Chapter Twenty
THE NEXT DAY, the number of people we pass along the road grows.
Helia had patched up my arm after our talk the previous night.
My back and arm twinge in remembrance of the pain.
We talked a bit more, setting plans to focus on training my abilities more now that I am able to use them consciously.
Hopefully without needing the whole nearly dying thing.
The shade of olive trees gives way into a slight decline and opening to the familiar sight of farmland.
Sprawling farther than I could have imagined, oceans of wheat, barley, and vegetables lay out before us.
Surprising, given how late into harvest season we are.
Small farmhouses break up the landscape here and there, stone estates able to house workers and landowners alike.
The road itself changes as well. The well packed dirt turns to gravel which in turn gives way to stone paving, interwoven patterns of bricks creating a pristine marble man-made river.
Olena has to drag me along, the sight completely foreign to my eyes.
Yet that wonder pales in comparison with what comes next as we crest a small hillock.
Hecalon stands a distance away and below us along the gentle descent into the valley.
My jaw drops at the sheer size of it. Three times as wide as Ionos and disappearing into the distance are what look to be all stone houses and buildings, colors splashing across the roofs.
There must be untold thousands of people here.
Olena barks a laugh at my frozen look and continues to pull me along.
It takes until midday to reach the gates, Solon casting his rays of light and heat down upon us.
White smooth stone wraps around the edges of the city as far as the eye can see, several people tall, making any attack challenging to say the least. A combination of spear tips and bows poke above the wall, the city guard mobilizing as a precaution.
Not that our tiny group would be able to make a frontal assault.
I have a lot to learn from Bellius about strategy and tactics, but even I can see how impossible that would be.
The guard captain gives a shout and the thick wooden doors creak open, a pair of oxen driving a pulley system. A few cries of recognition and admiration emerge from the guard as we pass through the gates. Apparently the Spears are a fixture here.
My head swivels from side to side as we march through the paved city streets, trying and failing to take everything in.
Ionos had been a city in my eyes; Hecalon makes it seem like a backwater village by comparison.
Stone is everywhere; the roads, the buildings, and the statues.
Not whitewashed like the exterior walls, no; Hecalon is a city of color.
Vibrant flowery red, the crystal clear blue of the ocean, gold and copper accents; a feast for the eyes.
It’s the statues, though, that captivate me.
Carved from marble, perfect forms adorn the outside of most buildings as we journey across the city.
Untouched by the blooming colors surrounding them, the statues stand out in their plainness; in color only.
Stony fabric cascades down chiseled bodies, flowing effortlessly.
Laurels of marble adorning their heads, some with spears, others with baskets, and still others with wide open arms welcoming all.
“Quite something, isn't it? I still remember when I first came here.” Olena looks on with me, taking in the life an artist had breathed into stone. “Hecalon is the capital for a reason. The best artists, architects, fighters, politicians, merchants, and all others come either from here or to here.”
The sights continue as we journey deeper into the city, passing agoras, bathhouses, manors, and the like.
Eventually, the winding streets burst open into a lush, circular park.
Cypress, pine, and olive trees reach up to the heavens, beseeching the pantheons above.
Wild flowers bloom, their color dancing in the wind, playfully beckoning their stony counterparts to join them.
Water flows through the center, fountains peacefully singing away.
We form into a two-by-two file and walk along the maze-like pathways in the park.
A flower bush ahead pulls my attention. Deep blue wildflowers blossom, opening to the purest white center.
Tiny tendrils of white streak erratically along the petals, slowly merging into that deep, deep blue.
My hand moves on its own, plucking a single flower.
It cradles softly in my palm, delicate and small.
The snicker behind me rubs against the peace, until I recognize the timbre.
Andra still sees me as a country bumpkin.
Taking in the park around me, she's not wrong.
For all that has happened, it's impossible for me to ignore the beauty of the life around me. Regardless of her needling, I can’t bring myself to care.
To my dismay, we exit the park on the opposite side, which seems to serve as the center of the city.
In the distance, a rocky promenade rises with what look like temples dotting along it.
Before we get close enough to start an ascent, the column veers to the right, leading past a series of large estates.
Each estate could easily house several scores of people and the archways leading into them all have different sigils watching over their thresholds.
“Cohort, halt!” The clarion thunder of Helia's battle voice carries down the line, all of us stopping in unison. I look up and see the sigil of the band etched in the stone gateway next to us.
***
Nia had laid down their blanket across the sky by the time I was summoned, Bellius quietly pulling me away from the others.
The rest of the day had been a blur of meeting other members of the Spears outside of my cohort, stowing my gear, and learning the grounds and immediate area of Hecalon.
I expected this moment to happen on the following morn; not as things were settling for the evening.
Bellius leads me to the main house of the estate, which is fairly close to the barracks.
This is where the officers sleep and where I assume our leader lives.
After a few turns, we reach a wooden door and Bellius stops.
One sharp knock later, and I find myself in a room full of scrolls with a table set in the center of the room.
“Not what you expected? Not enough weapons or armor?” The cheeky questions emerge from the figure behind the table.
An old man lounges on one of the chairs around the table, grey hair sparsely growing from his balding head.
Wrinkles outshine any scars that leading a mercenary band would cause, all sense of muscles having eroded with time.
“I didn't know what to expect; this is my first time in an estate like this.”
He laughs, a dusty sprinkle of sand on dunes. Gesturing to one of the chairs in front of him, I realize that we're not alone in the room. Helia sits calmly in one of the chairs, flashing me a secret smile.
