The crowd boos in disappointment.
As he dangles over the spikes, I pretend to struggle with his weight, but in reality, I feel as if I could toss him up into the air to catch him like a twig.
“Give me your other hand,” I grunt, scrunching my face with fake stress.
He does as I say, even digs his fingernails into my wrist in the process, a sign that he has good survival instincts.
Good!
Veins bulge in his forearms, and I let him scramble for a moment, enjoying the panic in his eyes. When I deem the pretense sufficient, I pull up just a bit, until he gains purchase with his feet and is able to walk up the wall.
With a grunt, he lands in front of me. There is but a small gap between us. The space where we stand is barely large enough for the both of us. He’s tall for a human and, actually, looks down at me.
“Well, that was not too bad,” I say lightly.
His eyes drill into mine with intensity. There is nothing light about him. I guess a little levity would be too much to hope for, even if I just saved his life. Again. But Chaos only knows what his life has been like since we left him an orphan. It would be ludicrous to expect anything but this.
Gingerly, trying not to brush against Kadmus, I turn around and reassess. I quickly spot my opponents and note their progress. As my greatest concern, I judge Meristo’s distance from the flag post. He appears to be closer than us, though it’s hard to judge from this distance. Lara seems to have crossed one of the pits, and Cosme and Ynes are still maneuvering the first one.
“We have to pick up our pace,” I say.
“And by we, you mean you,” Kadmus says in an irritatingly haughty tone that I actually consider an improvement.
Two pits lie before me. The one to my right is filled with a clear liquid that looks like water. The other one swarms with a bed of silver diamond snakes. They slide over each other and hiss. A shiver rakes down my back. I shake it off.
“Nasty beasts,” I murmur.
“I assume the pit of snakes is preferable to the harmless looking hole full of water,” Kadmus says.
“I suspect the same.” I bend over carefully, tear a handful of grass from the patch of ground we stand on, and toss it down toward the water. As soon as it hits the surface, it sizzles and dissolves into nothing.
“Some sort of acid, it seems.” I turn left. “The snakes it is. I don’t particularly care for their bite, but they’re only deadly to humans.”
Kadmus grunts, and I sense skepticism in the tone, though this time I’m telling the truth. Silver diamonds are Godleader Jacobo’s creation. Their bite is painful to our kind, but not deadly. This pit is designed exclusively to kill my human.
Even though we will make some progress, the way across this pit will take us diagonally away from the flag. I’d much prefer a direct path, but there’s no point in lingering over this detail. The true dilemma is that the path over the pit is log revolving on a spindle.
“How good are you on your toes, Kadmus?”
He looks at the horizontal tree over my shoulder and narrows his eyes. He has nothing to say, which for some reason, I sense is not common for him.
“I think you should go first this time,” I say. “I have practice with moving paths.”
There are only so many ways Godmaster Mador can complicate things, so I’ve been over many similar obstacles. If I’m behind my human, I should be able to catch him if he falls.
“The trick is to go fast,” I say. “Oh, and the log might start spinning in the opposite direction or change speed at any moment, so keep that in mind.”
Kadmus takes a deep breath, shakes his arms, and hops on the log with both feet. I follow right behind, keeping my eyes on the path. His feet move fast, stepping lightly. I’m actually impressed. We’re almost to the end when the log’s speed doubles. Kadmus loses his balance. His arms windmill, and he struggles to keep his footing, but fails.
The crowd cheers.
I make the instant decision to jump off the log onto the stable ground at the end. On my way there, I turn my body and grab the back of Kadmus’s shirt. My feet touch the platform. I yank Kadmus in my direction, but I do it so hard his forehead smacks against the tree trunk. I drop to my stomach in an effort to hide the ease with which I hold on to this tall, well-built boy. I keep an eye on the snakes to ensure his legs dangle a good distance above them. He kicks in panic.
“Kadmus!” I shout, trying to break him out his terror. “Kadmus!”
