by Eliza Raine
‘Err, as it happens, some fruit is exactly what we would like,’ said Phyleus.
‘Of course,’ a red-haired woman said, and she held out her hands. Fruits of all different sizes and colours, most of which Lyssa didn’t recognise, appeared from nowhere, filling her arms.
‘Actually, we have been sent by Zeus to get a golden apple,’ she said.
The women all froze, then turned to her as one.
‘Zeus knows you’re here?’ the first woman said, quietly.
‘Yes. We are competing in a Trial he set us, to gain immortality,’ Phyleus said.
‘We are immortal. It is not as desirable as you might think,’ a woman with short black hair said.
Lyssa frowned at her.
‘Are you goddesses?’
‘No. We are wood nymphs, of a sort. We were created by Zeus, for Zeus.’
‘He visits with us, but he does not love us,’ another nymph added.
‘Oh. I’m sorry,’ Lyssa answered her, unsure if it was the right thing to say. ‘Well, we are competing against a man who is very cruel. And we are less interested in immortality than we are in keeping him from it.’
‘Is that who is fighting with precious Ladon now?’ asked a blonde nymph with wide eyes. Lyssa nodded.
‘He is strong,’ said another. Lyssa’s eye twitched as she looked at her.
‘Yes. And he is a murderer.’
‘That matters not to us. We are so terribly lonely.’ The first nymph stepped forward and the rest followed her, closing in around them. Unease slid over Lyssa, her senses alert and her body tensing.
‘I’m sorry you’re lonely. Are you able to help us?’ she asked, levelly.
‘We are able, yes. But we are not willing.’
Lyssa took a step backwards, reaching behind her to feel for the longboat.
‘Why not?’ asked Phyleus, as the nymphs closed in further.
‘You haven’t offered us anything in return.’
‘Oh. What would you like? We have money, back on our ship,’ he said.
The nymphs laughed as one, the sound tinkling and gentle and lovely.
‘What would we do with money? No, no. We desire company.’ Every one of the nymphs’ beautiful faces fixed on Phyleus, and their predatory gazes made Lyssa’s blood ran cold.
‘Ohhh no. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we are leaving,’ she said, reaching for Phyleus’s arm. ‘Thanks for your time,’ she said quickly, pulling him towards her.
‘Wait,’ he said, turning to face her. ‘Let’s hear them out.’
She raised her eyebrows.
‘No!’
He tugged his arm out of her grip.
‘Yes,’ he said, and turned back to the blonde nymph. ‘What would you like in return for a golden apple?’
‘You,’ she said.
‘Time to go,’ Lyssa barked, grabbing his arm again, but he stepped out of her reach.
‘Lyssa, wait. Think about it.’
‘I don’t need to. Let’s go.’
‘You said yourself, if Hercules wins the Trials then he will hunt you forever.’ His eyes softened as they bored into hers. ‘Lyssa, I wasn’t supposed to survive the Elysium Mysteries. I was given a second chance, and maybe this was why. For a higher cause.’
Lyssa stared at him, her brain refusing to process what he was saying.
‘You want to stay here?’ she whispered, her heart racing.
‘Of course not. But if it gives you a life free of him... I would do anything for that.’
Tears filled Lyssa’s eyes as emotion engulfed her, everything she had crushed down and refused to feel spilling over at once. He was willing to give up his own life for her to be free. And in that moment, Lyssa realised it was too late. It was too late to push him out, to save herself the pain of losing someone she loved. Because if she lost him, right then, she knew wouldn’t be able to carry on. She already loved him.
‘I need you,’ she whispered, staring at his set, beautiful face. ‘I don’t want to be free without you.’ His lips parted and the look in his eyes changed, hope replacing the sadness. ‘Phyleus, I’d rather run for a lifetime with you by my side than spend a single minute free of him without you,’ she said, the truth of the words sending bolts of power and joy through her body as she spoke them. ‘I love you.’
His hands were on her face in a second, and he wiped a tear away with his thumb as he tilted her face up and whispered,
‘Say that again.’
‘I love you.’
