Page 14 of The Gods We Defy (All Gods Must Die #2)
CHAPTER 14
S weat drips down my back as dawn breaks beyond the horizon. The other chosen around me are just as exhausted. We were all woken in the middle of the night to start our trek up the mountain and instructed to find the portal that will lead us to the first trial.
About an hour ago, the snow started disappearing, giving way to small patches of green the farther we moved up and around the treacherous path of a mountain. The cool breeze soon becomes stagnant and the heat unbearable.
I glance around at the other chosen, trying to keep close to the mountain face and away from the edge. One wrong step will most definitely lead to certain death. But instead of worrying, my gut churns at the noticeably smaller group, at least half our numbers since the purge in the forest. Surely the sidhe hounds couldn’t have killed them all off?
Or maybe it wasn’t the beasts that got rid of them.
Keeping my guard up, I follow the others around the curving path. It opens up, leading to the top of the mountain, revealing a field of green grass blowing in the wind.
There’s an audible sigh of relief as everyone comes to realize we’ve finally reached our destination.
But it soon grows tense when we notice there’s nothing here.
No portal. No people. Nothing other than a view of the crashing sea below and the gray clouds above.
“Where is the portal?” a male chosen with a silver and black mask asks, the anger and panic in his voice rising.
“Look,” a female with a plain cloth mask says, pointing to the right. I move closer to the edge of the cliff, peering down to see the rest of the group of chosen down on the shore, moving toward an enormous cave. The land looks to be connected to the mountain, but we were told to go around the opposite side so we wouldn’t have spotted it until we were at the top.
Something I doubt is a coincidence.
“I have a feeling none of us are Caligo?” a male with a full purple and black mask asks, glancing around.
Clenching my jaw, I shake my head with everyone else and quickly realize what has happened here.
Curses fly around the area when the rest realize it, too.
My eyes find the other chosen down at the shore once more. Farther down from them, a small purple and black portal opens and Vidarr and a couple of his men walk through.
“We were tricked,” a female chosen with a plain black mask says. “I thought we passed their little test in the forest?” she asks. “It’s going to take at least half a day to get back down the mountain.”
“I don’t feel a pull or any pain?” the purple-masked chosen says with a frown. “Maybe they lied about that, too.”
The female next to him rolls her eyes. “Technically, we’re right beside it and the trial hasn’t started. If you want to test it, stay. But I’d rather not take the chance.” She turns and starts heading back down the way we came.
“But… but they’ll have an entire half a day head start on us. That doesn’t seem fair.”
A male with a silver lined mask scoffs. “No one said these trials would be fair . If you want the riches and titles at the end, then they will damn well make you work for it. We’ve no other choice and there’s no other way. Unless you can fly, we need to move.” He turns and follows the girl down the mountain.
With grumbles of frustration and anger, the rest start moving, but I stay where I am. The words of the last chosen gave me an idea.
Maybe I can fly.
The ocean below is protected from the taint of the gods by a small barrier that reaches a few hundred feet outside Túr Rí. I spot the darkness a few miles past the invisible threshold. But the ocean is a formidable entity of its own, and the taint is but a minor threat in comparison.
Crashing waves smash against the cliffs and shore below as I steel myself for what I’m about to do.
Moving away from the edge, I walk a few feet backward and bring my Sidus light to the surface of my skin. I make a run for it and dive. Straight over the edge of the cliff and down to the turbulent ocean.
Long lines of light rush out of me and connect with the cliff wall as I fall, slowing me down while also directing me away from the mountain.
The wind whips around me, the cold air a welcome breeze after the heat.
Moving closer and closer to the water, I release my light, take a deep breath, and keep my arms and legs straight and together.
Hitting the water, I quickly get pulled under, the merciless current barreling against my body, trying to drag me down. I move upward, breaking the icy surface, and release my light before I start swimming with everything I have.
Taking a gulp of cold air, I push my legs to swim steadily towards the shore where the other chosen are, my anger fueling me.
After a couple of minutes, my legs finally feel the sea floor and I force myself to stand up straight as I step out of the water and onto the shore where the chosen are all standing, staring at me with wide eyes behind their masks. I ignore every one of them and find a place somewhere I can keep watch of them all and what may come up from behind.
