Until We Break (21 page)

She shrugged. “It’s like watching things through a camera mounted on a plane or helicopter. I see what the chakrams see. Basically, my field of vision is split down the middle. The left side shows what my left eye, currently in what I call Chakram A, sees. The right side does the same for Chakram B. I should probably give them better names. I know! Maybe I’ll call them ‘Sugar’ and ‘Spice.’ Are we in agreement those would make awesome names?”

“Whatever you say,” Jaysin said.

“This could take a while,” Atlas said. “In the mean time, Jaysin and Daryn, it’s time for
your
exercises.”

“Hope you’re not thinking of going easy on us,” Jaysin joked.

“Hell, no. You two are going to spar with one another using your weapons.”

“That’s more like it,” Daryn said.

* * *

While Jaysin and Daryn went at it, CiCi focused on finding the coin Atlas had hidden somewhere in the gym. She sent her sensory chakrams everywhere: over the bleachers; around the hezball goals; even in the locker rooms. She had never had them active for this long before. She found her energy being rapidly drained the longer it went on. Eventually, she had to recall them to recover her strength.

“Those things really take it out of you, huh?” Atlas said.

She nodded in between labored breaths. “Yeah. I never realized before now. Before this, I had only used them in short sessions. They use up a lot more energy than I thought.”

“Better to learn now than when you’re in the middle of battle. The whole point of this session is not just to make you stronger, but get you to discover your weaknesses so you can bolster them.”

“It’s a good idea,” she said. “I need to know the limitations of my tools so I can use them effectively.”

“Exactly. You can bet your enemies are going to know
their
tools, so you’d better know yours.”

After a short break, she brought out her chakrams again and resumed the hunt for the coin. This time, she found she could use them a little longer. Eventually, she found the coin hidden behind a trash can in the far south corner of the gym.

“Way to go!” Atlas said.

“Thank you. I think my control’s getting a lot better.”

He looked past her towards the exit. “You’ve tested them for endurance, but not for distance. Now I want you to send them to the farthest reaches of the Academy and find out how far they can go. Think you’re up for that?”

“You bet!” she replied, chipper as ever.

* * *

Brandon Strong was grading papers in his office. He didn’t even realize his door was open, and he certainly didn’t notice the silent intruder.

Seated at his desk, he looked up. “What the…?” Floating in front of him was one of CiCi’s chakrams, its,
her
, creepy eye staring back at him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it winked at him. “Get out of here!”

The circular blade hesitated a moment, and then noiselessly departed. The lack of any kind of sound was the most unnerving thing about it.

He reclined in his chair. He felt bad about having yelled at CiCi. Knowing Atlas, the episode was probably his idea, so he shouldn’t have gotten mad at her. But dammit, that was freaky.

Chapter XVI

For a week the team trained day and night. All school work was forgotten as they focused solely on becoming ready for the God Games. Atlas drove them to their limits, and the training only got more intense with each passing day.

Eventually, the day of the mysterious competition dawned. News outlets reported the reappearance of the
Midgard
in the skies above Dokiu.

In the Academy hangar the team met with Bethos, Brandon, Freya and Atlas to say their goodbyes.

“Give ‘em hell,” Atlas said.

 “We will,” Maya said. “But what will you be doing while we’re gone?”

“Preparing the Academy for evacuation,” Brandon said somberly.

 “Sounds like someone doesn’t have faith in us,” Jaysin jested.

But Freya said, “It’s not that at all. We have complete faith in your abilities. You five have surpassed all our expectations. We simply want to take every precaution in case things don’t go the way we want.”

Ev gave them a confident thumbs up. “You don’t have to worry about that. We’re going to win and get the location of the Flawless Few.”

“Forget about that for now,” Bethos said. “Just focus on not letting Carnaval tell Zero Grade
our
location. This may sound grim, but protect the secret even if it costs you your lives.”

“That
does
sound grim,” Jaysin said.

“You can count on us!” a cheerful CiCi assured them.

Ev said, “Well, we’d better get going, then.”

Brandon replied, “Good luck, you five. Just know that the entire Academy is with you.”

“It just sucks that we can’t simply attack the
Midgard
and forget about these God Games,” Daryn said.

Bethos shook his head. “You’d best forget about that idea. Just one of those ships carries enough firepower to blow us all to our respective afterlives.”

“Just win the God Games,” Freya said. “And watch out for a double cross. Commander Loki was a good man, but, after spending who knows how much time in Gehenna, he could be capable of anything now.”

“We will,” Ev said.

* * *

As they flew towards Dokiu, the ocean making waves below them, Daryn said, “Professor Freya is right. We can’t trust those guys to keep their word.”

“I agree,” Maya said.

“But what can we do about it?” Ev said.

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Daryn replied. “We win the God Games, and then we turn the tables on these guys.”

A skeptical Jaysin said, “But what about their weapons?”

Daryn explained, “We’ll be inside the ship where their cannons can’t hit us.”

