Chapter 15

Bad News Over Oatmeal

You can imagine what a shock it came as to hear that a being supposed to be buried in the darkest corner of Tartarus had stopped by for a chat. "The bear was that important?"

Andi picked up a tennis ball to match the bowling ball already in her other hand. She gestured for me to raise my spear and I did as instructed. I'd gotten to know her too well to hesitate.

"That was just an avatar," she said, throwing the balls.

I dodged and stabbed, only coming up with air. "So he's not actually a bear. That's kind of disappointing."

"You've got strange taste kid." Andi shook her head and grabbed two new balls. "What's important isn't his looks. We'd wondered who was gathering monsters. Now we know."

"Coeus?" I asked. She threw again, and this time I managed to take a bit of neon fuzz off the tennis ball's outer edge.

"Not alone. It's too much for him. He's certainly part of it, but something bigger is out there."

"Bigger than a titan?" Daedalus had crammed so many myths into my skull over the last few years that quite a few had stuck, even with my abysmal study habits. "Then that means…"

Andi nodded and threw. "There's only one being Coeus would work with. The ruler of the titans. Don't say his name, just in case."

I popped up from a roll with a wince. That bowling ball had been thrown quicker than normal and come a bit too close for comfort. "Hey, I wasn't going to. Even I know some things."

"Indeed," Andi muttered absently. Her eyes took on the faraway look they sometimes did when she was telling stories. She threw another set and my eyes widened. I had no time for thoughts of the tennis ball as the bowling ball flew past. It struck the ground behind me so fast it embedded in the soil, forming a miniature crater.

"Are you trying kill me?" I asked, pulling myself up.

Andi didn't answer. Her eyes were still unfocused, and she seemed to be muttering under her breath. Her arm pulled back, a bowling ball held like an MLB player prepping to launch one. A moment later it blurred toward me, too quick to dodge.

Clang! My metal arm quivered, covering my chest just in time. The bowling ball fell to the ground, dented to the point of cracking. I stared at my teacher with my mouth hanging open. "Are you crazy?"

The noise from the impact seemed to have brought her back down to earth. Slowly, she scanned the surroundings. Then she reached up and slapped her own face. I could feel the reverberations in the air.

"Sorry kid," she muttered. "I got distracted."

"Well, a little warning next time. Maybe before you try to bash my chest cavity in." I sighed. "What's bothering you?"

"Don't worry about it. It isn't important."

"It nearly got me killed," I pointed out. "I think I've got a right to hear it at that point."

She looked at me, and I mean really looked. It was like she was taking in everything from the number of hairs on my arm to the way I was standing. What she found she didn't like. A long, soft grunt echoed from her mouth, then her foot pounded the ground like a piledriver.

"You're lacking," she declared. "That has got to change."

I waved my spear. "That's why I'm training. Improving's the whole point."

"Not just in that. There is a storm coming, and no one will be able to escape from it. No one. If you want to have any chance at surviving it, you'll need every advantage you can get."

"I know," I said slowly. "Like using a spear."

Andi scowled. "You don't know. I can see that much clearly. So right now, we're going to start a new lesson."

She began to stalk forward, leaving behind the scattered bowling and tennis balls.

"Are we done with the dodging drill?" I asked.

"It's on pause," she told me.

She didn't pull her spear out. Instead she came forward like a wrestler, her arms pumping at her sides. Caught off-guard, I went for a stab. She batted my spear away with the back of her hand, striking the shaft just below the blade. My weapon jerked off course and her palm struck my chest.

I collapsed in a heap, my weapon skidding away. Andi started a follow-up the moment I was sent down, and I had only a moment to return to my feet.

Weaponless now, I focused on dodging. I ducked another palm strike. An elbow was thrown, and I jumped backwards out of range. Andi kept coming, layering on strike after strike and forcing me to give ground.

"So, about that whole warning me before you try to kill me thing we just talked about…"

Andi didn't answer, continuing forward with flying limbs.

"Fine. Be that way."

