by Eva Ashwood
The barrier had spat me out, apparently in reaction to the magic that I had used. I leapt to my feet and spun around. Inside the barrier, I could see my three guys all struggling. I wished I could tell them what I’d done to get out, but I honestly wasn’t even sure what it was. I couldn’t describe it. I could only do it.
Stepping forward, I shoved my hand back into the barrier and began to pull the magic to my skin, using the same spell I’d used to get myself out. This time, I kept my eyes open, watching as the barrier began to bubble and spit, moving back from my arm. It tried to push me out, but I wouldn’t let it. Instead, I grabbed Lachlan by the shirt and yanked him free, tossing him to the ground. I didn’t have time to see if he was okay. The other two couldn’t hold their breath much longer. Working quickly, I moved on to Trace and then Merrick.
They both stumbled as they burst free, and by the time they regained their balance, Lach was on his feet too. All three of them looked at me with something like awe in their eyes.
“What was that, Ari?” Merrick asked, his amber eyes shining with curiosity.
Lachlan shook his head, smiling at me. “Fuckin’ impressive shite, whatever it was. Though yer skin was on fire, did you know that?”
I chuckled and smiled, holding up my arm to show that there was no damage. Trace walked over next to me, lifting my arm to examine it closer, his fingertips making a new kind of fire flare in my veins as he examined my skin.
“I wonder how many gods you pissed off with that one,” he murmured. “It was brilliant.”
When we’d all regained our equilibrium, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder outside of the barrier, scanning the wilderness around us.
“It’s still the same landscape,” I said, not sure if I should feel happy or sad about that.
Merrick nodded. “It’s the same world, but I won’t lie, it all seems a bit more threatening and ominous on this side.”
Just as he said that, a large bird dove from the sky several yards away from us. Its talons closed around what looked like some kind of large magical cat, grabbing the animal by the throat and ripping it in half as it flew off.
Cringing, Lachlan looked over at us. “Ye think?”
Chapter Sixteen
“Kill it!” Merrick yelled across the clearing.
I grabbed both straps of the magical weapon that I had created out of nothing and yanked hard, not really sure what to expect. We had gotten very creative in our time on the other side of the gods’ boundary wall. As I yanked, the jagged edges of my magical weapon sliced through the three-headed beast’s neck, dropping it to the ground. Immediately, the men all sent blasts of magical fire at it, burning the thing almost instantly to ash.
Trace walked up next to me, brushing off his hands. “It’s a good thing we figured out that we have to actually burn the beasts to ash or they regenerate. I’m pretty sure on the first day, that rhinoceros-like creature was the same one over and over again. We just kept killing it, and it just kept coming back and hunting us down.”
I chuckled and nodded. “You’re probably right. Live and learn, right?”
Lachlan strode up to the top of the crest ahead of us and then turned, pulling a face. “Hey ladies, why don’t ye take a look at what I found. I’m not sure if this is good news or bad.”
I shoved my knife back into the pocket on the side of my bag and sighed. “I really hate it when he starts a sentence off like that. None of us are ladies here.”
Trace just laughed as we headed toward Lach, climbing up the embankment. Standing side-by-side, we stared down at an enormous rushing river in front of us. It was wide, and so deep that it made the water look almost black. I smiled, realizing that I knew exactly what that was. “It’s the River of Souls.”
Trace wrinkled his nose. “Is that like the River Styx?”
I trotted down the embankment toward the river, shaking my head. “Not really. But it means we have to be on the right track. According to what I read in the library, the seat of godly powers is contained within a river that flows like a giant circle around the place all the gods call their home. Which means, if this is that river and not some sort of trick, we just have to get across it. The gods’ city should be on the other side.
Merrick lifted an eyebrow. “You know you just said we need to figure out some way to get across this giant river, right? The fucking enormous one in front of us?”
Lachlan rolled up his sleeves and walked toward it. “Eh. It can’t be that hard.”
He sent out streaks of magic, watching as the pieces weaved themselves together into a bridge that went up and over from one bank to the next. Then he held out his hands and grinned, turning to us. “See? Not that hard.”
But as he turned back, the water in the river raced even faster, rising up. The bridge he had created trembled and crumpled under the pressure.
I chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, feeling his muscles tense in frustration. “Yeah, sorry, big guy. It’s not going to be that easy. They really don’t want us in their homes.”
Merrick pulled off his shirt, his muscles glistening against the reflections of light from the river. Working quickly, he tied the garment to his belt loop. “I guess we’re just going to have to swim.”
I shrugged, figuring there was nothing in my pack that couldn’t get wet. Fear of entering the raging water made my heart beat faster, but I couldn’t let fear win. We could use our magic to help pull us across, keeping the rough current from sweeping us away.
One by one, we began to wade into the river, sticking close to each other. Trace sent out a long stream of magic that curled around each of us, not tight enough to restrain us from swimming, but firm enough to keep us close together.
