Page 20 of Dark Gods
I looked doubtfully up at the peak of the mountain. How the hell were we supposed to climb that?
“We don’t have any gear,” Daphne lamented.
“Halcyon, make us some climbing gear,” Phrixus ordered, his voice far more confident than before.
“Negative, Student ZA-7,” Halcyon answered pleasantly. “Climbing gear is not within the permitted modifications for this simulation.”
“Of course not,” Daphne muttered.
“Maybe we’re supposed to use our powers,” I suggested.
Helle shot me another glare and I was done keeping my mouth shut. “If you’ve got any better ideas, you’re free to voice them,” I snapped.
“It’s worth a shot,” said Daphne. I knew better than to count on her as a potential ally, but out of the four of them, she seemed the least likely to risk an evening of kitchen duty for the pleasure of sending me tumbling down the snowy mountainside. She turned toward the summit and studied its peak for a moment before raising her hand. The snow along the mountainside began to let off steam and formed a slush that pooled at our feet.
“What are you doing?” Phrixus asked, watching her closely.
“I control water. I thought I could melt it, but the ice is too thick,” she muttered. “It’s just making the surface slipperier. What are your powers?”
“We’re telepathic,” Helle answered, planting a hand on her hip. “Not much use here.”
“My power might be,” I said at risk of the dirty looks I wound up getting from the twins.
“What, are you going to bitchslap the mountain out of the way?” Helle asked wryly.
Her brother snorted.
“Oh-em-gee, you’re so creative,” I said, mocking her valley girl accent as I brushed past. “I can control plants, and create them to a degree. If I sprout vines, maybe we can use them as climbing ropes.”
Helle was still fuming, but Phrixus at least seemed to be considering my idea. So did Daphne.
“Don’t you need to be around actual plants for that?”
“No, not for limited use,” I told her, letting a fresh vine coil from my vein and pool on the snowy ground beneath me.
Helle grimaced. “Nasty.”
“Shut up, Helle. I don’t want to wash dishes,” Phrixus mumbled.
I ignored them and made a makeshift lasso with one end of the vine. I tried to toss it, but my calculations were a bit off.
“Here,” said Daphne, holding out her hand. “Let me give it a try.”
I offered her the end of the vine and stepped back to let her do her thing. She looped it over a sturdy-looking crag in the mountain on the first try.
“Impressive,” I remarked.
She gave me a half smile before she looked Helle’s way and it disappeared.
“Let’s see if this holds,” she said, looping the other end of the vine around her waist. I watched nervously as she began to climb, but to my surprise, it was actually working.
“Make another one,” Helle ordered, stepping up beside me.
I shot her a dirty look of my own. “In the spirit of teamwork and not scrubbing dishes, I’m going to pretend you asked nicely.Thistime.”
She rolled her eyes and waited impatiently as I produced another vine. When I made one for Phrixus, he looked squeamish and seemed like he’d rather run off than take it, but he finally grabbed it and began the upward climb behind his twin.
So far, so good. And I was actually proving myself useful. I knew better than to think that meant they’d go easy on me outside of the classroom, but Mom’s favorite joke came back to me.
