Strength

by Jane Washington

  Cyrus looked like he wanted to gouge his eyes out. He was rubbing his temples in a shaky, agitated way.

  “Don’t mountain cats live in caves?” he finally asked.

  I nodded. “Oh, yeah. Apparently there was a reason it was standing right there, so close to the cave. It lived there! Fancy that. A few other cats also lived there. What a memorable sun-cycle. I almost lost my innards.”

  “What the hell does this have to do with mountain sickness!” Cyrus was on his feet now as well, his white robes askew.

  I stopped moving toward the doorway. “Right, well, I ended up crawling up into a small ledge. It had an opening that the cats couldn’t fit into, though they kept sticking their paws in and attempting to skewer me with their claws. They trapped me there for two full sun-cycles.”

  Cyrus turned pleading eyes on Emmy. “Summarise, please. I just can’t speak Willa this morning.”

  Emmy’s face grew tight with an approaching lecture, and I was starting to feel sorry for Cyrus. The poor guy: he seriously didn’t know what he was getting himself into.

  “Firstly,” she began sharply, “if you stopped drinking so much, your brain wouldn’t hurt.”

  Cyrus’s eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

  “Secondly, Willa is just saying that by the time we managed to find her, lure away the beasts and get her down from the ledge, she was delirious. They called it mountain sickness because she wasn’t the first dweller to get cornered by a mountain cat.”

  “How could you tell the difference between mountain sickness and her usual sickness?” Cyrus asked dryly. “Was she talking crazy? Tripping over things? Or did she have a completely normal conversation with you while keeping her clothes on the entire time?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, choosing to be the bigger person and not acknowledge his words. Mostly because they were … well, accurate.

  Emmy’s lips twitched, but she held in her laugh like a loyal friend. “It doesn’t matter how we knew. The part you need to worry about is the delirium she caught. Being trapped with stone surrounding her for many sun-cycles was enough to make her a little loopy. We all get sick from being inside too much, we need the sunlight and fresh air.”

  “I’m not in a cave right now,” Cyrus stated, his tone far less snide than I had come to expect from him.

  Emmy’s face softened. “Marble is still a stone, even if it’s smooth and shiny. You’re still always inside, secluded away, plotting to kill the rest of us.”

  “It’s making you cranky,” I added.

  Cyrus frowned. “Gods don’t get cranky.”

  I could have rounded up half a dozen protesters to contest that—just by walking down the hallway, but whatever he wanted to believe.

  “We should go splash in the ocean,” I suggested, excited at the prospect. Growing up, it had been something we couldn’t even dream of, but the vast water was suddenly surrounding us, trembling in wait at the base of the mountain.

  For a click, I almost thought that he was going to agree, but as darkness flashed across his eyes, he dropped back into his chair. “You have duties, Willa. You’re a sol trying to be a Beta now, right?”

  Wrinkling my nose at him, I grabbed Emmy and together we backed away. “You know that’s bullsen shit. Think about the splashing thing, it’s probably better that I’m not right in the midst of things anyway.”

  “Especially after last night,” Emmy piped up, sounding less than pleased.

  I swung my head in her direction. “What do you know about last night?”

  She lifted one eyebrow, giving me her are you serious look. “Everyone is talking about the dweller who has the power of a sol. The dweller who has somehow leeched power off the five gods she attached herself to. All of the sols are trying to figure out how you did it so that they can do the same. By their calculations, if a dweller can be as powerful as you, then a sol can be as powerful as a god.”

  Naturally, that’s how the arrogant sols assumed I’d managed to draw my power. It couldn’t possibly have been mine by nature … and well, they were probably right about that, but they could have believed in me anyway.

  “It’s probably better that they think I’m leeching from the Abcurses rather than I was stabbed to de—” My words were cut off by Cyrus as he moved at super-speed, coming around from behind his desk and wrapping his hand around my mouth.

  “Staviti and Rau have ears everywhere,” he warned me quietly.