As I swam, I noticed how dark the river water was, and how incredibly wide it was from shore to shore. I was already exhausted, but this was going to take the last bit of energy I had left in me.
“Did you see that?” Merrick asked, his steady strokes stopping as he treaded water for a moment.
We all looked around, breathing hard as the water carried us downstream. At first, I didn’t see anything, but then small flutters beneath the surface of the water caught my eye. At first, I thought it was just fish much like we had on earth, but as another flash of movement popped up right in front of me, I realized it was a large fin. Before I could turn to the others, something that felt like a hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled me underwater. I kicked mercilessly at whatever had grabbed me, my lungs burning as terror filled me, finally finding a solid place to smash my heel into. I heard a muffled screech, and the hand released my ankle.
From above, Trace grabbed me by the shoulder and lifted me above the water. I sputtered and spat, gasping for air. Once I’d gotten my breath back, I realized the guys had swum closer to me, creating a circle and facing outward in all directions. All around us were mermaid-like creatures, their bodies scaled and their teeth pointy and jagged. They hissed at us, clearly threatened by our entrance into their water.
“We don’t mean you any harm,” I sputtered, putting up my hands as the water pulled at us, dragging us farther downstream. Despite the fact that we were all moving, the mer-people seemed to have no trouble keeping us surrounded. “We just want to get to the other side.”
In answer, one of the mer-people lunged at me. Merrick sent a stream of magic out, knocking her fifteen feet in the other direction.
Lachlan raised an eyebrow, pushing his coppery red hair out of his eyes. “I don’t think they care what we want.”
Suddenly, they all converged on us, squealing and screeching in voices so loud it hurt my ears. Without thought, the four of us began to fight, functioning like a well-oiled team. Where one person was weak, the other filled in, and we all watched each other’s backs even as we hurtled through the water.
I could deny it until I was blue in the face, but it didn’t change the truth—these men and I were meant for each other. We just fucking worked. The one thing we had, the strength that kept us all togeth
er, was the trust we had in each other. Not once did I worry that any of the men would leave me hanging.
Still, that didn’t mean I was confident we’d win this fight.
We were only halfway across the river, still swimming in water so deep I had no idea where the bottom was. And it became very apparent about ten minutes into the battle that we were going to have to fight underwater.
I used my magic to create a sort of bubble around my head, something that would hold oxygen in it at least for a few minutes longer than my lungs could. My men did the same, and we all looked at each other before diving below the surface. The bands of magic that kept us from separating glowed brightly around our ankles, lighting up the dark water around us.
Being underwater in the river was unlike anything I’d experienced before. It was different somehow from water on earth. I could move more fluidly, and there wasn’t a heaviness around me like I would’ve expected, no weight of the water pressing in on me.
As one of the mer-people swam toward me with a sharpened, shimmering trident, I whirled around, slamming my foot into its stomach and kicking it as far back as I possibly could. With my magic enhanced in the godly realm, coupled with my training for being a fighter, I was capable of fighting with deadly force, even underwater.
The guys used their magic, spinning and weaving different weapons to scare off the mer-people. I used my fists, always more comfortable with straight combat than with magic. My previous fight training and skills were coming in handy, even under the strange fluid motion of the river.
When the magic I was using to hold in oxygen popped, I swam to the surface, taking a deep breath as my face emerged. As my lungs filled with fresh air, I saw a spiraling flash coming straight at me. Merrick yanked on my wrist, dunking my head back under the water. We both looked up from beneath the water’s surface, watching a blade fly past. I pressed a hard kiss to his lips and felt his fingers dig into my hips as he pulled me close for a second.
Then we both kicked up through the water, renewing the magical air bubbles around our heads.
When we sank back down, all four of us gathered in a tight cluster.
The merman who had thrown the blade was large, obviously an alpha, and charging straight for us. He was the last of his people attacking us, and the men and I all turned toward him, putting our palms straight out and blasting him with as much magic as we possibly could.
At first, he let out a low grumble, pushing hard against our magic. He fought through the water toward us, but as his strength began to weaken, he flipped backward, soaring off into the darkness of the river.
Everything went calm, and the screeching sounds of the mer-people drifted off into the distance.
After surfacing one more time to refresh our air bubbles, the four of us dove down, kicking through the water and swimming to the other side. It was safer underneath, since it meant we could see what was coming in all directions.
We emerged on the opposite bank, pulling each other up onto the shore and collapsing onto the soft ground. We were dripping wet and absolutely exhausted. My limbs felt like they did after a hard training session, shaky and useless.
After a few moments of lying there, Merrick began to chuckle. “This is getting harder and harder every step we take.”
Trace sat up, wringing the water out of his shirt before putting it back on. “Yeah, it is, but at least we’re one step closer to our goal. I can’t imagine any of the other contestants actually getting across this river. How would ye be able to fight off all those fuckin’ fish creatures by yerself?”
