Forge of the Gods 3

by Simon Archer

  I had a bandage on my split chin and an ice pack strapped to my shoulder. Phae sat across from me, looking miserable as she pressed her own ice pack against her temple. Katlynn floated between the two of us, unable to look at either one without bursting into little fits of giggles.

  “If you don’t shut up, I’m going to shove your ass back into the locket,” I threatened.

  Thankfully, Katlynn realized I was in too much pain to be messed with. So she clapped her hand over her mouth and remained silent. Arges joined us soon after my threat to Katlynn with a tray of tea. He poured a cup for me and Phae. He looked up at the ghost and squinted his eyes as if he needed glasses to see my half-sister clearly.

  “I assume I don’t need to serve you,” Arges asked the ghost.

  Katlynn waved her hand and shook her head simultaneously. “No, thank you for the thought, though.”

  Arges nodded and then finally poured himself a cup. It looked like a child’s tea set in his massive hands, but he cradled it with a surprising amount of care and grace. I cupped my own tea and sniffed the sweet aroma. My senses recognized it, associating the smell with the med bay on campus.

  “Is there ambrosia in this?” I asked the cyclops.

  “Yes,” Arges said after taking a sip of his own tea. “It should speed up the healing of your injuries.”

  I sipped the tea and let the warmth fill me to the brim. It stretched out to all of my aches and bruises, soothing them right away. I opened my mouth and released a satisfied sigh.

  “Now that the pair of you have been treated properly, let’s talk about that battle,” Arges said politely as he set down his tea on a nearby end table. He leaned back in the wicker chair and rested his arms open on both armrests, looking like a king on his throne.

  “Are we going to talk about how Cameron cheated?” Phae grumbled, her voice muffled by the ice pack which had migrated down to her jaw.

  “I did not!” I protested. “There was nothing in the rules about not using my powers.”

  “If I had known we could use magic, I wouldn’t have bothered with weapons at all and would have used sun fire to flay you to a crisp,” Phae threatened, clearly sour from her defeat.

  “Well, that wouldn’t have worked either,” I replied, adding an extra ounce of sass to my voice. “Because I’m resistant to sun fire.”

  Phae scoffed and glared at me as if I had poop on my face. “How many powers do you have?”

  “Stop,” Arges cut in, the consonants sharp enough to gather our attention. We both fell silent, but Phae took another sip of tea, a shady gaze coming at me from over the top of her teacup. “The purpose of the fight was not for one person to win over the other, and you knew that when you agreed to it, Phae.”

  “Because I didn’t think he actually had a chance,” Phae grunted, speaking into her teacup.

  “Regardless,” Arges said pointedly, “that was not the purpose.”

  “What was the purpose?” I wondered, glad I finally got to figure out the reason behind his weird first lesson.

  “I wanted to see what you would do when you thought about preparing for a battle, what you would equip yourself with,” Arges explained in a calm and knowing tone. “Unfortunately, you did exactly what I thought you would, so I cannot be that disappointed.”

  “Disappointed?” I exclaimed. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “What did I do?”

  “You came with only a weapon,” Arges said.

  “You said to make what I needed,” I argued, feeling defensive. “If you wanted me to make something else, you should have said so.”

  “That was the point, Cam,” Katlynn jumped in. “He wanted to see how you would interpret that.”

  “No one asked you,” I snapped at my half-sister, even though my annoyance had nothing to do with her.

  Katlynn shrugged but closed her mouth. Arges picked up where the ghost left off.

  “You only thought about the offensive,” the cyclops explained. “You made a weapon with which to attack, but you didn’t make anything with which to defend yourself.”

  “If you have the right weapon, you don’t need anything to defend yourself,” I rattled back, as though I were reading off a textbook. In fact, I was quoting one of my assignments from the Academy, and the words burned in my throat even as I said them. I couldn’t believe that Arges had reduced me to spitting out the Demigod Academy for the Elemental Military beliefs.

