Wrath of the Titans

John Garavaglia

Description

Argus has been at peace for five years. Perseus has defeated the gorgon Medusa and slain the Kraken, assuming the throne. His people celebrate as he and his wife, Queen Andromeda expect their first born. But not everyone rejoices for the royal couple. The evil Calibus, once thought dead, has been released by Hades from the underworld. The Pretender has taken his bride, his position, and his favor of Zeus, and now he seeks to claim what is rightfully his own. And with news of a baby boy, he may do just that.

Sujets

• Young Adult Fiction
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Markosia Enterprises Ltd
• Date de parution: 09 décembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781913359133
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

WRATH OF THE TITANS
THE BATTLE FOR ARGOS
A novel by John Garavaglia
Based on the story by Ali Russell, Darren G. Davis and Scott Davis.

Wrath Of The Titans: The Battle For Argos © 2019 Darren G. Davis & Markosia Enterprises, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. All names, characters and events in this publication are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Published by Markosia Enterprises, PO BOX 3477, Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN5 9HN.
FIRST PRINTING, December 2019.
Harry Markos, Director.
Paperback: ISBN 978-1-913359-12-6
eBook: ISBN 978-1-913359-13-3
Book design by: Ian Sharman
Cover by: Joe Phillips
www.markosia.com
First Edition
ALSO PUBLISHED BY
MARKOSIA & WRITTEN BY
JOHN GARAVAGLIA
DORIAN GRAY
DORIAN GRAY: BENEATH THE CANVAS
SINBAD: ROGUE OF MARS
INSANE JANE
PROLOGUE
Violent eruptions shook the marshlands around the realm. But the kingdom of Phoenicia remained silent as a tomb. The markets in the heart of the city were quiet and barren from their usual vigorous activities. There weren’t any sailors around the docks, and no slaves were being brought in from Aegypt or any of Greece’s marble commodities. Phoenicia was in deep mourning for a death that had not occurred yet.
Inside the luxurious palace, Princess Andromeda emerged from the sanctified pool in which she had been given a final cleansing. It was supposed to be a day of tremendous joy, but instead she was forced to comply with the terrifying conditions of the Goddess Thetis’ vengeful threat to the city.
Andromeda was still haunted by the very sight of the angry deity. A month earlier the princess was supposed to marry Perseus—the man who had freed the kingdom from Thetis’ disfigured son Calibos’ reign of terror. Calibos was this horrific parody of a man who was promised to Andromeda since birth, but as punishment for dishonouring Zeus he was transformed into a monstrous satyr-like being with one clawed hand, a hoof, and a long slithery tail.
Calibos’ crimes were unforgivable. They were too many and too monstrous to be ignored. Thetis had spoiled and indulged him since birth. She bequeathed to him the Wells of the Moon near Phoenicia to rule. In return Calibos had turned that paradise into a wilderness. Without any remorse he hunted down and destroyed every living creature of beauty for sport and personal pleasure. He even dared to trap and kill Zeus’ scared herd of flying horses that dwelt there. Calibos left only the stallion Pegasus alive and because of him mankind will not know the beauty nor have the services of the race of flying horses.
Now he looked like what he appeared on the inside. With this penalty he fled into exile into the marshlands where he had given himself the title of lord. His arrangement to Andromeda was annulled, and throughout his alienation he grew mad with rage and jealously. Then he cursed Phoenicia for anyone who would seek the hand of the princess will meet a fiery end.
For many nights a giant vulture that carried a small golden cage visited Andromeda. The creature’s girth and size made it appear that it could swallow the cage easily. The sharp beak glowed orange in the moonlight, and it was stained with the blood of untold numbers of corpses it had been feasting on. At the back of its beak were tiny, dark red eyes and they glared something unholy.
It would shift its huge awkward, massively feet that was pointed with very sharp talons. The marble underneath the creature would slightly crumble, but the cage was firmly held strong.
Then Andromeda’s soul would rise from her mourning body. The translucent apparition was no denser than the filmy curtains that veiled her bed. When the spiritual manifestation began to walk, it was as if it had no will of its own. Like it was a mindless automaton that did as it was commanded without ever questioning its authority. The second Andromeda would enter the cage and then seat herself on the golden chair within. She remembered how tightly she gripped the armrests and then a faint look of nervousness would cross her torpid face.
She could still feel the rushing wind that filled her chambers and the sound of the curtains fluttering. The vulture would hover carefully above the cage, and its claws grasped the perch very delicately.
