by Eliza Raine
‘Oh dear,’ said the pretty girl coyly. ‘Have I caused an issue with your girlfriend?’
‘She’s my gunner. I don’t have girlfriends,’ replied Hercules.
‘Do you like girls though?’ she asked.
He smiled. ‘Yes. Very much.’
She beamed again, her eyes raking over his handsome face.
‘Did you say Nemean Lion?’ he asked her.
‘Yes. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To kill the lion?’
‘It is. Does it lair in Nemea?’
‘Just outside Nemea, to the north. Not far east of the harpy settlement. May I?’ She pointed at the wine.
Hercules couldn’t help admiring her boldness. The casual naivety of youth. He nodded. ‘Does everyone in Nemea know where it lairs?’
‘Yes, of course. Everyone on Cancer. Or how would we know to avoid it!’ She laughed as she poured herself wine into what would have been Evadne’s glass.
‘What’s your name?’
‘Gata.’ She sat back with the glass and fluttered her eyelashes at him.
Hercules had known hundreds of girls like Gata, on every constellation in Olympus. He knew he should be moving on, using the information she had given him. But her childish adoration was what he wanted after Evadne’s impertinence. He had hours before any of the other ships arrived on Cancer. Even when they did arrive, he couldn’t see how any of them would be able to kill a monster with impervious skin. He was the only one who could do it.
‘Gata, I’m in a bit of a hurry. Do you think you can help me?’ He leaned towards her and smiled his most charming smile. Not that he needed it; he already knew the girl would throw herself at him. He saw her arms tremble and her lips part slightly, and knew she was his.
17
The walk through Galatas had taken longer than Lyssa had expected, because all the locals they passed had wanted to wish them luck and shake their hands. They were stopped constantly as they walked through the crowded area of tavernas and shops, and only a little less so as they made their way to the east of the settlement through the big white housing blocks. By the time they had reached the quiet, greener houses on the edge of Galatas, most of the well-wishers had dissipated, much to her relief. The peacocks, however, had increased in number. She was starting to understand Len’s issue with them; she hadn’t seen one smaller than he was. The birds ambled around them as they walked, the bright blue of their bodies standing out against their green fanned tails. The eyes in their plumage kept drawing her gaze as she walked down the immaculate shiny white streets.
‘Len’s right; they are kind of creepy,’ she said.
‘They’re beautiful,’ said Epizon.
‘You would say that.’ She rolled her eyes. Epizon saw the best in everything. ‘Well, I s’pose they’re better than those sycophantic idiots we’ve spent all morning pushing our way through.’
‘You don’t enjoy the attention?’ Phyleus asked her.
She snorted. ‘Do you?’
‘I don’t mind it,’ he answered mildly. ‘But I wouldn’t want it every day.’
‘We should appreciate the support for our cause,’ said Epizon.
‘They think it’s a game!’ Lyssa protested, stopping on the path and throwing her hands up in the air. ‘That my past and these stakes are entertainment!’
Epizon stopped too, and he looked at her levelly. ‘You knew that before we started this,’ he said softly.
‘I know,’ she muttered, kicking at a few dry twigs on the ground. A peacock made an alarmed clicking sound as a twig landed near it, and scuttled away. ‘It’s just hard not to get mad when they’re all parading around, talking about him like it’s a show for their entertainment.’
‘It is to them. It’s not their fault. Save your anger,’ said Epizon.
She glared at the ground a few seconds more and then resumed her trudge down the path towards the settlement edge. Epizon sighed, smiled reassuringly at Phyleus and followed after her.
After a few more minutes, they had reached a gap in the houses, just as the old dockmaster had told them they would. Through the gap was an impenetrable-looking forest. A dark tangle of trees, roots, plants and mossy rocks faced them. They were on higher ground now, and Lyssa turned and looked back past the shiny towers to where the Alastor was moored. She could only just see it in the distance, dark against the glittering blue lake, gold light rippling across her solar sails.
