Chapter Seventeen
The rest of the day, unfortunately, was difficult.
Several arguments arouse, no surprise, involving Greeks versus Christians. It would start out as just little things, then esculated to verbal retorts, then fist fights. Thank goodness, Xenon and Anita seemed to work together to keep them apart when they got into such fights. It was exhausting and irritating and I began to wonder if putting up with the wraiths all on our own would be much easier. In fact, give me a whole horde of wraiths any day.
I sighed, dragging a hand across my face in frustration as I set my pen down at the sound of shouting outside my tent. It would seem yet another fight was commencing and my patience was wearing thin to the point where I'm surprised it was even intact. I took a deep breath, pushed up from my desk, and walked out of my tent to see two Christian soldiers, much to my dismay, in a shouting match while both Greeks and Christians watched on in irritation.
"Enough," The older soldier snarled, clenching his fists and advancing on the youngest man, who curled his lip in response, "I've had about enough of your whiny ass! You can't put up with other people for more than a few weeks?! This might not even be our permanent job!" A few of the soldiers, on both sides, nodded and murmured amongst themselves.
"Like hell," The younger one shouted, giving the older one a shove and making him stumble, so a few other soldiers, one a Greek, moved to help him, "I'm not gonna sit here and pretend to get along with a bunch of heathen bastards! We're Christians!"
"We're part of Lucifer's army." A soldier deadpanned from nearby. Several soldiers laughed at that, both Christian and Greek.
"We're still Christians," The youngest one chirped angrily, "Or at least fucking Satanists or something of the sort! Not Greek bastards who would fuck animals if they wanted!" One Greek started forward to hit him, but his brethren held him back.
"You shut your mouth," He sneered viciously, baring a set of thick fangs signifying his werewolf heritage, "At least our people didn't try to take back some spit of land they claimed was the holy land! At least our people don't fucking destroy everything in our path! You Christians have been a plague the moment your Christ started spewing bullshit!" The younger Christian soldier's face darkened and he lunged for him, but the older one held him back.
"We were trying to help you fucking heathens is what we were doing, but you were set in your savage ways! I shouldn't even be here! I was a good Christian--"
"That's what they all say! You set up your silly stupid little commandments and don't even follow them! Your religion is nothing, but hate and lies used to scare people into obeying, not God, but a regular man with money!"
"At least we didn't sacrifice animals!"
"Do you even fucking read the Bible, you shit?!"
"Do you?!"
"Surprisingly, yeah! I read it because of Cain and Abel!"
"They're blasphemous homosexuals!" One of the men holding back the Greek soldier lunged forward and tackled the young Christian to the ground and the two went at it like a bar brawl. I cursed and shoved aside soldiers with Anita shoving people aside to make way. We got into the circle just as Ambrosius and Xenon were.
"Enough!" We shouted in unison. Both soldiers scrambled to their feet frantically, standing up straight to face us. I glared at my soldier in disgust.
"Do not slander another person's beliefs," I commanded, raking him in repungence, "Nothing gives you the right to say such a thing." Ambrosius went over to his soldier and grabbed him roughly by the arm, making him wince.
"The same goes for you," He snapped, then shoved the soldier roughly at his brethren before turning to face the rest of his soldiers, "I've had enough of you all picking fights. If you want to behave like children, I'll be happy to call a bunch of babysitters to come here and take care of you. Is that what you want? Imagine how delighted Hades will be that he has to call a bunch of babysitters to come here for his army of almighty warriors." I nodded, scanning my soldiers as well.
"Ambrosius is right. You are brothers and sisters. You are not enemies. We are here to fight a common enemy, not each other. You are putting to shame all the people who fought before you, and all the people who will fight after you. If you continue to fight with one another, the wraiths will take advantage of the negative energy. They will kill you. Over a thousand man killed because they were too stupid and childish to get along. Your families will be shamed, you ancestors will be shamed." I announced, and scanned both groups of troops. No one said a word, just glanced around uneasily at each other. Ambrosius lifted his chin, planting his hands on his hips.
"So what will it be? Will you suck it up and work together, or do you all just want to die a horrible painful death and suffer eternal humiliation?" He demanded. Putting it like that, a few soldiers shrugged and everyone seemed to sort of relax now. I sighed in relief as everyone dispersed. I ran a hand through my hair, approaching Ambrosius, who was rubbing at his temples.
"I think I'm actually getting a migraine." He told me as I came over. I smiled, tempted to reach out and touch him, but Xenon's glare was daring me to do so. No point in telling the soldiers to not fight if Xenon and I got into it. I just looked away from him to look at Ambrosius.
