Priscilia still faced the younger-looking girl. “Are you Athena?”
She pointed to herself. “Me? I’m Artemis. Athena’s over there.” She pointed to the other woman.
Maya suddenly realized their mistake: They had expected to double-team Athena; they hadn’t counted on facing two members of the Flawless Few at once. The odds, already against them, were now much worse.
Athena stopped ten yards from Maya. “We finally meet, Maya Brünhart.”
“Yes.” The only time they’d conversed was via telepathy as Maya escorted Morovian president Joe Lambda to the Faust Kingdom for peace talks.
“Why have you come here?” Athena said. “For more negotiations?”
“No. We came here to stop you from carrying out your master plan.”
“And how is that working for you? You’ve lost your ship, you’re separated from your friends, and now you’re up against two of the strongest gods in all of Zero Grade.
“However, I’m willing to make a rare exception for you. Give up and join us as members of Zero Grade, just like you used to be.”
“Hey!” Artemis said. “Have you lost it? Zeus ordered their complete destruction. They have to die.”
Athena didn’t take her eyes off of Maya. “Silence. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. What do you say, Maya?”
“I’m sorry, but I have to say no. You’re bent on enslaving all mankind. I can’t let you do that.” Maya paused. “Why, Athena? I thought you were open to the possibility of peace. Why do this now?”
Athena’s sour expression never wavered. “We were open to peace talks. But Joe Lambda’s death put an end to that. Now there’s no way the mortals will ever worship us voluntarily. They must be made to do so by an overwhelming show of force.”
The odds of a peaceful resolution were getting farther away by the moment. Nevertheless, Maya had to keep trying. “I’m sure we can achieve peace. We just need to explain to the world governments their leaders’ deaths were caused by Loki and his insane crew.”
“Enough,” Athena said wearily. “Zeus’ mind is made up. We’re going to Narska to bring everyone to their knees. Soon, everyone will worship us.”
“Even if it’s out of fear?” Maya said.
“As long as they acknowledge our greatness, we don’t care what their motivation is.
“But we’ve talked enough. It’s clear this can only be settled through violence. As much as I detest fighting in my own house, Zeus was adamant you not be allowed to escape. I was generous and briefly ignored that imperative, but since you refused my invitation, we must crush you like insects.”
“That’s why you moved the furniture,” Priscilia noted.
“Of course,” Artemis said, smiling. “We don’t want to trip over tables while we butcher you.”
Athena then asked her, “I’ll let you choose first. Which one do you want?”
Beaming, she replied, “I want Maya Brünhart. She’s also an archer and I’m dying to see how she stacks up.”
Athena’s face betrayed no emotion. “Very well. I suppose I’ll deal with this one here,” she said, indicating Priscilia. Athena seemed bored by the prospect.
“Better be careful,” Artemis said. “We don’t have any data on that one. She’s an unknown.”
“It won’t make a difference,” Athena said.
Maya turned to face Artemis.
Behind Maya, Priscilia said, “Don’t get yourself killed.”
“Of course I won’t!” Artemis said happily.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Boo,” Artemis said, sticking her tongue out. “I hope Big Sis kills you slowly.”
Chapter XI
Maya shot a trio of arrows, hoping to catch Artemis off guard. But to her amazement, the munchkin fired off her own volley, knocking each one out of the air. The six arrows fell harmlessly to the floor. “Is that your best? I’m disappointed. Maybe you feel pretty good about yourself since you apparently beat Persephone in the God Games. But I’m on a whole other level!”
Artemis fired off six arrows. With no time to counter them, Maya dove out of the way and they skewered the floor.
From behind Maya, Athena said to Artemis, “Please kill her quickly. I don’t want you tearing up my house.”
“Worry about yourself,” Priscilia said.
“Please,” Artemis said. “You can just have your servants repair any damage.”
“Hey! I’m talking to you,” Priscilia said.
“Have a little consideration for them,” Athena replied, ignoring Priscilia.
Maya heard Priscilia shout, “Don’t ignore me!” Followed by the sounds of grunting and yelling.
Artemis sighed. She said to Maya, “Fine. I wanted to have some fun, but Big Sis says to kill you now.” She lowered her voice and then added, “Just between you and me, I’m hoping you’ll put up more of a fight and give me an excuse to keep playing with you.”
Maya fired off an arrow, which she easily dodged by tilting her head slightly. But what she didn’t know was that it was one of Maya’s manual arrows. Maya had it swing around and come at Artemis from behind. The teenage goddess was wide open.
Suddenly, however, Artemis put her hand behind her back and when she put it in front of her again, it held the arrow. She had caught it without even looking at it. “Please tell me you can do better than that. I’m an archer. I’m one with the bow. I can sense all arrows no matter where they are or who they belong to.” She seemed intent on educating Maya about this. “That kind of trick is the work of amateurs.”
