Thief of Olympus (Greek Myth Series Book 3) (19 page)

“I have won the last challenge,” she stated, causing Artemis to lower her bow. “And if I’m not mistaken, by your rules, I am not only able to save the Amazon nation, but I get a wish as well.”

Artemis looked from one warrior to another, disgust wiped across her face. Then in submission to her own rules, she slowly nodded her head. “All right,” she said. “What is your wish? And remember, you only get one.”

One wish. The mere idea tormented Lysandra and she almost wished she were dead rather than to have to make this choice. She looked down to her mother, wishing she were still alive. That would be a wasted wish as she knew only Hades, God of the Underworld, had the power to bring someone back from the dead.

Next, she thought of her son, Sander, and wondered where Artemis had been keeping him. How desperately she wanted to hold him once again in her arms. He meant the world to her, and she wanted him back more than anything. This was the whole reason she’d agreed to the challenge in the first place.

She was about to wish for his return, when she thought of Zarek and the people of Thrace. They didn’t deserve to die for what she’d done. They were innocents. If they were to go up against the wrath of Artemis, hundreds of people would perish. Zarek knew this, yet he purposely gave her the chalice that could save his people and bring back his son. Suddenly she felt as if she were in a very precarious position. Artemis was ready to take her life. She should wish for her to spare it, if she were wise.

“All right,” said Lysandra, handing the golden chalice over to Artemis. “The Amazon’s lives will be spared because I have won the challenge, and for this I am glad. And now I have made my decision. Here is my wish….”

Eighteen

Zarek readied his men, and everyone in the castle including the women and children stood waiting with weapons to fight off Artemis. They hadn’t much chance against a goddess, but what else were they to do?

He’d told his people what he’d done, but his people did not turn from him. They had grown to like Lysandra while she had stayed at the castle, and they’d also grown fond of Zarek’s son. They wanted to see the baby back as much as he, and when they’d heard he’d given the chalice to Lysandra because he knew she would be a good mother to their baby, they realized his love for her. With Tessa and Daedalus leading them in thought, they didn’t have to work hard to convince the people of Thrace to stand at Zarek’s side.

“We have been waiting all night,” said Daedalus to Zarek, standing behind a weapon he had invented that would shoot large iron balls clear over the castle wall. “She should have come by now to rain her wrath upon us.”

“I don’t understand,” confessed Zarek. “I’m sure by now Lysandra has found the chalice and brought it to Artemis. Something is wrong. I can feel it deep down. I must go to the Amazon camp and find Lysandra.”

“No!” Daedalus stopped him. “’Tis too risky and you know it. Besides, you must stay here and protect your people.”

“Someone approaches!” shouted Zarek’s steward, Endre.

“It must be Artemis,” said Zarek. “Everyone at attention, she has come.”

People ran back and forth across the courtyard, collecting up their broomsticks and rakes and anything else they could use for a weapon. The archers lined the walls of the battlements and the soldiers stood ready with swords just inside the gate.

“It is not Artemis,” shouted Endre. “It looks to be the Amazons!”

“The Amazons?” Zarek hurried to the front gate and looked out. In the rising sun he could see the Amazons marching toward the castle slowly. The queen was not leading as she should be, and they walked wearily, not armed and ready for battle. And in the midst of the group, one lone horse pulled a cart, with a body atop.

“Open the gate!” shouted Zarek, and ever so slowly, it raised before him. He ran out to meet them, feeling in his gut something was desperately wrong. Where was Lysandra, he wondered? Where was Queen Medora? He rushed to the end of the drawbridge and stopped abruptly when he laid eyes on Lysandra, lying still on the horse-drawn cart. “Lysandra,” he cried and ran to her side. The Amazons stopped the horse and Zarek fell to his knees, taking her hands in his.

They felt limp and cold in his hold, and her skin was so white and pale. Her clothes were burned and dirt smattered her arms, legs and face. He immediately felt for her pulse at her neck, finding her heartbeat slow and weak. Her breathing was very shallow, and she looked as if she were near dead.

“What happened?” he demanded to know. “And where is Queen Medora?”

The Amazons looked at each other, but remained silent.

“Tell me,” he shouted, and finally, one woman came forward.

“I am Idola,” said the tall, strong woman with the long black hair. The Amazons have chosen me to speak in our queen’s place.”

“Where is your queen and why can’t she speak for herself?” he questioned.

