Page 111 of A Kiss From Death
Tanned muscle bulges from under his fighting gear, all muscle and thick veins honed for killing. Still on my side, I keep my eyes glued to him, a common occurrence I’ve learned to not fight anymore. His fists clench by his sides, but he stays looking forward, an impenetrable wall bound by duty and devotion.
His face falls out of vision when a hand grips me from behind and spins me until I’m sitting up in the sand. My head spins from the change of gravity and whatever lingering sedative was unwillingly injected into my neck. My throat is raw and dry as I peel my tongue off the roof of my mouth, wincing through the headache resting at the front of my temple.
An angry grunt grabs my attention to the left, and when I turn, I find a very angry Tank elbowing a Vanquisher away from him, who no doubt just ripped a bag off his head, if his tousled hair is anything to go by. I feel bad for the poor soul who was tasked with sneaking into his room and kidnapping that giant brute. How did they even pick him up?
“Congratulations my finalists,” the Empress’ condescending voice shines through, but at a much quieter level. The Enhancer next to her dropped his amplifying magic so we are the only ones who can hear her. “Though I’m quite saddened no one has yet to solve my riddle. What a shame.” She practically pouts. “Though I guess you still have one last opportunity to impress me. So, what will it be? Anyone have any news to share with me, or are you both still as incompetent as I suspected from day one?”
I grit my teeth at the insult, both angered by her harsh words and disappointed in myself for failing. First, I failed saving Theo, and now, I failed at getting revenge for him. Like hell I’ll lose today and fail him in that as well.
The Empress bores into Tank, and surprisingly, I spot him twitch under her thick scrutiny. Not so toughanymore are you, big boy? He pretends to think to himself, trying to come up with an answer, and I use the extra second to think over the riddle one last time.
Where three meet, one left behind. A sacrifice greater than mankind. A piercing cry from the one black eye. For that shall reset time before the ultimate crime.
Each time I think it over, the more confused I get. I keep getting stuck on the one black eye part. The obvious answer would be Hade, but he hasn’t always had one black eye, as I’ve recently learned. My next obstacle is the crime. What giant crime has been committed? My thoughts go to the separation of Magicals and those of us who grew up on the ground, but still, I don’t see a huge crime in that. If I had just had a few minutes to search the library this morning for that hidden birthday gift, maybe everything would make more sense.
Maybe I could have ended this competition before the madness ensued.
“Pity,” the Empress coos to Tank’s empty response before turning her glaring eyes towards me. Not wanting to draw it out and make a scene, I quickly shake my head. I swear, I see the slightest ounce of sadness or pain underneath her cold indifference, but at this point, I wouldn’t put it past my mind to play tricks on me.
With a snap of her fingers, the Enhancers magic falls over her voice once again, amplifying it for all to hear. “You are all in for an extra special treat for the final round of the Crucible!”
There go the cheers and chants again for my impending death. I will never understand the appeal of seeing someone cling for dear life and praying they indeed fall. Unless their names start with a T, J, or A—then I would be rooting alongside them.
“What kind of Empress would I be if I didn’t provide my citizens with the utmost entertainment? Think big and deadly, and then double that, and you will find what our finalist will be facingtoday.” She laughs to herself, seeming totally amused with what she’s conjured up.
Lovely.
“With a little imagination and a skilled Fabricant,” she gestures to another Vanquisher standing next to her, “I present to you the final challenge standing between you and winning the Reaper Crucible.”
The Fabricant raises his hands, swirling until a ball of magic grows within his palms. When he harshly shoves his hands in the air, magic explodes from his palms, shooting in all directions until two, oddly-shaped platforms float high above our heads, sitting at the top of the bubble.
It looks to be a bunch of squares abstractly shoved together to make some sort of long obstacle course. What it entails and why it’s so high in the air escapes me.
Quickly, I glance over at Hade, trying to plead with my eyes for any foresight, but the only answer I get is his teeth gnashing as he grinds his jaw, trying to remain calm. Clearly, he is not happy about whatever is about to happen.
That makes two of us, buddy.
“Who doesn’t love a little game of Hopscotch?” The Empress’ wicked smile sets my body on edge. “It’s a simple game, really. Jump on the respective squares with the correct feet and race to the end. What could go wrong?”
Steadying my heart, I wait for the ball to inevitably drop.
“Oh, I should mention this isn’t just any hopscotch course. No, that would be too boring.” And there goes the ball. “Obviously, there’s the height. If either contestant were to lose their balance, they would no doubt fall to their death. Instant elimination. Though that would make it easier on our part, I would rather not have boring entertainment today. So please try and stay on course.”
I would hate to be an inconvenience, I almost retort back, but luckily, my lips are solid as metal today. Gritting my teeth to keep from lashing out, I wait for her to continue to spout off all the evilness she has planned for us today.
“Then there’s the hidden traps within the obstacle, of course.” Now that does raise the hair on my skin. “Hidden beneath certain squares lie deadly traps that will be triggered with the simplest misstep. It should be easy enough to avoid them, since I’ve been gracious enough to mark each trap square with a giant X. As long as you make it through the course the fastest, without falling or stepping on any of the dangerous spaces, then you will be crowned our winner. If, however, one of you shall fall or succumb to fatal injuries from one of the marked squares, the surviving contestant will be crowned victorious. If both finalists fail to make it through today’s challenge alive, then there will be no winner for this year’s Crucible.”
She makes it sound simple enough, which leaves an uncomfortable feeling beneath my skin. It cannot be as simple as jumping over a few spaces marked with giant Xs. She has to be leaving something out. The last round of each Crucible is known to be one of the most violent and deadly. I’ve heard some contestants’ heads have been blown off in past years during the last round, so this simple little game of hopscotch isn’t adding up to me.
“Ahh, I almost forgot. There will be an advantage for our leading finalist, as is tradition.” Snapping her fingers, a leaderboard beams into the air, only showing two names this time.
“After his swift and brutal performance last week, sitting in first place, we have Tank from Sweat Sector.” An ungodly number of cheers erupt, mostly men, which I find funny. “Which means sitting in our second place spot, after a much more exciting performance last week, is Nyxi from Vagrant Sector. Her performance was exhilarating to watch, but she was lacking control throughout,and if a few things would have fallen differently, we would have had a much different contestant sitting here today.”
Internally rolling my eyes, I slap on a smile.
“Settle down now,” the Empress bellows. “As reward for being in first place, Tank will choose which hopscotch course he would like to tackle. Each course is unique. Tank may choose to tackle the shorter course, but you will notice it is also riddled with more squares marked with Xs. Or he can choose to take on the longer, more time consuming course, but that course has fewer danger squares marked to avoid stepping on. Each has their advantages and disadvantages, and the choice is up to you, Tank.”
I still don’t understand where the catch with this is. One course has to have obvious advantages, but looking at how large the squares are, I’m confused on how this could be that dangerous. This is supposed to be the grand finale, and to be quite frank, this seems laughable. I could jump through this course with my eyes closed and in my sleep. So where does the true danger lie?