He kissed her, and it was so much more than it had been before. Passion gave way to an emotion so tangible she felt like she would explode as it shuddered through her body. His hands were in her hair now, and she brought her own fingers to his face, feeling his skin, pulling him even closer. She would never, ever let him go, Hercules and immortality be damned.
17
Evadne cast a last, nervous glance over her shoulder as the wave-carved longboat lifted silently from the deck of the Alastor. Epizon gave them a silent wave and she lifted her hand in response. Abderos had seen Poseidon with his own eyes, so there was no way any of the crew of the Alastor were going to object to their little mission.
Why did Poseidon want Eryx to have the Hydra key, she wondered, curiosity burning inside her. Evadne hadn’t known that Athena had shown interest in Eryx way back in the second Trial until he’d told her. She felt a sliver of hope and tried to push it back down. She had made peace with her decision. She was happy to give up her shot at immortality; that wasn’t why she was still fighting in the Trials. She was there for Eryx now. Watching his face as Poseidon’s praise sank in was genuinely one of the best moments of her life, and the strength of her happiness for him cemented what she had come to realise last night in the cargo deck. The simple, honest and loyal man was the only thing she really cared about any more.
‘Busiris will not try to fight Ladon. I fear he will still be on the Orion,’ Eryx said, as the little boat sped towards the Zephyr, which was hovering by the small island.
‘Will you fight him? Or should we try to be stealthy?’ she asked.
He turned to look at her.
‘What do you think we should do?’
Hercules had never once asked her that question and her heart filled with a surge of happiness.
‘The easiest way is stealth. But I know you’re angry with him, and I understand if you want to challenge him.’ She paused and cocked her head. ‘Do you want to try to take back the Orion?’
Eryx’s eyebrows shot up, and Evadne realised he hadn’t even considered the idea. How different he was to most fighters.
‘Take the Orion? I wouldn’t know where to start. I’d have no crew, and...’ Pain settled over his broad face. ‘No,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Antaeus was a captain. He didn’t make me his first mate because he knew I would not be good at it. We stick to the plan and help Captain Lyssa defeat Hercules,’ he stated, resolutely. Evadne nodded.
‘OK. But just so you know, I think you’d make a great captain.’ She gave him her warmest smile and his piercing blue eyes lit up.
‘Really?’
‘Sure. With me to help, of course.’ She grinned.
‘You would stay with me?’
‘Eryx, I think you may be stuck with me for some time.’
‘I’m glad about that,’ he said quietly.
‘Me too,’ she said, and leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. His skin flushed instantly and she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips.
‘I’ve never met anybody like you,’ she said as he glared at her indignantly.
‘Hmmm,’ he grunted.
‘I meant that as a compliment.’
‘Oh. Well, then... I’ve never met anybody like you either.’
The longboat silently approached the Orion, staying well below the deck, so they would run less risk of being seen. They knew from experience that Evadne could climb through the portholes in the living quarters, or through the ballista windo
ws. However, they couldn’t see any open portholes as they sailed around the huge hull of the ship, so they headed lower, to the weapons deck.
‘Are you sure about this?’ hissed Eryx, as Evadne leaned over the side of the little boat and gripped the wooden frame of the ballista window.
‘Yes, of course,’ she whispered, looking back over her shoulder at his worried face. ‘If Busiris is on board, he’ll never even know I was there. I’ll be in and out before you miss me.’ She gave him a small smile, and pulled herself through the window, squeezing past the huge weapon and landing lightly on the planks on the other side. She wasted no time, jogging as quickly and quietly as she could to the corridor, and scanning for the hauler. Though the ship was big, she had her bearings enough to know roughly where Eryx’s room was, and he had told her which drawer in his chest contained the Hydra key.
The hauler doors slid open as soon as she tugged on them, and she stepped inside, nervous energy skittering through her. When she reached the living quarters deck, she pulled the hauler doors open again, and ran down the corridor to the left. The Zephyr felt so different to the Hybris, the wood lacking that deep mahogany shine, the planks that made up the ceiling above her head so much higher. She ran past massive doors on both sides, trying to keep count. She was almost certain that Eryx’s room was the fourth from the end, on her left. She heard a loud clatter, and slowed down, her heart leaping hard in her chest. So Busiris was on board.
