Myths: The Folklore Trilogy

Chapter 28-In Which We Chat (part 2)

Everything was gray. The stone walls, the floor, the ceiling...and then I realized that there was no ceiling, but that it opened up into the sky. The clouds were the same shade of gray as the stone.

With a jolt, I realized I had seen this place before. Somewhere...in a dream maybe? I frowned.

There were seats ringing the walls, filled with people and cats, cheering exuberantly. They all seemed to be expecting a show. I heard Audrey give a huff of displeasure. She struck me as the type who hated being a source of entertainment.

Giselle's voice rang out across the stadium. "Ladies and feline friends, I cordially welcome you to the most anticipated fight of the season, Sierra and Company verses...the choice!" The crowd cheered wildly.

"Sierra and Company?" Audrey shouted furiously. "Excuse me!"

"Audrey and Co. works fine with me," I said, still dazed by the raucous crowd.

Giselle's voice rang out again, an edge of excitement unmistakeable in her voice. "Let the tournament begin!"

A bell rang twice, and two black boxes rose out of the floor. One was about the size of a basketball, the other, the size of an average classroom. Giselle spoke again: "Choose your enemy."

"Um," Sophie whispered, "not to sound cowardly, but can we go with the smaller one?"

Audrey nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Unless it's a trap."

The servant girl's voice came back to me: "Pick wisely. And do not be fooled by your options. Things are not always as they seem."

"You know Audrey," I said calmly, "I think it is a trap." I raised my voice. "We'll take the bigger box, please."

Sophie gasped, but just then, the smaller box sank back under ground and the larger one fell open onto the ground. Standing inside was the biggest, ugliest leopard I have ever seen.

It was tawny yellow, with the dark spots that look like misshapen rings. Muscles rippled across its back, so large it looked almost mutated.

"Oh...my gosh," Sophie breathed.

I felt like I couldn't breathe at all.

Audrey, naturally, immediately transformed into warrior and ran towards the monster.

"Audrey!" I shouted, but her movement snapped me out of my reverie. Strength. Bravery. Truth. I was a warrior with a battle axe in my hands.

Audrey had rolled out of the way as the beast pounced towards her, and threw a knife at its side. The leopard roared, but seemed only annoyed. I ran to its right, hoping to keep it off track. "Hey ugly!" I shouted. In truth the leopard was stunningly beautiful, but usually in movies, the taunts have something to do with looks. (Hey, it was my first time. )

Nonetheless, my strategy worked. The leopard turned towards my, its red eyes burning fiercely. I feinted right and ran left, narrowly avoiding the swipe of a paw.

I grouped up with Audrey and Sophie. "We need a plan," I told them, breathing hard.

"Sophie, go left, Sierra, go right, and I'll attack it from the middle," Audrey said immediately.

"No," I said frowning. "It's obviously fought people in the arena before. I say we use our advantage of being Myths. It may not have ever seen something like that before."

"I have an idea," Sophie said timidly.

We listened as she whispered and fidgeted. Audrey was thrilled. "That could totally work," she whispered gleefully.

"Alright," I said smiling, "let's do it."

The leopard hadn't attacked us while we were planning. It looked amused. It regarded me with an expression that said "are you done?"

"Yup," I muttered, "and you're about to be." I raised my battleaxe above my head and ran to the right. "Ya!"

The leopard immediately pursued me. I ducked and rolled, my warrior instincts on overdrive. I twisted and spun out of the leopard's slashing paws. Just then, it roared in anger and turned away from me, towards where Sophie had just hit it with an arrow.

It ran at her, avoiding the arrows she shot. I followed a safe distance behind it. Closer...closer...

And then Sophie shot into the air.

The leopard froze for a moment, stunned. Then it turned back towards me, a target still on the ground. Good...good... I charged it, axe raised high. It looked confused.

And then Audrey, in fairy form, landed on its back, grasping its head with the gloves that enhanced the abilities of her hands and yanked the head back. I closed the final few feet between the leopard and me, and slashed the battleaxe towards its throat.

It stood for a moment. The red glare in its eyes faded. And then it toppled over, dead.

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Sorry it's short, but remember it's only half a chapter!

~Paint_splatt