“Enough,” Hades says in that voice that fills the room and presses down upon us from all sides. “We’ve come to the eve of the second trial. If you wish not to join your former descendants in the mortal realm, I suggest you summon whatever cunning and strength you have at your disposal.”
This is the first I realize that I can’t remember who started this choosing with me. There’re six of us here, but every house starts with ten chosen.
We’ve lost four descendants and...
...I can’t remember who they are.
I knew this was coming, of course. But it’s something else to experience it. I can sense the hole where their faces had been in my memories. As if Hades reached into my mind with his own hand and dug it out. And the more I try to think of their names, the more my head hurts.
“As this next challenge is likely to cut your number down even more, I’ve decided to gift you one of my most precious gifts. The gift of life itself.”
My heart pounds in my chest. If the last one went badly, how will this one go?
“The gift to control the life force of a living thing is one of the most intricate and powerful in my arsenal. It’s one of the primary functions of my court and their work. The ability to wield life force is a gift unlike any other and I challenge each of you to be worthy of it.”
My hands go clammy. I try to inconspicuously rub them on my gear.
If this is a gift so much more powerful than the last, how much more painful is it going to be for me to receive it? And will I be able to wield it? I’m already at an extreme disadvantage and the second trial hasn’t even begun.
I fidget as I contemplate bowing out right now when I feel Haven’s arm brush against mine.
The touch jolts through my nerves like lightning.
Get it together.
I clasp my hands behind my back to avoid him altogether. I can’t think straight when his skin is on mine.
Up ahead of us Nereus and Monstrat are carrying something to the center of the chamber. I don’t dare look away from the front, for fear of what I’ll see in Haven’s face if I do.
Nereus and Monstrat set down their burden and it settles on the floor with a loud clang. Nereus removes the white cloth covering it.
My breath catches in my throat.
Sitting on the pedestal is an orb the size of the large cats that lived in the well house at Hestia’s. Inside, vibrant colors shift in a kaleidoscope. I’m pulled toward it, like something has hooked me around the middle.
Hades’s voice breaks the intense silence that’s fallen over the room. “This is the Orb of Life. It was gifted to me by Gaia, the primordial goddess of the world.”
Though Gaia is in all of our creation stories, she hasn’t been seen in millions of years. If that orb and its power within it came directly from the mother goddess, it must be one of the most powerful objects in all of Olympus.
“As your name is called, place your hands upon it. Only those worthy will receive the gift. This is no small power I give you.”
I want to vomit.
What does worthy mean? And how does the orb decide who meets those requirements?
I don’t think any of us is breathing as we stare, unblinking, at the orb. “Monstrat, you may begin,” Hades says.
“Pearce Atos,” Monstrat calls. “Come forth and receive the gift Lord Hades has bestowed upon you.”
I wrench my gaze away from the orb long enough to see the color drain from Pearce’s already pale face. He’s visibly trembling as he approaches the orb and places his hands on it. Light spreads out from it and encompasses his entire body. His eyes go wide. For a moment I wonder if he’ll scream, but then the expression on his face turns to one of wonder and awe.
The light recedes from his body in the same path it took to cover him and pauses on his hands before returning into the swirling surface of the orb. Pearce steps back, hands still outstretched. He stares at them as if they’ve physically changed, but I can’t see a difference.
When he returns to his place in line, Monstrat calls the next name.
Each gifting seems to go much like Pearce’s, though I notice that two of the boys flinch slightly as the light covers them.
My stomach clenches tighter and tighter.
Please, please don’t let me throw up on the Orb of Life.
Monstrat calls out, “Haven Knightfall.”
Haven walks up without hesitation and places his hands on the orb.
I’m running through possible scenarios to get me out of having to touch the orb when I realize Haven is standing next to me again. Monstrat calls out my name. The blood drains from my face. I must look like a ghost.
I quickly send up a prayer to every god and goddess I know.
Please don’t let this be my undoing.
I finally give in to the pull of the orb. I try my best to steady my hands as I reach out, but there’s a noticeable tremble to them. I watch, horrified and amazed, as the light from the ever-changing surface of the orb climbs over my fingers and then up my arms. In every place the light touches my body goes numb.
The world goes silent. It’s a loud hush, the absence of sound. I can no longer feel my feet rooted to the floor and for one delirious moment, I wonder if I’ve died and my soul is floating away.
Somewhere in the distance, there’s a crack. It sounds like the earth splitting open. Like stone crumbling, then a great rushing through my entire body. I imagine this is what it feels like fighting the current of the River Styx. Fighting the river of the dead is folly and I know the same must be said of the orb.
So I take in a deep breath and let go.
Warmth spreads through my arms and blooms in my chest. Tingling runs down my spine. My heart is a steady beat in my head. I exhale because...I somehow feel better than I’ve felt in a long time.
I feel...alive.
All my nerves are firing. The hair on my arms lifts, electric. I level out my shoulders and let my chest expand.
It’s like I’m taking a deep breath for the very first time.
And then...nothing.