"You could come to my tent. I have something that might help." I offered. Ambrosius blinked and looked at me curiously before he picked up on my hint, his cheeks coloring as he bit at his bottom lip.
"We have pain pills in our tent," Xenon said dryly, "You can calm down." I gave him a droll stare and Ambrosius shook his head, waving Xenon off.
"No, it's fine. I'm bored in my tent anyway." He said. Xenon was giving him a look that was probably threatening behind those sunglasses of his.
"You shouldn't be bored. You have files to fill out and you have to report the incidents between the soldiers... and your mother emailed you earlier to ask how you were doing." He tacked on, making Ambrosius blink and look at him in surprise.
"My mother?" He asked. Xenon nodded. Ambrosius looked at me apologetically, but I just smiled and nodded for him to go ahead. He hurried back to his tent and Xenon watched him go before looking back at me and I arched a brow at him.
"You can't keep him from me forever," I replied, making Xenon shrug, before I frowned at him, "And I have this itching sensation that you were the one who sent him an email as Persephone. Why would she ignore him all this time and suddenly message him?" Xenon looked at me innocently.
"No idea what you're talkin' about. I think you have what's called desert madness." He turned on his heel and walked away. I glared after him, irritated. While his intentions were good, and he was just worried about Ambrosius, it still aggravated me that I would have to put up with him to get to Ambrosius. First Hades, now Xenon. Was no one going to let me near him?
"It's like Romeo and Juliet," Anita said suddenly, making me look at her, surprised, and she cleared her throat awkwardly, "I like Shakespeare... and it just reminded me, your situation with Lord Ambrosius. There seems to be a lot keeping you from one another." Anita was smart, I noticed. It didn't take her very long to pick up on our relationship, or what was to be a relationship, if people would just get out of the way.
"Thankfully," I said with a sigh, "I won't resort to suicide.... and I'm far older than sixteen. Ambrosius? Not so much."
"He's that young?" Anita asked, eyebrows raising. I shrugged.
"Technically, but gods mature differently. He's an adult by god standards. It's just mortal standards."
"I... see." Anita cocked her head thoughtfully at that. I turned course and headed inside to check on Dania and the servant Ambrosius had given her. It made me incredibly uneasy to have such a large man around my sister. Worst of all was that Dania had no sense of danger and could say something to piss the man off to the point of harming her. The thought made me shudder.
I found my way into the sparring room on the other side of the dining room. It was a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows running the length of the walls to look out at the front yard and the courtyard where the pool was at. The floor made of hardwood floor, currently occupied by cushioned mats. I walked through the double doors just in time to watch Dania swing her fist up and strike the soldier in the nose, making both Anita and I wince at the sound of a crack and the soldier cursed, stumbling back to clasp a hand over his bloody nose. Dania surprised me by wincing and moving to stand in front of him, having to reach her hands almost all the way up to touch his face.
"I'm totally sorry. I didn't mean to hit that hard. Are you okay?" She asked, studying the larger man with concern I didn't think she was capable of showing. The soldier didn't respond at first. His eyes were screwed shut, teeth clenched and a vein throbbing in his square jaw. His dark curly hair was whipped back into a tight short ponytail. Even from here, he towered over Dania and alarm rang through me as I expected him to stroke her, but much to my awe, the soldier just slowly blinked open a pair of hazel eyes.
"I'm fine," He grunted at last, "I hope you don't do that to your opponents." Dania blushed, making my eyebrows go up. Since when did Dania blush?
"Absolutely not. I bathe in their intestines." She replied defensively. The soldier paused at that, lowering his hand from his bloody nose that was slowly healing.
"You do that often?"
"More often than not."
"You're weird."
"You're weird," Dania returned with a huff, planting her fists on her hips before she saw me and her face brightened, "Thorn! You came to see me! We're staying on the same property, but I haven't gotten to see you because you're busy with a big sweaty pile of dudes." The soldier made a face at that and Dania popped him in the stomach for it, which seemed to hardly do any damage. The soldier was built like a brick wall with rippling abs emphasized by his skintight black tank top and leather pants. I didn't say anything to Dania, though. I scanned the soldier from head to toe, both irked after the way he mocked Ambrosius and that Dania was stuck with him.
"What's your name?" I asked him. He frowned at me for a moment, the preparation for a snarky comment glinting in his eyes before Dania popped him in the stomach again and this time he grunted.
"Alexis." He muttered. I frowned.
"Are you treating my sister gently?" I demanded. Dania looked surprisingly embarrassed.
"Thorn, I'm a big girl. You know I can take care of myself. If I can kick the shit out of Thor, I can kick the crap out of this guy. Even his name is girly." She added. Alexis stiffened, but didn't say anything, just glared at her until he caught me eyeing him threateningly and his eyes seemed to be suddenly interested in the gold designs on the ceiling.