She sent a jab and this time I met it halfway with a punch of my own. The force of the strike reverberated through my metal arm and sent me spinning away. When I got up and shook the cobwebs from my head, Andi was massaging her knuckles, looking at the impact spot in appreciation.

"That thing is useful," she remarked. "Use it more."

"I'd love to." I made a show of clenching the fingers. "Why don't you just stay still a minute and I'll really show you what it can do."

Andi dipped her head. "You wish kid."

She came again, her movements slightly faster than before. I was giving ground quickly now, being forced back toward the creek. A swing clipped my shoulder and made me wince. I darted in closer and landed a kick to the shins, reveling in the grunt of pain it earned.

The satisfaction didn't last long. She swung an uppercut and I was too close to have any chance at dodging. I got my metal arm in the way to take the worst of it but was upended again all the same.

This time I landed square in the creek, my impact spraying muddy water over the banks. I popped up, wincing at my sopping clothes and accumulated mud. The water had broken my landing significantly. Now if only I could've stayed dry.

Then, somehow, I was dry. I'm not sure how to explain it except that it was like I'd never been soaked in the first place. The water had evaporated completely, leaving me free to carry on fighting without fear of slipping or sliding.

I had no time to ponder the lucky break as Andi descended like a hawk and splashed down in front of me. Even the water she sprayed up disappeared when it hit me. Taking advantage of a sudden second wind coming from the water around my ankles, I met Andi's charge and returned to trading blows.

"This is your element!" Andi shouted. "Use it to your advantage!"

"I told you!" I said, blocking a punch and slipping past a knee strike. "I can't! My dad won't let me!"

"Idiot! This doesn't have a thing to do with your father!"

She caught hold of my shirt collar and hoisted me into the air before slamming me onto my back. Mud and water exploded up around us.

"It's that mindset that's blocking you!" she shouted, pinning me to the ground with meaty arms covering my chest. "You're so caught up on your father that you can't even see yourself. This isn't power that is lent. You may have gotten it from him, but it is yours, from the day you were born until the day you die. Use it!"

"I told you!" I squirmed uselessly, trying to fight my way free. "It's no use. It won't come."

"Then make it come." Andi leaned in, wild eyes staring into mine. "It will listen to you. It has to."

I shut my eyes tight and took a breath. Focus. I searched my gut, rooting around for the proper sensation. I could picture it in my mind. The creek coming alive, snatching Andi up and flinging her. Come on. Come on! Something started to shift, the telltale sensation starting up…

Then my mom's face flashed through my head. The New York alleyway coming alive under my control, too late to make a difference. I even imagined my father watching passively somewhere far away, although I couldn't picture that bit properly. I'd never even seen his face after all.

All at once the feeling vanished. My eyes cracked open just in time to see a stream no larger than a water fountain's spout spike up and spray Andi's face. That was it. No massive fists. No flying teachers.

Andi pulled off of me and shook her head, resting her face in her hand. "Pathetic. You're doomed."

I sat up. "I'm doomed? Is my spear that useless or something? Just because I don't have this-"

"The spear isn't useless," she said. "But it is when the wielder is. And you are. Useless, useless, useless."

She started to walk away, and I followed.

"Look, I don't know why you're so upset about this-"

"I am upset," Andi said, "because it is clear you are just going to die. I give you a year at the most. Maybe you'll live to see the start of the fighting, but no chance you make it to the end of it, and then my legacy will be-"

She stopped abruptly, her face pinching. For a task she stomped up to the bowling balls and began snatching them up, gathering them with jerky grabs.

"So that's it." I picked up Anthea and roughly brushed the dirt off its shaft. "You're all upset because you think I won't make you look good. If you're that concerned with the war, why don't you focus on fighting yourself?

"You think I don't want to?" When Andi picked up the next bowling ball her fingers left indents on its surface. "If it were that easy, do you think I would be complaining at all?"

"Good to see you believe in yourself so much. It's really inspiring."

Andi paused to drill her eyes into my own. After a moment she snorted and looked away.

