by Jessie York
“Are you lonely here without your family?” Chase asked.
“Sometimes,” Drew said. He pulled Chace tighter to him. “I have you, though.”
Chace didn’t say anything for a moment. “But what does that mean?” he asked. “Do you have me just because you want me to suck your cock? Or do I mean something more to you?”
Drew didn’t like where this conversation was going. “What do you mean?” he asked awkwardly. Drew put his hand on Chace’s head and ruffled his blond hair to try to snap him out of his funk.
“I’m lonely,” Chace said. “I’ll admit it. I don’t have my sister here. I don’t have anyone who… well, who loves me. I wish I did, that’s all.”
There was another uncomfortable silence. Drew felt a number of confusing emotions within himself. He couldn’t explain to Chace, however. The things he felt could never be spoken.
Trying to change the subject, Drew started stroking Chace’s arm. The one thing that always got Chace’s attention was a chance for sex. This time, however, Chace pushed Drew’s hand away. “Sorry,” he said. “I’m not in the mood.” He stood up and walked out of the room.
Chapter 34 – Riley
Riley gripped the spear so tightly that her knuckles turned white. It was her weapon of choice. After agreeing to the dual, Queen Hippolyta had told Riley to pick any weapon she desired. As the queen seemed content with her whip, Riley had chosen a spear. She wasn't sure why the queen had stayed with the whip as it didn't seem like it could be lethal but she figured that the long spear should help counteract the whip’s range.
The queen's face was eerily calm as she circled Riley. All the other Amazons had formed a ring around two. Riley began walking clockwise in the same direction as the queen so that she never had her back turned to the woman.
Suddenly, the queen’s hand shot up and then came crashing down. Riley felt a shooting pain in her cheek. She gasped and touched her face with one hand. Blood seeped from between her fingers. The queen had lacerated Riley’s neck with a single swipe of her whip.
The queen laughed. “I will take you apart piece by piece,” she said. “I don't need a real weapon. You do not possess the skill or the talent to get close enough to me to use your spear.”
Now Riley understood. The queen had not chosen the whip because of its lethalness. She chose it because she wanted to prove how much more powerful she was then Riley. She wanted the other Amazons to see that she could easily emerge victorious with just a whip. On one hand, it was impressive display. On the other hand, though, Riley sensed weakness. It was foolish to give one’s opponent the upper hand no matter how inept she might be. Surely the queen would not have done so unless she had felt threatened and like she needed to prove herself. It might be a small weakness but it was all Riley had so she intended to exploit it.
The queen’s hand shot backwards again. Riley tried shifting her position but the queen was able to change the direction of the whip at the last instant. Riley felt a searing pain in her shoulder as the whip struck and cut through the fabric of her shirt, reaching her skin.
Riley tried attacking. She leapt forward and thrust her spear. Queen Hippolyta moved faster than Riley would have thought possible, however. The woman spun away and lashed out with her with whip. It caught Riley in the tender spot behind the knee, causing Riley’s leg to buckle. She stumbled forward and struggled to regain her balance.
It went on like this. Riley would try to dodge the whip and, whenever she could manage it, counterattack. The queen was always too quick, however. She would dodge out of the reach of Riley’s spear and lash out so quickly that Riley could never get out of the way and time. Riley’s arms and face were soon covered in cuts and welts.
“You’ve made your point,” Riley heard Aria call out. “She cannot win. We all see that.”
“The girl challenged me to a duel,” the queen said mercilessly. “She must live with the consequences of her decisions. When Amazons fight, they fight to the death.”
Riley realized that she had made a mistake in choosing the spear. It wasn’t long enough to counteract the range of the whip. It was probably too long, however, to be effective if Riley managed to get close to the queen. In essence, Riley had selected one of the worst possible options available to her.
The queen was better at this. She had more experience and more skill. This was going to be over quicker than Riley had anticipated. She decided it was time to lean on the queen’s one weakness.
