Chapter 2
Charisma
Five rules.
My mind spun as I wandered my eyes over the papyrus once again to ensure that the scenarios forming in my head were just a result of my rich imagination, but with each pass through the rules, I became more and more acquainted to the possibility of what the concept of Gods’ Gambit was.
Though I hoped I would be mistaken, the paper said it all: we were about to participate in a survival game where only one of us would be the winner.
I couldn’t tell if the orchestrator of Gods’ Gambit had chosen the name metaphorically or describing a trial conceived by gods themselves, but the latter wasn’t as difficult to believe when fairies floated before our eyes.
“Now that you’ve all read the rules of the Gods’ Gambit, we shall proceed to the next step.” The fairy whose wings I pinched not too long ago clapped his hands. “But, before that, I’d like to say there is no reason to be scared.” He glanced at the crowd, a wry smile on his lips. “At least for now.”
We shouldn’t be scared? I snorted at the audacity.
He directed his attention to me. “Is there anything you’d like to say?”
Yes, actually. “I was just thinking about how bold it is of you to tell us not to be scared after just delivering the news that eleven of us are about to die. Thank you for the heads-up, really, but I’d just rather you tell us where we are instead of joking around.”
The fairy cleared his throat, dragging his palm down the line of buttons on his shirt.
“It was just my poor attempt to lighten up your mood, but I believe my timing was off,” he quickly answered with a pout.
“You’ll find out the answer to your question later, but now, we must fulfill our duty as your guarding fairies. ”
The sound of his snapping fingers echoed, and before I could register what was happening, I was consumed by the darkness. As if I no longer existed as a person, but as a soul trapped in a shadowy realm.
Seconds later—the mere blink of an eye, it seemed—I found myself seated before tall, monolithic columns, weathered by centuries of sun and storm.
They reached toward the heavens, their rough surfaces caressing the light flooding in where a perfect circle sat.
I blew out a breath, but it was absorbed and carried away by the wind sneaking through the gaps between the pillars.
My focus wavered for an instant as a subtle pressure began to build at the sides of my head.
The sky…was different—a vague dark blue, a backdrop for the radiant sun, with no clouds in sight.
Even the air itself felt unusual, heavy with the weight of history.
The structure seemed to be pulled from my mother’s Greek mythology books, as if the stories had solidified before my eyes. And perhaps they had.
“I’m out of here,” a man with a shaved head declared as he strode past us and out of the circular structure. Two others followed him in an instant.
As most moved to leave, the sky split in two with a thunder. A few screams cracked in the air, people running to shield away from a potential storm—but there was nowhere to hide in the open place.
Columns trembled. The ground shivered. The air thickened.
The three who attempted to leave toward their freedom halted abruptly, their gazes scanning the surroundings, trying to pinpoint the source of this strange occurrence.
I swallowed, taking step after step until my back hit a pillar.
A blinding bolt of lightning slammed into the arena’s heart, the impact shoving a cloud of dust and smoke into the air, obscuring our view. Choking on the fine particles reaching my nostrils, I coughed, my lungs burning as I squinted through the thick fog, desperate to see what was shifting ahead.
Was that a person?
As the question arose in the depths of my mind, I turned to stone, mouth parted and eyes wide. My heart pounded violently in my chest when a ghostly figure knelt between wisps of white smoke, pressing one knee into the rough concrete as it pushed to rise, its heavy crown tilting.
“You, mortals, own no plan, but too much pride. How quaint.”
The place filled with a dark laugh, and the sound of it blustered, almost as if dozens of speakers were under its powerful voice. Like a fleeting dream, the smoke vanished to unveil the tallest man I had ever seen. But it wasn’t his height that had my fists clenching.
Under the sun, his white eyes flashed, a silent testament to the predatory nature within. His head turned slowly, his silver hair softly grazing his shoulders as he held our gaze, one by one. When he made it to me, I held my breath, forcing my chin to push up just the slightest.
The man savored watching us take him in, the beast inside probably purring at the attention.
“W-what is that thing?” Theo whispered from beside me.