But I don’t miss the look of rage from Vidarr’s face or the hostility that pours off every inch of his body.
“The rules are simple,” Vidarr starts, clenching his jaw at me before turning to the others. “Enter the cave, find the crystal, and bring it back.”
“That’s it?” a chosen to the left of me asks.
Vidarr’s smile is a vicious, cruel thing. “It wouldn’t be a Túr Rí trial if it was. Once you enter the cave, you cannot physically leave until you find the crystal you’ll need. This particular cave happens to be the home of a sea dragon, and the crystals are… its treasure . It will not give them up without a fight. The crystals are required to continue to the next trial. You all have two days.”
“What happens if we don’t find them?” another chosen asks, voicing the concern most of us have.
“Then you don’t return.” Vidarr gives those nearest to him a pointed look that has my hackles raising. The portal opens just as he turns and walks away, disappearing as if he was never here, leaving us all silently stunned.
Enter the cave, find the crystal, and get out within two days. But most importantly, stay alive.
A s soon as Vidarr leaves, the chosen rush forward, shoving each other, trying to be the first inside the cave. One chosen gets a knife to the thigh just so another can gain footing. But he plucks it out and continues running like nothing happened.
I wait until they’ve all gone in before approaching the entrance.
Entering the vast mouth of the cave, I spot several passages leading in. The floor is covered in black and gray broken rocks, sand, and small segments of water that must be trickling in from the ocean outside, adding another time element into the mix when the tide comes in. This entire entrance could be underwater in a few hours.
Steeling myself, I move forward and pick a passage to the farthest right of me. The ceiling of the cave dips downward, getting lower and lower until I have to bend down as I move through it.
I start regretting choosing this passage, but a flitter of light catches my eye, pushing me forward. A few feet down into the tight tunnel and it quickly opens to a huge cavern, the ceiling so high it could fit a giant.
The cave floor is covered in dark green and blue water, with large boulders scattered in and around it. Most of them block me from seeing a clear path through.
I’ll have to move in and around them and hope I’m moving toward the crystals I’m supposed to find.
Climbing from one large rock formation to another, I finally spot the light that had caught my eye. It’s most definitely a Sidus light. And it’s coming from somewhere to my right.
Whispered voices reach my ear. I move quickly to the nearest large rock, concealing myself completely.
“You know I’m scared of dark spaces,” a familiar female voice says.
“You’re a Sidus with the power of light,” another familiar female voice says in a dry tone. “How can you be afraid of something you can so easily fill with your light?”
“What if I light it up and there’re ugly creatures staring back at me? What if I see a huge creepy bug? What if?—”
“You see your reflection and get scared?” the other says, finishing her sentence and making me smile.
They move closer and I inch to the other side of the rock, not ready to reveal myself yet. But my foot hits a small pebble and it rolls into the water beside me.
I hear them stop in their tracks. “Someone is here,” one says, and I decide to throw my doubts away and move out from around the rock, revealing myself to the girls I met in the forest a few days ago.
“Wait…” Indira freezes, glancing up and down at me before focusing on my eyes. “It’s you. Those green eyes. You’re the one who saved me from the ice.”
I nod but keep my gaze on Yasmin as her sharp ice-blue eyes narrow on me.
“I’m Indira.” She nudges Yasmin with her shoulder, giving her a look that has Yasmin loosening the tension from her body. “And this ray of sunshine is Yasmin.”
I remembered their names from last time, but I nod my head and since I already know theirs, I ignore Vidarr’s little rule and tell her mine.
“I never got to thank you, Seren. Not many chosen would have helped. And none would have gone out of their way to save me.” She takes a step forward but pauses when she notices the tension in my body. I may have saved her life, but that didn’t mean I was na?ve enough to trust either of them.
“You two seem to help one another and stick together,” I say while keeping my eyes on our surroundings.
“We’re from the same kingdom,” Indira says, and shock spears through me when I realize they’re not from Findias.
“You’re from one of the other two kingdoms?” I ask, glancing between them.
Indira nods, her eyes lighting up while Yasmin’s narrow on her. She nudges her again with her shoulder, giving her a pointed look. “It doesn’t matter if we talk about it. If we live through the trials and want to go back, they’ll just erase our memories.”
