by Jared Stone
“I shall hear no more of this foolishness,” Dareia snapped at Bennu, as if on cue. “Do not believe that, just because you are of marginal usefulness to us now, I shall hesitate in slitting your throat.”
“HA!” Bennu exclaimed, finally halting his stroll and turning around to face them. “That is quite a way to die, is it not!? I mean, just imagine what that would be like!” The boy made a horizontal swipe across his neck with his forefinger following this assertion in a sort of throat-slitting charade, then pretended to desperately gasp for air for a few seconds. “Perhaps, one day, I will find out!” he finally added with a beaming smile.
Dareia stopped walking as well and just shook her head at Bennu, apparently rendered speechless by the boy’s cavalier response to her threats. She was obviously quite unaccustomed to being unable to strike fear into the hearts of men.
“So, you must explain it to me,” Bennu continued as he turned around again and walked farther down the path. They had now come to the edge of the forest, and they soon stepped out of the trees and into an open field. The tall amber stalks of wild grass swayed in the gentle breeze before them, and the sweet, familiar smells of autumn wafted into their noses. Sunlight poured down from the almost cloudless sky above, which provided a deep blue background contrast against their otherwise yellow and orange surroundings. “What is holding the two of you back?”
Argus let out a sigh. He truthfully did not wish to divulge information regarding his past to this boy he barely knew, but he could see that the topic would not be dropped until a valid and defensible reason had been provided. “Well…,” he began. “I recently lost someone very close to me. The only love of my existence. And I could never love another in the same way again.”
Following this, Argus became visibly dejected, with his head hanging low and pace slowed considerably. Even Bennu’s smile disappeared from his face at the man’s words, hearing how forlorn and heartfelt they were. He stopped walking once again to turn and face Argus.
“I am very sorry,” Bennu said with sincerity. “I did not know. What happened?”
“That is a story for a different day, I fear,” Dareia cut in abruptly, staring off into the distance. “For it appears we have more pressing matters to which we must first attend.”
Argus followed the priestess’ gaze out ahead, where five horses could be seen galloping toward them. With each clop of a hoof upon the ground, a plume of rust-colored earth erupted into the air and enshrouded the approaching riders like a deadly, threatening storm cloud. Through the haze, one could make out the sun glinting off the silver of brightly polished steel armor.
“Be on your guard,” Dareia instructed the two men by her side. “It is quite unusual for this road to be traveled by Roman soldiers.”
Both Bennu and Argus fell back to stand behind the priestess, near the edge of the road. Argus was hopeful that the team of horse riders would simply gallop past them on some other errand, but he was soon disappointed as they slowed to a halt before the three travelers.
“Ave!” called out the lead rider as his horse came to a stop and he climbed off. He wore torn leather pants and armor plating covering his right arm from the shoulder to the wrist, and on his waist he carried a sword on one side and a black dagger on the other. His bearded face was harsh and pocked, and the side of his abdomen bore a long, wide scar. Overall, he appeared distinctly different from the four well-armored soldiers who dismounted behind him and came to stand at his sides.
“And ave to you, good sir,” Dareia stated with a slight bow of her head. “My name is Dareia. These men here are my two traveling companions, Argus and Bennu. To what do we owe the distinct pleasure of your greeting?”
The bearded man looked at the three travelers with a cold, unfeeling glare. “And my name is Cassius,” he said in return. “I have been told that an escaped prisoner might be traveling this way. I was thinking that perhaps you have seen or heard something…,” he continued, inspecting Dareia, Argus, and Bennu with scrutiny.
Dareia shook her head. “I am afraid that we are naught but simple merchants, traveling to Rome from the western lands to sell our wares. We have not seen anyone but ourselves in many, many days. Certainly no one fitting the profile of an escaped prisoner.”
Cassius narrowed his eyes. “Merchants, eh?” he asked skeptically. “And yet you travel with no goods. What kind of merchants are you then?”
