Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Old Meets New

The alpha wolf was fast for his age. No sooner had it whipped in to take a shot at Praxis than it withdrew, backing up several steps and waiting for the right moment to strike. Praxis hadn’t been caught off guard by the sudden lunge but he took the small reprieve to position his shield and spear, readying for the contest that was to follow.

“Lysandra, remember what I taught you,” said Praxis as he stared down the wolf. “It’s just another enemy. Just one with a lot more hair.”

Lysandra made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a whimper, surprising him at first. It wasn’t until he chanced a glance at her that he saw why. Lysandra had looked behind them, which revealed something even more frightening.

The female wolf had double backed her steps and was approaching their rear. In the rocky, two-sided defile they were in, there was no escape.

“Praxis, what do we do?” she yelled.

“Focus on the one closest to you,” said Praxis. “The alpha is still the bigger threat right now.”

That couldn’t have been more properly demonstrated by the lunge that happened next. Only, it wasn’t Praxis that was the target but Lysandra. The old alpha went for her legs, and for a split second, he managed to wrap his mouth around her exposed ankle before letting go as Praxis raced to the rescue. Lysandra screamed and fell to her ground, swinging her sword in an effort to ward off the predator.

“Lysandra, are you hurt?” asked Praxis, eyeing her ankle where a sliver of blood had appeared.

Lysandra managed to push to her feet quickly, and then she tried to put weight on the affected leg. Though Praxis could see blood, it wasn’t a deep wound.

“He just grazed me,” she said, greatly relieving him. “I can still fight!”

The wolf wasn’t idle during this time. He pranced back and forth, stalking his prey and no doubt hoping they would turn and run. But Praxis wasn’t about to turn cheek at that moment. He moved in on the wolf, using his spear as a thrusting weapon. He found the movement unnatural but after several thrusts, it wasn’t hard to see that there was a lot of power by handling the weapon this way. It also extended his range greatly.

“Come on, get closer,” he muttered to himself as the beast continued to snarl at him.

The old alpha lunged at him, nearly capturing his leg before Praxis whipped it out of the way. Just behind him, he could feel the presence of the female wolf getting steadily closer. If things didn’t change soon, they would attack together and kill him.

“Just a little bit more,” he whispered as he stalked forward again.

The next spear thrust grazed the wolf, causing him to yelp in pain. He backed up, which allowed Praxis space to maneuver. Just beside him, Lysandra was faced against the female who was still advancing.

“Watch the alpha for me,” said Praxis as he suddenly whirled around and jabbed at the female.

The female wasn’t nearly as aggressive as the male, and finding herself on the defensive, she backed away several paces. It was the breathing space they desperately needed as it seemed the female would take no more part in the fight.

She was going to leave the honors to the old alpha.

At least now it was two on one instead of equal numbers. And that’s when the idea began to form in his mind.

“Lysandra, spread out from me a little,” said Praxis. “Take about ten steps to your left!”

Lysandra gave him a look of fear before doing as he asked, opening a gulf between them just as the alpha started to move in again. The old wolf suddenly stopped as he realized that he couldn’t keep an eye on both of them at the same time, which was the idea. Praxis took a few steps to his right, increasing the gap.

“Now when I say go, I want you to charge at his flank,” said Praxis. He waited for the wolf to center his attention on him. “Go!”

Lysandra rushed in, using her sword in the exact manner he’d thought her. The alpha whipped around to counter her, and in that moment, exposed his flank to Praxis.

It was the opportunity he’d been waiting on. Using his spear, Praxis ran forward and slammed the tip directly in the hind quarter of the creature.

The yelp that erupted from its lips was devastating. Limping right away, the alpha tried to get out from between them but it had lost its speed in the process.

Something that Praxis capitalized on right from the start. One more firm spear thrust to the chest was all that was needed.

The old wolf was mortally wounded. He managed to crawl a short distance away before laying down. He never got up again.

Just behind them, the female watched with interest but upon seeing Praxis start advancing toward her, she took off to rejoin her young, disappearing into the distance.

Victory was theirs.

It was only with caution that Praxis approached the old wolf. He could no longer see any movement in its chest but he could see the blood on the ground, the only other evidence of its demise.

“We did it,” said Lysandra softly. “We killed the old bastard.”

Praxis looked away from the wolf to her leg. “How bad are you wounded? Are you okay? I see you’re still standing but I figured it might still be the adrenaline of the situation.”

Lysandra reached down to rub her leg, getting some blood on her fingers in the process. “Just a grazing wound from what I can tell. It doesn’t hurt that bad. I think we were lucky. If he had another second, he would have bitten harder.”

Praxis smiled at her. “We’ve had a lot of luck in this ordeal so far. I’m hoping it doesn’t run out any time soon.”

Lysandra didn’t look so sure. “I don’t know, Praxis. We still have one more trial.”

“That’s assuming we can get this big guy home,” joked Praxis. “Come on, we might be able to get back before nightfall if we hurry.”

