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“Wait,” Nick said, raising himself from the grass. “Hey!” He looked around at the Lil’ Pardner pasture. “Yo, Zeus, can you hear me? What’s up with this?”
He refused to believe he was back until he saw the red barn and the silhouette of a horse. Above, there was no moon.
“It’s not fair!” Nick yelled, pounding not armor but his old shirt. Why, he wondered, did Herc get to go to Olympus, while he got sent home like some kind of naughty child?
“Take me to Mýthos!” Nick yelled, but Johnny, walking toward him, didn’t have that kind of power. He only neighed a warm greeting.
“Why?” Nick asked aloud, sinking to his knees. I finished all of my Labors. Why am I being punished?
Nick heard a voice in his head: not Athena, but Helen.
“The gods are always changeable.”
“So what?” Nick said to Johnny. “My wishes are still the same. I’ll get Helen back, if I have to spend my life trying. I will return to Mýthos whether Zeus likes it or not.”
Johnny started to whinny, thrusting his head to the sky. For a moment, Nick was reminded of Pegasus.
“What is it?”
Nick looked up, spotting a constellation. He usually wasn’t too good at making out the shapes, but he could swear he saw a centaur—this one made out of stars—caught in mid-lope and hoisting a mighty bow.
The centaur pulled back an arm and released his twinkling arrow. Nick’s eyes followed its progress across the velvet sky.
“Dad,” he cried, running. “You’re here! Please, lead me to her.”
From above, Chiron nodded, setting off on hooves of light.
“Allagí!” Nick commanded, feeling his old shirt tear. He trotted along with a dad who at last led the way.
Books by Amy Wolf
Don’t Let Me Die in a Motel 6: or One Woman’s Struggle Through the Great Recession
The Misses Brontës’ Establishment
The Cavernis Trilogy
Book 1: A School for Dragons
Book 2: A War for Dragons
Book 3: A Hero for Dragons
The Honest Thieves Series
Book I: A Woman of the Road
Book 2: A Woman of the Road and Sea
Mýthos Series Book 2: The Further Labors of Nick
Upcoming:
Mýthos Series Book 3: The Starry Labors of Nick
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Wolf has recently released the second book of her HONEST THIEVES series A Woman of the Road and Sea, which continues the adventures of Megs.
She is an Amazon Kindle Scout winner for her novel The Misses Brontës’ Establishment. Her fantasy series, THE CAVERNIS TRILOGY, is out from Red Empress Press.
Amy has published 38 short stories in the SF/Fantasy press, including Realms of Fantasy (2) and Interzone (U.K.). She is a graduate of the Clarion West Writer’s program and has an honors English degree from the University of London.
She started her career working for the major Hollywood studios, including 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., and was a Script Reader for MGM and Joe Roth. She has recently plunged back into the world of scriptwriting.
One of three natives out of 10 million, Amy was forced from L.A. and now lives in Honolulu. She has one adult daughter currently terrorizing LA., and a small, barky dog.
