Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chariot races in Ancient Greece were bloody and deadly. My hands shake a little as I turn to the others.
“Anyone ever drive a chariot before?”
“Nope, there’s a first time for everything, though.” Jayden shrugs.
“I have once.” Draven frowns.
“That’s better than nothing. You up for driving us?” I ask.
“If you and Raven are the defenders, I’ll drive.” Draven nods.
“Obviously I’m one of the defenders,” Raven scoffs. “Like I would let anyone else get in that chariot.”
Greyson chuckles. “You are way too bloodthirsty for your own good, babe.”
“You love it and you know it.” Raven grins.
“Yes, I do.” He kisses her hard.
“Maybe it should be me,” Jayden says. “I’ll help Raven defend.”
“No, to be honest, the only thing I was worried about was who was driving. Since we learned about it, I’ve been planning on doing it.” I shrug.
“It’s nothing against the rest of you. They are the strongest and scariest of all of us. People will also underestimate them. A bunch of warriors from Ancient Greece won’t think that they are a threat because they’re women.” Draven shoots us apologetic smiles.
“He’s right. With the exception of Atalanta, there weren’t any women heroes.” I nod.
“What about the Amazons?” Raven asks, arms folded.
“We’re not tall enough to be Amazonian warriors,” I say.
“We’re just as badass as them, though.”
“Our best bet in there is to let them underestimate us. If they think we’re weak, we have an advantage when they target us first.” I nod.
“Weak men sniff out who they think is the weakest first. Then they go after the strong. Okay, I get it. Pretend to be weak,” Raven grumbles.
I turn to Prometheus and Pandora. “How do we get to these Olympian games?”
“Allow me,” he says.
Before I can protest, Prometheus waves his hand in the air and my body spins out of control way worse than any other god has transported me before. When my feet touch solid ground, I sway on my feet. My stomach roils and I double over, just able to keep the bile from inching up my throat.
“That fucking titan,” I growl.
“That was worse than when the gods do it,” Jayden pants.
“Was he trying to disorient us before we literally battle for our lives in the chariot race?” Raven asks.
“Maybe he just isn’t used to transporting mortals,” Adrian says, but his complexion has a green tint to it like he’s about to be sick.
“I still don’t trust them entirely. There’s something about all of this that doesn’t add up.” I shake my head and immediately regret it.
“He’s going to meet the pointy end of my sword if he ever does that again,” Raven says.
“He may end up on mine whether he does that again or not,” I agree.
“Welcome, athletes,” a booming voice says behind me.
I spin on my heel, recognizing that voice, and sway on my feet and I gag. Shit. Don’t do that either if you want to keep food down. How am I supposed to do battle like this?
That couldn’t have been his plan all along, could it? Get us to agree to the race and then disorient us so we would lose and get ourselves killed. That would do the queen’s bidding for her nefarious plot. They know by now that I won’t send others into danger and sit back on the sidelines.
Taking deep breaths, I will my stomach to calm.
Apollo stares at us from his spot on a chariot in the middle of the outdoor arena.
He nods to me almost imperceptibly and my stomach instantly calms. Did he do that with his healing magic?
I glance at the others who all slump in relief at the same time.
He healed us, but why? Is this more of his games with fate? Is he still pushing fate to his advantage?
“Welcome to the Olympian games,” Apollo roars. “We haven’t held these games in millennia and we’ve brought back our fiercest competitors over the centuries to compete for the prize. Pandora’s Plinth or as some know it as Pandora’s box. It holds the hope of humanity.”
“He’s saying this for our benefit,” Draven whispers. “So we don’t hold back. They’re already dead. We won’t be responsible for their deaths.”
“Yes, but they are also the fiercest warriors over centuries. It’s not going to be easy.” Raven calls her sword.
“All weapons and powers are in bounds in this race. There is only one rule,” Apollo shouts over our muttering. “If you touch the ground outside the chariot, you cannot get back in. Your team goes on without you.”
I glance between Draven and Raven. “Don’t fall out of the fucking chariot.”
“To be fair, B, you’re the one who usually falls out of moving vehicles.” Raven chuckles.
“One time. I nearly fell out of the car one damn time.”
“It was spectacular how you got rid of the demon pigeons, though.” Raven pats my shoulder.
I shoot her a glare for the patronizing tone. I did get rid of them and it had been fantastic. So she can shut her patronizing mouth. I glance around the gathered warriors from centuries past, not recognizing any of them by looks alone until two figures step out of the crowd.
“Shit. Jayden, Raven, look who they brought,” I say.
