HEARTS' HOMELAND TRILOGY

PART 3: RITE OF PASSAGE

THUD! The young Amazon went down on her behind for perhaps the tenth time that morning, much to the annoyance of her instructor.

"Daaria! What is the matter with you? I know you've been having trouble mastering the war staff, but if I'd been the enemy, you'd be dead right now!" Moving to the other side of the clearing, she took up a battle-ready stance, waiting, her face grim.

Gritting her teeth, Daaria climbed to her feet and grimly prepared to engage again. War staffs came together with a resounding crack. Daaria fought valiantly against her sister's superior strength, speed and tactical knowledge, but in no time, she had gone down yet again. Only this time she stayed down, looking up.

Her instructor, Kendaa, shook her head, reigning in her temper. "We're going to stay here until you can last longer than two minutes without going down for the count. Now get up!"

But Daaria remained on the ground, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide. "But, I...you...ah..."

Kendaa gave up the battle with her temper. "WHAT?" She barked. "If you think I'm letting you off, you can think again, now UP!"

Daaria's mouth was trying to work. "I...ah...he..." She gave up her own battle to try and find words and simply pointed to a spot directly behind Kendaa.

The tall Amazon whirled. Standing not three feet away from her was Ares, the God of War himself, arms crossed and wearing an amused expression. She rolled her eyes at him and drew a deep, frustrated breath. "MUST you sneak up on people like that?"

Ares grinned. "It's good to see you too, my dear Kendaa," he replied in a low, sensual voice. His eyes wandered to the younger Amazon, staring up at him with awed eyes.

"Giving our student a hard time this morning, are we? What's the matter, get out of bed on the wrong side?" He enquired mischievously in a bright voice.

Kendaa muttered something under her breath about gods minding their own business, and leaned down to assist the still awe-struck Daaria to her feet. Ares heard her and grinned again. "Now, now. Temper, temper."

The half-dryad turned back to him, sighing and counting slowly backwards from ten. "Is there a purpose for your visit, Ares, beyond a desire to be a thorn in my side this morning?" She asked in a resigned voice. "We're busy," she added pointedly, becoming aware that the young woman at her side was, on learning the identity of their visitor, now displaying every indication of having been instantly smitten.

The dark eyes of the God of War were still resting on the younger Amazon. "Hmmmm? Oh yes. As a matter of fact there is." He smiled pleasantly at Daaria who, much to Kendaa's annoyance, was almost visibly swooning under the full impact of the presence of the dark lord of war.

Ares' eyes moved to Kendaa. "We need to talk," he told her without preamble, his tone far less light, the silver earring in his ear catching the light of the early morning sun.

She assessed the look in his eyes, nodded, and turned to her companion. "Daaria, go back to the city. We'll continue this tomorrow morning."

Daaria, not taking her awed eyes off Ares, nodded automatically, but didn't move. "NOW, Daaria," her sister told her, voice sharp.

The god and the mortal woman both watched the girl head back into the forest in the direction of the Amazon City.

"She's never going to master the staff," Ares commented matter-of-factly. "She doesn't have the co-ordination for it."

Kendaa shrugged, adjusting her left gauntlet before picking up her own staff. "She at least needs to know the basics of it," she told him.

The God of War's expression was thoughtful. "Try her with a sword, Kendaa, she might surprise you."

She turned to him, nodding slowly. "We'll do that. So, what do we need to talk about?" She asked him.

Ares smiled a little. "Always straight to the point, aren't you, my sweet?" But his face grew serious quickly enough.

"You've never returned to the Great Northern Forest since you wrought its rebirth, have you?" He asked her quietly, watching the shuttered look descend on her face.

"No," she told him flatly.

A dark eyebrow quirked. "A rare act indeed - to walk away from a throne."

Kendaa kept her face carefully blank. "I don't want to discuss it, Ares," she told him quietly.

His dark eyes caressed her. "That's a shame, my dear, because I really think you'd better. Something is afoot in your former Forest Kingdom."

She frowned. "What do you mean? I haven't felt..." Abruptly she stopped. But too late, he'd heard.

"So. I was right all along. You do have Dryad Earth Power, however deeply you may have buried it." Ares smiled, pleased at proving himself right.

The Amazon woman facing him, half-dryad by birth, sighed. "Alright. Yes, I have the Talent, gifted to all the Forest-born. I just..." She shook her head, then raised her eyes to the dark lord of war. "After Hera destroyed my people...I swore I would never again cling to that in me which is dryad. She wanted all my people dead; as far as I was concerned, she killed us all. Ares, I am human - mortal. Earth Power may be mine, but I won't use it."

She continued to look into his eyes as he slowly digested that. She could see he was thinking, and she couldn't stop the passage of her own rueful thoughts which idly speculated on the nature of the relationship she shared with the God of War.

