by Debbie Long
I give him a salute at which he scowls. My sisters snicker behind me, and even Daphnae tries to hide her smile.
“As I was saying.” Zeus booms.
“Ooh, he’s angry.” I whisper to Violet. She snorts out a laugh, then covers it with a cough when Zeus glares at her.
He gives us one last look before looking away and carrying on with his boring ass speech. “You will all be battling the elements, so I would suggest you find your camping gear. You have no maps. The only clue I will give you is, we are sturdy, we are tall, we are one and all. Come find us where we reside, and we will give you your prize. That is the only clue I will give you.” He swings around, and as he does the big golden doors open.
My team and I walk forward. We don’t really have a set colour. We are multicoloured, odd and unnatural, according to Zeus.
“Do you know what the riddle is?” Violet whispers in my ear.
I nod, looking around me at the others. “Yeah, but not here. I will tell you when we get to a safe spot.”
When we pass Zeus, a shiver overtakes me. When we go up the stairs to the door, another wave hits me, this time stronger that I have to grit my teeth. I look to my sisters, and they have the same look. Everyone else seems to be unaffected as they walk confidently through. When I look back at the twelve, some are smirking.
Fucking assholes.
When we step through the doors, a different feeling washes over me. This time, I don’t feel like I am being stripped, I feel like I am being gifted again. It’s the same feeling when my mother died and gave me her dragon mark.
Feeling eyes on my back, I keep walking. I don’t show that anything is different, I just keep my shoulders tight and head forward. I feel a breeze on the back of my neck, then a thud as the doors close.
Looking around me, I see acres of woods and in the distance, mountains which are where we need to go to reach the top and end this thing. There is nothing else, for now, not even the doors that led us here. The other teams have vanished into the woods, no doubt looking for the packs that will help us.
“So, where do we look?” Violet asks me again.
“You really don’t know? It was the easiest riddle ever.” Clarissa answers for me.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking now would I.” Her lilac hair whips around her, I don’t know if that is the air or her magic. Violet huffs as I bark out a laugh.
“Just follow me, we don’t know who may be listening.” I say to her. I squeeze her shoulder as I pass and walk into the woods.
I see the pink team looking around with frowns. Daphnae is murmuring to her team, and they look up as we step through the trees. I look up into the trees and see a pink leaf. Have they made it that easy for them? of course they have. It will be us that will have difficulties finding ours. I look at Daphnae and look up with my eyes. She follows my gaze, and her eyes widen. She rushes to the tall oak tree, placing her palm on the bark. She takes a deep breath; her hand begins to glow a rose gold colour, and then the tree splits open to reveal three packs.
She smiles my way, not really caring that we are being watched. I return it, just as a buzz sounds above my head. I look up to see an orb, I am guessing this is how they are watching us. Ignoring it, I drop to the ground. My fingers dig into the earth, and I feel the happy hum of mother earth responding to me. I close my eyes, asking for her help to locate our packs.
It’s a strange feeling looking through her eyes, so to speak. She can see everything, feel everything. The only way to describe it is tendrils of light energy that pulses and flickers across the earth and into everything living things that walks on her. I can see the animals, see the other teams, and feel the trees, their branches swaying, and the leaves fluttering. Looking towards my sisters, their energy is the brightest. The purple of Violet washes through the earth, connecting with it like an old friend. Clarissa, hers is a red that flickers like a wildfire. I do see a bit of black lingering through the red that I don’t like, and neither does mother earth. Mine is gold, I thought it would be blue like my wings, but it isn’t. It is gold like my inner dragon, and like the god stood before me.
I locate our packs and laugh at where they are, which is on the edge of the mountainside. I ask my friend one favour, and she answers without pause. I watch as the packs travel through the trees' roots, passing it along like a pass the parcel. I stand, dusting off my knees and walking to the same tree that opened for Daphnae. I place my palm on the bark as she did, letting it open and taking out the three packs with a smile. I stroke the tree, whispering a thank you and it closes right up and becomes whole once again.
“How in gods name did you do that?” The guy asks in awe. He stands there gaping at me, mouth open like a fish. I laugh as I walk to my sisters and hand them their packs.
“Mother earth answered my call.” I reply to him. “They hid ours near the mountainside. We would have faced the elements and gone without them if she hadn’t located them for me and the trees helped by playing pass the packs to me.” I laugh at that as do the others.
“Do you still have your magic?” Daphnae walks over to me, keeping her voice low.
“I think so. I felt something shift inside me as I passed Zeus, but then it faded, and I felt a sense of belonging as my magic stayed put. I don’t think I have my wings or my dragon, but I do have my magic.”
“I guess they couldn’t take everything from you. They created the fae, so that power is them. I don’t think they thought of that.”
“And they call themselves the superior ones.” Clarissa scoffs.
