Alithea

Chapter IX: The Gravest Crime

The next evening before dinner, Alithea sat in her bunk brushing her dark brown hair, lamenting the fact that once she arrived in Egypt, she didn't know what to do or what to look for. The oracle said she would witness betrayal firsthand, but where? When? And by whom?

She was startled by a metallic scraping in the room next to hers, which was occupied by the brothers. Immediately, her hackles were raised. She instinctively felt her thigh for the dagger and pulled it out, holding it so tightly in her fist that her knuckles turned white. Something was wrong. As quietly as she could, she left her room and turned left.

Their door was slightly ajar.

Alithea tried to still her pounding heart and held her dagger at the level of her eyes, preparing herself for the worst. She took a deep breath and kicked open the door, pointing the dagger at the intruder.

Perseus stared back, sitting on a stool. His sword was in one hand with a stone in the other. He had been sharpening his blade.

Suddenly, he stood, swiped the dagger from her hand, pushed her against the door, and held the blade against her throat. Alithea looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"That's how you would kill someone," he murmured.

"I-I th-thought there was a-an intruder," stammered Alithea.

Perseus tilted his head and leaned in closer, like he was figuring out ways to devour her. "And what exactly was your plan, Fisher?"

"Uh...save you?" she tried, but she felt pathetic. He was right, she would have probably died. He released her, then flipped the dagger and offered it to her hilt-first. She took it shyly, embarrassed for her blunder.

"Thank you for attempting to save me from an intruder," he said, sitting back down with his sword. Alithea put the dagger back in its sheath at her thigh.

"They used to call me Amazon back on Delos," Alithea said, sitting at the corner of one of the beds. "Clearly it was unearned."

"Are they afraid of independent women on Delos?" Perseus raised an eyebrow.

Alithea shrugged, dismissing him. "I'm sorry. I must be disturbing you. You were sharpening your sword and I'll leave you to it." Before she could get to the door, it opened and nearly smacked her in the face.

"Whoa, sorry!" came Leander, wincing. When he saw Perseus and Alithea, he paused. "Was I...interrupting?" he asked tentatively, like he was afraid of the words themselves.

"She tried to kill me," Perseus replied nonchalantly, running the stone against the blade again.

Alithea tried to defend herself, but Leander laughed. "We've all tried to at one point or another."

"And all have failed," he replied. He stood up, seemingly satisfied with his blade, and admired it. Alithea looked at the handsome Spartan, who now seemed complete with his sword. He looked fearsome, but Alithea felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

"Anyway," Leander said, closing the door behind him, "Does anyone else have a feeling in the pit of their stomach?"

"Are you seasick?" asked Alithea, eager to think about something else. Leander shook his head.

"No, it's like a bad feeling. Like something is about to happen."

Alithea was familiar with that feeling. She had felt it herself back on Delos, and was pretty sure it hadn't gone away completely, even with the arrival of her new companions; however, this time, she wasn't quite sure what Leander was feeling.