The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (18 page)

Four months passed where Rhea snuck
out of the palace to meet Mars. On the night of the autumnal
equinox, Rhea dressed in traditional black ceremonial robes in
mourning for the god Ceres, who lost her daughter Proserpina to
Pluto every fall. The black robes clung to her body, emphasizing
her often hidden curves. To Mars, she looked like a goddess fit to
marry War. They headed into the woods, as usual, but this night
Mars led her to a small pond surrounded by Willow trees.

On the banks of the pond, he pulled
her close to him, despite her being a Vestal Virgin sworn to
chastity. Mars waved his hand and a bed of soft moss emerged from
the ground. He walked her over to the bed and the two lied
together…

Unbeknownst to Rhea and Mars, Amulius
had followed them into the woods. He noticed her leaving the
ceremony early and headed down the stone path after her. Amulius
stalked the couple to the pond, where he found them conjoined under
the moonlight. Outraged, Amulius stormed back to the palace where
he waited for her return.

Upon Rhea’s return, royal guards
arrested and confined her to the palace temple. Amulius ordered
that food and water be withheld from his niece as punishment for
her lewd behavior. However, the gods favored Rhea and provided her
with sustenance every night and every morning.

When Amulius returned eight nights
later, he expected to see her weak and begging for forgiveness.
Instead, he witnessed the impossible. She appeared four months
pregnant, lounging on her bed with a plate full of meats and fruits
resting on her belly.

In a fit of rage, Amulius drew his
sword. He would get rid of this abomination at once. When he
charged Rhea, a purple light burst from her belly, knocking him to
the floor.

He knew that such a quick pregnancy
could only result in a demigod, but he had not considered the power
it may hold. “This child could only be an offspring of one of the
twelve original gods. Who fathered this child?” Amulius shouted at
Rhea.

Unafraid of her uncle, Rhea casually
responded, “Children. I carry twins. They are the children of Mars
and you will never defeat them. They are protected by the entire
pantheon.”

Amulius gathered his composure. “They
will not see their first birthday.”

A week later on the last day of the
autumnal equinox ceremony, a ball of red light fell from the sky
and hovered over Rhea’s engorged belly. She believed it to be a
gift for her children from Mars. The light fell into her belly and
she immediately went into labor. An hour passed until a baby boy
had been born. Rhea held the newborn in her arms, relieved from the
pain when another burst of contractions coiled in her
abdomen.

Minutes later, she gave birth to a
second baby boy. The twins differed from other mortals right from
the start. They did not cry and silently peacefully sucked their
thumbs. One of the twins briefly radiated a red light, like the
ball that sunk into her belly. Rhea had given birth to twin
royalty, the true Kings of Alba Longa.

Rhea had only held her children a few
minutes before Amulius stormed into the room and ripped them from
her arms. A guard accompanied Amulius into the temple carrying a
basket. Amulius then bundled the twins in the basket and ordered
two guards to drag Rhea to the river so she could watch her
children die. She had not even named them. Rhea fought back in any
way she could, kicking and screaming, until Amulius backhanded her,
sending her crashing to the floor.

“That is enough! You will not escape
your punishment.” He turned to the guards in charge of restraining
her and told them to bind her arms and gag her.

The guards dragged her to the
riverbanks while Amulius stood off to the side and watched as the
basket was placed in the violent waters of the Tiber. His worries
of being overthrown by demigods would drown with the
twins…

* * *

Remus and Romulus, spellbound against
the wall, tried to scream, but Cailean’s grip on their throat
prevented any noise. The sorrow from their mother overwhelmed
them.

Cailean felt awful doing this to his
friend, but the buildup of emotion was exactly what they needed.
Brian’s spell was strong, but the twins fought back against their
restraints and against Cailean. That can only mean Brian was losing
his grasp on them.

Cailean looked to his brother and the
sight made his stomach sink. Brian’s face was blotchy and sweat
poured from his forehead and down his back. The spell was taking
its toll on him. Every muscle in his body tensed and trembled as he
fought to keep control of the twins. He was barely
winning.

“Hang on, Bri. Almost there,” Cailean
whispered to his brother.

Cailean leaned his shoulder,
comfortingly, into Brian. He wanted to grab his arm but did not
want to take the chance in letting Remus go.

Brian heard Cailean’s words of
encouragement. His brother’s shoulder was the confident nudge he
needed. Cailean gave him enough strength to push forward and force
the memory to continue...

Chapter 15

The Twins of War

T
he memory picked back up with the fire image Mars created
extinguishing. Mars stood up, looking at his children and spoke
without a hint of his usual smugness, “Now you know how you were
born. Created from love and secrecy, but hatred and fear secured
your destiny.”

“Love? You used our mother and let her
suffer at the hands of the Amulius. You see how he rules the
kingdom. He starves, over taxes, and murders his subjects for
unjust laws, yet you let him live,” Romulus shouted.

“You only wanted children that would
be war bound,” Remus stood next to his brother.

“Yes, I used your mother so the world
can witness true soldiers. You come from a long line of my blood.
Your ancestor, Aeneas, married a daughter of mine. However, with
your mother, I added extra power to the already divine blood in her
veins. Despite her usefulness to get what I wanted, I did care for
her. She was one of my greatest conquests. As for Amulius, his fate
depends on your decision now.”

In unison the twins asked, “What
decision?”

“You are demigods in the House of War,
full of rage. You and your blood will be behind some of the
greatest wars in history. Fulfill your destiny and claim what is
yours, just as your Great-uncle Amulius did, by the end of a
sword,” Mars said, his words trailing off as he faded into the
silver moonlight.

Mars left the twins fuming, but this
was his intention. He wanted to awaken the raw rage that belonged
to his bloodline. That rage coursed through their bodies. It itched
for a fight and made them stronger.