I pulled myself up and leaned back against a rock. “That’s the point. We’re outside of the competition zone, so no one is actually supposed to make it across the river unless they’re invited. It’s no longer a battle of wits, not that it ever was, but now survival will be even more difficult. We’re in the gods’ territory, outside of the playing area, and if they didn’t know that we were gone from the competition before, they’re definitely going to know now. I can’t imagine the mermaids not being one with the gods. Someone will tell on us.”
Lachlan stood up, wringing out a shirt before putting it back on.
“Fuck’s sake. When I don’t want visitors, I just close the blinds and turn off the lights. The gods, they really don’t like outside people. They’ve got mer-people and three-headed dragons and who knows what else out there. They’re obviously willin’ to kill anybody that comes to visit.”
Chuckling, I pulled myself to my feet. “I don’t imagine they like people coming into their land. But even more than that, it makes me wonder what they’re hiding. It’s gotta be something big for them to take so many precautions to protect their seat of power. We just need to get there. It will hold answers; I know it will.”
Trace nodded, making a face as he dragged himself upright. “Yup. And hopefully we’ll get there in one damn piece.”
Chapter Seventeen
Several hours later, Lachlan stopped, leaning against a tree and shaking his head.
“I don’t know about ye ladies, but I think we’ve gone far enough for the night. We swam across a ragin’ river, fought off mer-creatures, and we’ve been hikin’ for a couple of hours straight. We’re moving at a glacial pace here, and if we come across anything that we have to fight, we probably won’t survive it.”
Stopping beside him, I put my back against the tree and closed my eyes for a moment. He was right, even if I didn’t want to admit it. I felt absolutely tapped, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
“I agree,” I said. “We should stop for the night. It’s probably going to get dark soon anyway, if it even gets dark on this side of the barrier. Either way, we need to rest, eat, and dry off any clothes that might still be wet.”
Trace dropped to the ground dramatically, his limbs splayed. “Yes! Finally! The drill sergeant agrees that we can have some rest. I was starting to think we were going to hike until we dropped.”
The guys all chuckled, and I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out at him. Merrick smirked. “You better be careful with that thing. You can’t just go sticking it wherever you want to, not around us.”
“Oh, is this how the night’s gonna go?” I swatted him playfully, although there wasn’t much strength behind it. I really was beat. “You guys busting my balls all night long?”
Merrick shrugged. “You just might have the biggest and most rock solid ones out of all of us. And I mean that as a compliment.”
I smirked at him as I picked up my bag and opened it up, searching through for the food. “Good. ’Cause I’m taking it as one.”
Now that we’d stopped walking, all I wanted to do was sleep for a fucking week. It took extreme effort to get moving again as the four of us started to make camp. There was definitely a sense of urgency hovering around us. We had no idea when someone would find the gem, and if they did, we really didn’t know if we would be brought back to the school. We were on the other side of the barrier that surrounded the Gods’ Challenge playing area, and I honestly wasn’t sure if whatever magic brought all the contestants back would find us out here.
Still, we couldn’t risk it. We had come too far to be snatched back at the last second. We were dead on our feet though, and we’d learned last time that we functioned better when we were well-rested. Fighting magical creatures off was exhausting, not to mention the hiking and the heat.
As Merrick used his magic to create a canopy for us to sleep under, Trace stood up and nodded behind us. “Maybe it’ll be a little bit safer to go in there.”
We all turned, looking over at a cave that had been hidden by ropes of thick vines. But as the breeze blew through the thickly wooded grove, the cave revealed itself. At first, I was a bit skeptical; the last cave I’d stepped into in this realm had ended up collapsing around us.
“I’ll go check it out. Be right back.” Lachlan held up a hand to stop the rest of us and stepped in first, sending up a ball of light as he disappeared inside.
We all stood
watching the vine-covered hole he had disappeared into, waiting for him to come back.
After a few minutes, Merrick shot me a slightly concerned look. “Should we go in after him?”
“Oi, mates!” Lachlan yelled from inside the cave.
I let out a sigh of relief, then raised my voice. “Took you long enough! Is it safe?”
Lachlan poked his head out of the small rounded entryway into the cave, brushing aside the vines. “Aye. It’s completely empty. It doesn’t even look like any kind of animal has lived in here for quite a while. It might be a wee bit cold in here tonight, but it’s better than sleepin’ out in the open. Especially outside the barrier.”
Merrick created his own ball of light, allowing it to hover over his hand as he stepped inside. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Trace and I strode in after him, ducking through the short passage and into a cave that probably could’ve held an entire football team—not that I wanted to share it with anyone except my three men.
Falling into our usual duties, we spread out around the space. I made a fire in the center for light and warmth, and the others used their magic to create a bit more of a comfortable sleeping situation. None of us wanted to sleep on the hard stone ground. My body already felt like it’d been put through a meat grinder.
Sitting down next to the magical fire, I opened up my pack. We still had some food rations left, but our supply was getting pretty low. And outside the playing area, we wouldn’t find any more packs to help us.