III

When Axel got within a few feet of Praetor Julian, something became readily apparent: the man was injured and exhausted. Julian rose to greet Axel, but didn't step forward. One of his legs had a six-inch black spike sticking out of it, staining the end of his pants a muddy red. In one hand, he held a javelin. His other hand was covered—

Axel did a double take. It looked like Julian had ripped off the tail of a snake-woman, gutted it, and slid his arm inside to make a gauntlet.

If Axel had to guess, the man usually had a shaved face and head. A few days without a razor had left him with a thin line of black fuzz in both places. He sighed heavily when Axel paused.

The sound of the crowd died as he said, "You're just a kid."

Axel tried not to agree with him. For now, he couldn't be "just" a kid. Really, he hadn't been a kid for the last six months, since Uncle Frasco and Nilley had died.

"I'm Axel Pax," he said. "What's your full name Julian?"

Axel couldn't tell if he was letting himself stall or if he wanted to at least know who he was about to kill.

"Praetor Julian Kouadio of New Rome," Julian said. Despite all of his wounds, his posture was perfect; Axel could envision this man calmly commanding troops. For an uncomfortable moment, Axel realized how much he wished he could mimic this man's demeanor.

"It's good to meet you, Julian. I'm sorry I need to kill you." Axel pointed his sword backstage, where Agrius had a hand on Ajax's shoulder to prevent Axel's little brother from running towards the cage. "I'm pretty sure they're going to kill my little brother if I lose."

Julian nodded, as though he expected this. "And I'm sorry that I won't give up because your brother's life is on the line. You see…" Julian crouched back down. He made it look natural, but Axel had to wonder how long this man had been fighting for and how tired he was. "I have a wonderful girlfriend attending UNR right now and my mom is a fierce former legionnaire. She would be disappointed if I let myself die on a monster ship, especially without getting a warning to the legion about this new threat."

Julian tilted his javelin towards the crowd. "If I don't get a message out, hundreds could die unnecessarily."

Axel frowned. Legionaries? Praetor? New Rome? It sounded like something out of a video game. Then again, so did all of his dad's plans.

Julian narrowed his eyes. "You are a demigod, right?"

Axel clenched his jaw. He knew of demigods. His little brother was one, and it only brought Ajax and the family misery. In a motion Axel hoped the audience couldn't see, he subtly shook his head.

Julian frowned.

The crowd rumbled with annoyance. They must have been taking too long.

"Get on with it!" someone shouted.

The redhead, Jak-Jak, fidgeted on stage.

"If—when I kill you," Axel said, trying to sound confident as the sword trembled in his fist, "What message, if any, would you like me to deliver to your loved ones? I—I don't know this world, but I will do what I can to get the message delivered."

Julian nodded. "Ari has a letter she knows to open if I die or disappear, but…" The praetor cleared his throat. "If you could tell the Third Cohort that it wasn't their fault, that they couldn't have avoided this, I would appreciate that. And you? Your dying wish?"

Axel didn't want to consider it. His jaw was sore from how tight he clenched it. "That boy. My brother." He gestured back to the cage entrance. "Do everything you can to keep him alive, and he'll stick by your side forever."

Julian laughed. Not maliciously. Axel knew how crazy the request sounded. Yea, I know you need to save yourself, but uh, can you save this helpless parasite too?

When he stopped laughing, Julian leaned on his javelin. "You know what? As absurd as this all is? Sure. You'll do everything to deliver my message. I'll do everything to protect your little brother. We could do each other one better. We could team up and rush that bear man."

Julian gave Axel a ruthful smile and nodded behind Axel.

Axel glanced back.

Agrius still firmly held Ajax. The bear man could break the boy's neck before they'd make it anywhere close.

What glimmer of hope Axel had died. Slowly, he shook his head.

Julian's smile turned sad. "I understand. It was worth a try."

Axel swallowed. From this brief conversation, Axel wondered if he would have been friends with Julian under different circumstances.

Jak-Jak shouted, "Ah! A gentleman's bout!" From the tremor in the redhead's voice, Axel got the distinct feeling Jak-Jak was trying to calm the agitated, impatient crowd. "Akin to that of the ancient Greeks! Like Theseus—"

"Theseus was a cheating asshole!" someone shouted.

There was a roar of agreement.

Something shot out of the crowd. Jak-Jak shrieked and dove for the stage. A black spike—the same kind imbedded in Julian's calf—whizzed to where Jack's head had been. It sliced through the curtain and continued to smash into a back wall of the stage.

"Stab yourself, Dr. Thorn," a melodious female voice tore through the laughter like the spike had cut through the air.

Someone shrieked in pain.

There was more laughter.

"Enough!"

Axel squinted to see through the stage lights. At the top tier of seats, someone sat on a throne. The voice originated there. Everyone silenced as the male talked, "If a demigod dies, they don't rematerialize. That's one less for Kronos' cause, a loss on your head… now, Jack, continue."

Jack rose to his feet. His whole body trembled violently. He lifted a microphone back to his lips. "A—A gentleman's bout. Like one with Teddy Roosevelt!"

There was a pause of hesitation at the comparison.

A begrudging rumble of approval came from the crowd. With that, Jack eased back into a confident announcer. "So, who will win? The sinister, oppressive Roman?"

The crowd booed. Julian crouched there, maintaining eye contact with Axel like there wasn't anyone else in the room. The longer Axel examined Julian, the more he detected a slight sway to the praetor's posture.

"Or the newcomer!" Jack shouted, jumping once in excitement. "The underdog! The Lion!"

Now, the shriek of cheers.

It was weird to be the home team favorite when Axel had never been to the home stadium.

He understood Jack's stage cue. Now was the time to start the performance.

Axel aimed his sword at Julian, the way he would a stage prop. As he stepped forward, his sneakers pressed into mounds of dust on the floor. He'd have to remember that it would be slick.

Julian didn't come to meet him. If Axel had to guess, the injured leg was completely worthless. The praetor rose, tilting his javelin in Axel's direction. He traced Axel's movement with the two feet of golden blade atop the spear-like weapon. Axel circled him.

They hadn't begun to fight and Axel could already feel sweat sticking his shirt to his chest.

The smile on Julian's face was gone. His dark eyes examined Axel's movements carefully. This was a man, Axel realized with a tremble of fear, that had as much to live for as Axel did.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Only one more chapter in this short :D Tune in next week for the end!