“But we don’t know what other weapons they might have,” CiCi pointed out.

Daryn had to concede that was a good point. “Once we’re inside the ship, keep your eyes open. By the time the God Games are over, we’ll need to know exactly what those lunatics are packing. Once we spot an opening, we attack.”

The rest of them nodded grimly. It was decided.

* * *

The
Midgard
was just as imposing as Ev and Maya remembered. Jaysin, CiCi and Daryn now saw it for the first time. At several miles in length, it dominated the Dokiu skyline. Jaysin whistled at the immense cylindrical cannons jutting out from various points in the hull.

They hovered right beside it. “Well, we’re here,” Jaysin said. “What now?”

Ev shrugged. “I don’t know. We didn’t go inside before, so we don’t know where the entrance is.”

A voice declared, “A very good question.”

Approaching them was a group of five figures. Ev recognized one of them as Set.
So, this must be Zero Grade’s group
, he thought. Set and his entourage stopped ten feet from them, and the two groups floated there above the city.

“Hello, again,” Maya said curtly; there was little warmth in her voice.

Set gave them a casual one over. “Miss Brünhart, Mr. Bannen. These other three I’m not familiar with.” Jasyin, CiCi and Daryn introduced themselves. “Hmph. Bethos insults us by sending children. I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much; this will make winning the contest so much easier.”

“We’re a lot stronger than you think,” Maya said.

“Better not underestimate the Academy’s training regimen,” Jaysin added.

“You guys don’t look so tough,” Daryn said.

Set laughed. “Confident little fools, aren’t we? Well then, allow me to introduce you to Zero Grade’s representatives. In addition to myself, there is…” He pointed to a thirty-ish looking man with blood-red hair and matching track suit with “
ZG
”
emblazoned the front (in fact, all of them wore the same outfit). The man had a slightly larger than normal nose, thick eyebrows and a sinewy frame. “Mercury, god of speed, who will assure us victory in any racing events.” He then pointed to a stunning twenty-ish woman with perfect facial features. She had long purple hair and was deceptively slender. “Persephone, daughter of Zeus and queen of the underworld.”

“Charmed,” she said, giving Ev a wicked smile. “Ev Bannen. My husband has told me much about you.”

“Who’s your husband?” Ev asked.

“Why, Hades, of course.”

Ev felt an overwhelming rage threaten to overtake him. He snarled at her, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep from attacking her at that moment. Nevertheless, he stayed silent for the sake of the team.

Next Set motioned to a strong-looking character whose age was impossible to determine. He was completely bald with jet-black skin and prominent facial features. His body appeared muscular underneath the track suit. “And this is Apollo, brother of Persephone.”

“They look nothing alike,” Ev said.

Apollo replied, “We gods can change our appearance. I wanted to look distinct from the rest of my family.”

“And finally,” Set said, turning his attention to the last member of their group, a fifty-ish man with shoulder-length gray hair and a regal beard, “Dionysus.”

Dionysus offered them pouches that appeared to be made from some sort of animal skin. “Would you like some wine? This is an excellent vintage I made myself.”

“Uh… no thanks,” Ev said. Did this guy really think they’d be stupid enough to accept a drink from their enemies?

The elder god sighed. “A shame. You have no idea what you’re missing.”

“Can we hurry up and get this started?” an agitated Daryn said.

Set examined the
Midgard
. “We are just as anxious to get started as you. However, there’s been no sign of our hosts.”

Suddenly, a large compartment in the aft section of the ship opened up, revealing some sort of hangar or cargo bay not unlike the hangar at Mt. Orleia. Taking this as their invitation, the two groups flew over and entered it.

But upon entering, it became quite clear this was very different from the Academy hangar. The floor was covered with straw, and all manner of strange animals were being tended to throughout the room. Some were being fed, others groomed, and still others were being hugged relentlessly.

Ev stared in shock. “What the hell?”

Commander Loki appeared with his cadre, still garbed in their strange attire. “Welcome! Welcome! I do apologize for the crude ambiance, but we have to keep our beloved pets
somewhere
, and this seemed as good a place as any.”

“What are these animals? I’ve never seen them before,” Maya asked.

“Just the descendants of some creatures we picked up in the previous universe. You see, we were all involved in a terrible war, and we feared a mass extinction, so we gathered up as many species as we could and put them on our ship as a sort of ark. Ah! Such a romantic notion, now that I think of it. We’re truly benevolent, aren’t we? Come, walk with me.” He proceeded to take them through the strange zoo, pointing out different animals.

“Do they bite?” a curious CiCi asked.

“Some do, others don’t. Some will happily piss on you if you let them. Are you into that sort of thing? I didn’t used to be, but these days I find all sorts of things excite me. An eternity in Gehenna will open your mind to titillating new possibilities. You really should try it sometime.”

“Let’s get on with it,” Set said.

“Bah, you haven’t changed a bit, Set. Always focused on the will to power and whatnot. One of these days, I
will
get you to let your hair down.”