The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (14 page)

Romulus tried to call out to his men
gathered around him, but he was incapable of speech and could not
tell them how to help. It was as if someone was closing his
windpipe preventing any noise. Little did he know, that was exactly
what was happening.

After both kings startled everyone
with their screams, Cailean realized Romulus could do what Remus
could do. Remus spoke to them earlier after the spell began. If he
could do it, so could Romulus. He looked to his brother, but Brian
was too deep in the spell. It would be dangerous for Cailean to
interrupt.

Cailean tightened his grip around
Remus’ throat so he was wheezing and unable to utter a word.
Cailean felt Remus’ pulse accelerate, unsure if it was his grip
causing that effect. Either way it did not matter. He was not
letting go. He could not let Romulus communicate with his
soldiers.

Romulus’ men watched in disbelief as
the hours passed and they were helpless to aid their king. Upon the
late arrival of Romulus’ second in command, Aeneos, he immediately
recognized it as a magical attack.

“
Carnelio! Fetch the
Gaels!” he shouted to a soldier in the back hallway. “Gracius,
Menaeas, Dimieter, you three get over there and add muscle to the
ram. Get that damn door down!” Aeneos commanded.

Meanwhile, Romulus and Remus passed
out, or at least it looked like that to Aeneos. In reality, Brian
dug deeper into their memories. He moved on to the memories of when
they were eighteen.

* * *

The twins were sparring with swords
they found in an old battlefield. The swords had nicks in the blade
from excessive use but despite their abused appearance, the metal
was sturdy and sharp. The handles were made of plain bronze wrapped
in black leather to cushion the palms.

The twins’ sparring would occur every
day at dusk after their chores. Since the moment they discovered
the swords they were excellent fighters. It was as if they were
born to fight. They had instincts only a seasoned warrior would
have, not children of a shepherd who had never seen a
war.

An hour into their mock
battle, the hair stood up on the back of their necks. They felt as
if they were being watched. They turned towards the valley wall
where rocky cliffs overlooked the pass. A few hundred yards away
from them on a ledge
lay
a massive black wolf. He seemed to watch them as
a teacher watches his pupils, studying them as they learned to
fight. Romulus tightened his grip around his sword with a menacing
smirk. He whirled the weapon around his arm and took a stance ready
to sprint at the wolf.

Remus stepped in front of his brother,
blocking his way to the wolf. “What is the point in hurting an
innocent animal, Rom? He’s not attacking us. Leave him
be.”

“What are you afraid of, Remmy? Don’t
worry, I won’t let him eat you. Can’t we have fun for once?”
Romulus playfully slapped the side of Remus' arm.

“It is a wolf, Romulus, a sacred
animal. Do you really want to anger the gods?”

Romulus smiled brightly at his
brother, “If they didn’t want us to kill their beloved pet then
they shouldn’t have given us these swords and presented us with a
challenge. What greater glory than to return with the pelt of a
rare black wolf?”

As Romulus took off jogging towards
the low cliff, Remus spoke under his breath, “What greater
blasphemy?” He followed his brother not knowing whether it was to
stop him or help him.

Instinctively, the twins gracefully
jumped on rocks and leapt over gaps so smoothly you would have
thought they were flying. In a matter of seconds, they were beneath
the cliff the wolf had been laying on. Just before they reached the
wolf, the enormous animal stood up defensively with its hair
sticking up on its back.

What an epic
battle
, Romulus thought.
We’ll be immortalized forever
.

Suddenly, a large grey and white
she-wolf jumped directly in front of them. She was not as large as
the black wolf but still larger than a normal sized wolf. The
she-wolf almost matched the boys’ height at 5’10. The twins fell
backward in surprise. She was defending the twins against the
larger black wolf, growling and baring her teeth. The twins
gathered their composure and took their attacking stance, as oddly
as it sounded, to provide back up for the grey she-wolf.

