The Warrior God (The Ares Trials #1) - Eliza Raine Page 0,47

scraping sound made my head snap to the left, and I saw one of the iron gates barring the doors into the ring start to lift.

“Ares, something is coming,” I called, as another scrape followed it, and a second gate lifted.

One by one they all started to rise, and I looked back to the warrior God as he closed his hand around the hilt of the sword and screamed.

I could actually see the electricity around him, it was so intense. Purple and yellow sparks of power leaped and danced across his metal armor, and he tipped his head back as he wrenched his hand from the weapon.

“Careful now!” sang Pain’s voice across the pit. The crowd roared with laughter.

It’s a test of pain, I reminded myself, as Ares stared down with burning eyes at the sword. And this god would back down from nothing, of that I was sure.

I couldn’t help flinching as he moved again, closing his fist for the second time around the sword hilt. This time his scream was more of a groan, but just as much sparking electricity bounced over his body.

The sword moved though. Only an inch before Ares let go again, chest heaving, but it did move.

I looked warily back at the open gates. If Ares didn’t get the sword out before whatever it was we were supposed to fight came out, then I might just have to show him how much he had underestimated me.

20

Bella

As Ares pulled on the sword for the third time, a figure stepped out of the gate on my left. Heart pounding in my chest, I turned to face it. Taller than Ares by a few feet, the thing had one gleaming blue eye in the center of a flat face, shrouded in a deep hood. The cape dropped all the way down its body but was open enough for me to see that it was wearing a small white wraparound garment held over its thighs by a leather belt. In one hand was clutched a tall staff, sparking with the same energy that was tearing through Ares from the sword.

In time with a yell from the God of War, the staff stopped glowing. I looked between the two fast. The staff had stopped glowing when Ares had let go of the sword.

They were connected. The staff was the source of the electricity, I was sure.

“We need to destroy his staff, then you can get the sword!” I shouted.

“I will get the sword myself,” Ares barked, and lunged for the hilt again. I screwed my face up as two more cyclopes stepped out of two more gates, each with glowing staffs. Shit.

“You’re an idiot! Let’s deal with these guys first, then getting the sword will be easy!”

Ares let go of the sword with a snarl, his chest heaving even harder than before. “I will get the sword, pain or none!” he roared.

“Pig-headed fucking moron,” I snapped, not quite loud enough for him to hear, and turned back to the nearest enemy. I would bet all the drachma in the world that I could disable all these one-eyed bastards before he could get that stupid sword out of the rock.

Challenge set for myself, I ran at the first cyclops.

It was like hitting a brick fucking wall. I smashed my fist into its chest as I launched myself at him, but instead of him reacting, or my fist sinking into flesh, I bounced backward five feet. The damned thing didn’t even look at me. I staggered backward, stumbling as I tried to stop myself falling, and my bruised pride caused more anger and strength to surge through me.

“You’re getting it this time, asswipe,” I hissed through clenched teeth. Taking a bigger run up, I tried again, but instead of going for the cyclops, I made a grab for the staff as I reached him.

This time he did react. Fast. His single blue eye locked on me, and he moved, swinging the staff out of my reach and bringing it swiping toward my legs. But my focus, or war-sight, had kicked in, and I saw his muscles move, his body shift, the momentum of his actions, all before the actual event. I knew exactly what was coming. I jumped early, clearing the staff and coming back down just in time to land on the metal, bringing the thing crashing to the ground. The cyclops let out a hiss as instead of letting go of the staff, his body followed. He tumbled onto