Was that a noise from the galley? She turned her head to look behind her, trying to work out which way the sound had come from. Lots of galleys didn’t have doors, so if she ran past she might be spotted. She slowed almost to a stop, listening intently for a clue to Busiris’s location.
‘Well, well, well.’ A rasping, snide voice made her jump, her blood suddenly turning cold in her veins. She whirled around to see Busiris step fully into the corridor just a few feet ahead of her. ‘Come to take the ship back, have you?’
His black eyes were narrowed, and he was holding a kitchen knife. An image of Hercules holding a similar knife in the galley of the Hybris flashed before her, and her knees felt suddenly weak.
‘Well, you can’t have it! The Orion is mine!’ Busiris yelled, and lunged forward.
Evadne moved as fast as her legs would carry her, sprinting back down the corridor the way she had come, the half-giant’s footsteps pounding behind her. She felt his grip on her shoulder too soon, his long legs easily outpacing hers, and she kicked out as he spun her to face him. There was fury in his expression, the cold, calm front he usually wore nowhere to be seen. He gripped her shoulder harder as he towered over her, holding the knife in front of her face. She stilled, breathing hard, shaking.
‘Let’s see if Eryx wants to join us, shall we?’ Busiris hissed.
Egypt was ruled by Busiris, a son of Poseidon. He sacrificed all strangers on an alter to Zeus, after a seer told him that killing a stranger would end famine. Busiris sacrificed the seer first, then slaughtered all strangers who came to Egypt.
EXCERPT FROM
The Library by Apollodorus
Written 300–100 bc
Paraphrased by Eliza Raine
18
‘ERYX!’
He was so startled to hear his name bellowed from overhead that his whole body jumped, his heart leaping with it. Concern for Evadne filled his brain before any other thoughts could take hold.
‘Eryx, come and face me!’
His fists clenched as Busiris’s voice carried across the still blue sky. He urged the longboat up, towards the deck of the Zephyr, and cold anger gripped him as he crested the railings. Busiris was standing in the centre of the deck, his gold skin shining. Evadne was tied to the middle mast, a gag wrapped around her mouth.
‘Ah! So good of you to join us! And here I was thinking about how you can possibly have the nerve to call me a coward. You sent a girl to do your job? Were you too scared to face me, brother?’
‘You’re no brother to me,’ Eryx spat, as Poseidon’s longboat sank to the deck. ‘Let her go, now.’ Busiris took a step backwards, towards Evadne, and raised his hand, showing Eryx the knife he held.
‘I told you not to trust her, but you wouldn’t listen. Now it seems you may have been right. Who’d have thought it, eh? The simple, stupid Eryx got something right.’ Busiris sneered, then turned back to Evadne. Her eyes were cold and hard, her jagged hair falling around her face. ‘She can tell me what I need to know to get to Hercules. There’s still a chance I can win this.’
Eryx snorted and stepped towards them. He could hear the pounding of his own heart in his ears, restless energy making it hard to keep his movements slow and measured. He forced himself to keep his eyes on Busiris instead of Evadne.
‘You still think you can win this? You’re mad. You lost any chance of winning when you left Antaeus to die.’
This time Busiris snorted.
‘Hercules was going to kill him, no matter what I did.’
‘You’re a coward.’ Eryx took another step forward.
‘You call it cowardice, I call it sense,’ Busiris hissed, baring his teeth. ‘Only a fool runs towards his own death.’
‘Only a coward believes that they cannot stop their own death.’
Busiris barked out a laugh. ‘You think either of us could survive Hercules, son of Zeus, strongest mortal in Olympus? You’re an idiot, Eryx.’
‘Together, we could have stopped him!’ Eryx shouted, his calm slipping. ‘With Antaeus, fighting together, we could have stopped what happened!’
Busiris glared at him a moment, then turned back to Evadne.
‘Let’s ask your new girlfriend what she thinks.’ He ripped the gag from her mouth. ‘Well? You should know better than anyone: do you think little Eryx here could have beaten your old boyfriend?’