  “You knew you were going into an uneven fight,” Arges argued. “Why would you only think of the attack and not of preserving and defending yourself as best as you could?”

  “You actually expected me to make a weapon and a full defensive suit in six hours?” I said, a sudden surge of anger coming up. “That’s nearly impossible. I mean, I’m good, but that would take a level of magic I don’t have.”

  “Did you think of asking for help?” Arges asked as he cocked his head to one side.

  “You said I couldn’t ask for help!” I protested, confused as to why the cyclops would even ask a question.

  “When did I say that?” Arges wondered, tilting his head to the other side.

  “When you didn’t give me any other instruction or guidance or, I don’t know, when you left the cave,” I pointed out, my frustration rising.

  “What were my instructions, Cameron?” Arges said pointedly, forcing my mind to go back and remember exactly what he said. As I replayed the conversion from several hours ago in my head, I realized that the cyclops was right. He was tricky, but he was right. He never said I had to make the items on my own.

  “I…” I stalled as I tried to sort through my feelings and thoughts. “I thought you were testing my skills. I thought you wanted to see how strong I was.”

  “I was testing more than just your skills as a blacksmith,” Arges said as he tapped the armrest with a single finger. “If you learn nothing else from me, hear me now, son of Hephaestus. Strength, true strength, is our ability to trust and ask others for help when we need it.”

  “That’s not a strength. That’s a weakness,” I said automatically.

  “Why do you think that?” Arges challenged.

  “Because…” I began, but I couldn’t think of a reason. So my sentence trailed off, and I didn’t say anything.

  “Because that isn’t what you were trained to think about,” Arges filled in for me. “While I admire the Academy’s teachings, they are very heavy-handed when it comes to aggressive teachings, especially for certain branches. I would assume that you were drafted to Enka?”

  “What gave it away?” I replied sarcastically. “The blacksmithing, the fire resistance, or the son of Hephaestus thing?”

  “Your choice of maneuvers actually,” Arges said, surprising me. “It’s the same fighting style passed down from all Enka soldiers. It’s very attack heavy. Phae was able to counter you quite well, attacking the places where you weren’t guarding or blocking your body.”

  I thought about my exposed chest and face, whereas when I kicked Phae, it ended up hurting me more than her because of her armor. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the cyclops had a point. It never even crossed my mind to make anything defensive. My whole life, I had been focused on making weapons, things with which to attack and harm, then I didn’t think about making anything that was defended and protected.

  “I know you originally said you were here to learn more so you could make the Ultimate Weapon, but I think you have excellent skills as a bladesmith,” Arges complimented. “You do not need any help in that area. And frankly, I don’t think there would be anything that I could teach you on that front anyhow. But defensive pieces, armor, and the like? That’s where you need help.”

  “It would seem so,” I said. Even though it was clearly true, I didn’t like admitting my weaknesses. Especially when it came to blacksmithing. I liked to think I was one of the greatest smiths, but only in one area. If I really wanted to be great, I needed to be great in all areas, on the offensive and defensive side.

&nb
sp; “I see tremendous potential,” Arges said encouragingly, “but it will take some work in order to break down some of those habits you have built up over the last several years.” Then the cyclops demeanor completely changed. He leaned back in his chair and began to examine his nails. “However, if making the helm is all you are after, then I can teach you the simple techniques needed, and you can be on your way. For a smith of your skill, it won’t be that hard.”

  A spark of hope flared in me. If the cyclops meant what he said, I could have the helm built and ready to go way before December 1st. I could rescue Sarah sooner. I could get home to Hailey and my girlfriends, maybe finish out the semester on campus.

  But a weight in my chest stopped me from taking Arges up on that offer. There was more here than I initially thought. Arges was a wise being, one who had lived and worked for eons. I had the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest craftsmen in the history of the world. If I agreed to this, I realized I would be in for more than I bargained for.