  Wrenching my face out of his grip, I took a step back, before pointing a finger at him. “Didn’t you just order me to hop, skip, and sneak my way into Topia for you? If there are ears everywhere, shouldn’t you have … written the order down or something?” His face was turning an interesting shade of red. “Look, Emmy,” I pointed at the rising colour, “he does the same thing you do when you’re mad.”

  “Just get out,” Cyrus ordered for the third time.

  I decided we’d pushed him enough for one sun-cycle and hightailed it out of there, Emmy following closely behind me.

  “You can’t go to Topia for him, Willa,” she murmured as soon as we were clear of his little den. “You shouldn’t be drawing any attention to yourself. Don’t give Staviti any reason to send you to the imprisonment realm …”

  I smiled. She was bringing up the imprisonment realm in the hopes that I would explain it to her—I knew her well enough to recognise the way her statement trailed off, waiting for something from me. If there was one thing Emmy hated, it was not knowing things. Usually she had all the knowledge.

  “It’s getting really hard to navigate the politics of this world,” I admitted to her as we walked back toward the level housing the god-residences. “I’m not good at walking a fine line.”

  “Your guys aren’t going to let him do this. All you have to do is tell them.”

  I hesitated, slowing my steps. “I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do. Telling them feels like it might just create a huge drama.”

  “How do you think they’ll react if you get yourself thrown into this imprisonment realm!” she whisper-yelled the last part.

  I waved a hand at her. “I’ll explain the imprisonment realm later. Suffice to say, it’s not a place you want to go. It’s worse than death—pretty much the god alternative to death.”

  That explanation did not satisfy her at all, but it was too late for further protesting, as we had reached the room we had left the Abcurses in. Sure enough, we were greeted by five, pissed-off looking gods waiting in the entrance.

  “Um, hi,” I squeaked, stepping closer to them. They closed around me in a circle, their shoulders blocking Emmy from view, making it feel like it was only the six of us.

  “You went to Cyrus without us?” Yael sounded somewhat calm, but his eyes were telling a different story.

  “Do you know how dangerous he is, Willa?” This was from Rome, who reached out for me like he was going to shake me. Only his hands stopped just before touching me.

  “He could have snatched you up for Staviti this time,” Siret added, his features pulled into hard, angry lines. “We’re a team, Willa. Don’t leave us behind.”

  “You were all mostly here when I walked out,” I hedged. “You knew I was leaving, and in case you forgot, Cyrus’s condition was that I turn up without you all.”

  Rome grunted, reaching out and hauling me up and into his chest, holding me tightly against him. “We almost lost you to Cyrus once before,” he muttered against my cheek. “We know you had to go alone, it was just hard to wait behind.”

  I snuggled closer to him. “I don’t trust him either, but I also don’t think he’s going to try to kill me again. Whatever his motivation is, it seems to line up with ours for the moment. I’m more useful to him in my current state … whatever that is. He was the one who put me in this state, after all.”

  Rome set me back on my feet, and Yael quickly snatched me up. I settled myself against him, letting him take my weight as I faced
the others.

  “So, what did he say?” Siret asked. “What’s your punishment?”

  “I have to run a few errands,” I blurted, without really thinking. Damn. I should have taken more time to formulate a plan.

  “What kind of plan could you possibly think through?” Aros rolled his golden eyes. “We would have heard you trying to think about what to tell us and what to not tell us, and then we’d know everything anyway.”

  “Out with the truth, Rocks.” This came from Siret.

  I sighed, pulling away from Yael to cross my arms over my chest. I wanted to appear tough, just in case one of them flipped out.

  “I have to go back to Topia to do some possibly bad things that will possibly also be dangerous because they involve Cyrus, who has issues with rage and drinking.”

  “He does?” Rome was blinking, getting a little side-tracked by my assessment of Cyrus.

