Alex Anderson The Last Son of Zeus (19 page)

BOOK THIRTY-NINE

DEATH AT THE PARTHENON

"Hera will grant amnesty to all who leave the Last Son of Zeus," The harpy said in
its
shrilly voice. Like the nest Alex and Fiona destroyed off I-75, this had the face of a hot supermodel, but the rest of the bird-like body was completely disgusting. Everyone gathered around it, pointing their weapons.

It clung to its perch on the side of the building and twitched its wings. "But know this, those of you who stay will meet a death so horrible, it will only be surpassed by Alex Anderson's himself. You will bleed, you will beg, but in the end you will die cursing Alex's name and praising Hera's." She eyed all of them. "What say you?"

Fiona stepped forward. "Only this--"

~ * ~

Apollo was the only god who arrived with Hera and her army of four hundred
Minotaurs
, centaurs, and harpies.
The gods will be sorry they missed this.

They created excuses for not participating. Some said it had been centuries since being in battle. They simply wouldn't know what to do with a sword. Others claimed they weren't feeling well and blamed it on all of the excitement of late. Only Apollo, who was convinced to come out of loyalty, and these creatures, who were convinced to come out of fear, stood beside Hera ready to claim what should be theirs by right.

"When will that blasted harpy return with Athena's answer?" Hera said. She should have gone herself.

There was a sound from the Parthenon that sounded vaguely like a football being kicked and, after a three second delay, the harpy's head landed at Hera's feet.

Hera yelled the attack order and the last fight for the right of the Olympians began.

~ * ~

"Hector, sound the order." Alex said.

"TROJANS!" Hector shouted across the fields surrounding the Parthenon. "TAKE WHAT IS YOURS!"

And over four hundred soldiers stood and did just that.

Fiona's spell disguised them as bushes, small trees, benches, or simply along the wall of the museum. As soon as they moved, the spell lifted, and the Trojans closed in on Hera's army from all directions across the fifty-acre field.

They charged from all sides, throats screaming and swords swinging. Their shared fates in Hades propelled them even greater than the fight for their home over 2,000 years ago. The creatures of Hera's army simply didn't stand a chance.

Minotaurs
, confident in their superior strength, didn't pay much attention to the charging humans. They seemed to think they would provide them no more difficulty than water provides a rock. As a result, the Trojans cut many of them to shreds. Trojans tripped the
Minotaurs
with their swords or even their bodies if necessary. Their comrades then stabbed the beasts in the necks.

~ * ~

Bos leaped from the roof of the Parthenon and took flight. He hummed "Flight of the
Valkries
" while the speed of
Icaras
' wings allowed him to chop the heads of unsuspecting harpies. The singing helped Bos distance himself from the death on the battlefield, the possible death of the world, and the certain death he would face should he ever be fortunate enough to see his parents again.

The wings were a breeze to control and a gas to use. Fiona cursed the wings to his voice. All he had to do was yell, "
Up!
" and the wings carried him up or "
To that fucked up looking bird-woman thing
" and the wings carried him to the fucked up looking bird-woman thing.

That's when the creepy guy with the shotgun slammed him against the wall of the museum.

~ * ~

Helen wasn't sure what she expected when going with Alex and the others to Nashville. Revenge? Peace? Death? All of the above? She certainly didn't expect to witness the insane battle that currently took place in front of her and to like it.

Yeah, that was it. She liked it. She loved it. The death, the blood, and the blades all formed a sort of beautiful symphony only she could hear apparently.

She looked at her hands. They were green and covered with scales.

~ * ~

Hera's army was losing...losing to a mortal child no less!

"Where did they get these Trojans?" Apollo yelled in her ear. "They should be in the pits of Hades!"

Hera rolled her eyes.

"Apollo, it is time to bring this battle to an end."

"But if I do what you suggest, I will surely kill or incapacitate our entire army!"

Hera grabbed Apollo's face and pointed it at the battlefield. "Use your eyes, Apollo! Whatever Alex Anderson has done to motivate his army greatly surpasses any amount of fear I can cultivate within our troops. As a result, it is only a matter of time before our army is 'killed or incapacitated' anyway. Do it!"

Keeping his eyes on his mother, Apollo pointed his hands at the battlefield. His skin glowed red.

~ * ~

Alex couldn't believe it. They were winning. Somehow, they were actually winning.

The Trojan next to him caught on fire.

"Apollo!" Fiona yelled, after pulling her sword out of a harpy. She flicked a piece of its guts off her armor. "Apollo's doing this!"

Alex turned and saw another god glowing red next to Hera. She grinned as most of their army went up in flames and some of theirs did also.

He grabbed Fiona's hand. "Stay together!"

