The High Court

by Chris Ledbetter

  “We, Headmistress …” Metis offered.

  “Correct, sorry,” Rhea said. “We … have a plan. Come with us.”

  Metis picked up my shield. Rhea took my hand and led me over to Brontes, Steropes, Arges. The mountainous Cyclopes towered over me.

  Rhea nudged me forward. “You must first apologize before we can fix this.”

  My gaze raked over the light-swallowing implements, but I knew I needed Rhea’s solution to the toxin strangling my spine … creeping ever closer to my head. I craned my neck to peer at the massive, perspiration-glazed, crossed arms of the Cyclopes. I could not see their eyes from that vantage, so I spoke to the undersides of their chins, “I am sorry.”

  “For what?” Brontes boomed.

  I cleared my throat. “Umm, I apologize for accusing you of … umm, making the dark matter artifacts.”

  After a long uncomfortable moment, Arges knelt. “Apology accepted. Let us not speak of it again.”

  Brontes unfolded his arms. “Rhea, what will you have us do?”

  Rhea turned me around and manipulated my tunic in such a way to expose my back. Heat from the forge bore hot against my naked backside. Luckily, the only people who could see were the Cy-bros, Rhea, and Metis.

  “Brontes, Steropes, Arges, see here.” Rhea pointed. “Look upon his back. He was stung by Campe here. The Mavri toxin from Campe’s sting now crawls up his spine. If it reaches his brain, madness will be irreversible.” Rhea grabbed the shield from Metis. “Given that this is already tuned to Zeus’ essence, can you repurpose it into a breastplate, one that will channel the toxin away from his spine?”

  Steropes shook his head slowly. “The only way to do that is fuse it to his spine …”

  Arges pursed his lips. “That is far too dangerous.”

  Brontes stroked his beard. “It can be done. But Arges is correct. It’s probably the riskiest thing we would’ve ever performed. The toxin is its own danger, no doubt. It’s unaffected by Hurler travel. It may even be worsened by it. Which is to say that whatever damage is done cannot simply be fixed.”

  Steropes said, “There is a way to increase success, but it’s riskier still.”

  “That makes no sense!” Metis’ voice barely hid her frustration.

  Steropes continued his thought. “What I mean is, the risk is higher but so is the reward. If we try to fuse the cuirass to his spine as it is, the fusion would be unnatural and could break or slip any time, leaving him feeble. If we recreate his spine piece by piece with the same metal composition as everything else he possesses, his spine will be unbreakable. But if anything goes wrong with the procedure … he may never walk again.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Rhea turned my shoulders to face her. Her eyes welled with tears. The great stone-faced headmistress held little control over her emotions. Her display dragged my own mental state up from the depths of my core.

  Rhea’s voice cracked. “Which do you want to do, hazardous or perilous? You have to pick one or the other.”

  “Wait … is there any other way to do this? The toxin is the problem, yes? Can’t we remove it?”

  “Good question. But you aren’t going to like the answer.” Rhea sighed. “The short response is, yes. But the problem arises from the fact that you’d need a blood transfusion. Your blood is special in that when that knife got sucked inside of you, it became a part of your blood. No one else has ichor like that to give to you. And if we simply try to remove it without infusing you with more, you will lose your greatest quality. You wouldn’t control energy the way you do without it.”

  I turned to Metis and raised my eyebrows as if to ask her opinion.

  She bit her bottom lip and curtly crossed her arms, rubbing her hands over her biceps as if she was cold. But we stood paces away from the mighty hearths. Beads of perspiration dribbled over her suddenly pebbled skin. She shook her head and averted my gaze. “This choice is yours alone.”

  I didn’t hear any noise or even stirring behind me. I turned completely around to see if anyone else had even heard my dilemma. All eyes were trained on me.

  Hera said, “It’s your spine … and your mind. You have to choose the fear you’re willing to suppress.”

  Shade stepped forward. “Whatever you choose, we all got your back …”

  Meter threw her hands up. “Really, Shade?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Don?” I asked.

