Atissa crawled backward out of the gap as fast as she could. Her trap had failed and now she had to run. Fast.

Due to the noise of the sliding and falling planks, she’d lost track of Omiri. The nomad girl hadn’t fallen off and Atissa could only hope the crashing stack was enough of a diversion to give her a head start. If Omiri jumped her from above, it would be like a bear falling on its prey.

For the blink of an eye, the mental picture sparked an old memory of one of uncle Tatros’ hunting lessons. Long ago, he’d explained to her how a single man could bring down a bear face to face. He’d forbidden her from ever trying it herself, though.

Climbing to her feet as quickly as she could, she looked over her shoulder and her eyes met Omiri’s. The other girl crouched over her like a predator on the unaffected site of the stack of planks.

“Enough!” she shouted, launching herself at Atissa.

In the short moment it took for Omiri to close the distance, a thought flashed through Atissa’s mind. I can’t evade the falling bear. Turning sideways, Atissa held the piece of wood, she’d used as a lever, close to her body.

Omiri hit her in the shoulder with the full force of the jump. Atissa didn’t waste any effort on trying to fight it. She only focused on her fall. And holding the piece of wood in the right angle.

They hit the ground.

“Ugh!” It was the only sound that Omiri made.

When Atissa had hit the ground, so did one end of the wood. The other end she’d pointed at Omiri’s chest. Tackling Atissa off her feet had taken some of the force out of the jump. All the rest was concentrated on the tip of the improvised spear.

Omiri’s eyes bulged in pain and a single shiver ran through her body. Then it fell slack.

Atissa rolled the girl off her. Luckily for Omiri the end of the wood was blunt. Otherwise, she would have impaled herself. Looking down at the contorted face, Atissa didn’t believe that Omiri appreciated this right now. Something had definitely cracked.

Getting back to her feet wasn’t easy. With the tension of the chase leaving Atissa’s body all the pain returned. Looking down on herself, she took stock. Omiri’s failed tackle had added new bruises to her collection. Her uncovered legs were discolored and scratched up where the ropes had bitten into her skin. The tunic was ripped, and she was dirty. Her skin, her clothes, even her hair. All of it reeked of olive oil.

Mark would be horrified. The thought made her smile which send another jolt of pain through her cheeks.

An almost inaudible noise down the lane made her head snap up. The monster had found her.

Less than thirty paces away, the long sinuous body slithered around a corner, the expressionless head firmly pointing at her.

Atissa froze, a feeling of despair creeping up inside of her. It was too much. She hurt. Her legs felt so heavy, she had had trouble getting back to her feet.

Could she try to bring down another stack of planks? It hadn’t worked with Omiri. If not for luck and her uncle’s hunting lessons, she would have been brought down already.

She was at the end of her strength.

While the scaly predator came closer, Atissa lifted Omiri’s blade. And then she did the only thing she could think off. She prayed.

“Yes?”

Atissa’s eyes widened. “Hermistos?”

“Yes,” the young man said. “You called out for me?”

Atissa could hear the volcano thunder in the distance. The sound droned on.

“I prayed to the gods,” Atissa said.

“Well, you are my champion,” Hermistos said. “I assume if you don’t specify another god, the universe assumes you are talking to me.” He paused. “Oh, and please try not to go around praying to other gods too often. It makes me look bad.”

Atissa looked around. Strangely, it seemed to take her forever to turn her head. “Where are you?”

“I am still on the ship. Mark made me reach out for you. We warned him that this might have some very volcanic consequences, but he insisted. Could you quickly tell me that you are safe before I regret that this ship cannot sail anymore.”

Atissa’s mind reeled. “You are not here?”

Hermistos sighed. “No. You are hearing my voice in your head. That’s why we can communicate so quickly. The speed of thoughts.”

Atissa didn’t understand. Then her eyes fell on the snake. It seemed like the monster’s movement had slowed down. As she watched closer, she noticed that the snake wasn’t deliberately moving slower. It rather felt as if the world around her had slowed down. Even the explosions from the distant volcano sounded unnatural. As if a sound that should only be there for a moment droned on like a singer holding a tone.

“So?” Hermistos asked. “Are you safe? I do not have the stamina to hold this state for long. And we would all regret it if I did.”

Atissa had so many questions. Later, she thought.

“Omiri is down but the snake found me,” she said.

“Can you get away?”

“I… I’m not sure. Can you help me? With your power?”

