Alkyoneus and the Warrior Queen

by Joan Holub

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The rest of the Amazons threw their spears at Alkyoneus. Zeus winced, expecting them to pierce the giant. Instead the spears caught on the edges of his toga, and pulled him toward the ground.

  “Wha-wha-whoaaaaaaa!” the giant yelled as he fell backward onto the ground.

  Boom! The earth shook when he hit. Then the Amazons sprang into action, pushing the spears into the dirt and pinning him down.

  “You won’t hold me for too long, you wimpy warriors,” he said.

  “Who are you calling wimpy?” one of the girls asked, and she jabbed the giant in the thigh with her spear.

  “Ha! That didn’t even hurt!” Alkyoneus said. “You gawky girls will be in big trouble when my daughters come home. They will be here when the sun rises. Sally, Solly, Sully, Smelly, Silly, Steely, and Snarly will make short work of you all!”

  Zeus tried to imagine what his seven giant daughters might look like, and shivered.

  “Why don’t they just finish him already?” Ares wondered out loud. “And when are they going to rescue us? They rescued Hercules.”

  “And now I’m going to rescue you!” Hercules had shimmied up the tree and was reaching for the door of the cage.

  “Just climb out on the branch,” Zeus urged.

  “It might break,” Hercules protested.

  “Will you just do it?” Ares asked, his red eyes flashing. “My ear really itches, and I can’t scratch it! I can’t stand it anymore!”

  “Okay,” Hercules said reluctantly, and he moved toward the branch. Then he stopped. “Who is that?”

  Another Amazon walked out of the woods. She looked older than the others, like a teenager. Even in the darkness, her hair shone with the color of a raven’s feathers. Around her waist she wore a leather belt with a gold disc in the center. The golden circle was glowing brightly.

  The Amazon girls bowed their heads. “Hippolyta.”

  “Step back,” she told them. She walked up to the giant’s head.

  “I warned you, Alkyoneus,” she said. “You and your daughters keep hunting the deer on our land. And just last week you tried to snack on two of my warriors.”

  “They ran too fast,” Alkyoneus said sadly.

  “I told you to move on, and you wouldn’t listen,” Hippolyta said. “And now I have no choice.”

  The gold disc began to glow even brighter. A beam of gold light hit the giant.

  “No!” Alkyoneus cried. “I was just hungry!”

  The light spread across the giant’s body. Zeus had to close his eyes because the light was so bright. When he opened his eyes, the giant was gone!

  A bright blue bird with a long, black beak flew up to Hippolyta. She held out her hand, and the bird landed on it, squawking.

  “You won’t be hungry anymore, Alkyoneus,” she said. “Go eat worms!”

  She waved her arm, and the bird flew off. The Amazon warriors picked up their spears.

  Hercules was staring at Hippolyta. Zeus yelled down to her.

  “Hey, thanks for rescuing us!” he called out. “Can you please help us get down from here?”

  Hippolyta grinned. She turned to her warriors.

  “What should we do with these stinky boys?” she asked.

  CHAPTER SEVEN One, Two, Three, Four…

  Who are you calling stinky?” Hercules asked, climbing down from the tree.

  “You,” Hippolyta replied. “And besides being stinky, you’re not very smart, letting Alkyoneus capture you.”

  “Maybe you could help us?” Zeus called down from the cage. “I’m Zeus, the um, leader of the Olympians. We met some of you before.”

  One of the warriors, a girl with dark eyes and black hair, stepped forward.

  “I remember you,” she said.

  Zeus searched his mind for her name. “You’re Eurybe, right?”

  “Right,” she answered. “And isn’t that Ares with you, the so-called god of war?”

  “Not the so-called,” Ares replied, trying to sit up. “I am the god of war. And I have mastered the Spear of Fear you gave me. I can’t wait to show you what I can do!”

  Eurybe looked at Hippolyta. “Believe it or not, these guys helped take down King Cronus.”

  Hippolyta nodded. “Then we owe them a debt. Get them down.”

  Four Amazons scrambled up the tree to free Zeus and Ares. Hercules marched up to Hippolyta.

  “You know how you can thank us? You can give me that belt!” he demanded.

