City of gods - Hellenica by Jonathan Maas Page A

Though the underground floor was cavernous, Gunnar looked around and knew that this was just the beginning of the Academy. This is an underground world, with architecture so profound that it must have been designed by Hephaestus himself, thought Gunnar. And Hephaestus is known to dig deep. There must be floors below this, so many that this Academy might be connected to Hades itself.
    Charon motioned the students towards the windowless building, and Gunnar noticed that there were four rooms, each engraved with names of the four teams: Power, Stealth, the Scalpel and the Horsemen.
    “Teams, go into your rooms right now,” said Charon.
    Rowan immediately strode into his room; he was on the Power team. The rest of the groups gradually followed suit and went into their rooms, leaving Gunnar and his Horsemen alone. “Shall we go in?” Gunnar asked. He got no response, so he just said, “Follow me.”
    Gunnar strode into the room and was followed by Tommy and then Saoirse. He’d never seen a girl like Saoirse before, and thought that the blonde hair laying against her dark skin was one of the most beautiful sights he’d ever seen. Her hyaena hugged her leg as she walked past, and Gunnar averted his gaze for fear that she’d belittle him like the Agoge girls had been taught to do. She simply smiled and walked by though, and was soon followed by Kayana, who disappeared into the darkness of the room.
    Once they were all inside, the door shut behind them with a thud. It was completely quiet. After a moment, Gunnar pulled on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. They were alone, just the four of them and a hyaena. It was quite dark, but Gunnar had excellent night vision. He saw the far end of the room was the entrance to what looked like a maze. He listened closely and heard an eerie snapping from the depths beyond.
    “What’s that?” asked Tommy.
    “Something dangerous,” said Saoirse.
    “It makes no sense,” said Tommy. “They just threw us in here.”
    “It makes perfect sense,” said Gunnar. “They did this all the time during the Agoge. When training a team, start by dropping them in a hostile environment. It’ll help us bond and work together.”
    There was another snapping sound and then a large splash . Some water came out of the maze’s dark entrance.
    “I’d rather bond another way,” said Tommy, “perhaps through conversation.”
    “We’ll have time to do that,” said Gunnar, “but for now we have a task before us. There’s a maze in front of us, and most likely a few dangerous creatures lurking in its shadows. If we come across one of these creatures we need to work together, and that starts with knowing our abilities. So let’s discuss our powers. Tommy, you first.”
    “Powers?” asked Tommy. “I don’t know. As of yesterday I was just a contagious boy from Lepros.”
    “What can that suit do?” asked Gunnar.
    “Quite a bit,” said Tommy. “It gives me strength, protection, sight. It can go in most every environment. But I built it mainly to protect others. If I opened the face shield, you’d get infected.”
    “Does it have night vision?”
    “Yes,” said Tommy.
    “Perfect,” said Gunnar, “you’ll be our eyes. Saoirse, what can you do?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “Other than charm, I don’t believe I have any abilities.”
    Gunnar found it odd that a girl like Saoirse would self-deprecate like that. She wasn’t athletic and sinewy like the girls in the Agoge, but her square jaw and gently curving body suggested a sort of nobility, and regal girls always had hidden powers. She was the kind of girl who would either fight in a war or have a war fought over her, but whatever the case, she’d always have a role to play.
    “They didn’t bring you here for your charm,” said Gunnar. “What’s your power? You have one.”
    “Then my power is as yet unknown,” she said. Her hyaena growled and then nuzzled against her leg, whining.
    Gunnar gave up on deducing