Caffé Mocha

Chapter 10
We had put our minds together, forming a plan. Well, mostly it was Natalie and I. We figured that the best way to get the attention of a god was to insult them into the open air. If I was some powerful immortal being who was looking for a kid, and that kid was yelling out insults for all of Olympus to hear, I would come down just to have the pleasure of shutting them up in person. Or, I would just save myself the trouble and fry them to a crisp. We figured we had a fifty-fifty chance.

So we started, “You low life, good for nothing, power-hungry, obnoxious, scum! God of fear? More like god of cowards. You’re a complete wuss, always running to your mom to fix all your problems. Always making sure she’s on your side so when trouble comes you can hide behind her.” I yelled to the sky. Rebecca and Emma looked at us worriedly. They were a bit worried about the insults part, but they knew that our minds were made. They came with us to this field just outside Seattle, I didn’t want to make a scene or anything, and were right by our sides. Natalie, on the other hand, was all for it of course.

“You’re lower than my shoe! Then dirt! Than Tartarus! You call yourself a god. Ha!” She then switched to Greek. I could tell she was having fun. I love this girl.

A bright flash of light interrupted us. It was Phobos, eyes flashing, a murderous look on his face. “That is enough!” His voice was charged with anger. “You little brats! I should have killed you when I had the chance, but now will have to do.”

I felt Hesperus change into a sword in my hand. “Bring it.”

His eyes glowed and once again I was re-living my worst fear. I had been dreading this re-visit. Once again, I was watching as people I cared about died all around me. At first, I was overcome, but then something clicked in the wires of my brain. There’s nothing you can do. People do die someday. I just have to except it, not fear it.

Armed with this knowledge, I stepped out of my waking nightmare and focused on reality. Apparently, Phobos could inspire fear to more than one person at a time, but probably no more than about five: he wasn’t Diemos or anything. My friends had glassy looks on their faces along with hints of fear. I was seeing what they probably saw on my face a few short weeks ago in the office. I saw him coming at me first since I was the closest to him, strolling, sword in hand. I could tell he hadn’t yet realized that his power wasn’t working on me so I stood still, drawing him in.

As his sword swung toward my body, I met it with my own, stopping his blow. Surprise spread across his face, but it was quickly replaced with a grimace. With his concentration broken, my friends re-focused and jumped into the fight with enthusiasm. Emma danced, but it seemed to have no effect on him; well he was a god after all. Meanwhile, Natalie rushed in to help me. Rebecca was firing arrows trying not to hit Natalie, Emma, or me.

Stab, block, side-step. Woosh. Plunk. One of Rebecca’s arrows had found its mark. Natalie and I were pressing him hard. We were a natural team, in sync with each other’s actions. Thousands of hours of training and hundreds of mock fights at camp with each other had helped with that. He kept trying to use his powers against us, but with all of us so focused on our task, it was impossible. Stab, stab, watch out as Natalie swings, block, circle around.

The golden blood of the gods seeped out of a wound that Natalie had just inflicted upon him. It was a spectacular move, probably made up on the spot, but wonderful none the less. Soon after, I followed and inflicted an injury of my own. I knew we had him then. A few more blocks, a few more arrows, and a few more maneuvers, and I had my sword point at his throat.

It had been pretty easy. He wasn’t the best fighter in the world, and that was putting it nicely, but I guess he didn’t need swordsmanship skills when he had fear. Oh well. I looked him in the eye and said, “Listen to me very carefully. I want you to never go near a Starbucks ever again. Take out the monsters, the fear, and the chaos. I don’t want to hear a whisper of your name and Starbucks’ together in a sentence. Got it?”

“Y-yes.” I saw fear in his eyes; perhaps a taste of his own medicine. Good, I thought.

“Swear on the Styx.”

“I swear on the River Styx.”

“Good.” I lowered my sword and walked away with Natalie to Rebecca and Emma. A flash behind me told me that Phobos had left. I felt good, knowing that I had accomplished my goal. That feeling left when I heard sirens in the background and I realized that my troubles were not yet over.

Last Chapter ~ Chapter 9: Espresso Con Panna

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