I look up at the orb, and I swear I feel Zeus’s stare and angry scowl. I look away and into the trees. “We need to move. We have been here too long, and the others could be further away by now.” I walk to the hulking trees, pausing to look back. “If you want to stick together, we can. I don’t really care what the twelve say. We all work together on this if you want to that is?”
“We’re in.” Daphnae doesn’t hesitate in replying. She looks toward her friends, who all nod eagerly. “Besides, my mother knows I am not into this. I will help you get back to earth and save your people because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Let’s move then and catch up.” I walk into the trees, and they all follow. A team of six and all wanting the same goal, to save the fae kind.
We aren’t a few steps in before we are into our first trial. I mean, where the ever-living fuck did this thing come from. I don’t think they are meant to be here. I guess Zeus just wants us to fail. Well jokes on him, because I intend to make it to that mountain top and grab that damn flag. I might even stab the fucker just to prove a point.
I stare up at the giant arachnid with a woman’s head. She stares down at us with those black coal-like eyes. I shudder in repulsion at her hairy body and the pure fact that she has a spider’s body. I fucking hate spiders.
I back up, gripping Violet’s arm in fright. When I look at her, she has the same look of horror on her face.
“What the fuck is that thing?” I look towards Clarissa who has gone slightly pale. Her dark skin has taken on a sickly tone, I guess I look the same.
“That is an Arachne. They spit venom at you to immobilise you so they can later eat you.” Daphnae answers.
“How do we get past it.” I whisper shout. “I didn’t come this far to be eaten by a damn spider.”
“We haven’t even got very far.” Violet remarks.
“Shut it. You know what I mean.” I pinch her arm. She hisses at me and smacks my hand away.
This movement draws the eyes of the beast before us. She hasn’t made a move, and neither have we. It seems she is accessing us, looking us over. When she speaks, it shocks the hell out of me.
“Why are you so far from home young faelings?” Her voice has a silky tone, like velvet and kind of hypnotic. “I have never seen your kind before, but there is something different about you.” Again, she gazes into our eyes. I can’t help the shudder that rips through me. “You are afraid of me?”
When none of us answer, she carries on speaking. “You know, like you, I was ripped from my home. I was forced to come here to terrorise the young ones that came into these so-called games. For a while, it has been quiet. Then that idiot comes in here with his booming voice and tells me I have to kill you when you cross my path. I asked him why that wasn’t the way before. I always had a riddle or two before I let them pass. Of course, if they attacked me, I attacked back.” She smiles, showing us those pincers that are sharp enough to cut through flesh. “I will not kill your little ones. I will let you pass the same as the others if you answer my riddle.”
She looks right at me when she says that. Closing my eyes briefly to clear my mind, I step forward and raise my chin to gaze up at her. “What is your riddle?”
“I move without wings, my silken thread left behind. I hide in the dark, lure my prey to my hiding place. What am I?” She looks down at me with that same smile. I smile back, my grin widening when she gives us the easiest riddle.
“A spider.” I answer her.
She beams at me, stepping aside to let us pass. “Perfect young one. I will help you on your quest.” With that, she scurries away into the trees. I shudder again watching that spider ass disappear into the dark.
“Fuck me that was terrifying.” Clarissa walks to my side, gazing into the trees. “She seems pissed at Zeus. Do you think that once we have finished here, we could set her free to her lands?”
“If we get the chance too yes. For now, we have a flag to get to and a home to save.”
The orb buzzes angrily over my head. I raise my hand, giving it the finger and stride away into the trees to whatever else awaits us.
Chapter eight
Kyle
Sitting here in this stupid house is driving me insane. River is cooking far too much, but it’s the only thing that keeps him calm. Theon is brooding, and that worries me because he is the joker of his dark group. Plus, his powers are radiating around the room, and I’m gritting my teeth so hard that they are grinding. I have never met an incubus this powerful before. My body is reacting to him, and that bothers me.
“Will you knock it off!” Theon startles, and I instantly feel bad. “Sorry.” I say to him, running a frustrated hand over my face. “I know you can’t help it, but please rein it in a little. I don’t think Clarissa or Morgan would appreciate me humping you.”
Theon snorts out a laugh, and even River laughs. “You know, I don’t think they would mind. I can always take the edge off.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, and now it’s my turn to laugh.
“Nah, you can keep that dick of yours to yourself.” I chuckle, and for that moment, I actually feel a little normal.
“Do you think the guys are okay?” River says from where he’s stood in the kitchen. “I don’t feel them anymore, so I guess they made it back.”
“Yeah, I feel they have too. The news has been quiet, too quiet.” I reply to him.
“I don’t like it. I feel as if something big is going to happen back home, and I still have the image of Clarissa in my mind.” Theon looks at me, and I see the same look in his eyes that I am feeling. Foreboding.
