The daughter of Artemis

Who Knew Slave Traders had a taste in champagne

Ethan dove behind a moss-covered rock, Ava reaching for the small indent in the cave side. Before she grabbed on, a massive hand grasped her and slammed it's fist against a wall. The sickening crunch of bones break made the girl's heart sink. She fell to the floor in agonizing pain, looking up at the horrendous monster. Ethan charged in a vain attempt of redemption only to be swatted to the floor.
" now that everyone is comfortable, we shall introduced ourselves before dinner. Sklaviá, at your puny service." His eyes glinted with dark humor. As Sklaviá's mouth opened once more, dozens of gnarled, yellow teeth jutted from his jaw.
"Ancient Greece' best slave trader, not to toot my own horn." He let out a raspy cough which seemed to be a laugh.
"Anyhow, the jerk Demetrios ruined that, stupid Greek kings and poisoned wine goblets." He stared at a dark wood door longingly.
"An addiction to wine is a very expensive hobby, you know, so slave trading was my game once more. He shambled towards them in swollen, fat legs and picked both kids with his meaty hands and started towards a small tunnel. He inspected the satyr with surprising intelligence.
"What's that... On your wrist." He said, yanking Ethan's forearm close.
"Just a watch, you know, they're... 20% off." Ethan replied meekly.
"Gots some humor don't ya, it won't save you, and I know celestial bronze when I see it, goat." Sklaviá bellowed, his raspy voice echoing throughout the chamber. The slave trader ripped the Rolex from the satyr's wrist and chucked it at the dark mahogany door. It shuddered and clicked into place as a Greek round shield formed near the doorframe. Again, the behemoth started to walk down the small tunnel. Finally, they reached a small complex of a dozen, rusty jail cells. Scattered throughout were collections of prisoners huddled together for warmth. At the end of the hall, sat a lone man with a faded orange shirt. A rusted bronze spear sat at his side. Though the blade seemed sharpened, the magical glow of the metal looked dim and flickering. Sklaviá urged them towards the farthest cell, near the spearman. He swung open the grated steel bars and pushed them inside. The slave trader walked away, whistling happily. The man looked up from the floor and stared at Ava, bored.
"A new one aren't you, the name's Canius Jacer, but most call me CJ." He looked between the satyr and girl, then maneuvered his arm between the bars to shake hands. Ava shook it gratefully and looked down at his faded shirt, the small outline of words were plastered against the fabric.
"Ava and Ethan, a pleasure" Ethan stated, looking around the complex.
"Who are you actually, normal guys don't carry spears." She asked, questioning.
"Son of Ares, prisoner for ten years by a homicidal wine addict, and owner of a spear that doesn't work." He replied bitterly.
"Fun," Ethan said looking back down at the floor.
" hold on... Ten years!" She almost yelped, astonished. With a closer eye, she saw the dozens of rips in his shirt, were deep, bloody scabs shown through the cotton.
"Aye, scars aren't fun. Sklaviá's whip screecher isn't fun either." He gently touched the scabs to test the healing process.
"Well we need a plan." Ava stated. CJ looked up at her from across the cell wall.
"You don't think I've tried? Everything you can think of, I've done it. And that was much easier with Julie around." He stared sadly at a pile of bones. "She was a good one. For a while I thought we were in love, but that was before... This." He stood up, picked up the spear, and slammed the bronze head into the jail bars. The metal didn't even make a dent.
"She is dead now, because of me!" Yelled in fuming rage. Ethan slowly backed to the faraway corner of the cell. He shuffled through his backpack before he found something... A flashlight. Don't worry, it'll come in handy when making shadow puppets, but a weapon?
"What is that for?" CJ asked, trembling. Ethan looked down at the simple, plastic flashlight and pressed the button. When the light enveloped the surrounding area, it's brightness shown golden. As it faced the cave wall, the rock started to crumble and fall.
"Stop!" CJ yelled, grabbing the magical item and turning it off.
