The Son of War: Ch. 4

The Son of War: Ch. 4: Rhea&nbsp
Rhea regretted ringing the doorbell as soon as she did it. They were in California now. It was the next night- yes, it'd been a day since she'd killed Lupus. She was sure the wolves had followed them all the way to two blocks away, but not even wolves dared go near Romulus's house.

Romulus answered the door. He was a tall man, but he was also fat. His face was super white so he looked like a ghost and his hair was in a pony tail, like a hippie. He wore a cross neclace around his neck and a brown tunic. Shades covered his eyes and he had an earing in one ear. A headband was wrapped around his head, hippie style.

"Oh my, if it isn't little Rhea! I remember when you were a teeny weeny baby," he mocked.

"Let me in Romulus," she growled.

"No."

"LET ME IN!"

"Or what, you'll go wolfy on me? That trick don' work no more lil' girl. I got my own bag o' tricks now so bug off." He tried to close the door but she stopped it with her foot.

"Look Rom, I'm not playing. I'm slowly bleeding to death-"

"-ooh goody!" he intterupted.

"And this boy has a bad concussion. I know you've got Ambrosia and Nectar so you better hand it over."

"You killed him didn't you?"

"Who? Tony? No!" Rhea hissed.

"No. I mean, Lupus. You killed him."

"What? No!?"

"Don' lie to me Rhea. I can see his clan around the corner, watching you. You killed him didn't you?"

"Fine! Yes! Can you let me in?"

"You could've just started off with, 'I killed Lupus let me ine.' That's a real ice breaker ya know."

He opened the door and Rhea rushed inside, regretting ever step she took into the house.

~

Romulus gave her the Ambrosia and Nectar, and she tended to her own wounds. Rhea didn't trust him, not one bit. She healed Tony's concussion and sat silentley on the couch.

"You do know it's illegal to kill a clan leader unless in war, right," Romulus said sitting down. Romulus was a retired war veteran of the Legion. Pictures of him in wolf form (a giant grey wolf in ice blue armor) hung on the wall. Pendants and awards stacked the shelves as well as twelve peace medallions.

"Yes, I know. But he attacked me first. It was self defense," Rhea replied.

"Yes, but you're not supposed to kill him. You can knock him out, break his bones, whatever. But never kill a ranking officer."

"He's a traitor though. He said something about working for a new master, the future king of the Legion. Can you belive that? A human king?"

"Yes that's hard to imagine." Romulus was weird but he sure did listen. "Then again, it's not impossible."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's happend before."

Rhea was stunned. It had? How come she didn't know about it?

"It has?"

"You didn't know? I thought your grandmother would have told you," Rom laughed.

"Lupa doesn't talk to me about past leaders much, besides her mother."

"Well, hold on."

Romulus walked into the kitchen, rumamged around in a drawer, and then brought back a fat, dusty book with the emblem on her heel on the cover, surrounded by a sun and moon.

"Is that a Romulan?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"It's just Lupa reads the stories in there to me all the time. I recognize the cover, except the sun and moon."

"That's because your grandmother has the new version. This is the origonal written by moi."

"Your wrote the Romulan?" Rhea gasped. She hadn't realized he was that old.

"Yes. I did. Girl, I am older than your grandmother, did you not know that."

She shook her head.

"Anyways, look," Rom flipped to the very first page that showed a glossary of the past kings and queens of the Legion. Lupa and her mother weren't in there, however. Rom pointed to the seventh king. It was a human, an young man with spiky gray hair and black eyes.

"That's Odeus Sala IV, the first king of the Legion. Yes he was the 7th king."

"I thought Valaroi was the the 7th king," Rhea asked.

"That's what they teach you at the academey. This is the truth." He flipped the page over and showed more kings. "Here, the 24th queen. Rami Traiheart. She was human. And the 48th king. Master Thomas James Cooper XII. He was a human. Most of these kings and queens were demi-wolves or descendants, but some just had the blood of a wolf and the blood of a warrior."