“Prostitutes,” Bennu interjected with a mischievous smirk. Dareia shot him a fiery glare.
“Ha!” the bearded man laughed aloud upon hearing this. He looked back at the soldiers behind him, sharing a long and vigorous laugh before turning back to Dareia. “Prostitutes, eh? Well, well…. That is quite a fall from your previous position, High Priestess of Nemea…,” he stated with a smug grin.
Dareia widened her stance and stared into the man’s eyes. “What did you call me?” she asked seriously.
Cassius laughed again. “Do not believe that you can fool me, priestess,” he said confidently. “I know who you are and what you have done. Now, hand over the prisoner, Titus, to my keeping, and there will be no need for you to die today.”
Behind the man, each soldier unsheathed his sword. Argus reached down and withdrew his own sword from its scabbard, and Bennu pulled two golden daggers from their sheaths at his side, spun them around in his hands, and held them out before himself. Dareia continued standing there with no weapon, but looking prepared to fight.
“I would caution you to stand down now,” Dareia warned the group of soldiers with a snarl, “for we are no ordinary travelers.”
Cassius calmly pulled out his own sword and held it before him, the tip pointing at the priestess. “And you shall find that I am no ordinary soldier,” he said confidently. “I do not fear you. If it is a fight you want, then a fight you shall have.”
At this, Cassius twirled his sword around in the air and brought the blade down upon the priestess, who raised her arm up and deflected the blow. She immediately swiped her razor sharp nails at the man in attempted retaliation, but he quickly sidestepped and pivoted around to face her once again. It was clear that his speed and skills had been finely honed in the arenas and that this would be no easy fight.
Argus and Bennu would not have the opportunity to stand by idly and watch, however, as the four men accompanying Cassius rushed forward into the fray as well. One of them lunged at Argus with his sword in the air, trying to slash at him with a downward strike, but Argus met the soldier’s blade with his own and deflected the blow with a parrying arc. Argus then immediately whipped around to meet the diagonal attack of his second opponent, who had tried to catch him unawares. As steel met steel, Argus lifted up one leg in front of him and kicked forcibly into the soldier’s sternum, causing him to stumble back and embarrassingly fall to the ground. Before the man had even hit the dirt, Argus pivoted to strike the first attacker, stabbing with the point of his blade, only to see it collide and glance off the sturdy steel armor covering his chest.
Beside this skirmish, Bennu was dealing with his adversaries quite effectively on his own. The boy spun around here and there like a whirlwind of deadly unpredictability, dodging sweeping swords and slashing at practically everything he could with twin weapons held out to his sides. Although the bejeweled daggers did not disintegrate these mortal foes as one had done to the immortal gladiator in their previous battle, the sharp blades mercilessly sliced through armor and flesh with little difficulty. With each stroke, the boy could be heard laughing aloud with glee, clearly enjoying the carnage that he wantonly wrought. In the midst of the chaos, he dropped down to his knees, slashing across the unprotected calves of one of his opponents, only to effortlessly leap back up again and bring one dagger down, straight across the unfortunate soldier’s face. This summarily ended the battle for that man in a scream of pain, allowing Bennu to thereafter focus solely on his one remaining opponent.
All the while, Dareia was pitted against the very formidable Cassius. As he swung his
sword around, she blocked and dodged and slashed with her nails. Her agile foe was able to avoid the majority of her retaliatory strikes, but she eventually succeeded in digging her nails deep into his left pectoral muscle and tearing through it in long, jagged ravines. But, just as she had witnessed before, the gladiator calmly took a step back as the bleeding lacerations grew together and sealed up into scar tissue once again.
Dareia stood up from her crouched position and shook her head. “Not this again…,” she muttered before lunging forward with another fruitless strike. As her nails sunk into the gladiator’s arm, he in turn grabbed hold of the priestess and threw her to the side roughly. Dareia stumbled but nimbly caught her footing again.
