VIII
Reyna
‘THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM.’ Reyna wondered bitterly how many times she’d said that in her demigod career.
She should have a badge made and wear it around to save time. When she died, the words would probably be written on her tombstone: There were too many of them.
Her greyhounds stood on either side of her, growling at the earthen shells. Reyna counted at least twenty, closing in from every direction.
Coach Hedge continued to speak in a very womanly voice: ‘The dead always outnumber the living. These spirits have waited centuries, unable to express their anger. Now I have given them bodies of earth.’
One earthen ghost stepped forward. It moved slowly, but its footfall was so heavy it cracked the ancient tiles.
‘Nico?’ Reyna called.
‘I can’t control them,’ he said, frantically untangling his harness. ‘Something about the rock shells, I guess. I need a couple of seconds to concentrate on making the shadow-jump. Otherwise I might teleport us into another volcano.’
Reyna cursed under her breath. There was no way she could fight off so many by herself while Nico prepared their escape, especially with Coach Hedge out of commission. ‘Use the sceptre,’ she said. ‘Get me some zombies.’
‘It will not help,’ Coach Hedge intoned. ‘Stand aside, Praetor. Let the ghosts of Pompeii destroy this Greek statue. A true Roman would not resist.’
The earthen ghosts shuffled forward. Through their mouth holes, they made hollow whistling noises? like someone blowing across empty soda bottles. One stepped on the coach’s dagger-tennis-racket trap and smashed it to pieces.
From his belt, Nico pulled the sceptre of Diocletian. ‘Reyna, if I summon more dead Romans … who’s to say they won’t join this mob?’
‘I say. I am a praetor. Get me some legionnaires, and I’ll control them.’
‘You shall perish,’ said the coach. ‘You shall never –’
Reyna smacked him on the head with the pommel of her knife. The satyr crumpled.
‘Sorry, Coach,’ she muttered. ‘That was getting tiresome. Nico – zombies! Then concentrate on getting us out of here.’
Nico raised his sceptre and the ground trembled.
The earthen ghosts chose that moment to charge. Aurum leaped at the nearest one and literally bit the creature’s head off with his metal fangs. The rock shell toppled backwards and shattered.
Argentum was not so lucky. He sprang at another ghost, which swung its heavy arm and bashed the greyhound in his face. Argentum went flying. He staggered to his feet. His head was twisted forty-five degrees to the right. One of his ruby eyes was missing.
Anger hammered in Reyna’s chest like a hot spike. She’d already lost her pegasus. She was not going to lose her dogs, too. She slashed her knife through the ghost’s chest, then drew her gladius. Strictly speaking, fighting with two blades wasn’t very Roman, but Reyna had spent time with pirates. She’d picked up more than a few tricks.
The earthen shells crumbled easily, but they hit like sledgehammers. Reyna didn’t understand how, but she knew she couldn’t afford to take even one blow. Unlike Argentum, she wouldn’t survive getting her head knocked sideways.
‘Nico!’ She ducked between two earthen ghosts, allowing them to smash each other’s heads in. ‘Any time now!’
The ground split open down the centre of the courtyard. Dozens of skeletal soldiers clawed their way to the surface. Their shields looked like giant corroded pennies. Their blades were more rust than metal. But Reyna had never been so relieved to see reinforcements.
‘Legion!’ she shouted. ‘Ad aciem!’
The zombies responded, pushing through the earthen ghosts to form a battle line. Some fell, crushed by stone fists. Others managed to close ranks and raise their shields.
Behind her, Nico cursed.
Reyna risked a backward glance. The sceptre of Diocletian was smoking in Nico’s hands.
‘It’s fighting me!’ he yelled. ‘I don’t think it likes summoning Romans to fight other Romans!’
Reyna knew that Ancient Romans had spent at least half their time fighting each other, but she decided not to bring that up. ‘Just secure Coach Hedge. Get ready to shadow-travel! I’ll buy you some –’
Nico yelped. The sceptre of Diocletian exploded into pieces. Nico didn’t look hurt, but he stared at Reyna in shock. ‘I – I don’t know what happened. You’ve got a few minutes, tops, before your zombies disappear.’
‘Legion!’ Reyna shouted. ‘Orbem formate! Gladium signe!’
The zombies circled the Athena Parthenos, their swords ready for close-quarters fighting. Argentum dragged the unconscious Coach Hedge over to Nico, who was furiously strapping himself into the harness. Aurum stood guard, lunging at any earth ghosts who broke through the line.
Reyna fought shoulder to shoulder with the dead legionnaires, sending her strength into their ranks. She knew it wouldn’t be enough. The earthen ghosts fell easily, but more kept rising from the ground in swirls of ash. Each time their stone fists connected, another zombie went down.
Meanwhile, the Athena Parthenos towered over the battle – regal, haughty and unconcerned.
A little help would be nice, Reyna thought. Maybe a destructo-ray? Or some good old-fashioned smiting.
The statue did nothing except radiate hatred, which seemed directed equally at Reyna and the attacking ghosts.
You want to lug me to Long Island? the statue seemed to say. Good luck with that, Roman scum.
Reyna’s destiny: to die defending a passive-aggressive goddess.
She kept fighting, extending more of her will into the undead troops. In return, they bombarded her with their despair and resentment.
You fight for nothing, the zombie legionnaires whispered in her mind. The empire is gone.
‘For Rome!’ Reyna cried hoarsely. She slashed her gladius through one earthen ghost and stabbed her dagger in another’s chest. ‘Twelfth Legion Fulminata!’
All around her, zombies fell. Some were crushed in battle. Others disintegrated on their own as the residual power of Diocletian’s sceptre finally failed.
The earthen ghosts closed in – a sea of misshapen faces with hollow eyes.
‘Reyna, now!’ Nico yelled. ‘We’re leaving!’
She glanced back. Nico had harnessed himself to the Athena Parthenos. He held the unconscious Gleeson Hedge in his arms like a damsel in distress. Aurum and Argentum had disappeared – perhaps too badly damaged to continue fighting.
Reyna stumbled.
A rock fist gave her a glancing blow to the ribcage, and her side erupted in pain. Her head swam. She tried to breathe, but it was like inhaling knives.
‘Reyna!’ Nico shouted again.
The Athena Parthenos flickered, about to disappear.
An earthen ghost swung at Reyna’s head. She managed to dodge, but the pain in her ribs almost made her black out.
Give up, said the voices in her head. The legacy of Rome is dead and buried, just like Pompeii.
‘No,’ she murmured to herself. ‘Not while I’m still alive.’
Nico stretched out his hand as he slipped into the shadows. With the last of her strength, Reyna leaped towards him.