“What in Topia is that?” I shifted forward on my seat to see better, trying to get a clear view of the creature. It was long and muscular, a dark swampy green in colour, with spikes running all the way down it’s back. Flashes of teeth shone each time it chomped, and it looked as if it had multiple layers of sharp incisors in its mouth.
“It’s a kragill.” Siret leaned forward to rest his forearms against the barrier. “They live in the water and are pretty rare. But knowing Blesswood, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had some in the lake surrounding the academy.”
Next time I was in my village, I was definitely telling them how lucky they were that all the great lakes and rivers were dried up. Personally, I was never stepping foot in a puddle of water bigger than a bucket ever again. Who knew what was lingering below? This kragill thing was probably just one of many things waiting in lakes to kill dwellers.
“Will we have to face it too?”
No one answered me, which was probably because they had no idea.
“I’ll keep you safe, Willa,” Siret muttered. “I won’t fail you this time.”
Reaching across Yael, my hand wrapped around Siret’s arm, giving it a squeeze. “You didn’t fail me last time. None of you have ever failed me. I wouldn’t trust my life with anyone else—only you five.”
I meant every word, and it almost felt like a promise for the future. At some point I knew I would be completely entrusting my life to them. In an unexpected move, Rome suddenly slammed his fists against the barrier, causing the entire side to shake. I pulled back from Siret, turning toward Rome.
“They better call some more of us for the first round.” His words were clipped, anger spilling out.
Coen was frowning. “Something tells me we were lucky to have even one of us included. They don’t want her to die, not yet anyway. But they also don’t want to make it too easy for her.”
I wiggled a little to get comfortable, my body was still protesting the recent abuse, and everything felt uncomfortable and itchy as the gel worked to do whatever it was doing. My cuts themselves were healed, but I could still feel the gel doing something to me.
“If they don’t want me dead, then what’s the point of including me at all?” I asked. “What’s the point of this new, mid-moon-cycle round in the arena?”
I didn’t understand the gods. I didn’t understand a lot of things, but someone knew, and I was hoping that the someone would be an Abcurse.
“It really depends on which god is in the box.” Yael sounded somewhat reluctant as he spoke. “If it’s Rau, then he’s probably hoping to see what his curse has wrought, or to see if maybe you’re going to start sprouting Chaos wherever you walk.”
I was sure that Rau’s intention had been to hit an Abcurse; to turn them to his side of the battle with Staviti. When I got in the way, whatever plan had been in motion had changed. It made sense that Rau would want to keep an eye on me, or to test me in some way.
Siret gave a nod. “If it’s Abil … he’s probably testing us. Trying to see how important you are to us. He might be our father, but he loves to have any sort of leverage to use against us. It’s how he maintains control.”
“What about your mother?” I asked, realising they never really talked about her. She was an Original God too, but they only ever seemed to be concerned with their father.
There was a beat of silence, as though my words had struck a note with them and they didn’t know how to answer.
Yael was the one to reply, his voice low. “Our mother is on an extended spiritual retreat. We haven’t heard from her for quite a few life-cycles. She does this every fifty or so life-cycles though, so it’s nothing to worry about.”
He had said that there was nothing to worry about, but they all seemed … well, worried.
Where did gods go for spiritual retreats anyway? And more importantly, was there nobody around who would stand against their father for them?
“Are you five stronger than Abil?” I wasn’t asking for my safety, but for my peace of mind. I needed to know that none of them would get hurt if things went down. I wasn’t sure that I could live in a world without all of them. They had become as fundamental to me as breathing. Literally. If they went back to Topia and left me behind, I would probably die from soul-pain.
Again, no one said anything for a few clicks, and I tried to control my breathing as I waited for the answer. The sols in the arena stole some of my attention when they managed to knock the beast down and moved out. It looked like three more were through to round two.
More names flashed up on the screen; the announcer started calling sols to the underground room. Rome and Coen’s names were in this group, and I was a combination of relieved and freaking-the-hell-out. Just as Coen was about to launch himself over the barrier, he turned and stared down at me, deciding to answer my question after all.
“We’re stronger than Abil, stronger than most of the original gods.” He leaned over me, as though trying to see my face better, and his eyes tracked between mine, reading me carefully. “No one can know that, Rocks. It’s information our father would kill to keep contained. Information that Staviti should never have either. There’s a reason born gods are not supposed to exist; we haven’t been killed because we stay under the radar.”
He stared at me for a fraction of a click, watching the information soak in, and then he was following his brother down into the arena. Without realising it, I was on my feet, both hands gripping the barrier as I tracked their movements.
“They’ll be okay, right?” I swivelled around to the three brothers left with me.
“Sit down, Willa-toy.” Yael reached forward to grab my wrist and pull me back into my seat. “They’ll be fine. This is actually great news. It means that at least three of us will be in the second round with you.”
“But you said that wouldn’t happen, so what does this mean? The second round is going to be even worse than we expect?”
What the heck was going to be in the second round that the gods thought I needed three Abcurses to keep me alive? I really wished I knew which of the gods were up in that glass box.
Yael was opening his mouth, probably to attempt to calm me down, when words began to spill from my lips. “Should we just bust in there and figure out who’s running this show?” My legs tensed as I prepared myself to launch up—before I remembered Rome and Coen. I needed to stay where I was, to keep an eye on them. Not that my watching them would change any outcomes. I was so confused about what to do, I was pretty much jumping in and out of my seat. Relief trickled through me when I saw that the twins were already moving easily through the obstacles, leaving the sols in their particular round far behind. It was so different up in the seats, watching them effortlessly manoeuvre through the traps and hazards.