"How many leaders were there?" Rhea said.

"Wow. For the apprentice of Lupa you sure don' no much," he groaned. "There have been 402 queens and 20,974 kings. In total there have been 21,376 rulers of the entire Legion of Wolves."

"That's alot. The teachers at the academey, told us there were only like 706 or something-"

"LIES!" Rom suddenly screeched. "They told you I retired right? Lies! I was fired for speaking the truth!"

"What?" Rhea gasped.

"Yes. They're hiding things from you children and I don't know why. Something's happening Rhea. The storms coming, and no one is prepared. Lupus was right, Lupa's reign is coming to an end. Who will be the next ruler of the Legion? Who knows. Only time can tell."

There was a thumping from upstairs.

"What was that?" Rhea asked.

"Her...." Rom said. "She want's to speak with you. You must see her now. I will take care of your friend."

"Um...okay?"

Romulus snapped his fingers. Sparks flew off his nails and a flight of stairs asceded from the cealing.

"Into the attic Rhea," he said and Rhea marched up the stairs into the dusty attic.

Romulus's attic was old. Books and swords clattered the wall, and vases of preserved postions stood still on the floor. A girl sat on a 3 legged stool at the back of the attic, near the window. She was wrapped entirley in clothes,from head to toe, all black. She had a fox tail growing out of her rear and her eyes were closed.

"Um...you wanted to see me?"

The girl's eyes snapped open. They were clear white. A black mist flew out of her mouth and swooshed in the air to form words:

"Across the Homeland, the warrirors sails

To reach the mountain, if not they fail

The seeds of life, bane of the earth

The howl of dawn, the twelve rebirth

The goddess's blade shall reap the land

Two snakes of wind and a winged man."

The mist hung in the air long enough for Rhea to remember it, and then it dissolved.The girl stood up and walked towards Rhea. A pure white sword appeard in her hands with a golden hilt. Carved into the blade was the name Romulus. The girl closed her eyes, sat back down and said nothing at all.

"Uh........"

Two seconds later, Rhea was back downstairs.

"What'd she say and- holy moly. Where'd you get that sword?"

"The girl gave it to me."

"God dang it. Sybl's not supposed to hand out stuff! That's my famous sword, named after me, from the olden days. I used that in every single one of my battles. It's made from the rarest metal in the world Olympian Marble, from Mt. Olympus itself!"

"Oh. Well, it's mine now apparentley!" Rhea said.

"I don't think so!" Rom lunged at Rhea, but before he was even a foot away from her, a bullet went through his chest. Blood flew across the room.

"Rom!" Rhea screamed.

She looked in the direction of the bullet.

A man stood outside the window, a rifel in his hand. When he saw Rhea looking at him, he transformed into a black wolf the size of a 14 wheeler and bounded off down the street.

"Romulus!" Rhea nelt beside the old hippie. She suddenly found her self tearing up.

"I guess I've been talkin' to much. Well it's been my time for years now. I don't....I don't *chough* I don't know what's been keepin' them. But it's a done deal now. See ya in the next life Rhea."

The old man dissolved into a flowing white mist which then proceeded to turn into the silohuett of a large wolf, and then float away out the window.

"Rhea.....?"

Tony began to open his eyes and look around, "What happened? I had the weirdest dream. Some fat hippie, a bunch of wolves, then a bullet....wait this house?"

"Come on Tony, let's go," Rhea said.

"Where are we?"

Rhea grabbed Tony's hand and led him out the back door into the backyard. A reflecting pool sat infront of them.

"Where are we going?"

"To get something to eat for now. Then we're heading back to Canada."

"Canada!? For what?"

"That's where the Legion of Wolves is."

"Legion of Wolves?"

"I'll tell you about it on the way there."

"Or not."

"What?"

Tony pointed ahead. Across from them stood a pack of humongous black wolves.

"Crap...." Rhea muttered drawing Romulus and Leonidas.