City of gods - Hellenica (17 page)

“Sit,” he commanded.

Kayana didn’t sit. Praetor Mantus put his hand out towards her and a force pressed her into the seat and kept her there.

“What you did down there was reckless, ignorant and foolish,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

“You don’t know the power of artificially altering someone else’s dreams.”

“We entered a nightmare
already altered
,” said Kayana, “and you sent him back to it.”

“Artificially altered by whom?” asked Praetor Mantus.

“I have no idea,” said Kayana, “but something.”

“How do you know?”

“I know nightmares,” said Kayana. “They have unseen creatures and dread lurking beyond, but not that. That was too real.”

“You think you know everything, Kayana, but you’re a student and—”

“I know what should be, and what should not,” said Kayana. “And I know a man’s screams. This wasn’t a nightmare; those creatures were
from
somewhere.”

Praetor Mantus stood up and then faced the wall as if he were looking out a window. His head nearly touched the ceiling and Kayana could barely see his body in the darkness. Kayana tried to get up so that she could disappear into a shadow, but couldn’t stand; Mantus’s force was still keeping her in the chair. He turned around to speak to her and his voice was calm, but had dropped an octave.

“Let’s say they were demons,” said Praetor Mantus. “An invading force set to destroy us, and you’re the first to see them. You have two options: the first is to go in there with guns blazing, kill one of their foot soldiers, then let their entire army know that you’re on to them before disappearing. Or the second option: you sneak away and bring the information to us. We figure out who they are and who is behind the invasion,
if indeed it is an invasion at all
. We could then mount a sneak attack together, using the full force of the Academy. Which option would you choose, Kayana? Which option
should be
?”

“The option that doesn’t allow an innocent man to be tortured to death in front of my eyes,” said Kayana. “There is no other choice.”

Praetor Mantus laughed; his breath hit Kayana in the face, and it was so cold that she shivered.

“Perhaps it wasn’t a nightmare,” said Praetor Mantus. “But you still have so much to learn.”

“Perhaps I do,” said Kayana. “But I don’t learn by fleeing from demons.”

“I don’t know what that was, if it was a dream, an army or perhaps even a solitary creature,” said Praetor Mantus, “but you’ve done Dion a great disservice. Demons that come in nightmares don’t follow the rules of fair play or nobility, and you’ve just humiliated them. They’ll not come after you immediately; you’re too strong. They’ll come after Dion, perhaps other mercenaries; Spartans are strong physically but they don’t have the
powers
of gods.”

“Then it’s now my duty to protect Dion,” Kayana said. “I’ll protect anyone else who comes under attack of these demons too. I’ll visit their dreams every night and punish these demons until they leave us—”

“You’re strong, but not an army,” said Praetor Mantus. “One night you’ll be away and they’ll visit Dion. Or they could be visiting him now, or perhaps someone else, just because they can.”

Kayana had nothing to say; Praetor Mantus was right. For the first time in her life, she felt
remorse
, though not fully. She felt neither guilt nor a hole in her conscience; she only recognized that her actions were incorrect.
I must make this right,
she thought,
but not just by entering Dion’s dreams and tearing out another demon’s heart. I must get to the root of this “invasion,” and make it right.

“I’m taking you to your quarters,” said Praetor Mantus. “Upon your return you’ll stay there. Until we can figure out what to do with you, and how to save Dion, you’re officially in detention.”

THE MANITOU

Tommy brought Kayana her meal and all four ate in the common room, sitting around a small stone table. Gunnar was pacing around the room, deep in thought, and Kayana was looking out the window onto the courtyard. The meal was more ambrosia, and she was ignoring it.

“It’s odd that Mantus sent Kayana here,” said Gunnar. “You don’t discipline a cadet by detaining them with their team. They have a small prison here called
Tartaru
s; if he really wanted to punish Kayana, he’d have sent her there.”

“They probably sent her here on purpose,” said Tommy. “They probably want us to bond.”

“I don’t think
they
want anything,” said Gunnar. “This place seems to make up the rules as they go. But perhaps he wants us to come up with a plan. Mantus himself admitted the possibility that Kayana was right, and that means she’s on to something.”

Gunnar looked at Kayana; she was staring at her food with white eyes.
What’s she thinking when she’s in that state?
he thought.
Is this her version of sleep?
In a moment she looked up at him and her eyes were were jet-black once again.

“I’m not on to anything,” said Kayana. “I saw a man being tortured in a dream and made his situation worse.”

“What’s your sense, Saoirse?” he asked.

Saoirse was playing with her ambrosia and thought for a moment. She was wearing a silk kimono that she had sewn earlier that day. The white cloth highlighted her blonde hair and accentuated her dark skin perfectly, but Gunnar pretended not to notice.

“I don’t know,” said Saoirse, “but I have Kross run free at night, and he’s reported creatures much like the one Tommy described.”