Hermistos hesitated. “No. Not in my state. I can barely do this.”

Atissa despaired. She’d finally become a supposed god’s champion, but she still couldn’t even save herself.

“But you probably should have some abilities,” Hermistos said. “I did bless you after all.”

“What powers?” Atissa asked. “I don’t feel stronger. I’m not faster. The snake is coming at me, and I’m still...” She didn’t want to say it but she was afraid.

“I am not sure,” Hermistos said. “I never had a champion before. Father’s champions usually have great martial powers. He is that type himself, though. Meet your opponent face-to-face on the field of battle and such. That’s really not me.” He paused again. “Look, we are coming. Try to run away and hide somewhere. That’s what I would do.”

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Atissa wanted to say something, but Hermistos voice already became fainter and more distant.

“Damn magi. Making a monster when you are unable to deal with it properly afterward.” He sighed in exasperation. “But then again, my folks are not any better, I guess.”

The voice faded away and the world returned to normal. And the snake sped up again.

Atissa turned and ran.

Or at least she tried. After only a couple of steps pain flamed up in her right leg and she almost fell. She gritted her teeth. I can’t stop, she thought. The others are coming. How they would find her, she didn’t know but she trusted her friends. She just had to stay alive long enough.

Hobbling, she struggled forward using the stacks for support. She turned left. The end of the field came in sight. Less than fifteen paces away the rows of timber ended.

The snake gliding after her was almost inaudible but Atissa was attuned to it now. She could feel it coming closer and closer as the tingling on the back of her neck intensified.

She would reach the end of the lane first. But then what? If her legs were unharmed, she would easily outrun the monster on the pier. Right now, she was unsure how far she would get without using the wooden walls around her for support.

The fear, pain and exhaustion made it hard to think. Atissa needed most of her focus to just keep going.

Only two more stacks until the end.

Think, Atissa thought. You’re weak and small. You need to think.

She was angry with herself. Again, she needed to be saved. People had died for her. Again. A memory of dead Iristos flashed before her eyes. She blinked it away. I must focus.

She couldn’t run. She couldn’t fight. That only left trying to hide. But how?

Atissa willed herself to increase her pace once more. The pain in her leg worsened immediately, bringing tears to her eyes, but she kept going.

Passing the last row she turned right, hurrying along the length side of the planks. She had to reach the next gap before the snake came out behind her. Just as she did, the snake’s head appeared. When Atissa turned right again there was a short moment, as long as the blink of an eye, when she thought their eyes met.

Atissa hobbled through the gap and turned right again. She quickly studied the stack to her left. The wood seemed to be freshly split. A strong smell of cedar hung in the air.

She took a deep breath, stuck the blade carefully in her belt and started to climb. It went slow. Her feet fit into the gaps deep enough, but she had to avoid putting too much weight on a single leg.

There was the prickling on her neck again. The snake was about to come around the corner and Atissa’s hands had barely reached the top.

Atissa froze in place. Pressing herself against the timber, she tried to be as quiet as possible. She had to be invisible.

Don’t see me, don’t hear me. Don’t see me, don’t hear me. She repeated it in her mind over and over again like a chant. Like a desperate prayer.

A sudden coldness came over her. It felt like stepping into a deep shadow on a particularly sunny day. Startled by the sensation, Atissa looked around to find the cause.

In that moment the snake came around the corner. Its tongue slid in and out of its mouth, tasting the air. The sinuous gliding movements barely making a sound, the monster turned into Atissa’s lane.

Atissa held her breath. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. How could the snake overhear it? And then it was right below her. She didn’t dare to look down, to move any muscle at all.

Slight sounds told her the snake had paused below her. Atissa imagined the snake coiling up to shoot upwards. She anticipated the bite, pulling her of the stack. Falling right on top of the long body, she would be wrapped up immediately.

Should I jump? She thought. If she attacked the monster from above, she might be able to stab the head. Or she could try to rush for the top of the stack.

Unsure and afraid she remained where she was, holding on as best as she could with her arching limps and chanting the prayer in her mind.

After a couple of heartbeats, the snake started to move again. Slower this time.

Atissa couldn’t see it, but she could sense it. It felt like a pressure from below, that was slowly receding as the predator slithered away.

She wanted to sigh in relief, but it was still too soon. The monster was still there, only a couple of paces away. And then from one heartbeat to the next her instincts screamed at her again. Her head snapped around, searching for the threat. It was close, very close. But where?

