Pawns of Olympus Ch. 03

Tyre landed on his stomach, skidding a few inches and skinning his jaw. All the breath wheezed out of him and he gasped for air in the cloud of dust around him. When his vision cleared, he recognized a few of his men standing around him, gaping. Summoning his gods given strength, Tyre pushed himself upright once more. Glancing at the hunters beside him, he shouted, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get him!"

Standing, Eiro's eyes widened as three healthy men and one injured and vengeful husband rushed at him. It took him a split second to evaluate his odds. Turning around, his sprinted back towards Aegina, mounting the pony in one leap. He held out a hand to her, the seriousness of the offer etched in his every feature.

"Come with me, or stay here, but you must decide now!"

The fastest of the hunters had made it to the pony, tugging on Eiro's tunic, trying to pull him down. Eiro turned and smashed the heel of his palm into the man's face. The man stumbled away crying, blood pouring from a broken nose.

Eiro offered Aegina his hand one last time. Glancing at the man clutching his face, Aegina hesitated, and Eiro's mouth tightened.

"Goodbye then." Eiro turned the pony's head and raised his heel to kick it into motion.

"No!" She cried, throwing herself at him, finally willing to admit to herself that she couldn't live under Tyre's orders. "I'm coming! Help me up."

With no time to waste, Eiro pulled the petite woman onto the pony behind him and kicked. The pony broke into an unpracticed gallop, running faster out of Berora than it had since it was a foal.

*~*~*

A mile outside of Berora, the pony slowed to a trot, and a half mile after that, it slowed to a walk, breathing heavy. Aegina had been clutching Eiro for dear life as they galloped away from her husband, eyes closed, dealthly afraid of falling. She began to relax when they could no longer see the village, and even began to fidget.

They reached the edge of a dense forest, and Aegina voiced her unease at staying in such a place, especially after sundown, but the road they were on was the only one of any size, unless they wished to go back through the town, and they both agreed that was too risky. So, Eiro let the pony walk until they reached the first stream, where he stopped and had them both dismount.

"Search for a little clearing not too far from the road. I want to camp here tonight."

Aegina's brown eyes grew huge at the thought of camping, in the woods no less, but did as he asked anyway. Just in time for sunset, they got a fire going in a little glen no more than fifty feet from the road. Aegina gazed around anxiously as night settled in on the forest, insects buzzing and night birds beginning to rouse.

Eiro lay on his back, staring at the slowly appearing stars, while Aegina sat, knees to chest, chewing on her lip. "Are you sure there are no satyrs in these woods?"

Eiro's gold eyes blinked at her in surprise. "We're quite safe here. I have very good hearing. Besides, I've never heard of satyrs in these woods."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. They could just be very well hidden satyrs."

"Satyrs aren't really the hiding type. If what you need to hear is me saying 'there are no satyrs in these woods' then, no, there are no satyrs in these woods."

"But you're not positive." "I'm positive." A crisp feminine voice broke into their conversation. Eiro sat bolt upright, shocked at being snuck up on, while Aegina's head snapped around, looking for the speaker.

A handsome woman with sharp features watched the couple, amused by their expressions. Her auburn hair was immaculately curled, and her grey eyes were complemented by the green, purple, and gold embroidery that ran along the edges of her robes. Aegina noted, with mild distress about the state of her own dress, that the woman's was still sparkling white. In fact everything about the woman seemed to sparkle vaguely, but only when she looked with the corner of her eye.

The woman broke the stunned silence. "No satyrs, no driads, no undines, no sylphs, no nymphs of any kind, in fact, no fauns either. This forest," she paused to pluck a leaf from a tree, rubbing it between her fingers, "is dead." She let the leaf fall and advanced on the two mortals. Eiro scrambled to his feet, but the woman simply ignored him, gesturing to the trees around them.

"Not many forests can support satyrs any more. The ones which can are much closer to Mount Olympus."

Aegina's jaw dropped. "You...you're...you're a goddess!"

The goddess lifted an eyebrow. "And you're smarter than you look." Aegina's mouth snapped shut, taken aback. "I am the purveyor of wisdom and defender of just causes, the goddess Athena."

It was Eiro's first time meeting a goddess, and Athena's introduction seemed a bit anticlimatic. Aegina was a little disappointed as well, but she was more familiar with Athena's straightforward style of godhood, having grown up on tales of Mount Olympus. So when Eiro started to question the goddess' claim, she hurriedly clapped her hand over his mouth.