He blinks, his eyes out of focus. There is a cut across his eyebrow, and it’s bleeding profusely.
“Come on! Let’s get you out of there. Help me!”
His eyes clear, and he regains his bearings. Reaching a hand up, he gets a hold of my arm.
“Good. That’s great,” I say to encourage him.
“Stop talking to me as if I’m a chi—” He flinches and clamps his lips shut to hold back a scream.
No! A snake reared up behind while I wasn’t looking.
He’s been bitten! I’ve lost him. I’ve lost it all!
I jerk him up and, in one swift motion, I move to a sitting position and land him on my lap.
“Shit! That hurts,” Kadmus says between clenched teeth. He shakes his head and looks at me, surprised. “How . . . ?” His green eyes dart back and forth from me to the pit I just pulled him from.
Ignoring him, I reach for his leg and attempt to pull his boot off.
“What are you doing?” He pushes away from me as much as he dares in the tight space.
“You were bitten!”
“And it hurts like hell,” he says.
My shoulders slump. It’s over. For both of us. He will die from the poison. Then I will die at Mother’s hand when they force me to Descend. I don’t even get the dignity of dying in battle. Unless . . .
I stand, considering the acid pit. I could jump and—
Kadmus is on his feet with a wicked smile on his face. After a small wave of his hand, he pushes me, saving me from the decision to jump.
Chapter 20
Snakes writhe all around me. Panic strikes. My heart pounds out of control, sending the terror to every corner of my body. I jump to my feet and walk backwards, tip-toeing and shrinking as snakes slither underfoot.
The crowd boos and boos, and their clamoring voices echo in the pit.
Forked tongues taste the air. The silver diamond shapes on the top of the snakes’ heads shimmer with the light from the Godfire orbs. My back hits the wall. My breaths are short and quick.
They can’t hurt you. They can’t hurt you.
The chant goes on in my head over and over, but it has no effect. It’s never helped. My throat tightens, making it difficult to breathe. I look up at Kadmus, and I can’t help the imploring expression on my face. His wicked smile deepens. He must have thought I lied about the snakes not being able to kill me. Though maybe they will, except from fear, not poison. The filthy human was obviously not bitten. It was only an act to distract me.
He delights and believes his wish to watch me die is coming true.
I’m immune to them now, as Godmaster Neo promised I would be when I was six. He helped me get there by administering the snakes’ poison in small doses rather than subjecting me to their bites, the way most Potentials were. I hated taking the “remedies,” as he called them. They made me ill every time, even if not as violently as the venom itself. He might have made me immune to their poison, but the terror remains.
A very large snake rears up, hissing. I close my eyes and try to melt into the wall. The snake strikes, pierces through my padded, deerskin legging with its sharp fangs. I feel the bite and wait for the pain to shoot up my thigh. There’s a slight twinge around the bite, but no more than that.
I open my eyes and look sideways at the snake-covered ground. Others raise their heads ready to attack. Godmaster Jocobo had made these particularly vicious and unrelenting. Their fearlessness ignites something in me, a fortitude. The lashing creatures have terro
rized me for years, and I’ve let them. For no reason.
“You can’t hurt me,” I say.
They hiss in response and pull back, ready to strike. In one swift motion, I unsheathe my sword and strike first. Several heads go flying, spiraling through the air and spattering blood in all directions. Some splatters on my face. I don’t even blink.
With my sword, I clear a path to the corner of the pit. I sustain several more bites, but barely feel them. I climb up the wall, creating my own handholds by breaking through the dirt with stiff fingers.
I emerge and stand in front of Kadmus, anger simmering in my chest. A string of curses sits on my tongue, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly he got to me. At least he didn’t push me into the acid.
“Thank you,” I say, instead. “I’ve always been afraid of silver diamonds, but you’ve helped me face my fears.”
He gives me a dumbfounded look.
I grab him by the throat and do my best not to tear his head off. He lets out a guttural sound, and his eyes fill with shock and fear.
Oh, how nice it is to be this strong.