When I look back at him, I know that she would never turn her back on us. “I don’t feel that she will go that way unless something bad happens in that arena to set her off.”
When he replies back to me, I know the answer instantly. “How do you know?”
“Because she loves you, her mates, and her sisters too much to let anyone stand in her way.”
“I hope you’re right, Kyle. I can’t lose her or my family. They mean too much to me to give up on. I never felt complete, you know, not until she came along. We didn’t hide our feelings from her, well, Damon did.” He rolls his eyes. “But the thing is, she brought us closer together. We all have our purpose in life to rule our kind and bring balance to the world.”
“And to unite our kind.” I fill in.
“That too.” He looks toward River then back at me. “Something is coming, a war that will unite us whether our people like it or not. Lucifer wants to be on top like he did all those years ago. He was stopped then, he will be stopped now.”
“I wish I could see the girls. I can’t get the tv to work, and they refuse to help me fix it.” River frowns towards the window. I follow his gaze and see Hades walking towards us. “I thought he was exiled. He shouldn’t be here and the fact that he is worries me.”
“Shit.” I stand, rushing towards the door. I open it just as Hades is about to knock. “What are you doing here?” I can’t help being rude. If it wasn’t for his son, none of us would be in this damn situation.
He doesn’t seem fazed by it, just breezes past me with his blue hair. Looking at him, you wouldn’t have guessed he was thousands of years old. He seems our age; in fact, they all do. I look him over, seeing he looks like a typical teenager in jeans and a white tee. His hair is styled in a thick, swept-back look. The dark hair makes his blue eyes stand out, just like Damon’s.
When he talks, it pulls me out of my thoughts. “I have come to warn you.” Fucking hell, he even sounds like Damon. “Zeus has planned something with Lucifer. I have been watching the world, seeing all the destruction that he has already caused worries me. But all has been quiet. Almost too quiet.”
“We said the same thing, and we know what Zeus has planned. That’s why our girls are in the trials without their natural powers to protect them.”
Hades looks shocked, “they are in the trials? You do know that at least one person dies in there, right? If he has them in there, then he will try anything in his power to eliminate them.”
“Yeah, we know that too.” Theon drawls. “You are too late in telling us this. How did you find out if you are exiled from this place?”
“I have my ways.”
“You don’t need to start being cryptic now.” River grumbles. “We know our girls are in danger and we have taken all the precautions we can. There wasn’t anything we could do once they agreed to play in these so-called games. Our brothers are on earth, that’s why the chaos has stopped. We are here to keep our girls balanced, and they have friends on their side in there.”
“Good, they will need it. These games are about wits and strength. They will get hungry in time and forced to kill whatever creatures they stumble across. They will start to turn on each other, even their own team. They must keep their heads, or all will be lost.”
“Why do you care?” I ask him. “Why are you bothered if they survive or not?”
“Because they are the salvation to bring all worlds together. They are the bridge to harmony and peace. It is something the worlds need. I may be the god of the underworld, the one who helps the spirits pass through peacefully and the one who have too much hate stay in my abyss.” When he says that, his eyes gleam. I shiver and look to my friends who are finding it hard to look at Hades. “It is my punishment for trying to overrule Zeus. For trying to take over his place.” He shrugs, giving us a smirk. “I would rather keep my place in the spirit realm, then spend any more time in the company of my brothers and sisters.”
“I can imagine that was trying for you.” I say with an eye roll.
“Oh, it was pure hell.” He laughs at his own joke, while we just frown.
“How do we help our girls? What can we do?” River walks over to me, standing by my side like a hulking tower.
“We can help them from here, send them the food and supplies they need. They are being watched by Zeus, so we must be careful how we do this.”
“We can’t even watch them. The tv doesn’t work, so how do we know when they need help.” If we can help them, then I’m all in.
Hades walks over to the tv, claps his hands and it springs to life. The first thing I see is the girls confronting a giant spider woman thing. I shiver again, this time from the look of that thing. To my surprise, the thing steps aside with a smile. Morgan turns to the orb thing above her head and gives it the finger before walking through the trees.
&n
bsp; “Yes, baby girl.” I smile at my love, seeing the confident woman she has become. “They have got this, and I have a feeling the forest will help them win this thing.”
I hope I am right. Actually, I know I am right.
Cole
It was strange when we stepped back into our homeworld. The chaos stopped. The people looked around confused then went about their day. No one looked at us, they just walked on by. We looked at each other in confusion, then Damon hissed. He turned, staring into the dark alley behind us and we all stiffened when Lucifer walked out dressed all in black and wearing a smug look.
“How did you escape? You’re meant to be in hell where you belong.” Damon advances on him but stops when Lucifer drags out a woman.
