by Kenna Bardot
"You surrendering, Bolstad?" Layla sneered at me as I spun around ignoring her. I slapped my hands over my ears and turned to face her. Her face was twisted into a cruel beauty, and I knew at that moment she would have no qualms stabbing me in the back.
But that was when she heard it, the Arachora bird. And unlike me, she let herself listen to it. She let herself be soothed by the melodious tones of its singing voice.
I warned her, "Cover your ears!" Much as I might hate her and be annoyed that she wanted to kill me at all costs, I could not let even my worst enemy walk straight into the danger that was of temptation. The temptation to do nothing but listen to sweet melody masking the evil and danger that lurked beneath.
Also, probably the last thing they would hear in their lives. Or at least that would be so for most people.
"Cover your ears, dammit!" I shrieked, but I saw by the look in her eyes - distracted and glazed - that any advice I gave her would fall on deaf ears. She moved forward and her face contorted into a look of such horrid fear that I was tempted to pull her back and away until she broke free from the grasp of the Arachora.
"Layla!" I shouted or so I felt myself do so. I had my hands over my ears so hard, I muffled everything. The silence was deafening. But I knew I couldn't grab her. Not only would it be stupid to do so but also, the moment I took my hands off, I would fall prey.
Somehow, though, I could not make myself move away - watching the happenings with a silent and unspeakable horror. Tears streaked down my face, and I could not wipe them off. She dropped her bow and arrow and started climbing up the tree, urgency in every moment. Snapping out of whatever kept me tied to the scene, I started taking a few steps back but at that moment, Layla screamed, and her scream was so loud and piercing that even I could hear it.
The sound of it would haunt me for days to come.
Then she ran across the branch until she stepped onto the empty air. She fell to the ground, her head hitting a jutted rock. I saw rather than heard her neck snap.
My breath came in heavy pants, and I was horrified. I knew I had to get out of there before the Arachora decided it would come for me instead. I could only keep my hands to my ears for so long. The bird flew into view - its large teal green wings and black beak shiny in the mid-morning sun. It was beautiful, in a horrific and twisted sort of way, its beak open, its talon curled as it landed on Layla's prone body.
It turned its head, and I knew it spotted me. From the way it opened its beak, I knew it tried to sing to get me under its spell. I shook my head at it as my vision blurred, tears pooling in my eyes. I started running in the river's direction I'd heard earlier and hoped that the bird would not take it in its head to follow me.
I spotted the river with its clear water flowing rapidly. I chanced taking my hands off my ears and breathed a sigh of relief when all I heard was the sound of the rustling water and the insects chirping in the morning sun.
I took the canteen out of my pack and walked over to inspect the water. I crouched down and saw that the crisp and clear quality to it had been treacherous. I could smell it more clearly now, saw the specks of silver that darted in it innocently. Bictile, they were called. They harmed no animals and Descendants and they would not bother Gods, but for normal mortal humans, they could cause severe discomfort. In others, it could even cause death.
With a disgruntled sigh, I tipped the open canteen into my mouth, trying to get every drop of liquid I could from it, biting back a frustrated oath that I couldn't squeeze the damn thing. Smelling the enticing smell of water didn't help - even with the Bictile in it.
I looked up, towards the sun, figuring it was heading to mid-morning and we were nearing our twelve-hour deadline to get back to Godsvail. There was no choice but to walk off thirsty. As I spotted the wild berry bush - Iclood - close cousin to the highly poisonous Abyss berry, I plucked a few and let the slightly tart and sweet taste mingle in my mouth. I picked off a few more to take with me on what I was sure would be a much longer trek.
The walk was uneventful but harder and harder as the exhaustion caught up with me. Hunger and thirst were also unwelcome companions, especially given the fact that we'd been given dinner hours earlier than was normal the night before. I broke through a huge clearing of trees and then there it was. Godsvail, with all its turrets and peaks, the stone and glass.
