From Ashes and Dust (Book One)

Chapter 29.2

The fighting hadn't waned a bit. Beasts continued to charge full force against the gods. Talons scraped against metal, and it was apparent Ares and Geb were at their limits. They'd only managed to kill two more in the time Vatra had taken to formulate a plan.

Rushing forward, Vatra ducked and dodged her way through a writing mass of arms and thick sinew. Gnashing teeth turned to snap at her limbs, but she was quick to spin away. Her movements were like a dance, effortless and graceful until she cleared the line of beasts. Her breath had been caught in her chest the entire time. As she spun and backed against Geb and Hisato, Vatra drew her gaze over the line Ares was still holding back.

Nat had been on her heels. The woman hadn't been as graceful in her movements, and prodded an open wound on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Vatra asked.

"I'll live," Nat said through ragged breaths. She looked up, side-stepping closer to the group.

Hisato and Geb looked over the two women. They both shared equal expressions of shock and relief. Their faces were smeared in sweat and black blood.

Wiping his brow, Geb tapped his spear to the ground. A commanding thud of wood hitting metal ricocheted through the atrium. "Tell me you have a plan," Geb said, his eyes falling on Vatra.

A warmth spread through Vatra's chest. She looked between the god and Hisato, then darted her gaze to Ares and Nat. All four of them were looking to her for answers. They wanted to know her plan. A phoenix amongst gods. She could barely contain a smile from twitching at her lips.

"Um," Vatra paused, "there's a gap in the railing over there." She pointed over to where she'd seen the missing railing. "You all go first, and I'll stay behind to lure them to the gap. Once we're at the railing, I'll signal to Lorenzo to switch on the anti gravity out there. I'll lead the creatures out over the railing and into the anti gravity zone. Geb will have to give a little encouragement to any stragglers."

"Then what, you guys will just float around?" Ares asked over his shoulder. He turned back around and threw a hard right hook to the temple of a beast that resembled a hairless bear. The creature roared and stumbled away, only to be replaced by two more.

Vatra sighed. "No, then I'll have Lorenzo shut off the anti gravity. I'll fall to the ground with the things and set them all on fire when I die. The blaze from my death is the equivalent of a godkiller, so it should take them all out. Just make sure you're all back down there to finish off any survivors."

"Vatra," Hisato started, but Vatra cut him off.

"No, I have to do this. There's too many to lead back to the Agkistrodon, and we can't bother the others to come help us with this. If we can do it, we should," Vatra said.

No one said anything to her plan.

"We don't have much time," Vatra growled out.

It wasn't like she was excited at the prospect of falling fifteen stories. Just looking out over the edge made her stomach do somersaults.

"All right, let's go," Hisato said. He was the first to turn and run for the far side.

Nat followed after shutting off her speaker, then Ares and Geb. Once the others left, Vatra was faced with eight, angry monsters. She felt like she was peering into a nightmare. Some were hunched forward on all fours, while others were upright. A couple had multiple arms, while one didn't have any at all and slithered around like a snake. The only similar trait about them was the unsettling noise they made. It was more than bone chilling. Vatra felt her blood freeze in her veins and her breath solidify in her lungs.