Niche disappeared from my arms and the crowd roared to life on all sides. I turned toward the girl who’d helped me through and extended my hand toward her. “I’m Tuck, of the Phoenix clan.”
She quickly took my hand shanking it hard. “Adrienne, daughter of Athena. Pleasure to meet you.”
Before I could answer blinding spotlights shined down into my face and I raised my arm to block them. After being in a dark cave for what felt like hours standing here now felt odd. Behind me Beckett the witch, Grayson the vamp, Brax the tiger, and Ashryn the noble elf fanned out to my sides. The announcer boomed to life. “Citizens of Evermore, I give you your remaining competitors.”
There was little more than a handful of us left. We had started with at least fifty and now we were down to about a dozen. One included the wolf, bloody and bruised. He sneered at me as though I was next on his hunting list.
As I looked around all I could think was…Remaining competitors? Are all the others dead? Then I spotted them, riddled with injuries, swollen faces and broken limbs. They sat on the sidelines, draped over benches watching to see what would happen next. Though they were out of the Trials, a part of me was relieved to see them all still alive.
I pushed my shoulders back, gazing up toward the box where the Queens sat atop their thrones. I imagined this was what professional athletes felt like. The roaring crowd, streamers flying, and my face big as day on a Jumbotron in the center of the arena. Serrina the Queen of Desire rose to her feet, and all at once the arena quieted. She flipped her blonde-streaked hair over her shoulder, and regarded the crowd with hooded eyes. “The first Trial is complete.” The patrons erupted once more as Serrina took a step back.
Nova, Queen of the Dead, stepped forward with her eyes locked on a point behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder a reanimat crept through the hole. I waited for her to call it off or to use her powers on it. Instead she turned to the side and began gagging. Her dark eyes slid shut as shudders wracked her body. I drew my sword and flipped backward slashing through the reanimat’s neck and claiming its head. The pieces fell to the ground and disintegrated into dust. Beside Nova, Tabitha stepped up and waved her hand over the arena. The hole came together like pieces of a puzzle, one rock at a time, until it closed completely blocking out the rest of the reanimats.
Nova stumbled to the front once more. She pressed the back of her gloved hand to her deep red lips. “So gross.” She turned toward Tabitha. “They’re so gross.”
I arched an eyebrow and glanced at the competitors around me as they hid their smirks. A Queen of Death who found reanimats “gross”? How odd. Tabitha leaned in and whispered in her ear. Nova waved her hand to stop her, her white-blonde hair fell in straight stands down to her waist. They wavered with each nod of her head. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
She sucked in a breath and pushed her shoulders back. When she glanced down directly at me and to my utter shock she mouthed two words…Thank you. I swung my gaze toward the crowd hoping to search out Blackwing wondering if he too saw the exchange. When my eyes locked onto his crimson stare, he gave a shocked raised eyebrow and I knew he had seen it. I turned back to Nova and inclined my head ever so slightly. You’re welcome.
When she raised her hand once more the arena quieted. She cleared her throat. “The following are the standings for the Knights.” She waved her arm toward the Jumbotron and our names lined up like sports stats. At the very top it read Tucker Brand. Followed by Grayson, Beckett, Ashryn, Adrienne and Brax.
“Tucker, step up and take a bow,” the announcer demanded.
Instead I stepped back among the others who had helped me out of that cave. I motioned to the others at my side. “Without them I would not have made it.”
Grayson stepped forward, waving to the crowd. “It’s true, it’s true.” He gave them a toothy smile. For a moment I thought he was about to take a bow, but he just turned in a slow circle eating up the limelight.
Beckett and the noble elf, Ashryn, gave tight-lipped nods, each seemingly happy to take the cheers but not as much of a crowd-hog as Grayson. Adrienne the Demi-Greek stumbled to Beckett’s side, and caught herself on his shoulder, righting her stance. But the biggest shock of all was Brax the towering tiger shifter. His cheeks turned red and he ducked his head and gave a single wave, then dropped his arm loosely at his side.
“Nevertheless,” Nova continued, “these standings are for only one round. There are two more.”
Tabitha stepped up. Her wild curls surrounded her mocha skin, giving her an ethereal look. A bright wide smile spread across her face. “For your next Trial you will have to use cunning, strength and teamwork to get to the prize.” She waved her hand and Niche’s still-sleeping form appeared above the arena. Her arms were spread wide and her hair billowed out as though she were floating in a pool rather than in mid-air. Again the surge of brotherly protection came forth from within me. This was how I would feel about the next Queen: protective, purposeful, born to do my duty. I was ready.
“For the next challenge you will be tasked with finding our dear friend, Niche. The top eight contestants to succeed will move to our final round, which Serrina will be in charge of. Don’t forget, you still have the crystals around your neck should you chose to leave this Trial. For now, welcome to the next challenge.”
The world around me wavered. Dizziness caused me to stumble forward. As I battled the vertigo I noted the competitors next to me weren’t faring much better. They too stumbled around as though drugged. Some fell to the ground, sprawled out like starfish on a beach, their eyes dazed. All around me the arena spun like a top, and the patrons seeped together in one big blur. Weightlessness overcame me as though I were flying without having any control. Then the ground rushed to my face, I barely had time to put my hands out before I landed flat on my stomach with a mouth full of grass.
I rolled onto my back. “Damn it.”
“I agree.” Beside me Beckett coughed into his fist. “That sucked.”
When I glanced to the side, fields of green stretched as far as the eye could see. Blue skies drifted along with them just as far as the fields went. Then one by one vines erupted from the ground and wound each other like snakes in a pit. They twisted and curved upward, creating a wall that began only ten feet away from me but ran for miles. Leaves unfurled over the swirling vines filling in any gaps that I might have been able to crawl through. Then tropical purple flowers bloomed all over it, similar to the one Tabitha placed in her hair.
