Chapter 8

(New Rome, senate chamber; 11:38)

The bodies of the dead were scattered everywhere. Blood spoiled the roads and grass, making a river of blood from the Roamn Legion camp to the town of innocents. The dead were unmercily killed and strung about everywhere with deep blade gashes on every inch of their bodys. The men, women, and children were all killed sparing none. The last body had fallen only 10 minutes ago, that one body belonging to the sole praetor. She had fought well for a mortal. Kratos sat in the throne at the end of the room, drinking a mug of wine.

The grave digger entered the senate chamber looking at the pools of blood scattered around the room. "Hmmm, you've created a great blood trail Spartan. Did they die honorably?" Kratos didn't move his head in the dim light of the chanber, a dark shadow covering the side if his face. "It does not matter how they died, now tell me what I need to know." The grve digger nodded and took a swig of his wine. "True, true. Listen well God of Sparta." The digger sat down at a table and kicked his feet up.

"Long ago, after Athena used the power of Hope to recreaet the gods. The Olympians restarted everything, they rewrote history differently saying that instead of having Zeus kill the Titans with the Blade of Olympus but rather he and his brothers Hades and Poesidon chopped him up with his own sythe. When they recreated the mortals and all of their own children, their was but one problem. The children of the gods all remembered you." Kratos took a swig of wine. "I am hard to forget about old man." The grave digger smiled and laughed. "Yes you are Ghost of Sparta. Now where was I?

The gods thought of this as a minor problem so they didn't care when you were mentioned. Untill you were nearing the edge of Tartarus." Kratos stood and walked into the dim light. "What of my son? Do the gods know of him yet?" he asked. The grave digger took a long swig on his wine and shook his head. "Ikelik is only known about through Aphrodite's allies. Hephaestus has also joined in your cause." Kartos cocked an eyebrow. "Why has the forge god sided with us?" he asked. The grave digger and stood at the edge of New Rome's symbol. "You saved his daughter Kratos, remember? In the old times Zeus had imprisoned Pandora, and you had rescued her and treated her as your on daughter. Hephaestus wishes to repay his debt to you."

"What of the other gods?" he asked. The digger laughed. "Several of the 'minor' gods have sided with Aphrodite in your quest for vengance. Your biggest supporter is Nemesis by the way." Kratos walked to the entrance of the chamber. "I must go, my son awaits my arrival." The grave digger and reached for the Spartan's arm. "Wait Kratos, you don't even know where Ikelik is!" Kratos shrugged the old man off. "I know where to find my son, he will seek out Hephaestus to forge him armor from the Hydra scale he has collected." "But how-" the grave digger stamered. Kratos turned to leave once more. "Aphrodite showed me a location of Hepheastus's Island forge, and of Ikelik claiming the scale of the Hydra."

The grave digger just watched as the Ghost of Sparta walked out of the Senate chamber, leaving a bone chilling cold atmosphere in the room of death and blood.

The Ghosts of Sparta sailed smoothly over the water, once more making it's way into the Sea of Monsters. Ikelik hung from the ropes watching as the ship sailed past large rocks toward an active volcanoe, the island forges of Hephaestus. The wind wipped through his hair, and sea water splashed his face. He hopped down from the ropes and stood next to Jessica. "So you think Hephaestus will just willing betray the gods to forge you the armor?" she asked. Ikelik crossed his arms. "I'm sure of it. My mother says he's on our side, and I trust her with all of my heart." His mind wandered to the other night. 'It's all right to embrace your feelings, even when it's about other women.' He heard his mother say again.

'I will mother, just not now.' he thought. Jessica tore her eyes from the island and to her friend. "Uh Ikelik, can I ask you something?" she asked. Ikelik looked her in the eye. "Sure, what's on your mind?"Jessica twirled her fingers. "Well, it's just-" "Cracken!" a voice screamed intereupting her. The 2 turned to see large tentacles rise up from the water, mermen hanging from them. "Enemy attack!" an amazon cried. Ikelik ran forward, drawing the Blades of Fate from his back and jumping onto the nearest tentacle closest to him. He hooked the blades into the creatures leathery skin and started to to climb up to the top.

Jessica pulled out her bow and reached for some of her 'special' arrows. She rolled out of the way as a tentacle swung and tuck the main mast off. She notched the arrow and fired at one on her left. The arrow stuck inside the skin of the cracken and exploded. Chunks of cracken meat rained on the deck, wetting the amazons and herself with blood. "Get the children below decks!" she said to the scrambling ghosts.

Ikelik made it to the top of the tentacle and killed the merman on top, cutting the man to shreds. He put both of his blades together, forming the Blade of Fate, causing the air around him to heat up as an orange glow surronded him. He jumped into the air spinning, coming down on the lim slicing it in half. When he fell into the water, he reached into his pocket and pulled a small trident and put it over his throat. Looking down into the murky water, he could see the head of the cracken below the ship. 'He's going to capsize it!' he thought.