When I'd first seen it before, it had been an unknown, a place that I feared, and I hated all in one even as the structure of it impressed me - that first glimpse of such grandeur. And the thought of that just brought the hatred back to the surface because it made the disparity between the poorest of the humans and just the children of the Gods they worshiped more apparent.
But now the hatred was still apparent, however the feelings were complicated because I had come back and I'd done so willingly. I thought of the five guys I served. The five guys who made every day partly a torment but also interesting enough that I couldn't say that I completely hated them.
I climbed down towards the valley that housed Godsvail. It took sheer will and as much energy as I still had stored up to climb down and not kill myself because of the steep drop. It was almost impassable.
I nearly crawled towards the large arena that had housed the previous challenge to the sight of the audience - as big as it had been previously. I knew the moment they spotted me because the reactions started, shifted. Shouts and cheers along with disbelieving whispers and jeers.
When I neared the middle where the Sutre stood, I saw him gesture towards the Majele God who had granted me my temporary freedom.
He walked towards me and grabbed my wrist. "Mireyah Bolstad. I'm glad to see that you didn't disappoint me. I think you'd make quite an impressive God."
I winged an eyebrow up at him. "I'm not even a Sylfe yet, sir," I spoke as calmly as I could.
The smile he shot me was full of mystery even as the look in his eyes were amused. I had the distinct impression that he had heard my sarcasm. "You're well on your way. Even if you made third in this challenge, I have full confidence that becoming a Sylfe is only a matter of course. I've seen what you are. And that will matter more than being able to run through the forest in the dark."
He looked down as I did, and I felt the punch in my gut when I saw the wire wrap back around my wrist.
Though I hadn't really been free, even that illusion was gone. I was back - a human trapped in the prison that was Godsvail.
He gestured me towards the pedestal. I stepped up to it warily, eyeing Annalee who stood off to the side with a smug look on her face and Ryder who had made it there before me.
Go figure.
"Miss Bolstad, you have barely made the deadline. But make it you did. For this, you will get an advantage in the next challenge along with Miss Lawrence and Mr. Moureau. Congratulations." The Sutre God was unsmiling even as the Springen who had cast us out before clapped slowly as he spoke.
I bowed and stood there waiting until a large sound boomed across the arena. The yellow-haired Springen God glided forward and flung out her arms. I felt a whoosh and all the other competitors - those who hadn't made it back dropped to the ground.
Even those who were dead.
There was Layla, my knife tucked into her waistband, neck broken. David with his lifeless eyes, a poisonous mushroom half-eaten in his hands. Aside from them, the four other humans were very much alive and only looking surprised at having been returned so suddenly.
"As for the rest of you, a handicap for the next challenge for not making it back to Godsvail in time. This next challenge will begin in six weeks' time." He smiled at us; a cruel smile that promised something horrific. "Train, humans. For you will need all the skill you can muster."
And with the dismissal, the audience dispersed but Annalee strode forward with Ryder to look down at Layla's lifeless body. I turned around, dismissing them but not before Annalee's voice stopped me cold, "You killed her, didn't you, Mireyah?"
I turned back around and marched back towards where the two of them st
ood. The looks in their eyes were angry, accusatory. "I didn't kill anyone. Unlike your friend, who attacked without provocation, I only ever attacked to defend." I looked down at her, felt the pity stir in me even as I steeled myself against showing any of it. I remember, blood running cold, the circumstances that had caused her death. "But, no, I didn't kill her. She suffered a fate far worse than that."
"You're a liar." Ryder had his fists bunched as he regarded his dead friend. I wondered, idly, if he'd fucked her at some point. Perhaps he had.
"I'm not, no. Your friend was foolish enough to fall prey to an Arachora. She didn't even heed my warning. Once caught, there's no way to escape its grasp." My eyes raised to meet Annalee's and there was such pure, undiluted hatred in it that it had me stepping back.
In disgust.
In fear.
"You had that knife with you." Annalee gestured with it sharply and I was quite surprised that she had the gall to mention it when the circumstances with which I'd gotten it were questionable.
