by Eliza Raine
‘Are we going back to the Alastor?’ Phyleus was panting slightly as they entered a hauler and were forced to stand still for a moment.
‘No,’ she said.
He frowned. ‘Where are we going, then?’
‘Back to that island with the huge houses.’
‘Right.’ The doors slid open. They weren’t far away now. They stepped out and jogged past neat rows of single-storey homes, flimsy railings defining outside gardens belonging to each. This was the suburbs.
‘Do you think Theseus is running away?’
‘No. I think he’s got the same idea I have,’ she said.
‘Which is…?’
‘You’ll see.’
She heard him sigh, and smiled. If he was going to be here, at least she could remind him who was in charge.
She slowed as she reached the house she was aiming for, the one with the long balconies around it. She peered up at them, looking for signs of activity in the windows. Everything was still.
Lyssa headed slowly towards the garden, her boots making no sound as she stepped onto the lush green grass. And, as she had remembered, a brand new, fully equipped longboat was tied loosely to a wooden stump at the island edge. She held her hand out towards it.
‘My plan,’ she said, unable to stop feeling pleased with herself. Phyleus’s eyes widened.
‘We’re going to steal it?’ he hissed.
‘Yep,’ she said, making her way to the boat.
‘No, we can’t do that,’ said Phyleus.
She glared at him over her shoulder. He looked more scared than he had of anything else they had encountered so far.
‘Then you can stay here. Bye.’ She skirted around a children’s swing and prayed that the owners of the house weren’t at home.
When she reached the boat, she pulled gently on the tether. It floated right up to the island edge and she stepped easily on board before sitting down on the wooden bench and starting to undo the knots keeping it tied to the post. Phyleus stood in the garden and looked at her beseechingly. She raised her eyebrows at him and carried on working the rope with both hands. A moment later, he hurried towards her, passed the swing and clambered into the boat.
‘I can’t believe you’ve made me do this,’ he hissed as he sat on the other bench, folding his arms. ‘You’ve turned me into a common criminal.’
‘What do you think we do on the Alastor when we’re not trying to stop an evil bastard from becoming immortal?’ she shot at him dryly. Phyleus didn’t answer.
‘Aha,’ she said as the rope swung loose. She climbed over the bench seats to the front of the boat and grabbed the small wooden wheel, projecting herself at the little boat, trying to make a connection. ‘No more invisible bridges.’
Lyssa smiled as the longboat responded to her touch, rising and turning straight towards the centre of Libra.
23
Eryx stared in dismay as Bergion flew through the air above him. There was a sickening thud as the giant crashed to the earth. A long groan escaped him.
‘He’s alive,’ Eryx breathed, relieved. Albion, on his left, roared and charged towards the closest reptilian head as it swooped and swerved, looking for its next victim. ‘Wait!’ Eryx yelled.
Albion ignored him and kept running. Eryx turned desperately to Antaeus, who was breathing heavily beside him. ‘We can’t win like this, Captain.’ Antaeus grunted.
‘For once, I agree,’ Busiris said behind him. Eryx huffed at the cowards voice. Busiris hadn’t even attempted to get near the beast. ‘One of the heads is different to the others,’ Busiris said, eyes fixed on the weaving mass of slick serpent heads.
‘Really?’
‘Yes. The horns are longer and there’s something different about the eyes. You need to get to that head.’ As he spoke there was a flash of light behind them. They all looked up as a longboat, sails shimmering in the fog, flew over them, towards the beast. Eryx saw a flash of red hair. It was Captain Lyssa.
The boat flew over a snapping Hydra head and Eryx yelled as his attention refocused on the creature. Albion was halfway up one of its long, scaled necks. Other heads were snapping at him but he had his legs clamped firmly around the things’ neck and was batting the heads away with his barbed club. Admiration pulsed through Eryx. ‘We need to help him,’ he shouted and started forward.
‘Wait! I have a better idea.’ A shadow moved over them and they looked up in unison as another longboat, this one narrower with sails like those on a Typhoon, soared over their heads.
