Chapter Eleven
Apollo watches Luna strap on the belt and put the small box in her satchel, "What's Tong Fa?" He asks and Luna shrugs, "Something Seth taught me. It's a combination of different martial arts that utilize a special type of weapon. He calls it Tong Fa." Then Luna suddenly snatches the nightstick from its holster, twisting and twirling it, until it becomes a blur too fast for Apollo to keep up with. She continues her demonstration by twisting the short handle and releasing a slim blade from the longer shaft. She swipes the blade through the air, creating rushing rips of wind that whip past Apollo with surprising force. She shifts the weapon swiftly in her hand and again, swipes through the air sending another airy barrage tearing through space. Finally, in a blustery burst, the blade disappears and Luna quickly returns the weapon to her belt.
"Whoa!" Apollo quips, "Remind me not to make you mad!" Luna laughs, "Yea that's definitely something you should keep in mind, Hell hath no fury right?" Apollo looks at her puzzled, "What?" and Luna just rolls her eyes, giving a playful shove, "Never mind." She continues snickering even as she climbs on the motorcycle.
"Hello? Earth to Apollo. Are we going or not?" Her voice brings Apollo back to attention. His was too preoccupied with thoughts of how amazing she seems to him and how the more he learns, the more intimidated he becomes. Shaking out of it, he finally clambers on the bike and his hands tremble as he finds her bare skin once again.
Apollo and Luna are soon racing down the beach. They take a turn just before the row of houses that mark the outer boundary of Corsair Territory. They continue across the land until the sand gives way to barren rock. After a while, Apollo can make out the walls of Alcazar on the horizon and yells out, "Make a right over here! It's right next to those rocks!" Luna turns the motorcycle towards the large boulders and heads toward the alcove.
~
Grace is still sobbing as she and Furious walk down the damp tunnel toward the outside world. "Well you guys managed to wipe out Oriah's whole family. Mission accomplished, huh?" Her sarcastic tone makes Furious wonder why he ever agreed to help her, "It is what it is, at some point you're going to have to decide for yourself how badly you want to survive." He stops and looks at her, "The only thing left in this war is the Corsair, so really, what choice do you have?"
She tries to slap him again, but like before Furious catches her wrist. This time though, she sends her other arm flying and he blocks it too, "It's either join us, die, or become a slave. You should really consider yourself lucky, I'm giving you a choice." Grace screams in his face, "I hate you! All of you!." Then Furious' replies and his voice takes on a more commanding tone, "Look, you will come with me, either as my prisoner or my ally, it's your choice"
Silence sets in as he awaits her answer. She responds by taking his hand, quietly weighing in her heart what she should do. Memories of her parents and home permeate through her mind, reminding her who she was and it feels like she is selling her soul.
But reluctantly, she follows him into the alcove. Furious gazes around at the tall slabs of stone, "We need transportation, Alcazarian farms have trucks, right?" Grace instantly imagines Furious rummaging through someone's house, maybe her own, stealing someone's truck and her pride won't let her concede that much to him yet, "No! You and your idiot cousin destroyed them all!" Furious sighs, "Look, I didn't mean anything by it, but we can't just very well walk can we? It's over twenty kilometers."
They both go silent again but then a familiar rumble thunders around them. Grace is the first to spot the source as it gradually comes into focus. Her heartbeat explodes when she realizes what she's looking at.
"Apollo!" The boy snaps to attention when he hears his name, almost jumping from the bike. He urges Luna, "Stop! Stop here!" He leaps off and runs into Grace's waiting arms. His heart races as he buries his face into her hair, longing for her sweet strawberry scent. As Apollo takes in the incredible feeling, he notices she isn't holding onto him as tight. That's when he hears Luna's voice behind him, "Good to see you found your sister."
Grace jerks away, "I'm not his sister!" Her voice has a dry quality to it and Apollo can feel the tension as Grace glowers, "Now I see what took you so long. Solomon's dead, you know!" She regretted the words the moment they left her lips, but it still doesn't help calm her anger. Apollo immediately lunges at Furious, "What do you mean he's dead! Was it you! Did you do it!" Grace pulls back at Apollo, "No it wasn't him, Apollo! It was Brutalius!" Furious chimes in, "And speaking of Brutalius, he'll be coming through here any minute."
"Good let him come." Apollo scoffs as tears flow down his cheeks, "I'm ready to end this." Luna quickly grabs his shoulders, shaking him in an attempt to snap him out of it, "No! We have to get to the library! Oriah's..." Furious interrupts her, "Oriah's dead as well." Apollo stares at him for a split-second before charging again, this time putting his hand around Furious' throat. They struggle with one another before Furious finally forces the boy off, "Look Bro! We don't have time for this! Brutalius will be here any minute and then we're all dead!" Apollo shoves him back, "I'm not your bro!" Furious chuckles, "Yeah, whatever man."
Luna then speaks out, trying to form a plan and points at Furious, "You, take the bike. When those idiots come out of this tunnel you lead them back to Corsair, okay? Apollo and I will find another way into the Acropolis." Immediately Apollo gestures at Grace, "Good, she's coming with us." But Grace shakes her head putting her eyes on Furious, "No, I'm going with him."
Apollo tries to argue with her but Grace doesn't listen. The pain of losing her family, Solomon, and now Apollo helps her finally make her choice, "No, you've been gone longer than you think." She stands beside Furious now who just shrugs, "Her choice, man. Don't worry though, I'll take good care of her."
Apollo starts to charge Furious again but the look on Grace's face stops him in his tracks. He just watches now, in silence, as Grace climbs on the motorcycle with the man. Furious looks towards Luna, "It might be best if you go through the break in the wall, it's up that way a couple hundred meters. I'll tell Seth you made it here safely."
Luna follows Apollo as they walk along the wall but neither say a word. Apollo finally looks back at her and he's surprised by the expression on her face. If he didn't know any better he would think she was sad. "What's wrong?" Luna waits a few minutes before she answers, "I'm sorry about your girlfriend."
Not sure what to say, Apollo turns and looks straight ahead. "I know Grace means a lot to you." Luna's words make him stop dead in his tracks. He turns around to face her, "What do you know about what she means to me, and how do you even know her name?" Luna is stunned at first, but then sorrow washes back over her face, "Let's just get to ARIES, okay?"
Apollo doesn't move. There's enough uncertainty in his heart now to almost make him run after that motorcycle. Memories of the mind games in the Chamber reverberate in his head and that familiar phrase echos in his thoughts, Acropolis Resident Integrated Eugenic Supercomputer. He knows ARIES is in walking distance now and he decides he'll be better off on his own. Just as he's about to tell her, Luna grabs his hand, "Please, just let us get to the library before you decide anything, okay? You swore to me, remember?"
Apollo stares at her conflicted now. Thoughts of Solomon's death and Grace's betrayal loom heavily in his heart as he gazes into her pale eyes. She's so mysterious and beautiful to him, he knows she's not that girl from the Chamber. She's the only friend he has left in the world. Then Luna smiles and instantly radiates him, conjuring his courage and restoring resolve, not only to win back Alcazar, but to face his uncertain future.
Luna takes his hand and Apollo responds by pulling her to him, hugging her even tighter. Her breath tickles his neck now as her voice reaches to his ear. She pledges to him in a whisper, "I'll never betray you, I swear it.”