“I feel sick,” another one gasped, immediately vomiting as the words tumbled out.
The mumbling continued, but I looked at him, scanning for evidence that could confirm he was who I thought he was.
I examined his white robe, flowing from his left shoulder to his knees, cinched by a gold belt.
When I reached his eyes, they were already locked on me.
Deadly curious stare. He raised a brow in challenge just before he squinted, head tilting.
Agitation spread through the crowd, and with a devious smile, the man snapped his fingers, breaking the sky in two once again. The voices came to a stop, our attention moving above where lightning sped to the ground.
Well, shit.
He was who I thought he was.
His hand shot up, and as a bolt of lightning struck, it solidified into a weapon within his grasp.
“What kind of wizard is he?” someone asked from beside me, but I didn’t move my head to see where the masculine voice came from.
“He’s not a wizard,” I whispered, thinking no one would hear, but every head turned to me, including the so-called wizard’s.
I cursed myself in my mind.
My skin prickled under the unsolicited attention, and a gulp pushed from my throat down to my stomach as the man marched toward me, leaving behind a swathe of pulverized concrete. It looked less like a person had stood there and more like a meteorite had crashed.
He didn’t move his eyes off me as he neared. I instinctively pressed myself harder into the column, my palms lying flat on its surface. My nails scraped over the concrete, breath held. Even the room quieted, buzzing in anticipation.
From what I learned about him, he could crush me under his toe with little struggle.
The man’s pupils danced, clearly taking pleasure from seeing me this alarmed, but I’d be stupid not to. I had every reason to be afraid of him, starting with his identity.
My eyes darted, searching for an escape route even though I knew there was none. It was just a way to prove to my brain the facts: I was trapped. I had nowhere to run. And even if I sprinted between the pillars, he had more advantages than I could count.
I drew a deep breath as my shoulders slumped. His fingers lifted in the air, approaching my face dangerously. Even as I tilted back, his index finger remained, a soft pressure as it moved a stray strand of hair from my forehead.
One.
Two.
Three.
His breath inched closer to my ear before his mouth did. The nearness of him made me shiver, my skin buzzing with a repulsive sensation that brought bile to my mouth.
My knees were quaking so hard that the rattling of bone against bone was the only sound I could focus on. Clack. Clack. Clack.
“Assuming I possess no wizardly skills, what then defies me?” He laid the question, before he stepped back, his eyes growing in the wait of my reply. “What am I?” His voice carried a rasp, dangerous edge that cut through the air, a mirror of his imposing presence.
I didn’t speak until I was convinced my voice would not break. “A god.”
Gasps and whispers filled the arena, but the man smiled evilly, and quieted everyone with a short move of his hand. Just like that, the room fell silent. “You fascinating mortal.” He tsked. “Tell me, what god am I?”
“Zeus.”
God of the Sky, Thunder, Lightning, and the King of them all.
The reality hit harder than ever, my chest constricting. I somehow landed in the hands of the gods that haunted my mother’s mind.
How could this be real? I was sure my mother’s stories were only myths, fantastical tales she’d read to me before bed.
Her voice, a memory I cherished, was like a soft lullaby even as she shared the legends of the gods and their battles, speaking of their cruelty as if she had witnessed it all.
It gradually became our routine; every night, she’d tell me a different story.
Sometimes I’d ask her to repeat the same tale over and over again, and with a soft smile that seemed to illuminate the entire world, she’d begin again, her excitement undimmed.
Until she lost the battle with schizophrenia. The illness replaced the vibrant woman I knew with a stranger lost in a realm she was passionate about but feared more than anything.
My chest felt like it was caving in, a crushing sensation that stole my breath away.
Zeus lifted his arms in the air and clapped slowly, each strike deliberate, the sounds sharp and taunting. He returned to his spot, making sure everyone could have a clear view of him.
“I must admit, I am profoundly disappointed by your delayed realization of who I am. However, I will overlook this as a gesture of welcome,” Zeus said, so confident that his action represented true generosity.