“You can see for yourself, that Queen Lysandra is in no condition to talk,” she replied, pointing toward the pallet.

“Queen Lysandra?” Zarek looked down to the mother of his child, wondering just what had happened since he’d last left her. “Where is Medora?” he asked, already fearing the answer.

“She is dead. Taken by her own hand,” explained Idola. “By rite of passage, Lysandra is our new queen.”

This couldn’t be true. Zarek had given his baby over to Lysandra and now she was queen? Wasn’t it the queen’s duty to kill innocent male newborns? Why did Lysandra accept such a position? He had planned on asking her to live with him in Thrace, but now it could never be. She had a nation to rule, just as he. King and queen but of both different tribes, they could never be together now. It was impossible.

“What is it, my king?” asked Endre, running to his side. Daedalus and Tessa were right behind him.

“Oh my!” gasped Tessa when she saw Lysandra upon the pallet. “Is she - ”

“Nay,” said Zarek, getting to his feet. He picked Lysandra up in his arms, her head falling back, her hair hanging down around him. His heart went out to her, and he could barely speak the words. “Who did this to her?”

Idola followed at his side, watching over her new queen. “’Twas Artemis,” she said. “She would have killed her had not the entire tribe begged to have her life spared.”

“Why?” he asked, stepping up the pace, making his way to his chamber. “Why would Artemis do this?”

“Lysandra tried to turn us away from Artemis’s ways.”

“She did what?” Zarek talked over his shoulder as he took the stairs at a fast pace.

“She acted like a true warrior,” Idola explained, following him into the bedchamber. “She stood her ground. And we can only thank her for winning the challenge and sparing our lives.”

“Where is the baby?” Zarek questioned, laying Lysandra upon his bed. “What did you do with my son after Lysandra used her wish to have him returned?”

“She didn’t use her wish for the baby, King Zarek.”

His heart jumped. He turned slowly, not being able to believe his ears.

“By the gods, why not? What was so important that she would give up her chance to have Sander returned?”

“She used her wish to spare you and the people of Thrace.”

Zarek sank down onto the bed next to her, not knowing what to say. What had she done? Had he kept the chalice, his son would be in at least one of their care right now. But he’d given it to Lysandra, thinking she’d make the wish to get back the baby. Had he misinterpreted her love for the child? Had she really no thought to their son after all? Daedalus ran into the room, followed by Tessa.

“My lord, shall I call for the healer?” asked Tessa with tears in her eyes, looking toward Lysandra lying still on the bed.

“Aye,” he said, standing blindly and making his way to the door. “Call for the healer quickly. Because if I stay here a moment longer, I am going to kill her!”

*  *  *

Olympus stirred with the anger of the gods. Zeus had called a meeting with those gods and goddesses who had complaints as of late. The kingdom was in an uproar since the mortals had so easily come in and stolen from the gods. The gods were supposed to be respected and feared by the mortals. The mortals should be quaking in their sandals, and laying offerings at their feet. Instead, they’d taken it upon themselves to make fools of the gods. Never should something like this have ever happened.

Artemis clutched the male child in her grip and stepped forward, placing it at Zeus’s feet.

“Father, here is the child of the Amazon queen and the king of Thrace. The child of the thieves. The baby wailed and waved its fists in the air, and Zeus took one look and pulled back.

“Someone calm the whelp,” he said, but no one moved forward to do it.

Artemis’s twin brother Apollo sat at the table, his hands holding up his head, his eyes barely able to stay open. The nine Muses stood behind his chair, and the three Graces rubbed his head, shoulders and feet.

“I cannot think with all this noise,” Apollo complained. “And since my golden lyre has been stolen, I have not had one good night’s sleep.”

“And my followers have all left me,” said Dionysus, pacing the room. “I have no golden chalice any longer from which to drink my wine, and not a single pleasure to appease me.”

“I, too, am upset,” admitted Zeus, speaking loudly over the crying of the baby. “Since one of my thunderbolts has been stolen, my Cyclops has all but gone mad. I cannot convince him to forge any more thunderbolts, and as I have just used my last one, I will not be able to call forth another storm. I am afraid if things continue as such, there’ll be a draught over the lands before long.”

“We need our belongings back,” snapped Dionysus.

“Aye,” agreed Apollo. “But where have these mortals hidden our things?”