  He smiled and shook his head. “I know I have a quick temper sometimes. And we haven’t always seen eye to eye … but whatever you choose, think about what’s best for the team. Right now, your illness is infecting everyone. But, I’ll support your decision.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment. I heard nothing except the crackle of the hearth flames. This was almost like that strategy class lesson. I created a mental decision matrix in my head, weighed my options, and took a deep breath. Finally, I opened my eyes and stared at Brontes. “New spine and fusion.”

  Brontes looked at Arges and Steropes. “All right, let’s get to work. We’ll need help from whomever has healing properties to maintain the health of his nerves through this process.”

  “Metis and Amphitrite,” Rhea said, “you both can heal but you need access to seawater, yes?”

  They nodded.

  “You two are on post-op recovery.”

  “Yes, Headmistress,” they said simultaneously.

  “Hestia, your ability works anywhere?”

  “I haven’t tested the limits,” she answered. “But so far … yes. And the heat from the hearths may actually enhance it.”

  “You go with the Cyclopes right now,” Rhea commanded. “Everyone else, head outside to give them space to work. Set up a blasting range and training space to test your new weapons and gear.”

  “Aphrodite,” Tia called out. “Come here please.”

  Aphro turned around and met Tia.

  Tia extended her hand, in which she held the sword she got from the Cyclopes. “I realize this has my energy signature, but I think I’d be of better use as a healer. You once said you were pretty mean with a sword. I want you to have this. Every sword needs a name, so you now have that responsibility, as well.”

  “Achievement unlocked,” Aphro smiled. “Challenge accepted.”

  The cavernous forge cleared out, leaving the Cyclopes, Rhea, Tia, and Metis. Arges set up an operating table. Steropes gathered and set about sterilizing the various tools they’d need. One of them was a humongous quartz crystal.

  “What’s that for?” I asked, pointing to the crystal.

  “Magnification, my young friend,” Brontes said. “This is delicate work we have set upon today.”

  Arges also handed me a rather large mug with some foul-smelling liquid in it. “We make our own wine. Drink up. It’ll help numb the pain.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, glancing at Rhea. She shrugged. I struggled a bit with the uneven heft of the clay mug. I turned it up to my mouth, spilling the contents all over myself. It tasted as foul as it smelled. I nearly threw it all back up, but my stomach eventually settled.

  “If you can keep that down,” Steropes said, “this procedure will be a walk in an olive grove on a sunny day.”

  After several moments, I turned to Metis and raised the mug. “This is some amazing drink.”

  She looked at me dumbfounded. “What? You’re slurring your words. I can barely understand you.”

  “You should have some.”

  “Say what again? Seesh, that wine must be potent.”

  “Never mind,” I said.

  “Just relax, all right.”

  “We’ll take it from here, Metis,” Rhea said. “You can’t heal yet, so maybe go outside and pract—”

  “Not on your life, Headmistress!” Metis responded. “I mean no disrespect to you or your station … but I absolutely refuse to leave during this procedure.”

  “All right then.” Rhea’s lips
tightened, and then she turned back to me. “We have two hemeras left before the trial. We need you to heal quickly.”

  That was the last thing I heard before darkness took me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Blurry lights danced before my eyes the next time they opened in the semi-dark light. Slowly, my faculties returned. The not so subtle sulphuric aroma of the forge blended with notes of molten metal. All right, so I wasn’t back in the barracks. I attempted to sit upright, but … I couldn’t. I strained against my immobile self. My mind commanded my body to move, but it wouldn’t.

  “Help!” I yelled.

  “Oh sorry,” Metis said after a moment. “I must’ve fallen asleep.” She appeared in front of my face and caressed my cheeks. “Are you all right? How do you feel—”

  “That’s the point,” I yelled. “I can’t feel anything!”

  “All right … be calm. Shh, shh, shh …” She placed her forefinger to my lips.

