Page 16 of Axios

Then, he advanced toward the whip bearers with an unmatched speed.

The festival sometimes went differently where the group of unarmed boys competed with each other to be whipped as a way of showing their strength. They shoved the others out of the way in order to have their flesh marred and shredded. But our herd was different than others. We had a unity that others lacked, and we’d chosen to work together rather than to compete.

Apart from Haden it appeared.

When he reached the altar, one of the boys cracked the whip against his back, but he didn’t hesitate. He stole a piece of the cheese and rolled out of the way right as the whip came back toward him. No matter how quick, he couldn’t dodge them all.

A different boy lashed him next, catching his calve and drawing a long streak of crimson across it. Haden didn’t react to it other than the slight limp in his step as he lunged away once more. He ran back to the temple, earning a loud cheer from the spectators.

“There is no unity in this game, Eryx,” Haden spoke before tossing the cheese into the crowd. “It is each Spartan for himself.”

Eryx stared at him with indifference. “You’re wrong.”

“I believe you just want the glory for yourself,” Haden said, straightening his posture to his full height and towering over Eryx by inches. “You have a way with words that make these fools follow you blindly, but you will never be my leader.”

“How peculiar,” Eryx said, meeting his gaze with no intimidation. “If memory serves me well, you were sniveling like a babe before we entered the arena, and it is I who calmed you. However, go ahead and show the masses how fearless you are.”

Haden averted his eyes.

“Fight!” someone from the stands shouted just as another demanded more blood.

“What do you suppose we do?” I asked Eryx. “Staying here and doing nothing is not an option.”

The others turned to him as well, including Haden who seemed less arrogant now that he was put in his place.

Eryx surveyed the crowd with the same look of determination he’d shown earlier. “The people demand a show. Let’s give them one.”

***

We knew none of us would get out of the game unscathed. The primary purpose was bloodshed, so that’s what happened. Each of us had our backs shred by the end of it. However, the severity could have been much worse if not for Eryx.

He played by our strengths and cleverly strategized our movements. Instead of each boy for himself, running up at different times, everything was done as a team.

Haden and Melias, the more muscled of our group, had run up together and got the attention of the whip bearers. Then, Eryx, Ian, and I had done the same from the other side to distract the other two, earning lashings. With the four bearers fending us off, Quill and Theon had snuck around and stole the cheese. By the time the older boys had seen them, they’d already snatched it from the altar and were retreating toward the temple.

It continued that way for a while. When one of us was struck, the crowd cheered. Their shouts of excitement filled the arena and blended into one indistinct flourish of voices.

Once it was over, Gaius walked toward the center of the small arena, a cold smile in place as his eyes flickered to the blood-drenched altar. Our blood. He addressed the spectators once again, boasting about Spartan dominance. He mentioned Sparta’s victory in the Great Peloponnesian War, which had ended two years after my birth, where Athens had been defeated.

His words drifted off and became lost to me.

I stood beside Eryx, gritting my teeth to the pain of my back, and waited for further instruction.

Every part of me was wet with blood and my muscles were sore and exerted. But I was still standing tall. My body was painted with smears of crimson and I dripped on the earth below my feet. The other boys fared the same, apart from Theon who’d been quick enough to escape the worst of the whipping but still bled a little.

Haden looked the worst, but he appeared the most comfortable. He stared at the crowd with a smile. Not a friendly one, but more menacing. Taunting. As if he was waiting for someone to challenge him. Blood caked in his light-brown hair from where a whip had caught him in the head during the game, and it had trickled down his forehead and dried beside his left eye.

After his prideful and arrogant speech, Gaius told us to leave.

We walked out of the arena and toward the city. Gaius’ voice boomed again from behind us as he announced the next group of youths who’d be participating, as well as swapping the whip bearers.

With the promise of more blood, the crowd cheered.

A woman met us along the way. The length of her short, dark hair signaled that she was newlywed. Maidens wore their hair long, but when they married, their hair was shaved to the scalp on their wedding night as was tradition.

“Follow me,” she said before heading down the dirt path. “You need to wash before the feast.”

As reward for our sacrifice, the members of our herd would be allowed to attend a celebration feast. It would encompass song and dance as well as food and drink.