They ran through the battlefield of burning bodies. Trojans exploded around them. Alex assumed Fiona could stand Apollo's heat because she didn't stop him.

A Minotaur jumped in their way.

"Reverse!" Alex yelled over his shoulder.

He raised Fiona over his body by one arm and she came down on the Minotaur with her sword, slicing it in half.

"Circle!" Alex spun Fiona, cutting down three flaming harpies gathered around them.

"Forward!"

They switched hands and moved forward, again slicing through enemies and dodging flaming bodies. Their movements became a series of jumps, thrusts, cartwheels, and slices. Their hands stayed joined, ensuring Alex's advantage through his proximity to Fiona.

Alex shield bashed a flaming centaur out of their way. And there she was: Hera. She stood on top of hill commanding her troops.

Alex forgot about the Trojans. He forgot about the world. All he could think about was his mother and the bitch
who
killed her. Alex let go of Fiona's hand and darted in Hera's direction. He drew a rod from his back.

"Alex, no!" Fiona yelled.

Hera punched Alex.

The rod ignited and shot into the night sky.

Even with everything he had been through, Alex never experienced a punch like that. He flew back fifty feet and landed next to Helen.

Who was once again a
Gorgon.

~ * ~

Bos saw the burning bodies on the field, but wasn't in a place to do anything about it.

Cupid shoved Bos' face into the statue near the roof of the museum. Bos' armor absorbed nearly all the impact, but the creepy little bastard was trying to add insult to injury by shoving him into the male statue's naked crotch.

"Gross!"

"You haven't seen gross yet, you
sonuvabitch
!" Cupid said.

The pressure on Bos' head and back disappeared. He turned and saw Cupid hovering in the air ten feet away. He yanked off his trench coat, exposing a shotgun and two tiny flapping wings.

Bos laughed. "You call those wings! You look like a baby angel!"

Cupid pumped his shotgun and fired.

Bos screamed and dodged right then left. Pieces of statue fell around him. He twisted his body halfway around, which caused Cupid to get slapped in the face from one of his massive wings.

"Hah! That's a wing, little dude! You
wanna
see the other one?"

Just as Cupid recovered from the first hit, Bos twisted the other way and slapped him with the other wing. Cupid dropped his shotgun and Bos tackled him in midair.

Then they both fell. "What the hell?" Bos looked at his wings.

They were melting.

~ * ~

Hector saw Alex and Athena cross the battlefield to Hera and Apollo. To his horror, there was nothing he could do other than watch the rest of his men burn.
Galoukas
' eyes bored into him right before they popped from the heat. Hades' rules were clear: only if you and your men achieve victory on Alex Anderson's battlefield, will you cross the river.

What could Hector do? Alex's thick friend may be enjoying some small degree of protection from Apollo's fire, but Hector might as well have been naked for all the good his Trojan armor would do him.

His soldiers screamed his name, the names of their parents, and the name of their country.

And Hector screamed.

He screamed for Hera's head and for the head of all the other gods who had made their lives so completely miserable. They would be denied a choice again. They would be denied the chance to even fight for their right to choose. This wasn't a clean battle. It was a battle they had absolutely no chance of winning.

Hector looked to his right and saw his brother Paris.

~ * ~

Fiona saw Hera's punch carry Alex across the battlefield. She leaped towards Hera with her sword held high.

Hera kicked her in the chest. Fiona spun in the air twice before hitting the ground.

"Oh please, Athena. Do you really believe you stand even the smallest chance against my might? I am a Titan! What chance does the Tool of Zeus have against me?"

Fiona yanked out her dagger and went for Hera's throat. Hera slapped it away and picked Fiona up by the hair.

"And again! That which prides itself on wisdom proves to be completely unwise! How delightful!"

Hera slammed Fiona's face into the ground.

"You've been bonded to this mortal shell for far too long. Once I release you of its worldly concerns--"

Hera slammed Fiona's face into the ground again.

"You will see the light."

The last of the Trojans fell, dead.

~ * ~

Alex looked away from Helen. Her tail wrapped around his leg and yanked him off his feet. He could hear her growling and the snakes on her head hissing. Her tail turned Alex and her hand grabbed his ear to turn his eyes toward him.

Alex closed his eyes and drove his sword through Helen's throat.

Both of them collapsed to the ground.

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered. "I'm sorry about everything." It took him three good swings to cut off Helen's head.

Alex turned and saw the last of the Trojans die in absolute agony. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils and made him want to gag. The creatures of Hera's army that were left standing--which was about half of its original number--all turned their attention to Alex. Many of them were angry at either Alex for opposing him, Hera for making them fight, or Apollo for burning the shit out of them. It didn't matter. What did matter was their chosen outlet for all of this anger: Alex. They all turned to him.