Sam reminded him of a gazelle as she leapt through the trees with a sure foot that a satyr would envy. When the bird dove at her, she fell to her knee and pulled an arrow from her quiver. With perfect aim, she let fly the arrow that embedded in the place where the bird's wing met its body. Not a mortal wound, but one that forced the bird to land and leave her in peace.
Aello paused to stare agape at the shot. But as soon as Sam was on her feet, Aello returned to the competition. Unlike Sam, she hacked and stabbed at the birds until she made her way across.
The final challenge was to reach the girdle's case.
Sam hesitated.
What was she waiting for? She'd be first if she'd just run straight to it.
But Sam stayed back. And when she put the back end of her spear into the ground and it instantly disintegrated, he understood why. It was redsand. So named for the lives that had been lost to it. Unlike quicksand which was seldom deep or inescapable, redsand had been created by Hades to keep the damned penned in Tartarus. In the highly unlikely event one of them escaped, the sand would make sure they didn't get far. It was like an acid that would eat through any form. Living. Dead.
Or in between.
All that would be left behind was your blood. Hence the name, redsand.
Aello laughed. "You give up?"
"Never." Sam cupped her hands around her mouth and let loose a strange bird call. It came in pulses of three and was followed by a whistle.
Aello duplicated the sound.
Dev exchanged a scowl with Scorpio and Fang. Ethon however was grinning.
"What are they doing?" he asked the Spartan.
"They're calling for Ares's arpaktiko pouli."
Dev rolled his eyes at a term he couldn't even begin to wrap his lips around. "Dude, that's all Greek to us. You ever notice there's a reason why people pick on Greek?"
Ethon scoffed. "Only because they've never tried to speak Welsh. Trust me, we've got nothing on them." Then he moved back to the important topic. "They are the war birds of Ares and were special to the Amazon nation." He jerked his chin toward the women. "The Amazons used to keep them as pets."
Dev looked back and sure enough there was a flock of giant black birds headed toward them. Yeah...that would be like keeping Nessie in a wade pool. How in the name of pickles could they have ever domesticated something bigger than a semi?
Fang sucked his breath in sharply. "This can't be good. They won't even have to chew before they swallow us. And I have to say that being wolf jerky sucks." He slid a look over to Ethon. "I bet Dark-Hunter jerky is chewy though."
Ethon shoved him.
Ignoring them, Dev prepared for war as the birds swooped down. Manticores or not, if those things went for Sam, he was going for them.
Sam picked up the bone necklace from around her throat. She placed it in her mouth and blew it sharply in a distinct pattern.
One of the birds cawed then ducked down and glided on the wind. Sam held her hand up as if summoning it like an old friend. The huge bird landed in front of her on the ground. Spreading its wings, it snapped its head back and made one last cry before it settled down. It leaned forward, brushing its beak against her cheek.
Sam caught it against her and gave a light pat.
There was no missing the gleam of respect in Aello's eyes as she watched Sam swing herself up onto the bird's back. The bird bristled ever so slightly before it became acquainted with Sam's foreign weight.
"Ya!" Sam shouted, kicking the bird into flight. Spreading its wings, it shot to the sky with a velocity that made Dev's stomach draw tight. He didn't know how she stayed on its back, but she managed well.
Aello duplicated the gesture. Unsheathing her sword, she went for Sam.
Fang let out a low whistle. "Anyone know that Amazons could ride a giant bird?"
Ethon gave him a duh stare. "Those of us who fought them, yeah, we know. How you think they kept kicking our asses?"
"Cause you're pansies. Everyone knows that."
Ethon went for Fang, but Scorpio caught him. "He was joking, Ethon. Grab a sense of humor." Especially since Fang's sense of humor was close enough to Ethon's that they should be relatives.
Ethon growled at Fang before he stood down.
Dev stayed focused on the fight in the sky. It was incredible to watch. Aello attacked and Sam countered as they circled in the air over the pedestal. How they could remain on the back of the birds and fight was beyond him, especially since neither had a saddle nor bridle. They guided their mounts with their knees and held on with one hand.
Dev glanced down at the manticores. He still wanted to help Sam, but he knew better than to try. They looked a little too eager to kill.
Aello circled around, then dove for Sam. In a maneuver that Dev would have called impossible, Sam twisted with the bird and went straight up, parallel to the ground, letting the blow miss them entirely.