Athena half smiled watching them. "The smarter of the two of you, anyway. You should learn from her, Eiro. Never question a god. Even as strong as you are, I don't believe you could survive even a river god's wrath."

Eiro glowered as Aegina lowered her hand, convinced he wasn't going to be turned into a pig, or a goat, or a spider.

"Have a seat, won't you?" Two stools appeared by the fire, and Aegina sat down quickly, glad not to have to dirty her dress further. Eiro sat down reluctantly, when Aegina gave a sharp tug on his tunic. He hated having to bend to the will of anyone, even if they were a god.

"Good." Athena began to pace in front of the fire, collecting her thoughts. After a long pause, she began to speak. "This is a matter of some anxiety for me, so you will have to understand if I become slightly emotional."

Aegina blinked, wondering privately what could make a goddess nervous.

She continued, "Most mortals are not aware, though some powerful seers have divined it, that we are reaching the end of an era. What no one other than myself, the fates, and soon you two know, is what era that is."

Both of the mortals held their breath as Athena worked up her nerve.

"It is the end of the time of the gods and the advent of man." Athena looked carefully at the two faces staring blankly at her.

"Oh for Zeus's sake! I can't make it much simpler, but I'll try."

"Please do," Eiro intoned, finally fed up with Athena's arrogance.

The goddess glared at him, but went on. "The gods are dying. Just like this forest here. Withering up and disappearing."

"It's not possible!" Aegina gasped, incredulous. "You're immortal!"

"I assure you, it is possible. I hold the evidence right here in my hand. Or rather, the evidence is my hand." Athena lifted her hand up to the fire, and despite the weak light cast upon it, Aegina could clearly see it had become wrinkled and bony.

Athena's grey eyes hardened as she looked at her own hand, once immaculate and manicured, covered in freckles, with the knuckles raised, like malignant tumors. The sight made her stomach turn weak and she quickly withdrew her hand into the darkness.

Silence surrounded the three of them, each contemplating the impact this had on their lives.

"Why did you tell this to us?" Eiro's gold eyed gaze was piercing enough to match the coldness in Athena's. "Why not tell the other gods?"

This was logic, and at the moment Athena felt equipped only to deal with logic. She kept her hand clasped behind her back as she answered. "First, the other gods would never believe me. Most of them are so caught up in their own little spheres of influence that they don't bother to pay attention to the outside world." Athena's distaste for her immortal companions was obvious in her acidic tone. "Even Zeus prefers to dally with princesses than to rule his family. Hera's not much better, attempting petty revenge for every slight trespass upon her dignity. No, they'd never believe me."

Aegina nodded thoughtfully, but Eiro just sat, arms crossed, watching Athena and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Second, and more important, is that you two are somehow going to save the gods from disappearing."

One gasp and one dry laugh came from the seated woman and man, respectively. Aegina glared at Eiro, hoping his disrespect didn't get them fed to boars.

"Why on earth would I want to help save the gods? The gods do nothing but torment the mortals for their own pleasure!" Eiro hopped off of his stool and stared down the goddess in front of him. It was apparent that Athena had hit on a sensitive subject with the lithe man.

Across the fire, Athena returned the man's angry stare with her own. Cautioning herself that she really couldn't punish him, she reined in her temper. "The fates are the ones who picked you out, not me. And the fates are never wrong."

"Well, they're wrong this time! I'll never help.."

"What," Aegina cut him off, hoping that the argument would die, "do we do now?"

Athena switched her attention to the petite brunette, who, she decided, was most definitely the smarter of the two. "That, unfortunately, they could not tell me." She repressed a shudder, remembering her earlier visit. "I believe, though, that the best course of action would be to head to Delphi to visit the oracle. She could perhaps give us some more insight."

Eiro made another disrespectful noise, clearly disbelieving in the usefulness of a prophetess. Thankfully though, he kept his mouth shut.

Composing herself carefully, Athena once again became the image of a cool, calculating goddess. "I am determined to guide you on a course to save the gods. I refuse to die helplessly," her grey eyes flashed sparks, "I will not fade away without a fight."

Aegina bowed her head, and even Eiro looked down as a bright flash of light engulfed the goddess. When they looked up, Athena was gone.

