'How-' I started, then pain blasted through my own skull and I staggered sideways as black spots appeared in front of my eyes. I felt cold bony fingers glance off my arm as I stumbled in confusion and realized foggily that I needed to move. The fucking thing had hit me, hard. My legs carried me across the small pit quickly, and I when I turned back the Spartae skeletons' skull was whizzing back into it's rightful place at the top of its long backbone.
Shit. This was going to be harder than I thought. If bone smashing wasn't an option, what else was there? I flashed on Hecate's insistence that this was supposed to be easy for someone who couldn't fight. Glory, Intelligence, Loyalty and Hospitality. Those were the things I was being tested for, according to the irritating commentator. The skeleton lifted the sword again, his jaw clacking faster than before, the sound setting my own teeth on edge. I moved slowly along the wall and he rotated to follow me. Fear began to hammer against my rational thoughts, a desperation to switch off from this crazy fucking situation growing inside me. Come on, Persephone, I chided myself, blinking away the dizziness. If this is real, you have to survive. If it isn't then you've nothing to lose. Sort your shit out, now.
Loyalty and hospitality wouldn't help me here, but intelligence... Maybe this wasn't about fighting, but about being smart. I turned quickly to the wall, and heard the demon begin to move, his bony feet clacking on the marble floor. I only had seconds.
I raked my eyes over the marble until I spotted a part of the vine pattern that didn't match up. I reached out and ran my fingers over the marble. It was warm, and when I pushed harder, I realized it was supple too. But that was all I had time to find out, and I leapt to the side just as the sword came down where I had been stood. I was faster than the skeleton was though, and I sprinted to the other side of the pit without looking back. I moved as fast as I could, scanning the walls for anywhere the vines were broken, then pulling the weird warm marble into shape, re-attaching them. As soon as the blunt ends met up the vines turned hard and cold.
I was sure I was doing the right thing, reconnecting the pattern. After all, there was nothing else in the pit, other than the demon. I was only just keeping out of its reach, having to scan the wall fast and likely missing loads, but I was making progress.
After a few laps of the room I was pretty sure I'd got all of them, and had so far avoided the blows from the demon's sword, but nothing had happened. There must be more to find, I thought, racing just ahead of the clacking footsteps as I scanned the stone desperately. My legs were beginning to tire, my breath becoming harder to catch, and my arm that still held the flail was aching.
'Aha!' I shouted in a surge of excitement as I spotted two blunt pieces of vine just a few inches off the floor. I ducked down to fix them, almost skidding as my momentum carried me fast across the marble. I knew as I dropped that I was putting myself in a seriously vulnerable position, and my heart was pounding as I tweaked the vines into place. The sword came whistling past my ear and I held my breath as I launched myself back up and away, already running, when an echoing rumble started. Without slowing I put my back to the wall, a weird side run taking over my legs until I saw that the skeleton had stilled. I slowed suspiciously, every muscle in my body humming. Had I done whatever I was supposed to? Would the demon just crumble back to dust now?
Suddenly a hole began to appear in the middle of the pit, tiny at first, then growing fast. Huge flames in many colors, the same as the ones that licked up around the side of the epic throne room, shot up through the hole as it finally stopped growing. My stomach lurched as heat washed over me. There was now a thirty-foot hole leading to a flaming abyss taking up most of the pit I was in.
Sure, I now had a way to kill the skeleton - there was no way it would survive falling into that.
But nor would I.
Through the flames I saw the skeleton drop its sword on the marble with a clang and I scowled. Why would it do that? Then its hollow eye sockets fixed on my face and my breath hitched. It was coming for me. I fleetingly considered trying to climb out of the pit, but the vine pattern had sunk back into the wall, the other weapons vanishing too, leaving the surface smooth. I was trapped. The skeleton was running now, close to the wall and away from the hole. It was faster without the heavy sword, I realized. Running away would be pointless as I was guessing undead skeletons didn't get tired, and I was already exhausted.
That meant it was now or never. I looked at the flail in my hand. There was no way I was giving my own weapon up.
Banking on the assumption that skeletons weren't smart, I took a deep breath and stepped closer to the flaming hole, turning my back to it and swinging the spiked ball fast. I could feel my leather clothing heat up as I got as close as I dared. Looking to my right I saw the demon closing in and I swallowed hard.
Stand your ground, Persephone. Stand your fucking ground.
The skeleton turned sharply and I sent a silent prayer of thanks to anyone listening. I'd been right, it was too stupid to be cautious. It was coming straight for me.
As the demon reached me it threw both arms out, ready to push me but I ducked and threw myself to the side, flinging the flail out towards it. The weapon connected, and I heard clattering bones as I span back around. I'd only knocked off one arm, and the bits of bone were already vibrating on the floor. I didn't hesitate, flailing the weapon back at the skeleton's head. It raised its other arm to block my blow, and the ball took the thing's wrist out. I kicked out as high as I could with my foot, my stomach lurching as I felt my leather boots connect with hard bone, but the skeleton barely budged. The fallen bones were whizzing back towards it now and panic took over. With a roar, I dropped my shoulder and barreled into its rib cage.
Mercifully, it fell. But so did I. I landed on the things chest, feeling a brief satisfaction as I felt and heard ribs give way under me, then pure terror as I rolled away and almost fell straight off the edge of the pit. A purple flame leapt up beside me and for a split second my limbs froze, fear making me unable to move. The thought of falling forever swamped my thoughts, paralyzing me. Then a voice sounded in my head out of nowhere.
You have about ten seconds before that thing puts itself back together. Move, now.
It was a male voice, and unbidden, my limbs twitched, then I was scrambling to my knees, moving away from the ledge as fast as possible. When I was a foot away I pushed myself to my feet, then turned. The skeleton's rib cage had collapsed when I'd fallen on it, its limbs scattered on the marble floor. I kicked out hard at any bit of bone I could reach with my feet, sending them flying into the flaming abyss. The demon's skull hissed as more and more bits went shooting off the edge, its detached arms flailing on the ground as I finally reached its skull. Hope shot through me as I looked down at the hollow black eye sockets. I'd won, I thought, as I gathered the last of my energy and punted the skull off the edge as hard as I could.
Ten
'Well how about that folks! Not the classiest fight we've seen, but she got the job done!' The commentators voice boomed across the pit as the rumbling started again. The hole was closing, and the floor was rising. I threw my arms out to the side to steady myself, panting for breath as adrenaline still fizzed through me. I looked up at the gods, where Hermes and Dionysus were clapping enthusiastically, Athena and Aphrodite more slowly. The others just stared at me, Hades' smoky form flickering and Zeus's eyes gleaming.