She began murmuring an incoherent chant in the same tone I’d heard my mother use a thousand times over. I watched her lips move, forming the soft words, before I shifted my gaze to the sky above me. The trees practically met in a canopy above us, their long boughs stretching and reaching as the wind moved them.
The warmth of Brennan’s body next to me lulled and comforted me as the clouds above swirled and melted into the treetops. I became aware of a crackling, heavy presence in the meadow, something that lifted above us and hovered. Yet when I opened my eyes, there was nothing there. Branwyn’s eyes were squeezed tightly closed as she chanted and Brennan was staring at the sky.
The heaviness clung to my arms and legs, creeping upward over my body until it felt as though it was holding me down, tying me to the altar. It should have been unnerving or terrifying, but it wasn’t. I felt a sense of calm transcend over me and I closed my eyes once more.
When I did, the visions started. There was blood.
So much blood.
Harmonia, Cadmus, Ares, Hecate and Aphrodite stood with weapons in their hands. A smear of blood was on Harmonia’s cheek, her green eyes glassy in her anger. Cadmus and Ares were covered in blood from head to toe. A vein stood out in the side of Ares’ neck as his chest heaved from heavy-breathing.
They were clearly battling something.
My vision expanded and I could suddenly see my father facing them. Of course. I should have known he was involved. My pulse picked up at just the sight of his pale, emotionless face. And then my heart practically stopped when I saw that he stood with Brennan’s father, Apollo. If I could have taken a breath, I would have gasped. Why were our fathers together? Apollo was beautiful and golden, but he was covered in blood as well.
Horrible, wretched screaming filled the stadium that they were in. And that’s when I saw them. A cage of mortals hovered above the arena, thick gilded bars imprisoning the frightened people. Fear was thick there, so overwhelming that I could taste it in my mouth. Something horrible was about to happen. I tried to open my eyes, to end the visions, but I couldn’t. I could not physically move.
One of the mortals unexpectedly dropped from the bottom of their cage. He tumbled through the air and landed on his feet on a long platform filled with moving objects. Swinging pendulums covered in large razor points, spike-tipped columns rammed up and down from the platform itself, massive swinging maces and sweeping logs covered in glistening knives. The points of each of the weapons glinted in the light, each one of them clearly deadly. This was a sick, twisted gauntlet.
The mortal was frozen in terror, but he was forced to move because one of the deadly pendulums was swinging toward him. He leaped forward and somehow, over the course of the next several minutes, he managed to twist and leap through the rest of the challenges. Fear for his life made him fearless and desperate.
He emerged triumphantly on the other side of the deadly game. But his relief was very short-lived. It seemed that his challenge was far from over. He was dropped from the platform onto the dirt of the arena, amid the dust and circling gods and goddesses. What was this?
The mortal tried to run toward my mother, but was thwarted by Apollo, his beautiful face set in determination. Cadmus, handsome and also deadly, lunged forward and swung a sword at Apollo’s torso. Both Brennan and I flinched as the sharp blade connected, carving a deep crevice on Apollo’s flawless body. He growled and retaliated, kicking at Cadmus’ legs.
While they were occupied, Harmonia pivoted and rushed around, grabbing the mortal and attempting to drag him with her back to her side of the stadium. Mormo leaped forward and ran the mortal through with a lance. I gasped, aware that hot tears were sliding down my cheek as the mortal slid from the lance lifelessly to the ground. Brennan gripped my hand hard.
“What is this?” I whispered, finally able to move enough to speak. The visions melted away and the beautiful meadow once again surrounded us. I fought to remain calm.
“What is this?” I shrieked at Branwyn. “Why were they fighting? Why were they using mortals?”
Branwyn was calm and placid, standing ever so still at our feet. Her face was pale, however, an outward sign of her distress. Yet when she spoke, her voice was slow and expressionless and it wasn’t her own. It was my mother’s.
“It is a game, Empusa, between the gods. I appealed to Zeus for your life…to get your curse removed. Zeus was at first happy to oblige, but Apollo interfered. It seems that he didn’t realize he had a son. Now that he knows and he also knows that Brennan is tied to you, he wishes for that tie to be broken. He had no wish for your curse to be lifted. He does not want his son endangered- he hopes for a strong alliance between himself and Brennan. He used the argument that if you cannot control your combined powers, it would trigger an apocalypse in the mortal world. It was a strong argument and Zeus could not decide who should prevail, so it will be settled with a game.
“You and Brennan will be faced with tasks that you must face together, which means you must control your magic. These tasks will not only test your magic, but your mettle. You must prove that you are worthy to be a god. If you succeed, Zeus will grant Brennan immortality, per Apollo’s request. Per mine, your soul will be separated from your moonstone and your curse will be lifted. Each time you fail, a mortal will be dropped into the arena. If the mortal lives, each side will fight to claim him. At the end of the game, whoever retains the most live mortals will win. If Apollo wins, he wants your death as his prize.
“I am sending Circes to you with a package and instructions written by Zeus himself. You and Brennan must endeavor to complete the challenges. For each challenge you complete, a mortal will be released unharmed. If you complete every challenge, Zeus will handle the situation however you wish. If you fail some, but we still retain the majority of the mortals, he will defer to your wishes. But if you lose, Apollo and Mormo will have their way and all will be lost.”
Branwyn opened her eyes and for a moment, I stared into my mother’s ice blue gaze.
“Why would Zeus do this?” I whispered to her.
Branwyn shrugged and spoke again in my mother’s voice.. “The gods grow bored. They feel invincible. Whether an apocalypse occurs or no, makes no difference to them. They will be entertained either way. Empusa, do your best. Focus as you have never focused before, my child.”