CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

The Bow of Heracles, Part 2

Sam twirled and tumbled uncontrollably while underwater, and he’d already swallowed mouthfuls of the stuff by the time he’d come up for air. How he kept the bow in his hands through all that not even Sam knew.

Hades’ Bottom, kid, you’re covered in sludge, the master pointed out.

Sam coughed and spat and cursed while he waded over to a metal walkway that was slightly above water-level.

FATIGUE: 83%

With one hand, he hauled himself out of the water and onto the walkway. Once there, he turned over and lay sprawled on his back so he could gulp down as much air as he could take in those few seconds he had to spare. Too bad the air was stale and smelled as putrid as the water below.

“Where in…Hades’ is…Crow-Man…” Sam realized he couldn’t reach the veteran hero because he’d lost the earpiece. “Help…me…”

The growing vibration in his hand caused him to turn toward the bow lying at his side.

“Whoa,” Sam breathed.

On closer inspection, he discovered that the Bow of Heracles wasn’t actually made of bronze as the rest of the statue had been. Its frame—from the grip and arrow rest to the upper and lower limbs—was made entirely of a sturdy type of wood that had been painted a shiny bronze by whoever had crafted it.

His fingers brushed against the string, causing it to sparkle with a soft teal hue, something that looked remarkably like the glow his power had when activated.

“Whoa,” Sam repeated.

Now’s not the time to get all impressed with the divine relic, kid, the master scolded. You’ve got incoming!

Honestly, it was almost a miracle that Sam could even divert his eyes away from the bow and back toward the sky.

As he was further into the sewer tunnel than the hole that the giant shadow had created, Sam hoped for an end to the fight. But the giant shadow wasn’t very accommodating. And so he watched with incredulous eyes as the giant’s hands tore open more of the foundation directly above him.

He scrambled back until he felt the walkway’s metal railing behind him.

Above him, the giant shadow was looking down at Sam, and the menacing aura it let loose then sent a cold shiver down his spine.

“It wants the bow,” he realized.

Sam knew there was no escape, and mere seconds were all that separated him from getting squashed. But, after everything he’d gone through that night, Sam wasn’t ready to surrender. No, he was unwilling to give up.

In an act of desperation, Sam raised his arm up and pointed the bow at the giant shadow’s flickering form. Yes, he knew that he had no arrows to shoot with, but Sam guessed it wouldn’t be an issue.

“On a list of crazy things I’ve done…this might be at the top,” he whispered.

Sam’s fingers grasped the bow’s string, causing it to light up with a familiar teal glow.

WARNING! The Bow of Heracles transforms its wielder’s life-force into an arrow of pure energy. It will drain an appropriate amount of life-force create an arrow powerful enough to attack the target. WARNING! Your body isn’t strong enough to wield the power of this divine relic! WARNING! Creating a single arrow will most likely deplete your remaining HP!

Sam barely had time to browse the notifications, but he already knew about the costs. He’d felt a sensation very similar to Healing Hand that first time his fingers brushed against the bowstring.

Are you insane? the master asked in an incredulous tone. That’s not some toy bow you can buy in the OTC… That’s the Bow of Heracles! It’s too much for you, kid!

“Lesson number eight,” Sam answered.

He pulled back on the bowstring and immediately felt his life get drained away from him. It wasn’t a gradual drain either. No, it was like all the warmth in his body was stolen away in the blink of an eye.

Sam fell to one knee while gasping for breath, and it was a miracle he’d kept his aim.

Kid!

“I’m fine!” he answered, and although that was obviously a lie, the tone in his voice was quite steady. “I’ve got this!”

As Sam drew back on the bowstring, an arrow of light formed before him. It glowed with a fierce teal tinge and was a complete contrast to the darkness of the giant above.

ALERT! Your HP is depleted. [Regeneration (ζ)] cannot counteract the damage while you are wielding the Bow of Heracles. Un-equip the relic to resume self-healing.

“Hold on for…just a few seconds…more,” he whispered in a ragged breath.

I know I told you not to run away, at least not until you’d grabbed the bow, but this last stand stuff is crazy, kid! the master warned.

“Don’t worry,” Sam said as he aimed for the giant shadow’s chest with shaking hands. “I’ve…got this…”

Need I remind you that you can’t aim! the master added.

The giant shadow must have sensed the danger for its movement quickened considerably when its hand reached out for Sam.

“I don’t think…I’ll miss this one…” He let out the last of his breath. “He’s…a big target…”

Sam released the arrow just before his body finally gave way. He fell on his back while the arrow shot upward, blew past the shadowy hand, and pierced the giant right in the middle of its chest.