Many thought him evil incarnate. It was true that he held in his hand the ordering of all the wars that plagued humankind; it was equally true that he had personally ordered and overseen the often very cruel deaths of countless mortals. And yet...and yet... She had seen a very different side of him on several occasions.

She knew that there was a part of Ares that was inherently noble, no matter that he himself despised it and did his utmost to deny its very existence. She was also aware that the God of War held strong feelings for her, feelings which she had been stunned, and initially annoyed, to find mirrored in herself. More often than not he drove her to fury, but equally as often now they shared periods of times in each other's company and arms that were peaceful, relatively free of enmity, and deeply satisfying.

Now her thoughts vanished as his quiet voice cut through them. "My dear, your may find your birthright isn't that easy to ignore."

"What do you mean?" She asked him sharply. She knew from long experience that Ares never indulged in idle speculation.

"I mean, my sweet, that my mother has again turned her attention to the Northern Forest, and to those to whom it has been giving birth." He paused, his face for once free of guile.

"Kendaa, she means to destroy them, once and for all."

The face of the mortal woman before him hardened.

"Not this time," she hissed in a guttural snarl that caused the God of War to look deep into her eyes. He was not surprised at the feral fury he saw in the depths of those dark green eyes. The gold flecks flashed like lightning just before a violent storm. It pleased him mightily, although on this occasion he would rather not have been the bearer of what he knew she must hear.

He looked away for a moment, considering. "If you go up against her, she'll destroy you," he told her matter-of-factly. "It's what she's wanted, ever since she killed your mother and the rest of your kind."

Kendaa smiled coldly. "Yes, same sick old obsession. If it's not Hercules, it's me, or some other poor creature who she fancies has offended her." She turned away and made to move a little away from Ares, but his hand shot out and he caught her arm, bringing her up short. She turned her head sharply, causing her long blonde pony tail to fly around her head.

"What are you going to do?" he asked without preamble.

Slowly she relaxed under his restraining hand. For a long moment she remained silent, looking into the distance. When she finally answered him her humourless smile was a curious mix of determination and resignation.

"I'm going to stop her," she told him simply.

Ares' dark eyes regarded his favourite thoughtfully. He'd known her a long time, and knew she never said anything she didn't mean. He nodded in acquiescence, knowing there would be little he could do to dissuade her from what she felt she must do.

"Kendaa?" He queried as he released her arm.

She raised questioning eyebrows. "What?"

"Be careful," he told her quietly.

She smiled slightly at that. "I will," she promised, raising deep forest green eyes to his own dark liquid ones. She could have drowned in those enigmatic, hypnotic pools.

His own face remained characteristically expressionless as he stepped away from her in preparation for thinking himself elsewhere.

"Oh...your little sister is in trouble, by the way. You might want to extricate her from the mess she just landed herself in about two miles from here?" With those parting words, the God of War vanished from Kendaa's sight.

The blonde warrior wasted no time. She took off at a dead run through the woodlands in the direction of the Amazon city. Minutes later, hearing voices, she slowed and began carefully and silently easing her way through the forest until she came to a small clearing. What she saw turned her eyes an icy, deadly green. Daaria lay spreadeagled on the ground, writhing under the restraining hands of two men, while another, breeches lowered, was preparing to lower himself onto her. On the other side of the glade closest to the watching Amazon, two more men stood grinning and urging their comrade on.

"There you go, girly. You're really going to enjoy this! And if you don't...well, Alkaeus will, that's for sure!" One of them told the helpless girl through a dirty, yellow-toothed grin.

As the would-be rapist lowered himself to cover his victim, Kendaa stepped out from her place of concealment, warstaff up and ready.

"Alkaeus isn't going to have time to enjoy himself, I'm afraid," she told the group in a calm, deadly quiet voice, her face expressionless.

All five men started in surprise, although the eager Alkaeus didn't move himself. One of the dirtily-clad men standing nearest to Kendaa grinned. "Another one! Well this is our lucky day!"

Kendaa smiled. It would have been a chilling sight for anyone who knew her. "No, not your lucky day, I'm afraid. It's never a good day to trespass on Amazon land. Now, get away from her!" At least three of Daaria's attackers began to show unease. But still Alkaeus refused to move, instead settling himself more comfortably.

"And what's just one more Amazon going to do to five men, eh?"

Kendaa's face was almost bored now. "What makes you think there's only one of us?" She queried calmly, just as two figures dropped down from the trees to land agily on either side of her, one holding a bow and arrow at the ready, the other with a short sword held firmly in both hands.

The blonde Amazon didn't even look at Calee and Lessa; her eyes remained on the group in front of her. "I won't tell you again - get away from her," she told Alkaeus. The balding, flabby man leaning over Daaria looked up at the three women, assessing them. The three faces were set in such a way that he knew they would have no hesitation in attacking if he didn't do as he had been told. He'd heard about the Amazons. They were feared throughout Greece - indeed their fame was spread throughout the world.