Maya felt her confidence failing. She had been so proud of her special arrows, and Artemis was reducing them to parlor tricks. Was this really the extent of her skills?
Priscilia said, “Stay focused, Maya. Remember what’s riding on this battle.”
Unwilling to risk turning her head to see how the silver-haired girl was faring, Maya simply had to trust her words. Priscilia was right; too many people were counting on her to defeat Artemis and stop Zero Grade’s plans.
Maya raised her bow once again. She would do this. She had to. For her friends. For all mankind.
Artemis said, “I like the fire in your eyes. You’ve changed in just a few moments. But surely you must be wondering, ‘If my tricks are so amateurish, what does Artemis have up her sleeve?’ Allow me to show you.”
She pulled a single arrow out of her quiver. But, instead of putting it in her bow, she simply pointed it at Maya. As Maya stared at it, a black ball formed at the tip. It slowly formed until it was a few feet in diameter.
Without warning, Maya felt herself being pulled forward by an invisible force. “This is…!”
Artemis smirked. “Way to go. This is my singularity arrow. You’re being pulled into a black hole. You’ll probably die instantly.” Maya frantically fired a few arrows into the hungry maw, hoping to perhaps disrupt it, but it was futile. “Just how stupid are you? I just told you it’s a black hole. It’ll eat anything you throw at it and be hungry for more. Time to die!”
Maya was pulled across the room by the singularity, inch by inch, slowly but surely. Her bow had already been swallowed up. She needed to act quickly as it was a short distance to Artemis. So, in desperation, she fell to the floor and conjured special titanium arrows before jabbing them into the floor. She now had an anchor and a momentary reprieve.
“You’re only delaying the inevitable,” Artemis said. “How long do you think you can hold out? Even a god will get tired sooner or later and lose her grip.” Maya knew she was right; the singularity was still exerting a powerful influence on her. Even now, her body dangled off the ground, fighting the thing’s pull. It wouldn’t be long before she succumbed to it.
Thinking quickly, she allowed one hand to break free from the titanium arrow it was holding and conjured a manual arrow. With one hand still holding an anchor, she couldn’t use her bow. However, she managed to throw it into the air, high above the singularity. She then maneuvered it aroun
d and behind Artemis.
“You really are an idiot,” Artemis said, catching the arrow. ‘Hey, my stupid trick arrow didn’t work the first time. Why don’t I try again?’” she said, her voice pure mockery. “Did you think a bigger arrowhead would work?”
Maya smiled. “Different arrow.”
“What…?” Before Artemis could finish that thought, the arrow tip exploded, showering her with acid. She screamed, her concentration disappearing. And, as Maya had hoped, the singularity vanished as well.
Wasting no more time, conjured another bow and fired off a volley of freeze arrows. They struck several different points on Artemis’ body, encasing her in a solid block of ice. The munchkin was frozen with her eyes wide in shock.
Maya turned around to face Athena who clearly had the upper hand over Priscilia. “One down,” Maya said confidently.
But Athena suddenly declared, “So naïve.”
“What do you mean?”
Something shattered behind her. She whirled around and found Artemis staring her down with pure hatred. Chunks of ice lay at her feet. “You’ll pay for that, bitch.” The acid burns all over her body quickly healed as she spoke. “You think you can hurt a member of the Flawless Few like that? Dream on! It was a mistake using the singularity arrow on you. No, a quick death’s too good for you.”
Maya’s confidence dipped again. Nevertheless, she steeled herself for another round with this girl.
* * *
A few minutes earlier…
Priscilia hurled her shield at Athena, expecting the other woman to conjure her weapon and try to counter it.
But to her surprise, Athena simply grabbed it with one hand, exerting little effort. “What is this toy?” She examined it with casual interest. “It’s very crude.”
“Be careful with that,” Priscilia said.
“Why?”
“It has sentimental value,” she joked.
Athena responded dryly, “Oh, really?” She proceeded to smash the implement to bits with her bare hands. “Never put such feelings into mere objects. Especially one that smells so awful.”
Priscilia rolled her eyes. “If you’re done criticizing my weapon, perhaps you’d like to show me yours.”
But Athena said, “I have no weapon. Such things are unnecessary for a goddess of my caliber. As vulgar as it may seem, I shall destroy you with my bare hands.”
Priscilia conjured another shield. “Don’t underestimate me. You’ll need a lot more than that to take on a member of the Awesome Three.”
Athena scoffed. “No matter how many toys you create, you cannot hope to match the power of the Flawless Few. And just what is that smell emanating from it? It’s awful.”
“You must be imagining things. Now, then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to crush you already.”