"That's right," she said, half to herself. "If my abilities hold up, I guess I will get the chance. But I refuse to let it be easy."

Let what be easy? I thought. Instead of letting me voice the question Andi threw a bowling ball and a tennis ball, apparently deciding that the time for training had returned. They came fast. Before I had even finished scrambling out of the way another pair was on its way.

"A month!" Andi declared, already readying a third set. "A whole month of this, more intense than anything before it. I will make you into something worth a damn. Even if it kills me."

She tilted her head back, guffawing. She threw again, and again it came faster than the one before it. As I dove out of the way I wondered if I would make it to the end of the week, let alone the month.

O-O-O-O-O

It turns out that with magic dinnerware on hand, you can break a surprising number of bones without lasting issues. In the three days after the Coeus and Kelli's visit I fractured my right arm and three toes at the merciless hands of Andi's projectiles. The toes only took an hour each to heal. The arm took nearly half a day.

A week on and the broken bone count was up to seven. After another it was up again, but only to nine. I was improving. My reactions were getting quicker, my mistakes becoming less frequent. It was no longer a question of whether I could hit the tennis ball, now it was how many times I could do it in a day.

The training methods began to diversify. Sometimes Andi would wield a tree branch like a sword and walk me through the proper way of defending against specific attacks. Other times I learned how to deal with a barehanded opponent. There were even lessons on theory mixed in, everything from army tactics to how to coordinate a group of fighters. The only thing we never touched on again was controlling water. For better or for worse, Andi seemed to have joined me in giving up hope on that.

By the time Andi's due date rolled around, a month after Coeus's visit and six-and-a-half weeks since I had first arrived, I could feel the progress. Not only had my control over my spear gone from laughable to passable by Andi's measure, but my body had been whipped into physical shape beyond anything I'd experienced before. Even my mind hadn't been spared from work, our tactic talks and Andi's tales of past battles building a familiarity with strategy- not that I paid it all that much attention. Charge in and improvise was still my go-to, and I didn't see that ever changing. It was nice to have more concrete plans stored away in my back pocket, though.

And suddenly we'd reached the last day of the month. I dragged myself from my sleeping bag and stretched. Fall was arriving, and that day a cloudy sky had brought with it a brisk wind.

Even though it was morning Andi had a fire going, the first sign that our routine was broken. She didn't look the least bit chilly in her trademark battle-ready outfit, just like she had never looked hot on any of the boiling afternoons. She was prodding something in a pot above the fire. When I settled down across from her, I recognized oatmeal.

"No morning session today?" I asked. "I thought we had a day left."

"Today is for rest." She stirred the oatmeal with her large spoon, then scooped two servings into bowls. "I need you in peak condition tomorrow. Mentally and physically. That means a day off for preparation."

It felt like a weight had been stripped off my shoulders. I took one of the bowls. It was the first time since arriving that I hadn't been driven into some dangerous drill or another. Peeling the foot off the gas was a nice feeling, even if it was only temporary.

"The final test…" I mused. "Any tips?"

She didn't look up. "Pass. And whatever you do, do not hesitate."

"Don't you think you can tell me about it already?"

I'd asked once or twice, curious what exactly was waiting for me at the end of all the training. It was no use; Andi was tightlipped, refusing to give so much as a hint. The simple advice she'd just given was the most I'd gotten out of her yet.

"It will be difficult. Extremely so."

"I would be sad if it wasn't after how hard I've prepped."

"You can't pass."

It was said softly, barely more than a whisper. I stared at Andi, my mouth falling open.

"Really?" I asked. "I thought I was doing well."

"The effort has been there," she admitted. "But effort alone is not good enough. Power goes to those who work hard, but usually too little of it." She picked her eyes up from her oatmeal and looked at me… not sadly, but sort of forlorn. "I do hope that I am wrong."

Frankly, teachers doubting me seemed to be a new trend, and suffice to say I wasn't over the moon about it. My knuckles went white as they gripped the handle of my spoon. What the hell, I was already going to prove one wrong, why couldn't I do two?