They were both silent for a time, neither one wanting to acknowledge the rift between them. Eiro walked over to their pony, searching for something to fill the quiet. Finally, he unfastened the sole sack Aegina had managed to pack before their flight.

"Well, someone was looking out for you." The brunette glanced up at him warily. "This sack is full of food."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Aegina paused for a moment. "What are you going to do about food?"

Eiro shrugged, avoiding looking at her. "I don't need to eat as often as humans do. And I did eat just last night."

Aegina blushed, remembering interrupting him feeding on the prostitute at Pythia's. "Yes, but to Delphi from here..."

He glared at her, gold eyes flashing. "Since when are we going to Delphi? Just because the high and arrogant Athena demanded that we save the gods doesn't mean that I am just going to drop everything I am doing and..."

Aegina raised an eyebrow at his tirade, refusing to let his glare scare her, even though she could feel a fine sweat break out all over her body. Those eyes...no she wouldn't let them move her. "And just what are you doing? Eiro, we're sitting in the middle of a deserted forest, running away from my," she spat the word out, "husband. Tell me exactly what you're giving up by going to Delphi with me?"

For all his sixty-three years, Eiro could pout like a child of five. He looked away from her deliberately, and kept his mouth determinedly shut.

"Alright then, I'll go by myself."

"What? You can't do that! You'll be robbed, or raped, or murdered!"

"So then you'll come with me?"

Eiro sighed, exasperated. "Fine. But I refuse to visit the oracle."

She nodded, satisfied. "Could you pass me that bag? I'm getting kind of hungry."

Eiro handed over the sack, annoyed that she'd managed to convince him to go along with her. Aegina rummaged around, evaluating her rations, and stopped suddenly.

"It's at least five days from here to Delphi, and that's with good weather and shortcuts."

Eiro grunted his agreement.

"You're bound to get hungry by then."

He grunted again, noncommitally this time.

"I just want," her voice wavered, "I mean, if you get hungry before we get to town, you could," his eyes fixed on her face and she could feel herself break into another completely different sweat, "you could feed on me. If you wanted. When you're hungry."

His gold eyes bored into her, but she couldn't look away. Her face burned bright red with what she'd suggested. Good women didn't offer their bodies to strange men, but then, she'd already abandoned her husband, so she didn't see much point in trying to be a good woman. Still, the morality of her old life clung tightly to her, to the point where she was finding it hard to breathe.

He nodded slowly. "That's very...kind of you Aegina." He said her name softly and she blushed even harder. "I doubt it will come to that, though."

Aegina swallowed and forced herself to smile. Tearing her eyes from his, she resumed her rummaging, albeit slightly more jittery than before.

Eiro watched her in the corner of his vision. She was too kind, really. To volunteer her body for the sake of a monster? He'd already ruined her life, and now she was willing to be his food? No, he'd never be able to just use her like that.

Crunching loudly, Aegina ate some dry bread and the goat cheese that would spoil quickly. They were both quiet, content to watch the sun go down and the stars come out. Eiro knew more astronomy than she did, pointing out the constellations he had learned when he was sailing the Mediterranean. After awhile, he searched out a soft patch of grass and fell asleep. Still a little unsure of their surroundings, Aegina took longer to drift off, watching his chest rise and fall five feet away.

Dawn came too early for Aegina's liking. She woke first, slightly disoriented by the fact that she didn't have to do any chores. She shook Eiro's arm and he snorted awake, surprised to see her there. Quickly the two picked up their camp and put out the fire. The stools that Athena had provided them had vanished overnight, another sign of her weakening powers.

Scrubbing her face in the nearby stream, Aegina fretted once again about her appearance. Most of the pins holding her curls in place had fallen out of her hair, and her dress had an interesting mix of green and brown stains all along the hem. She sighed, reminding herself that a few inconveinances were better than being stuck with Tyre.

Eiro was waiting impatiently for her, eager to get going before they were found by any search parties. Aegina simply ignored his glowering and mounted their little dun pony. Gripping the pony's lead, Eiro ignored her as hard as she ignored him. One minute she could seem so kind, but the next she seemed like she didn't even care what happened to him! His knuckles turned white as he jerked the stubborn pony along. They headed for Delphi at a measured pace Eiro walking in front of the pony while Aegina rode. Once she volunteered to walk so that he could ride, but he dismissed the idea quickly saying that she'd only slow them down.