  I nodded my head slowly, taking in his words one by one. Phae shifted in her seat, readjusting her legs, so they curled up to her chest, shrinking herself in the chair. Katlynn floated by one of the windows and watched the waves move out across the ocean. Even though we were all in the room together, it felt as though we were all in different places.

  I was fiercely reminded of when I was in Hailey’s room with my girlfriends, where I felt broken and distant from them. The same sinking feeling settled in my stomach when I looked at the assets I had in the room with me right now.

  A familiar tune popped into my head just then. My mom’s song floated to my inner ear and repeated a crucial stanza.

  Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  This decision will start

  A series of events

  An open box overturned

  Spilling all its contents

  Charge forward

  Only ahead you will go

  Trust in those around you

  Rely not on only what you know

  Oh la de dah de dah de dah, la de dah de dah

  I thought about what Irema had said about trusting my mom’s words. I recited that section of the song one more time and finally made up my mind.

  “Arges?” I said, snapping everyone out of their stupor. All three heads turned towards me as I announced my decision.

  “Yes, Cameron?” Arges asked, his voice as calm as ever, giving nothing away.

  “I would like to learn from you,” I said, trying to make sure I said everything I wanted to. “And from you, Phae and Katlynn.”

  That last part seemed to surprise the ghost and the goddess. The pair shared an unsure look. But I didn’t give them a chance to respond right away. I continued on with my request. I leaned forward, putting my elbows on my knees and interlacing my fingers together.

  “I think you all have something to teach me,” I went on, my voice growing stronger with each and every word. “I need your help to become a better blacksmith and a better soldier. Will you help me?”

  There was a pause as all three of them considered my request. We heard the wave crash against the rocks outside. Katlynn was the first to break the silence with a shrug.

  “I’m stuck with you anyway, so why the hell not?” Katlynn relented.

  “If you promise not to explode my head again, then I’ll help by teaching you some defensive maneuvers,” Phae agreed.

  I nodded my gratitude to both of them and then turned to Arges. He was the first to offer his services, but I didn’t know if I had already missed the window of opportunity. He was an eternal being with more power than I knew. The cyclops had no ties to me, nothing was forcing him to help me. But I asked like he wanted, and I really did want to be better. I wanted to be the best, and I believed I needed his assistance to do that.

  Arges popped his lips and made dissatisfied sounds. Then the cyclops got to his feet, making his way to the exit. I thought for a moment that I had lost the opportunity to learn from him. He was walking out the door when he looked over his shoulder.

  “Phae,” he spoke to his assistant. Despite her aching head, the goddess got to her feet and looked at her employer. “Please show Cameron to his chambers.” Then he turned and trained his single eye on me. “Meet me in the smithy tomorrow morning at sunrise. We begin then.”

  Then the cyclops left the room, disappearing into the house.

  Phae stood up with a groan and stretched, then looked at Katlynn warily, “I’m guessing you don’t need a room?” she asked.

  Katlynn shrugged, “I’ll just explore the grounds.”

  Phae nodded, still looking unsure, but motioned for me to follow her.

  We walked through the house up the stairs until Phae opened the door to a small bedroom with only a bed and a dresser. “Your room.”

  I walked in and Phae leaned against the doorway watching me, “You know. That move with the helmet actually impressed me. You were able to put me out of commission fairly fast.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the goddess. Her eyes were pointed down to the ground, and I read her body language to see that she was not used to handing out praise.

  I smirked, and sauntered over to the goddess, placing a hand on her chin and raising her gaze to meet mine, “Was that a compliment?”

  Phae growled, but I could see the embarrassment and flash of lust in her eyes, “Sod off.”

  I chuckled, “Tell me to let go. Otherwise, I won’t stop.” I slid the hand holding her chin over to cup her cheek, my other hand sliding up her back, pulling her away from the doorway.

  I went slowly, giving the goddess time to say stop or pull away. But she didn’t do either of those things.