He pulled himself away from the younger woman, and slowly climbed to his feet, his face forming into an ingratiating grin. "Now, we didn't mean any harm. Just wanted to have a bit of fun. Didn't know this was your land." He was watching the tall blonde. She was a daunting sight, as were her sister warriors. He licked suddenly dry lips. "We'll be on our way."

"Uh, uh, uh," came Lessa's deliberately light voice. "I don't think so. You're not getting away that easily. And you won't be having any more fun of this kind for a while, either." Her sister was toying with them, Kendaa could tell. Lessa loved nothing more than playing cat and mouse with cowards such as these.

Suppressing a grin, she moved forward to assist a shaking Daaria to her feet. The younger Amazon looked close to tears. "I'll take our sister back to the city. You WILL be ... gentle with them, won't you? They don't look like much," Kendaa observed wryly.

Calee smiled evilly, deliberately lowering her bow until it was trained on Alkaeus' wilting manhood. "Oh, we'll be as gentle with them as they were about to be to Daaria, sister. Don't worry, leave them to us," she told Kendaa cheerfully. To a man, the other occupants of the clearing began to look seriously nervous.

The tall Amazon warrior helped the younger girl to her feet. Kendaa assessed her condition through narrowed eyes. Daaria was shaking visibly. There was a large red mark on her face that would form a bruise in a few hours, cuts on her arms and legs attested to her struggle against her five attackers. Apart from that, she didn't appear to be physically harmed. The deepest hurt would be inside her. Daaria was young and the attack had obviously shocked her. She still couldn't stop shaking. Kendaa turned to Calee and Lessa, now rounding up the five trespassers.

"Have fun, sisters," she bade them, placing her arm around Daaria's shivering shoulders and began gently leading her back to the city.

Daaria remained silent as they walked through the sweet scented forest in full spring bloom. Kendaa raised her head and breathed deeply of the fresh, earthy scents dancing invitingly on the light breeze. She turned to Daaria, her face reflecting the wild pleasure that coursed through every fibre of her body.

"I can never get enough of the scent of the forest. A forest in spring bloom is one of the greatest gifts of the gods."

The young girl beside her turned her head a little. "I've heard it said you're half-dryad, Kendaa."

After a pause, her companion nodded. "You've heard right, my sister."

"What's it like? I've only ever heard of the dryads; never seen one." Daaria chattered rapidly on, trying to make conversation to cover her internal pain.

The tall blonde at her side would normally have given a frosty quelling glance to anyone enquiring of her past or heritage. Now, however, she smiled slightly.

"What's it like?"

She sought deep within to find the words to express what it was like to be dryad and yet not be fully dryad.

"It can be wonderful," she began softly. "I feel so much a part of the forest at times. It's almost an ecstasy, especially during spring. The Green World is so alive and full of a beauty that humans usually don't see. The trees feel happy and their joy reaches out to me and touches me and fills me." She took a deep breath, remembering. "When I was a child, I knew only joy in the Green World. We laughed, we sang, we danced, we played..." Her vivid green eyes suddenly clouded over.

She fell silent as familiar pain closed in on her heart.

Close by, another was listening, cloaked in invisibility, his eyes for once unshuttered and free of their habitual mockery. He too, drew a deep breath and shook his head silently in regret before willing himself gone from the mortal world he usually found so tedious and annoying.

As they came through the gates of the city, Kendaa waved an absent greeting to the sentries.

She steered Daaria toward the infirmary where they were greeted by Therese, who ordered the girl to one of the cots so she could check her over, while Kendaa gave her a rundown on how their younger sister had received her injuries.

Rising from her examination, she grunted and turned to the warrior.

Kendaa had one hand idly on her hip, the other holding her war staff. "Well, will she live?" She asked, largely for Daaria's benefit.

Therese shrugged, taking up the little game. "That depends on whether she decides to take on a bunch of trespassers all on her own again."

Daaria giggled shakily.

Kendaa and Therese exchanged knowing grins.

"You'll do," the two older Amazons chorused in unison.

The tall blonde moved towards the door of the infirmary, waving a hand as she left.

"Later!"

Heading for her hut, Kendaa greeted several of her sisters on the way, stretching in the warm morning sun as she walked. She enjoyed early morning workouts, and wondered idly what kind of workout Calee and Lessa had given the interlopers by now. She smiled to herself. Those two would put the fear of Hades into the small band of spineless wonders. And a good thing, too.

She reached her hut, and placed her war staff carefully in its accustomed place above the hearth. Moving to the small table, she unwrapped some of the bread from the day before, and sliced off a little cheese to break her fast, washing it down with water. She sat for some time eating and ruminating over Ares' visit, her face creased into a frown.

She shut out all outside sound and movement.

Closing her eyes and reaching out with her dryad senses, she looked towards the forest. The little ones were nervous. They huddled together in the deepest, most inaccessible parts of the Forest Realm, uncertain.