Aegina's eyes narrowed at that. Yes, he might be right, but he didn't have to be so rude about it. For the second time that morning she had to force herself to remember that this was the lesser of two evils. Not to mention that she, a humble housewife, was now on a quest from the gods! Remembering that, Aegina felt reinvigorated, and ignored Eiro's moodiness even more ferociously.

The morning dragged on as they both clung stubbornly to their silence. Eiro strained his ears listening for the sounds of pursuit, but he heard nothing out of the ordinary. Still, when dealing with experienced hunters such as Tyre's little clan, you usually didn't get lucky enough to hear them coming. Better to expect that they were following closely. They stopped only briefly at midday, near another stream. The horse drank and Aegina stretched her legs and rubbed some of the soreness from them. She chewed on some bread slowly, savoring it. Again, she worried if Eiro could really survive the trip without food, then chastised herself for it. If he wanted to be obstinant, then she would be too.

All too soon, he signaled for her to mount again. Aegina opened her mouth to offer to switch, but snapped it shut, remembering that he was scornful of the suggestion earlier. They walked for what seemed an eternity, though judging by the sun, she supposed it had only been about an hour or two. She was daydreaming when Eiro suddenly stopped. Snapping back to reality, Aegina was ready to scold him when she realized he was staring at a road sign. The main path split in front of them.

He was quiet, lips pursed and eyes troubled. Finally he turned to Aegina.

"Which way should we go?"

She blinked. "I don't know. You're the world traveller; I've never been farther than Berora."

"Yes, but," he looked at the ground, embarrassed, "I can't read the sign."

"Oh! I just assumed because you can speak..." She sensed his unease and trailed off. "Well, in any case, the left points towards Demetrias, and the right towards Larissa."

He nodded, still avoiding her eyes. Well, both routes are on the way to Delphi, but it's far faster to stay along the coast. We'll head for Demetrias." Glancing up for affirmation, he found Aegina squinting at the sign.

"Wait." She dismounted slightly clumsily and approached the sign, rubbing her sore bottom. Eiro rolled his golden eyes.

"What's wrong this time?"

Aegina ignored his snippiness for once, pulling weeds off of the over grown sign. Slowly she uncovered a third, broken piece of wood, pointing in the direction they were about to take.

"I really think we should head towards Larissa."

"Why? What's it say?"

"The path to Demetrias goes through Amazon territory."

"Oh, come on." Eiro rolled his eyes again. "You heard Athena. This forest is dead. There are no Amazons."

"But Amazons aren't like driads or fauns. They're not magical."

"Listen, you asked me to guide you to Delphi. Now, the quickest way to get to Delphi is through Demetrius. If you want me to guide you, then you should let me do my job and guide!"

"Fine." Aegina flounced back to the pony and settled heavily onto its back. "You don't have to be so rude about it."

The two set out on the path towards Demetrius, Eiro leading the pony by a rope. "Well, I'm not about to follow orders from a housewife."

Aegina sniffed, a little hurt. "Then it's no wonder you're not married."

Eiro turned, halting the pony, glowering. Aegina just lifted her chin high and ignored the waves of anger flowing off of her companion. Thinking better of it, Eiro closed his mouth, stifling the tirade that had been building in him since Athena had appeared. His lips pressed together, he spun around and they continued their journey in a stoney silence.

An hour or more passed and Aegina became increasingly uncomfortable with her decision to never speak to Eiro again. Eiro was finding it hard to concentrate on any one thing. The road seemed to dip and climb, but somehow his feet managed to keep walking. The trees around him swirled into a mass of green and brown. Without warning, his eyes rolled up and he fell onto the dirt path, unconcious.

Aegina squeeked in surprise and fear, dismounting quickly. Feeling his forehead, she couldn't find any signs of a fever. She grabbed her skin of water and gently poured some into his mouth and over his face. His gold eyes opened, making her catch her breath like it was the first time she'd ever seen them.

Smiling weakly, Eiro turned his head and spat out the water. "Thank you." Aegina helped him sit up. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to be so impatient earlier."

Her stomach fluttered as he scrutinized her face, hoping it wasn't too late to apologize. Feeling, like she was fifteen again, Aegina couldn't help but to blush. "I..uh...I'm sorry too." She smiled at him, and his eyes lit up making her stomach jump into her throat.