The grey wolf snarled at the larger
black one and slowly walked towards the cliff it stood on. The
black wolf backed up, providing room for her to jump onto the
ledge. Before the twins could climb up with her, the two dogs
snarled and leapt in the air, colliding with one
another.

The grey wolf fell to the ground on
its side with a whimper, but quickly stood up and lunged at the
black wolf’s neck. The black wolf fell on its side after the
she-wolf rammed her shoulder into its abdomen. The grey wolf had a
chunk of black neck fur clamped between its teeth. She swiped her
paw against its face and stepped on its stomach, pinning the black
beast to the jagged cliffside.

The black wolf let out a roar never
before heard from a wolf. With a burst of energy, the black wolf
rolled the grey one off its body. One swipe of its paw and the grey
wolf slammed against the cliff wall. The boys watched their
defender slump to the ground. They thought for sure she was dead.
Miraculously, she stood up again and stalked her opponent with a
slight limp.

What happened next was the most
shocking moment in the boys’ life. What should have been a snarl
from the grey wolf were words.

“Mars, stand back from my cubs! You
have no business here,” the she-wolf ordered.

The black wolf, Mars, coolly answered
back, “They are my children, Lupa. Do not forget that, She-wolf,
and do not forget I am your master.”

“I have no master, you Lord of War. I
am the mother and queen of all wolves. I show allegiance to whom I
please,” Lupa arrogantly replied.

“You foolish dog, I created you! You
are my child as much as they are!” growled Mars.

“We may be your children,
but we are not your servants. We are born warriors, the strongest
of the demigods. We are the children who can challenge the gods,
including you, Mars. Now I warn you one final time,
back away from my cubs!
”
yelled Lupa followed by a guttural growl.

“I will leave, Lupa, only because they
are not ready to fulfill their destiny. You left them in the care
of a shepherd, a man with no fighting skills. I had to influence
them to exercise their birthright. You let them grow-up weak,”
growled Mars.

Mars looked over his shoulder as he
walked away. “Consider yourself warned, Lupa. Train them, or I
will.”

Mars bounded away towards the forest
and vanished into the shadows.

Lupa faced the twins and jumped down
to their level. She stood so tall she was eye to eye with them.
Remus and Romulus should have been scared of this massive wolf, but
there was something memorable about her.

Remus spoke first, “Lupa, is it? Why
are you so familiar?”

“Because I am your guardian, Remus,”
Lupa said as she walked over and nuzzled their
shoulders.

Romulus shook his head in defiance and
jerked away from the wolf, “We have guardians, Acca Larentia and
Faustulus. They are our parents and good people!”

“I lured you to the shepherd and his
wife after nursing you when I found you in the Tiber,” Lupa licked
the wounds on her paws. The twins looked at each other
apprehensively. Lupa responded to their odd look, “Come here, place
your hands on my head and I will show you.”

The twins placed a hand on either side
of Lupa’s head behind her ears. Lupa shared her memories of finding
the babies, nursing them, playing with them, and sleeping next to
them. Finally, she showed them how she played with the infants
while luring them to the field, causing the stampede of
sheep.

The twins yanked back
their hands in alarm and stepped away from the wolf. Before they
could speak, Lupa interjected, “You must leave your home and come
with me. You have a destiny to fulfill, one that cannot happen if
you remain here. It will be a fatal decision if you stay.
Unfortunately, you have heard Mars’ threat. As much of an
arrogant
culus
as
he is, he is right in that you have grown-up weak.”

Romulus shook his head, “I am not
afraid of a God,” he said refusing to leave his adoptive
family.

Remus steadied his hotheaded brother
and asked, “Fatal to whom?”

Lupa sat down and pointed her nose
toward the twin’s home, “Your parents will die a cruel death. Mars
does not give second chances, nor will he offer pity to them in
order to force you on your path. You must gather your belongings
and meet back here. I will give you an hour for your
goodbyes.”

