Until We Break (23 page)

Moving quickly, Apollo retrieved his hammer, and Daryn did the same. Each then put everything he had into one final attack, swinging as hard as he could. Their hammers collided, resulting in by far the loudest clanging yet. It was ear-splitting, and Ev thought his hearing would never be the same. The impact was so powerful one hammer shattered.

Apollo’s.

The older god stared in astonishment at the smashed remnants of his weapon. Apparently sensing victory, a confident Daryn dropped his hammer and began pummeling Apollo while forcing him back to the edge of the circle. Within moments, Apollo was just an inch or so from falling out and losing. Daryn pulled back his fist for one final attack…

…and was kicked in the balls by his foe.

Daryn doubled over, his hands down-stairs to cover his privates. Wasting no more time, Apollo grabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him out of the circle where he landed unceremoniously on the floor.

The crowd erupted. Maybe it was Ev’s imagination, but it seemed like they always did that for the same duration and at the exact same volume level. Ev only had the slightest moment to consider this before he and his team rushed over to help Daryn who lay with his face clenched in agony.

“Spectacular!” Loki yelled, as giddy as could be. “The first match goes to Zero Grade. They’re well on their way to winning the God Games!”

By now, Daryn had regained his voice. “I’m gonna kill that pooslicker!”

“Take it easy,” Maya said.

Jaysin agreed. “Won’t do you any good to get worked up about this. You need to play it cool.”

“Tell that to my balls!”

“What a dirty trick!” CiCi said.

“Listen to me,” Ev said to Daryn. “Just focus on healing yourself.”

Daryn did so, and after a minute, he was back on his feet, still steaming and threatening more bodily harm to Apollo, who looked incredibly smug. In fact, none of the members of the Zero Grade team seemed upset with their comrade’s tactics.

Chapter XVII

Fortunately, Loki gave them five minutes to regroup. Daryn eventually calmed down and they huddled together outside the circle. “I’m sorry, guys. I got cocky. I shouldn’t have dropped my hammer. I thought victory was already mine.”

“It’s OK,” Ev said. “They won the first match, but we still have at least two more chances to score a win for our side. We have to make sure we’re more cautious from this point forward. All right now, hands together!” They joined hands.

“Divine Protector Academy!” they shouted as they lifted their hands into the air.

Soon, Loki once again took up the mic and addressed the assembled masses. “Well, that was an amazing display of god power, wouldn’t you all agree?” The crowd most certainly did agree. “But now it’s time for the second event: Rat Race. Two people will compete in a race around the ship.” A fifty-inch monitor rose from the floor and displayed a map of the
Midgard
. Both teams gathered around it to scrutinize it. “But you don’t need to memorize it; there are arrows all along the race route so you’ll know exactly which way to go.

“Now, who wants to compete in this event?”

CiCi raised her hand. “Oh! Me!”

“Are you sure about this?” Maya asked.

“
Very
sure. I have a secret weapon, after all.”

She closed her eyes and conjured her chakrams. She then sent them to the far end of the complex, where a pair of doors stood open. She sent them out into the corridors beyond.

Loki, apparently intrigued by this display, seemed to have forgotten about the contest at hand. “Fascinating. What
are
you doing?”

“Using my sensory chakrams to map out the route. This certainly is a big ship. Hmmmm, yes. A turn here, a twist there. Soon I’ll know what to expect even before my opponent does.”

“Amazing,” Loki said. “Astounding. Simply splendiferous!”

Ev was getting tired of this walking thesaurus. “Is that last one even a word?”

Loki held up an educating finger. “Everything is a word if it’s used properly. And I can assure you: every word I say is properly used.”

Set pointed at the doors CiCi’s chakrams had gone through. “Letting her see the route beforehand? That has to be against the rules.”

“I was quite clear on this. Only outside interference is forbidden. Everything else is very much allowed.

“But we seem to have gotten off track. Which member of your team will be competing in this event?”

Stepping forward Mercury said, “I think that should be obvious. I, the god of speed, shall participate and score the second win for my team.”

“Wonderful! Fantastic! Your team certainly has the competitive edge. I very much hope the Academy’s pink-haired pixie is as capable as she claims.”

The chakrams re-entered the complex through the doors at the opposite end. CiCi opened her eyes. “There. I’ve seen the entire course and I know what to expect.”

“Any surprises?” Maya asked.

“Nope. The course goes all around the ship, so I saw some pretty interesting things, but nothing that could slow me down.”

Set furrowed his brow in annoyance. “That won’t help you. Mercury is the fastest god there is; no one can beat him in a race.”

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Jaysin said. “Our CiCi here is the fastest student at the Academy. She’ll give your man a run for his money, I guarantee it.”

An excited Loki said to the audience, “The trash talking, a vital component of sporting events, is certainly on display here today. Let’s hope these two competitors can back up everything they say.” He then addressed said competitors. “Now, then, if you’ll just follow me to the starting line.” He led them to a white line just outside the open doors. A pair of glowing green arrows along the walls pointed through them, just in case anyone was still confused as to where to go. “When I give the signal, the race will officially begin. Everyone not involved in the race can follow along via the big screen monitors that should be descending from the ceiling right about now!” Several panels opened up, and down came several of the biggest screens Ev had ever seen. They were almost as big as movie theater screens, and they stopped right in front of the audience on all sides.