The journey back to the village was much harder than the journey into the valley. For one, the wolf weighed just over a hundred pounds. Praxis was able to carry it on his back but only for so long before he needed rest. It also meant that Lysandra had to carry both their shields, packs, and weapons, which was a burden to her as well.

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Long before they reached the village, Praxis switched to dragging it behind him, and it was in this way that he made it to Demetrios’ house by nightfall.

Rastus was the first one to see them. He started waving his hands in the air once he saw what was behind them.

“I recognize that male!” he said with excitement. “That’s the one that’s been plucking from my flock all year! You finally got him. How?”

“With a little bit of help from my comrade here,” said Praxis, jerking his head toward Lysandra. “It wasn’t easy though.”

“I’ll say! Let me tell my grandfather that you’re home!”

Demetrios gave a loud holler when he saw the body of the wolf. In fact, most of the elders did the same when they saw it too.

“How did you two . . . ?” asked Lasos, the father of the rescued Dirce. “You two must have powerful gods protecting you!”

Even Medios seemed to be amazed as he gazed at the wolf, though Orcus still pretended like it was no mean feat.

“I’m beginning to wonder if you two are made out of sterner stuff than I previously imagined,” admitted Medios. “Two tasks have been completed with only one more to go. You surely have proven a lot of people wrong.”

“Medios, why don’t we excuse them from the final task?” asked Lasos. “They’ve proven themselves to us and the rest of the village. I vote that we allow them to stay!”

There were similar cheers that echoed up from the other elders while Orcus gave out a loud rebuttal (though he wasn’t technically an elder).

Medios only shook his head. “No, the trials are a sacred procession to our village. Once they are started, they must be completed. For now though, we’ll allow you to get your rest for the night. We’ll be back tomorrow with your third and final task.”

Praxis nodded his head, as did Lysandra. Before Medios could leave though, he issued one final warning.

“Don’t let your pride get the best of you, Praxis,” he advised. “Just because you’ve completed two tasks doesn’t mean that the third one will be easy. Expect the worst tomorrow.”

Praxis raised his chin. “We’ll be ready. I promise you that.”

*****

“Well, it’s not much but it’ll do for now.”

Cypselus couldn’t have been more accurate, especially as Agemon looked around the dainty, old house. One wall inside was nearly falling down while another had a giant crack running through the center.

It wouldn’t be fit to be a low-status brothel in Corinth but then again, they weren’t in Corinth any more.

They were in Athens. Ever since Corinth’s fall to the Spartans, Cypselus and his family, alongside Agemon and Cora, had made their way east looking for safety. They didn’t stop at Megara, which was the favorite stomping grounds of the last king of Corinth, but instead they continued until they came upon the great city in the heart of Attica.

The very house they were looking at was in the shadow of the Acropolis, being rented to them by a kindly old man with only two teeth. It would allow them to get their feet back on the ground and prepare for the day when they could return to Corinth, at least in Agemon’s eyes.

And yet, it seemed that Agemon was the only one who held out hope of a return. The more days that went by, the more that Cypselus seemed to accept that his days of kingship were over. He even admitted to Agemon that previous night that he might never see the city again.

“How can you say that, my king?” asked Agemon. “Sure, the city is dominated by the Spartans now but not forever. We will return to Corinth one day and undo everything they’ve done to our city.”

Cypselus seemed to be more of a realist. “You’re a dreamer, Agemon. Horn of Hades, look what we’ve been reduced to. Of our old army, you’re the only man I can still count on. Even if we wanted to take back Corinth, I can’t take it back with a one-man army.”

“Not just me, my king. We’ll find new supporters. We’ll train more fighters. It doesn’t have to be like this forever.”

Cypselus let out a long sigh and patted Agemon’s shoulder. “Don’t get your hopes up. We might be here a while.”

The king left Agemon alone with his thoughts, and for the next twenty-four hours, Agemon had to come to terms with what his life might look like if they never went back to Corinth. As he sat down in the Athenian house for the first time, he wondered if he could really do this for the rest of his life.

“Not bad,” said Cypselus as he looked around. He had his lips drawn tight, a heavy reminder that he didn’t mean the words that came out of his mouth. “We can make it here.”

His wife, Lyra, didn’t seem so certain. At least she spoke her mind. “Cypselus, this place is a dump.”

“It’s a start,” correct Cypselus. “And it’s a lot better than what would have happened if we stayed in Corinth.

“Barely,” said Lyra. “Maybe we can find another place to stay. This one is hardly safe.”

“There are no other places that we can afford right now,” said Cypselus. “It’s either this or we all sleep out under the stars.”

“Yes, but surely—”

The husband and wife continued to bicker as Agemon moved to the second room, which were to be his quarters while he stayed there. There was one small window, and he used it to look out on Athens. As far as cities went, it looked a lot like Corinth. There were the same smells and sights. People didn’t look any different.

And yet it wasn’t home. It wasn’t Corinth.

How could he be expected to live in a city that wasn’t his home? Especially if there was no going back?

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