“Enough of this play,” Cassius said, throwing down his sword. He reached to his side and pulled out the black serpent dagger he kept there. “It is time to end this.”
Dareia snarled and advanced toward the man again, prompting him to slash at her with his dagger. She held her forearm up to deflect the blade, but this time it cut into her arm with a splattering of blood.
“Ah!” Dareia cried out, falling back and cradling her arm in pain.
“Whatever is the matter, kitten?” Cassius inquired mockingly. “Not accustomed to experiencing the sting of being prey?”
Dareia bared her teeth in pain and rage.
Behind the priestess, Argus continued to manage, as best he could, the relentless assault on two fronts. Swinging his sword and spinning around frantically, he successfully warded off the soldiers’ attacks, though he could feel himself wearying. As he took a step to the left and turned, he saw an opportunity and lodged his sword deep into the underarm crease above one soldier’s chest plate. As he watched that soldier fall to the ground, he felt a searing pain shoot through his right thigh as the second soldier dug the edge of his blade into the muscle with a forceful slash. Argus went down to the ground, letting go of the handle of his sword, which was still buried deep inside the fallen soldier’s flank, and grabbing at his leg in pain. Rolling over onto his back, Argus could see the soldier standing above him raise his sword for the death blow….
Suddenly, the soldier’s eyes grew wide, and he stumbled to the side before dropping to the ground face-first with the golden hilt of a dagger jutting out of his back. Standing behind him, smiling widely, was Bennu.
“Woah there, big guy!” Bennu exclaimed jovially as he took a step over and unceremoniously plucked the dagger out from the dying soldier’s back. He then walked over and knelt beside Argus to inspect his wounded leg. “Do not die yet; there is still so much fun to be had!”
Argus responded with only a grimace of a smile, but his chance to thank Bennu was cut short by Dareia stumbling over and falling to one knee beside them. Her arms were covered in cuts, and her dress had become torn and ragged.
“I…,” she gasped, dropping bloody hands to the ground to support herself. “Cannot….”
“Wow…,” said Bennu. “You look a mess.”
Argus knew that Dareia was truly exhausted and in great pain when she did not even react to the boy’s jeer. He could still feel the pulsating sting of his own injury, and he knew that he would not be able to stand up and fight in such a state. Bennu quietly looked at his two companions for a moment before slapping his hands down on his kneeling thighs.
“Well, I guess it is my turn, then!” he exclaimed, hopping to his feet and placing both of his daggers in his hands. “Today is as good a day as any to die, I suppose….”
With this, he took a step over Argus’ outstretched leg and stood before the approaching Cassius, who now held in his hands both his sword and the onyx dagger.
“Are you now prepared to surrender the prisoner Titus?” Cassius asked confidently.
Bennu stood up straight and just as fearlessly as his challenger, though he was still dwarfed by the much larger gladiator before him.
“I am Titus,” he exclaimed proudly. “And you are going to have to subdue me first!”
Cassius smiled. “I am confident that will not be difficult,” he stated.
The gladiator took a step forward toward the boy, cutting through the air with his sword, but Bennu dropped to the ground and rolled underneath it. As soon as Bennu had popped back up, he slashed upwards with one arm, catching the tip of the dagger on the gladiator’s elbow and opening up a thin red slice. Cassius withdrew his arm in surprise and looked down at the little line which would not heal.
“Seems that you are not as invincible anymore, are you?” Bennu taunted with a smile.
Cassius’ face wore a look of disgust for a moment before donning what seemed like a forced smile. “No matter,” he said, as if casually dismissing his concerns. “It shall be just as it was in the arena: to the death.”
“Sounds like an excellent wager to me!” Bennu stated. He held up his daggers horizontally in front of him. “For, by the looks of it, I would bet that you did not fare very well in the arena either….”
Cassius snarled in contempt at the boy’s obvious jab.