"I'll pull it off," I said. "I'll knock this test out of the park. After it's done, you'll see."

"No, kid, I won't. Or rather I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because that is impossible."

She stood abruptly, bumping her bowl's edge as she did so. It tipped over. Andi strode to a nearby tree and leaned against it.

"For the final test your opponent is me," she said. "One on one, no holding back. All the way."

It felt like a stone had been rammed into my throat. "When you say all the way…"

"To the death. Until breathing stops. A ticket for one, straight to the underworld."

I shot to my feet. "That's crazy! You're immortal, aren't you? And… and even still…"

"Immortality comes in different shades." Andi shrugged. "I don't age, and I get some nifty perks. But I'm a spirit, not a god. If someone runs me through that's it."

"Exactly! So we shouldn't do this!"

Andi tilted her head, shaking it lightly. "You remember, don't you? How I said I didn't know whether my siblings were still around?"

I frowned. "I do. But what does that-"

"I wasn't lying. But that wasn't all of it. A few hundred years ago there were over a dozen of us, and just because we can die doesn't mean we go down easy. Embodiments of battle are pretty hard to beat at their own game. That's why almost all of us go out the same way- against worthy opponents, ones we've handpicked ourselves."

"But why!" I ran my hands through my hair, frustration running wild. For the first time Andi looked me dead in the eyes.

"Death in combat is beautiful to us. From the first moment we existed, it always has been. We watch it. We follow it. But really, deep down, we want to experience it ourselves. It's what we were born for, I suppose. I don't think anyone else can understand us, but we understand each other. I think the others have all found it already. Their final fate. It's been too long since I saw them for anything else. Now… Now I hope it's my turn."

In a way, it made a twisted sort of sense. That was the kicker. "The first test is a fight, to see if they stand a chance against you. Then you train them, so that when you fight again at the end the student wins. It was all designed."

Andi nodded, smiling. "I always said you catch on quick. It's a system, and it's worked for us all these years." Her smile faded as soon as it had come. "But it wasn't supposed to be this quick. We were supposed to have longer, to make sure you could win."

"So why not delay it?" It felt strange, trying to return to the hellish training. But if my choices were between that and fighting to the death with my teacher, it wasn't a hard decision.

But Andi shook her head.

"We're already pushing it," she explained. "Olympus is 200 miles away. It's only a matter of time before they discover us and try to end you. And now that the Titans are moving too… it's simply too risky to keep you here any longer. It has to be now, or it may well be never."

"But if you don't think I have a chance now," I pointed out, "then isn't that a risk we should take?"

"It's why I pushed you toward your powers from your father," she admitted. "I thought you would need them if you wanted to win. But that was a dead-end, so I moved to pushing you in every other aspect. You handled that well, but it won't be enough."

She reached a hand to the base of her neck and cracked her joints. With the popping noise, it was as if a switch had been flipped. She stood up straight, staring imperiously down at me.

"You have wasted my time," she declared, her tone icy. "After all I've invested in you, you remain this pathetic. It is insulting. To save us both time tomorrow, I recommend quietly laying down your weapon and accepting your death. Until then, make peace with your fate."

She stomped from the clearing, her hands balled into fists. The grey clouds must have been following our conversation, because they chose that exact moment to dump a shower down. Maybe the air spirits were enjoying our little drama. If that were true then at least someone was.

I didn't feel like moving under the aluminum covering, so I tilted my head toward the rain and leaned back, feeling the impacts of the drops on my face. It was amazing how quickly a day's tone could change.

What the hell was I going to do?

(-)

The next chapter is the climax of the arc, and the good news is that I have a lot of words written for it. The bad news, is that I've already reworked it multiple times to try and hit the way I want it to, and I suspect I'll have to revise it again. I want everything to come together in a satisfying, clean way, and that means trying things. I would guess a week until it's up on DLP, and then maybe four days before it's posted here? It could be less, though, if inspiration strikes and it all clicks together. We'll see.