  “He does now.” I shrugged. “So, we’re cool then? No big deal? No Willa, what are you doing? Or Willa, you’re in trouble.” I said the last part with a deep grumble in my voice—a poor imitation of any of them.

  “Why would you be in trouble for something Cyrus is forcing you to do?” Siret asked, a smile stretching across his face.

  “But yes, you’re in trouble,” Rome added, toneless.

  I threw my hands up with a groan, spinning around just in time to catch Emmy’s smirk.

  “Not okay,” I told her, wagging my finger in her face. “Not. Okay. You’re supposed to be on my team.”

  “I think you have enough people on your team.” She arched her brows, grinning at me. It was good to see her loosening up a little, even if it was at my expense.

  “Why am I in trouble?” I asked Rome, pushing past them to get into the room. The walls were still destroyed. “And why did you smash your way through everybody’s bedrooms?” I paused, a few steps into the room. Something was missing. I frowned, turning to face them all again. “And where the hell is the bed?”

  To my complete and utter astonishment, colour seemed to rise in Rome’s face. He glanced down at the ground, grumbling something in a moody voice. I just blinked at him, before turning my eyes to the others. Aros moved toward me slowly, as though afraid I would jump away from them again. When I didn’t move, his fingers quickly threaded through mine. His golden eyes glimmered at me, holding some kind of delicious secret.

  “Come, look.” His voice was low, sending a reaction through my body and rendering me momentarily unable to walk. He had to tug me into motion.

  He brought me to the wall and then helped me through the rubble, into the next bedroom. The bed was also missing from that room and the next wall had been similarly demolished. The only difference in this room was that the demolished wall had a set of sheets strung up to the ceiling, hiding the next room from view. Aros led me to the makeshift curtain, pausing before drawing it back. Instinctively, I glanced over my shoulder. The other four guys were following us, but Emmy wasn’t, which made me want to laugh. Even Emmy knew better than to follow the six of us into a bedroom. We weren’t exactly afraid of showing our affection for each other. If anything, we seemed afraid of not showing our affection for each other. There was an urgency between us, a fierce need to claim each other, as though something would try to rip us apart at any moment.

  When the curtain fluttered back into place, sealing us in there together, I walked towards the beds. It was a little hard to tell how many had been pushed up against each other, because the snowy, fluffy blankets covering them were strewn about in all directions, as were the pillows.

  “Is it okay?” one of them asked from behind me.

  I was tearing up and I wasn’t sure why. I was happy, almost ecstatic, and there was a warmth inside my chest growing hot enough to burn all the way through my body. Oh, that’s why I was tearing up. It was because there was a fire in my chest, not because I was a complete wuss. I was reacting to the chest pains, not weeping over a romantic gesture. I was Willa Knight, badass extraordinaire, Undead Soldier. I didn’t weep at romantic gestures.

  “Thank you,” I choked out—choked, because of the chest pain, not because of any kind of wussy emotions.

  “She’s obsessing,” Siret remarked, folding his arms over his chest.

  “Keeps calling herself a wuss,” Yael added, shaking his head.

  “Would a wuss do this?” I snapped, striding up to him and grabbing his face.

  His eyes flashed and he leaned in, as though to kiss me, but I grinned and let go of his face, sending my fist into his stomach.

  He laughed, while I hopped around in pain.

  Like a wuss.

  “So you do like it?” Coen asked, appearing just a little bit concerned. “The new room?”

  “I love it.” I grabbed Yael again, pulling him into a hug. He was still chuckling, but he hoisted me up and plastered me against his chest, ceasing his laughter as he nuzzled his face into my neck. When he set me down, I went to Coen, raising my arms for a hug. A smile broke through his worried expression and he pulled me in against his body, his thick arms surrounding me. I hugged the rest of them in turn, but had barely wrapped myself around Aros before there was a knock on the wall between this room and the next bedroom. Not that any of the other rooms were really bedrooms anymore.