“The acid would have been a better choice,” I say. “But I suppose you wanted to see me suffer. Let this be a lesson. I don’t lie. I told you snakes are harmless to us, and so they are. If you ever do something like that again,” I squeeze a little harder; his eyes roll backward, “I will show you the real meaning of suffering.”
I let go. His knees buckle, and I have to hold him, so he doesn’t fall into the acid pit. He coughs and tries to push away from me. I don’t let him and, while he struggles like a child against my strength, I scan the arena for my opponents.
Only three are left, it seems. I double check. Meristo is the closest to the flag. Kadmus’s stupid scheme has cost us precious time. But at least there are only four of us now.
Kadmus says something I can’t understand.
“What?” I demand with annoyance.
“You’ve already shown me,” he rasps.
“Shown you what?”
“The meaning of suffering.”
I let go of him again, unable to bear this closeness. This time, he stands on his own two feet, though with a slight sway.
“We have to move on,” I say, unable to look him in the eye.
I turn my attention to the path ahead. There are five or six more pits we must cross in order to reach the flag, and we’d better get started if we want to live. There is no way I can let Meristo be the victor.
Chapter 21
After Kadmus’s attempt to “kill me” in the snake pit, the next few obstacles are easier, and we actually manage to catch up with Meristo. The flag pole stands between us now. We each one last pit left. My enemy sends a deadly glance across the way, then gets to work on crossing. His human is a woman with some gray in her hair, but capable enough from the looks of it.
Pushing Kadmus forward, I direct him to cross a pit that burns with Godfire in its depths. I’ve tested the rope that hangs diagonally across the hole. It’s sturdy enough. The trick here will be to move quickly and reach the other side before the Godfire roasts us like pigs.
“Wait,” I say, changing my mind and cursing myself for my stupidity. “I’ll go first.” I’ll be better suited to defend the flag.
The rope is tight enough to walk across, and I have more than enough practice in the endeavor. Arms out for balance, I step onto it, shield and sword at my back. The soles of my boots are supple, perfect to let my toes feel the rope’s texture and thickness.
My first step is tentative. Then comes the next one, and the next. I find my rhythm quickly, and take short but quick strides that steadily get me closer to my goal. In the very back of my mind, I realize the crowd is chanting my name, not Meristo’s. It is surprising since they still think I’m Skillbarren.
They probably would love to see me get to the end, just to have a skilled Potential put me in my place.
The chanting stops abruptly. I’ve lost my balance, and my arms are flapping as if I were some sort of injured eagle.
Focus, Bia. Focus!
It feels like an eternity before I get control of the situation. Sweat pours down my forehead, blurring my vision. The soles of my feet are so hot, I have to look down to make sure they haven’t caught on fire.
My eyes dart to Meristo. He looks terribly close to reaching the center platform. I take a deep, scalding breath and take confident steps. I imagine this is just a training session, and Delfos waits for me on the other side to pat my shoulder and congratulate me with a silly joke. I practically see him there waiting for me and, when I step onto the firm platform, I’m disappointed to find Meristo instead. He’s just made it there with his human strapped to his back, held safely in place by a sling made of vines. His protuberances helped keep the woman immobile and improved his balance.
Rushing forward, I block his path to the pole and draw my sword. I have to buy enough time to allow Kadmus to cross the fiery pit.
With a rustling sound, Meristo’s vines pull away from his human, releasing her and gently settling her down. The vines rise behind him and twist in my direction like so many silver diamonds. My stomach takes a tumble as I imagine the vines striking like vipers.
“And what does a Skillbarren nobody hope to do against me?” Meristo asks, vines dancing behind him to an unheard cadence.
“My sword is sharp, Meristo,” I say, swinging my weapon menacingly, dexterously.
He isn’t better than me with the sword, but his skill undoubtedly gives him an advantage. I grind my teeth, trying to contain my panic. Chaos! How will I manage to hide my Godskill when I already want to rush and crush Meristo like the insignificant weed that he is?
