“Now”, he cried and pointed to the floor.
Bear and Cassandra immediately followed his orders, with everyone else either having slowed down or coming to a stop beside them.
“I won’t have that kind of behavior on my grounds”, Ajax shouted.
Bear grunted and gave Cassandra an ugly look. She winked at him and continued doing the push-ups, adrenaline still pumping.
“And just that nobody gets smug”, Ajax continued. “This goes for all of you. Down. Now. 200 push-ups for everyone thanks to the Unclaimed and our hot-headed half-blood here.”
Everyone did as they were told, even the other demigods.
“Yeah, that’s right”, Ajax shouted. “I don’t care who you are or where you are from or what you think you can do. These are my training grounds and you will follow my rules. Is that understood?”
When no one answered, he asked again and this time there was a unanimous yes. Cassandra wondered whether Ajax might actually turn out to be fair after all but she guessed his actions had more to do with establishing his own power, especially over the demigods, than with the fact that he actually thought they were all equal.
Once they were finished, Ajax and Hippolyta split them up and each took half the students with them. Cassandra was glad to find herself in Hippolyta’s group. They started with hand-to-hand combat and then went on to some powerful muscle training over a couple of hours before it was time for their first break.
Cassandra, who was feeling the strain on her body, retreated to the side of the training arena with Hector. They were handed some water and fruit by the servants but ate only a little. Hector, who had been in Ajax’s group, was red-faced and sweating but looked happy enough and Cassandra, feeling the sweat trickle down her back, knew that this would be much harder than she had first thought. Some of the other students already looked quite shaken up, some receiving massages for cramped legs, other looking like they were about to throw up and one boy had strained his shoulder so much that Hippolyta had to send him to the infirmary for treatment.
“We are off to a good start”, Cassandra murmured and watched how Alexander animatedly talked to Ben and River until they were called back to training.
Ajax said that they would hold the challenges again this year, just like the dean had mentioned in his welcome speech, only that they would open them to everyone from first to third year for the first time ever. With the demigods attending university, it would indeed be a shame not to see them fight this year already. Ajax also told them that the first of those three challenges would take place the following week. It seemed to be mostly about fighting but Ajax made no further mention of the specifics. He said it would be a surprise, as usual.
When Ajax asked for volunteers, barely any hands were raised. All the demigods would join the challenges and in the end, there were only seven Claimed who seemed to dare to go against them. Cassandra and Hector stepped forward and raised their hands, too. There was a murmur of disapproval but both Hippolyta and Ajax nodded, even though Ajax looked furious doing it.
Hippolyta told one of the servants to write down the names and then they were back to sword-fighting. When Cassandra wanted to pair up with Hector, she was stopped by Ajax.
“No, not you”, he growled. “I have something else in mind for you. You think you can take part in the challenges? You have no money, no proper weapons and you have nothing that sets you apart from the other badly trained, awkward Unclaimed fighters I see failing here every year. So how dare you sign up for the challenges, Unclaimed?”
He spat out the last word like the insult it was supposed to be. Cassandra, who was used to verbal abuse, didn’t answer to that.
“You think you can survive next week?” Ajax hissed and then threw a sword on the floor in front of her. “Pick it up. Get a shield. You are with me today. We’ll see how long you’ll last.”
“My name is Cassandra”, Cassandra said through gritted teeth, ignoring the sword lying in the sand in front of her.
“By the end of this day, you won’t be able to remember your name”, Ajax hissed. “Now do as I said. Unclaimed.”
Cassandra looked at the sword and then at Ajax. The muscles on his arms were bigger than both her thighs together. She wouldn’t stand a chance, not like that.
“Can I take another weapon?” Cassandra asked and Ajax started laughing.
“Take whatever you want,” he said and then went on to the sandy part of the training arena, shouting orders at those already training, not even bothering to get warmed up.
Cassandra went to the weapons stand for the Unclaimed and picked up a knife and weighed it in her hands.
“What are you doing?” Ben said, suddenly turning up beside her. “Do you really think you stand a chance against him like that? He is much stronger and much more experienced. Tell him that this isn’t fair and he needs to stop this.”
Cassandra ignored him. She quickly surveyed the rest of the knives and in the end, she decided on a heavy wooden training knife and the biggest shield she could find. The shield was almost too heavy for her to carry but that was kind of the point.
Ajax laughed when he saw her standing before him, wooden knife in hand, a shield almost as tall as her leaning against her thighs.
“Ready?” he said, taunting her with his laugh and mock-raising his sword.
Without answering, Cassandra threw the knife straight at his nose. Had it been a real one, he would be dead now. Instead, his nose was broken.
“All it takes is to survive, right?” Cassandra murmured and took instant cover.
Ajax screamed with rage. Cowering under the shield, she did her best to shield herself against the mad blows Ajax dealt her. Even after the first one, Cassandra knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long. It already felt like he was pounding straight through the shield and it was only a matter of time before he would do it for real. Suddenly the shield was ripped from her hands and Cassandra, scrambling away from Ajax, found him following her with a raised sword and she knew that it didn’t matter that it was only a training sword.