"Yeah, but you had Loki to help you last time." I said tightly. Dania scowled.
"There you go being all typical man on me! Stop doing that! You and father and Raven and Alaric, hell even Remi, are all the same! I am not a little girl anymore and I'm not scared of men. If anything, you guys should be fucking terrified of me. I'm the one that'll castrate you and make you eat them." She threatened dangerously. Alexis and I grimaced at the imagery I'm sure we could've gone without. Yet, I still couldn't shake this uncomfortable feeling I had about Dania being near Alexis. He was making Dania act strange, and he was nearly seven feet tall. It was like seeing a bear stand next to a Chihuahua.
"He's a brute." I told Dania, who snorted.
"Oh, please. I just broke his nose and almost made him cry." She assured me. I glanced at Alexis, but he looked away. I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to reassign Alexis, but Anita touched my shoulder.
"Lord Thorn, we should go check on the soldiers to make sure there are no more fights." She advised. I frowned and looked back at Dania, who was staring at Anita. A strange look passed between the two that I couldn't understand. Alexis also seemed confused by it. But Anita was right, unfortunately, so I just nodded slowly and raked Alexis warily.
"Harm one hair on her head and I'll make what she does look like a walk through Elysium." I told him darkly. Alexis frowned, but nodded his head in understanding. Dania just rolled her eyes before we left the room and I scowled as I led Anita toward the front of the house again.
"I don't like him." I stated. Anita arched a brow.
"Because he likes your sister?" She asked. I stopped to stare at her, bewildered.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked. Anita looked uncomfortable now.
"I spoke out of turn. I apologize, Lord Thorn." I frowned at that.
"No, I just... I guess I don't understand what you mean. He's a soldier, yes, he'll want a woman, but he isn't going to touch my sister." I assured Anita, who tilted her head.
"I didn't mean he liked her like that. I meant... Well, actually, I did, but I don't think he means to hurt her. He's a trained professional, my lord, and your sister, and I mean no disrespect, is just a vigilante. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he let her hit him like that." She explained. I frowned even further. That gave me a very uncomfortable feeling. Did that mean Dania liked him in return? She acted so strangely towards him. The thought was beginning to disgust me. I didn't want my baby sister in the arms of a violent bully. Granted, Alexis hadn't been making lewd comments about Ambrosius, but he had questioned his authority and his power, which was enough for me to hate him and to know he was making advances toward my sister only increased my hatred for him.
If I wasn't so set in trying to get our troops to get along, I would've taken Alexis to the courtyard and drowned him in the pool. Of course, said action would defeat the purpose of getting our troops to see eye-to-eye.
I shrugged the topic off, not wanting to discuss it with an outsider, and made my way to the front yard. I made a mental note to speak to Dania about her relationship with Alexis.
We came into the front yard, and much to my surprise, the troops were all chatting and laughing. Even more shocking was how many Greeks had wandered to our side and ours to the other. I didn't know what to say, except stare at a sight I was sure would take decades to work.
"That was fast." I said at last.
"Tell me about it," Ambrosius's voice made me turn to see him approaching with Xenon following every step of the way, "I leave for not more than half an hour and suddenly, people are making up." I nodded in approval, pausing to admire the way his pants clung to his well-shaped hips. He snapped his fingers at me and I smiled, watching his cheeks pinken. Xenon looked irritated and Anita just watched like she was fascinated by our exchange.
"Well," I said casually, scanning the troops, "Maybe we should go into town for supplies. I'm sure we're running low by now." Ambrosius nodded.
"That sounds like a good idea. I could use it. I think Reti's starting to at least tolerate me." He added, making a face. I laughed. Xenon folded his arms over his chest.
"Shouldn't one of you stay behind and make sure this peace remains? It might just be the calm before the storm." He advised. Ambrosius gave him a droll stare.
"That's why you and Anita get to stay here." He responded. Xenon twitched.
"I ain't a babysitter kid."
"You were mine until I turned twelve."
"Bodyguard. I was your bodyguard. There's a difference."
"Bodyguards don't buy their clients weird looking teddy bears for their birthday."
"It wasn't weird. Besides, you were the one who liked Winnie the Pooh for a good four years of your childhood. Don't blame me for it."
"I didn't think you knew anything about Disney." I told Ambrosius, who looked at me curiously.
"Winnie was a Disney character?"
"One of the best. You really need to watch more. There are movies and shows about that guy. I'll show you Dania's stash when we get back." I added. Ambrosius blushed.
"I'm a soldier."
"Soldiers can watch Winnie." I pointed out. Ambrosius considered that. Xenon rolled his eyes.