Eryx tried not to flinch at the words.
‘Go to hell,’ Evadne spat. Busiris laughed.
‘I’ll take that as a no, then. But since we’re talking, how do I get onto the Hybris? There must be a weakness on the ship somewhere.’
‘Eryx is right, you’ve gone mad. You can’t win this,’ she said, struggling inside the ropes. Eryx took another step closer. ‘What good would breaking into the Hybris do you? Hercules would just kill you as soon as he found you. You’re nothing to him.’
Busiris’s onyx eyes flashed.
‘You know... you’re right,’ he said, a slow smile spreading across his face. ‘You’ve just given me a brilliant idea! I need to win him over. Trade my way onto his crew. And as it happens, I have just the bargaining chip. I do believe he would pay handsomely for a chance to get even with the girl who shot him in front of the world.’
Fear filled Evadne’s eyes and Eryx’s fragile control snapped. He roared as he threw himself at Busiris, bringing his arm down hard on the wrist that held the knife. It clattered to the deck, spinning away as the two half-giants stumbled backwards towards the rear mast. Eryx had never once sparred with Busiris, and he was surprised his charge hadn’t toppled the gold man. He was stronger than Eryx had given him credit for.
Busiris shoved back at him as he regained his footing, locking his arms around Eryx’s. He tried to pull away, but the gold man’s grip on his shoulders was too tight.
‘There’s a reason you’ve never seen me fight, little Eryx,’ Busiris hissed, his face just inches from Eryx’s own. ‘You think I became a king by being weak? You think Antaeus didn’t know what I was made of?’
‘You were on this crew because you had money, not because you had his respect,’ Eryx snarled.
‘Is that what he told you? He was only captain of this ship because his brute strength made him impossible to challenge, and he knew one day I would take his place. All I had to do was wait for my chance,’ Busiris said, a nasty smile on his lips. Anger swelled inside Eryx. ‘Antaeus wasn’t as stupid as you,’ Busiris sneered. ‘Antaeus feared me.’
‘You’re a lying, cowardly snake!’ Eryx yelled, then ducked, yanking down hard
enough to break Busiris’s lock on his arms. He darted to his left, then braced his shoulder and smashed sideways into Busiris’s ribs as hard as he possibly could. He heard the air leave the half-giant’s lungs as he flew across the deck, and his own momentum carried him forward a few staggering paces. There was a thud as Busiris hit the planks, then continued to skid towards the railings. A loud crack was followed by a yell, then the gold half-giant was flailing, waving his arms wildly, and Eryx raced forward as he realised what was happening. Busiris’s weight had broken the railings.
‘Help me!’ he gasped, his legs disappearing over the edge of the ship, broken bits of wooden rail dropping past him. Indecision tore at Eryx as his pace slowed. Busiris didn’t deserve to live, but going overboard, all the way up here? Eryx didn’t even know when the fall would stop; there was nothing below Leo. And was it really his place to choose to end the man’s life?
The fear filling Busiris’s eyes as his chest began to slip below the edge of the Orion’s deck, his fingers scrabbling madly on the smooth planks, made Eryx’s mind up for him. He reached out his arm as he dropped to a crouch, inches from closing his fist around Busiris’s hand when the half-giant’s black eyes widened suddenly, and with a shout he was gone.
Eryx lunged forward, gripping the edge of the deck tightly, and instantly regretted it when he saw the terror on Busiris’s face as he plummeted into nothingness.
19
Lyssa never wanted the kiss to end. At that moment, in that place where only she and Phyleus existed, the Trials meant nothing. All that mattered was that they were together. When Phyleus pulled away from her, short of breath, his face as flushed as she knew her own to be, she blinked at him. Why had he stopped?
‘We’ll fight Ladon, and we’ll just have to win,’ he said quietly. Her senses trickled back in through the passion, the stakes they were fighting for reasserting themselves. They weren’t just fighting for their own freedom, they were trying to stop Hercules from having a lifetime to hurt others. They would have time to be together, as soon as this was over.