“Not just that,” said Zeus. “Why would they be foolish enough to even risk their lives to steal them in the first place?”

Artemis remained silent, and the baby continued to cry. Finally, Zeus picked him up, and instantly the baby stopped his crying. “I think he likes me,” said Zeus with a smile.

“He is a mortal,” said Artemis in disgust. “A worthless male. I plan to kill him to punish the thieves.”

“Isn’t that punishment rather harsh?” asked Zeus. “After all, they stole from us, not you. What have they done to you to cause such vehemence?”

“They’ve angered me, Father. Lysandra refused to sacrifice him to me as is proper behavior of an Amazon warrior.”

“I see,” said Zeus playing with the baby, laughing, and paying more attention to the child than to his daughter. “You know, Artemis, sometimes your hatred of the male gender goes a bit too far.”

Artemis stuck her nose in the air and stepped forward to take the baby. “Then do I have your permission to kill him or not?” The baby started wailing again.

“Why can’t you be more like Aphrodite?” he asked. “She knows the true value of a man.”

“Lysandra has also tried to turn the Amazon nation against me,” she pointed out. “For this, she should be punished.”

“Aye,” said Dionysus. “A god or goddess is nothing without their followers. But Lysandra was fine indeed when she came to my abode. I would hate to see anything done to hurt her.” His eyes were lit up and Artemis could see he was taken with the girl.

“And the king of Thrace really knows how to play a fine lyre,” Apollo added with a slight yawn. “The best music I have ever heard.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” screamed Artemis. “Father, you have been mesmerized by a mere baby. And brother, you care not that the man has stolen your lyre, but rather admire his musical talents.”

“I believe ’twas the girl who stole my lyre,” he reminded her.

“Needless to say, they were working together.”

“It seems to me they were a fine couple,” said Dionysus, sitting down at the table.

“You only saw the lust put there by your own wine,” Artemis complained. “How can the great gods of Olympus be so blind not to see that someone is trying to ruin them?”

She tucked the crying baby under her arm and stomped out of the room.

Nineteen

“Daedalus,” Zarek called over his shoulder as he left the chamber, “I need to borrow your wings.”

“My king?” asked Daedalus following him from the room and down the stairs. “Why would you be needing these?”

“Because I am going to Olympus to steal back my baby before Artemis decides to kill him.”

“But is this wise, sir? After all, you can see the damage she’s done to Lysandra.”

“Now that I know what a foolish thing Lysandra has done, I am forced to do this.”

“Foolish?” asked Daedalus following Zarek down the stairs and out into the courtyard. “The castle occupants think she is a hero. By her wish, she has managed to save all our lives.”

Zarek stopped in his tracks and turned to meet him with a sigh.

“Aye, you are correct,” he said, looking at the happy faces of his servants and soldiers, and watching the happy children playing with a ball. “I have let my love for my son blind me of my love for my people, and this shames me.”

“And what of your love for Lysandra, my king? Or am I wrong in assuming you feel anything at all for her?”

“I admire her decision in this matter, but in doing so, she has more or less condemned Sander to death.”

“You don’t know that, Sire.” Daedalus ran in front of him as they approached the stable where his wings were stored. “You don’t know that Artemis will kill him.”

“You saw what she did to Lysandra,” he pointed out. “She will have no qualms taking the life of a defenseless baby. Remember, he is a male and the goddess hates males.”

Zarek walked into the stable and pulled the wings from the wall. He slipped them over his shoulders, and Daedalus fastened them in place.

“Do you want some of my inventions, Zarek? They may help you to steal the child unnoticed.”

Zarek thought of Lysandra’s accusation that he was nothing without Daedalus’s inventions. His own self-confidence shattered by her words, he knew to take the man up on his offer would only be proving her words true. If he wasn’t in such a hurry, he would have even refused to borrow the man’s wings and taken his horse instead.

“Nay,” he answered. “I have the reputation of being the best thief in all of Greece, and today I will prove it. I will steal the baby right out from under the gods’ noses and they will never even know I was there.”

“They’ll be looking for you, Zarek. They will not be made a fool of again. They will be wise to your ways.”

“It is a chance I have to take,” he said, fastening a harness on him to carry his son home to safety.

“Aye,” said Daedalus. “But do be careful. And remember, do not fly too close to the sun. I will not have your son dying because of one of my inventions.”