Yes, she could sense it now. Something was coming. It wasn't close yet, but it was moving towards the Green World.

Her eyes opened. They were battle-ready green. Her lip curled in anger. She would send Hera to Tartarous before she allowed her to harm one of the Little Ones - or any part of the Northern Forest Realm.

She drew a deep breath. The time hadn't yet arrived, but it would. She would be ready. In the meantime, there was the meeting of the Council.

Clearing away the remains of her meal, she took up her sheathed sword and strapped it across her back. She had always enjoyed working with her staff, but in recent years she had come to prefer the sword. Leaving her hut and heading towards the Meeting Hall where the Council was in session, she reflected on her recent preference for the sword, and wondered if it had anything to do with her relationship with Ares. She shrugged in resignation. For better for worse, she was involved with the dark God of War; just what exactly his influence on her was could be anyone's guess, even though he had accepted her refusal to be sworn to his service.

The meeting was already in session when she entered the Council chamber. While she herself was not a member of the Council, she was, as one of the city's leading warriors, entitled to sit in on Council meetings. She bowed quickly in the Queen's direction before finding an empty seat next to Laurissa.

"I hear Daaria had a more exciting training session than she bargained for this morning," her sister whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"What? Oh, you mean the little pack of would-be wolves in the forest," Kendaa whispered back.

"No. I mean Ares!"

Kendaa frowned and diverted her full attention to her sister.

"Meaning?"

Laurissa grinned, lowering her head so their sisters on the Council couldn't see. "Meaning, Daaria is spreading it all over the city that she met the infamous God of War this morning!"

The tall blonde Amazon sighed. It had obviously not taken long after Therese had finished ministering to the young Amazon for Daaria to find her tongue again. The young recovered quickly.

"Yes, he popped in for a few minutes," she volunteered.

"And?" Laurissa persisted.

"And...nothing. He mustn't have had anything better to do, so he dropped in to annoy me," she hissed back at her friend, unable to tell Laurissa the real reason for Ares' visit. She had never told any of her sisters, apart from the Queen, of her real nature. She couldn't. It had always bothered her to be so secretive and to keep it from them. But all those years ago she had sworn to herself, and to Hercules and Ceridian, that she would be human, although she knew some had guessed her dual nature. Her deep green, gold-flecked eyes were the big give-away, even for those who had never actually seen a dryad.

Khyra, of course, had always known, since they had met in the forest surrounding Ceridian's cave when they were both still in their teens. She had faithfully kept Kendaa's secret.

She had already found, however, that her past wasn't about to let her go. It seemed that some time soon she would yet again have to deal with that past.

Perhaps then she could lay it to rest forever.

Before that could come happen, however, the Amazons were called forth to war.

Ares stood, arms crossed, listening to the report being given by one of his minor warlords.

"My Lord, my spies have seen the object in the temple. The temple guardians won't allow any close enough to examine it fully. But there is definitely power surrounding it."

The God of War was silent for a long moment, considering. He knew what lay in that small, unprepossessing temple in Akraea. Yet again, Dahok was seeking entrance to the mortal plane. And if he gained that particular foothold, then the Olympians would also be in real trouble.

"You've done well," he commended the general, his face expressionless. "You may return to your army. I'll send word when and if I want you to attack. You may tell General Nolus to bring the rest of the army forward to within one mile of the city gates."

Ares' minion bowed. "As you will, my Lord," he gave obeisance before leaving his master's presence.

The dark Lord of War slowly unfolded his arms as the warrior closed the door behind him, his face thoughtful. He already knew he would be giving the command to attack. He also knew he would be sending his entire army to lay siege to Akraea. The object lying in the temple in the city had to be destroyed at all costs.

Dark eyes gleamed at the thought of a major battle. Akraea was a large city, and the defence would doubtless be strong.

Ares smiled a little in anticipation. It was a cold, evil smile.

Yes, necessity sometimes had its advantages.

"Gods! How much longer is this going to go on?"

Calico stood, back to back with Lessa, on one of the inner ramparts of the city walls of Akraea. Her sword arm was heavy and aching after almost three days of furious, bloody battle.

Lessa, swinging her short sword out low to slice into yet another soldier making his way over the wall, shook her head quickly.

"I wish I knew!" she cried, taking the next one in the neck as his head appeared over the edge of the wall, and ducking to avoid the sword of another who had made it over a little further down, and had charged her from behind. She spun, her sword stabbing out as she turned, and almost leaving her grasp, as the hilt was slippery with blood. "They just keep on coming!"

Calico, nimbly leaping across several bodies, dealt with another one, her foot lashing out to catch him in the stomach, while her sword slid with deadly precision into his chest.

"What can Ares possibly want with Akraea? He's sent his entire army!"

Her battle-sister jumped to avoid the viciously-slicing sword of another enemy as he came at her. "I don't know, but if this keeps up, we're going to go down, I do know that!" She replied, trying to get her breath back before lunging at her next opponent.