The light is gone.
Sound comes flooding back.
I look down at my hands. There is nothing different or changed about me, but I feel different.
Before I can even back away from the orb, Monstrat and Nereus are replacing the white silk cover. They carry it back to wherever it came from.
I dare a glance at Haven as I head back to my place at his side. He’s staring straight ahead, but for one small moment, I almost think I see relief on his face.
“This isn’t a gift given or to be received lightly,” Hades says. “Use it well in your next trial. For if you lose,” he stares over us with a dark, furrowed brow, “you lose all your power.”
He sweeps from the room.
No one says anything for a moment until Monstrat returns to us.
“Congratulations, descendants,” he says. “You now have two days to prepare for the next trial. I suggest finding your own space to practice with your new gift. It could be the difference between you or your opponent winning.”
“Does that mean we can’t practice it on one another, professor?” Pearce asks as he shoots me a devious grin. Without waiting for Monstrat to answer, Pearce snakes his meaty hand out to grab me.
But Haven beats him to it.
Haven wraps his hand around my wrist and fire burns through my limbs.
I slam to my knees screaming. It feels like sea urchins are burrowing through my veins.
The boys all laugh.
As soon as Haven lets me go, the pain is gone.
“Haven!” Monstrat says. His teeth are gritted and there’s a furious scowl on his face. “That was uncalled for.”
“At least now the orphan knows what to expect.” He levels his gaze at me. “Now she knows what game I’m playing.”
The boys clap Haven on the back like he’s some kind of victor.
An embarrassed heat fills my cheeks as I climb back to my feet. I glare at
him as he scowls at me. If looks could win this trial, I think there’d be a tie right now.
“All right, all right.” Monstrat steps between us. “Please don’t use your new power on each other. It’s meant only for the trial. You wouldn’t want to forfeit your place now just for fun and games, would you?” He addresses all of us, but his attention lingers on Pearce and Haven.
“You’re all dismissed,” Monstrat turns away. “Gods be with you.”
Chapter 24
I rush from Hades Hall as soon as we’re dismissed.
I don’t want to face Haven any longer. I’m worried about what I might do to him.
I want to murder him.
I want to…kill him.
I want to murder and kill him!
I never should have gone to the kitchen last night. Why didn’t the Fates steer me away from that calamity? What’re they doing up there at the top of the mountain? Placing bets on how quickly I’ll fail?
And that kiss. That stupid, gods-be-damned kiss.
Just thinking about it sends my stomach alight again. My body has clearly forsaken reason. Clearly it’s against me as well.
I’m so gone to fuming that I nearly run right into Max. He’s standing outside my bedroom door, fist poised to knock.
“I’ve been looking for you!” we shout in unison.
Max laughs. “You first.”
He follows me into my room and I shut and lock the door behind me. Better to be on the safe side. Monstrat might have been clear with his warning, but Haven isn’t about to listen to the professor and something tells me Pearce won’t either.
I sit on the edge of my bed. “Did you hear what happened?”
Max expels a breath. “You heard what happened? Oh, thank the gods and all who love them! I was dying to tell you but the staff was specifically told not to mention that the escaped Titan was last seen headed this way because they don’t want the descendants to lose focus for the upcoming trial and knowing that in advance would be totally against...the…” Max trails off as he takes in the look of utter shock on my face.
“The titan...is coming here?” I can barely get the words out without a little shriek coming out with them. I grew up hearing stories about the titans and how monstrous they were. We knew to be afraid of them before we even knew how to walk. And now one is headed this way? Maybe Hades will cancel the trial...
My hands and face grow hot.
“Whoa. Are you ok?” Max puts his hands out toward me but doesn’t come any closer. “I think you’re glowing?”
I jump up and rush to the armoire. I yank open the door to get a look at myself in the mirror hanging on the backside of it.
Gods around us.
He’s right. My hands and face are glowing a kind of weird reddish-gold. I shake my hands experimentally as though I can shake off the strange light. When I place my hand on the door of the armoire to shut it, it starts to crumble at my touch.
In an instant, it’s just charred hunks of wood raining to the floor.
A headache builds behind my eyes.
“Something is wrong,” I say.
“Is that the gift Hades gave you?” Max asks.
I nod. “The Gift of Life, or so I’m told.”
“Well, it’s pretty amazing. You just decimated that wardrobe. Imagine what you could do to Haven’s face.”
“What’re you talking about? This is anything but amazing!” The pounding behind my eyes intensifies. “When Haven used the ability on me, it burned, but he wasn’t glowing. I’m supposed to be able to affect life force, not burn down the furniture.”
Max still looks impressed though. “Maybe it just works differently for you. I mean, you’re an exception, you know. In all things.”
I sit down in the middle of the floor careful not to let any part of me that’s glowing come into contact with anything else. I want to rub at my eyes and see if I can massage the pain away, but I don’t dare touch my face. I don’t want to melt the skin from my bones. “Is it normal for it to make my head hurt this much?”
