The Unclaimed (University of the Gods Trilogy Book 1) (23 page)

The entrance to the caves smelled slightly fishy but the further up they got, the nicer the smells were that were greeting them. There was a hint of burning wood and there was definitely food and something sweet and lemony that turned out to be heated red wine with fruit in it. When they entered the cave with the ice-skating rink, Pandora gasped and simply stood there in open-mouthed wonder. Summer gripped Hector’s arm and Cassandra, who wasn’t immune to the beauty in front of her either, gently took her sister’s arm and led her further in.

The cave was almost as big as their training arena and half of it was covered by a small lake that was now frozen over. It was shimmering light-blue and turquoise and there were already lots of people sliding along, some doing pirouettes, some barely able to hold themselves upright, but all of them having a good time.

Surrounding the rink were icicles that were in some parts so thick they looked like trunks from a frozen tree. There were statues of the gods carved in ice everywhere and the seats, also carved from ice, were covered with animal skins and blankets. Servants were skating through the crowd offering food and drinks and other servants handed out ice-skates that could simply be strapped on to their shoes.

“This is like flying”, Pandora squealed and did a pirouette.

She seemed to take naturally to ice-skating and was soon off, darting through the crowd as if she had never done anything else in her life. The demigods had already come in. They were sitting at the side and instead of skates they were wearing big, comfortable looking boots with spikes at the bottom. Arissa looked like the ice-queen herself with her long white coat that had a hood lined with white fur. Her blond hair was braided and her ice-blue eyes looked cool and detached on the crowd before her. Bear attempted to talk to Arissa but she ignored him. River, Sol and Beatrix were their usual selves, talking animatedly and waving to Cassandra when they saw her looking at them. Ben seemed not to be there yet and Mia, too, was nowhere to be seen. Cassandra made a mental note to confront her about the Ambrosia once all of this was over.

Alexander was sitting in his wheelchair but this one had skids instead of wheels and looked like a miniature sleigh. She tried to wave at him but he wouldn’t look at her or maybe he was distracted by everything that was going on, she wasn’t sure. It had only been a couple of days, but he already looked so much better. He had gained weight and there was a healthy glow in his face but when their eyes finally met, she couldn’t detect any warmth in them for the first time since they had met.

Cassandra stopped moving. She had no idea what was going on but when she wanted to approach him, he shook his head and looked away. Cassandra, who felt incredibly hurt by his behavior, started to slide over to talk to him but was intercepted by her sister who simply glided into her path.

“I know what you have done to save him”, Pandora said, reaching for her sister’s arm. “But something seems to have happened and I don’t know why but he seems to be blaming you for something. And I know that it is usually me who needs to be told to stay out of trouble but today I am telling you to let it rest. Not here, not in front of all the others, ok?”

Cassandra, sensing that her sister was right about that, nodded and turned around only to find Ben standing exactly in front of her.

“I forgot how much fun this is”, he said, grinning, and took her by the hand. “Let’s skate for a bit, shall we?”

Cassandra felt the warmth of his hand in hers and held on tighter. He smiled at her and for a moment it seemed like no one else was there with them. Then he took her other hand and started to spin them both in a circle. And suddenly they weren’t in the ice-rink any more. Cassandra knew that their bodies were still out there but it was like their minds had been able to step aside to another place, a place where they could truly be alone.

“What is this?” Cassandra asked and looked up at Ben who was still holding both her hands and standing right in front of her.

His eyes were burning into hers and she felt that all she needed to do was take one step closer.

“This is how I wish things could be”, Ben whispered and bent down, drawing her close.

She felt the heat of the silvery band on his wrist and before he reached her lips, Cassandra was pushed away from him with such force that – in the reality of the ice-rink – she landed on the floor. She threw an angry look at Ben and then at Arissa. Arissa looked like she was about to shoot her with daggers, while Ben simply stood there, breathing heavily and balling his fists.

“I am sorry”, he said curtly and turned around.

Cassandra got up and followed him.

“If your girlfriend ever remote-kicks me again, I will make sure she regrets it”, she said and Ben involuntarily reached for his wrist.

“I wish it were different”, he said and stopped to look her in the eye.

“Why don’t you fight it?” she said and only then saw the raging desperation in his eyes. Again he reached for his wrist where the band was still glowing and then turned away to slide towards Arissa with nothing of his usual grace. Arissa threw her a look that said that she had won this round and suddenly Cassandra knew what Charlie had meant when he had said that Arissa and Ben were bound to each other in ways she couldn’t imagine. Well, now she could. She had experienced it firsthand.

She followed him and the other contestants who were now lining up in front of Heracles, Arissa and Alexander.

Arissa gave Ben her hand and then bent down towards him.

“Good luck, soldier”, she said and coolly kissed him on the cheek.

Ben accepted it but kept rubbing his wrist angrily. Arissa threw Cassandra a another venomous look but Cassandra wasn’t interested in her because she was looking for a sign of recognition, a sign of anything actually, in Alexander, anything that told her that his demeanor was just for show and that behind all of it he was still her friend.

“Won’t you wish your contestant luck?” she said when she came to a halt before him.

Alexander’s eyes were almost as cold as Arissa’s and with a start Cassandra noted that they weren’t that different after all.

Alexander nodded but didn’t say anything. Cassandra, fed up with playing a game she didn’t know the rules to, grabbed his arm and drew herself towards him. She noted with satisfaction that he was strong enough to hold her weight.

“Glad you are feeling better, Alexander”, she whispered and kissed him on the cheek before she let herself fall back once again.

“Good luck, Cassandra”, he said, his cheeks flushed and for a moment she saw the slightest change in his behavior.