She turned back to the thick forest, a slight sense of foreboding creeping over her. The dockmaster had told them they needed to go east, but directly between them and the lion’s lair was a harpy settlement. If they wanted to give the harpies a wide berth, they would lose time, so they had decided to skirt as close to the settlement as they could. Lyssa thought they would have been better off taking the Alastor to Port Nemea, but Epizon insisted that as long as they lost no time moving through the forest, this was the quickest way.
He looked at her as he began unstrapping the knife from his thigh.
‘Let’s go,’ she said, and they pushed their way into the thick foliage.
It was clear folk didn’t often enter the forests on Cancer, as there were no paths or accommodations made for travellers. It was much darker than in the town, the tall tree canopies blocking most of the bright Cancer light.
Epizon went ahead, his long coat protecting him from branches, his big knife hacking a way through the thick lower branches that blocked the way. ‘I knew I’d need my coat,’ he told Lyssa.
She rolled her eyes again, wiping sweat from under her headscarf. It was warmer in the forest, a thick humidity seeming to make everything damp. Huge plants growing from amongst the tangle of roots on the ground sprouted leaves almost as big as she was, and she squeezed around the ones Epizon hadn’t hacked away, unwilling to disturb them more than she had to. The forest was alive with noises, birds calling and twigs cracking and insects buzzing. She was fairly sure there was nothing too dangerous native to Cancer’s forests, but she didn’t want to take any chances. After all, they knew there was a man-eating lion around somewhere.
She had been following in Epizon’s wake, leafy green debris from his knife littering the compact dirt around her, when the smell in the air changed from damp and earthy to something much less pleasant. Epizon slowed to a stop, and Lyssa heaved herself over a mossy tree trunk lying between them to join him. She wiped her slimy hands on the back of her trousers as they all looked up at the dark canopy of trees.
‘Harpies,’ muttered Epizon.
‘What happens if they see us?’ whispered Phyleus loudly, stepping over the bark much more easily than she had.
‘It depends if we’re on their land or not. If we’re not, then they’ll probably just throw faeces at us,’ Lyssa answered quietly.
Phyleus screwed up his face in disgust. ‘And if we are?’
‘They’ll kill us,’ she said.
They moved more quietly through the woodland, swearing less when they tripped over roots, and carefully checking the canopy above them for signs of flying creatures. The stench got stronger. To Lyssa, it smelled like rotting fish, and she was sure it was made worse by the now-oppressive heat.
‘It’s getting lighter, Captain,’ said Epizon quietly. ‘That means there’s probably a clearing ahead.’
He was right. The thickness of the undergrowth was lessening, and the wall of green trees ahead of them was brighter.
‘We need to try and go around it. Get to the clearing; then we’ll follow the edge of it until we’re around the other side,’ she said.
Epizon strapped his knife back to his thigh, and they carefully and quietly climbed through the tangle of vegetation until they reached the edge of the clearing. The smell was now almost overwhelming. The rotting-fish stench mixed with the smell of excrement, and she felt Phyleus heaving silently behind her. She ignored him, assessing the scene in the clearing.
In the middle was a cluster of very tall trees that had had all their leaves removed, leaving bare bra
nches. Lyssa guessed the trees were at least sixty feet tall, and she struggled to see the top from her hiding place. The branches started about ten feet up from the ground, and harpies lined them, some asleep, some chattering to each other. Up to the neck, they looked like overgrown birds with disproportionately large clawed feet, but from the neck up, they were human. They all had wrinkled necks and heads with the distorted features of a woman’s face. They were not tall, only around four feet, but Lyssa knew their folded wings could span double that.
Under the trees, surrounding them in a ring, were bits of wood hung together clumsily to make cages. Voles and squirrels ran backwards and forwards inside, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the wood. Littering the forest floor around the rudimental cages were small bones, and Lyssa felt slightly sorry for the scrabbling little creatures. There couldn’t be many things worse than ending up as a harpy’s dinner.
