set themselves up as equals to the gods, and were punished. Arachne’s weaving depicted ways that the gods had misled and abused mortals.”
“I like her already,” I said.
“When Athena saw that not only was Arachne’s work more beautiful than her own, but that she’d used it to insult the gods, she tore apart Arachne’s work, then killed her whole family. Arachne hung herself, but Athena’s rage still wasn’t exhausted, so she poisoned Arachne and cursed her to hang forever, as a spider.”
“That’s awful,” I said.
“Zeus used to tell us that story as a warning; the old gods are ruthless, unjust and spiteful. Even in a fair competition; even if you win, you still lose.”
He said this looking towards the far end of the field, where the family were preparing for the next match, and I realized he was warning me to be careful. And not just about the match. He and I were in the same position here at Nevah: we were allies, for now, but only as long as we served Able and didn’t pose a real threat. Our powers made us dangerous. Able valued our strength, but he wouldn’t hesitate to end us if he felt like we couldn’t be controlled. I sighed and stepped towards the field.
“Message received,” I said over my shoulder. I joined the other roots on the field. A group was huddled together for an impromptu strategy session around Chiron.
“Distract and sneak,” Priya was saying. “A show of force in the front lines to keep them busy, but everyone else scatters. They can’t stop all of us at once.”
“They’ve always been able to in the past,” Curt said.
“We’ve never had a game like this one,” Sitri said, looking around the circle. He glanced at a massive cyclops brandishing a spiked club as big as a tree trunk, and a woman with the lower body of a serpent and long, green fingers. Her upper body was human, and plated armor displayed her admirable assets. Not far from her were a pair of harpies, with dark horns and black wings. I realized it wasn’t just seekers who sought refuge at Nevah – dozens of rare mythological beings had found shelter here as well, descendants or casualties of divine conflicts.
“They won’t bother to guard their flag,” Sitri said. “Usually, the fastest roots charge forward, but they get picked off by Mist’s arrows. Maybe this time, we move forward slowly as one – the largest bodies protecting the smaller ones, until we’re close enough to get the flag. Then we scatter and race back across the line.”
Sitri’s eyes rested on me and I realized several others were staring as well. I wasn’t sure if he was warning me to stay behind, or telling me to keep up with the group. Before I could ask him, Sam pulled the trigger.
10
When the pistol shot, I stayed behind with the defense as the others charged forward. Up ahead I heard the clash of battle, but all I could see was a storm of dust. A few of the fastest heirs tried for a direct approach and charged straight through the madness. The first one was a woman with flaming red hair, the body of a snake and six arms. I reached for her thread as she barreled towards me, but I felt a slicing burn in my hand as soon as I raised my arm. I made a fist, with blood dripping down my arm. Across the field, on the raised platform, I could see Mist – and even from this far away I could see her smirk as she nocked another arrow.
Shit. Panic flooded my body as the woman closed in, raising her sword to strike. I reached out again, only to feel Mist’s second arrow miss my hand by a breath. The feathered fletching sliced through the leather and cut deep into my finger. I clutched it against my chest. The serpent woman was so fast, I knew I wouldn’t get another chance. I closed my eyes and dove to the side, but the blow never came. I looked up to see a massive black horse with three horns sticking out its forehead. It reared up on its hind legs, kicking into the air. The redhead frowned, but turned sharply to go around us. I looked up in time to see the horse wink at me before charging forward.
I stood up cautiously, my hand throbbing. If Mist kept up her arrows, I wasn’t going to be any use to my team. I realized I’d begun to rely on my trick, it kept me from feeling the fear of battle. And even though I knew this was just a game, the adrenaline in my veins made my heart pound, and the icy cold grip of fear crawled over my skin. I was too exposed – an easy target, standing all by myself with no powers and laughable combat skills. I clenched my fists and ran forward towards the front of the battle.
I heard a rushing sound, like an airplane taking off, but it wasn’t fighting. The air became thick with white steam that smelled like sulfur, and I stopped running when my feet hit water. Warm water. I stared in confusion at the wide river cutting through the center of the field. At either end, I could make out the silhouettes of identical looking men holding tall staffs over bubbling geysers. In the center, on the other side of the bank, a man with horns and serpents for legs was chanting and waving a staff in a circular motion. Controlling the popup river, I realized, and keeping the water flowing in both directions, like a wide whirlpool. I watched as my teammates plowed through the water, which was only knee-deep, but when they got to the other side, they paused and looked confused, like they forgot where they were. When attacked, they raised their weapons, but their fighting was clumsy, and they were easily defeated by three women in matching armor.
“Kai!” I heard someone shout my name and saw a group of roots standing off to the side, hiding between a few of the large giants, who’d made a barricade out of a stack of tree trunks. I ducked down in the makeshift fort. Curt, Priya, Sitri and a few others were regrouping, peering out between the giants’ legs across the river. Sitri pulled me in close and pointed.
“Those are the Palici,” he said. “Twins, gods of the geyser. Between them is Achelous, god of rivers. Next to him is Scamander, another river god, whose name means awkward. Between them is Lethe, goddess of forgetful waters.”
“So, if you cross the water, you’ll get confused, or stumble awkwardly,” I surmised, crouching on my boots.
“Exactly,” Curt said. “We tried ranged attacks but Persephone has some kind of reversal barrier up; whatever we shoot comes straight back at us. We already lost most of our archers.”
“But now that you’re here, we’ve got still got a chance.”
I held up my bleeding hand, which was already becoming stiff, and flexed my fingers.
“Not if Mist has anything to say about it.”
“We’ll keep you covered,” one of the giants grinned down at me. I flinched when I saw his face, which was half lion.
“That’s not the only problem,” Priya said, pointing. “The river gods are easy to deal with, but we still need to get past the Amazons.”
“Daughters of Ares,” Curt said, nodding towards the three women standing at the edges of the river bank
. They took defensive postures behind large round shields, and working in tandem they easily took out the much larger roots that stumbled across the river.
“Melanippe, Antiope, and Eurypyle,” Sitri said, for my benefit.
“We just have to keep them distracted long enough for one of us to grab the flag,” Priya said.
“So, we take out Lethe and Scamander?” Curt asked.
“The Palici,” Priya said. “Without the water, the others have no power. Plus, I hate getting my shoes wet.”
“Think you can handle that?” Curt asked. I shrugged. I couldn’t see their threads through the blockade of giants, and I knew Mist would shoot my hand again as soon as I made a move from cover.
“If we get close enough, so I can see them both at the same time, while still being under cover... I think so.”
“Then let’s do it,” Sitri said, nodding at the giants. Without another word, they picked up their pile of fallen tries and ran forward. The rest of us tried to stay just behind them. They waded into the water, and I reached out to pinch the threads of the Palici. I got the first easily, but the moment I reached for the other with my left hand an arrow sliced through it – it came from behind this time. My eyes widened as I turned as saw Mist standing behind me. How did she get over here so fast? Sitri shifted into his wolf form and charged her. She easily swatted him aside, and I heard him squeal as she kicked him in the ribs. I took advantage of her distraction by grabbing the thread of the other Palici. My injured hand was already stinging, but I held my grip tight, even as Mist fired three more arrows that cut through the flesh of my forearms and neck.
The remaining roots cheered as the waters dried up and charged forward, easily overcoming the river gods. The Amazons weren’t so forgiving. They moved with deadly accuracy, fighting off half a dozen roots or more each, allowing none to pass. Curt tried running straight through them, but Antiope grabbed his arm and swung herself onto his back with a dagger pressed to his neck.