“I am aware that you all harbor some questions,” he continued, then his speech style changed, clearly mocking us.
“What is this place? Why am I here? Is this glorious man real? Etcetera, Etcetera.” Zeus flicked his hands in the air, as if he’d heard it all a thousand times and more.
The corner of his mouth turned upwards before his expression shifted. Cold stone serious.
“Perhaps today, I’m in a favorable disposition to share crucial information with you. The grounds upon which you stand today belong to Elythra, World of Gods, and the purpose of your presence in our home represents something far greater than your mortal, limited minds could comprehend. "
My lips pressed into a tight line. He just called us stupid, considering that his five-minute speech, which ultimately said nothing, only showcased his superiority.
“Nevertheless, I shall disclose some minor points that you might be capable of grasping. The fairies had already conveyed the rules of Gods’ Gambit—a thrilling game that rises decennially for mortals and that I will now summarize for you.
The gambit is structured into six trials, each of them governed by two gods who crafted the challenges with bits of their powers. Fascinating, isn’t it?”
Six trials. Two gods per trial. Twelve gods. Twelve contestants. All even numbers. What is the connection between them?
“Fascinating!? You’ve got to be kidding me,” the blue-haired woman spat out.
“The very fact of your human existence is a jest in itself,” Zeus declared, then with a flick of his eyes, he silenced the woman, leaving her with only inarticulate sounds.
When she lifted her hands to her mouth, her fingertips discovered nothing but smooth skin.
Zeus watched detached as her eyes rounded, head shaking as she tried to speak.
The attempt was futile. “Do not dare to interrupt me again, or the outcome will be considerably more dire.”
My teeth gritted as I became a witness to his white-flashing eyes. A color so pure turned into a horrifying sight.
When he shifted his gaze from the woman, the intensity of his eyes did not change. “As I am already irritated, I will refrain from prolonging this discussion. The victor of the Gods’ Gambit shall earn a year’s residency in Elythra and, of course, their unremarkable mundane life.”
“Please, I’m only a mother,” Georgie stepped forward and plunged to her knees. “What strength could I have against your trials?”
The god tilted his head, observing the fresh waves of responses.
“Why us? What made us so special that you chose us?” Yvonne asked, no ounce of fear showing as she placed a supporting hand on Georgie’s shoulder.
I waited, wanting to hear that reply myself, but the short-haired man interrupted him before he could speak. Something told me he was a fire sign. “What if we don’t want to do it?”
My hands twitched beside my body. Even though I was determined to find a way back home, learning about the stakes changed things. I had to be careful if I wanted to make it out alive.
Zeus’s eyes narrowed, a storm brewing within them.
“Kneel or die. You shall not attempt to escape. You shall not disobey the rules. You shall bow to me.” His voice grew more harsh, a vein on the side of his forehead pulsing rapidly, threatening to explode.
With a powerful snap of his fingers, everyone dropped to their knees.
A frown settled on my forehead. He somehow got into their heads, forcing them to yield. I glanced to either side of me, where eleven people bowed with straight stares ahead.
The only person left standing was…me.
Zeus’s and the fairies’ eyes bore into me, and I lay down next to the blue-haired woman, a nervous flutter in my chest. It was my best attempt at not raising any suspicions, though I’d consider myself lucky if he didn’t already notice.
“It almost slipped my mind that you must now use your mouth to utter something intelligent.” Zeus directed the words toward the woman next to me before returning her lips. She inhaled deeply and held herself rigid, too afraid to feel them settling back into place.
“We will not attempt to escape. We will obey the rules. We will bow to Zeus,” they spoke in unison, and I joined in, doing my utmost to blend in and not give him any reason to question the effect of his magic on me.
This could be my advantage. Though I was bewildered as to why I was immune to whatever had befallen them; it was leverage.
After we finished saying the words Zeus forced down their throats, every fairy in the room stared at me with tilted heads.
I looked around, trying to figure out if I had done something different that gave me away, but we were all in the same position, not moving.
Between the wings of the fairies, I made out Zeus’s squint.
Shit.
He knew.