“Well, what are you waiting for, then?” Bennu continued. “Come at me!”
Cassius let out a grunt as he charged at the boy, swinging both the sword and dagger in alternating, crisscrossing strokes. Bennu leapt to the side, then jolted forward, slashing across the gladiator’s shin as he went. Cassius stumbled forward unexpectedly.
Bennu stood back up straight and looked at the hobbling man. “That is two for me!” he announced proudly.
“Grrr!” roared Cassius in frustration, turning to face the boy again. “I will kill you!”
“Tsk, tsk” said Bennu, shaking his head in mock disapproval. “Such anger! That is very unappealing in a man of your age and stature.”
With a loud grunt, Cassius stabbed forward with his sword, clumsily trying to support himself on his injured leg. But Bennu was prepared, and he fluidly caught the blade of the sword with one of his curved daggers, redirected it away with a spin of his body, and drove his second dagger directly beneath the gladiator’s shoulder blade. Before Cassius could even react, the dagger released a brilliant flash of light, immediately disintegrating the man’s body to a worthless pile of dust around the boy’s feet.
Looking down, Bennu casually stepped out of the mound of filth and calmly brushed off his soiled white garments. “Looks as though I will live at least one more day…,” he stated smugly as he made his way back over to where his two companions lay.
Argus looked up at the boy. “Thank you…,” he said earnestly.
Dareia, still kneeling and hanging her head, sighed. “Yes,” she said shortly. “I concur.”
Bennu smiled. “No need to thank me!” he insisted. “It was quite entertaining!”
“Yes, and…,” began Dareia, slowly standing with some difficulty upon her tired and torn limbs, “in the process, you have effectively destroyed our one lead in determining the location of the priest who hunts for Argus.”
Bennu’s face became almost pouty. “Gratitude is not really your biggest strength, is it?” he asked sarcastically.
Argus dropped his head down upon the dirt and squeezed the top of his leg. This helped dull the pain searing through his thigh only slightly, but the blood and discomfort continued to flow, practically without constraint. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply. As he did so, he heard from his left another struggling breath pattern which did not match his own. Turning his head to the side, he could see that one of the armored soldiers was just barely moving his arm.
“Dareia,” Argus said to the priestess inspecting the gashes upon her arms. When Dareia looked down at him, he motioned with a nod of his head over to the living soldier.
Dareia leaned to the side and took a moment to peer at the weakened soldier on the ground. “One still lives after all,” she finally said aloud, sounding pleased.
“I can slit his throat!” Bennu offered anxiously.
“You shall do no such thing!” Dareia scolded. “We must see if he has information pertain
ing to the whereabouts of the priest.”
“Fine,” Bennu said, crossing his arms and leaning his upper body back.
Dareia walked over to the soldier and knelt down beside him. As he gasped for breath, he sputtered out, “Please….”
“I am not here to kill you,” Dareia cut in abruptly, showing little patience for the pleas of a dying man. “I wish to know where the priest is. The one who sent you.”
The soldier coughed. “I cannot…. He… He will kill me….”
“I shall kill you now,” Dareia threatened with a heartless glare. There was no question in the mind of anyone watching that she would follow through on this without hesitation.
The man swallowed audibly. “He said… Hierapolis. Told Cassius… Hierapolis.”
Dareia looked up at her two companions once more. “Hierapolis?” she asked. “Why to Hierapolis?”
“The Plutonium?” Bennu guessed. “The holy site there is devoted to the god Pluto, and it serves as a gate into the realm of the dead. Perhaps this is where Ini-herit has been hiding from us all these years…. It seems only fitting.”
Dareia was silent for a moment while she thought. “It is very much like Hades to make a move so bold as to harbor a fugitive of the gods,” she concluded finally.
“Can I slit his throat now?” Bennu asked hopefully.
“No,” Dareia said forcefully. She looked back down at the soldier. “How long ago did he set off for Hierapolis?”