It was Hippolyta who rescued her. With surprising force for a woman so small, she threw herself sideways at Ajax and then redirected the strength of his movements to her advantage. Despite the fact that Ajax was twice as big as her, Hippolyta had no trouble disarming him. Cassandra made a mental note to ask her how she had done that sometime. For now she was just glad that she had survived.
The arm with which she had been holding the shield, felt numb and when she touched her ears, she felt warm blood coming out of them. Ben was kneeling beside her, saying something she couldn’t quite hear but by the look on his face he was angry with her. Ajax, who was holding on to his nose which was swelling rapidly, looked beyond furious but when their gazes met, he nodded. Then he turned away from her.
Her ears made a popping sound and suddenly she was able to hear again.
“That was the stupidest thing I have ever seen anyone do”, Ben hissed and handed her a piece of cloth so that she could wipe away the blood. “He could have killed you.”
Cassandra stretched out her hand and Hector, who had come running towards her too, helped her up. He threw her an angry look but Cassandra, feeling dizzy, was holding on to her brother when she was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of absolute terror. Then there was a terrified scream and a roar that shook the earth, a loud splashing sound and afterwards a terrible silence.
Cassandra whipped around. The noise had come from the general direction of the sea behind the training arena and apparently she hadn’t been the only one to hear it. Ajax and Hippolyta each snatched up a sword and told the others to follow them. Cassandra, Hector and Ben, swearing heavily, followed suit but were slowed down by Cassandra who had started bleeding again from the strain of running.
They followed the others down to the beach where the strange sound had originated. Ajax was scouting the area with Wolf and Bear and some of the Claimed but there was no urgency to their movements, like t
hey knew that the danger was gone. Some of the students were already on their way up again, looking pale and shaking their heads.
“She must have fallen off the cliffs”, someone said but Cassandra doubted that that was the case.
Hippolyta and River were shielding the girl’s body and told curious bystanders to leave. Ben went to talk to River in low murmurs, his gaze never leaving the sea that was still foaming and whirling in places and River, who looked worried and distraught at the same, kept shaking his head every time Ben asked him something. Cassandra asked Hippolyta to be allowed to take a look at the dead girl and her teacher at first hesitated, then nodded. Cassandra, saying a silent prayer, bent down next to the girl.
“Something big snatched her up and twisted her in the middle”, Cassandra said slowly, indicating the girl’s dress that was drenched in blood.
Hippolyta, watching her closely, bit her lips, then nodded. Cassandra pointed at the cuts on the girl’s hand, the knife she was carrying and the bucket standing next to her
“They were collecting mussels”, Cassandra murmured and then gently removed the hair from the girl’s face. “She must have been standing with her back to the sea when it happened.”
“What makes you say ‘they’?” Hippolyta asked, drawn in by the contrast between Cassandra’s cool, almost distant words and the care with which she handled the dead girl’s body.
Cassandra, looking around until she finally found what she had been looking for, picked up a small flower and placed it next to the girl’s ear. The stem was still attached and Cassandra knew that she had worn it to bring a little joy to her otherwise grey, uniform life. She swallowed and briskly got up.
“There are two more buckets, there and there”, she said and indicated to the right. “She was too young to come here by herself.”
Cassandra turned around and looked out to the sea.
“Whatever took them was big and came from the water”, she said.
Hippolyta, who had come to a similar conclusion, nodded.
“You have an acute sense of observation”, Hippolyta said and Cassandra frowned. “Use it wisely. And stop picking opponents twice your size before I have trained you properly.”
She laid a small hand on Cassandra’s shoulder.
“You have potential, girl”, she said quietly. “Don’t ruin it by getting yourself killed.”
Cassandra looked down at her teacher and saw a will of steel. She nodded and murmured that it wasn’t her intention to get killed any time soon. Hippolyta smiled and pressed Cassandra’s shoulder, then her face turned sad again.
“And now I have to go tell a mother that she has lost her child”, Hippolyta said and turned to go away.
Cassandra watched her go over to Ajax who told some of the Claimed to make a carrier for the girl. Then they left together. There was nothing they could do down here anymore. They watched as the Claimed put the girl’s body on a makeshift carrier and left to take her back to the university. Cassandra thought of the families whose lives would be shattered soon and went to look at the other buckets lying close to the now absolutely calm sea.
“The creature must have reached them almost simultaneously”, Ben said beside her and Cassandra could hear the catch in his voice. “There were two more but they are gone now.”
“I am sorry”, she said quietly.
“Me too”, he murmured.
Then there was movement in the water. Ben immediately drew his sword but it was only a flock of sea nymphs who stuck their heads out of the water. The Nereids had long green hair that flowed down their backs; their bodies ended in a kind of fishtail but strangest of all was their translucent skin through which their red hearts could be seen beating. Cassandra shuddered. When they saw people standing on the shore, the sea nymphs shrieked and disappeared under water again.
“The Nereids are upset, too”, River said beside them and started to undress.
