“Alec,” I said, getting the hero’s attention for a second. He paused and glanced over at me, beads of sweat just starting to slide down his brow. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked him with a small frown. He raised his eyebrows in a rare moment of confusion, and I snapped my fingers at him. “Hello? Fight, you idiot.”
He grinned at me, then lunged like a lion at Brady with renewed strength, catching him off guard. Swing after swing hit Brady directly in the side, on a thick part of the armor, since Alec didn’t really want to hurt Brady too badly. Alec swung again and stabbed Brady square in the breastplate, and this time Brady fell back into the grass with a thump. For a second no one moved as Alec triumphantly held his sword at Brady’s neck, a small smirk on the hero’s handsome face. The entire crowd, except for me, wore expressions of shock during the moment of silence.
But then, enraged battle cries sounded throughout the mass of people as all three of Brady’s friends jumped into the crowded circle, swords at the ready. Alec’s jaw dropped in wonderment along with the rest of the crowd’s, and he glanced back at me again for permission to take them out. I just nodded at him impatiently; I knew he could take all three of them down in a matter of minutes. And besides, I could tell from looking at the others’ weak stances that they, like Brady, hadn’t had too much training.
Alec waited for the first boy, a chubby one, to lunge and he easily blocked the swing of his sword, then whirled around to parry the stab of a tall skinny boy. Breathing hard, Brady got up and stood next to Chubby, the two of them waiting for their turn to strike again. But Brady’s third friend, a scrawny little fellow, ran at Alec like a bull. For this, Alec didn’t even bother to swing his sword; instead, he just used his foot to kick Scrawny to the ground. After all, the very best warriors can use their own strengths and surroundings as weapons.
I snorted at the poor brown-haired boy as he fell, but then looked up to see Jason, who was standing just inches behind Clara, so close that his breath must have been blowing through her hair and rolling down her neck. If she even noticed, Clara didn’t seem to mind at all. Watching Alec with a sudden great interest, he scratched the tiny brown goatee on his chin in thought as Alec continued to fight, and I smiled to myself; Jason was finally paying attention to someone besides himself and the rest of his council.
Alec blocked and lunged at both Brady and Chubby as the two attacked at the same time, and was knocked off balance. This only seemed to anger Alec, and he got up, seeming to forget his pains and attacking with even more rage but also with strategy. Again and again, the four boys attacked Alec and failed to make a mark. Alec knocked Scrawny to the ground yet again, but this time much harder than before, and Scrawny looked around in a daze, as if he had a mild concussion.
One by one, the other boys fell—Chubby, then Tall Skinny, and finally Brady again. The four boys sat on the lush green grass, panting as they stared up at Alec in surprise and pain. Alec just straightened up and twirled his sword around in one hand like it was almost weightless, and then he challenged, “Does anyone else want to fight me?” The crowd said nothing, their eyes wide in shock, including those of Jason. Satisfied, Alec squeezed the hilt of the sword and it retracted, forming itself into the small gray rock once again.
I stepped up beside Alec, checking my watch. “Four minutes and twenty-nine seconds,” I told him, frowning in mock disapproval. “I could have done it in less than two. Needs work.”
Alec rolled his eyes, but then he bowed because he had to, here in front of his elders. “With all due respect, Lady Athena,” he began in an equally mocking tone, pausing while he tore off his borrowed armor, followed by his shirt. The girls in the crowd behind him giggled, and the boys just snorted. “This needs work too,” he finished, motioning to the bloody bandages on his back. I just grinned playfully and pushed him along toward the purple infirmary tent.
The rest of the crowd watched with great interest as I turned back to acknowledge them. “If any more of you have problems with my hero, you will take it up with me from now on. As you can see, Alec is quite capable of beating all of you,” I announced, raising my voice, and they all nodded quickly and dispersed. Even Jason shot me a small look of approval as he ran he fingers through his light brown hair, and so I took a deep breath of relief; they finally understood and respected my choice, at least somewhat.