“I see I have chosen the wrong weapon,” Riley said loudly. “The range of your whip gives you an unfair advantage. You must be afraid of me to take use such a cowardly weapon.”
The queen’s eyes bulged in disbelief. “Cowardly? Cowardly?” she shrieked. “The whip is nothing but a toy. I don’t even need it to kill you.” With that, she tossed the whip aside.
Riley nodded grimly. That was good. The queen’s pride and insecurity was forcing her to act rashly. The queen probably still had the upper hand but at least now Riley had a bit more of a fighting chance.
Chapter 35 – Aria
Aria had always thought of herself as a brave person. She wasn't afraid to go toe to toe with anyone in the outside world with nothing but her hands to aid her. She would never, however, in a million years have considered going up against the queen on the queen’s own turf. It was suicide. It was unbelievable. It was the most courageous thing that Aria had ever witnessed.
Things seemed simple for Riley. When Riley heard that her brother was in trouble she had made up her mind to do whatever it took to help him. The girl was even willing to die to save her brother. It gave Aria pangs of sadness and she had begun to ardently hope that Riley lived through the encounter. Now, as Riley and the queen thought, Aria found herself wishing more and more for Riley’s victory.
That was impossible, of course. At least, it seemed that way until the queen dropped her whip. That’s when Aria began to judge her leader for the first time. Giving up a weapon was foolish. Even the most benign and helpless creature could get lucky now and then. The queen’s act showed that she was foolhardy. It was a mistake and Aria hadn’t known that queens could make mistakes.
Riley sought to take advantage of the queen's foolishness. The girl rushed forward and stabbed at Queen Hippolyta with her spear. The queen sidestepped the attack and drove her knee into Riley’s stomach. Riley doubled over but then something strange happened. As Riley began to collapse forward she instinctively clutched at her stomach. As she did, the blade of her spear came in and sliced through the queen’s arm. Queen Hippolyta didn’t even seem to notice as she whirled around and swept Riley’s legs out from under her. Riley crashed to the ground. The queen followed up by trying to stomp on her but Riley had the good sense to roll and launch herself back up to her feet.
The two women faced each other. Riley was clearly the more injured party. Her face had swollen up with welts and blood was dripping down from cuts all over her body. The queen looked calm and perfect. No, that wasn’t right. As Aria looked closer, she noticed sweat beaded on the queen’s brow and little rivulets of blood making their way down her arm.
The queen could be defeated. The thought came crashing down on Aria. The queen sweat just like everyone else. She bled just like everyone else. She could be killed just like everyone else. As Area stared at the two women she suddenly realized whose side she wanted to be on. If the queen could be defeated then Aria’s opposition would not be madness. It would be a great risk, but Aria had always been okay taking risks so long as there was even the tiniest chance of victory.
Aria took a deep breath and then stepped into the ring of Amazons. The queen turned to stare at her. “What are you doing you fool?” she asked.
“I’m picking a side,” Aria said. She raised her voice so all the other Amazons could hear her. “You have turned this place into a prison, Queen Hippolyta. A girl wants to leave to protect her brother. She should be able to do that but you told me I had to stop her. I don’t want to do that anymore.
You have taken away all our families to build power for yourself. We tolerated that because you helped us learn to use our powers. We thank you for that. You cannot continue to control our lives, however. We are people and we have an inherent right to be free.”
“You have nothing,” the queen spat. “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. You don’t know the first thing about the dangers out there. Demigods like Luke Carter don’t even scratch the surface. Why do you think you’re all so young? My sister and I brought our nations of Amazons through this area 20 years ago. We left our children behind and moved on. Know why? Because our Amazons – our daughters – knew that they would be killed in battle. They were already thinking of the next generation, knowing that I would need new recruits to fulfill our mission. You need to keep training. You need to keep learning. Knowledge will come in time. Soon, you will understand why I am doing this.”
“Nothing could be so awful that it would give you the right to do what you’ve done to us,” Riley said.
“I agree,” Aria said.
