Demi-God: The Lost

Chapter Seventeen

"WELCOME TO THE CHALLENGE." A voice shouts above all others. It's one of the Primordial gods; Erebus. He's one of the only remaining Primordials left in Olympus, all the other's vanished way too long ago to matter.

The aching pain drumming in Riley's chest reminds her how awful it is to be the center of everyone's attention. All ten participants are standing in a very large arena, it looks familiar somehow.

In the far distance is- of course -Aphrodite screaming her head off about how much she hopes Riley kicks the bucket. What's new?

Well the giant gateway slowly rising from a hole that opened in the middle of the arena is sorta new. Wait- A gateway? It's the same one that was in Riley's nightmare. A burst of cold chills races through her body.

Images of the Stones and Blake's voice rings through her head. A slight nudge at her side brings her back to the present. Aeo is standing next to her, Boe would have been there too but he's still deep in the coma.

A pain of sadness rushes through Riley's chest. Boe should have been here with them. But maybe it's better that he isn't, for safety's sake.

"FIVE MINOR GODS AND FIVE DEMI-HUMANS. ONLY THREE WILL WALK OUT OF THAT GATEWAY ALIVE." Riley cringes at the word 'demi-human'. Why can't they just call her demi-god? Only demi-gods or those close to a demi-god call them that. It's strange.

Do gods have something against the term?

The large circle of stone bursts into colors. All sorts of colors too. One second it's red and then it's blue. A second later it turns green or yellow. It's like if a unicorn ate a rainbow cupcake and then puked it all over the gateway.

Ew. Why did she think of that? What does that even look like? Riley shivers and brushes the image away. Adding that to the collection of memories she never wants to think of again. That collection is getting quite large.

A loud drum hits every three seconds, it's a countdown. The beats get faster every three hits. It's a build up probably and at the peak of it is when the challenge begins.

Riley glances over at Blake and his two friends. Blake promised he would talk to the other Minor gods about their plan while Aeo would talk to the Demi-gods for Riley. If they all cooperate this should go by easily.

When is anything ever easy though?

Riley's heart almost beats straight out of her chest as the drum beats faster and faster. Her breathing quickens and the blood in her veins beat along with it. Almost there. Someone on the other side of her shakes nervously, his hands are sweaty and his eyes are firmly fixed on the gateway.

The rules were explained countless times over the last week. They have five beats of the drum to get in the gateway. If they miss even a single beat then they automatically forfeit their lives. It takes at least three to get there, one wrong step and you're dead.

This is usually where most of the challengers die. Foul play straight off the bat. But everyone should be on board so there shouldn't be-

Everyone darts for the Gate, Riley falters, she hadn't been paying attention. She quickly gathers herself and darts for the large structure. The drum beats are slower now that the peak was hit. By the time she's halfway there is the first beat.

She's a few steps behind the others, but in this case even one step can make all the difference. She reaches the stairs that lead up to the gateway full of colors. Just as she reaches the top step a foot kicks from under her and she slams into the stone stair.

Her head spins for a moment, the second beat rattling her brain and vibrating in her chest. Her hands push at the stone beneath her. Someone had tripped her. A hand grabs her arm and pulls her to her feet so fast she might get whiplash.