  Zeus heard this as one of the warriors cut through his ropes with her spear.

  “Hercules, quit it!” he yelled. “Let’s talk to Hippolyta together.”

  He jumped up and stretched his arms and legs! It felt great to be free.

  “Thanks!” he told the warriors who had helped him, and he climbed down from the tree. Ares followed.

  Hercules hadn’t listened to Zeus. He was trying to bully Hippolyta into giving him the belt.

  “You have to give me the belt,” he said. “I’m half god. And if you don’t, Zeus, the lord of Mount Olympus, will rain mighty thunder down on the Amazons.”

  “I will not!” Zeus cried, running up to them. Hippolyta glared at him with her dark eyes.

  “Is that why you came here?” she asked. “To attack us?”

  “No, I swear,” Zeus said. “We just came to get your belt. I mean—”

  “Amazons, tie them up!” Hippolyta yelled.

  The warrior girls worked quickly to bind the hands of the three boys. Zeus resisted the urge to use Bolt. He knew that would result in an all-out battle between them and the Amazons, and that would be dangerous for everyone.

  Better to wait until things calm down, he decided. I’m sure Hippolyta will understand once we explain everything at the Amazon camp.

  Ares groaned. “But we were just tied up.”

  “And I never should have set you free,” Hippolyta said. “I should have known that no boy can be trusted.”

  “You can trust us!” Zeus said. “There’s a good reason why we need your belt. We—”

  “Silence!” Hippolyta cried. “We need to get back to camp, and then I’ll figure out what to do with you.”

  Eurybe poked Zeus in the back with her spear. “Get moving.”

  They marched through the woods as the sun rose and the morning birds woke up, chirping. Nobody talked, until the warriors erupted into a marching chant. Eurybe would yell out a line, and the girls would repeat it.

  “Out of earth and fire we grew!

  Out of earth and fire we grew!

  We’re a strong and ready crew.

  We’re a strong and ready crew.

  Call out, one, two!

  Call out, one, two!

  Call out, three, four!

  Call out, three, four!

  Call out, one, two, three, four!”

  “Hey, that’s pretty cool,” Ares remarked. “How come the Olympians never had any chants, Zeus?”

  “I guess I never thought of it,” Zeus admitted.

  Eurybe grinned and began another chant.

  “Boys are stinky, weak, and small!

  Boys are stinky, weak, and small!

  Girls are better than them all!

  Girls are better than them all!

  Call out, one, two!

  Call out, one, two!

  Call out, three, four!

  Call out, three, four!

  Call out, one, two, three, four!”

  Ares frowned. “I don’t like that one so much.”

  Hercules leaned in to Zeus. “What’s your plan? Are you waiting for the right moment to attack?” he whispered. “Because I’ve got your back. Just blink twice when you’re ready to go, and I’ll bust through these ropes and… Pow! Bam! Crunch!”

  Zeus sighed. “Have you ever heard of diplomacy?” he asked.

  Hercules frowned. “What’s that?”

  “It’s something Athena taught me,” he said. “It’s when you try to solve a problem without violence. By talking. When we
get to the camp, we’ll try to convince Hippolyta to give us the belt.”

  “That doesn’t sound like fun,” Hercules said. “How about you just blast them with Bolt, and then we grab the belt and run?”

  Zeus shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you?”

  They marched until the sun was high in the sky, and finally they reached the Amazon village. Dozens of huts dotted the green countryside, and dozens more warriors were there, training. Zeus gazed around the camp in wonder.

  In one part of the camp was a training course made of ladders and wood barrels. Girls raced through the course, climbing up, down, over, and under the ladders. Over by the forest’s edge, Amazons pulled themselves across rope bridges stretching from tree to tree, and across a glittering lake.

  Another area held big, round, straw targets, where Amazons practiced throwing their spears. Another target practice featured straw-stuffed human shapes.

  “This place is awesome!” Ares cried. “I need to tell Heff about this. We could build a whole warrior training course around the volcano, where you jump over lava and stuff. That would be so cool!”

  Eurybe snorted. “What kind of training could you do? You boys are soft.”

