Wings of Fate: The Lost Ones
Chapter 40

“What the hell was that?” Logan asked as she shoved the bodies of dead soldiers away from her legs. Athena growled at him until he reached in to assist by pulling the bodies out of her way. The other soldiers, those who lived through the fight, had scattered as soon as their wits returned to them. A quick survey of the hill assured her that her soldiers were giving chase and would catch the ones they could.

She hadn’t come up with a plan for prisoners – it wasn’t supposed to end this way.

Athena glanced up to see Ilita scouring the hillside, calling her name.

“Ilita!” Logan said, hailing her. The gray-haired girl paused when she caught sight of them, hung her head in brief relief and then hustled over.

“The others are just inside the forest, on the other side of the group we brought with us,” Ilita said, pointing to a spot too deep within the trees for them to see. “Not that it seems they are necessary anymore.” She mumbled with a pointed glance at the crumbling castle.

Athena nodded and, free of the bodies, moved toward the castle, slamming into the hard surface of Logan’s body. “What th-”

“Exactly, little red. What. The. Hell?” he scowled down at her with dull brown eyes that wordlessly accused her.

Frowning, Athena leaned backward to get a clear view of his face. “What?” she asked, annoyed.

“Don’t think I was so busy with the fighting that I didn’t notice you give long-lashes here permission to go and blow up the castle.” He said, flicking a glance at Ilita before returning his glare to Athena.

“That’s laughable.”

Raising one angry brow, Logan leaned toward her until his lips nearly brushed hers. Athena sucked in a slow, steadying breath, inhaling the air that escaped his mouth. “Is it?” he asked, watching her mouth.

Athena watched his mouth as well, noted the smooth curve of his lower lip and full pouted tilts of his upper lip, caught the sliver of white teeth behind the lips. “Is it what?” she asked.

Not that it was possible to move any closer toward her without actually grazing her, Logan managed to block out even more sunlight with his body. “Laughable.” He said.

“Excuse me? Excuse me, Logan? I’m sorry to interrupt whatever you’re doing there to Athena but since I can hear everything you are saying it’s not quite the same as eavesdropping, which means I’m allowed to point out that Athena didn’t have me blow up the castle. I don’t even know if we are able to do something like that-”

“We are.” Athena interrupted, unmoving.

Ilita barely paused, “At any rate, the task Athena gave to me was to hurry along the other half of our army. Which I did. Over there. If you’ll look where I’m pointing. Logan? Oh, hello Atropos.”

Athena jerked away from Logan as though his nearness scalded her and swung around toward Ilita to replace her small gray-haired friend standing beside a tall, painfully silent Atropos. The goddess’ blue eyes stared across the few feet that separated them, pinning Athena with a glare promising retribution. Atropos’ gaze slid to the side and Athena followed her gaze where it shot over her shoulder to narrow at Logan who simply raised an eyebrow.

“Where have you stashed Raven?” she asked, returning her attention to Athena.

Athena was unable to answer the question for more than one reason. One, if Raven was still in the castle when it exploded then answering Atropos’ question would mean certain death. For someone more mortal than herself, that is. But if Raven somehow managed to get out of the castle beforehand, then she had no idea where she was at the given moment. Settling for rubbing a distracted hand against the throb in her shoulder, Athena stared at the ground un-answering.

A few more seconds of stony silence passed before Logan spoke. “She was with Lachesis last we saw her.”

Athena glanced at Atropos with what she hoped was an expression of nonchalance to see how this news was received and was pleased, and somewhat shamed, by the look of relief there. “Well good then,” the white-haired woman said, “I’m sure Raven’s fine then. If they made it into the castle I’m sure they found a way out in time, along with other persons of interest inside at the time.” Atropos moved to step around Athena, moving toward the castle with a look of surveillance.

Turning with her, Athena glanced along the hill at the damage. “You mean the Queen Mother?” she asked to the retreating woman.

Atropos paused with a backward glance. “Oh, well perhaps also the Queen Mother, but no, I meant your brother. He was inside too.” With that, Atropos turned and disappeared into the milling crowd, leaving Athena staring at her back with sightless eyes as she searched internally for sign of Ares.

“Captain!” Normandy hailed Athena without salute as was custom and came to an abrupt stop, mid-stride, at her side. Normandy was one of her older soldiers; one of many who had been with the army longest but the time spent in Ono de Athens had not increased her likeability in Athena’s mind. Her eyes, an opulent black, never brought Athena faith.

“Yes Normandy?” she said now, ignoring the way the woman’s eyes slithered over Logan as though he were horsemeat.

Returning dark eyes to Athena’s chin, she said, “We found bodies.”

It seemed, to Athena anyway, to take hours to reach the handful of bodies buried in the rubble of the Queen Mother’s castle. That there were only a handful was a surprise. Most of the soldiers were outside the castle, if not all, but the Queen Mother had slaves and servants, not to mention the prisoners. Or Lachesis, Raven, and Prince Nicolaus. Athena fought the urge to vomit.

Soldiers shoved large pieces of stone aside to unbury the souls they found and a long line of workers set up an assembly of lifting, carrying, passing, and removing the large stone chunks. Such work was not usually handled by her soldiers and she wondered who had given the order.

And what they were searching for.

“Normandy!” a female voice called out, attracting her escort’s attention. With a nod Normandy turned to Athena.

“Over here my liege.” Athena mentally rolled her eyes at the title but followed the woman through what used to be a corridor. “The bodies were found in a part of the castle that was somewhat separated from the rest.” She explained as they moved.

“Separated?” Logan asked. “How so?”

With a shrug and an impish smile she threw over her shoulder at him, she said, “a secret passageway.”

Athena’s insides froze. “Like a corridor?” she asked, grabbing Normandy’s arm and yanking her to a stop. Normandy turned to her with wide black eyes. “In a wall?”

Normandy nodded, pressing her lips together. “Yes sir, just so.”

Logan put his hand on Athena’s shoulder. The weight and heat of it sent a ridiculous amount of relief coursing through her arm. Not alone, she thought. With a nod she indicated Normandy should continue and in moments they were upon the rubble hiding what would most surely be the three people sent in to retrieve the Queen Mother -- two of which who were necessary for life to continue.

Standing over the broken stones, Logan kept his hand rested on her shoulder as Athena watched the soldiers drag three bodies out of the blood-streaked stones. When the bodies were laid out before her Athena stared at them with tears fighting to seep down her face. Grasping Logan’s hand, she squeezed and managed only a shuddering breath before glancing over her shoulder at him.

“It isn’t them.”