‘Theseus,’ growled Antaeus.
‘Get on one of those longboats and get to that head. The one that’s different. That one will be controlling the monster.’ Busiris said, urgency in his voice. Antaeus looked down at the gold-skinned man.
‘I’m too big for one of those boats,’ he said. ‘You two go.’
‘Me?’ Busiris spluttered. Eryx narrowed his eyes.
‘You know which head it is. Come on,’ and he grabbed Busiris’s arm before he could protest any further.
Eryx sprinted towards the swamp, every nerve alert as he got within range of the lethal snake heads. Most of them were distracted, snapping at Albion, who was still resolutely hanging onto the scaly neck and swinging his club maniacally. Eryx glanced up and saw that Theseus’s longboat was high above the Hydra. Three heads were shooting up out of the writhing mass, snapping at the quick little vessel as it darted about.
‘Which head?’ Eryx yelled as they got closer.
‘I can’t tell from here,’ shouted back Busiris. His voice was strained. Cowardly idiot.
There was a screech and Eryx’s head snapped up. They had caught the beast’s attention.
24
Phyleus wasted no time getting off the longboat when Lyssa sailed to a stop next to Epizon and Len.
‘Come on, Len, get in,’ she shouted impatiently. The satyr reluctantly hauled himself into the small boat.
‘Stupid human eyes,’ he muttered as he righted himself on one of the benches. The boat rose back into the air quickly and Len yelped, grabbing at his seat as they soared over the top of the Hydra.
‘Which head is it?’ Lyssa asked, keeping the boat higher than the snapping jaws below. Len peered cautiously over the edge.
‘Erm…’ he said. Lyssa groaned.
‘Come on, Len!’ She could see that Theseus had indeed had the same idea as she had, and his boat was zipping between heads below them. She could see Psyche in her gleaming gold armour, firing perfectly aimed arrows at the beast’s heads any time they got too close. ‘It looks like Theseus is looking for something in particular too.’
‘Captain, look,’ said Len, sounding surprised. She leaned over the edge of the boat, following his pointing hand. Eryx, the half-giant, was climbing one of the great necks of the creature, pulling himself up each metal plate with his strong arms and legs. Lyssa frowned.
‘What’s he…’ She trailed off as, with a roar, Eryx launched himself at Theseus’s boat, just as it whizzed past him. He caught the back of it and his weight pulling the vessel down propelled Theseus and Psyche backwards, over his head. Lyssa heard Psyche scream as she started to fall.
Lyssa thrust her hand onto the mast and willed her control into the boat. It didn’t respond like the Alastor but it did shoot forward. She aimed the boat down, through the entwined necks of the Hydra, its teeth flashing on either side of them. Len began to yell unintelligibly but she ignored him, focusing on the falling figures framed against the burning swamp below. The flames grew hotter as they raced downwards but she held her nerve, willing the little boat to move faster. Just a few feet from the flames she passed their falling bodies and spun the boat sharply. There was a thud as they landed hard against the wood in the bottom of the boat, and Len squealed as he was bounced off his bench and into the hull with them.
‘Hold on,’ she yelled as a Hydra head swooped after her and she sped in the opposite direction with a lurch.
‘Thank you,’ Theseus gasped behind her,
and a sickening crunch accompanied another lurch. She spun around and came face to face with yellowing teeth as tall as she was. A huge jaw had bitten through the back of the boat. Theseus and Psyche were scrambling towards her and Len, away from the teeth. She refocused her concentration and the boat rocketed forward. She watched as the head reared back, eyes flashing, and then darted towards them again. They were only just out of reach when its jaws clamped shut, closing on thin air.
‘Ha!’ she yelled before she could stop herself. Rage-fuelled confidence powered through her.
‘Captain! Captain, that’s the head!’ She realised Len was shouting at her. ‘The one that just tried to eat us, that’s the head!’
She slowed the broken boat and willed it towards the ground, well out of reach of the Hydra.
