Page 21 of Eryx

“Youare the sun,” Axios spoke with a smile gleaming in his eyes. “It’s as if the sun kissed you upon your birth, turning your hair golden. You shine in a sea of dark.”

“It’s time,” Gaius said, stepping toward us. He leveled an icy glare at me before smirking. “Follow me to the arena.”

***

The festival attracted people from all over Greece. When Lycurgus first proposed the festival, it had been a smaller affair; a day to appease Artemis and to test the youths in theagoge. An initiation of the boys. However, as word spread of the Spartan youths who made not a sound as their skin was slashed open, curiosity caused sightseers to swarm to Sparta. They traveled great distances to witness the legendary Spartan toughness. It had become a huge spectacle. A sport for entertainment.

From outside the building where we stood waiting, the crowd roared with delight. They clapped and stomped their feet.

Axios shook at my side. I moved closer to him, but not even I could comfort him. He jolted when Felix’s deep voice boomed in the arena.

Felix spoke of the sacrifice we were about to make and the courage it took to make it. He spoke of glory and home. The crowd cheered after his speech. They wanted entertainment and yelled for the whipping to begin.

Though the outside exploded with noise, those of us inside the building remained silent. The anticipation had caused the boys to become anxious.

“I feel ill,” Theon admitted, his body shaking as he stared at the door we were about to walk through. The day was hot, causing his black hair to glisten and his skin to gleam with sweat. “Is this what it will be like going to war?”

“No,” I answered. “War will be worse.”

I stared at the door, waiting for either Gaius or Felix to walk through, but I caught Axios staring at me from the corner of my eye. I wondered what he saw when he gazed at me. Did he see confidence? Excitement? Or did he see nothing at all?

Quill stepped backward. He was the smallest boy in our herd and mostly kept to himself. “I cannot do this.” He jumped backward when a boy called Haden reached for him. “Release me! I… I…”

More roars came from the arena, cutting off his ramblings. The crowd was growing impatient. Some yelled for blood. It was all a game to them, and we were the pawns. I didn’t feel like a pawn, though. I felt empowered. Ready.

The other boys didn’t share my enthusiasm.

As Quill vigorously shook his head, he pissed himself. The stench of urine filled the small space. Seeing his cowardice, several of the others began to express concern as well.

“We cannot do this,” one said, his voice cracking on the last word as his panic soared.

“Is there a way out?” another asked.

“Oh, gods. We’ll be bled out like pigs.”

“Quiet,” I demanded. The panicked mumblings stopped, and all eyes focused on me. “I know you are afraid. They will have whips and objects to beat us whereas we have only our bare hands. But you are forgetting that we also have our minds. Our intellect.” I looked at each of their faces. “And we outnumber them.”

I hoped my words eased their worries, if only a little. Haden gave me a quick nod, and Theon stopped shaking. Quill still looked terrified out of his wits, but the other boys had calmed.

“If we are to be victorious on this day, we cannot go into this blind,” I continued before focusing on Axios. “We must stick together. Fight as one. Let them keep their lashes for we have something they do not. Unity.”

Spartans were not the best because each man fought alone, seeking glory for himself. No, Spartans were the best because we fought as one blade. One unit. A wall of muscle and aggression that couldn’t be breached by any enemy.

“Some of us will be struck and our blood will stain the altar, but you must never surrender. Never show them your pain.”

The door creaked open before Linus stepped through. Unlike Gaius who’d treated us harshly, Linus only flashed a tight smile and told us to follow him. Once outside, the sun blazed down on my skin. The day was hot, but we’d endured hotter. The thickness in the air I’d felt earlier had lightened, and I said a silent gratitude to the gods. Thick, muggy air would affect our ability to move and doge blows.

Axios and I exchanged a glance, and I knew he noticed it too.

The fates were already smiling down on us.

The sanctuary of Artemis Orthia had been built inside a temple of limestone and stood upon a bed of sand from the river. The tall statue of the goddess could be seen from outside the temple. Her emotionless eyes stared at the outdoor altar where each of us would be whipped, as if she gave her silent approval with each drop of blood spilled.

I looked at the altar and the small cubes of cheese upon it. The slab was out in the open, without anything to use for cover. I’d heard stories of the ritual before and knew that each time a boy sprung forward to grab the cheese, the whip bearers would strike him. It was a game of strategy and cleverness.

Instantly, my mind began to work, formulating the best tactic to use.

Four older boys walked into the center of the arena and surrounded the altar, snapping their whips and grinning at us. My gaze locked onto Pericles. Once again, he burst with confidence when he had the advantage in the fight: his whip against our bare flesh.