Kross growled and whined at Saoirse, and she spoke in sharp, clipped tones back to the hyaena. His surgery had gone well, and both were apparently glad to be able to communicate with each other so clearly, though Gunnar was left out of the conversation completely. Gunnar had been taught by the Agoge to at least decipher
intent
from the languages he couldn’t understand, but he was absolutely clueless in regards to the strange tongue Saoirse shared with her pet. Though he dared not show it in front of his team, for this and a host of other reasons, Gunnar was lost, disheartened and didn’t know what to do.
I was trained to fight in wars and brawl in pits,
he thought.
I’m not built for mysteries.

“Continue to have Kross run free, and have him report to you only. He can’t even share his knowledge with the dogs. But tell me,” he said, now looking at Kayana, “what do
you
think is happening?”

“I don’t know,” said Kayana, “but there’s something wrong here, and right now it’s wrong on a very small level. The creature that attacked Tommy and the beings that infected Dion’s dream are all connected somehow. I cannot prove it, but I
know
. Our teachers are oblivious to this and will continue to be so. It’s up to us.”

“
Up to us
to do what?” asked Gunnar.

“To be aware,” said Kayana. “That’s all we can do now.”

/***/

Gunnar found the match invigorating. He and his Class of Warriors were playing
lacrosse
on the field below in the fashion of the Iroquois. The pitch was two kilometers long and there was no rule other than
first goal wins
.

Gunnar had an edge; he had played and studied lacrosse for years in the Agoge.
It’s a beautiful concept
, he thought.
Instead of engaging in endless bloodshed, have warriors settle disputes with the most violent game imaginable. There will be pain and death to be sure, but there will be no genocide, no rape and no prisoners of war.

Indra had split their class into two teams: Gunnar and Horus on one side, Rowan and Alkippe the Amazon on the other. Indra supplemented the teams with ten Spartan mercenaries apiece, and the game was working on its second hour. The losers would have a pit-fight against a Spartan enhanced with strength and speed, and the winner would get to see it from the front row.

Gunnar had lost Rowan’s team in the fray and was by himself behind an artificial hill. It was silent; Rowan’s team had the ball on their end and was formulating a strategy of attack.
This game is beautiful,
thought Gunnar,
but it’s not real. For though it is war in its purest, most heroic form, societies that settle scores by lacrosse will inevitably be conquered by a society that does not. The army who fights unfairly will always win.

A scout mercenary on Gunnar’s side jumped over the hill and lay down, out of breath.

“They’re coming,” said the mercenary. “Alkippe is without the ball but she’s in the lead, slashing at us viciously; she already broken one of our warrior’s knees.”

Gunnar looked over the hill and saw Rowan’s pack of Spartans running towards them, five hundred meters ahead in the artificial forest that was now growing.
It’s Manitou, the god of the forest,
thought Gunnar.
Indra let Manitou loose in here to grow a real terrain, and now it’s growing out of control. Rowan’s surprisingly using it to his advantage; we can barely see him hiding behind the trees.
Gunnar gathered his team together and first spoke to the Spartans on his team.

“Avoid Alkippe’s blows, but don’t
fear
her,” said Gunnar. “She’s not an Amazon anymore; she’s just a ferocious girl, and Spartans don’t fear girls.”

The Spartans laughed, but they were still a bit nervous.

“She’s just one part of their team,” said Gunnar. “Focus on finding
who
has the ball and then find a way to get it from them. Once you do, give the ball to Horus; he has a plan. If we get the ball to Horus, we’ve won the game.”

Falcon-faced Horus stared straight ahead at Rowan’s team.

“They’ve retreated back into Manitou’s forest,” said Horus. “They’re waiting for us.”

“He’s picking the battlefield
we must fight upon,” said Gunnar. “It’s a sound strategy
.
”

And I’m surprised the fool Rowan has chosen such a sound strategy,
thought Gunnar.
What’s more surprising is that he knows lacrosse
. Whether Rowan had played it before or it was simply raw athletic talent, Rowan moved well as his team passed the ball to one another.
He glides with and without the ball as if he’s floating
, thought Gunnar,
and on a broken femur, no less.

“Where is the Amazon?” asked a Spartan.

“In the skyline,” said Horus. “She’s perched in a tree.”

Alkippe was indeed in the canopy of trees, sitting in a lookout position. She had a scowl on her face and some of the Spartans shuddered.
Give them some confidence
, thought Gunnar,
for fear of Amazons is a Spartan’s only weakness.

“She won’t hurt you from up there,” said Gunnar, “and if she tries, I’ll rip her in half before she gets to you. Let’s walk, slowly and deliberately.”

They walked towards the forest, fanning out in a semicircle. Rowan continued playing with the ball and even did a few tricks with his stick to show off. He stopped playing when Gunnar’s team was a hundred meters away and then held the ball in his hand. He smiled, then yelled “
Go!”
and all his Spartan mercenaries rushed out towards them.

The collision will be vicious,
thought Gunnar.
The Agoge prepares Spartans to smash their friends to pieces upon command.