“Where are all the other competitors?” I murmured.
As far as I could see, Beckett and I were the only ones there. Beckett glanced down one side of the impossibly thick wall of shrubs and then the other. “I suspect we’ve been split up for a reason.” He looked me up and down. “I wonder why they’ve put us together?”
“Whatever the reason might be standing here thinking about it isn’t going to get us anywhere.” I put my hands on my hips and leaned back on my heels looking up at the wall. “I’ll fly over, see what I can find.”
Beckett reached out and clapped his hand down on my shoulder. “You think it’ll be that easy?”
I shrugged him off. “Only one way to find out.” I knew the rules stated that I couldn’t shift completely, but I was eager to try my newfound talent. I forced my inner burn out from my back and wings erupted through the burned holes in my shirt. I focused my power on each of them, containing them so they wouldn’t ignite my shirt. Beckett staggered back with wide eyes. “Not bad.”
I shrugged. “For a bird, you mean?”
“Sure, we can go with that.” Beckett pointed at the wall of foliage. “Let’s see how far you get.”
Challenge accepted! I leapt up, then pumped my wings. Even as a phoenix I couldn’t fly this quickly. The wind rustled my hair and the smell of fresh clean air invaded my lungs. I could see that there wasn’t just a wall of plant-life, but a maze. For a moment it looked like the overgrown hedges formed an intricate pattern. Then a mist rolled across it and everything shifted and moved. It’s alive! I swooped forward intending to investigate closer, to see if I could spot Niche’s fire engine hair anywhere. The invisible barrier came upon me like a mac truck. I slammed into it and was hurled back. I flipped and spun backwards until I regained control of my wings. Then I glided closer hoping not to slam directly into it. With a tentative hand I reached out feeling the magic swirl around my fingers. It was like having sparks of electricity tingle over my skin.
When I slowly pushed my hand forward, the magic wall gave just a fraction before shoving me back out. This is going to be interesting.
“Tucker!” Beckett called from below me as he waved his arms for my attention.
I dove straight toward the ground. When I got close enough to Beckett I shoved my wings out and forced my legs down to land gently next to him. “What’s up?”
“Look.” He brought his hands together, cupping one on top of the other. A blue sphere formed at the center. He pulled his arms apart and twisted them, making the sphere larger. The watery rippling effect divided the air and soon I was standing before another portal. But when he pushed the portal toward the hedges it closed so quickly I nearly missed it just from blinking. He stood back, surveying the vast emptiness. “It’s got to be mystically enforced so no competitors can port directly to Niche.”
“Can’t fly overhead either.”
“That means there’s only one way in.” He looked toward the hedge. “Except I don’t see it.”
The bushes swarmed and moved creating an opening every ten feet. I threw my hands up. “Great, which opening’s the right one?”
“Uh, Tuck. We need to decide which one to take fast.” Beckett pointed down at our feet.
The grass receded to a smooth rock trench and water seeped up through the stole, as if a moat were forming around the maze as we spoke. It rose up past the soles of my shoes, then flooded over the steel-toed tips of my combat boots in mere seconds. “Let’s move.”
I ran for the closest entrance to the maze pumping my arms. With each step I took the water rose. It was soon at my knees splashing up around me and into my eyes. My heart thundered in my chest, and I sucked in deep breaths with the exertion it took to slog through the water once it was up to my waist.
“Is the entrance moving further away?” Beckett called. The flood had risen up to our necks already.
Yes, yes it is. Damn! “Just keep pushing, we’ll make it.”
But my legs swept out from under me. In the distance I heard the boom of a cannon. Another competitor had dropped out. I kicked my legs out swimming against the rapid current even as it pulled me further down. I went under, sucking in a mouth full of water. Then I fought my way to the surface, sputtering. Before I could catch my breath, I was submerged once more. Beside me Beckett struggled as much as I did. He flailed his arms and legs trying to get to the surface for breath. With a single kick I was at his side. I grabbed onto his upper arm, then swam further down to get my footing against the river bed. The salty water stung my eyes, but I needed to find something to push off from.
Up ahead I spotted a boulder just big enough it might work. I planted my feet against it and shoved off, driving Beckett toward air. My head breached the surface and I sucked in a deep breath. Beside me Beckett too gulped down oxygen. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” How we went from a puddle to rushing rapids, I didn’t know. The river banked to the left. Stone walls rose up three feet over the water, holding all the hedges that loomed over us. It was the Venice of mazes, and we were being swept into it without any chance of controlling our route. I reached out, trying to grab on to a stray branch, but the leaves slipped through my fingers. ‘We need to find our own way through the maze. We can’t just go along like this!’
“I’d rather walk.” Beckett spit water, and glanced forward. “What is that?”
The river rushed straight into a giant swirling pool surrounded by wall-like hedges. An eerie feeling of unease settled into the pit of my stomach. A memory tickled the back of my mind, something I’d learned as a child. Then it hit me. “Swim!” I bellowed as I forced myself against the tide.
“What’s happening?” Beckett didn’t hesitate. He matched each of my strokes. Water sloshed up in waves. For a moment we swam in place making no progress against the current.
“Charybdis! It’s Charybdis!” The muscles in my arms and legs burned with exhaustion. “We have to get out of here.”
“Your wings?”
“Fire wings in rapids…I think not.” Again I reached for a limb, and again it slipped through my grasp tearing my skin. “Can’t you magic us out of this?”
“In rapids…I think not.” His blond hair was slicked back from his face in messy tatters. His skin held the pallor of fear.
“Then there’s only one thing left to do!”
Beckett swam closer to me. “What’s that?”
I stopped swimming and let the rapids carry me toward the swirling pool of water. “Face Charybdis…Try to avoid the teeth.”