  I opened my mouth again to scream all the frustrations pent inside me, but Metis covered my mouth with her entire hand. “Shh, sweetheart. This isn’t going to work if you’re yelling.” She sighed. “I’m going to let go of your mouth. And you’re going to remain calm, yes?”

  I nodded.

  “Good.” She removed her hand slowly. I licked my parched lips. She found some olive oil nearby and painted it over my lips with her finger. An easy smile stretched her face. “Now … without yelling, I need to assess your condition. Are you ready?”

  I nodded and coughed, trying to remain as calm as I could. At the very least, I didn’t feel the steady rising of pain and fury from the toxin. But on the other hand, I felt … nothing.

  In the calmest, most soothing voice imaginable, Metis asked, “How do you feel?”

  Again I resisted the urge to lash out. I took a deep breath. At least I still had that. Breathing. “From the neck up … I feel fine. I can think. I can talk. I can …” A tear fell out of the side of my eye with no means of me stopping it. I pressed my lips tight and closed my eyes. “But, I can’t feel anything from the neck down.”

  Metis swiped her finger upward to catch my fallen tear. She sucked on her finger. “No feeling at all, hmm? Arms? Fingers? Legs? Toes?”

  I shook my head.

  She drew in a deep, ragged breath.

  “Am I dead? Is this the Underworld?”

  She laughed despite herself. “No, you’re not dead. We’re still in the forge.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “A full hemera,” she said. “It’s Hemera Khaos now. Helios has passed zenith sometime back, I think, certainly long enough for me to get a good solid rest … in between your snoring.”

  “I do not.”

  “Oh, ho, yeah, you do. Loud enough to rouse the dead. Sounds like thunder heads crashing over mountain tops.”

  “Ha! That last one went too far. You were going good until that one.”

  She laughed out loud and covered her mouth.

  A soft silence was allowed to exist between us for a moment. It felt good to laugh. My thoughts returned to my prison sentence inside my lifeless body. “What do you want to be once you graduate?” I asked.

  She twisted her lips and gazed off into the distance. “I’ve gone back and forth on this. Sometimes, it has depended upon what day you asked me. But ultimately, I’d like to be a professor, teach strategy, coach war games. I did pretty good at the challenge, huh?”

  I smiled. “You were incredible.”

  “Maybe one day, I could be a headmistress … or be master of curriculum design.”

  “I could totally see you doing that.” I huffed out a short breath. “Where is everyone?”

  “The Cyclopes are back at base camp down the hill. Rhea took everyone else back to the academy last night.”

  “MO Prep?”

  “Not yet. Not without you, silly.” She shook her head. “Everyone came back up here today for target practice and sparring, now they’re back at the barracks, I would suppose.”

  “Why didn’t we go back to the barracks?”

  “Cyclopes said the hurling process was too much, too early. That it could destabilize the surgical procedure and the healing process.”

  “When can I rejoin everyone else, then?”

  “Oh what … you don’t enjoy being here with me … alone?”

  I chuckled. “Under different circumstances …”

  “Let me go ask Brontes if you can go back yet—”

  “Wait. You’re gonna leave me in here by myself?”

  “Scared of the dark? Hmmm? I’ll be right back.” She rifled her fingers through my hair. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  I craned my neck to look down my new torso. The sculpted aegis breastplate had been positioned even though I couldn’t feel anything. The composition was slightly different, as the light glinted off of parts of it. Quite different from the light-absorbing variety. The procedure obviously worked because certainly by now fury would’ve overtaken me, given my current situation.

  I rested my head back down and closed my eyes. Hearth fires no longer roared. Hammers no longer fell. Silence enveloped my ears and was itself enough to create mania. I had no idea how long Metis had been gone when the blast door groaned open. Thunderous steps shook the ground behind Metis as she approached. I snapped my eyes open to see the liquid gray of Metis’ warm gaze. Her smile reached her eyes. Then Brontes appeared in my vision.

  “You are stronger than I’d ever imagined,” Brontes said.

  “Is that so?”

  He nodded and knelt at my side.

