CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX

The Fast and the Ferocious, Part 1

“Get out of my way!” Sam roared.

He jumped off the Argo VII and charged the solar dragon floating between them with only his fists to challenge the horror’s sharp fangs. It was quick to snap its jaws down at Sam too, but he ducked out of its way and slid underneath its body—passing through the eight feet of space between the earth and the horror’s underside—to get to the other side of it.

The solar dragon reacted quickly, maneuvering its serpentine form in a hundred-and-eighty degree-turn that allowed monstrous jaws to snap at Sam’s unprotected flank. Luckily for Sam, backup arrived just in time. It came in the form of a thick, bronze lance coated in the green ooze he recognized as Greek fire smacking into the side of the solar dragon’s neck.

“Where in Hades—”

Sam’s words were cut short by the green-flamed explosion that rocked the solar dragon’s side. The horror roared in protest, although it didn’t look like the attack hurt it much. It was, however, distracted enough that Sam managed to get further away from its tail.

“Thank you!” Sam yelled.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the safety net had been pulled back into its compartment on the Argo VII’s roof and was replaced by a ballista that Jackboot was operating.

“I’ve got your back!” Jackboot yelled back. “Go!”

Medea’s solar dragon turned to chase after Sam, but a second bronze spear ignited the ground where he had been just a moment earlier. It created a fiery green wall of flames that stopped the horror in its tracks.

As for Sam, the heat caused by the blast from the Argo VII’s projectile singed his back while the force of its explosion propelled him forward so quickly that he was like a cannonball that fell, stumbled, and then rolled to a stop a full five yards past where Thunder lay kneeling. It was such a comical way for him to make his appearance that Medea—who was standing behind Thunder—stopped pulling at the Golden Fleece clinging to Thunder’s back because she had been preoccupied with staring dumbfoundedly at Sam’s entrance.

Microseconds ticked by while the hero and villainess eyed each other. Then, like an old western duel, both of them moved at the same time—Sam rushing to Thunder’s side while Medea yanked the fleece off her shoulders.

“No!” Thunder screamed.

The sky rumbled. A blade of light fell from the heavens and smote the ground behind her. But even a lightning bolt hurled at the speed of light wasn’t quick enough to prevent the sorceress from stealing the relic. Medea vanished in a shower of purple sparks with the Golden Fleece clutched in her hands.

“Godsdammit!” Thunder cursed.

She was right to be frustrated at losing such a powerful relic. Sam’s priority lay elsewhere though. He was more concerned for the wound he’d inflicted on her shoulder thanks to his careless throw.

“Hold still,” Sam said as he dropped to one knee and reached out for the bloody gash on Thunder’s shoulder. “This’ll only take a second.”

A flash of teal light and then Healing Hand quickly worked its magic, stitching Thunder’s wound together until only a light pink scar remained on her shoulder.

“You forgot to aim, didn’t you?” she asked.

There was no judgment in her voice. She was simply stating a fact. Still, Sam’s cheeks were red from embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he said softly.

They helped each other up. Neither one of them looking the other in the eye.

Thunder sighed. “Yeah, well, I screwed up too…”

She angrily kicked at the dirt.

“Godsdammit!” Thunder wrapped her hands over the sides of her head in embarrassment. “I can’t believe I lost the fleece!”

“We’ll get it back,” Sam said, his tone reassuring.

Her gaze found his. And, as they stared into each other eyes—with Sam feeling like he might get lost in those sky-blue orbs of her irises—a silent promise passed between them. It was a promise that they would do all they could to steal back the Golden Fleece from Medea’s clutches.

This might have evolved into a pretty sweet rom-com moment actually. If only the solar dragon’s roar hadn’t interrupted them. Chillingly, the mighty horror soared over the green flames that separated it from them almost as if to point out that not even Greek fire could keep it at bay for long. The dragon didn’t stop to mess with Sam and Thunder though. It flew past them and landed a good twenty yards away so that Medea—who’d appeared out of thin air in a shower of purple sparks, the Golden Fleece now draped over her shoulders—could climb atop its back where another rider was already waiting for her.