“Welcome to Hecalon, Skion. I am Strategos Pellax, leader of the Band of Spears.” A Strategos!
From what Bellius had taught me, only those of exceptional skill and leadership ever attain that rank.
Pellax pointedly, achingly, slowly looks to Helia as I take place on the chair.
“Helia has told me of what transpired over the past few months and I want you to know you have my deepest condolences about the attack on your home.” I blink, not expecting that.
“T-thank you. But it wasn't really my home.” Seeing confusion, I rush to explain. “What I mean is while I grew up there, it never felt like home to me.”
“Ah. I understand.” An aged smile crawls onto his face, wrinkles pulling at the corner of his eyes.
“I'm sure Helia told you, but most of us are strays; including myself, after a fashion.” Nodding to Helia, he gets to the point of bringing me here.
“Helia has vouched for you and spoken to your budding skills. We do not easily let just anyone join our ranks, so do make us proud. Let me officially welcome you to the Spears.” Pellax looks to me expectedly, as though I had not spent the past months fighting alongside Helia and the cohort.
“Uh, thank you Strategos. I am honored.” The old man cracks another smile and stands, causing Helia to bolt upright at attention. I quickly follow her lead, eager to get out of here.
“Please, just Pellax. Leave the honorifics for the politicians.”
A sharp salute from Helia and we make our exit, a slight jerk of her raven-haired head pulling me along. At the end of one of the marbled corridors is a doorway apart from the others, granting a measure of privacy.
“Your room is not quite what I expected.” I had imagined Helia to have a tidy room, sparse and functional.
Clearly though, she enjoys comfort and leisure when available.
A large bed lay in the back of the room, thick furs creating a seductive mound of clouds.
There are a few braziers in the room for both light and heat, which she must have lit before talking with Pellax.
Strewn about the rest of the room are some simple clothes, but it’s the items that intrigue me.
“Helia, what are all of these?” Small rocks of all sizes and colors adorn a desk, a glass jar with moss lay to the side of it, and a collection of scrolls spill off the other. Blushing, Helia scoops up a few things in an embarrassed blur, placing it in an adjoining room.
“They’re keepsakes of places I’ve traveled to.
Sorry it’s a bit messy; it’s been a few months since I was last here and we left in a bit of a hurry.
” I grab one of the rocks, inspecting it in the palm of my hand.
A dusty red color dominates it, but streaks of copper run through it like lines in the sand.
“That one was from an escort mission to Ionos. A group of miners wanted to ply their goods to foreign merchants.”
“Why collect all of these? You’ve been to so many places, I’m sure it all becomes normal at some point.”
Helia’s usual look of calm fades back to a shadow of that lonely look from training the other night.
“For two reasons. So I never forget what I’ve done, and I can know I left a mark somewhere.”
I place a hand on her shoulder, comforting however I can. Accepting the kindness, Helia nods gratefully and sits in the chair while gesturing to the bed. Sitting down on the furs confirms my original thought; I sit upon clouds.
“The Strategos was…interesting.”
Helia sighs, idly playing with one of the rocks she didn’t clean up.
“Pellax created the band many years ago. He used to hand-pick and approve all recruits himself. As the band got bigger and started spreading influence out further, he couldn’t do it all and empowered the commanders to recruit on the road.
” A shake of her head belies her annoyance.
“Despite that, he still has to ‘approve’ the recruits when they return here. It’s an old man’s flight of fancy.
I apologize for not warning you about it. ”
“That’s all right. I did want to ask; when he said you told him about me, did you…?”
“No, of course not. The fewer people who know about you the better. He knows you’ve some skill as a cook and as a scout, in addition to the fact that you are quickly improving your combat prowess.
I would recommend avoiding using your power around here though.
Or at least avoid anything flashy.” Helia leans forward, sinuous arms rest on her knees.
“It will take some time but I will reach out to the cabal of Lunos and get you an audience. I’ll take care of you, Skion. ”
Searing heat races to my face and her piercing look leaves marks on my soul.
No one has ever wanted to take care of me, to protect me, and here is this intense creature wanting to do just that.
Despite originally wanting to take things slowly, or at least lying to myself about it, I find my heart racing around her with little effort.
“Looks like you finally got me into your bed.”
Helia’s gaze turns feral in an instant at my teasing, the heat in my face traveling to my stomach.
“Are you wanting to stay here tonight?” A low timbre of hunger dominates her alluring voice. My moment of bravery melts away completely as I try to swallow the lump in my throat, unconsciously nibbling on my lower lip.
The recent events had pushed thoughts of us to the back of my mind; it pushed thinking of myself, my body, away too.
Tension grabs hold, stiff and uncertain.
The green flames in Helia’s eyes dim slightly as she senses the shift, my uncertainty with my body throwing a bucket of cold water on her desire.
“Remember, we move at your pace Skion.” Some tension releases, but not all. “Oh that reminds me, do you want me to still call you Skion or is there a different name you want?” Eyes wide, I mull her words over in my mind. A new name? One that suits who I am becoming.
“I never thought about it honestly.”
“Names have power. Give it some time, and if you don’t want to change it, you don’t have to.” A lazy smile shines at me as my mind tries to process the past hour. Helia pushes her muscled body out of the chair, an extended hand aiding me to my feet.
The softness of her lips suddenly on mine sucks the breath from my body.
I arch into her as Helia wraps her arms around me, her warmth soothing and igniting at the same time.
We lose track of time, but the kiss breaks eventually, my heart hammering away, a blacksmith at work.
Slowly, I leave Helia’s quarters to get some sleep, conflict raging in every step.