To say the room was the epiphany of all things beautiful and luxurious, would be an understatement.
Yeah. It was that damn cool.
The walls and ceiling were draped in a silk red fabric, so shiny and luscious it looked like a weightless red river floating through the air. Gold seemed to be everywhere, piles of golden rarities surrounded us, each one at least seven feet high. Only a few feet ahead of us was a sort of golden cross over between a bed and a pedestal. The edges were engraved with intricate markings and patterns. But most it was what was on the bed that mattered. An old crumpled woman in dark purple robes.
I don't know how I knew it was Pandora, but it seemed clear as day.
We began to creep towards the bed only to be stopped by a voice. "I wouldn't touch her, it's best to let the old hag rest peacefully."
The women had been hidden in plane sight, only being noticed when her fluent voice rippled through the air. The luxurious cloth that draped around her was the same as the one string across the room. Her hair was a very light, sort of cotton candy blue the went down on waves and trailed on the floor behind her. Her eyes were snake like, yet her face was strangely easily trustable. She was pretty in a exceedingly unearthly way.
We all held our weapons a little higher, assessing the new presence slowly. "Guess we weren't the only ones to be invited to the party..." Eryx mumbled lowly.
She threw her head back in a child like laugh. "Sorry to break it to you kids, but the party is over. Just missed it acctually."
Kits arm stiffened and her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
She again giggled and did small, almost sarcastic, bow. "Chasca at your service."
I glanced at both Eryx and Kit, not recognizing her name. Only they looked just as lost as I must have.
She was giggling so often it began to creep me out. "Of course you wouldn't know, I'm not Apollo or Mars. I'm not that important, so let's try that again. Hello, I am Chasca, Incan goddess of girls. It would only make sense I'd look after the old moron, wouldn't it?"
My weapon began to feel heavier. She may have been a goddess of something nonviolent such a girls (not even women) but it didn't stop her from being a goddess. "Honestly Chase, stop playing with the food, it's time we dine down."
This voice came from behind us, making me jump. I swiveled around to find myself an inch away from amazingly defined abs. Now ladies before you get too excited, the mans level of attractive ended there. His bottom half reminded me of a satyr, an albino one at least because of its snowy color. It only got more bazar when I looked up to find a matching white llama head. With one look at him, I knew who it was, my Spanish class finally coming in handy.
"You're Urcaguary!" I shouted, then blushed at my urgency.
It was odd seeing a llama smile but he seemed to be doing just that. "Looks like I have a fan, a pretty one too."
Disgusted wouldn't be quite the thing I felt, what I was feeling was more of a shocked 'what the fuck is happening' sort of feeling. After all it's not everyday a lama man hits on you.
I stepped back and pulled up my swords. "I'm flattered, but I'm not the biggest fan of bestiality."
Chasca threw her head back laughing again. Yup her laugh was most definitely creepy now. "She got you, Gary!!"
"Just let us have Pandora and we'll be on our way." Eryx said getting back down to business.
Urcaguary laughed this time. "I can't let you kids do that, our job isn't done."
Kit peered up at him. "And what is your job, exactly?"
"To kill Pandora silly." Chasca smiled at us in a sinister way.
"The poison has almost run its corse, she'll be gone in minutes, you can keep her corpse if you'd like." Urcaguary (that's it I'm calling them by the nickname they have each other) smirked.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked confused.
Chase became serious for the first time. "We're tired of your parents!"
We looked at each other as we slowly moved back to back in case of a fight. "What do you meant? What does that have to do with our parents?"
Gary stepped toward us angrily. "Because we already have the box, the box that will lead to their downfall and our rise to power!"
"Huh?"
Chase got in my face. "Not every 'form' of your parents are similar enough to be part of them, making other gods! Lesser gods! And do you know how lesser gods survive? Barley! So what else to do but eliminate the major groups of gods! Greeks! Romans! Egyptians! And it all starts with the curious idiot laying on that table!"
Eryx pushed me back and got in her face. "What did you need from her?"
"Haven't you been paying attention, boy? We needed her box." Gary said pushing Eryx back into me.
Kit looked puzzled. "She already opened it, at this point it would just be a really fancy empty box..."
They laughed, and Gary began to crack his knuckles. "We're not going to tell you the details of our plan, just know you're done for."
And then, almost as if we had rehearsed it, we jumped into action. You maybe wondering why three teenagers fighting seemed rehearsed, well it's the way we fought. Kit would throw knifes inches from Eryx' and I's limbs as Eryx and I took turns on who would duck and attack the gods legs and who would attack their upper body.
It was a good system and it worked for ten minutes in fighting time, meaning most likely seconds in real life. That is until Gary grabbed my ancle, using me as a human shield. Yeah. That put a damper on things.
Eryx and Kit lowered their weapons, a slightly panicked look contorting their faces.
Eryx stepped up using his free hand to signal he meant peace. "Put her down. Now."