What followed was a flash of light so bright that Sam had to shut his eyes. Yet he could see the light even through his eyelids.

There was a scream from somewhere very far away. Then all went quiet.

When Sam opened his eyes once more, he found that the giant shadow was gone and he could see the sky beyond the hole of the museum’s roof. The stars were twinkling much brighter than they did earlier.

You have leveled up! You have leveled up! HEALTH POINTS (HP): 1/600 STAMINA POINTS (SP): 1/300 FATIGUE: 98%

If he could speak out loud, Sam would have probably commented about how cliché his current status was.

Hades’ Bottom, kid… I’ve got goosebumps on my goosebumps. The master let out a relieved sigh. Talk about a Hail Mary, you crazy bastard!

Sam would have smiled too if he had the energy for it.

ALERT! [Regeneration (ζ)] is working to counteract the damage. Refrain from taking action while this is in progress.

Sam would have been fine just lying there while he healed, but then he heard footsteps on the steel walkway. He turned in its direction while thinking it was about time Crow-Man showed up, but what he saw instead caused his eyes to widen.

The Trickster was walking leisurely toward him with a knife in his hand and a face that made Sam’s skin crawl.

“That was an impressive display of heroics there. Set my heart pumping, you did,” the Trickster bantered.

Sam tried to get up, but he could barely wiggle his fingers because his fatigue was too high.

HEALTH POINTS (HP): 10/600

The Trickster knelt beside him and placed the edge of his knife against Sam’s throat.

“Now, I wouldn’t move if I were you, Mr. Healer,” he said while grinning widely at Sam. “Wouldn’t want my hand to suddenly slip and then…”

He left the last part of that sentence hanging in the air while he picked the Bow of Heracles up by its string with his other hand.

“It’s not lighting up for me the way it did for you,” the Trickster said almost like he knew nothing would happen. “What a snob of a relic.”

“Don’t—”

But Sam barely gasped that word out when the Trickster’s dagger pressed down on his neck and nearly broke through the skin.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Mr. Healer,” the Trickster whispered conspiratorially into Sam’s ear. “It turns out that I blew up that apartment last night and this museum today because of you…”

Sam’s eyes widened. Why would a zeta like him be the reason for all this chaos?

“Oh, I didn’t know it would be you, you,” the Trickster added while he tapped on Sam’s forehead with the tip of the bow’s frame. “But a colleague of mine had a vision of someone from this generation of pompous heroes actually being compatible with this old relic… and we just couldn’t have that, you see. It would threaten the big old plan!”

The Trickster let out a peal of laughter then, one that bounced off the sewer walls.

“There’s a prophecy in the works, you see,” the Trickster revealed. “One big enough to shake the very foundations of this unfair society… too bad you won’t get to hear it since I already killed the old bat who’d spoken it.”

Sam’s mind flashed on the dead face of Madam Fate, and he remembered how he’d found the Trickster just a few feet away from her. He should have known something was up then.

“Yet here you are in the flesh, a hero just crazy enough to wield the Bow of Heracles and make it work… It’s a godsdamn tragedy,” the Trickster chuckled. “Now I have to kill you.”

His face turned serious suddenly, and Sam knew that he had seconds to figure out how to escape this predicament or he would join Madam Fate as one of the Trickster’s victims.

That’s when Sam saw movement from right above the Trickster.

This guy really has great timing, Sam thought.

Crow-man dropped right on top of the Trickster so he could tackle him to the ground. Unfortunately, the villain seemed to have been waiting for just this twist of fortunes to happen because he dodged to the side just in time to avoid the dropkick aimed at the back of his head.

However, The Trickster didn’t see the Shadow Crow fly up from below the walkway, and he was too late to dodge the left wing that cut deep into his arm.

Unfortunately, this surprise attack also caused the Trickster to drop the bow onto the edge of the walkway where it fell into the sewer water below.

This would have been fine if it had happened earlier, but as luck would have it, the water current had increased since Sam’s first plunge into New York City’s sewers. And so he watched breathlessly as the current took the bow with it deeper into the tunnel and out of his sight.

Sam didn’t even have time to feel frustrated with what just happened. Crow-Man hurriedly helped him to his feet and told Sam, “Hold on!” while he fired his grappling gun up to the museum’s opening.

They were lifted off their feet while Sam glanced over his shoulder and saw the slab of C-4 that the Trickster just threw down onto the walkway. As for the villain himself, he’d jumped into the sewer, possibly to chase after the Bow of Heracles or make his escape. Sam wasn’t sure.

Then the C-4 exploded, and the world around Sam shook once more.