___________________
The crowd whispered in confusion. I guessed making two important announcements in one day was unusual, but hey, so was I. I paced the wooden stage, waiting for the Knowing to quiet down so I could speak to them, and glanced at Alec, who was standing on the stage next to me and actually wearing a shirt again.
When the crowd quieted, Alec nodded, showing me that he was ready to start, and I took a deep breath before announcing, “I know you all have been wondering why Alec and I are here.” Grumbles of agreement passed through the crowd, and I continued over them, “Well, I’m sorry to say that it’s not a happy visit. I apologize for calling upon you so suddenly, but there is a war about to start, and, unfortunately, the Olympian Council cannot fight Hades and all of the monsters in the world alone.”
Horrified gasps sounded from all around me, which was not unexpected. Some people even started to whimper and cry, but I could not stop now. These people had to be warned, even if I didn’t like them very much.
“Yes, that’s right, we need reinforcements. So we need you. All of you, whether you are defending the base camp or my own home, the Woods.” I paused, letting this information sink in a little more. “Alec and I will give you more details later on, but I also need to tell you that I am leaving tonight,” I stated, and even more people started to cry. Alec and I only exchanged shocked expressions, wondering what was wrong with them. Crying wasn’t going to help anything. It never did.
Someone lost in the crowd called out to me, asking why I had to leave the camp defenseless. I sighed, but eventually admitted, “I had a vision, and all I’m going to say on the matter is that the rest of the gods are in great danger. You’ll just have to trust me. In the meantime, I am leaving Alec here to train and organize the troops. I can personally assure you and I think that by now you too have all seen that Alec is quite capable of doing this. I hope that he and the troops will meet the Olympian Council at the camp by Pan’s hideout within two weeks. Don’t worry; Alec will lead you there safely.”
After I motioned to Alec, he cleared his throat and began, “I know many of you still distrust me because I left, but you have to understand that I did it for the gods, and that I really did have a vision.” Alec paused, and I heard a few exasperated groans from the crowd. He looked back at me, so I gave him an encouraging nod. “I don’t care whether or not you believe me, but you all must get past our differences so we can fight together to save the world! I don’t know about you, but I do not want to die.” At this, the crowd cheered like crazy, and I smiled with Alec, giving a sigh of relief that he was finally gaining the respect he deserved.
When the Knowing quieted down a little, Alec finished, “We must get to work right away. Lady Athena and I will inspect and critique your form before she has to leave.”
When he took a deep breath and stepped back, the crowd started to talk again and disperse, but I quickly stopped them with the raw power of my voice. These people would do anything for me, and yet they did not even know me. I would never fully understand that.
Then again, I had also seen what they were like before they knew I was a goddess. So maybe their dedication too was just an act.
“One last thing,” I told them. “I’m not going to lie; this will not be easy. Many of you will die, but I can assure you that it will be for the greatest cause you could ever fight: to protect the world. I know your numbers are not many, so I am begging all boys and men over the age of twelve to train for battle. As of this moment, the age restriction on battle training has been abolished.”
I paused to let the whoops of excitement from the teens die down before adding, “I kn
ow this goes against the ancient Greek custom, but I am also inviting women to fight—only if you really want to, of course. Remember that we also need nurses and medics. And thank you. That will be all,” I said, sighing as I turned away from the petrified Knowing faces.
“Well, you just blew my speech off the map,” Alec sputtered, wiping the sweat off his brow.
I just smiled, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, and together we walked toward the battle-training center. We had a whole lot of work to do.
Chapter 17:
A GOODBYE PARTY?
I walked with Alec, following the Knowing leader, Jason, toward the training area at the other end of the large encampment. I paused, tightened my side ponytail, and cast Alec a curious glance. “So who were those guys who attacked you earlier?” I asked him, wanting to find out more about the crazy people with whom he used to live.