"Sure, I did. But we both know it wasn't originally mine. I'm sorry you lost your friend, but such is fate."
I walked off, desperate for sleep, and knowing I couldn’t possibly find any peace.
Chapter 17
Mireyah
Hollis called the moment the challenge ended. In fact, the telephone rang the moment I stepped into my room, but he'd surprised me by telling me to just rest because he would go to his classes alone. As surprised as I had been at the rare show of concern, I could only be grateful because with the end of the challenge, exhaustion took over and my mind nearly shut down.
As the alarm rang two-and-a-half hours later, I woke up with no resentment and feeling more energized and ready to do my work. Rather than risk the shared showers again with their strong jets and luxurious heated bars, I just used my own pitiful excuse for a bathroom and took a cold shower under the stingy spray. The discomfort was a small price to pay for privacy and a modicum of safety.
I opened the door to the common area where Hollis had ordered me to go before his private quarters and was greeted by the sight of not just Hollis but the entire motley crew sans Charolais. The moment I entered, I spied a pile of clothes by the door and immediately strode over to pick it up.
"Leave that a moment, would you?" Tate asked impatiently.
I stopped picking their shit up but no way on earth was I going to let go of the bundle again. I'd just have to pick it back up again, and I was trying to be kind to my back. "Is there something else you need me to do?"
"We wanted to congratulate you on making it back to Godsvail," Ryle drawled out the words and there was just an undertone to it that made me feel like they didn't just mean to congratulate me.
"Thank you, I suppose," I muttered as I played with the wire around my wrist. So easily had I gotten used to the feeling of not having it on me that now it was back, and it felt like an intrusion again.
An imprisonment.
"It took you a long time to come back." Tate had his bright silver eyes on mine. It looked much like the Catican's Hind's fur as it had shone in the bright moonlight the night before.
My shoulders stiffened defensively at the accusation in his tone. "I still came back. They didn't have to call me back like some others."
"Perhaps," Hollis bit out, and it was only then that I really looked at him and that beautiful face was hard as stone - angry and tense. "However, you were better equipped, not just by us, than the lot of them. One would expect that you'd be back before dawn broke."
"I might have gotten lost," I quipped back impatiently, finally dropping the bundle I had in my hands. Since they had no desire to let me work, I wasn't about to tire myself out with it.
"No, Mireyah. When I asked you about foraging for my Draughts class, you said you didn't need any help. That you had an unerring sense of direction because you could read nature - the signs in it that told you where you were and where you wanted to go. You mean to tell me that in the dark, armed with a flashlight, that skill suddenly disappears?" Hollis took one step towards me, kicking the bundle of the clothes to the side.
"It was an unfamiliar area, Hollis." His nostrils flared at my lack of a respectful address, but he let it go.
"Be honest with us, Mireyah, please," Tate's voice was soft as he stood and lay a comforting arm on Hollis. "Your bind was gone. There was nothing keeping you tethered here as it does now. Did you try to go elsewhere?"
"If I did, I still came back. Isn't that what matters?" Omitting the truth stuck in my throat, but I plowed on, "I'm here for you to torment and order about. I don't understand where this line of questioning is headed."
Shep spoke up, the first time since I'd entered, "We're glad you're here, Mireyah. If you'd been lost, we'd have done everything to get you back." The look in those violet eyes showed me he wasn't lying, and I nodded curtly before picking up the clothes I'd dropped.
At that precise moment, the door swung open, and I rolled my eyes at yet another intrusion.
I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck and knew without looking that Charolais had entered the room.
Someone clapped, and I heard the giggling, the sound grating at me, and knew that Annalee was with Char. I didn't know why that bothered me, but it did. I took a deep breath before turning around to face them.
"Ah, Mireyah, back to your duties where you belong, are you? Good, good. Congratulations on making third." He smirked as he said the word, and I knew what he said was more insult than compliment.
"Congratulations on your win, Annalee." As Hollis said it, his eyes - hard and blazing - were on me.
