“How do we win this Labor?” Rima asks, her delicate surgeon’s hands clasped in her lap.
Apollo gives his champion a nod like he appreciates that at least one person is playing to win. “If or when you find the answer—and no, it is not a riddle—you will be given something, and a door will open to let you start Artemis’ Labor. The first person to do so is the winner of my Labor. You will receive your prize at the end of both.”
He steps back so his sister can describe hers.
That’s it? That’s all there is to his? Find the answer and open a door?
“For your fifth Labor,” Artemis says, “as my brother explained, you will be given something when the door is opened. That something is four flags that you will wear on your body—one for Strength, one for Mind, one for Heart, and one for Courage.”
Her eyes linger on me. I’m getting really tired of being the only champion with a different thing.
Artemis pulls her gaze away from mine. “These flags will appear clipped to your person where you think they would—on your arm for Strength, over your heart for Heart, on a headband for Mind, and to your spine for Courage. Your job will be to not lose your flags as you run an obstacle course.”
Obstacle course. I deflate like a punctured balloon. I suck at those.
“Do we try to take one another’s flags?” Dex, of course, asks that.
Artemis shakes her head. “There will be creatures waiting in each of the obstacles. They will try to take your flags. If they manage to remove one, you’ll know. If they take your Mind, you will experience confusion. If they take your Strength, pain. Heart, exhaustion. And Courage, fear.”
Always with the twists.
You have to give the deities points for creativity and their flair for bloodlust.
“If you lose all four flags, there is no possibility you’ll make it through any of the remaining obstacles,” she says. “You’ll be too overwhelmed. If you do make it through, at the finish line, you must find and touch your patron god or goddess, who will be waiting there for you, and give them your remaining flags, if you have any left to offer. The champion to finish with the most flags wins. All champions must cross the finish line within an hour of the first. Those who don’t make it by then… We let the monster at the end have you.”
So, extra ways to die today. Awesome. “I was just thinking I hadn’t felt challenged by the last Labor,” I mutter under my breath.
And maybe, just maybe, Hephaestus has to cover a laugh while Dionysus shoots me a hurt pout.
Apollo and Artemis take each other’s hands. “The Labors start—”
“Wait,” I say.
Artemis’ face screws up with irritation, but Apollo merely lifts his brows at me.
“Hades is still gone.” I shoot a bitter look at Zeles. “Who am I finding at the end?”
“Your patron should have thought about that before exploiting the…loopholes,” Artemis says.
Then, in unison, the twins say, “The Labors start…now.”
And in the next instant, the gods and goddesses disappear. The door swings open, and a gold-and-silver satyr stands there with a scroll in her hands. I can’t see much beyond her—only a room with more white marble and a lot of light, but otherwise, it appears empty.
“First up,” the satyr says. “Zai Aridam.”
56
Apollo’s Labor
Zai doesn’t move right away. Instead, he looks at Rima. We all do.
She is Apollo’s champion. Why isn’t the god of the sun sending her first to give her a head start on the rest of us? Rima looks back at us owlishly, and I can’t tell if she is surprised or not. Either way, she doesn’t look upset.
Zai takes a deep breath, then looks to Meike and me, giving us both nods before he walks into the room and the door closes behind him. Two minutes later…he walks back out. Not a good sign.
“Neve Bouchard,” the satyr calls.
Zai, meanwhile, huddles with Meike and me in a corner. “There is a harp in there,” he says. “Not doing anything, just sitting. It’s a bit grotesque, actually.”
“Grotesque?” Meike asks.
Zai nods. “I didn’t want to get too close.”
Okay…
“But otherwise, nothing else. I felt every part of the western and southern walls I could reach to try to find a hidden lever or button, or even a door, but I ran out of time.”
The door opens, and Neve comes out fuming and heads straight for Dex, Dae, and Rima. Not Samuel.
I narrow my eyes on Dex, who is listening intently to Neve.
“Meike Besser,” the satyr calls.
Zai and I wait. Two minutes later, Meike returns, too.
Trinica is next.