“My son will live, old man. I promise you. I will save him.”

*  *  *

Lysandra tossed and turned, not able to get the nightmares out of her mind. Her mother lying in a puddle of blood. Her baby being carried away by an ugly Harpy. A pain engulfed her stomach and she felt over and over again the force of Artemis’s bolt hitting her head-on. The goddess hadn’t meant to kill her, only punish her as a lesson to the other Amazons. If she had wanted Lysandra dead, she would not be lying here now, suffering.

Zarek’s face came into her mind, and then the memories of their lovemaking. She smiled and reached out to him in her mind, but just as she reached him, his face went up in flames.

She jerked away and sat upright in bed. “No!” she cried searching the room for Zarek.

“Lay down, my lady,” Tessa said, wiping a cold rag over her face. “You have many wounds that need to heal.”

“Where is Zarek?” she cried, looking from the face of Tessa to that of a woman whom she guessed to be the healer, to that of her head warrior, Idola.

“He’s gone,” said Tessa and looked to the other Amazon.

“Where did he go?” she demanded to know.

“Please lay down, my lady,” the healer coaxed her. “You need to rest.”

“No,” she said, pushing the woman’s hand away. Then she looked to Idola. “Where is he?” she questioned her. “And do not lie, as I will know if you speak not the truth.”

“He has gone to Olympus to steal back the baby,” said Daedalus entering the room.

“What?” She sat up quickly and put her feet to the side of the bed. She dizzied and held on to the bedpost for support. The pain inside her burned and her head throbbed, but she knew she would eventually recover. “It is too dangerous. Why did you let him go?”

“He is the king,” Tessa reminded her. “He can do whatever he pleases.”

“He’s a fool,” she spat. “He never should have gone. He won’t make it back alive.”

“He refuses to lose his son,” Daedalus told her solemnly. “He would gladly give his life if it meant saving his baby.”

Suddenly Lysandra felt very self-centered. She had more than once accused him of doing things for his own personal gain. But now he was risking his life in exchange for the life of another who was helpless and could not defend himself. He truly was the better of the two of them. She had had the chance to save the baby, yet she’d used her wish to save Zarek and his people instead. Had she done it for personal gain only? she asked herself. Had she asked Artemis to save them because she really cared what happened to the people of Thrace, or was it because she didn’t want to lose Zarek? Was it because in doing this wonderful deed she thought he would look upon her in a different light? Or that mayhap, he would love her? She was no longer sure of anything.

“I need to go help him,” she said, trying to stand and having to grab on to Tessa in order not to fall.

“You must lay back down,” the healer warned her.

“No. I must help Zarek bring our baby home.”

“He is a thief,” Daedalus reminded her. “He works better by himself. Now just lay back down and rest and have faith in the father of your baby.”

*  *  *

The guards were enthralled in a game of dice when Zarek arrived, and he managed to fly right inside the gates of Olympus without being seen. He landed softly, then quickly removed the wings Daedalus had loaned him, stuffing them behind a bush to keep them out of sight. Light on his feet, he hid behind one tree and then the next, watching the grounds for the guards, staying hidden in the shadows.

He knew not where to begin to look for his son, and this bothered him deeply. Usually he had a plan when he set out to pilfer a treasure. It was one thing to steal the jewels of a wealthy king, or take the prize horse from the horsemaster’s stall, but this was beyond anything he had ever attempted. This was even different than stealing the objects Artemis demanded of them. Now he stole from not under the eye of one god, but all of them. And the object of his goal was a very noisy baby, to make matters more difficult.

He listened to the sound of the trumpets blare and looked out from behind the tree just enough to see Zeus’s messenger shouting out that a gathering was being held for the gods in Zeus’s honor.

A smile lit up his face. Just the distraction he needed. He watched as the gods and goddesses drove their chariots to the palace door. One by one they left their chariots and filed into the castle. Ares, God of War, approached, his large black raven squawking from his shoulder. Next came Hades of the Underworld and his beautiful wife Persephone. Each time a god or goddess went into the castle, a guard dressed in battle attire escorted them inside.

The very curvy Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, came next with her daughter Harmonia at her side. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, with her owl on her shoulder was followed by Hera, wife of Zeus, who wore a tall headdress of peacock feathers and a gown of bright blue.