‘Everyone out!’ she yelled, and turned to the dishevelled Theseus and Psyche. They were both still on the bottom of the boat, gripping the wooden bench that was left and looking dazed. ‘Out!’ she yelled again. The boat hadn’t stopped but it had slowed and they were not far off the ground. Len saluted, grabbed the side of the boat and vaulted over the edge. Theseus got to his feet quickly, pulling Psyche up with him.
‘Consider your debt paid, Captain Lyssa,’ he said, and followed Len out of the boat. Psyche nodded at her as she went after him. As soon as the boat was empty Lyssa steered it back round to face the Hydra head. It snapped at her as she hovered just out of reach, its fat tentacles writhing a few feet above the fiery swamp, the flickering light reflecting off its dark metal scales.
‘Gods, I hope that satyr is right,’ she muttered, and flew the longboat straight at the monster.
25
Lyssa veered sharply upwards as the creature’s black tongue darted out towards her. She tried not to hold her breath as her boat shot over the top of the horned head, missing the slimy tongue by inches. She was not the girl who ran. Rage poured through her and her muscles ached with tension. She gripped the wood hard and concentrated, almost completely reversing her direction and dropping sharply. The boat plummeted and her red hair flew up around her face. She counted to three and halted the boat in its tracks. The Hydra had tried to spin around to get her but her manoeuvre had been too tight.
She was right behind it and it couldn’t see her. The head moved around slowly, tentacles probing the air, looking for Lyssa and her little boat. She crept along behind, anticipation building almost unbearably. She was only a few feet behind the huge horns framing its long head. Just a little closer and she would be able to jump onto its neck. She climbed onto the bench and started to count backwards, crouching down on the balls of her feet. Three… Two…
There was a roar above her and the Hydra’s head snapped back suddenly as it looked towards the sky. Lyssa barely had time to register the largest horn as it impaled the side of her longboat. There was a sickly hiss and the Hydra spun its head, aware now that something was caught in its horns. The boat was thrown from side to side, the shining horn protruding though the splintered wood, and Lyssa threw her arms around the bench as she slipped, scrabbling to keep hold of something.
Her mind whirled as she was thrashed about, desperately clinging on as the creature tried to displace the boat. If she let go for a second she would be thrown to the fiery swamp below, and no amount of inhuman strength would save her from that. The roar sounded again, then there was a loud clang and the beast stopped moving. The boat creaked and swung sharply, now dangling vertically from the righted horn. Lyssa scrabbled up the bench seat as fast as she could and launched herself up towards the horn. As she grabbed at it with one hand, another, much bigger than her own, appeared around it. Eryx, the half-giant, hauled himself up into her view. He had both legs wrapped around the creature’s neck and was pulling himself up to get to the snakelike head.
The beast began to thrash again and she reached for the horn with her free hand. She pulled herself up using her arms, feeling the Rage pulsing though her and drawing confidence from using her strength. She tried to imitate Eryx, wrapping her legs around the back of the Hydra’s neck, but she was much shorter than him and couldn’t get any purchase on the gleaming metal. Suddenly something grabbed at her leg. She kicked out hard but she had reacted too late. In a heartbeat she was torn away from the horn she’d been gripping, her desperate hands sliding against smooth metal. She yelled in fury but couldn’t get a grip on anything and then she was swinging by her ankle, upside down over the flames. She used her strong stomach muscles to curl up, trying to right herself. Eryx was looking down at her, hanging from the Hydra’s neck by his massive legs as it snapped its jaws uselessly. His dark eyes were alive with excitement and in that moment she knew she was not the only one who revelled in a flood of adrenaline.
‘Sorry, Captain Lyssa,’ he called, and let go.
26
Eryx tightened his legs around the Hydra’s neck and hung on a moment more, conscious he was wasting precious moments but unable to stop himself. He needed to make sure the red-haired girl landed in Theseus’s longboat, where he’d tried to throw her. He wanted to win, but he didn’t have a taste for killing innocent folk.
