Alexander: The Second Conquest

Four: Destructus' Soldier

    My ears buzzed with grief and anger,all at the same time,as the 70 or so warriors gathered around the marble table,with Julian at the head as usual. I clutched my badly bruised stomach and replayed the chain of events that had happened over and over again.

Hector Kyros. You will pay in blood.

I only felt this angry once-two years ago when I was chained in Atlantis' dungeon and Allen had come to take me on a mission. What would Allen think?

"...group of mortals led by a child of Hecate that was able to manipulate the Mist,"I tuned in to Julian's words. "Our warriors were captured by them-but Alexander got them out."

There was no applause,only sympathetic looks. News travelled fast,but I wasn't really surprised. After all,I shared confined spaces with 70 or so people.

"What should we do about them?"Amelia,if I remembered her name correctly,spoke up,her tone full of worry.

"First off,since they're mortals,our Imperial Gold weapons will not work. We'll need steel instead to harm them,"Julian explained,before tapping the marble table with his fingers. "The square has the strongest illusion of the Mist,so Hector might be hiding something there. I strongly suggest for everyone to be careful-these mortals could hide anywhere. It's clear Hector can and will take control of them whenever he deems it necessary,so exercise caution when you go out into the streets."

"We should just kill them,then."Adam retorted.

"No,"Julian said,his voice firm as his hand balled into a fist. "Under no circumstances will any of you kill these mortals. They're not monsters."

"They kidnapped two children and a few of our warriors!"Adam exclaimed,his gaze alight.

"Under the influence of a demigod."Julian reminded him,unyielding.

"Then what can we do?What's the purpose of creating swords that we're not allowed to use?Who knows how far Hector will go,he might take control of one of our warriors!Maybe one of you is already-"

"That's enough,Adam!"Julian interrupted,his gaze steely. "We don't want further problems and discord. Hector would not control any one of our warriors-not yet."

"Macedonia is no longer safe for us,"Adam insisted,turning so that he addressed the crowd around him. "Who knows,the mortal who was selling baked bread is actually a spy. Anyone here could be untrustworthy!"

There were a few murmurs from the crowd,but Dominic spoke up,much to everyone's surprise. It was no secret that he was shy.

"But what about Liam?"

Liam?

"Thank you for the reminder,Dominic,"His tone strong,Julian stood straighter and projected his voice. "We cannot just leave here without Liam knowing. I gave my orders,but that decision is for him to make."Right,Liam was probably their leader.

"We all know you're able to make orders like that because of bias."Adam sneered.

"If you have a problem,Terrence,"Julian's voice was deadly calm as his eyes darkened. "You can go to Liam personally."

Adam finally backed down at Julian's burning gaze. The whole assembly shifted on their feet uncomfortably-only Victoria and Amelia had smirks on their faces.

"Any other inquiries,you can come to me. Dismissed."

"Does that usually happen?"I asked Victoria bluntly,who was standing nearby as everyone dispersed.

"Yeah,pretty much."Victoria shrugged.

"What did he mean by bias?"

Victoria opened her mouth to say a few more things,but then Julian came to a stop before us,his gaze suspicious.

"Victoria Prince,what are you telling him?"

"Nothing,Julian."She said with big,innocent eyes.

Julian's stiff posture relaxed,and the look in his eyes softened. "Go to sleep. I suggest you do too,Alexander."

"Alright."I got up without any other words,heading off to the tents. Glancing behind,I caught Adam's blond hair and figure disappearing into the darkness of the exits. Where is he going?

Suspicion began to fill my doubts,but I shook it off and went into the connecting corridor to the tent cavern. Whatever he was up to,he probably wouldn't last long.

When I was asleep that night,there were no nightmares about the children. I woke up before dawn,feeling very confused.

The springs were empty,since everyone was not awake yet. The bruise on my stomach was gone,but whenever I twisted it still ached. I hissed as the hot water came into contact with the injury,but I took in deep breaths and soon grew accustomed to it.

Just as I stepped out and wore the new clothes,Dominic wandered in,his gaze still glazed with sleep.

"Hello."I greeted him.

Dominic froze at the sound of my voice,his eyes wide,before waving back awkwardly at me. "H-hey."

"You're pretty shy."I remarked with a slight smile.

"Uh,that is why I'm here,"Dominic tested the water with his pinkie. "A child of Mars who wouldn't fight. You know,the others bullied me at camp. So we left,then Julian found us."

"You and Victoria are twins,right?Julian seems to care for you both a lot."

"Yeah. He's kind of like our mentor I guess."

"That's nice."I murmured,heading out. When I went to the main cavern with my armour,it was still empty,except for a few warriors here and there.

"Hey."Jordan greeted,looking a bit uncomfortable.

I paused. "Why are there two patrols going out?"

"We have to get our food too,you know,"Jordan tilted his head towards the small area that was sectioned off for food. "Julian's been asking for you."

I looked at the marble table. Julian was at his usual place,his brows furrowed as he gazed at Macedonia's moving map. He was murmuring things underneath his breath as he fidgeted with a black string bracelet that I had never realised before. Looking closer,the string was tied together by a tiny silver arrow.

"You wanted to see me?"I broke his train of thoughts as he jerked his head up. He released the bracelet from his fidgeting.

"Yes. After the events of yesterday,I think you deserve to know everything."

"Thank you,"I frowned,thinking of the first question. "I wanted to ask-why did you recruit me instead,when I could have been lying?I heard that other people,well,they don't even get a chance."

Julian stiffened at my question. "You're right. I wanted to bring you in because you're exactly like me."

"Those things don't work on me,"Scoffing,I leaned on one leg. "I need a real reason."

"It's not in that way you think. I know you,and I recognise you. You were once part of Destructus' army,am I correct?"

Taken aback,I clenched my fists. "How did you know?"I whispered,my eyes narrowed.

"Because I'm like you,"Julian repeated,meeting my gaze evenly. "I was once a soldier for Destructus too."
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Word Count : 1170 words