Swimming deeper into the ice cold water, he threw the blade at the giant octopus embedding it in the beasts forhead. The beast roared, he would have heard it if it was above water, and let go of the ship swimming in deeper. Dragging along scrambling figures he took for the mermen. He swam back to the surface and waved at a ghost who was leaning over the edge. "Bring a rope for the master!" he yelled to the others. An amazon picked up a bundle of rope into the water and held the otehr end as Ikelik climbed up. When he reached the top, he thanked the woman and looked around his ship. The ghosts were rebuilding the mast head as the amazons treated their wounded.

As one ghost passed by, he stopped him. "How long untill the mast is repaired?" The ghost looked over to the mast. "Should take about at least an hour my league." Ikelik nodded. "Make it half." he walked off. "What was the point of that attack?" he thought aloud. "Mast Ikelik!" a young voice called. He turned to see a young girl run up to him. "Settle down child, Tailos was it?" The girl nodded, out of breath. "Yes lord, but listen. Lady Jessica was taken by the cracken!" Ikelik's eye's widened. "Was anyone else taken?" he asked. Tailos nodded. "Yes Lord, Lady Telootha and several other's were taken too." Ikelik turned from the girl and ran to the edge of the ship.

Jumping off the ship, he made sure the trident was pressed to his throat he took in a deep breath. "Master Ikelik!" a ghost cried after him. He hit the water hard and fast, ignoring the pain he started swimming fast downward to chase the cracken. 'Hold on Jess, please hold on 'till I get there!'

Jessica struggled against the grip of the cracken, struggling to keep air in her lungs. She tried reaching for one of her arrows ready to stab the thing till it bled to death, only for her hand to be held be a merman. He shook his head, as if to communicate that it would be a bad idea to do that. He cuffed her hands together behind her back as another took her quiver. 'Damnit, can't hold on any longer!' she thought.

The cracken stopped moving and pushed it's tentacles into a strange coral formation. Jessica shut her eyes, trying to keep her mouth clamped shut. She was about to let the salt water into her lungs when she entered an air pocket. The tentacle let go of her, leaving her in some sort of cell. The walls were wet coral, she could barely see the other women that were taken from the ship. A merman swam into her cell holding something behind his back. "You made a grave mistake sideing with that man." he said. Jessica spit on his tail. "I do what I choose to do, the gods don't decide my fate." The meramn smiled wickedly. "Your right, they don't. Because right now, I do." Behind his back he pulled an electric eal and hit her with it. An electric current flowed through her entire body, shocking her to the core.

The man laughed as he hit her again and again. She screamed in pain as electricty coursed through her entire body. When the merman took a break to clutch his sides, she jumped from the ground and tried hitting him. The merman took her by the neck and threw her into the back wall. Coral bit into her skin, slicing her clothes and drawing blood. "That was the worse mistake of your life girly." he said. He pulled a peice of coral off of the wall and crawled up next to her. "Now the real fun begins."

He raised the chunk of coral up, probably to end her life, when an explosion was heard outside the cell. "What the hell?" he said. Jessica watched as a silver blade tipped with blade jutted out from his back. The blade moved up to the merman's head, cleaving him in 2. Ikelik stood in front of the cell, slightly covered in blood from the merman. "You alright Jess?" he asked, untying her hands. Jessica leaped up from the floor and clung to Ikelik. Shocked, the young Spartan didn't do anything. He then slowly wrapped his hands around her waist.

"Sorry if I'm a bit late." he said into her ear. Jessica let go of him and he helped her up. "You came, that's all that matters." Ikelik nodded and handed her a small trident. "Put this on your neck, it'll allow you to breathe under water." Jessica took it and placed at the center of her neck, the small trident hung there like it was magnetised. Ikelik turned and jumped out of the entrance to the cell, outside the other amazons were swimming out of their own cells. Ikelik waved for them all to follow him and he started back up to the shadow of the Ghosts of Sparta. When they surfaceed, ropes were hanging down from the edge of the ship, allowing them to climb up the side and onto the deck.

Sitting in the middle of the ship was a merman wearing coral, cloth, and jewels tied up. Ikelik walked up to the merman and kicked him onto the deck, pressing his boot into his cheek. "Where's Poesidon?" he asked, hate filling his voice. The merman coughed. "He isn't here, he didn't know I was doing this." Ikelik chuckled. "Well like it or not your father know's your here now." Ikelik hoisted the boy onto the railing of the ship and drew his right blade. "Do you hear me Poesidon?" Ikelik roared off into the sea. "You should have known your son would try something, and here he dies for his actions!" With that Ikelik thrusted the blade into the back of the boy's neck, blood gushing from jagged hole left by the blade. Ikelik pulled the blade out and kicked the merman into the water, watching as blood fell from the body in torrents.

The sea formed around the body, carrying it down into the bottom of the ocean. Ikelik watched as the blood mixed with the sea foam, causing a pink hue to suround the ship. Poesidon would enter the fight, wether he wanted to or not