Alexander: The Second Conquest

Five: Good Guesswork,Too

It took me a few moments to process what Julian had said.

I was once a soldier for Destructus too.

"How did you survive?"I whispered,my head spinning at the revelation. "How...how do you know your godly parent?"

"I survived when Liam found me washed up on shore. He lifted my helmet,and just like you,it felt as if a fog had lifted in my mind and I could think clearly. As for my godly parent,I had to defeat a few sirens that were troubling the titaness of memory,Mnesmosyne,"Julian explained before looking at me sympathetically. "You might not know your godly parent,Alexander,but none of that matters now. What matters is that you broke Destructus' control over your mind."

"It would be nice to know who is my godly parent,"I muttered,feeling a sense of resentment swell in my heart. "And why they wouldn't tell me."

"Don't set your hopes up too high,"Julian warned,his gaze drifting over to the sleepy warriors. "It might be crushed."

"Right. We have an important matter in our hands right now,"I shook my head,pushing all feelings away. "What will you do about Hector?"

"What should we do about Hector,"Julian corrected,offering a rare,genuine smile. "You're one of us now."My spirits lifted at his words,feeling the burden of the past two years being lifted from my shoulders too.

"We'll have to plan our next move carefully,"Julian decided,staring at the map again. "It'll be hard to do anything without Liam,but if the situation gets worse,we'll have to take action without him. Hector has powers that I've never seen before...especially when he's the son of Hecate. Our swords can drive him back,but it will not stop him."

A sudden pang of realisation hit me like a hammer.

"Allen."I stated,feeling my heart slightly ache at his name. Allen Pace was my first friend,and the one who named me when he lifted my helmet. It's been two long years since he sacrificed his freedom for a spirit,who took over his body. Allen really saved us all.

"Allen?"

"He's a mortal who's been blessed by Chaos with magic powers. A friend of mine too,"I added quietly. "He might be the only one to stop Hector."

"I'm sensing a 'however' here."Julian frowned.

I nodded grimly. "You're right. The last time I had seen him,his body had been possessed by a spirit named Arbitrium. It's been two years since that day,and even the gods had given up on searching for him."

I watched as Julian began to weigh all the information he had been given. He tapped his fingers again in thought,before speaking. "I'll discuss this with the senior warriors,but if Liam returns by then,he will be the one to decide."

"Where did Liam go?"It was strange for me to inquire about someone who I barely even knew.

"He's on a journey,"Julian replied. "That's taking longer than I expected."He added the last part under his breath as his stormy grey gaze was once again distant.

I glanced at him,wondering why he was so worried,when Victoria jogged up to us,looking fresher than any other warrior who had woken up.

"I'm going out with Dominic to buy food!Wanna come?"She asked,looking between the two of us. Julian was snapped out of his thinking trance,giving a distracted smile.

"Of course."He said.

Victoria let out a whoop. "It's been so long since you went out with us. What about you,Alexander?"

"Huh?"I was worried that I would interrupt their family time by going with them,but Julian nodded reassuringly at me. "Okay. I'll come too."

With Dominic waited for us at the entrance,Victoria led the way through the winding network of corridors that ultimately led us to the exit. When we emerged,the sun was just rising above the horizon,yet the shops were already open and people began to walk along the streets.