Page 196 of Blood of Hercules
Maximum squealed and sidled away from me, clearly shocked by the professor’s harsh countenance.
Titus and his cronies chuckled in the back row.
Finally, some personal space.
“Wait,” Augustus said menacingly. Soulless black eyes glittered with danger, and his jaw clenched. “Why the fuck did you switch seats? This ismyclassroom, not yours.”
Initiates shifted with confusion as the normally calm professor lost it; however, as someone who’d been personally victimized by his freaky mind powers, I was notsurprised.
“Everyone, up!” Augustus roared. “You’re running the crucible.”
What?
Never mind, this was a lot, even for him. Usually, he gave people warnings and tried to minimize how many times we ran, especially since it had gotten so cold outside.
General Cleandro sat up with a maniacal grin and hit his pager. His hawk screeched.
None of us dared make a noise of complaint.
BOOM.
A fierce-looking man with long blond hair appeared. An albino crow sat on his shoulder.
“Ryax, heir to the House of Dionysus,” said General Cleandro. “Your mentee took it upon himself to switch seats and bother his classmates. Lead them through the crucible.”
“Yes, General.” Ryax bowed his head, then stood up with a snap. He did notlook happy.
“Go!” Augustus roared. “What are you waiting for?”
Initiates physically recoiled at his foul mood, then ran out of the room as fast as possible.
I went with them.
Hours later, my breath came out in ragged, frosty puffs. Teeth chattering, I rubbed at my arms for warmth as I ran up the mountainside. Ice and snow were frigid against my numb toes.
The sky was a miserable shade of gray.
Late November up in the mountains felt like the ninth layer of hell.
Snow flurried, and I shivered harder.
The flimsy material of my toga was not warm. My arms and legs had turned a concerning shade of gray.
Everything ached.
I missed the stifling heat of summer.
Drex jogged beside me with a placid expression, his eyes slightly unfocused as he used his powers. “You’re doing great,” he said. “A little bit more, then it’s all downhill.”
A little bit more, then I kill us both.
“It’s so cold,” Nyx moaned.
Drex kept jogging serenely, lost in his head, unaware of my struggles.
Coughing miserably, I pumped my frozen legs and tried to stay beside him.
Ryax had disappeared up the mountain, but the rest of the initiates were only a few yards ahead. Bloody footprints stained the snow behind them.