“Serena,” Sam whispered, his voice strained.

He watched with a furrowing brow as the dragon began to flap its wings and climb up to the sky where Sam couldn’t follow.

“Hades’ balls,” he cursed.

Thunder patted his shoulder with her hand. “We’ll get her back too.”

“Yeah…” Sam sighed. “But we’ll have to get out of this godsdamned grove alive first.”

“Then you’re going to need this.” Thunder reached down and picked up the sword that lay on the ground next to them. “I know you’re a decent healer now, but try not to stab me with this again,” she teased as she passed Gram back to Sam.

“Y-yeah…” Sam put Gram back in its sheath. “Sorry about that…”

Then he glanced left and then right, his eyes combing over the nearby ground around them.

“Get ready,” he said.

Sam rushed over to where his hammer lay. He picked Onus up just in time too. Because the Argo VII pulled to a stop next to them.

“You two ready to leave this terrible, terrible place?” Jackboot asked from his spot on the roof. “Ah, hold on. I’ve got it in my sights!”

The barrage of flares firing from the Argo VII’s ballista aimed at the retreating solar dragon caused enough of a distraction for Sam and Thunder to jump onto the roof before the horror and its riders could get too far away.

“Where did this come from?” Thunder asked in an appreciative tone.

“There’s a panel in the cockpit that brings this contraption up. Collapses back into the ceiling when we don’t need it,” Jackboot explained.

The rabbit-eared masked hero patted the ballista’s iron frame.

“Weapons systems are still down so we had to go old school. Lucky for you two, I’ve got good aim,” he added.

“Not better than me!” They could hear Farsight’s voice coming from the walkie-talkie in Jackboot’s hand.

“People who see the future don’t count… Honestly,” Jackboot replied.

Sam could see that they were already near the edge of Ares’ Grove and close to where they’d entered it. In a panic, he grabbed the walkie-talkie from Jackboot’s hand. “Ash, we need to follow that dragon…”

There was a moment of static, and then, “Sorry, but did you say you want us to chase after the angry giant monster?”

“Yes!” Both Sam and Thunder screamed into the walkie.

“Why in Hades would we do that?” Farsight asked. Then she quickly added, “Oh… Styx! I can’t believe you lost the fleece?!”

Leave it to a seer to understand how dire the situation was even without much context provided.

“Hold on to something!” Farsight ordered.

Sam, Thunder, and Jackboot all clung to the ballista while Farsight made a hard turn. They just barely managed not to slip off the roof too. There was no time to relax, however, as the dragon’s flight above the tree line made it difficult to chase after from the uneven terrain they were on.

Meanwhile, Thunder fell into Sam’s arms. She was clearly exhausted from her recent battle with Rick the Hound, but it was nothing like the kind of exhaustion she succumbed to when she’d been afflicted by the Blight.

“I’ll be okay… just need a breather,” she said.

“I know,” Sam replied.

Gone were the days when he would worry about Thunder using her powers too much to ruin her failing health. Sam had kept his promise to her. He had healed Thunder and made her whole again. Now Sam had another promise to keep. And, as his eyes took in the otherworldly sky, his gaze fixed on the golden-scaled dragon flying away from them, Sam saw the two figures atop its back, and he knew what he had to do.

“I’m coming for you,” he whispered.

A warmth, the kind he hadn’t felt since his family was whole, sprung forth from inside of him. It was a warmth filled with the hope that he would do for Pandora the 8th what he’d done for Thunder. He would save her too.

Medea’s solar dragon plunged into the fragile membrane at the edge of the grove, sending it back into the mortal world. Sam wasn’t the least bit worried that they wouldn’t catch up to it though. He was filled with hope after all.

“Ash”—Sam was grinning like a kid on a field trip because he’d always wanted to say his next words—“follow that—”

“—dragon!” Farsight cut in. “Heard you the first time!”