Athena's Son by Jeryl Schoenbeck Read Free Book Online

side of Callimachus. Talos was a giant metal automaton created by Hephaestus. The living bronze robot, forged in the searing furnace of Mount Olympus, patrolled the island of Crete. The giant machine was given the job of driving away pirates from the shore with volleys of rocks or a fiery death-embrace.
    Archimedes clenched his owl amulet tight and gave a silent prayer to Athena. “Goddess of war, protect me.”
    The guards stirred nervously like four jackals in a cage that a lion had just entered. The jackals were looking for a way out. Ipuwer swallowed.
    “ This is Ajax.” Callimachus addressed Ipuwer. “He protects the school and any students who attend it. Archimedes is one of my students. Take your temple guards and sheaf of lies, scribe, and leave.”
    Ipuwer, ensnared between the smoldering eyes of Callimachus and the death glare of Ajax, sputtered, shuddered, and then fled. The guards followed with as much dignity as they could muster. In his hurry to leave, Ipuwer dropped his papyrus sheet. Callimachus picked it up and rolled it into a scroll without reading it.
    “ Here is your entrance scroll. It is the best we can do for now until we get your official one.” Callimachus smiled. “Welcome, young Archimedes, to the School of Alexandria.”
    Archimedes took the scroll. Moments ago it held the lies of Ipuwer. Now it represented Archimedes’ acceptance into the greatest institution in the world. He followed Callimachus and Ajax up the steps and entered as he had hoped. In triumph.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 10
     
    Something brushed across Archimedes’ face and his eyes fluttered open. For a moment he thought he was sleeping aboard the Calypso and the reeking wood ceiling was rubbing against his nose. But the unrelenting rocking was absent and in its place was the flicking tail of the small, spotted cat. Archimedes pushed the cat off his bed and sat up.
    The cat jumped back on the bed and Archimedes promptly pushed it back off. He wasn’t a cat lover. He remembered last year when his sister brought a stray cat home. It tore through the house, shredded his mother’s robe and knocked over a pitcher of wine before his mother was able to herd it out the door with a broom.
    Archimedes looked around at his room for the first time. Last night, after eating a simple meal of beans and flat bread, he was shown his bedroom and went right to sleep. The room was small and sparse, but comfortable. The ceiling was high and an open window let in the first glimpse of sun. In the corner near the door was a wooden stool.
    There was a knock on the door and a young boy walked in hugging a large pitcher. Without looking at Archimedes, he timidly said good morning and waddled over to a stone table that had a wide basin on it.
    The boy hefted the pitcher onto his chest, embracing it with both arms. He did not have the strength to pour with his arms, so he bent forward and slowly tipped the pitcher filling the bowl with water, until it overflowed. He quickly pulled the pitcher back and more water sloshed over his shoulder onto the floor. The boy was horrified and shot a look at Archimedes, expecting to get a slap across the head.
    “ Wait, wait. It’s all right.” Archimedes reassured the boy as he got out of bed. “Just get a towel and we can clean it up. It was an accident.”
    The boy still looked at Archimedes with alarm, but managed to nod and dash out for a towel. Archimedes avoided the puddle and walked over to the basin. It was filled to the brim with water. He gradually put in his two hands to wash his face, but more water spilled out onto the plate underneath. Archimedes lifted his two hands, looking at the spilled water as if it should crawl back into the bowl. He dipped both hands back in and the water rose back to the lip of the basin. He slowly lifted them out, then back in, watching the water level rise and fall with each immersion.
    The boy burst back into the room, stopped abruptly as if he expected