The twins knew they needed to save
their adoptive parents. They walked back to the house and silently
gathered their belongings. Before they walked out the door, their
father, Faustulus, blocked their path. He looked at his boys and
nodded, “I do not know where you are heading, but I know that I
cannot stop you. I have always known you are meant for a life far
beyond being shepherds. You are the twin boys of Mars, aren’t you?”
He chuckled sadly at the twin’s identical shocked expression, “Did
you think I could not figure it out? Your fighting skills are
skills that only can be owned by a heritage of war. I had a
suspicion it was he who visited our house and gave you those
necklaces when we first brought you home”

Faustulus grabbed his sons into a hug
and held them tightly. He gently kissed the sides of their heads
then stepped out of their path with a smile, “Thank you for the joy
you have provided us. Never forget that we loved you and that we
will always love you.”

The twins walked away not knowing what
to say to their father. They were halfway between the house and the
cliffs when they heard their mother’s pleas. She was running
towards them with her arms stretched wide, until she heard the howl
of Lupa and saw the giant wolf watching them. She knew she should
not move closer and glared at the grey wolf. She blew her twins a
kiss as her husband walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around
her body. He supported her weight so she could weep at the loss of
her children.

The twins forced themselves away from
their family. Their mother’s sobs pulled at their hearts. All they
wanted to do was run into her arms and tell her everything would be
all right, that she was safe now.

Remus placed a steadying hand on
Romulus’ shoulder. The tight grip was a comfort to Romulus. They
were all each other had now.

The twins finally reached the top of
the cliff wall and saw Lupa waiting for them by the outline of the
forest. They gazed down the cliff one last time to where their
parents stood. Without another word, they turned their backs on
their childhood home forever.

* * *

Remus started to cry as the memory
faded. On the opposite side of wall, Romulus completely succumbed
to the spell, no longer able to think for himself. Through
emotional manipulation, Brian gained full control over the
twins.

After searching for a while, Brian
found two memories he decided would be the last of their torture.
When the memories began, Remus and Romulus took a deep breath as
their bodies tensed, almost as if being submerged under water. Once
the memory replayed, their bodies once again went limp.

* * *

This time the twins were twenty-four
years old. Both stood at 6’1” tall with shoulder length, wavy black
hair and clean cut faces. Their muscles were defined, like statues
of Greek heroes. Lupa always said they had the strength of Herakles
with the handsome features of Achilles.

Lupa and her pack gathered around a
fire while Remus gathered more kindle and Romulus cooked meat the
wolves killed. Suddenly, a loud bang sounded behind the pack and
all of the wolves jumped up in defense as the twins ran for their
swords. Through billowing red smoke, a large muscular soldier
emerged.

The soldier was dressed in formal
hoplite attire made of bronze, but colored black and red. His
breastplate was decorated with a singular red wolf, and his black
grieves were outlined in gold with red crossing spears in the
center. The soldier’s hair was jet black and accompanied by glowing
red eyes. He had a clean-cut goatee framing his mouth.

The pack bowed down to the man, but
Lupa stood tall in defiance. Instantly, the twins knew it was their
father, Mars, and moved to unsheathe their swords. Mars laughed at
their attempt. He waved his hand at the twins and their swords
became stuck in their sheaths. Lupa snarled and bent in a pouncing
position with her claws exposed.

Mars held up a finger warningly and
addressed Lupa, “Do not challenge me again, Daughter. I will not
hold back this time.”

Lupa eased her tension but refused to
take her eyes off Mars. “Dearest father, how gladly you seem to
acknowledge me as your daughter, yet you threaten me in the same
breath.”

“It was not a threat, Lupa, it was a
kind warning. Moreover, why would I not acknowledge you as my
daughter? You are the first of your kind, mother of all wolves,
strongest and smartest animal created,” Mars patted the top of
Lupa’s head and continued to compliment her. “I am proud of you,
despite what you may think of me. You have done well by my
boys.”