Relief washed through him as he saw her hit the wood with a thud and she began to roar curses at him. He smiled. He hadn’t meant to fling Theseus and Psyche from their boat so he owed Captain Lyssa for keeping their lives off his conscience.
He pulled himself back up around the serpent’s neck and got his arms wrapped around two horns just as the Hydra head lurched forward, moving down dangerously close to the flames, then veered sharply back upwards. Eryx clamped his mouth shut and gripped the metal beast harder. He narrowed his eyes as they ducked down towards the fire again, adrenaline coursing through his tense body. The beast wouldn’t get rid of him that easily. He pulled hard on the horns, turning his massive body slowly as the thing weaved back and forth and up and down, trying to dislodge him. After a few painstaking minutes he had rotated himself far enough that he was on the back of the thing’s neck instead of hanging under its jaw.
Lyssa’s wrecked longboat hung beside him, smashing against the gleaming metal scales every time they swerved. He reached forward and grabbed the huge central horn. Just as he wrapped his other hand firmly around it there was an almighty crash and he was catapulted sideways as another gleaming serpent head smashed into the one he was riding. He was barely able to hang on as they flew sideways, both beast heads snarling and hissing. The bottom half of Eryx’s body skidded across the scales as the creature recovered, then darted back towards the gaping maw of the new head.
He needed to finish this, now.
Eryx bared his teeth and summoned all of his strength, struggling to get his feet on the writhing neck. He got one huge boot flat against the metal and used the purchase to heave himself forward, reaching his right arm over the fierce horns. Pain lanced through his ribs and he jerked his body backwards. One of the horns had pierced his skin, under his arm. He ignored the stinging pain and scrabbled around with his hand, trying to feel for the Hydra’s eye. It thrashed harder as his fingers brushed across something angular and jagged, different to the smooth metal scales. He planted his other boot against the thing’s neck and stretched, trying to see over the horns without them impaling him. Another burning surge of pain shot through his torso and he hissed. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched blindly at what he hoped was the Hydra’s eye.
A shadow moved over him and he glanced up. The other head was above him, and it was looking straight at him. It opened its mouth slowly, showing lethal teeth, and flicked its tongue out.
Eryx smashed at the eye again with his fist, as hard as he could. With a crack it shattered beneath his hand and the monster roared, whipping its head back. Instinctively he gripped the hole he had just made, surprised to feel nothing inside the thing’s head. He pushed his hand further in, feeling around for anything that might control the creature. A loud hiss above him accompanied liquid dripping on his back. Saliva. He was out of time. His hand closed around something
cold and spherical and he yanked his arm out of the eyehole, pulling the sphere with him. The effect was instant.
Everything froze. Both the head above him and the one he clung to simply stopped moving. The fierce red eyes glaring down at him dimmed to nothing. The only movement he could see was the flames dancing and flickering below him.
He let out a long breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding and looked at the sphere in his hand. It was made of the same dark shining metal as the Hydra and had an intricate pattern carved into it, covering the whole surface. The pattern was glowing faintly blue.
‘Well done, Eryx,’ said a deep female voice in his head. He was so startled he nearly dropped the sphere, and as he looked around for the source of the voice everything went black.
It was only dark for a split second and then Eryx was standing on the banks of the swamp, alongside his captain. Antaeus beamed at him, and clapped him hard on the back.
‘Congratulations to our victors, the Orion.’
Athena was standing before them. She was as beautiful as ever, and pride swelled in Eryx. He had won. He had destroyed the Hydra, won the Trial and was now being addressed by a goddess.
‘You will want to attend to that wound,’ she said, and gestured at his chest.
He looked down, surprised. Blood was streaming from the tears in his shirt. He couldn’t feel it, though. He tentatively touched his chest near the rips. Nothing. ‘Your next Trial will be announced in one hour,’ Athena said, and vanished.
‘We have something that can help with that.’
Eryx spun around to see Captain Lyssa, with her crew fanned out behind her. She pointed at his chest. ‘My medic, Len, tells me that will kill you before the next Trial starts if you don’t treat it now.’