"Thanks, Hollis." Annalee smiled, that flirtatious one that made me want to smack her face in. "I did it for Charolais. I wanted to honor his nomination of me by doing my best."
She tossed her hair back and draped herself over Char. I wanted to puke but watched on stoically. Char turned his smug look towards me, and I knew he saw through my facade.
"Come," he ordered Annalee, and they walked towards the white door with the rays of the moon that were as sharp as the tips of arrows. "Perhaps we need a little privacy. You deserve a reward, don't you?" He grabbed her ass and brought Annalee closer to him.
"Ooooh," Annalee cooed as she tossed her hair and shot me a look. I ground my teeth and just went back to work.
As the door closed, I pushed it to the back of my mind.
I would not think about what they were doing in there. Nope.
Not at all.
✽✽✽
Ryder, Annalee and I would have an advantage for the next challenge and the fact made a sensation of calm settle over me. I'd also trained even more, which meant I would make the final challenge. There was no other option.
It was the challenge no one talked about, and because no one talked about it, I knew I needed to prepare for it.
When in the training room, all the others still ignored me. I supposed it couldn't be helped because they saw me as an outsider. The person who had taken what they worked so hard for. And the truth of the matter was, I was in their corner. I completely agreed with them. Did I deserve to already be fighting for my right to become Sylfe and become one step closer to becoming a God?
No.
Did it mean I couldn't win?
No, it didn't. Because my determination to prove them wrong still overrode the fear that tickled the edges of my mind when we prepared for challenges.
I walked out of the training room knowing I needed to go to Hollis' room to do my duties. I already had the berries and petals I had harvested for him in the pack in my bag. He really was horrible at his Draughts class, a thought which really brought me much amusement. I sometimes wondered how he had survived before he had chosen me to serve him. Perhaps, the other guys helped him. It didn't matter much, anyway, because it was one duty I did for him I was actually happy to do.
As I was rounding the corner towards the Descendants' area, a group of human attendants was in my way. "Can I help you?" I asked, s
tomping my foot against the hard-stone floor. I wasn't too happy that I had to put up with their shit.
"You think you're all that just because you survived the challenge? Did well in it? Don't forget that you had to kill our friend to get that. And she deserved to become Sylfe far more than you do." It was Maude who spoke. Maude who trembled as she walked straight towards me.
I sighed, because I felt pity for them and their loss. I had a feeling many more would mourn before the year ended. "I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I didn't kill anyone. If I had, I wouldn't hide it because your friend did her best to kill me and had she succeeded I'm sure she'd have found time to brag about it. And you'd have complimented her." And had she done so, no one would have mourned me. My family would have if they ever learned about it, but I doubted that the loss would be as keen since they'd already technically lost me.
She opened her mouth to speak and even Otis took a step forward to grab her arm, but also throw me a glare. "So, just leave me alone. Whoever is meant to win will win. Trust in the Gods you all worship so much." I pushed against them and stalked off towards the door with the red sun. Before I could reach it, Tate sidled up to me, bumping my shoulder casually. "Hey."
I raised an eyebrow at the way he talked to me - casual and like I was a friend. An equal. "Hey? What's up?"
He tossed a look over his shoulder. "Were they bothering you then?"
I croaked out a laugh. I didn't even look back at them - I didn't want to give them even that much more. "Well, not bother so much as pester. Pesky annoyances and all that you know?"
His hand touched my shoulder and kneaded. "And is that why you've stopped sleeping in my bed?"
I leaned against Hollis' door and Tate bent towards me, getting into my space. Unlike I had before, I didn't exactly mind it. In fact, it caused a shiver to quiver down my spine and to the very tip of my toes. "I enjoyed sleeping in your bed, Tate. But I figured I shouldn't get used to it."
And that was the crux of it. I hadn't realized it back then, two weeks ago, when I had been in that forest and I'd turned around to head back to Godsvail as quickly as I could but now I did. Whatever hatred was in my heart was slowly melting. Disappearing with every moment that they showed me a different part of them. Showed me what it was like to be the subject of concern.