That evil grin twisted Coen’s face, and I couldn’t help but return his smile. I loved that smile, even though I also wanted to run. “You heard that, right?” I flicked my eyes between the two and they nodded.
“Heard you loud and clear,” Aros said, his goldenness increasing with his mirth.
“Looks like you’re finally learning to control which thoughts you share,” Yael noted.
Oh … great. It was totally great, I hated those stupid guys being in my head at all times. I almost definitely hated it.
“Heard that too,” Siret said with a wink. “Your mind is open again. Just shut it down when you feel like some privacy.”
I plonked myself down in my chair again, but before I could get comfortable, there was air under me and I found myself sitting back in the front row. “We like the view,” Siret said when I glared as hard as I could at him.
“If I get one speck of blood on my new dress—”
“I’ll just make you another one,” he interrupted me, turning his head back to face the arena.
We all followed his action because something was happening. Dru was gone—I still had no idea which of the Abcurses had managed to toss him that far without me even seeing them—and lights had started to flash in the open air above the arena sands. The Gamemaster was back in his spot, looking calm and collected. His voice was loud and sure as he welcomed everyone.
“Thank you all for making it here on short notice. The gods have graced us with a special appearance, and would love to see something a little different tonight. They are actively searching for a new god to join their ranks—”
His words were lost in the loud gasps and cries from the crowd. This was a sol’s dream come true. An active search. I personally thought it was a crap excuse. They were not here for that at all.
“Clever, Rocks.” Siret’s expression was hard. The open-mind thing had stuck around, and I still had no idea how I’d managed to switch it off in the first place. It was like when I kicked that couch and it flew across the room, and then I couldn’t do it again. Something was happening to me; something outside of my control.
The Gamemaster was still talking, so I forced my concentration back to him. “We will call a random selection of sols to the arena, and you will have twenty clicks to make it through the obstacle course. Those who make it all the way through go on to the next round. The rest will possibly be sacrificed, depending on the whims of the gods.”
What the actual f—
“New favourite phrase, Willa-Toy?” Yael was attempting to sound calm, but I could sense the undercurrents of his emotions. He was pissed. In fact, judging by the heat and stillness of the guys, all of them were on the edge of losing it.
“Can they just kill sols like that?” I demanded. “Like, aren’t there rules … don’t they have rights and stuff?” Where the hell were Emmy and Atti when I needed rule-book lovers. The Abcurses probably had less of an idea than me. They cared nothing for the inhabitants of Minatsol. This was just a punishment they were enduring before venturing back to the land of floating platforms and Jeffreys.
“We’re not completely uncaring, Rocks.” Aros butted into my thoughts, and I was starting to miss the unknown privacy that I had been enjoying. It was true that you never really appreciated things until they were gone. Especially if you didn’t even realise you had them in the first place.
“I am.” Yael scowled.
“I stand corrected, not all of us are uncaring of Minatsol inhabitants. We like you.” Aros flashed me a grin, and I felt that pull in my middle again. Forcing myself not to get up and crawl over Siret to reach the seductive god, I instead focussed forward and leaned out in my chair.
Holy father of the gods … damn … how did that happen?
The arena was barely recognisable now. What was once a large, circular, flat area, now had a multitude of obstacles, barriers, water things, fire things, sharp things and biting things splashed about. All the things which regularly tried to end my life just gathered up in one place. There must have been some kind of magic cloaking the obstacle course until now.
Through my horror, I noticed five sols standing around the edge of the sand. Each of them wore looks of concentration as they lifted their hands above their heads. I could see what they were doing now: shifting the land, bringing the water and fire. Those were sols who could control the elements.
The Gamemaster distracted the silent, staring crowds. “If you see your name on the board, enter the underground waiting area. You will be called to the arena shortly. Do not worry if your name is not in the first round, we have five more rounds after this. We will call the strongest and brightest. This is your shot, do not screw it up.”
I shrank down in my chair, trying to make myself look as small as possible. There was no way they’d call me. I wasn’t very strong or very bright … and I also wasn’t a sol.
“Right?” I said out loud, a slight shrill of fear lacing my voice.
Of course no one bothered to answer, since Willa Knight had just flashed up on the screen. “I’m going to kill them.” Coen was up and out of his seat. Rome, Aros, and Yael followed his movements, reaching out to grab a hold of their brother.
“We can’t fight them here,” Yael said, his voice low and persuasive. “We’re weakened from being out of Topia and we have no idea which of those assholes are up there. Let’s just wait and see if any of our names are called. We’ll easily keep her safe then, without causing a god-war.”
Coen was breathing hard, murder in his eyes, which were a startling shade of dark grey now. Tinges of green were there, but it was like the green of a stormy sky when you knew it was going to get bad. Really bad. I knew I was supposed to be heading toward the underground thingy the Gamemaster had mentioned, but I couldn’t get my feet to move … and I might have had two very strong hands holding me in place. Aros and Siret both had a grip on me. Rome and Yael remained near Coen.
Three more names flashed up, and only one of them was an Abcurse. Siret. I didn’t recognise the other two names: Aedan and Johnny.
“Look after her,” Aros muttered as Siret released me, jumping over the barrier.
I was handed down to Siret, but I was barely even paying attention anymore. My eyes were riveted to the obstacle course sprawling over the length of the arena sands, my mind racing through the million or so ways that it would be possible for me to die a horrible, painful death this sun-cycle. I glanced up at the glass god-box as Siret pulled me in that direction, his hand tight around mine. His steps were too fast, some of his unnatural strength bleeding into the movements, causing me to run to keep pace with him. We entered through a door on the left side, moving down a set of stairs and spilling into an underground chamber. The other two boys were already there, standing before a table laid out with weapons.