  Ares’s eyes flashed. “I train with my Spear of Fear all the time. Let me show you!”

  Eurybe looked at Hippolyta, and Zeus could see they were both curious to find out what Ares could do.

  “Untie him,” Hippolyta said. “One boy with a spear is no threat to us. Let’s see what he can do.”

  The girls untied Ares, and he marched over to the human targets. He whispered to his spear.

  “All right, spear, let’s show these girls what we can do,” he said. He took a deep breath. “Attack!”

  He twirled around in a circle, and then let the spear fly.

  Whoosh! It zoomed from target to target, slicing through each one! Bits of straw filled the air like snow. Then the spear flew back into Ares’s hand.

  The warriors clapped, whooped, and cheered. Hippolyta smiled.

  “Impressive!” she said. “You are truly worthy of the Spear of Fear.”

  “And I am worthy of your belt!” Hercules piped up, and Zeus groaned.

  Hippolyta spun around. “Again with this outrageous demand! What do you want with my belt?”

  Zeus quickly spoke up. “The Oracle of Delphi sent us. Hercules must perform tasks so that King Eurystheus won’t go to war with Mount Olympus.”

  The Amazon leader frowned. “Why would the oracle give you such a task?”

  “I don’t know,” Zeus said. “But the oracle is always right, right?”

  Hippolyta looked thoughtful. “I am sorry,” she said. “This belt is magical and can only be worn by the leader of the Amazons. I cannot help you. But I will release you so that you can return to the oracle and ask for another task. That is only fair.”

  She nodded to the warriors guarding Zeus and Hercules, and they untied the ropes binding the boys’ wrists.

  “Rest if you need to,” Hippolyta said, pointing to one of the huts. “And help yourself to water from our well and food from our stores. You look pretty scrawny, you know.”

  “That’s what the giant said,” Zeus muttered, and then he yawned. They’d only gotten a few hours of sleep before Alkyoneus had captured them, and he could definitely use a rest. “But thanks.”

  Hercules turned to Zeus. “What does this mean?” he asked.

  “It means we failed,” Zeus replied. “We have to go back to the oracle and ask for a new task.”

  “Can you really do that?” Ares asked. “I mean, isn’t it the point that the tasks are supposed to be hard? You can’t just ask for a new one. What if the oracle says no?”

  Zeus shuddered. “Then I guess there will be a war!”

  CHAPTER EIGHT This Is War!

  Hercules paced back and forth across the hut.

  “How can we go back without the belt?” he asked. “King Eurystheus won’t like that.”

  “I’m sure he won’t,” Zeus replied as Ares snored on a cot next to him. “We’ll have to convince him. We need to try, at least! Anything to avoid a war.”

  Hercules shook his head. “He’ll never agree. He’ll say he has won. And anyway, if we go back without the belt, we fail. And I hate to fail! Everyone will call me Hercules the Loser!”

  “I don’t think we have a choice,” Zeus said. “I am not going to battle with the Amazons over this belt.”

  “Maybe you’re not, but I am!” Hercules replied. Then he stomped out of the hut.

  Zeus jumped up. “Hercules, wait!” he yelled.

  Zeus chased Hercules as he raced through the Amazon camp, looking for Hippolyta. Busy with their training, the other warriors ignored them.

  Hercules saw the largest hut in the camp and slowed down. He walked to the window and peeked inside.

  “Look, Zeus,” he whispered. “There’s the belt.”

  The belt was on top of a table, and Hippolyta was nowhere in sight.

  “This is perfect,” Hercules whispered. “I can sneak in and steal the belt, and then we can get out of here.”

  Zeus hesitated. The plan kind of made sense. If they could sneak out with the belt, they could avoid a war with the Amazons. But…

  “No,” Zeus said. “Once they realize the belt is stolen, they’ll find us. They’ll track us down.”

  “I don’t care,” Hercules said, and he climbed through the window. Zeus watched him trip and tumble onto the floor. “Ow!”

  A net dropped down from the ceiling, covering Hercules. That was when Zeus noticed that Hercules had tripped over a very thin thread. As Hercules struggled to get out of the net, ropes attached to the net rung bells that hung from the walls.