“All right!” Loki said. “Are the contestants ready?”

“You bet!” CiCi confirmed.

“I was born ready,” Mercury said. In fact, both of them had already done their stretches and were knelt at the starting line.

“Excellent!” Loki produced a pistol and held the barrel upwards. “On the count of three! One! Two! three!”

* * *

The gun rang out in a sharp explosion of gunpowder. CiCi and Mercury both took off in a blur. CiCi already knew the exact course layout, what to expect, and where to turn. As long as she kept her speed up, she knew she had a solid chance at winning this. And, at the speed they would be traveling, the race would be finished in no time.

As soon as they entered the corridor, however, all her expectations were shattered when numerous panels opened along the walls and ominous black gun barrels slid out like metal snakes preparing to strike. She had just an instant’s notice before beams of white hot light shot out of them. CiCi leapt across the hall as the strange rays hit the ground where she had been standing, incinerating the steel flooring.

Darn!
she thought.
My chakrams couldn’t see them because they were being covered by the wall panels. This must be the ship’s defense network
.
I shouldn’t have been so confident like Daryn
. She now knew why Loki had chosen this particular route.

Fortunately, Mercury also seemed to be surprised, as he just barely managed to dodge the beams and keep his head intact. Nevertheless, she knew they would have to slow down a lot or risk getting killed by any more traps that lay ahead.

The laser cannons didn’t stop with just a few shots. They continued to fire relentlessly while the two competitors raced down the twisting corridor, with new gun barrels appearing as they went. CiCi stayed on her toes, jerking left, right, up, and down to avoid each individual blast. If there was another upside to this, it was the fact Mercury wasn’t faring any better; he continually had to reduce his speed to avoid getting vaporized.

Soon they came to a fork in the road, and the arrows pointed left. She already knew this, but worried what would be waiting for them next. They took the left turn, the two of them neck and neck, and found themselves in an identical corridor. No lasers greeted them, yet.

Without warning, the entire floor collapsed beneath them. Reacting quickly, CiCi launched herself forward and to the left, and began running along the wall like some sort of parkour lunatic. Her god speed enabled her to keep moving in a part flying, part running burst. She didn’t spare a look at Mercury to see if he was doing the same, but she couldn’t help but hope he had fallen into whatever pit now lay below them. She did, however, spare a brief thought to the crew that had modified this ship into a death trap. They were every bit as sick as Maya and Ev had said, perhaps even more so.

She soon made it across to the door on the other side. Upon entering, she found herself in some sort of large atrium. All manner of plants and trees congested the room like a forest, and pale blue UV lighting shone down from the ceiling.

Mercury arrived a split second later and he, too, paused to examine their new surroundings. With all the flora and trees in the room, it was difficult to tell where they were supposed to go. Fortunately, CiCi remembered.
Ahead and to the left
.

Suddenly, though, she felt much weaker, as if all the majority of her strength had been taken from her. Loki’s voice then came from what she could only assume was the ship’s PA system. “It’s been ever so much fun watching you two run through the ship, but if we let you run all the way with your powers, the race would be over in no time at all. Therefore, at this point I feel I should explain that we have been observing Zero Grade as they’ve been developing their God Dampener, and we took the liberty of creating our own. You’ll have to run the rest of the way as mortals. Have fun at this enjoyable, exciting twist!”

Fun, my butt!
Now the race would take way longer to complete.

She sighed; there was nothing to do but keep going. After all, she still knew the course layout. Although she’d be lying if she said the loss of her powers didn’t have her scared.
Will I be able to dodge Carnaval’s traps as a mortal?

Mercury was busy trying to argue with Loki. “You mad man! Give me back my speed! You’ve taken the very thing that defines me! Give it baaaack!”

CiCi decided the best option was to slip away while he was distracted. Remembering the route to take, she made her way past several large plants.

Without warning, though, one of them unfolded and bore down on her. She ducked, nearly getting her head taken off as it snapped shut where she had been standing. Without wasting any more time or thought, she broke off into a sprint through the atrium. More plants came to life and thrust their disgusting heads at her, trying to make a meal out of her. She slid under one, zig-zagged around others, and kept right on going.

But one deadly plant managed to get lucky and clamped down around her arm, its sharp teeth digging into her flesh. She cried out in pain and saw fresh blood trickling out of its mouth.

She tried pulling free, but that only caused her arm to be torn even further. Seeing no other option, she began punching the hideous, eyeless head. At first it had no effect, but after several moments of fierce pounding, the thing released her.

Someone yelled in surprise and she figured it was Mercury. She hoped those freaky plants kept him busy long enough for her to finish the race. And if they should eat him, well, she didn’t exactly want that, but she knew she wouldn’t necessarily be too sad about it. He was the enemy, after all.