Alec sighed, staring at the long green grass under his shoes as we walked slowly along. “Enemies,” he answered vaguely, chewing his lip and avoiding my gaze. “I seem to have made a lot of those.” He sighed again and kicked a tiny rock, sending it flying forward.
I snapped my fingers in front of his face to get him to look at me with his deep blue eyes. “Winston Churchill once said that having enemies is good. It means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” Alec looked up at me with a new respect, wonderment in his eyes. I just shrugged. “It’s one of my favorite quotes.”
“It’s the best I’ve heard. Although I don’t have any other friends who are insufferable know-it-alls with smart quotes for every occasion,” Alec said with a smirk, turning to look out at the hazy horizon, but his attention returned when we reached the training area.
“Hey! If I’m so insufferable, why do you hang out with me?” I stuck my tongue out at him. “And you don’t even have any other friends besides the gods!”
“Ouch. That hurt,” Alec said, though he brightened up and added with a wink, “but it’s so true.”
I just looked forward at the training area. In front of us was a large sword-fighting arena with marble and stone stands built into the hillside, like the ancient Greek theaters. On one side of the arena was an archery range, and on the other was a large barnlike shed, which I assumed was the armory, but I didn’t get the chance to ask because Jason clapped loudly and began to shout to his people.
“All right, everybody put on your armor and grab your weapons. Then we’ll have all the sword fighters split into groups. Archers, just go to the archery range and start shooting,” he ordered in his most commanding voice, which was really just a whimper when compared to Zeus’s, and his people immediately responded.
In a huge wave, they surged toward the brown shed, confirming my suspicion that it was indeed the armory. When most of the people had pushed their way back out, they began to split into groups. To give the sword fighters a chance to regroup, Alec and I made our way over to the archers, who were already in a line, shooting at colorful targets set up about seventy feet away.
There were only about ten archers, though, many fewer than I would have liked. But I didn’t complain. Instead, I sat on a wooden bench facing the archery range as the archers—eight grown men, one younger boy, and a girl—picked up arrows one by one and sent them flying through the air toward the circular targets.
Nervously, every single one of them would turn around after they shot, as if looking for a sign of my approval. I could tell that my presence distracted them, because almost every one of them actually hit the target only one out of five times. I sighed, and Alec dropped his shoulders in defeat, obviously noticing the same thing I had, and assured me they didn’t usually shoot so badly. I knew if they kept shooting that badly, however, our side of the war would be in serious trouble.
I grunted and got up off the bench, thinking that these people needed a serious pep talk, so I clapped my hands together to get their attention. “Okay,” I said with a long sigh, a little louder and more intimidating than I meant to be, and they dropped their weapons in frustration. “I can tell you are nervous with me here, but I also know you can shoot a lot straighter than you are shooting right now. And I’m sorry to say that this isn’t going to cut it.” I paused and watched the archers as they shifted and squirmed under my powerful gaze. “So either pull yourselves together or die. Your choice.”
The ten archers muttered among themselves and reluctantly returned to their stances, aiming their arrows at the targets once again. I motioned for Alec to follow me, and together we stopped by each archer in turn, trying to give them pointers. I’ll admit that I wasn’t nearly as good as Artemis or Apollo, who managed to hit the bull’s-eye almost every single time, but they had given both Alec and me a couple of lessons before we had left the Woods in case we came across a situation like this. I caught Alec’s eye once again, and we couldn’t help but smile in remembrance of our battle with the Stymphalian birds.
First, we started with the older men, who seemed to have things under control after I gave them the motivational talk. Each one of them had hit the bull’s-eye at least three times when I had finished, and I quickly picked out the best archer of the group, a blond man who looked to be around age thirty. Next, I moved on to work with my two younger students. They stopped shooting and lowered their weapons when Alec and I walked over and turned to study their targets, and I smiled, raising my eyebrows at their results.