The Amazons had been engaged in battle for three days of bloody and unrelenting fighting.

A further three days prior to arriving in the city, a messenger had arrived in the City of the Amazons from Jeroas, the King of Akraea, with a panicked plea for help. The great army of Ares had marched on the city a matter of days before and had demanded unimpeded access within the city for unspecified purposes.

Jeroas, his one concern for the many civilians in the city, had refused, knowing what the outcome would likely be. Requests for an audience with the God of War had been repeatedly refused, and Ares' army had attacked. Since then, many of the city's inhabitants had died terrible deaths. Women had been defiled in front of their husbands, infants had been cold-bloodedly stabbed to death as their mothers stood weeping and screaming their loss.

The Amazons had marched forth to join in the defence of the besieged city, and once there were immediately immersed in the bloody, vicious fighting.

Elsewhere in Akraea, another group of Amazons fought with grim determination to prevent the attackers from moving further into the city. They, like all the Amazons and defenders, had seen enough bloodshed and murder to last the rest of their lives since reaching the beleaguered city.

"Behind you!" Yelled Laurissa, diving at the soldier making for Hygea's back. Hygea spun and the two warriors took on the three men who had come from nowhere to attack.

Amphalia's sword flashed out again and again as she stood next to her Queen. She had taken more lives than she could count since joining the battle. She, like all her sisters, was dirty and covered in blood, but she never gave an inch. A truly frightening look on her face, she whirled to kick and then stab the man who had struck at Ephiny. He died screaming on the end of her sword. Coldly she brought her foot up to shove the now-lifeless body off her sword.

"My Queen...we have to find...a way...to stop this!" She cried between lunges.

Ephiny, herself fully engaged with two soldiers, nodded without taking her eyes from them. "I know! But Ares doesn't seem disposed to listen to anyone right now! I wish we knew what he wanted with Akraea!" she ducked and brought her sword up into the bowels of yet another attacker.

"Well, whatever it is, he's determined to get it!" Shouted Calee from the middle of the latest melee, battling two men who were trying to push her back over a small retaining wall.

Two streets away, Klio and Khyra stood trying to hold off another group of men who had been making for the centre of the city.

"Don't they ever give up?" Khyra cried as she went on the offensive with her sword against the group she was fighting.

Klio grinned without mirth as she circled the three men intent on ending her life. "Of course they don't. They serve my father. What...," a slash with her sword ended the life of one of her attackers, "did you expect?"

Khyra shrugged, throwing her head back and giving the Amazon war cry before lunging at her own opponents.

Kendaa, Ceallach and Arete were fighting in a tight little group not ten feet away. All were coughing and desperately trying to see through the pockets of smoke issuing from a burning building close by to the right.

Arete, having discarded her crossbow in favour of her dagger, was being driven backwards by a squat, determined little soldier who had been vociferously taunting her for several minutes. He might have been small, but he was good. Their weapons clashed together again and again. Both bore wounds. He suddenly lunged forward, and Arete tripped over a pile of bodies lying directly behind her. The little soldier raised his sword to deliver the death blow.

A warcry rang out behind him. He whirled to see the tall, blonde Amazon in full leather battle dress descending on him, her own sword raised, and on her face a vicious look of cold rage. It was the last thing he saw before she took his life with her bloody sword.

Ceallach took the two edging towards Kendaa, her long knife moving out and down with deadly accuracy, while Kendaa hauled a coughing Arete to her feet.

"Are you ok?" The tall blonde hurriedly inspected her sister's latest wound.

"I'll live," growled Arete. "But we can't go on like this! Something has to be done!"

Ceallach wiped her hand across her sweating forehead, leaving a fresh trail of dirt and blood. "Yeah, well when you think of something, don't be shy about spreading it around!" she cried, getting a run up to charge the newest band of intruders.

Kendaa skirted another pile of bodies to face a tall, muscular soldier. "Arete's right! We've got to find a way to stop this. And...," she paused to duck and send her sword into her opponent, "we have to get Ares to listen!"

Khyra snorted from her corner of the square. "Yeah? Well he hasn't listened to anyone these last three days! We can't even get near his shrine!"

The half-dryad Amazon sprinted out of reach of two opponents, her face now curiously empty. "Then we just have to make him listen!"

"Where are you going?" Called Ceallach, moving to fill the breach.

"To talk to Ephiny!" Came the answer. "Laurissa! Hygea! I need your help!" Kendaa called to her sisters. "I have an idea"

"My Lord, the Amazons are making our task difficult. They fight with a rare ferocity."

The God of War turned almost-black eyes on his general.

"What did you expect?" He snarled softly. "That they'd see you coming and tamely lay down their weapons so you could walk over them?"

The general swallowed hard. "No, my Lord, but they're making it harder for us to reach the temple."

