Chapter Twenty-Four: Ares

Therese fell on her knees in a dark alley, the pavement scraping her skin. She climbed to her feet and glanced in all directions. Tall buildings and garbage cans flanked the alley, along with a few cars, but Therese saw no sign of people, no sign of life at all, not even a stray cat or dog.

She was barefoot and wearing her nightshirt, which meant she was dreaming. Before she could kick off the ground and swim through the air to test this theory, someone grabbed her from behind, an arm wrenched around her neck. She couldn’t break away.

“You know what they say is true don’t you?” a gruff but familiar voice murmured at her ear. “If you die in your dream, you die for real.”

The mention of the word dream reminded her that she could do what she wanted. She elbowed the man and god traveled away from him. Who needed a traveling robe in the dream world? She placed herself in her grandparents’ old house in San Antonio, not sure why she ended up there so often. Maybe it was a place of comfort. Maybe it was because she associated the place with family. She shook her head. Why am I analyzing my dream now, while I’m still in the middle of it? This is crazy. She willed her grandparents on the living room couch, with Blue, their Blue Merle Australian Shepherd, on the green carpet at their feet.

She sensed a presence outside the front door. A quarter-inch gap appeared around the door, through which bright, ominous light spilled in. Therese pushed her full weight against the door, to keep whatever wanted in out, but the door dissolved and she fell against the hard chest of Ares, god of war.

This is a dream, this is a dream, she repeated beneath her breath, as she stumbled back. “Figment, I command you to show yourself!”

“I’m no figment, Therese.”

Therese god traveled from her grandparents’ house to the wooden deck in Colorado.

I’m going to make this a happy dream, she said to herself. She willed a chipmunk to appear on the railing beside her.

“Come here, little fella.”

The chipmunk hopped onto her hand and let her pet him. She fed him a handful of seeds. Then she thought of Puffy, and turned the chipmunk into him. “Puffy! I miss you so much!” She pressed his soft, furry face against her cheek.

Ares appeared at her side wearing a wry smile. “I see why Hypnos and Thanatos admire you. But this won’t help you defeat the Minotaur.”

“Why do you care?” Shut up, Therese thought.

Ares laughed.

Than appeared at her side.

“Than? Is that really you?” She wondered if she should repeat her command for figments. She threw her arms around him instead, needing him, even if it was just a stupid figment. She’d take him any way she could get him.

He cupped her face and showered her with kisses, pressing his warm lips to her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, and her mouth. It felt so real. If only she could make Ares disappear. “Make him disappear,” she prayed to Than with her eyes closed.

“He’s here to help you.”

She opened her eyes. “What? Why?”

“Can we please get started?” Ares said impatiently. “I don’t have all night.”

“He’s agreed to teach you how to fight.”

“He killed my parents! I don’t want his help!”

Her scabbard and shield appeared strapped to her body, startling her.

Than kissed her once more. “Do this for me.”

Therese’s heart thudded in her ears. She couldn’t believe Than was asking her to work with Ares. Her hands shook—out of anger, not fear, and hatred.

“When you face the Minotaur, have your sword drawn,” Ares said, drawing his own. “If you wait, you’ll be at a disadvantage. Carry it out in the ready position as you make your way through the labyrinth.”

Therese drew her sword, narrowing her eyes at him. She wanted to slice off his head.

Ares faced her. “Spread your feet. Wider. You’ll lose your balance otherwise. Keep them spread as you walk.”

Therese did as he said.

“Bend your knees and lean forward, like this.”

She copied his stance.

“Hold the sword closer to your body. If you hold it too far out like this, you make yourself vulnerable to attack. There.”

Therese couldn’t believe the god of war was being nice to her, and without realizing it, she said the question in the form of a prayer to him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

He looked down at her, his hand still on hers, adjusting the position of her sword to her body. “I just want to see a good fight.”

She lowered her eyes, the blood rushing to her face. She wanted to kill him.

“Keep your elbows in,” he said, stepping back from her. “Remember, you want to use the sword, not your arms. If your arm goes out like this, it’s easy to get it lobbed off. Repeat to yourself, elbows in. By instinct, you’ll want to keep your body as far away as possible from your opponent, forcing you to reach out with your arms, but don’t. It’s better to get closer, elbows in, so the sword can protect you on your sword side while your shield protects the other. Now, take the shield.”

She did as he said.

Ares transformed into a giant beast with the body of a man and the head of a bull. It charged her. She backed away.

“Stay perpendicular to me,” Ares’s voice shouted through the beast’s ferocious mouth. “With your shield side toward me.”

She clenched her teeth, accidentally biting hard on her tongue. What had she been thinking when she agreed to fight the Minotaur?

“Feet apart, Therese. Crouch. You want to lower your center of gravity, or he’ll knock you right over.”

It had been a moment of insanity, she thought, crouching.

“Shift back and forth on your feet. Keep your mind clear. Anticipate my every move.”

He lunged for her, and the only thing she could think to do was to will him into a butterfly.

He fluttered his yellow wings twice, a two-inch creature just above her head, before resuming his form as the god of war in front of her. “I’m impressed. But you won’t be able to do that when you face the real Minotaur.”

She glanced over at Than, the corners of his mouth turned down. “How am I going to do this?” she prayed.

He didn’t reply.