Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard
Author:Rachel Menard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Fantasy / General / Legends, Myths, Fables / Greek & Roman / Fantasy / Romance
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER 17
GEN
Gen awoke to a bump and the most horrific smell she had ever encountered in her life.
âWhat in the Oraclesâ name is that?â She sat up, choking, and held her hand over her mouth to find Pollux and Bale had already covered their faces with tied pieces of cloth.
âWeâve reached Elis,â Bale choked.
Gen moved to stand, and Pollux pushed her back down. âThereâs a problem.â
âI know. I can smell it.â She gagged after she spoke. Opening her mouth had let some of the putrid smell onto her tongue. She reached into her bag and rifled through her things for something to stanch the odor. All she had was the damaged water silk dress. Without hesitation, she ripped off a strip of it and tied it over her nose and mouth. She would have torn apart an entire clothierâs shop if it would save her from this horrific stench.
âThereâs another problem,â Pollux said. âCastor is here.â
At the mention of her name, thunder rumbled through the sky. Gen stood up cautiously and peered over the side of the chariot.
There, in the center of the most incredible mass of cow manure Gen had ever seen, stood Castor under a swirl of black rain clouds. Her rain poured down on her and the muck, barely cutting through the mess. Feces stretched in all directions, and Castor stood in it up to her thighs. It was like throwing a cupful of water on a raging fire.
Gen sat back down in the chariot.
âShe canât do it. Itâs too much,â she said.
âCastor doesnât quit,â Pollux said. âSheâll stay here and find a way to finish it.â
âI say let her clean it up,â Bale said, âand we can move on to something else.â
âThree something elses,â Gen said. âI need three more tasks to win.â
She took her napkin list from her bag. They only had the Boar, the murder of Mr. Bull, the Hind, the Mares, and the Hydra left, and Castor had to have completed one or more of those tasks by now.
Gen doubted Castor had slain the Hydra or captured the Mares. She didnât look beat-up enough for those. But Castor could have killed Mr. Bull, stopped the Boar, or found the Hind. If sheâd done all three plus the birds, then this could be her fifth task.
âWe should go,â Pollux said.
âWhere?â Gen shoved her napkin list into her bag. âTo the Hydra? We donât know what else sheâs done. I need this task.â
If Gen had to choose between facing Castor and facing the Hydra, she would choose Castor. The Storm Lady had only one head.
âSheâll fight you for the task,â Pollux warned.
That was the whole point of making this a contest. âI donât plan on fighting her. Iâm simply going to walk out there and send the cows down the hill to clean their own mess. Castor can leave or be trampled.â
âItâs not that simple with Cas.â He rolled up his sleeve and exposed a round scar on his forearm. âWe were six. I was playing with one of her dolls, and I snapped the arm.
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