Ares' hand shot out and grasped the warlord by the neck, effortlessly lifting him at least a foot off the ground. "I don't want to hear excuses," he told his minion in a quiet, even tone. "I don't care how you do it, but tell General Nolus that I want that temple taken before sundown tomorrow, or both of you will answer for it with your lives. Do you understand?" He enquired of the choking man in his hand.

The man's eyes blinked to show he had heard.

Ares slowly lowered him to the ground.

"Good, now get out of my sight," he hissed at him.

Alone once more, Ares closed his eyes and reached out with his senses, savouring the feel of the battle for Akraea. A frisson of ecstasy raced through his body as he smelt and tasted the rage and the blood flowing so freely in the city. The dark Lord of War was inextricably wed to the state of war. He fed on it; war fed off of him. Bloodlust surged through his veins with an intensity that was almost sexual. His head thrown back, he breathed out slowly, savouring the power and the feel of it.

A face inserted itself into his consciousness.

He blinked, diverted for a moment. Once again, his senses reached out, this time in search of a tall blonde with disconcerting gold-flecked green eyes.

He found her. His favourite was immersed in the thick of the fighting. She fought well. He smiled slightly. She and her sisters were giving his men a hard time. It was a mild annoyance. But then, it would have been more annoying if he'd found her to be deficient in her fighting. After all, he had personally trained her.

Just before dawn the following morning Laurissa, Hygea and Kendaa quietly left the city by an unobtrusive side gate pointed out by Jeroas. They went with their Queen's blessing.

Carefully making their way down the grassy slope at the bottom of the great city walls, they kept low and sprinted for the woods about half a mile from the besieged entrance to the city.

They had made it as far as a small copse a short distance from the walls when they were spotted and surrounded by over a dozen of Ares' soldiers. Hopelessly outnumbered, they surrendered.

The three were deprived of their weapons, their arms bound behind them and quickly led into the woods to the command post of the army.

"Well, well," came a voice from the depths of the tent they had been led into. "Three Amazons out for a stroll. What a nice surprise!"

None of the prisoners were disposed to speak, so General Nolus, the commander of Ares' army, shook his head in mock regret. "Not inclined to speak? Well never mind. Lord Ares will change your minds, I'm sure."

The three remained silent, their faces expressionless.

Nolus grinned. "Ah, he loves the difficult ones. Are you sure you wouldn't like to tell me what you were doing outside the walls of the city?"

Silence.

"Fine," he snarled. "Have it your way! No one denies the God of War for long!"

Striding from the tent he threw a terse command over his shoulder at the guards. "Bring them! We go to Ares' temple immediately!"

Nolus didn't see the relieved looks which passed between the three Amazons as they were hustled from the tent.

They reached Ares' great Northern temple late in the afternoon. Nolus led the group, while his men had positioned themselves around their three prisoners, who marched single file; Laurissa first, Hygea in the middle and Kendaa bringing up the rear. They weren't taking any chances. They knew how dangerous the Amazons were. Nolus knew Ares would have his head if they escaped before he had a chance to interrogate them.

The party came to a halt as before them, the massive entrance portals of the temple slowly opened. Laurissa looked up, shaking her head. "Why does he go in for such huge temples? There's only one of him, after all."

Behind her, Kendaa laughed without mirth. "It makes a statement," she told her sister with dry irony. Hygea's quiet laughter joined hers.

"Shut up!" One of the soldiers turned around and shoved all three forward towards the now-open doors.

Just inside, Nolus stopped the party while he consulted with one of the Temple priests.

"Please tell Lord Ares I've brought three Amazon prisoners from Akraea."

The priest turned to eye the prisoners, and stopped dead when he set eyes on Kendaa. She merely stared back at him, her face expressionless.

After a moment, the priest collected himself. "Of course, General Nolus, wait here please."

The three women warriors stood in the cool atrium of the temple, arms still bound behind them, and prepared themselves for what was to come. None of them had any idea how the God of War would react to what they were about to do, although they all knew they could count on his anger.

Minutes later the priest was back and indicating for Nolus and his party to proceed into the Temple throne room.

The procession entered in single file, with two guards for each of the Amazons. They moved to the front of the massive room. The dark Lord of War was seated on his throne, leaning slightly to the side as one of the Temple priests quietly whispered something in his ear. When the servant had finished, Ares waved him away, directing his attention to the group before him.

"What have we here, General Nolus? It appears you've been busy today." As he spoke, Ares' eyes moved to each of the prisoners in turn, until he came to Kendaa. He stiffened slightly, but gave no other indication of his surprise, although his eyes bore into hers for a moment, before moving back to Nolus, nothing but boredom written on his face. "Three Amazons no less. My, my. They are getting careless," he observed in a deceptively light tone.

Nolus cleared his throat. "My Lord, we found these three outside the city walls. We took them easily."

Aristocratic eyebrows raised. "Is that so?" Ares' eyes moved back to the prisoners. Nolus was a fool if he thought any of the Amazons would be easily taken, let alone the three now standing before him. He wondered what they were up to. No matter, he was sure they'd make their purpose clear in time.