I blanch. “What?”
“I see they’ve told you absolutely nothing,” Yasmin groans while giving Indira a pointed look that seems to say, ‘I told you so.’
I know I came later than most, but I didn’t realize I missed out on vital information.
“If we make it through all three trials… and the purges,” Indira says, sharing a dark look full of worry with Yasmin, “we can choose to go home. Obviously, we won’t gain any riches or titles, but they have to wipe our memories of our time here so we can reintegrate.”
Reintegrate… but without any memories of outside the shield…
I sigh and push it to the back of my mind for now. I suppose it doesn’t matter, anyway. If I don’t find the green stone for Lord Cain by the end of the trials, I will be dead anywho.
“Why don’t we stick together?” Indira says, earning a sharp look from Yasmin.
“What?” Indira says to her. “Three is better than two. And let’s be honest, I’m the weakling out of us. I honestly don’t even know how I was chosen for the trials.”
Yasmin shakes her head at her. “You’re one of the most powerful Sidus I have ever met, Indira. Just because you’re not a fighter doesn’t mean you are not strong.”
“Well…” She looks at me. “I, for one, have never dived straight off a cliff using my Sidus light as rope.”
I see the sparkle in Indira’s eyes as Yasmin’s eyes soften.
“Let’s get moving.” Yasmin glances around the cave. “We have less than two days to find the crystals before we’re stuck here forever.”
Indira winces but nods and waits for me to walk closer before moving.
“What’s your kingdom like?” I ask, wondering if it’s similar to Findias with its divide, or if their friendship as a Sidus and Caligo is something more than an anomaly.
“The Kingdom of Goirias?” Indira asks before continuing. “It’s probably similar to yours. It’s big and beautiful with everything you could ever need.”
Not the same as Findias then. “But all Sidus and Caligo… get along?”
Indira and Yasmin share a frown, but Indira continues. “Sidus are protected by the Caligo. We’re not all perfect, of course. There are fights among small groups, but we come together when needed.”
Together… I don’t know why I assumed that the other kingdoms would be the same as Findias with the divide. I look at them both and the ease they have with one another. If anything else comes from this, I now at least know it’s possible to exist in peace with one another.
Yasmin looks at me with a question in her eyes.
“It’s… not the same in my kingdom,” I tell her.
Her frown deepens, and she looks like she might ask me something, but Indira gasps and we quickly move closer to where she’s wandered.
Laying at her feet is a chosen, his long mask at his side and a blank, empty look in his eyes as he stares upward.
“He’s dead,” Indira states, making Yasmin roll her eyes.
“That much is obvious,” she replies.
But by what? There are black claw marks running down his torso and a dark green substance seeping from them.
Unless we have a fae that can transform into something like this, it means we not only have to find the crystals on a time limit, but we also need to avoid whatever creatures call this cave home.
The sound of movement has the three of us tensing and on alert. Indira ends up between me and Yasmin.
A male chosen with a mask of equal sides silver and black steps around a small passageway near one of the rocks. His hands are up in the air as he walks out toward us. “I’m not here to fight.” He dips his head toward the dead guy. “And I didn’t kill him.”
Yasmin narrows her eyes on him. “Why should we believe you?”
“I suppose you really don’t have to,” he says with a shrug. “I’m fae but I can’t kill like that.” He dips his head toward the claw marks. “Nor can any fae I know, for that matter. But something killed him and it’s in this cave with us.”
Something I’ve already assumed but hoped wasn’t true.
“Let’s assume we believe you,” I tell him, earning a glare from Yasmin. One that I completely ignore. “What’s your purpose of revealing yourself to us?”
He drops his hands and glances around him. “I may have been watching you and noticed you’re not like the rest,” he reveals.
“Meaning?” I ask.
“ Meaning you don’t hunt the others for sport,” he grits out, each word angrier than the last. “ Meaning you don’t join in on the torture or cruel games they like to play.” He releases a harsh sigh. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He glances between us. “Any of you. I just want to make it through these trials.”
“Why should we trust you?” I ask, still unsure if my newfound friendship with Yasmin and Indira is something I can trust. Adding another to the mix doesn’t sit right with me. They could all be playing me, playing one another.