The boy with dark hair and brown eyes, who looked about twelve, had eight arrows stuck in the bull’s-eye ring on the target—just as many as any of the older men had. The freckled girl, who looked about fourteen, only about a year younger than Alec and I, and who had her sleek black hair tied up in a ponytail, had also done much better than I expected. Her target had a respectable five arrows in the red bull’s-eye, and I nodded to the two of them, showing that I was impressed.
The girl and the boy, who I thought looked similar enough to be siblings, exchanged relieved glances once they saw my amused expression, then they looked back up to me. “How long have you two been shooting?” I asked them.
“About two years,” the boy with dark hair answered. “But we had to train in secret, especially since we aren’t even of training age. Our dad got us started early. He’s over there at the end of the line.”
“Actually, all of the archers had to train in secret at one point or another,” the girl added.
I nodded, and Alec muttered bluntly, “Sounds familiar.” I sighed, rubbing my forehead, still not understanding why the Knowing would forbid archery training, let alone why they would place an age limit on battle training, so I asked the two about it. Surprisingly, they weren’t sure, but Alec was ready with the answer. “The Knowing chooses to believe Ares,” he said with obvious disgust. “That all archers are cowards because they don’t do hand-to-hand combat.”
“Then the Knowing obviously needs to update their views on such matters,” I said, remembering how Ares would always tease Artemis and Apollo about that, until one day in the forest Artemis had knocked Ares out cold by hitting him square on the back of his thick head with her bow. It had served him right, in my opinion.
I smirked at the memory, and Alec only whispered to me harshly, “No, the Knowing need to update their views on a lot of matters.”
Ignoring him for the moment, I turned back to the boy and girl. “What are your names?” I asked them politely, eager to get to know more of the Knowing people, specifically the younger ones with the brightest futures.
“I’m Hannah, and this is Ben,” the girl answered with alacrity, gesturing to the boy next to her. “It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Athena.”
I nodded and told them seriously, “Well, thank you for volunteering to fight. I think that is very brave of you, no matter what anyone else says.”
Hannah and Ben blushed sweetly, and I found it hard to believe that Alec and I were just a little older than the two of them. They seemed so much younger and more innocent than we were, although I supposed they hadn’t seen n
early as much death and destruction as we had, or faced as many of their fears. Based on what Alec had told me about the Knowing’s murky past, I doubted these two had ever even been outside of the base camp before.
Frowning, I tried to rack my brain to remember the fears I had, but strangely enough, I couldn’t think of any. Did my human part, Ashley, have any fears? I wasn’t even sure anymore. I supposed my biggest fear would have been the death of my friends, the gods, but I wasn’t worried about it; I knew they could handle themselves better than anyone else in the world. After facing so many horrific monsters, I guessed the rest of the gods and I had become sort of immune to fear and its side effects. Maybe that was why we felt and acted so much older. After all, wisdom does not just come with age, but also with the things you have seen.
Then again, maybe that was just part of being a god.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, but Jason’s booming voice cut through the air. “Hurry up! Let’s get to work, sword fighters!” he yelled from behind Alec and me, somewhere near the arena. I took this as a sign that it was time for Alec and me to leave the archers to practice on their own for a while and give the sword fighters some tips. I looked over to Alec questioningly and he nodded in agreement, starting to lead me toward the arena. I smiled; somehow we always knew what each other was thinking.
The sword fighters in the arena stood in two groups, which I hoped were based on skill level because there were so many different-sized men clad in Grecian armor, holding shiny swords and spears of various lengths and weights. The bigger, well-muscled ones had tattoos of monsters crawling or slithering like snakes up their tanned arms and torsos, and I tried to hide my frown; I’ll admit that I thought having one or two tattoos was cool, but having too many was just gross.
Tightening my ponytail before getting to work, I suggested to Alec, “You take one group, and I’ll take the other.” He nodded and peeled off, heading toward the smaller group on the left.
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