The fighting hadn't waned a bit. Beasts continued to charge full force against the gods. Talons scraped against metal, and it was apparent Ares and Geb were at their limits. They'd only managed to kill two more in the time Vatra had taken to formulate a plan.

Rushing forward, Vatra ducked and dodged her way through a writing mass of arms and thick sinew. Gnashing teeth turned to snap at her limbs, but she was quick to spin away. Her movements were like a dance, effortless and graceful until she cleared the line of beasts. Her breath had been caught in her chest the entire time. As she spun and backed against Geb and Hisato, Vatra drew her gaze over the line Ares was still holding back.

Nat had been on her heels. The woman hadn't been as graceful in her movements, and prodded an open wound on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Vatra asked.

"I'll live," Nat said through ragged breaths. She looked up, side-stepping closer to the group.

Hisato and Geb looked over the two women. They both shared equal expressions of shock and relief. Their faces were smeared in sweat and black blood.

Wiping his brow, Geb tapped his spear to the ground. A commanding thud of wood hitting metal ricocheted through the atrium. "Tell me you have a plan," Geb said, his eyes falling on Vatra.

A warmth spread through Vatra's chest. She looked between the god and Hisato, then darted her gaze to Ares and Nat. All four of them were looking to her for answers. They wanted to know her plan. A phoenix amongst gods. She could barely contain a smile from twitching at her lips.

"Um," Vatra paused, "there's a gap in the railing over there." She pointed over to where she'd seen the missing railing. "You all go first, and I'll stay behind to lure them to the gap. Once we're at the railing, I'll signal to Lorenzo to switch on the anti gravity out there. I'll lead the creatures out over the railing and into the anti gravity zone. Geb will have to give a little encouragement to any stragglers."

"Then what, you guys will just float around?" Ares asked over his shoulder. He turned back around and threw a hard right hook to the temple of a beast that resembled a hairless bear. The creature roared and stumbled away, only to be replaced by two more.

Vatra sighed. "No, then I'll have Lorenzo shut off the anti gravity. I'll fall to the ground with the things and set them all on fire when I die. The blaze from my death is the equivalent of a godkiller, so it should take them all out. Just make sure you're all back down there to finish off any survivors."

"Vatra," Hisato started, but Vatra cut him off.

"No, I have to do this. There's too many to lead back to the Agkistrodon, and we can't bother the others to come help us with this. If we can do it, we should," Vatra said.

No one said anything to her plan.

"We don't have much time," Vatra growled out.

It wasn't like she was excited at the prospect of falling fifteen stories. Just looking out over the edge made her stomach do somersaults.

"All right, let's go," Hisato said. He was the first to turn and run for the far side.

Nat followed after shutting off her speaker, then Ares and Geb. Once the others left, Vatra was faced with eight, angry monsters. She felt like she was peering into a nightmare. Some were hunched forward on all fours, while others were upright. A couple had multiple arms, while one didn't have any at all and slithered around like a snake. The only similar trait about them was the unsettling noise they made. It was more than bone chilling. Vatra felt her blood freeze in her veins and her breath solidify in her lungs.

What the hell am I doing?

Slowly, Vatra backed away. She kept her injured right arm at the railing and her godkiller clutched in her left hand. Every breath felt like it was going to draw them in closer. Vatra dared a glance at the others to make sure they made it to safety. They were all huddled against the railing directly across from her.

Vatra switched her speaker off momentarily and radioed to Lorenzo.

"Lorenzo, can you hear me?" Vatra questioned, never taking her eyes off the beast closest to her.

The watch crackled. "Yeah, did you take care of them yet?"

"Almost. I need you to turn the power back on to the anti gravity zone in the entertainment district," Vatra said.

"I don't suppose you're up there for your own enjoyment, are you?" Lorenzo questioned.

"Can you do it?"

"Give me a moment," Lorenzo replied.

The seconds passed agonizingly slow. Vatra turned the corner, nearing the gap in the railing. She eyed the anti gravity zone above her.

"Lorenzo," Vatra said.

The beasts edged closer to her, closing in the distance between them by a mere arm's length.

"One moment."

"Lorenzo!" Vatra shouted.

The nearest beast lunged, stretching out its curved talons for Vatra's neck. She dodged at the last moment, ducking and spinning in one movement. As she did so, the flashing lights above her caught her attention. The power was back on above her.

Vatra sprinted for the gap in the railing. She grabbed the edge and jumped, launching herself as far as she could. The weightlessness grabbed her instantly. Her body was tossed in a repeated somersault again and again until she spread her arms and legs out around her, catching herself amongst the dancing lights and holograms above the atrium.

The fear of falling turned to a rush of adrenaline. Vatra looked down below her, rapidly inhaling and exhaling until she was able to steady her breathing. Small images of holographic animals ran about her, their bright blue and pink colors dancing across her outstretched arms. She blinked against the bright light, then looked down and at her toes.

Behind her, the beasts had followed. Geb didn't even have to use his lightning to push them out into the anti gravity zone. All eight of them were rolling and spinning like turtles caught on their shells.

"Get down to the ground level!" Vatra shouted over to the others.

Even from the distance she was at, Vatra could see the reluctance in Hisato's eyes. His hands were gripped around the railing. He was the last to turn and leave.

Curling into a ball, Vatra used her momentum to push herself away from the beasts. She only needed to get close to them when they were falling. Once she was a little further away, Vatra steadied herself amongst a rotating sign for one of the clubs. The two dancing women portrayed in the advertisement were eerily realistic, and Vatra watched them as if watching a screen inches away from her face. All she had to do was bide time.

Minutes dragged by. Vatra's stomach felt heavier the longer she thought about dropping down to her death. Death by height wasn't on her list, surprisingly.

"Now's as good a time as ever, right?" Vatra questioned aloud.

She chewed on her bottom lip and watched the comical show that was the weightless creatures in front of her. Without their feet on solid ground, they were much less menacing.

"We're ready!" A voice from below echoed.

Vatra wanted to vomit. She shakily raised her hand and radioed to Lorenzo again. "All right, turn off the anti gravity in the entertainment district," she said.

"Already?" Lorenzo questioned.

"Just do it," Vatra stated impassively.

Ever so slowly, she started toward the beasts. They grumbled and roared at her approach, clawing out at her as if they could move themselves any closer. One managed to nick her arm. Blood floated around her, but she looked at it as if watching rain droplets on a windshield.

The creatures surrounded her. One tore into her leg, sinking its teeth down to the bone. Another hooked its talon through her shoulder. Vatra feigned a scream, biting her tongue.

Within another moment, the lights around them shut off. They all fell toward the ground floor in a mass of flailing limbs. Fifteen floors couldn't pass by fast enough.

Then, just as soon as Vatra had felt her stomach fly up into her throat, she felt the familiar fire and ice across her skin. And an inferno spread out across her vision.