Then Atissa felt it. Through her fingertips she could sense the slight bending of the planks. She laid her head back and looked up. She knew what was going to happen next but the instinctive panic still hit her hard when the snake’s head pushed over the edge above her.

Some rational part of her mind knew she had to run but her body didn’t move. Frozen in place she stared upward.

Maybe it was the fear? Maybe her muscles were too cramped, too tired? All she could do was stare with wide eyes, waiting for the monster to pounce.

For a long moment, the snake’s expressionless head stayed in place, only the tongue slipping in and out. When it finally moved, it pushed over the long side of the stack, bending its body so its head swung from one side to the other.

Hanging over the side, it almost grazed Atissa’s hand.

Through her frozen panic and the deafening noise of her heartbeat, it finally hit Atissa. It can’t find me!

It made no sense. The snake’s head was less than an arm’s length away. It turned again on its long neck, its tiny eyes passing over her without recognition.

Is this it? Atissa thought. Is this what Hermistos gave me?

Her attempt to comprehend her new situation was interrupted when her right leg gave in under her. She felt it coming half a heartbeat before but there was nothing she could do. The limb had grown numb. She tried to hold on with her hands but her grips where not strong enough to compensate her body’s sudden shift.

She fell.

While her body crossed the short distance to the ground, the sun’s warmth return. It felt like falling into a ray of sunlight.

Then she hit the ground.

It hadn’t been a deep fall, but it still hurt. Lying on her back, Atissa could see the snakes body swing around.

Don’t see me, don’t see me, she chanted in her mind while her hand scrambled for her blade. It wasn’t there anymore.

The snake pushed over the side, its head shooting for Atissa.

The cold slowly returned but it was too late. The snake’s mouth opened and Atissa closed her eyes.

“Stop!”

A heartbeat passed, then another. Nothing happened. Atissa carefully opened her eyes and immediately recoiled.

She was staring down the snake’s throat. The monster’s long body hung over the side of the stack, its open mouth only a handsbreadth away from Atissa’s face. Frozen in place, only the eyes were still moving.

“That was…close,” a familiar voice said.

Afraid to turn away from the monster right in front of her, Atissa glanced to the side.

It was Mark. He stood only a couple of paces away, breathing hard. Had he run here?

He looked over his shoulder. “Do you have to…de-spell it or something?”

Leaning her head back a little Atissa saw mistress Bel’Sara approach behind Mark. The old sage looked disheveled, lose strains of hair hanging over her shoulders. Without answering she pushed past Mark. Her face more than his showed that they must have run over here. Atissa could see her chest heaving.

The sage raised her left hand, the open palm pointing at the snake’s head. Not sparing Atissa a single glance, she walked closer until she almost touched the scales. “Calm. You did your duty.” Then she took a deep breath and sighed. Her right hand disappeared in her robes and with one fluent motion she brought forth a thin curved sword and swung it in a circular motion.

The snake’s head fell to the ground, landing on Atissa’s feet. The long body slacked, smacking against the side of the stack, before the rest was pulled down by its own weight.

Mark joined Atissa’s side, careful to avoid the spattered snake blood. “How are you?” he asked. “Can you stand?”

Mistress Bel’Sara looked down at him in irritation.

Meeting his eyes, Atissa felt all the fear and strain fall away from her. The warmth returned and she started to cry. Through the tears she could see Bel’Sara’s face change from irritation to astonishment.

Mark reached out to her and Atissa hugged him tightly. He stiffened but she ignored it. Closing her eyes, his familiar smell did more than anything else to calm her down.

After what felt like too short a moment, Mark carefully freed himself from her grib and lifted her up. “Let’s head back.”

As he loaded her on his back, Atissa quickly felt the exhaustion catch up with her and her eyes became drowsy. Her head resting against Mark’s shoulder, she watched the harbor go by while trying to listen to the adults’ silent conversation.

“Now that you know the girl is safe, we will have to discuss our agreement,” Bel’Sara said, somewhere outside of Atissa’s field of view.

“We will do all those things,” Mark said. “But I am afraid we have more immediate concerns; we will have to cooperate on. First and foremost, will be to ensure the transition of the city’s leadership.”

The sage snorted. “Because you killed the anax.”

“Let’s hope you didn’t succeed with his successor,” Mark said, never changing his tone.

To Atissa’s regret both of them fell silent. She wanted to ask so many questions but found herself unable to. Tiredness was overwhelming her curiosity. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off.