Zarek inched forward, watching the guests arrive, and using the sound of the loud, regal music to hide his presence. He had to find a way to get inside without anyone recognizing him. If he could manage to sneak into the castle unnoticed, then mayhap he could hide in the shadows and get lost in the crowd while he searched the surroundings and found where they were keeping his son.

A lone guard stood just behind the castle, using a moment of privacy to relieve himself. Zarek saw his chance. He walked up and tapped the man on the shoulder just as he’d finished. The guard turned, and Zarek smiled.

“Sorry to do this.” He punched the man hard enough to make him lose consciousness. Then he took his clothes, exchanging them for his own. His weapons were next and the helm which would cover the top part of his face. He tied up and gagged the man as a last thought to give himself more time.

The tunic wrap was snug, and the sword cumbersome, but Zarek moved forward with his plan. He fell in line behind the guards. The two guards in front of him escorted both Apollo and Dionysus into the castle’s great hall, and to Zarek’s dismay, the last goddess to arrive was Artemis.

He peered at her from under his helm, cursing his luck which had suddenly turned ill. Yes, he had wanted to find her, but not this way. He didn’t want her to recognize him or he knew his plan would be over.

“Why are you still standing there?” she asked, looking in his direction. “Escort me inside, and quickly, as I am the last to arrive.”

“Aye,” he mumbled and came to her side. Artemis scrutinized him and adjusted her warrior’s bow flung on her back.

“Answer me properly,” she said. “Or did you forget I am a goddess?”

Zarek didn’t know what proper was considered up on Mt. Olympus. One wrong move, one incorrect word, and she would know he didn’t belong here.

“My most comely goddess of the hunt,” he said, turning on the charm. “I humbly and graciously request the opportunity to escort you inside.” She looked at him strangely and held out her hand. Thinking she wanted him to kiss it, he knelt and brought it to his mouth.

Her leg came up and kicked him in the groin. Zarek fell backward in excruciating pain, wondering what he’d done wrong.

“Try that again you cur and next time my foot will be down your throat. Now escort me inside and don’t insult me by trying to charm me. Men are so worthless, I don’t know why Zeus doesn’t listen to me and acquire women guards.”

Zarek took a deep breath and got to his feet. So that was his mistake. How stupid of him. She hated men and he’d thought to charm her and kiss her hand. How much this goddess reminded him of Lysandra. But at least Lysandra had never thought to hurt him in this way.

He walked beside her without daring to touch her, and when he saw the frown on her face when he opened the door for her to enter, he knew he had made another mistake. This time he suffered a backslap to the face. How gracious of her not to kick him again. Oh, when would this day be over? All he wanted was to retrieve Sander and go back to Thrace where his punches would come from Lysandra instead. But instead, it looked like he was to spend the night in Olympus, and with Artemis at his side it seemed more like Tartarus than the home of the gods.

*  *  *

Lysandra held on to the bed post as Tessa bound her sore ribs with cloth. She grimaced every time the girl pulled tightly, but she knew ’twas necessary to give her better support. If she was to ride all the way up to Mt. Olympus, then she had to be as strong as possible.

“Will this not show when you don your warrior attire?” asked Tessa, finishing with one last pull.

“Argh,” moaned Lysandra, standing upright and getting used to her bindings. “I will not be wearing my warrior attire. I will need whatever it is the servants of the gods wear. Do you by any chance know what that would be?”

“Oh, yes,” said Tessa clasping her hands together excitedly. “I once bedded a guard who used to serve the gods. He brought me the servant attire to wear for - well, for fun,” she said with a blush tinting her cheeks.

“No need to explain further,” said Lysandra, practicing her walk without the limp. “Can you lend it to me, please?”

“Oh, my lady. You don’t really mean to go up to Olympus in your condition?”

“I will go to bring back my son.”

“But isn’t King Zarek already tending to that?”

“He is not the only one who cares about the baby, Tessa. I have to do this. I have to prove to him I did not abandon my child.”

“I understand,” she said with a slight nod. “I will tell no one you are leaving. This will be our secret.”

Lysandra knew better than to believe those words. But she was grateful for Tessa’s help, so she did naught to complain.

“Please tell the stable boy to ready a horse,” she said, painfully bending to don the pair of sandals Tessa had taken from her own feet. “And then, bring me whatever inventions Daedalus has lying on the far work table. I will need everything I can to help, as I am facing the biggest challenge of my life, and am not at all sure I will ever return.”