The Spartans rushed out and there was a clash as the two groups collided. Rowan retreated with his ball backwards into the forest and Gunnar followed, leaving the Spartans to fight in a scrum. Rowan ran through the forest at angles, using the trees to block Gunnar’s path. Whenever Gunnar got close Rowan would do an about-face and run the other way, often leaving Gunnar on the ground.

He’s employing tact and restraint,
thought Gunnar.
The Rowan I’ve come to expect would rush at me full-force in order to overpower me. What’s he doing?

Gunnar finally got traction and tackled Rowan as he rounded the corner of a tree. Rowan pushed himself off and crouched, still with the ball. Rowan took the ball and cradled it, keeping a tree in between himself and Gunnar. Gunnar whistled and three of his Spartan teammates came to his back; Rowan was surrounded.

“Give up the ball, Rowan,” said Gunnar, “and we’ll spare you a thrashing. I promise you.”

Rowan smiled and peered into Gunnar’s eyes.

“Agreed,” he said.

Rowan heaved the ball forward, high in the trees. The ball went to one of his mercenaries, who caught it and jumped forward through the canopy to the perched Alkippe. She held onto the ball clumsily, then climbed down her tree quickly and landed with a
thud
on the ground. She then proceeded to run off to the goal on Gunnar’s team’s side. Half of Gunnar’s team was stuck fighting Spartans, the other half was around Rowan; Alkippe was running off with no one to block her way.

“Stop her,” said Gunnar.

Gunnar’s Spartans paused and then reluctantly ran after Alkippe, leaving Rowan and Gunnar alone.

“Who are you?” asked Gunnar.

Rowan gave a smile and then his sparkling-blue eyes flashed green for an instant. After a moment he burst away in the opposite direction, towards his own goal.
He’s leading me somewhere
, thought Gunnar,
but I have to know what he’s up to.

Gunnar followed Rowan through the forest. Rowan was even nimbler than before and jumped through thick patches of brush with incredible agility. Gunnar kept stumbling but plowed forward. They reached a patch of empty field and Gunnar was able to catch up a bit; Rowan’s leg wasn’t fully healed and he was still hobbled a bit. The Berserker ran off to the right to a patch of swamp, and then disappeared into the mist. Gunnar followed but was slowed by the mud and soon realized that he had lost Rowan. He looked around at his surroundings and couldn’t see the Norseman anywhere.

Boom!
Rowan emerged from behind a patch of mist and tackled Gunnar. Gunnar turned around to face Rowan and headbutted him, connecting his forehead into Rowan’s nose. Gunnar pushed Rowan off and regained his footing.
Don’t go in for the kill just yet
, thought Gunnar.
There are too many questions unanswered.

Rowan’s nose started to bleed profusely, but his blood looked odd. It seemed to pulse
green
, like his eyes.
It dries dark red on his face and neck
, thought Gunnar,
but as it comes out it’s definitely green
. Rowan put his hand over his nose and pressed it; the blood stopped flowing and soon he was healed.

“What are you?” asked Gunnar.

“The man who has beaten you at lacrosse,” said Rowan. “Your Spartans have followed her, but half-heartedly; they’d rather face a pit-monster than an Amazon. Alkippe should be scoring now.”

They heard the wind rustle, and in the far distance they saw a small figure dart through the mist on the edges of the swamp.

“Hardly,” said Gunnar. “My teammate Horus is a hunting god; what he lacks in strength he makes up in stealth. He can travel unseen, and I instructed him to patrol our goal. Alkippe reached it alone and Horus took the ball from her before she even knew he was there. He should be scoring any minute now.”

Rowan tracked the figure as it disappeared into the far mist towards his goal, and then turned around to face Gunnar. Rowan bowed and then gave a friendly smile.

“It appears I’ve been defeated,” said Rowan. “I congratulate you.”

“The real Rowan would never congratulate me,” said Gunnar, “nor would the real Rowan act as you’ve acted at a hundred moments over the past hour. I’ll ask you one final time before I rip your head off and let that green blood pour from your veins.
Who are you
?”

Rowan smiled and his eyes flashed green again.

“A mere foot soldier in an army,” said Rowan. “I’m but part of the first wave; kill me if you will, and a thousand will take my place.”

Rowan ran towards Gunnar and tackled him again, but this time the Berserker had gained a lot more traction. Gunnar was pushed backwards into the swamp water and fell into a patch of mud. He sank just enough to eliminate all leverage, and now he had to focus entirely on breathing again. Rowan was keeping Gunnar’s head under the water at a downward angle. He tried to push Rowan off, but the Norseman wouldn’t budge.
You have but one shot to get him off you
, thought Gunnar.
Make it as vicious a hit as you’ve ever thrown.

Gunnar relaxed a moment and feigned passing out. Rowan wouldn’t relent his grip, so Gunnar grabbed Rowan and pulled him into the swamp water with him. Gunnar pulled his knee back and blasted it into Rowan’s leg at full force. Gunnar heard a crack as Rowan’s femur fractured again, and then he pushed the Berserker off. Gunnar burst above the water and took in a deep breath.