“Ohhh, this is going to be fun.” Raven bounces on her toes.
The others glance around, not knowing who we’re talking about because they weren’t in the underworld with us on that mission. This is, in fact, not going to be fun as Raven claims.
“Who is it?” Kira asks.
“Heracles and Theseus. We met them in the underworld and helped save them from some demons.” I run a hand down my face. “This just got exceedingly more complicated.”
“Hello there, little sister,” Heracles says with a smirk. “Ready for a little friendly competition?”
“Friendly competition? You realize we’re not dead, right. We are the only ones here who aren’t dead.” I grip the shield charm and call the sword Claud made for me.
“You weren’t dead when you helped us battle those demons and won. I sense even more power in you now. This is going to be interesting indeed.” Heracles nods.
Theseus tilts his head to the side. “Not just Bethany but all three of them are exceedingly more powerful. So we will be competing against the three of you, then?”
“Not Jayden. We needed someone who’s driven a chariot before as none of us has.” I shrug.
“Never driven a chariot? How is that possible?” Theseus asks, aghast.
“Dude,” Raven says. “It’s been millennia. We have cars now and the concept is vastly different than driving a chariot.”
“Strange customs in this new world.” Theseus shakes his head.
“What are you doing here?” Heracles asks. “We came at the request of Hades to secure the plinth.”
“We are trying to save the world… again. This is just another obstacle along the way to Arcadia. The queen can’t get her hands on that plinth.” I adjust my grip on my sword.
“Obviously, that’s why we’re here. I propose an alliance of sorts. We work together until the end and then battle it out to see who succeeds in their task.” Heracles holds out a hand to me.
I stare at his hand for a long moment before clasping his forearm in a warrior’s deal. I don’t particularly want to fight him and Theseus at all but it’s better to have them on our side while we take out the rest than be surrounded by enemies on all sides.
“We’re working with them, then?” Theseus whispers.
“For a time. As long as one of the queen’s minions doesn’t get their grubby hands on the plinth, it honestly doesn’t matter which of us wins.” Heracles shrugs.
“I want to win,” Theseus says.
“Look, let’s just focus on the other competitors first, and then we can battle it out for bragging rights. As long as we secure the plinth, the rest is just for fun.” I clap Theseus on his surprisingly solid shoulder.
“Deal,” Heracles says. “May the best heroes win.”
“Oh, we will,” Raven says as cocky as ever.
“Athletes to your chariots,” Apollo bellows.
“Um, which one is our chariot?” I ask.
Apollo appears before me in gleaming white robes and points to a golden chariot with a wink. “Give them hell, little sister.”
“Don’t you mean Hades?” I ask.
“Nah, the human term has a much nicer ring to it, don’t you think?” Apollo asks.
“You’re not wrong.” I chuckle.
“Now, you better get moving. Your companions can be my guests on the platform.” He waves a hand.
“That won’t be necessary, Lord Apollo. We can watch from the sidelines,” Jayden says.
“I must insist. I would hate to see one of you accidentally impaled in the tournament. The platform is safe.” He waves a dismissive hand.
“Go with Apollo, Jayden. Please. I don’t need to be distracted hoping a stray javelin doesn’t hit you guys.” I squeeze his hand.
“Okay.” He kisses me hard. “Knock ’em dead, baby.”
“They’re already dead,” I giggle.
Apollo transports them to the platform where seats materialize for my friends. A barrier shield shimmers into place around them and a sigh escapes me. He really is going to keep them safe from the chaos.
“All right. Let’s do this.” I say, striding to the golden chariot.
“Is that…?” Raven breathes.
I stare at the emblem of the sun on the back of it. This can’t be what I think. Apollo wouldn’t show blatant favoritism by loaning us his chariot. I glance at the god himself. Apollo smirks, nodding. Well, shit. He definitely did. What does this mean?
“He really did loan us the sun chariot,” I say in awe.
“You know this is crazy, right?” Draven asks as he hops in.
Four pure white horses stand at attention at the front of the chariot. This is the real fucking deal. Holy shit.
“Yes, it’s absolutely insane but we have allies and a plinth to secure.” I shrug.
“I’m so ready for this.” Raven has a javelin in one hand and a broad sword in the other.
I step into the carriage on the right, pulling my sword and whip from the ether.
We wait for the other competitors to get into position and notice that Theseus and Heracles are on the opposite end from us with four chariots between us.
We have them boxed in on both sides. Did Apollo plan this or was this one of his visions?
He and Hades probably planned this, putting those two in the race knowing we would team up. Meddling gods.