From there on in, Andromeda no longer feared death. It was preferable to the use of her inner self. Death would have ended those dreams and finally set her free. She knew it would be a false freedom, but it was the only kind she could look forward to.
The vulture would carry her off to see Calibos and then he would present to her a riddle for her suitors to solve. To make the task more challenging, Calibos would change the riddle every day. If a man answered correctly, he would win Andromeda’s hand. But if he should fail, he would be burned at the stake.
No one had ever given a correct answer.
Until one day a young man stepped forward. He was very handsome, but he was soaked in blood and grime. It looked like he had been involved in an awful battle. His hair was thick and curly, and was dark as the sea on a moonless night. For some reason Andromeda believed she had met this man before, but only in a dream. He introduced himself as Perseus, and claimed that he was the prince and heir to the Kingdom of Argos.
“Please,” Andromeda whimpered, “don’t make me ask you the riddle. You seem a like kindly man. I would not see you perish like all the others. I beg you, for your own safety, abandon any thoughts you may have about me.”
Perseus answered with all the confidence she lacked. “Do not fear for me, Princess. I know well the conditions. Ask your riddle.”
“I would rather—” She stopped in midsentence and sighed deeply.
“Then this is the riddle, bold stranger. In my mind’s eye I see three circles joined in priceless, graceful harmony. Two full as the moon, one hollow as a crown. Two from the sea, five fathoms down. One from the earth deep under the ground.
“The whole a mark of high renown. Tell me, what can it possibly be?”
Andromeda opened her eyes and stared with forlorn hopelessness at the handsome stranger.
“Have courage, Princess.” He tapped one cheek with a finger and appeared almost to be mocking the question. “Now, what can it be? Three circles joined, two moons and a crown?”
“ Tell me,” she pleaded.
Perseus did not turn his gaze from the princess. “The answer is…a ring. A ring formed of two joined pearls on a circle of gold!”
He threw open a flap of his cloak and held something aloft.
It was a hand—cut cleanly at the wrist and dark with dried blood.
Light flashed from the index finger.
“The ring of the Lord of the Marsh—the pearl ring of Calibos, here on the claw hand of Calibos himself.”
He threw the grisly trophy on the floor. It slid across the smooth marble to stop abruptly at the foot of the statue of Thetis.
“The ring. A present from his mother the goddess Thetis. Is that not truly the right answer to the question?”
Andromeda did not reply. Her head was in her hands and she was sobbing uncontrollably.
“Tell me, is it?” Perseus pressed her.
Finally, the princess regained control of her emotions. “Yes, yes!” She gasped over her weeping.
“We fought in the swamp,” Perseus explained to her. “Battled on his own ground. I spared his life on one condition: that he would renounce his curse, which he did. There will be no more bonfires in the city square, and no more nightmares. No more young men need to volunteer their lives.”
The citizens cheered and applauded jubilantly, knowing that the horror of Calibos has finally ended. No longer they would witness ghastly public burnings in the town square, or hear the wails and sobs of mothers grieving over their slain sons. When Perseus faced the townspeople, they began to chant his name in both appreciation and respect.
“You are freed.” He said to the people. “Phoenicia is free.” He turned back to the princess, who was staring at him with a mixture of wonder and delight. “And you are free, Andromeda. Only I am not, for I am captured by your beauty and bound by your love.” His eyes dropped.
“I know that I have won you, by the terms of the curse and by the binding your mother the queen placed upon it. But I have won only a title.” He looked into her face, and smiled awkwardly.
“I ask—not demand—that you give me a chance to win also your heart.”
She gazed into his eyes with hope. “I will gladly give that which you could take, Perseus. You have already won more than I thought I had left to give.”
Shortly later Perseus and Andromeda were both scheduled to be married. They found happiness in each other’s arms while Andromeda’s mother, Queen Cassiopeia, conducted the ceremony before the statue of Thetis. Everything was going according to plan until Cassiopeia’s pride in her daughter’s beauty angered the goddess.
The entire temple quivered as though from an earthquake. Then it was accompanied by a cry of anger and outrage that came from no human throat. Everyone turned up to see the great statue cracked and a great darkness came over the city.
Suddenly the head of Thetis tumbled from the idol’s neck. Splinters of marble spewed in all directions as the massive carving continued to bounce down to the floor of the temple. Perseus grabbed Andromeda who was frozen with fright and they tumbled away to safety.
The marble head rolled slowly to a rest, and the stone eyes flashed open. Then it was followed by an otherworldly voice tha