"Well done, Nolus," he praised, with the faintest touch of sarcasm.

Rising from his throne, he moved to pass before each of them consideringly.

"Three of the best the Amazon nation has to offer...and you were all wandering outside the walls of Akraea," he smiled pleasantly, although they weren't fooled. They could all but smell the stench of blood lust on him.

He stopped before Laurissa, subjecting her to an intense scrutiny.

"My dear Laurissa - such an agile warrior. Those lovely legs of yours have stopped many a warrior dead in his tracks, haven't they?" He asked the tall, blonde warrior woman. She swallowed but remained silent, staring straight ahead of her. At such close quarters the God of War was overpowering. Sheer power radiated out from him in waves.

That lethal smile was back. "I'm amazed you didn't take the opportunity to teach Nolus and his men some of your vast repertoire of moves." Laurissa's eyes moved to the God of War, although her face remained expressionless. Gods, she thought, I can see why Kendaa is drawn to him. He's...stunning.

She licked dry lips.

"We needed to talk to you; this seemed the best way to get your attention," she told him, her tone matter-of-fact, for all that her heart was pounding. She, like her sisters, was close to exhaustion, but on edge. If their desperate gamble didn't pay off, they might pay for it with their lives.

"Ohhhh," he still smiled; a predatory smile that was as devastating as it was deadly.

"And why did you need to see me?"

Angered in spite of herself, Laurissa spat out, "Because this war is wrong!"

Ares looked bored. "Really? My dear, you'll have to come up with something more original than that," he told her.

The tall Amazon stared angrily at him. "Believe it or not, it's the truth, Ares!" Quite suddenly she gasped. Had she really just spoken like that to the God of War himself? She wondered briefly if she had taken leave of her senses, and swallowed again, forcing her face to a blankness she was far from feeling.

He gave her a nasty little smile, and moved on to stand before Hygea, who returned his gaze with a calmness that annoyed him.

"Ah Hygea. And what are your precious voices telling you? Was it they who urged you to such a foolish course of action as this?" He asked mockingly. Hygea returned his gaze, and smiled. That fed his annoyance.

"No, Ares. My heart urged me to it," she replied simply.

A dark eyebrow quirked. "Indeed? Well your heart may regret its urging soon enough...," he told her, his own smile chilling.

His eyes moved to Kendaa before he even moved to stand before her, considering, measuring.

She stared back, her features devoid of expression.

His own face shaped a slight, cold smile as he moved to confront her. "And you, Amazon champion - do you have anything to say? You've been uncharacteristically silent until now. Not like you at all."

For a moment she stared into his eyes. All she could see was the black battle madness that burned within him when war stalked the earth in all its horrific, senseless insanity. Yet she knew that somewhere deep inside there lay that part of him to which she was drawn. She chose her words with deliberation.

"I've been silent because I can't think of anything to say to the one who empowers and influences mortals to engage in such senseless, terrible butchery as that which is now taking place in Akraea. I can find no words with which to denounce you for what you have ordered done in that city. It defies description." She stopped, her eyes still holding his, unafraid before the rage she knew was simmering beneath his overtly calm surface. The same rage that was ready to erupt and strike out at any moment.

"Excuse me?" Ares' head was slightly inclined in question. "I'm a little confused here. You see, I'm wondering when you assumed the throne as Queen of the Gods!" He told her in vicious mockery.

Kendaa said nothing as he turned and once again took his seat on his throne. But once he'd seated himself, she took a deep breath, knowing what she was about to say would drive him to the edge.

Beside her, Laurissa and Hygea tensed, and looked sideways in apprehension as they heard her draw breath to continue.

"I'm wondering too, Ares," she replied calmly. "What does it take for a god to oversee and order craven acts of cowardice against innocent mortals? Are you so bored on Olympus that you have to come down here and toy with human beings who have absolutely no way of defending themselves against you. It's a wonder you haven't set Graegus loose on Akraea. But then," she paused for maximum effect, her voice ringing throughout the throne room, "what need is there to set the pet free when the master is an even bigger cur?"

Her words reverberated throughout the room with terrible clarity.

The silence was hideous.

Ares sat bolt upright on his throne, staring at her. His face said only too clearly that he couldn't quite believe he'd heard what he had in fact just heard.

The priests and guards in the room stared at the Amazon, their mouths open. Their eyes flickered nervously to Ares in expectation of a deadly eruption from the dais at the front of the room.

Laurissa and Hygea's eyes moved between their sister and the dark Lord of War, watching in an agony of fearful suspense. Had she gone too far?

Nolus sprang forward, drawing his sword as he went. He grabbed Kendaa's long hair and roughly yanked her head back, placing his blade against her throat.

"Say the word, my Lord, and I'll end her miserable life!" He looked to Ares for the command to kill the tall warrior woman, whose own eyes, even with her head forced back, were on Ares.