“What are you doing”, Cassandra asked and River, now almost naked, grinned.
“I am a son of Poseidon”, he said and winked. “I can talk to them.”
And with that he was gone. When he didn’t reappear, they decided to go back to the university.
“Will you tell me what he found out?” Cassandra asked and Ben nodded.
“Of course”, he said.
Hector, who had been waiting for her, gave her a short wave and Cassandra went over to meet him. They left, both lost in thought, both throwing back one last look at the spot where the dead girl had lain before they turned towards their new home together.
6 The First of the Challenges
On the day of the first challenge, Cassandra still had a dull aching feeling in her right wrist and sometimes had trouble hearing. Ajax had done more damage to her arm pounding on the shield than she had first thought but she hadn’t wanted to go to the infirmary for treatment and had relied on Summer instead. Now she was outside with Hector, testing the weight of the sword in her hand in the cool of the early fall morning and found that she was able to hold it with a more or less tight grip. It would have to do. That was the good thing about being partly divine: you didn’t break that easily.
Beside her, Hector was already working up a sweat and then indicated to her that it was time to leave for the Colosseum where the first challenge would take place. Just like in the old days they would have to fight a creature coming from the dungeons for the entertainment of the masses.
Cassandra was nervous about having to perform in front of the whole university and in such an imposing environment, but she also felt excited. She bumped playfully into her brother but instead of reacting in kind, he snarled at her to stop. And suddenly Cassandra remembered that what they did for fun today, he had done for real only a week ago: fight for his life in the underground pits so that others would be entertained. Suddenly her excitement felt shallow.
As if sensing the change in her mood, Hector laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. They knew it was important for them to fight today and that it might eventually lead to something good. When they arrived, the others were already there. They were admitted at one of the side entrances and immediately led into the tunnels under the Colosseum. Cassandra, who had never seen the huge building from within, felt slightly disappointed but knew she would see the insides soon enough.
The tunnels smelled of damp and earth and the further they went into them, the colder it got. Cassandra felt a shiver run down her spine when they passed several empty, cage-like structures and other, more spacious rooms with beds and tables where the gladiators had waited their turn in former times.
They were led into one of those rooms where there was no natural light, only torches that painted flickering shadows against the stone walls. In the distance, they could hear the noises of caged animals. They sounded big and Cassandra could smell the fear and anticipation of the other contestants. Bear, clad in his bear hide again, was carrying his hammer and was all pumped up about fighting and pacing restlessly but it was Wolf who looked like a warrior.
Despite the morning’s freshness, he was wearing nothing but a loincloth and had painted his eyes and cheeks dark. Black stripes covered his body, highlighting his long, sinewy muscles that were in stark contrast to Bear’s leathery bulk. River, whose armor looked like it was made of fish scales, sparkled with every move he made. His movements were irritatingly slow, like he was moving under water, and still she felt he was only lying in wait and that his attack would be fast, efficient and deadly. Beside him, Sol looked the complete opposite with his head ablaze in red hair that he had put up in spikes and his armor which was painted with flames that looked like they were alive. Ben, who had done nothing to enhance his appearance, was wearing a black hooded sweater that he had drawn over his head and was calmly resting against the wall, ignoring the commotion beside him and only talking to River from time to time.
The longer they had to wait, the more nervous Cassandra got. She repeatedly checked her weapons and heard Hector do the same, a sure sign that he wasn�
��t calm either.
Eventually, they got into position and were then led out of the room. They had to line up in front of a closed heavy wooden door where they could hear the low hum of people talking on the other side. Cassandra wished she could sit with the crowd, just for a moment.
They followed Ben, who naturally had taken the front position again, and when the door opened, he led them into the huge arena of the Colosseum. It was so big that they had trouble seeing to the other end. There was sand on the ground and it smelled of straw and animals and of fire as if someone had burned something not too long ago. They walked towards the rows of spectators, passing a huge metal cage in the process where undoubtedly the fighting would soon take place, and stood looking up at Alexander, Arissa and Heracles who greeted them with a nod.
The stone walls below the spectators were seven times as high as Bear and Cassandra couldn’t help but think that they had been built in a way that no animal, or other creature, would ever be able to get up there. There were thousands of rows for spectators but only a few of them had been filled with students, teachers and staff. The rows at the back were filled with Unclaimed and Cassandra saw Pandora, Jim and Summer wave excitedly at them while Charlie, who was nursing his flask again, seemed mostly bored and on the verge of falling asleep.
Just when Ben, the other demigods and the rest of the contestants stopped to kneel before Alexander and Arissa, Hector and Cassandra raised a hand to greet their friends and the other Unclaimed. Ben shot her a sharp look from under his hood while there was a murmur of displeasure from the Claimed but Cassandra didn’t care. No one had bothered to explain the rules to them. She looked to Hector, who gave her a small nod, and then they knelt down as well. Arissa started to say something to her brother but Heracles interrupted her by raising his hands and asking for silence.
The Unclaimed (University of the Gods Trilogy Book 1) Page 6