I watch his eyes, trying to catch any lies. Anything that would reveal his deceit. But just like Indira, he’s an open book. Whereas Indira has an air of innocence about her, something Yasmin tries to keep intact, he seems to be slightly more hardened by the world. His eyes are full of emotion, but still guarded. There’s also sadness there. So much sadness that he tries to mask. But it seeps out from his eyes, and he seems to realize it too, letting his guard and mask down, if only for a moment, to prove himself.
“Some of us just want a better life and a way out.” He clears his throat, his voice growing softer. “Some of us have no other option to survive.”
I find no hint of a lie in his words, nor deceit in his eyes. Yasmin and Indira seem to think the same as Indira accepts him into our little group. Yasmin, though, seems a little more guarded, looking at him with watchful eyes.
With a cutting warning from Yasmin, we get moving once more. Four instead of three now.
“I’m Hael,” he says, taking Yasmin’s warning with an easy nod.
We move farther into the darkness of the cage. The water starts to look black, the walls jagged and vicious.
“Indira,” she says, dipping her head before pointing at Yasmin and me. “And this is Yasmin and Seren.”
He avoids looking at Yasmin and turns to me, walking backwards. “Seren? You were the one that dove straight off that cliff.” A lightness reaches his dark eyes. “That was badass. I’ve never seen a Sidus use their powers that way. No wonder you were chosen.”
His words are ironic, considering I am probably the only chosen here that wasn’t really chosen .
I avoid the look of admiration in his eyes and scan the cave for any threats. The rocks are huge, and any of them could be concealing a group of chosen.
The fine hairs along my arm raise just as my stomach dips.
Something isn’t right. The thought only crosses my mind when movement ripples throughout the dark waters.
“What was that?” Indira asks, glancing between us. “You saw that, right?”
“Let’s move away from the water and further up.” I tilt my head toward the rocks at the side of us. There is a long ledge that looks like it leads into another passageway and hopefully a way out of this cavern.
Without question, the others follow me as we move toward it. Only making it a few steps before chaos erupts around us.
A group of chosen appear as if they were always there. And considering the number of hiding spots in and around the rocks, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.
They attack without mercy, their group of at least a dozen to our four.
I unsheathe my sword and meet them half-way. The four of us are outnumbered and blocked from escaping the cavern but it doesn’t look to intimidate the others. They jump right in, defending against the other chosen’s unwarranted attack.
It moves us farther apart from one another, but we stand our ground and avoid any serious injury.
Another ripple in the water gains my attention, but the two males in front of me only have their eyes set on me.
“Your death is mine, little Sidus,” the one with the gold-streaked mask says.
He doesn’t see the smirk I give him as I move forward and slam a fist into his face. His head whips sideways while his little friend attempts to attack me from the side. I twist out of his path, but not before sliding my blade along his arm.
Moving back to my spot, I catch the rage in both their eyes. It’s mixed with a shade of shock. I guess they both thought I would be easy prey.
They assumed wrong.
Movement in the water has me launching forward, attacking and striking hard.
Something isn’t right. I can feel it. There is most definitely something in the water. And I have a feeling it is only a matter of time before we find out what it is.
I turn to the other chosen as he sneaks up behind me and block his sword just as another sword slices through his torso from behind. He freezes with a gasp and slowly looks down to the blade now sticking through his stomach.
I step back and he drops his own sword just as the blade draws backward. He drops to the ground and Yasmin comes into view.
I share a look with her, one that I hope conveys my admiration of her vicious streak, before glancing over to the last place I saw Indira. Only to see three other chosen surrounding her and backing her into the cave wall. She has no weapon and her Sidus light barely flickers, as if she is too frightened to form it.
Yasmin spots it just as I do, her eyes widening. “I can’t shadow,” she tells me. “The cave must be blocking me.”
I assumed as much. I also assume no portal will work in here, and the only way out will be to find a crystal. Something we all should do instead of fighting one another.
We move toward her, but Hael is already there, easily protecting Indira, and quickly earning his spot in our little group.
I share a look of relief with Yasmin as we move through the four chosen around us.
The clank of steel echoes through the cave, and I turn around to find a chosen with his hand raised, an arrow sticking out of it. His sword on the ground in front of him.