  “Willa?” It was Emmy. She sounded apprehensive. “There are some ... um ... people waiting outside. For the Abcurses. Some sols. Their sols. For the training ... you know, the whole reason we’re all here and everything. They said the guys weren’t in the breakfast room this morning to give them their assignments so they came up here.”

  Aros let out a frustrated, growling sound before releasing me. The five of them strode to the curtain, Coen jerking it aside. Emmy jumped away from it and then scurried back into the other room without another word. I heard the door slam as she escaped to the corridor beyond. I didn’t blame her—she already had to deal with Cyrus on a regular basis now, she was learning to pick her battles. Coen was stalking after her. Rome, Yael and Siret followed. Aros took my hand again as we trailed behind, but I paused at the curtain, turning to take in the room one more time.

  Our room.

  I smiled, but quickly ducked my head so that none of them would look back and see the expression of stupid, dopey happiness that was plastered all over my features. We exited into the hallway and I set my eyes on the girls from the night before, a frown taking over the previous happiness. I was going to have to split up from the Abcurses. I couldn’t follow them around while they trained champion sols. I had no place in that scenario—I was just an unnecessary addition.

  “Come on,” Aros murmured, his hand tightening around mine as he drew me past the others. “Let’s go back to the top of the mountain again. Cyrus didn’t give very elaborate instructions, but I assume people will have returned to the same platform that he made his announcement on. From there, we will decide on the schedule for the sun-cycle.”

  Nobody argued, and we formed an awkward, single-file line through the corridor housing the sleeping quarters of the gods. When we passed out to the paths winding around the outside of the mountain, Siret moved behind me, his hand brushing along my spine. Immediately, I was shielded against the bite of the mountain air as a heavy black cloak folded about me.

  I glanced back to thank him, but instead found my eyes searching for the sols. They were trailing behind, struggling to keep up with us. That made me smile.

  Nine

  We made our way up the winding stone steps, my cloak brushing against the frost that was forming on the surface. It was a dangerous path, slippery with ice, so I was glad that I had a hold of Aros. I wondered if the path was part of Staviti’s test of survival: if any of the sols slipped and fell from the mountain, they were unfit to be gods. Or ... he wanted them dead anyway. I shivered, pressing closer to Aros. I doubted that Staviti would care if he took down an Abcurse along with me, but it was easy to convince myself that I wouldn’t be swept from the side of the mountain if I held on
to one of them tightly enough.

  When we reached the top platform, we discovered that the space had drastically changed overnight. Marble trees rose from the platform itself, their shapes flattened and stretched out, so that they only appeared to be trees when you were standing in front of them or behind them. From the side, they just looked like odd, carved marble walls.

  “Cyrus has been busy,” I noted.

  “Not Cyrus,” Emmy muttered, brushing past me. “He got a friend to come in here and do it.” Emmy made a face when she said the word ‘friend’. “And then after she was done, he thanked her by taking her back to his room and fucking her right there in the bed with me sleeping on the floor beside him.”

  I jolted to a stop, my wide eyes staring after Emmy. She wasn’t even waiting for a response—she was just charging on, through the raised marble trees, toward something I couldn’t see.

  “Emmy just said a bad word,” I told the others, as I felt bodies shifting restlessly behind me. “And she’s sleeping on the floor beside Cyrus? And Cyrus is having sex with mysterious decorator-gods?”

  “She said more than a single bad word,” one of the student sols muttered, her tone somehow both snide and satisfied. “She said a whole lot of bad words, and all of them about the Neutral God. That little dweller is going to die.” Now her tone had turned to glee, and I was half a click away from turning and shoving my fist into her throat, but Aros started pulling me forward again.

  “You know Emmy isn’t going to die,” he whispered to me. “Just ignore her. Cyrus would never have allowed a person to stay in the room with him while he had sex—much less a dweller—unless he wanted to get a reaction from that person. If he really took someone back to his room, he did it more for dweller-Emmy than whoever was in his bed.”