Lyssa caught her breath as one of the harpies shrieked and expanded her leathery wings as she dived from a branch. The bird creature landed silently in front of the cages, facing the opposite side of the clearing from their hiding place. She shook her wings out, hissing. Epizon tensed beside her as the harpy turned and began stalking around the group of trees, coming closer to where they were hidden. The quiet buzz of chatter increased sharply, and then all the bird-women began dropping from the branches, stretching and shrieking single words repeatedly.
‘Fresh!’ one nearby yelled in an ugly, high-pitched voice.
‘Flesh,’ replied another, its wings folding behind it.
‘Ripe,’ called another.
Lyssa’s leg muscles were tensed, ready to run, and she hoped the other two were ready as well. She never had time to give the signal though. She jumped violently, barely containing a scream, as a reeking harpy dropped down right in front of her.
‘Strangers,’ it hissed.
‘Run!’ she yelled, and turned back to the forest, her legs already moving. She had time to register that Epizon and Phyleus had already started running before pain shot through her left shoulder, and she was being dragged backwards. She struggled and kicked, anger surging through her. There was nothing like pain to get the Rage going. Vice-like claws dug into her right shoulder, and then she was off the ground, being lifted out of the forest and into the clearing.
As the harpy moved higher, she could see the mass of leathery creatures below, shrieking and chittering excitedly. She tried to reach her arms up, but the clawed grip on her shoulder stopped her. Power was flooding her body, and her vision narrowed as the harpy brought her towards a massive branch on one of the central trees. She tensed as the bird-woman dropped her, flinging her arms and legs around the branch to stop herself from falling. The impact thumped through her chest, and she took a huge breath. Her Rage overtook the pain, and she hauled herself up to a sitting position quickly as the harpy landed expertly next to her. The branch shook.
‘Strangers,’ it hissed again. Other harpies took off from the ground, landing on the branches around them, staring and chittering.
‘We mean no disrespect,’ said Lyssa slowly, trying to calm her racing pulse. She had nothing to lose by trying to reason with the creature. She didn’t want to fight. And there were a lot of them. ‘We’re just passing by.’
‘So close?’ the harpy said, cocking her head. She had one red eye much lower than the other, and slits for nostrils. Her lips were thin and parched, and lank hair hung in patchy threads from her scalp.
‘Yes. We didn’t mean to. We’ll leave now.’ Lyssa rolled her shoulders as she spoke, her legs wrapped tightly around the branch. She looked down, relieved when she couldn’t see the others. Heat prickled across her skin in anticipation.
‘Payment,’ said the harpy.
‘I have drachmas,’ she answered hopefully, but suspecting it wouldn’t be any good. Harpies had no need for silver.
‘Payment,’ the ugly creature repeated, lifting a clawed foot towards her.
‘What do you want?’ Lyssa asked, leaning away from the sharp claw, every muscle tense and ready.
‘A finger,’ the harpy said, eyes shining.
As the hooked claw lunged for her, Lyssa threw herself sideways. Her strong legs gripped the branch for a moment; then she was falling towards the ground. She tumbled in the air, trying to right herself, and closed her eyes, feeling power flow through her body. Her Rage-fuelled strength took over her limbs, and her feet hit the ground with a thud. Her momentum sprang her back up, smashing through the cages as she took off running towards the dense forest.
Deafening shrieks were catching up with her, and she didn’t slow or stop to look. She crashed through the forest edge, hardly slowing, stumbling and leaping over boulders and roots in her way. The further she got into the forest, the weaker the shrieks became, but she didn’t slow. Only when she was sure they had given up following did she stop, taking huge gulps of warm, sticky air. She had no idea which direction she had taken, and she swore loudly, kicking at a boulder.
‘Epizon?’ she panted, picturing him vividly in her mind.
‘We saw which way you went, Captain. We’ll be there soon.’
Epizon found her a short while later, sitting on the boulder, her breathing back to normal, an angry scowl on her face.
‘Which way?’ she asked, jumping off the rock as soon as she saw him. He pointed and she began moving immediately.
‘How did you do that?’ asked Phyleus, scrabbling to keep up with her.