But it wasn’t gratitude or love she saw but white-hot anger and Cassandra realized that Arissa had not been the only one watching Ben and her do their little dance on the ice. Alexander, who had told her how he felt about her not too long ago and who had almost died in her arms, had just seen the way she felt for his best friend and despite the fact that he had been strange and distant even before that, this had done nothing to improve his general attitude towards her. Heracles, who had followed their little interchange with a frown, told the contestants to get into position.

At the back of the cave there were eight separate entrances to the tunnels that were revealed when the servants slid the carved statues of the gods to the side. Following Hippolyta’s instructions, Cassandra went to the first entrance to the left with Pandora. Hector and Jim followed and took the second one. Jim looked like he wanted to bolt but when he saw Cassandra looking at him, he waved and faked a brave smile.

The third entrance was occupied by Jack and Robin, two of the Claimed who had managed to survive the first of the challenges. But only Jack seemed to have stayed in the competition. Before Cassandra could wonder about the reason why he chose to quit the Protector’s classes, she saw him move in a slightly stiff way and knew that he must have been hurt in a permanent way somehow. He didn’t look like someone who would quit easily and Cassandra felt sorry for Robin. His friend Jack was a wiry little fellow with too much nervous energy and a mean streak and Cassandra didn’t like him very much. When Jack bumped him in the side, Robin took out a compass and concentrated on it while his friend rocked nervously back and forth.

“Does a compass even work in here?” Cassandra asked and Pandora shook her head.

“There is too much magnetism in here”, she answered quietly and Cassandra could see that her sister was pretty nervous too, “but I guess he knows what he is doing. He joined our class in tactics just this week and he is really nice. A bit shy, but nice.”

Entrances four and five were occupied by Bear and Wolf who were each accompanied by someone from Pandora’s class on tactics while Sol had opted for a fighter who looked like Bear’s older brother and would undoubtedly be able to help with the Minotaur.

But entrance number seven held the real surprise. River, who was leaning languidly against his father’s statue standing next to him, had chosen an Unclaimed girl as his companion. She was tall and pretty, a descendant of Demeter like Summer, with long, blonde dreads.

“I think this is the first time that a Claimed contestant has teamed up with an Unclaimed”, Cassandra said quietly and saw how River stretched himself to his full height when he heard the murmurs of the crowd and stood beside the girl as if he wanted to shield her. The girl, sensing him standing beside her, reached for his face and River took her hand and guided it to his cheek. The girl smiled.

“Her name is Tiresia”, Pandora whispered and Cassandra nodded.

The girl’s eyes were milky white and the stick she was carrying was wrapped in colorful stripes.

“The blind seer”, Cassandra muttered.

“Exactly”, Pandora grinned and smiled proudly at her sister. “My history lessons weren’t in vain after all.”

Cassandra raised an eyebrow but as usual Pandora simply ignored that.

“Everyone knows she is a descendant of Tiresias, the blind seer who was able to predict the future”, Pandora whispered. “He wasn’t supposed to have children and so she’ll stay Unclaimed.”

Just like us, Cassandra thought and when she looked at Tiresia and River, who were holding each other in a tight embrace now, she was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of grief and knew that this happiness wouldn’t last forever.

She shook herself and directed her gaze to the last entrance that was occupied by Ben. Beside him there was another warrior, almost as tall as him, also dressed entirely in black. When his companion turned around to look at her, Cassandra gasped.

“Wow”, Pandora murmured beside her. “Where did they find Ben’s older twin so fast?”

Cassandra thought that it was true, that they looked very much alike but there was something off about Ben’s brother, if it was indeed his brother. But then she met his eyes and knew that this was no simple descendant of Hades.

Pandora, who felt her sister’s distress, shifted uncomfortably beside her.

“What is it?” she whispered but Cassandra was still too preoccupied with the silent staring contest Ben’s brother was holding with her.

Then he bared his teeth and Cassandra scrambled back a little, reaching for her swords. But when she looked next, all she saw was someone who looked almost exactly like Ben standing right in front of everyone else and not a monster with red eyes and grey metal teeth extended like fangs. She shook her head to clear it but when she saw Ben gripping his brother’s arm hard she knew that she hadn’t imagined it, just that she had been the only one to see it.

By then Heracles had introduced all of the contestants and then held up his huge arms for silence.

“And here are the rules of the game”, Heracles cried. “Firstly, as you already know, you will go into the tunnels unarmed.”

The guards made a show of searching them but Cassandra knew that none of them would go in there unarmed and that they all had at least one knife hidden somewhere on them.

“Secondly, you will be led into the tunnels blindfolded and turned around three times”, he continued. “That is where your partners figure in – to help you get out of the tunnels as fast as possible.”

The guard beside them started to blindfold Pandora but when he came to Cassandra she indicated to him that she wanted to hear the rest of the instructions first.

“Third, you will bring whatever treasure the Minotaur has stashed in his nest”, Heracles said. “There should be enough for everyone to bring back to us. But be careful – the Minotaur likes his treasures and won’t give them up easily.”

He smiled when a collective shiver of excitement went through the crowd.

“You’ll have three hours”, Heracles continued. “Whoever comes out within that timeframe will be accepted into the next round.”

“How well timed is your inner clock?” Cassandra murmured and Pandora answered that it was up and running.

“Make sure we’ll be back before lunch”, Cassandra said and Pandora smiled.

The guard put the blindfold over Cassandra’s head and she heard Heracles tell the servants to serve the hot wine and some food now. She heard excited cries and suddenly there was music and Cassandra had no doubt that the spectators would spend their time well-entertained.

Pandora took Cassandra’s hand and then they were told to follow the guard. Pandora held on tightly but after a minute Cassandra felt her relax.