Page 117 of Zeus' Spark
“I can’t, but once I get there, I’ll see the next ledge hopefully.” Jayden doesn’t sound very confident in that.
I can only hope that he’s able to do what he said because climbing this mountain is fucking hard.
Raven makes it to the ledge first and reaches a hand down to me. I grasp her hand gratefully, and she pulls me up.
Raven, as a child of Ares, is exceptionally strong.
Turning, I reach out for Jayden, but his shadows wrap around him, and he’s gone a second later.
His arm bands around me from behind, making me jump, and he chuckles, pulling me away from the ledge.
Raven helps Greyson up, and we look around.
It’s not as steep here, but I don’t see another ledge to climb up to.
“Is that a path up there?” Greyson squints.
He’s right. A hundred yards away, there’s a path winding up the side of the mountain.
I breathe with a smile. “Thank god we don’t have to climb for a bit.”
My muscles in my arms and legs are screaming at me from the long climb and near-death experience.
Jayden sighs. “It’s still a little steep, but we don’t have another choice. I can’t see anything through the trees.”
“No time to waste, I guess.” Raven grimaces.
I don’t blame her for her reaction, I feel the same way. Something about this place feels off.
I shiver at the magic in the air as I follow behind Raven. Her swords are at the ready, and her ax is strapped to her back.
“I should go first. I have the fucking shield,” Jayden grumbles from behind me.
“Raven is our best fighter.” I shrug, picking my way carefully through the brush and twirling the chain around my neck.
I’m on edge and want to be able to activate it as soon as possible when whatever monster is up here shows its face. Because I know there is a monster up here.
The mountain path becomes steeper the farther we go until it’s nearly vertical.
Greyson gags. “What the fuck is that smell?”
“What are your wolfy senses telling you?” Raven calls out without looking back at him.
We’re practically crawling up the path at this point. It may have been better just to fucking climb the damn thing.
“Very funny, babe. It smells like rot up here.” Greyson’s voice sounds nasally, and I imagine him plugging his nose.
“Fucking hell,” Raven says softly.
The smell of decay and death hits me now, and I groan.
“Whatever we’re facing up here, it’s killing something.” Raven points to bones that look like they were torn apart by a wild animal.
“Do you think it’s sirens again?” Jayden asks, sounding a bit scared.
Raven shakes her head and moves past the bones covered in flies. “No, I think it’s something else. That isn’t their MO. They would have started singing already if we were close to their den, and we would all be screwed.”
The bones have been picked apart by scavengers if the scratches on them are anything to go by.
