Megara: Ancient History

Deals With the Devil

When the sun rises, Ethos's hand is curled around mine. I revel in it for a second, allowing myself just one moment of carelessness as I study his face. Then I try to sit up, but he tugs me closer.

"Okay, loverboy," I say, pulling my hand away. "You've got a mountain to climb, so they say."

"And a bet to win," he says, stretching his arms.

I catch myself staring and spin away, busying myself with fixing my hair. The gods really outdid themselves when they made him. It's not that I'm embarrassed to stare- in fact, it's one of my specialties. But I'm not trying to con Ethos, and I don't want him to think that I am.

Which, I'll admit, is a little unusual for me.

He comes to stand beside me and reaches for my hand. I let him take it, but he's barely taken a step before I notice something's wrong. Something's different.

The mist... the black mist from the Elusion potion.

It's gone.

No sooner have a realized this than the wind picks up around us, and dark clouds swirl overhead.

"Get down!" I yell, shoving him towards the rocky overhang. We dive for the shelter, and he looks at me. "The potion must have worn off," I explain, looking down at my hands. But there's still a flicker of darkness around my skin.

A booming voice cuts through the air. "What mortal dares walk the path to Olympus?"

I press myself against the rock and hold my breath, mind racing for a way out. There's always a way out. That's how I've gotten this far in life.

"Meg," Ethos whispers. He presses something into my hand. "Take this and run. Run back to the valley."

I lock eyes with him. "What?"

"Don't say anything, Meg, just go!"

Before I can stop him, he runs out from the overhang. My hands fly to my mouth. He turns back for one last look at me-

And a lightning bolt strikes him where he stands.

I watch him fall over the ledge, his name caught in my throat.

I have to get out of here.

I run. Crisscrossing the face of the mountain, descending further and further. I jump down ledges to cut through faster. My arm is bleeding now, I don't know why. I roll my ankle but keep running. There's time for that to hurt later.

The bridge is in sight, finally, and I run faster. The mist around my arms is fading, and I don't think it will last much longer.

Then I see something ahead of me. It's not rocks. It's not branches.

It's a body.

It's Ethos.

He'd fallen all this way. I couldn't just leave him here, so I pick him up under the shoulders and drag him towards the bridge. But my strength is giving out.

The blackness on my arms flickers one last time and disappears.

I jerk my eyes upward, waiting for the booming voice. I'm so close to the bridge- but not close enough.

"What mortal dares walk the path to Olympus?" I hear. A crack of lightning strikes by my feet, and I stumble to my knees. I throw myself over Ethos's body, bracing for the next strike.

Then I feel what's in my hand, what Ethos gave to me. A leather pouch, full of powder. "Celestial repellant," I breathe, pulling the string.

I don't know if it works on gods, but if it buys me a few seconds, that's all I need. I dump the pouch upside down, spilling all the contents into my hand. Then I fling it upward, showering us with the repellant.