Read Online Hercules and the Geek of Greece by Hunter Kennedy - Free Book Online

bowl of eyeball soup before her, a flask of wine nearby.
    The queen of Castletop was finally in a good mood. Her female warriors had released their secret weapon, the dragon they’d kept locked up for the past fifty years or so. Apparently, it had solved the problem in the forest.
    Or had it?
    Her wizards had told her that no one had been spotted on the Road of Rudes for the past few hours, not since the dragon had been released. Obviously, the special warriors from Zim had been frightened away by the beast. Or worse.
    So Stuka was happy, and when Stuka was happy, the whole Amazon kingdom was very happy.
    She chewed her way through the eyeball soup, and then drained the broth. She was just wiping her mouth when one of her wizards entered the dining room and approached. He looked very nervous and fretful. He knew her good mood wasn’t going to last very much longer.
    â€œWhat is it
now
?”
she asked him with much exasperation.
    â€œMy queen,” the wizard said, “my colleagues and I have just conferred, and we’ve reached what may be a troubling conclusion.”
    Stuka’s eyes became red hot. This was not a good sign for the wizards.
    â€œAnd that is?” she hissed.
    The man was pulling on his fingers nervously.
    â€œWell,” he started, “we believe that maybe the intruders are still somewhere in the forest.”
    â€œBut you said there was no one on the road, didn’t you?” Stuka asked.
    â€œYes, my queen,” the wizard replied. “But there is some evidence that they left the road and are making their way toward us overland.”
    Stuka just stared back at him.
    â€œOverland?” she asked. “You mean, traveling in the forest itself? Not using the road?”
    The wizard nodded unsteadily.
    â€œBut, I don’t think even the bravest warriors would do that for very long,” she said. “It’s very dangerous, isn’t it?”
    â€œIt is,” the wizard answered. “Very much so.”
    Stuka stopped drinking her wine. “These special warriors are risking all that, just to get here?”
    â€œIt looks that way,” the wizard said.
    Stuka’s face dropped a mile.
The special warriors must be the best in the world,
she thought glumly.
    â€œWhat happened with the secret weapon?” she asked the nervous wizard. “He was trained to watch the road, correct?”
    â€œYes, ma’am. But you see, that’s why we suspect what we do. He returned, just a while ago.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œWell, he was quite hungry, my lady,” the wizard admitted. “Not a good sign.”
    Stuka was instantly furious. She swept her bowl and wine goblet off the table. Both smashed on the stone floor below.
    â€œI’m getting very tired of this!” she screamed.
    Then she grabbed the wizard by his cloak. Stuka was not an Amazon herself—but she was still very strong and had a mean streak a mile long. She pulled the wizard’s cloak tight to his neck and growled at him from no more than an inch away.
    â€œI want you to get together with the rest of my so-called wizards,” she spat at him. “And combine whatever powers you have left—and with them, I want you to hurt the village of Xeres! Do you understand what I mean? It’s my sister’s favorite place and I want you to do something horrible to that miserable little village—and teach my sister that she cannot get at me!”
    The wizard was startled. Even for Stuka, this was asking for a bit too much.
    â€œDo something . . . like what, my queen?” he stuttered.
    Stuka pulled the wizard even closer to her.
    â€œIt’s very simple,” she hissed again. “If you want to hurt your enemy, you find out what they consider to be their most valuable possession:
    â€œAnd then you take it from them.”

Chapter 12
Close to the Edge
    It was late afternoon when Hercules and Geekus finally reached the Great