“I’m not sure,” Max says. “Maybe...maybe you just have to get used to it? I’ve never actually witnessed Hades use the gift of life so I can’t exactly say what it’s supposed to look like. Maybe try it on something more alive? Maybe it makes your head hurt if you use the power on something that’s dead. Like that wardrobe.”
“Okay. That makes sense.”
He looks around and then grabs a small plant from the windowsill. It’s a delicate thing, with white star blossoms that open up on delicate stems. I think it might be narcissus but I’m not sure.
“Set it down here.” I gesture for him to set it in front of me, careful not to touch him as he backs away. “Hades didn’t say life force only worked in one direction. I should be able to make it grow more quickly?”
“Theoretically,” Max hedges. “But we don’t see a lot of that kind of thing around here. Hades and his descendants aren’t known for their cultivation abilities.”
I think back to the trees in the Dark Wood, the way their branches shed their leaves after I lost control of myself.
If I was a descendant of Hades’s, my powers would certainly line up with his. Cultivation notwithstanding.
But if I can kill leaves, maybe I can make things grow too. Life force is a two-way street. And I’d feel a lot better about a lot of things if I could give life to something instead of take it away.
I take a deep breath and stare at the beautiful plant. Narcissus doesn’t grow around Hestia’s House—it’s almost exclusively a Hades flower—but the sweet floral smell still reminds me of home.
“Stand back,” I say to Max.
He backtracks to the corner of my room looking both excited and anxious as I reach out one glowing hand toward the blooms.
The pain in my head lessens as a patchwork of light trembles around my hand much like it did from the Orb of Life. The glowing intensifies. The pain is all but gone now and I let out a breath of relief.
But the moment my hand touches the flower, the light snaps out from me and the petals disintegrate into nothing but ash.
“Max,” I start to say when the light explodes and sears my vision. Faces flash in my mind. Faces and names and events at Hades’s House. Things I remember but shouldn’t remember.
Someone is screaming.
The light swirls in my head and with a snap, it blooms outward like a ripple in the sea.
“Ana!” Max yells. “Ana, STOP!”
I blink. I’m cold all over and shaking. Smoke rises in front of me. I look down to see that not only is the plant gone but I’ve burned my way through the rug and made a sizable hole in the wood floor beneath it.
“Max?” I say. “What hap—”
Black smoke coalesces behind him and solidifies into Hades. He looks from me to the smoldering floor and a dark frown crosses his face.
He snaps his fingers and everything goes black.
Chapter 25
Theo.
His name comes to me like the sharp ringing of a bell.
I see his face in the Dark Wood.
I see him at the giant oak handing over his bracelet to Haven.
In the darkness, I’m aware enough to know that I’m not supposed to remember Theo.
But somehow...I do.
Every now and again I surface long enough to hear people talking around me, but I’m never sure if they’re real or part of the memories I can now recall with perfect clarity.
Theo. One of the twins. Others whose faces are grim as they walk to the waiting carriage.
We were never meant to remember those that had been sent away but somehow now I do.
Theo. Who wanted to go to the mortal realm. Who considered Haven a friend. The Theo that Haven helped get to the mortal realm because he loved a mortal girl.
I’m able to lift my eyelids ever so slightly.
I swear I see Haven sitting near my bed.
That’s how I know I must still be dreaming, so I float off back into
the darkness, whispering his name as both a wish and a curse.
And the darkness whispers back, “I’m here.”
Chapter 26
I wake up to the scent of something sharp and earthy nearby. When I pry my eyes open I find Max sitting in the chair next to my bed stirring something in a small bowl. I open my mouth to ask him what he’s doing but all that comes out is a hoarse croak.
“Ana, you’re awake! You scared the life out of me. Again.” Max hands me a cup of the sharp smelling brew and I take a sip, wincing at the flavor but instantly feeling a little more awake and aware.
“You live in a house of the Underworld,” I tease. “One would think your tolerance for scary things would be a little higher.” I mean it as a joke, but Max shakes his head, eyes serious.
“Even among those who run the Underworld, the kind of power you unleashed in that room was terrifying.” Max lowers his voice as though there are people listening in. “I thought you were going to burn a hole straight through the earth and open a second entrance to the Underworld.”
I groan as I stretch my arms and legs. Everything feels stiff, as though I’ve run the outlier hills of Olympus seven times over.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” I say and reach out to clasp Max’s hand. “I shouldn’t have asked you to help me. It figures I wouldn’t be able to control this new power either. Turns out I’m a danger to everyone and everything.”
“Don’t say that. It’s not your fault.”
“That doesn’t make it okay though. I need to start training by myself, or better yet, maybe I’ll take a page out of Theo’s book and opt for starting a life in the mortal realm. If I can’t control the powers, maybe I deserve to lose them.”
“Who?”
“Theo? Blond hair, nice smile? Was here until about a week ago when the descendants who lost the first trial...were…” I trail off as Max’s expression takes on a cloudy kind of confusion.
You’re not supposed to remember him.
Hades Descendants (The Games of the Gods Book 1) Page 12