The God of War, however, had not been driven over the edge. He kept his fury tightly leashed. Even in his rage, he knew all wasn't as it seemed. His eyes held hers. She was baiting him. And he would find out why - after which he would punish her complete lack of respect.

He smiled.

It was a terrible smile.

Almost everyone in the throne room swallowed in abject fear.

Leaning back on the throne, he waved a negating hand at Nolus.

"No, General Nolus. Put away your sword." His voice was almost hoarse with the effort to contain the full force of his rage, the calm words notwithstanding.

Nolus removed his sword from Kendaa's throat. The Amazon smiled now, still baiting.

"What's the matter, Ares? Can it be you recognise the truth in my words?" She enquired, the anger in her making the words come out with a sharpness her smile belied.

He laughed harshly in disbelief. "You are really asking for it, aren't you? I'm not in the mood for your games, Amazon. Why did you allow Nolus to take you?"

Nolus looked like he had just swallowed something foul-tasting, but he remained silent before his Lord.

She sighed. "I thought that would have been obvious. Laurissa has already told you! We want you to stop this insane war!"

"And you had yourselves captured just so you could ask me that? Please. Now stop wasting my time and tell me what in Tartarous the three of you are up to!" He roared at her.

She stood defiantly before him, matching glare for furious glare. "I've just told you!" She yelled back at him, her own anger getting the better of her. "We want you to end this war before any more innocent people are butchered!"

He gripped the ornate, carved arms on his throne until his knuckles were white. He didn't believe her. War was war. It was, by its nature, brutal. And no one knew that better than the three women standing looking up at him, especially the tall blonde with glittering, angry eyes.

His limited patience was at an end. He'd get the truth out of her one way or another.

"Enough!" He roared, the most hardened soldiers present cringing at his fury. "Take this one to my quarters! I'll deal with her insolence personally," he commanded through gritted teeth, his voice a deadly sharp blade, his eyes cutting into her.

As Kendaa was pulled from the throne room by two of the temple guards with Nolus in the lead, she exchanged looks with her sisters. Both Laurissa and Hygea wore apprehensive looks, not for themselves, but for her. She took a deep breath and shook her head slightly in reassurance as she passed them, but at that moment, she knew she was going to a major confrontation with a furious God of War, and she knew the rein on her own temper had just crumbled. What was to follow would not be pleasant.

Ares' voice could be heard behind them, coldly issuing orders to the remaining guards to confine the other two Amazons elsewhere in the temple, and that he would deal with them in due course. Kendaa sighed in relief. Good, he would hopefully have expended his anger by the time he had finished with her, which meant Laurissa and Hygea would be relatively safe from his wrath for the time being.

They had passed down several corridors of cold stone before Nolus turned to regard her, his expression distasteful. "It's said that the Lord Ares has taken a leman from among the Amazons."

The woman walking slightly behind, arms still bound behind her kept her face carefully blank. "How nice for the Amazons," she retorted flatly.

"I've heard rumour that the Amazon has dryad blood. An unusual combination," the black-clad warlord added, hoping to draw something from the prisoner.

Forest green eyes glanced briefly at him. "Is that so?" She asked in a tone suggesting the utmost boredom. Somewhere deep within her alarm bells were ringing. If the henchman so much as suspected... She knew only too well that there were many who would pay dearly for the identity of Ares' favourite. All it would take would be for some disaffected, dismissed warlord of Ares to learn her identity. Some would gladly seize the opportunity to use Ares' favourite against him. Thankful that Nolus had apparently never seen a dryad, Kendaa's face remained carefully blank.

Nolus observed her coldly. She seemed to be totally disinterested in the topic, but he would have given much to learn the identity of the Amazon Ares had taken such a liking to. There were many walking the earth who would pay a handsome price for such knowledge. The tall blonde was expressionless. Nolus would also have given much to know what she was thinking. Soon she would be alone before Ares, who clearly meant to chastise her for her open insolence in the throne room. The warlord could almost have felt sorry for the woman. Almost. Yet he had seen her in battle. She was lethal. She had killed too many of his own men for him to feel anything but cold disinterest in her.

He shoved her roughly through the large double doorway into Ares' private domain and left her standing in the centre of the large room. Kendaa had been in Ares' quarters often, so knew that his sleeping quarters were in the room that opened off to the left of where she now stood. She was careful to look around her, so that to Nolus, it would appear she was surveying unfamiliar territory. Late afternoon sunlight slanted in through the large window in front of her. It bathed the room in a warm, almost comforting glow. Her eyes returned to rest on Nolus, who smiled coldly.

"Enjoy your time with Ares, Amazon. I fear you may not at all appreciate the outcome. Farewell..." As he turned, he motioned for the two guards to follow him, and the thick wooden doors closed behind them with a hollow, funereal thud, leaving Kendaa alone to await Ares' pleasure, or distinct lack thereof.