‘Do what? Get caught by stinking harpies?’ She yanked a leafy branch out of her way viciously.
‘No. Fall ten feet and not break both your legs,’ he said warily, falling back a little.
‘Zeus’s granddaughter, remember? If you’re stronger than the ground, it can’t hurt you.’
‘Right,’ he said after a pause. ‘How—?’ he started to ask, but she cut him off.
‘Be quiet. They’re still nearby.’
Phyleus fell silent as he followed her through the trees. The disgusting smell was just starting to clear from the air, and Epizon had decided they were far enough away from the clearing to take up his knife again, when a voice in her head made her jump.
‘Cap, you there?’
‘Gods! Yes, Ab, I’m here.’
‘Did I make you jump?’ He sounded triumphant.
‘What is it?’ she asked, shaking her head.
‘You were right about going to that party on the Virtus,’ Abderos said. ‘They just sent out a message. It looked like a hell of a night. I could see some nymphs asleep behind Theseus, and if they were wearing anything—’
‘Abderos! Get to the point, please,’ Lyssa cut him off.
‘Sorry, Cap. Basically, they overdid it and never set off this morning. They apologise profusely to their fans and will try harder next time, blah, blah, blah.’
Anger welled inside Lyssa, and she kicked the tree closest to her. Leaves rustled as it shuddered.
‘Captain?’ said Epizon, stepping over a root towards her.
‘That moron Theseus never left this morning. They’re still on their idiotic party boat at the Black Hole,’ she hissed.
‘Why do we care? Surely one less crew is a good thing,’ said Abderos.
‘Theseus is Hercules’s biggest competition. Without Theseus involved, Hercules will win!’ She half shouted the last few words, and Epizon put his hand on her shoulder.
‘It’s anyone’s game,’ he said quietly.
She glared back at him. They didn’t understand. ‘The Hybris is here. Try to find out where it’s docked,’ she said to Abderos, ending the conversation. She shrugged out of Epizon’s attempt at reassurance and set off again. He sighed and followed her, Phyleus close behind.
18
Evadne was furious. She knew she’d pay for letting it show, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t believe he’d picked today, now, at a moment this important, to decide to cast her off to play with some girl he’d just met. Asterion had already left to find the harpies when she
exited the taverna, so she had picked a direction and started marching down the paved road. She was so angry she wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going or what was around her. Why couldn’t he have just asked the redhead a few questions and moved on? she seethed.
Though she didn’t want to admit it, she knew why Hercules had asked her to leave. There was only one reason he would want to be alone with the girl. She growled aloud, drawing the alarmed attention of a woman buying fruit at the stall she was passing. He was an idiot! Was he so cocky, so arrogant, that he thought he had time for this sort of thing? She knew the answer to that too. An overwhelming feeling of uselessness washed over her, and she slowed down, almost reaching a stop.
‘Whoa!’ a man exclaimed as her sudden slowing caused him to almost crash into her. He skirted around her, his arms full of bags, and shot a glare back at her.
She looked around herself. She was in a square with many more food stalls than there had been on the promenade with the taverna. Cancer was a world of marriage and family, and it didn’t do for young women to roam around the residential areas alone. She knew she could only stay in the market and port areas of Nemea.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She considered her options. She needed to prove that she was useful, or Hercules might decide he didn’t need her. Or worse, keep the redhead. Anger surged again inside her at the thought. She’d gone through too many of his sordid punishments to be dumped now. She wouldn’t let the humiliation be for nothing. She would be on the winning team at the end of all this, and she would be immortal. She would prove to him that she was the only woman strong enough to be with him. He had to see that eventually.
They had come here for information, so she supposed that must be her first course of action. She might be able to find out where the lion was before he did, or, as a backup plan, where to find Hercules if he got there first. Evadne turned, looking for someone who might talk to her among the busy shoppers. A woman with golden-coloured hair tied up in a complicated knot was pulling a clean white tarpaulin down over the front of a vegetable stall a few feet away. Evadne walked towards her, concentrating on masking the fury still pulsing through her.