“Idiots,” Queen Hippolyta said angrily. “This is a duel. You cannot both challenge me.”
Aria walked over to Riley and stood beside her. “You don’t care about fairness,” she accused the queen. “You don’t care about justice. You don’t care about what’s right. You never have. I stand with Riley. If you want to kill her, you’ll have to kill me too.”
“Fine,” the queen snarled.
“And me,” another voice said. Suddenly Jenny, Riley’s training partner, broke away from the circle and joined Aria and Riley.
“And me,” another girl said.
Then, one by one, the Amazons rallied behind Aria and Riley.
The queen started to shake with rage. “You will all die,” she seethed. “You’re fools.”
She turned and fled. The Amazons watched her go, making no effort to pursue her. Then all eyes turned to Riley.
Riley drew herself up. “Alright,” she said as though she had expected this to happen all along. “We’re going to the Gargareans’ camp and we’re going to break in, capture Luke, and set my brother free. Who knows where it is?”
One of the most senior Amazon trainers raised her hand.
“Good,” Riley said. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 36 – Luke
“Are you sure about this?” Chace asked as he and Luke walked through the hallways towards the king’s office. “What if the king is in his office?”
“He isn’t,” Luke said. “I told you. I asked around. King Telemachus left this morning for an emergency meeting with the queen of the Amazons. There’s some sort of trouble in the Amazon compound.”
Chace’s thoughts immediately turned to Riley. “What sort of trouble?” he demanded. “Has anyone been hurt?”
“I don’t know,” Luke said, sounding irritated. “Look, this is our chance. If we don’t make a move now while the king is gone we’ll never get your cup off. We can’t wait any longer. Do you want it off or not?”
“Of course I do,” Chace said defensively. “But what about Gordy? I’ve heard he’s pretty powerful as well.”
“Don’t worry,” Luke said. “I can deal with him.”
Chace just shook his head. Luke seemed to have transformed into a totally different person in the past few days from the boy Chace had known in high school. He no longer seemed as kind or polite. Now he had become arrogant and oddly impatient. Why was he in such a big hurry and how was he so confident that he, a new trainee, could defeat a centuries-old Gargarean warrior?
The door to the king’s office was propped open. Luke strode into the antechamber with Chace walking nervously on his heels. Gordy was sitting in his usual place behind his desk. He looked up when the two boys walked in. He frowned at them. “Can I help you?” he asked. His condescending tone indicated that he didn’t think two new recruits had any business in the king’s office.
Luke didn’t answer. Instead, his hand shot up.
Gordy moved like lightning. The ancient man sprung out of his chair just as a knife that had been concealed in Luke’s sleeve flew into backrest right where Gordy had been sitting. Gordy snatched something behind his desk and when he raised his hand he was holding a long, slender sword. He swung it at Luke’s head but the boy ducked it and kicked Gordy in the chest. Gordy stumbled backwards but then steadied himself.
Chace backed against the wall. He hadn’t imagined how violent this would be. Gordy continued to slash at Luke with his sword while Luke countered with anything from chairs to a ruler that he could get his hands on. Chace marveled at Gordy’s skill. Not even the most senior Gargareans he had seen could move like the old man. Even more shocking, however, was that Luke was better. The boy moved instinctively, naturally. At first Chace thought Luke was becoming desperate as he grabbed different items to fight Gordy with. As the fight continued, however, Chace became aware that Luke was not desperate at all. He was toying with Gordy. He seemed happy as he whirled around as if he was born to fight.
The fight was the most amazing and impressive thing that Chace had ever seen. Then, suddenly, Gordy swung his sword low and then changed the trajectory upward. The low attack had been a feint. For a moment, Chace was sure the blade would slice through Luke’s chest or arm. Luke, however, had anticipated the maneuver. He dodged in closer and grabbed Gordy’s wrist. Chace heard the sound of cartilage breaking and then Luke was holding the sword. He spun and an instant later a blade had sprouted on the other side of Gordy’s back.