  “You thought I wouldn’t survive?”

  His head sank. “We had never performed such a delicate procedure. We are brothers of hammers and fire … not surgeons. No. I didn’t think you’d survive.”

  “Yet, you performed the procedure anyway.”

  He exhaled in a short burst. “I did so because you made your decision. I did so because you had no other choice, really. You were going mad. Picking unnecessary fights. Lashing out with wild accusations. You would’ve torn the team asunder.”

  “But what am I now?” My voice rose. “I’m nothing! I can’t move. I can’t do anything!”

  Metis again placed her finger to lips. “Shhh. You will return, darling. Have faith … faith in your purpose. All of your faculties will come back if you want it bad enough.”

  “Bright point is, you have an aegis that ought to withstand the fiercest weapons we’ve seen yet.” Brontes stood again. “Downside? We knew this was a risk. My best guess is that it’s temporary. How long the paralysis will last is difficult to say. Hestia did a great job, healing you during the procedure. When you return to the barracks, you need to get all the healers you can find to send constant energy to Zeus’ neck and spinal column.”

  Metis voice pitched high with excitement. “So we can return now?”

  “Yes,” he said. “But do be careful. He still can’t move on his own. Obviously.” He paused, seeming to ponder something. “I will go with you and carry him to the waterfront so that the seaborn healers can work their magic. The day’s late. You must get some food into him, else he’ll be weak once he returns to power.”

  Soon, after a whirlwind of activity and images flashing before my face from exiting the inner sanctum of the forge, we hurled back to Limnos academy. Brontes carried me from the courtyard down the path toward the sunset framing the waterfront.

  “Metis,” he said, “go get some food, and then Amphitrite, Hestia, and Rhea. You’ll likely need all four of you. There’s only two hemeras left before the trial. He must be at full strength to stand up to Hyperion and Kronos.”

  Brontes set me down as Metis ran off toward the barracks. With his large hands, he smushed together a mound of sand and propped me up to see the sun’s setting glory. Wave after wave crested, hissed seafoam, and rose up the beach to wash over my feet. I wished that I could feel the coolness. Gazing upon the sunset, I realiz
ed that I hated Hyperion with more malice and loathing than was probably healthy, but I loved the colorful display across the heavens. Metis had renewed my appreciation for them. And I was at least thankful for that.

  “You like sunsets too, eh?” Brontes asked.

  I nodded slowly.

  He continued, “They remind me of the colors in the flames of the forge.”

  We sat there for a moment in silence, admiring the dimming light.

  “Fare well, Zeus. I should get back to my camp. You’ll heal up soon. I know it. Pray to the slain Sky for faster return of your faculties.”

  Moments after his earth-shaking footfalls faded, a stampede of lighter footsteps neared. “Metis?” I called, unable to see anyone yet.

  Without warning, a hand covered my eyes. My neck muscles tensed then relaxed as a soft pair of lips touched mine with the pressure of a feather falling to the ground. Minty. And the tiniest hint of wine. I drew a deep breath, closing my eyes behind the hand.

  “Aphrodite, you better leave before Metis catches us.”

  The hand quickly lifted from over my eyes … darkness to light in a split moment … and then another hand slapped the side of my head.

  “Excuse me?” Metis stood in front of me with her hands on her hips, and her eyebrows raised skyward. “You will live to regret that.”

  “What are you going to do?” I said. “You can’t hurt me.”

  She punched me in the shoulder. I felt nothing. Sadly.

  Rhea stepped in front of me. “You feel anything yet? Can you move your fingers and toes?”

  I shook my head. “It’s going to be dark soon.”

  “Tia’s on her way,” Rhea said. “Amphitrite is too. She and Metis will need the seawater to try to heal you. We don’t have any ready-made nectar down here at the lower academy, but Metis did bring down some grapes and bread and water.”

  “I’ve always wanted to be fed grapes by a beautiful girl,” I said.

  “After that Aphrodite comment,” Metis said. “I don’t think you deserve my grapes.”