Romulus clenched his shaking fists as
he said, “My hatred for him is only outweighed by my hatred for
Amulius.”

Remus sighed and nodded his head as he
ran his hand through his hair, a usual sign he was piecing together
a plan. “Then what are we waiting for, brother? It’s a four hour
march to Alba Longa.”

With that mentality, Lupa’s pack and
the twins marched day and night to reach the kingdom. They would
not rest until they reclaimed what rightfully belonged to them.
They vowed to find their mother, even if that meant traveling to
the realm of Pluto and battling the God himself to retrieve
her.

By the next day, the three children of
Mars had their plan to take the city. They waited until the cover
of darkness to attack. Lupa’s pack followed her lead, no questions
asked. She ordered them to surround the palace and not let anyone
escape, by any means necessary.

Lupa and the twins weaved in and out
of the shadows of the moonlight, evading the guards. They would
take city without fighting their way through it. Despite their
anger, they did not want to kill recklessly. When they reached the
throne room, they saw the wooden throne their grandfather once sat
in and the hole where Amulius threw his dagger.

The creak of a door opening sounded in
the back of the room. The twins hid behind a pillar while Lupa
slumped into the shadows. A guard, an older man, walked through.
When he walked past the pillar the twins hid behind, Romulus jumped
in front of him while Remus crept up behind him. Remus drew his
dagger and pressed it to the guard’s throat to prevent him from
fighting.

Romulus placed a finger over his own
mouth, a signal for the guard not to make a sound. He smiled
wickedly at the restrained guard and winked at his
brother.

“I guess we are children of Mars,”
Romulus chuckled.

“Easy boys, this isn’t over yet,” Lupa
reminded them.

“Children of Mars?” the guard asked
impatiently. “Is your mother Rhea?”

Remus dug his dagger deeper into the
guard’s throat, drawing blood and causing the guard to wince. “How
do you know this?”

“Because I am the guard who took care
of her after your death. She grieves still.”

The twins looked at each other
fervently; to their relief, their mother was alive.

“Where is she?” Lupa
demanded.

“She is in the small building next to
the temple. Amulius thought it fitting for her to live next to the
temple she was supposed to devote chastity to.”

The guard pointed to a structure with
no walls. Pillars with torches held up the roof. In the middle
stood a giant statue of Juno, the patron goddess of stately
affairs. Ironically, Juno was the mother of Mars.

Lupa snarled, “Grandmother is not
going to like me in there. Go find Amulius. I will get your
mother.”

Remus contemplated ignoring Lupa and
running to his mother.

“You heard Lupa, Remmy. There’s no
time to waste. We have a king to overthrow.” Romulus smiled as he
dragged his brother behind him.

“I know where he is,” the guard
stopped them before they left. “If you spare my family, I will take
you to him.”

“We have no quarrel with you or your
family. We have no fight with anyone here but Amulius,” Remus said
honorably.

Romulus interjected impatiently, “Now
that we’ve established we’re not going to kill everyone, can we
leave now?”

The guard ran ahead of the twins
guiding them through different rooms of the palace. When they
reached the bedchambers of Amulius, the guard bowed to his future
kings and left them to deal with their great-uncle.

Their anger towards Amulius sent a
wave of pure rage that warmed and charged every muscle in their
bodies. The twins kicked open the door, busting it off its hinges.
The wood split in two before it hit the floor.

Amulius jumped out of bed, reaching
for his sword faster than the twins expected an old man to move.
Then again, they had never been in an actual fight before today.
Remus went right and Romulus left, circling Amulius.

Amulius watched the twins carefully
then recognized who they were. “Only the children of Mars can move
like that. Sons of Rhea, I see you have come to claim your throne.
However, there can be only one king. Which one of you wants it
more?” taunted Amulius.

Romulus had always been
impulsive with a terrible temper. He lunged with his sword and
swung at Amulius’ head. Somehow, Amulius evaded his attack and
thrust his own dagger into Romulus’ side. Romulus howled in pain,
stumbling backwards. Remus ran to help his brother, but Amulius
stepped in his path, slashing his sword at Remus’ stomach. Remus
jumped out of the way, but tripped over an end table. Falling face
first, he turned over just in time to see Amulius jab his sword
down towards his stomach. He rolled out of the way then sprung back
to his feet as Amulius’ sword shattered the tile floor he
had
previously
lain
on.

Amulius charged Remus again, but Remus
deflected the sword with his own, sending Amulius stumbling behind
him. Remus countered the attack by swinging his sword upward and
sliced Amulius’ back, staining his bedclothes with blood. The king
cried out and fell into the wall, smashing his head against the
stone. He flipped around and raised his sword to attack Remus, but
instead met Romulus sword, swinging downward, diagonally across his
chest.

Together, the twins thrust their
swords into the abdomen of their great-uncle. Romulus smiled as
Amulius slid down the wall and slumped over. Amulius sat with his
sword resting in the palm of his open hand, no longer able to
maintain a firm grip. His breaths were staggered as he looked up at
the twins in defeat.

He spoke through shallow breaths, “I
dare say that you are the children of Mars,” Amulius breathed a
laugh, “but even the blood of Mars can perish. We have only one
life to live and one to die. The offspring of Mars will always
bleed and suffer violence.”

Romulus laughed at the dying king and
looked down at his side. What was once a bloody wound, was a ripped
tunic with a small red mark on his rippled abdomen. “We are
demigods, the immortal warriors of the divine. Combine that with
Mars’ favor and it will take an army to bleed us to
death.”

Remus was worried about Amulius’
prophetic words. He knew demigods are only immortal if they are not
mortally wounded. They are warriors now. Warriors never die in
peace.