  “Uh-oh,” Zeus said. He started to climb in to help Hercules, but then Hippolyta walked in through the front door. Zeus ducked down below the window.

  “Did you really think stealing my belt would be so easy?” she asked. “I set this trap to see if I could trust you boys. And now I know that I can’t.”

  She walked to the table and put on the belt.

  “Sorry, boy, or half god, or whatever you are,” she said. “What would you like to be? A bird? A dog? Or maybe a rat, like the sneaky thief that you are.”

  Hercules tore apart the net. “All right! I’ll leave! Just don’t turn me into anything. I like being me.”

  “Too late,” Hippolyta said, and the golden disc on her belt began to glow.

  For a split second Zeus thought about letting her do it. He’d be free of Hercules forever. No more whining! No more bragging! No more destruction. Zeus could complete the missions himself! Why not?

  But then Zeus grabbed Bolt. As annoying as Hercules was, he didn’t deserve to be turned into a rat.

  “Stop, Hippolyta!” Zeus cried, and he jumped in through the window. He pointed Bolt at her. “Stop or I’ll fry you!”

  The Amazon’s eyes narrowed. Then she let out a loud cry.

  “Eeeeeeeeeeeyayayayayayayayayayaya!”

  The sound of running footsteps thundered as every Amazon in the camp raced toward Hippolyta’s cabin. Keeping Bolt trained on Hippolyta, Zeus grabbed Hercules’s arm. Then he pulled the boy out of the cabin through the front door past Hippolyta.

  There was nowhere to run. The Amazons—a hundred of them at least, Zeus figured—surrounded them.

  Eurybe stepped forward. “This is war, Zeus!” she said.

  Great, Zeus thought. I was trying to avoid a war with King Eurystheus, and now I’ve got one with the Amazons!

  “Bolt, large!” Zeus cried, and the dagger grew to its full size, sparkling and sizzling.

  “Pow! Bam! Crunch!” Hercules yelled, and he charged at the nearest group of warriors.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The warriors hurled their spears at the boys. Zeus held Bolt in two hands and spun in a circle, batting away the spears.

  Then…

  “You’d better fear. The Spear of Fear is here!”

  Ares wa
s awake! He ran across the camp, and then hurled the spear. It zipped and zoomed around the camp, and the warriors somersaulted and dodged out of the way.

  Three girls circled Zeus, their spears pointed at him. He raised Bolt above his head.

  “Bolt, lightning!” he yelled.

  Jagged streaks flowed from Bolt and hit the ground all around Zeus. The warriors jumped back, and Zeus ran.

  Always running, Zeus thought. I should just zap them all with a mighty blast of thunder! But the thought of hurting the Amazons still didn’t feel right to Zeus. They were kids, just like him. And it would be better to have them as friends, not as enemies.

  This is all Hercules’s fault! he thought, and then he looked back to check on his friends. Ares was sparring with Eurybe, spear to spear. Zeus couldn’t see Hercules.

  Find a high point, Zeus thought, scanning the countryside. Show them the power of Bolt. Then maybe everyone will stop!

  He spotted a hill overlooking the camp and raced toward it. Suddenly the ground underneath his feet began to shake, and he lost his footing. He righted himself and looked behind him.

  Seven giant women as tall as the trees stomped toward the camp. They wore giant leather boots, giant leather pants, and giant leather vests. They had different hairstyles, but they all had the same, giant angry faces, with big noses and angry eyes.

  They moved in a line, all at the same time. The one in the middle spoke.

  “Beware Sally, Solly, Sully, Smelly, Silly, Steely, and Snarly, you tiny twerps!” she growled. “We are the daughters of Alkyoneus, and we are here for revenge!”

  CHAPTER NINE Revenge of the Seven Sisters

  Ares and Eurybe stopped fighting. The Amazons stopped chasing Zeus. Everyone turned to face the seven sisters.

  Hippolyta’s voice rang out.

  “Circle them!” she commanded. “Then I will take care of them with my belt!”

  The Amazons moved to circle the seven giant women, and the giants began stomping.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! The ground shook as the sisters tried to crush the warriors with their feet. The expertly trained Amazons moved too quickly, dodging them.