I want to look over my shoulder to check on Kadmus’s progress, but I don’t dare take my eyes off Meristo.
In the blink of an eye, the vines are on me, wrapping around my ankles, reaching for my eyes. I hack at the vines, cutting them easily. Meristo looks surprised, but undeterred. He sends thicker vines. One of them slithers around my stomach, stirring the same primal fear unleashed by the snakes.
Clenching my teeth and resisting my basic instincts, I stand my ground and wield my sword. It twirls, cutting vine after vine. I hack at the one around my middle. The pressure stops as the vine falls dead to the ground. Am I moving too fast? Will someone notice? But what other choice is there? If I slow down, the vines will become too much, and I will die just the same.
Frustrations begins to replace Meristo’s previous confidence. His features sour, and he becomes desperate. More vines spring at my feet at an overwhelming rate. My arm moves fast, but there are too many, more than I can handle if I continue to act Skillbarren.
From the corner of my eye, I notice that Meristo’s human is hovering in midair, slowly moving toward the pole. At first, I’m confused, imagining the woman can fly, but then I realize one of the vines is holding her up and gradually getting her closer to the flag, while the others push me away just as methodically.
And it’s working.
Refusing to let my chances slip away, I hack at the new vines that attempt to drive me back, then move toward the human, leaping over the out-of-control vegetation. I bound from one vine to another, moving closer and closer. I throw my shield at her, but one of the vines lashes out at lightning speed and deflects its path, sending it into a pit. I consider throwing my sword next, but I can’t risk losing it. Instead, I keep jumping over the vines, desperate to reach the woman.
One of the relentless vines trips me. I fall, but as I go down, I manage to sever the one holding Meristo’s human. She falls, unscathed, atop a bed of plants. I scramble to my feet, hacking non-stop, lest the vines overwhelm me, asphyxiate me. I’m doing all I can to hold them, but it’s too much. They’re all over me, wrapping around my ankles, immobilizing my sword arm, squeezing my middle. Air bursts through my lips. Meristo laughs in triumph. Unless I use my Godskill to its fullest, I’m dead. Right here and right now.
I’m about to dam
n it all to Chaos, to reveal my strength and face the consequences, when Kadmus astounds the arena and pushes Meristo’s human into one of the pits. She falls, arms flailing. A second later she wails in pain, slowly meeting an untimely death in a horrific way I don’t dare imagine.
Meristo is still recovering from the shock when Kadmus leaps over the vines and snatches the flag from its pole.
We have won.
He turns toward me, his features an unreadable mask, and hurls the prize in my face. He just killed one of his own, but he betrays no emotion.
We survived this clash, but how much more before this boy breaks due to our cruelty?
I lower my head in shame, loathing the price of victory.
Chapter 22
The crowd bursts into hysterical cries. Gods and Goddesses alike cheer, fists pumping up and down as they chant my name.
“Bia Bia Bia.”
I’m on my knees, still wrapped in vines that feel too tight for comfort.
Meristo growls at the sky, throat corded with veins. The vines grow tighter. The competition is over. He lost, but he seems unable to accept defeat—not without taking revenge first.
I push just enough to relieve the pressure.
A final drumbeat marks the official end of our clash.
The vines fall away from my body, limp and withered. I gulp in air, stand with a hand pressed to my chest. Meristo rages and rants. He walks toward me, murder in his eyes, but stops a few paces away.
He gets that look in his eyes that means Godmaster Salino is talking inside his head. I’ve seen that expression too many times not to recognize it. Whatever Godmaster Salino tells him, it makes Meristo reconsider and turn away. He walks to the edge of the platform and turns his back on me.
I look around, still in shock at the cheers from the crowd. The Godfire orbs explode in a rainbow of color, moving erratically across the sky as if in celebration. I’ve won. A week ago I wouldn’t have dared imagine I’d make it this far, but here I am.
Godmaker (Jeweled Goddess Book 1) Page 11