"What is that thing?" Ava wondered. She looked at the wall, an engraved circle of broken stone caught her attention.
"How... How did you do that?" CJ asked, staring at him.
"A... Gift given to me by a son of Hephaestus, it used celestial bronze and an acolyte of Hecate's magic," he looked down at the flashlight in CJ's hand, " it has the power to break through most magical barriers and materials." He finished, taking the weapon back.
"We... We can get out! I can finally leave this place to avenge Julie!" He said excitedly. Ethan focused the flashlight on the jail cell bars and flicked the switch. As golden light enveloped the metal, it began to bend and shape into a body-sized opening. Canius was the first to burst through the gate.
"Dammit," CJ bluntly stated as police sirens blared and an echoing voice sounded throughout the cavern.
"INTRUDER, INTRUDER!" The voice bellowed. The massive booms already blew through the complex as the slave trader entered. Sklaviá stomped toward them. A tightly fitted leather shoulder plate hung across his chest. A celestial bronze emblazoned whip and half-empty wine bottle in either hand.
"Canius, is that you?" He laughed, the gargling sound hurting Ava's ears.
"I thought we were really getting along after ten years of fun." Ethan stared back at CJ. If steam wafted from the Ares spawn's head, Ava wouldn't be surprised.
"You joke that these.. These years of torture was fun!" Canius let loose a war cry "for Julia!" And charged at the slave trader. His spear spiked forward,
Jabbing into Sklaviá's calf, the monster yelled in rage before swatting him against the nearest jail cell. Aiming the flashlight for the head, Ethan sprinted as he flicked the switch. Sklaviá howled in pain before stumbling back as he was showered in golden light. His celestial bronze whip lashed around the satyr's hooves and swiped him from under. Ethan slammed into the cave wall and let out an injured groan. Ava saw something glinting from the slave trader's wrist.... The watch! she pounced forward, Sklaviá already tensed for another attack. She hurtled herself sideways before jumping from a rock, unhooking the watch, and landing on her feet.
"Gymnast aren't you! Backflips won't save you from slavery!" The monster bellowed. She clicked the magical item, it unfolding into a large Trojan war shield. The whip was lashed once more, only to be blocked by the shield. Ava charged, keeping her head behind the shield, and bashed into the slave trader's ankle. The bone broke as Sklaviá wailed, the pain making him stumble and fall on a jagged rock. As he was impaled by stone, Canius rushed forward. Standing on his pockmarked chest, he pointed the spear at the slave traders neck.
"This is for the prisoners, for Camp Half-Blood, for Ares, and for Julie!" He roared, stabbing the spear between the slave trader's shoulder blades. A red hue surrounded the warrior's body.
"Aprodite spawns are overrated." Sklaviá replied flatly before whacking Canius with the wine bottle. The glass exploded everywhere, sending Canius soaring away. In a blind rage, Ava charged forward, slamming her feet of his leg before landing, ripping out the spear, and thrusting it into the horrible man's neck. After pulling the weapon out, she sprinted towards CJ. He was lying on the floor, blood rushing from a wine glass shard embedded into his upper chest. His face was straining white, and dozens of cuts ran down his body.
"Ava... I don't have much time. I have a feeling dad is proud. remember, when you get to Camp Half-Blood, tell Chiron about me. A few old friends will want to know." He whispered, his fingers clenching the spear.
"Take this, hang it in the Ares cabin, this thing has been through the rough and I think it deserves it. And lastly, do a memorial for Julie, it will put everything to rest and I am certain we will see each other again... In another life." He checked down at his chest and smiled.
"Funny way to go out, isn't it." He chuckled and just leaned back, closed his eyes, and went to an endless sleep. With tears rolling down her cheeks, Ava hooked the spear and headed for the cave opening.

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Next chapter! Thx for reading and tell me if I should continue. If you have an idea for what the spear should turn into, comment!

                                                         -W