Page 97 of Flame and Fury

Nathaniel grabs my hair, hauling me up off the ground with an unnatural strength. If I didn't already know he was a god masquerading as a man, all these little signs he kept letting slip would have clued me in. Do the rest of the gods know? Or is he hiding it from them as well?

I scrabble to keep up, my boots slipping in my blood. The movement only aggravates my wound. More blood pours out of my stomach. I don't think my clothes can get any more saturated. Nathaniel drags me down a hallway, and another cleric is waiting there to open a set of double doors with a scraping bow. I stumble, tripping over my heavy feet as we enter the Shrine of Olympus. Nathaniel's home is right behind the Shrine, but I didn't realize he had an entryway inside from his house.

I've never been inside the temple. I can barely focus long enough to take in the soaring pillars and the massive carved statue of Zeus sitting on a throne at the end of the naos. Nathaniel never pauses in his march toward the front doors, where another cleric is waiting to open up the massive mahogany doors.

A roar so loud I almost slap a hand over my ear greets us as we step outside. My other hand is holding on to Nathaniel's wrist, the one attached to the hand that's pulling out my hair. It's the middle of the night, but the outside of the Shrine is lit up like a supernova. It could almost be mistaken for daytime, except the farther I look out into the crowd, the more they're shrouded in darkness. There are a whole lot of people here. More than showed up for the parade the champions were forced to participate in.

“See all these people? I called them here to witness your death. They can’t wait to see a Fury bleed all over the steps of my Shrine,” Nathaniel gloats, a wide grin on his face.

Nathaniel shoves me, finally releasing my hair. I fall to the ground, directly at the feet of Zeus and Hera. They’re both wearing traditional white chiton, looking every inch the wrathful gods of mythology. My blood stains the ivory marble steps, smearing red over the stairs. Zeus and Hera tower over me, sneering down at me with enough delight in their eyes that I know this is going to be bad.

Everything we've worked for has led to this moment. I didn't realize in the beginning that this was how my life would unfold. That I would move on from Jerry's bar and moonlighting as the Dark Hand in my slice of Chicago, to become a champion in the Olympus Games. An unwilling one at that. I never wanted to get mixed up with the Underground. I wanted to do what my father told me. To keep my secret, to hide myself away. I understand why he was so afraid for me, but I'm not a child any longer. In the past, I saved people under the cloak of night, but it’s not enough anymore. It's time for me to embrace my Fury and my destiny. To seek justice and finally put these fucking gods back to sleep. To topple the clerics by outing Nathaniel Rogers as the fraud he is.

Except I don't have the amulet. The fucking linchpin of this whole damn plan. I threw it at Greer when we were fighting the minotaur. I know she'll keep it safe, but I have no idea if Atlas and my friends are still stuck down in the old subway tunnels. Did they get out? Did any of the clerics or gods come after them too?

Zeus circles me, drawing my attention back to him. “You have been defiant the entire time you've been a part of these games.”

Hera stands still, smirking down at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Aphrodite being fawned over by multiple clerics, and Poseidon looking bored next to her. There's a cool wind blowing through the city tonight. I'm sweating, but I've lost so much blood that the breeze chills me and leaves me shaking.

“You waltzed into our games, thinking you could lie about your true nature.” Zeus booms out the wordlieand the crowd shouts and hisses out insults. “You tricked my son into fornicating with you, using your wiles to entrance him.”

I can't help but roll my eyes at that statement, even through my haze of pain. My bleeding has slowed, but my wound has barely started to close. If I wasn't being made an example of in front of the Shrine of Olympus, I'd hole up in bed for a day or two until everything was fully healed. I don't have that luxury now, but I also don't know how I'm going to get out of this. I'm surrounded by Zeus, Hera, Nathaniel, hordes of clerics, and a frenzied crowd. The latter looks ready to push their way through the barricades keeping them on the street and away from the steps leading up to the shrine.

Zeus bends down and something tugs at my side. When he stands, my whip is in his hand.

“I think this perversion of divinity needs a lesson. She needs to be reminded who rules this land.” Zeus uncoils the whip with a flick of his hand and the crowd screams. I can't tell if their shouts are at me, or in support of me. Everything is a little hazy around the edges.

“You'll stay on your knees where you belong.” Zeus leans down, his mouth near my ear so only I hear him say, “And then after you'll stay on your knees and show me how much you appreciate my punishment.”

I slowly turn my head to glare at Zeus. The glint in his eyes tells me he thinks I'm cowed by his divinity.

“Eat shit.”

The first whip strike slashes high against my back, partially wrapping around my neck. Not for the first time in my life, I think about how I should keep my mouth shut.

CHAPTER48

ATLAS

My clothes are soaked in sweat, blood, and water from the busted pipes. That’s nothing compared to the destruction my soul feels. Where the fuck is Hermes?

“Hello. Hello there. Is anyone going to save me?” A woman’s voice calls out from behind us, sounding near panic. What fresh hell is this?

“Shit,” Greer curses as we slow. “It’s the fucking challenge. I’m supposed to bring back one of the damn sisters.” Greer doubles back and finds a woman in an evening gown daintily picking her way through the muck of the tunnels. She grabs her by the arm and drags her toward the rest of us, ignoring the protests.

“Do you know how much these heels cost? This dress is one of a kind. It’s Stellara couture and you’re getting blood on it.” The woman screeches.

“Shut your mouth, or I’ll leave you down here with the rats. They don’t give a shit about your couture, but I bet they’ll enjoy gnawing on your limbs.” Greer snaps her teeth together and the woman gasps in shock. She stays quiet after that.

We’re running through the tunnels, already back to the grand City Hall station when my asshole brother finally appears. He doesn’t pop into existence, no. He saunters down the stairway like he’s been out for a leisurely walk.

“Where have you been?” I pull myself up onto the platform, turning to help the others, but they’re right behind me. The aristocratic woman bitches me out the whole time, complaining about a hole in her dress. I give her my back and pray for patience. I’m about to shove her right back off the platform.

“I went to grab a hot dog.” Hermes shrugs and shoves the last bite of the food in question into his mouth.

“Fucking gods.” I drag my hand through my hair but stop just before running my dirty, blood-stained hands through the strands. “Wren is gone. They’ve taken her somewhere and we need to find her.”

“Oh yeah. I saw that.” Hermes shakes his head, clucking his tongue. He crosses his arms, looking down his nose at my blood-soaked skin. He's not any taller than me, but he's got that godly condescension down.