  Instead, Phae took a step closer and pressed her soft supple lips against mine and melted against my body. Her hands found my waist and she pulled me closer, and together we tumbled further into the room, toward the bed. My eyes were closed against the force of her kiss, but my eyelids glowed red as the room seemed to brighten around us. When the backs of my knees hit the edge of the mattress, I hurriedly yanked at her breastplate, opening my eyes to find all of the lights in the room were on, glowing way too brightly for it to be normal. I didn’t pay it too much attention though, and together we shed her armor before she shoved me down onto the mattress. My shoulder still ached slightly, causing me to wince, but she hardly noticed as she climbed over me, lowering herself so that the length of her body was pressed against mine. The warmth of her skin could be felt through the fabric now that her armor wasn’t in the way, and I reveled in it as I reached up and wrapped my fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her in to press my lips firmly against hers. Her lips parted, her tongue dancing against mine, and I felt my body respond to her as she writhed on top of me. The heat radiating from her body warmed my skin, even through my uniform, and the room grew brighter still, until I heard a sudden, loud pop.

  I froze, grabbing onto Phae’s shoulders and pulling her back off of me. She remained over me, propping herself up with the palms of her hands as she looked down at me, a bemused look on her face. The lights dimmed to what was probably a reasonable level, but after the inexplicable power surge, it suddenly seemed too dark in the room.

  “First time with a goddess?” she teased, and I suddenly realized that this was all her doing. She did personify the light of the sun, after all. I should have expected this.

  I didn’t answer her. Instead, I reached up and pulled her back down to me, resuming our kiss as if I hadn’t interrupted her. The warmth and light began to increase again as the kiss deepened, and her hands began roaming my body as she sank back down against me, leaving a trail of comforting heat in their wake. She slipped her hands between my legs as she began kissing her way down my neck. The warmth of her palms had me swelling to meet her, the only barrier between us the fabric of my pants, and I ached to get closer to her, to feel her skin directly against mine. As she kissed her way across my collarbone, I opened my eyes to see all of the lights
on and glowing way too brightly, all except one. I heard another pop, and I jumped in response as I saw a second lightbulb fade out. This time, I didn’t stop her. This time, I understood.

  Phae lifted herself up off of my body slightly as she slid down my body. She brought her hand back up my chest, and I twitched in her absence, craving more of her. I tried to sit up, but her firm palm against my chest shoved me back down.

  “Stay,” she ordered, her voice low and throaty, and I obeyed. The pressure of her palm lightened as she moved over to my buttons, undoing each one as she made her way down my chest. She allowed me a bit of a concession as she tore my shirt off, allowing me to push myself up to remove my sash. Once I was bare chested before her though, her stern gaze had me sinking back down against the soft comforter beneath me.

  Phae dragged her tongue across my bare skin, the warmth feeling like the baking sun on a hot summer’s day. It was an addicting feeling, and in that moment I didn’t want her to ever stop. She slowly traced circles lower and lower on my stomach, teasing me endlessly. I knew where she was headed, but it didn’t seem as if she would ever get there. I felt myself swollen against the zipper of my pants, straining to break free, yet I didn’t want to lose the sensations that her tongue sent coursing through me. I was both intrigued and terrified of what would happen next.

  Finally, Phae reached my beltline. I reached down to touch her, but she slapped my hand away. I may have won on the battlefield, but she was in control here. I was simply her pawn, her plaything. I wasn’t complaining. Even if I wanted to, I didn’t think my injuries would have allowed me to do everything I desired.

  Phae expertly freed me from my pants, pulling them completely off before kissing her way up my inner thighs. I groaned in a combination of pleasure and frustration as she continued her routine, now from a different angle. I felt her silky soft hair brush against my skin as she worked her way ever so slowly up to her target, and I throbbed and ached in pure anticipation. I heard another sudden pop, but it didn’t phase me this time. When I looked down, I noticed she had somehow began to shed her clothing as well while she worked, and her skin glowed as she let her hands trail over the rest of her body. It slowed her progress up my legs, but I knew I’d appreciate it later, so I simply watched her.