The man gasped and clutched the handle of the sword that was pressed against his chest. His eyes widened in agony and then they relaxed. Gordy sighed almost happily and slumped forward. He was dead.
Luke chuckled. He wrenched the blade free from Gordy’s body and let the old man fall to the floor. Luke shook the blade so that the blood flew off in little droplets. Then he tossed the sword handle-first to Chace. Chace caught it but continued to stare at Luke.
Luke was still laughing. “The old bastard put up a pretty good fight,” Luke said. “Good for him. He wasn’t good enough, though.”
“You might find that I am,” a voice said quietly behind Chace. Chace turned around just at King Telemachus walked into the room. His face, framed in the white whiskers of his beard, seemed strangely serene as he looked at Chace. “So,” the king said. “It is you. You would be my uncle, I believe, and Hippolyta’s brother. How strange. The Amazons are looking for you, you know. They’re on their way here right now.”
“Then I suppose I will have to kill you quickly, won’t I?” Luke said.
“Good,” the king replied. “I have longed to fight a direct son of Ares. This test is overdue.”
With that, the king flung the sides of his coat back and suddenly he was holding two long daggers. Luke reached behind his back under the collar of his shirt and pulled out a dagger that seemed to have been strapped to his body. Had he had that the whole time? Why hadn’t he used it on Gordy? Luke truly must have been toying with the old man, or perhaps he was testing himself. Maybe both.
The men hurled themselves at each other and all Chace could see was a whirlwind of clothes, metal, and flesh. When they sprang apart again, both men were bloody. Luke, however, was worse. His cheek and shoulder had deep cuts on them. King Telemachus only seemed to have suffered a minor scratch to his forehead.
Luke wasn’t smiling now. “Again,” he snarled.
They launched at each other again. Their fierce battle lasted for several minutes. This time when they broke up the king was nursing a cut on his arm. Luke, however, had multiple wounds to his face and arms and a nasty-looking gash on his leg. His hair was disheveled and his handsome face was contorted in rage. Chace barely recognized him.
“You should learn to control your emotions,” the king said calmly. “They betray you and make you rash. You should have gotten more practice before coming here to face me.”
“I don’t need any more practice, you old fool,” Luke spat. “I am the son of Are
s. I will rip you apart.”
“Your blood may be purer than mine,” the king said. “Yet you lack wisdom. My grandfather’s blood makes you stronger but my experience makes me smarter. Wits usually trump strength.”
“You know nothing,” Luke seethed.
The two warriors fought for a third time. The fight seemed even until Luke lashed out angrily. He overextended himself and stepped on a puddle of blood. Normally, that would not have been a problem, but Luke’s stance was weak. He slipped. King Telemachus saw the mistake and didn’t hesitate. He drove a dagger straight into Luke’s right breast just below his shoulder.
Luke cried out in pain as he collapsed on the floor. He clutched at the dagger as the king looked down on him. Then Luke looked at Chace. “Chace. Please. Help me.” Then he mouthed the words that Chace had longed to hear ever since he had come to the Gargarean’s mansion. Those magical words, clear on Luke’s perfect lips. I love you.
The king flipped the dagger around in his hand so that it was pointing downward. Then he brought it high over his head and prepared to drive it through Luke’s heart.
No. Chace couldn’t let that happen. He leapt forward and stabbed with the sword he was holding. It slid right through King Telemachus’ back like a knife sliding through butter.
The king was dead. Chace knew it before the man even hit the ground. Chace didn’t spare another look for the king, however. Instead, he knelt down beside Luke and cradled the wounded boy in his arms.
“Are you okay?” Chace asked. That was the most important thing. There were so many other questions that Chace wanted to ask Luke, like what he had meant when he said he was Ares’ son. First, though, Chace needed to make sure Luke was okay.
“Yes, my love,” Luke said between pained gasps. “We must hurry, however. The other Gargareans will not understand. If they find us like this they will kill us. Quickly, run into the king’s office. Break open his drawers and look for an old wooden box.