"I'll get some of my robes and meet you at the stables." Ambrosius told me, then turned to go to his tent. Xenon went after him, already launching a lecture that I could hear from here about how I was just a pervert and trying to get into Ambrosius's pants. While that was my original intention, things had become more complicated, because I wanted more than Ambrosius's body. I wanted his heart. I wanted to repair the damage his family and his people had done to him. No one deserved to live in that kind of emotional poverty.
I gave Anita orders to oversee our half of the troops before I moved across the yard, walking around the house to get to the stables. It was particularly sunny today, the heat of the rays beating down on my face. I pulled my keffiyah over my head and double-checked my weaponry just in case. I wasn't too afraid of the wraiths taking another shot at us so soon. Our attack may not have killed them, but it would have spooked them. I had no doubt that at least half of them were sticking around for revenge while the others were taking off through the random portals around the desert. I made a mental note to send troops out to hover near said portals to keep anymore from entering. It was time we started making a system at the portals to keep out any entities that could pose a threat to the souls on their journey to a second chance.
I arrived at the stables and saddled up Reti and Bethani. I considered leaving Remi here, but something told me it might just be best to take him with us. I almost always ended up needing him for something. I was giving Bethani a sugar cube when I felt a presence approaching and turned to see Ambrosius walking over to me, but he looked peeved. I raised an eyebrow.
"You look angry." I commented. Ambrosius scowled.
"Xenon's starting to act like he's my mother. He ditched me for the longest time and suddenly he's all over me about actually trying to have a life."
"He's just worried. He probably doesn't want me to sully you." I pointed out with a shrug. Ambrosius frowned further.
"Xenon has sex. That doesn't make him dirty." He deadpanned. I almost choked on that. That was one piece of information I could've gone my whole life without knowing. I cleared my throat and looked at Ambrosius, who was giving me an amused half-smirk and a quirked up brow.
"Firstly, I don't need to know about your bodyguard's personal life," I said, then heaved myself up on the saddle; Ambrosius moving to Reti and doing the same, "Secondly, I meant about you being a virgin." Ambrosius's cheeks fliushed.
"How do you know?"
"It's kind of obvious."
"Gee, thanks. Oh look," Ambrosius paused to look through the air and pretended to wave at something, "There goes the rest of my ego. Damn, and right when I started building it above sea level." I laughed at his sarcasm, steering Bethani and nudging her sides so she'd start forward at a steady pace and Ambrosius came right up beside me.
"Xenon is just trying to take care of you. I'd do the same thing if anyone went near my siblings."
"Like Raven and Dev."
"Exactly like Raven and Dev."
"But Raven is an adult. He can make his own choices."
"I don't care. He's still my little brother and still the little kid who ran up to me screaming about monsters hiding under his bed. And I know Raven better than Dev does. Dev could hurt him."
"Not if Dev actually likes him."
"Dev is Lust. That's all he feels. There's no such thing as love for him." I muttered dryly. Ambrosius frowned and seemed to mull that over as we left down the drive, moving past soldiers, who were milling around and finding things to occupy themselves with, like card games and a chess board. A few men were already sleeping, which was a good thing considering I planned to wake them all up early for their uniforms and some training to teach them to fight the wraiths.
"And what do you feel for me?" Ambrosius asked after a while. I blinked, then looked over to see him looking at me intensely. I returned the stare with my own level of intensity.
"I love you." I stated. Ambrosius blushed all the way to the tips of his ears and looked away with a scowl, making me smirk wickedly.
"And I love your reactions to my affection. They're adorable."
"I'm a man."
"Men can be adorable."
"Yeah, the not cool ones."
"You're totally cool."
"Ugh, you make it sound worse. Stop before I throw myself in the sand and disappear." Ambrosius grunted. I chuckled and we rode the rest of the way talking about nonsense. I'd mention my home, my family, my friends, hobbies. Ambrosius always tried to steer the conversation toward myself. It made sense, considering he didn't have much to say for his life. It was made entirely of work and discipline. Was that even considered a life? Probably not. I made a promise that I would make Ambrosius happier, and he just rolled his eyes. I wasn't sure if he believed me or not, but he would one day when he found himself genuinely smiling. I hoped that day came soon.
Because Hades was returning in a couple of weeks with the intention of dragging Ambrosius back home. I had a feeling that was one of the main sources of Ambrosius's compliancy with my advances. He knew he would eventually have to leave, and all this luxery of friendship and love and in-depth conversations, would all vanish and he would be once again plunged into the rigid state of fear his father had built around him.
I just hoped I could find a way to truly save him by then.
Because if Hades took Ambrosius, he was taking me too.
Whether he liked it or not.