Chase laughed as she did whenever she opened her mouth. "Now why would we do that? I never really understood boys and there dumb questions and demands. Now if you would please hand over your weapons, thank you!"
Kit and Eryx made eye contact. They couldn't hand over their weapons cause that would mean defeat, but with the situation...
Kit looked very unsure of herself as she spoke. "We'll hand our weapons over, if you play a game with us."
Chases eyes lit up. "A game!"
Gary looked at her and bewilderment. "You're not seriously falling for this, are you?"
She glared at him. "Shut it lamb boy and let me figure out how to play!"
I cleared my throat. "Not that your arguing isn't fun to watch, but all of my blood has rushed to my head and I'm starting to get a bit dizzy."
Gary then decided to shake me back and forth rigorously in retaliation. "You do not give the commands girl!"
Eryx then jumped in. "The game is called... Erm... Blind eye!"
Chase looked between the two suspiciously. "And how do you play this Erm Blind Eye?"
Eryx and Kit again made questioning eye contact. It was apparent at this point that they were mainly just hoping for a distraction while they thought of an actual plan.
"Well first... You cover your eyes ..." Kit said in distress.
Chase did as told as Gary stared at her in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me..."
Chase did not remove her hand from her eyes as she yelled at him angrily. "I was left in charge, so if I say we are playing the strange mortal game, we are!"
Gary (not too happily) fit both of my ankles into one of his huge hands, using the other to cover his face. "If we end up screwed cause of this, I will let the others know it was all you."
Kit and Eryx' voices faded to the background as I tried to think. I would never be able to escape the buff gods grip. But what could I do? Many kid pray to their parents when they really need them but Zeus and I hadn't had any communication...
Then I realized who I could call upon.
Okay Hera, I thought, you don't like me, and you're kind of a pain in my ass. But I'm doing a quest that's suppose to benefit you gods, and we're in a bit of a sticky situation with to lesser gods. So some help would be useful, maybe some wingspan action? And if anyone can just make that happen, it's gonna be the lady that cursed me....
I didn't know what to expect. We hated each other. Had done bad things to each other. But if there was anything that I learned in the time sense I was told I was a demigod, is that gods were selfish, narcissistic people.
Just this once, and never again. After this point I will no longer be able to trigger it, instead it will come when your deepest instincts connect with the curses power...
Right after the words rang through my mind a ten foot wingspans shot out of my back, knocking over both gods and freeing me. Considering I was unconscious the first and only time I got wings, I had never seen them. Their shape and muscle it reminded me of an eagles wings, but the coloring was much like a blue jays with scattered blues, whites, and blacks.
Kit and Eryx were on the gods in no time. I quickly swooped down and grabbed the sword I had dropped, then joined the fight. In not time we had the upper hand, Eryx cutting them down on their legs , Kit throwing an endless supply of knives at their midsection, and me using my duel swords on them from the shoulders up.
Gary grabbed Chase by the waist as we began to corner them. He glared at her. "You see what your stupidity has cost us?" She began to cry, making him sigh.
He glared up at us. "Your world is about to end demigods, this is the most hollow of victories."
And then with a flash of smoke, they were gone.
Kits pressed her hand on the wall they had been resting against. "Where did they..."
Eryx sighed. "They were gods. There was only so much we could do to fight them."
I nodded before my eyes widened in realization. "Pandora!"
We all rushed over to her. She was beautiful in the way only the old and withered can be. She was wearing something that resembled an Greek tunic, but it was more comfortable looking. Her eyes were only half open as she peered at us. "Such a particular group..."
I smiled. "We get that a lot."
She looked sad. "They took my box..."
Kit nodded slowly and placed a hand her soldier. "We know. Do you know why they could want it?"
She teared up. "It's how they kill them. All of my parents will fall to it."
I never really thought of Pandora as a child of the gods, but she was. They were crappy parents to her, but that was nothing new.
"How will it kill the gods?" Eryx said trying to keep his patients.
She shook her head. "It could contain everything that is wrong with this world. If they just reform it into a weapon.... They've already made the gods weak... It will be the best opritunity...."
I looked desperately over to Kit. The minor gods had already taken it. We were doomed.
Pandoras face became distant. "I've been ready to die for the longest time. But I couldn't, my soul was trapped and put in this miserable tumb. What's the underworld like, boy?"
Eryx shook his head. "Don't worry you aren't going to die! We can save you..."
She shook her head and let out a light chuckle. "When you get to be old enough, you just know things. And I know it's time to go..."
I frowned down at her. "Pandora if you just try to hold on a bi..." The words died in my mouth as her eyes closed softly.
Kit put two fingers on her neck. "She's gone."
We didn't have the box that may be used to kill the gods.
We won the fight, but didn't kill the evil gods.
Pandora was dead.
I shook my head. "We fail. We failed the quest..."
~~~~~
Last chapter of this book will be up next week, and the new book (Flightless) will be up at some point within June - I'll let you know when I have further details.