I kick the blade out of the way and then spin and kick him along with it.
Glancing up to where the arrow must have come from, I spot a familiar black mask with a line of gold down the side. He nods to me before disappearing amongst the rocks.
Shaking off the shock of nearly being beheaded and saved in one, I try to find the sword I dropped and soon regret kicking the other one away when I don’t spot it.
A shrieking sound rumbles throughout the cave, making me forget about a weapon as everyone freezes.
We all glance toward the water as the ripples grow, and dark creatures, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, slip from its depths onto the shore and stand before us.
These creatures bear no resemblance to anything I have ever heard or read of. Each of them varies in size. Some have similar facial features to us mortals and others are similar in height. But that is where the similarities end.
Most tower over us with deformed bodies, extra limbs, or exaggerated features. With deep gray skin, large curling horns on their heads, and hollow eyes filled with nothing but darkness, they reach out with their long limbs and elongated claw-like fingers to attack.
One of the gray creatures nearest to me opens its wide jaws and lets out a piercing scream that claws against my ears.
I catch Hael’s eyes, and he grabs something from behind his back before throwing it to me. A long sword sails toward me, and I catch the hilt, watching as he unsheathes another from his side and jumps into the fray.
I take a step to them when I hear a sorrowful bellow full of fear and pain ring out.
Turning toward it, I spot a female chosen near the water as two gray creatures flank her.
I move swiftly around two large rocks and a jagged path, avoiding the sharp fall into the waters to make it to her.
She screams as the nearest creature grabs her. Quickly reaching her, I lunge forward, raising my sword and slicing it through the creature’s arm to free the female from its grip.
The arm drops to the ground, and she scrambles back on her hands, her eyes wide as the monster shrieks out in pain. The other monster moves closer to me and reaches out its long-clawed fingers, attempting to grab me. I sidestep it and slash my sword across its center.
Unlike dark creatures, these monsters are very vocal about their pain. It shrieks and howls, an ungodly sound that sears through my head, making it feel like it is ready to explode.
Feeling movement from behind, I keep my eye on the howling monster in front of me and spin my sword around to slam backward into the oncoming creature sneaking up on me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I yank the sword out just as the monster in front of me starts forward. I manage to duck and roll behind it. Spotting the large rock, I use it as leverage to kick off and get above the monster, slamming my sword into the top of its back and dragging it downward as I reach the ground.
Gritting against the putrid smell that hits me, I shove the sword deeper, hearing one last hollow shriek before the monster slumps onto the ground.
I finally make my way over to the girl to help her up when her eyes widen on something behind me. I turn to find the monster I cut the arm off of right behind me. Its other hand reaches out and grabs me, its claws digging into the side of my stomach with a fierce burn that pulls a hiss of pain from my lips. It digs its claws deeper and yanks me up off the ground before flinging me sideways.
Slamming into the large rock, my vision clouds with dark spots as a layer of pain throbs throughout my head and body.
With a gasp, I force myself to get up, hoping adrenaline will aid me until the girl is safe. But once I make it to my feet, I immediately sway, and the world tilts and spins around me. Taking a moment to balance myself, I blink away the dizziness and black spots from my vision before attempting to find my sword, finding it a few feet from where I landed.
Still disoriented, a frightened shriek helps me figure out which direction I need to go and I follow it, slipping twice before I find the gray monster digging its claws into the girl’s leg, trying to drag her into the water.
Moving silently and swiftly, I come up behind it and slam my sword into it. My balance is still a bit off, but I impale the sword into its side. Twisting the blade, I duck a swipe of its claws as it tries to free itself, but it only manages to push the sword in farther. It helps me get a strong enough grip to slide it across its body, nearly slicing it in half.
With one last shriek, it drops to the rocky ground with a thump, freeing the girl from its grip. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, I check to make sure it’s dead before turning to the girl. Her eyes are wide as she looks at me with fear.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I tell her, hoping she can see the truth in my eyes.
She looks at me with a wince, and I spot the guilt in her eyes a second too late. A hand grabs my shoulder from behind, tugging me backward.
Dark bronze eyes and a silver mask are the last thing I see before I am enveloped by the dark water.