Chapter 10
Village of the Amazons
Island of Theros in the Center of the Bermuda Triangle
Jake stumbled again as the small group made their way slowly toward the estuary to bathe. Instead of a massive hangover, when he awoke from is rendezvous with Queen Themys, he had an irrational sense of vertigo. Dried blood trickled from his nose and ears and his eyes were so bloodshot the sclera was almost completely covered in red. He had a pounding headache the further exacerbated his current affliction.
"You should have stayed in bed, my king," Tatiana gently chided Jake from his left side. Lenore clung to his right as he stumbled along.
"No, I'm fine," Jake replied with a slight slur in his speech. "Jus need to move around for a bit."
"You need food," Lenore said. "Do you have any more of those, what did you call them, meal bars?"
"Not sure," Jake replied. "I might. If I do, they'd be in my rucksack."
"Shit!" Sestia hissed from in front of them as she stopped. Her whip uncurled from her waist and glowing in hand, she took a stance ready for battle.
Jake looked up as his eyes tried to focus on what had the dark-haired Amazon concerned. A low, whining growl touched his ears and he tensed. "Ses--"
"I know, my king," Sestia growled. "We cannot kill her. But I will not stand by and let her take advantage of our weakened states."
"I'm not saying you should," Jake replied, the tense situation sobering his mind somewhat. "I'm just saying that if she does attack, it is vitally important that we don't kill her."
"I am aware, Jake," Sestia replied. "My mother visited me in my dreams last night. She told me of the Grak'gull's importance to our people. She told me to lay my concerns to rest and support your decision to tame her. She will not die, but I will protect you."
Jake didn't have a reply for that. The dragon-dinosaur didn't move from the path, and it appeared the two groups were engaged in a standoff as the creature stared at Sestia.
"My mother also visited me," Lenore chimed in. "She informed me that the barrier has fallen. She also instructed me to ready ourselves to leave the island."
Jake kept his eye on the Bitch, but shifted slightly to face Lenore. "She did?"
Lenore nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake noticed the massive monster's head shift slightly, her eyes focusing on Lenore as well.
Viciously intelligent, Jake thought. I wonder if she really does understand us?
"What about you?" Jake asked, turning to Tatiana.
The beautiful redhead nodded and blushed. "She told me that though she was sad that I had to lead our people so young, she was proud of the accomplishments I made in the five-thousand years of my reign. She also told me that she doubted she could have done anything any different to save any of our sisters."
Jake smiled knowingly at the former queen. "I'm proud of you, too, you know?"
"For what?" Tatiana asked, confused.
"This might come off a little conceited, but I'm proud of you for passing the mantle of leadership when you recognized that you didn't want it any more."
"But, you fought me almost entirely throughout the process," the redhead argued. "You didn't want it, either."
"I didn't," Jake replied. "Honestly, I still don't, but for right now I'm the right person for the job. Your mother convinced me of that last night when she imparted her royal wisdom upon me."
"You mean she made you smarter when she fucked you," Lenore giggled.
"Hey, now," Jake playfully argued. "I was already smart. She just imparted some important knowledge while she was... um..."
"Lubricating your spear, pleasuring your mind into oblivion?" Sestia called playfully over her shoulder, keeping a steady gaze on the Grak'gull in front of her.
"Since you put it so eloquently, yes," Jake answered with a smile. Glancing over Sestia's shoulder, Jake noticed the beast had taken what appeared to be a relaxed stance as she watched the four humans talk. She perked up slightly when Jake glanced at her. "Like the fact that you're not the only survivors of the attack on Themiscyra, for instance."
Three gorgeous heads whipped around to look in his direction, totally ignoring the potential threat in front of them for the moment. Three pairs of eyes looked at Jake in astonishment; three mouths dropped open in unabashed shock; three sets of eyes began to water.
"What!?" Tatiana whispered in awe. "Truly??"
Jake nodded. "There are less than ten, and they are... a bit different from us. But they are out there."
"How did they survive through the ages?" Sestia asked, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
"The same way you did," Jake answered. "The only difference is, they didn't inherit any abilities except longevity when the ritual took place. While you three gained enhanced strength and speed, better weapons," Jake pointed to Sestia's glowing whip, "and enhanced healing abilities, the ones outside the barrier only gained a stunted version of immortality. Well, in addition to some changes to their visual appearance."