* * *
Minutes later, Maya turned back to face a thawed-out Artemis, while Priscilia faced her own struggle. Dozens of shield fragments lay strewn all over the floor. It seemed Athena had been correct; no matter how many Priscilia conjured, the legendary goddess destroyed them all with ease.
And now Priscilia lay face down on the floor, the pieces of her shield keeping her company. Her body was sore all over from the beating she had just taken.
Athena’s hand gripped the top of her head, holding her down. She was simply too strong. “You wasted quite a bit of my precious time with these foul-smelling objects. Honestly, their odor did far more damage than their spikes. And now that smell is everywhere. It’s suffocating.”
“Ha,” Priscilia said, her voice muffled by the floor. “You’re very funny.”
“Being a sore loser doesn’t suit you.”
“Loser? Perhaps you’re mistaken. Perhaps this was all part of my plan?”
“Am I supposed to believe it was your plan to be eradicated by me?”
“Maybe.”
“Well, then. Tell me this: according to your plan, what will happen now?”
“Maya,” Priscilia said. “Can you hear me?”
From somewhere, Maya replied, “Yes, although I’m a little busy at the moment.”
“Just answer one question for me. When we fought in Adlo, did you notice an odor coming from my shield?”
“No. But it definitely smells now.”
“What do you think it means?” Priscilia asked.
“That’s more than one question. But if I had to guess, I’d say you’ve modified it since we fought.”
Priscilia managed to smile despite her face being squashed against the floor. “Very good. I modified it. To the intolerable woman holding me down, I must explain. You see, that smell is being generated by the highly flammable substance now coating my shield. I created it myself, so I know how powerful it is.”
She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard Athena gasp. “You mean…!?”
“That’s right. This place is filled with miniature bombs. Bombs that, by the way, obey my will no matter how many pieces they’re in.
* * *
The silver-haired girl was bluffing. Athena was sure of it. Even if the fragments of her weapon were explosive, they couldn’t possibly do enough damage to harm a member of the Flawless Few.
As if sensing her thoughts, Priscilia said, “You probably don’t think my bombs are very powerful. You’re wrong. I designed them to be lethal to gods. I never knew when I’d be doing battle with the Academy again, and I wanted to be prepared.
“You’re a fool if you think I can be beaten by these toys.”
“Let’s find out. Bombs—attack!”
Athena watched as the myriad fragments began floating in the air. And then, before she even knew what was happening, every single one of them was upon her. She found herself engulfed by smelly metal pieces of various sizes.
From somewhere around her, Artemis yelled, “Big Sis!”
* * *
Maya watched as the shield fragments engulfed Athena. The elder goddess yelled in surprise and rage, shattering her icy façade. Maya thought to dive behind the furniture, but realized that would most likely offer no protection. “Priscilia!” she said. “Run!”
The fragments began to glow a blindly white. Despite this, Priscilia laughed. “Don’t worry; the blast will be directed upwards. So just hit the ground.”
Maya wasted no time doing so. Within moments, there was a brilliant flash followed by an explosion she felt more than heard.
The entire world seemed to disintegrate around her.
* * *
Priscilia wasn’t fully aware of what happened next; most likely, her senses couldn’t register all of it. When awareness returned to her, she found herself underneath a ton of wreckage.
She forced herself upwards, pushing aside hundreds of pounds of debris and glass. When she finally got free of it, she was outside under the false moon, the shattered remnants of the Crystal Palace standing around her like hulking ruins. “Maya! Where are y—?”
Her words were cut off as a red arm reached out from under the adjacent debris and caught hold of her leg. She stared down in horror at it. Its grip was powerful and hot as a furnace.
An angry growl emanated from the wreckage, and it gave way to a terrifying figure with no skin, hair or clothes. The entire body was covered only by muscle which currently emitted smoke. “You! You did this to me!” The voice, although gravelly and full of rage, was unmistakably Athena’s.
Priscilia tried to break free, but Athena still retained her strength, and she found it impossible. Athena then rose to her feet and began throttling her. All high-class pretense was gone; Athena had completely lost it. Priscilia was helpless while her life drained away.
Suddenly, though, several arrows shot past her, striking Athena and then exploding, showering her with deadly green liquid. Athena shrieked in agony before releasing Priscilia.
Priscilia turned around; Maya stood there among the wreckage, more arrows primed. But she wasn’t the only one standing there. “Maya! Behind you!”
Maya instincti
vely dove out of the way to avoid other arrows. These ones also exploded on contact with the ground, but what it released wasn’t green. It was orange, and it bubbled and melted the ground.
Artemis stood there, anger splashed across her face. “How do you like that? You think your acid arrows are something? Get a load of my magma arrows!”
Priscilia called out to Maya, but she cut her off. “Finish off Athena! Hurry!”
Where Gods Dare (Divine Protector Book 4) Page 12
