“No. Sadly, Alexander IV died at just thirteen years of age. Although, in that time he could have fathered a child but it seems unlikely. Heracles lived in relative obscurity. Very few people even knew that he existed.”
“So, even if you could prove your lineage there is no throne, no crown, no palace waiting for you. There would be no reason to stop you from proving the lineage. No one would care,” said Eric. “I mean, they would care. It would be great national pride to prove that his legacy lives on.”
“Yes, I suppose it would,” said Nicolai. The room was quiet for a moment and he turned to leave, then smiled at the men. “I spent time with your fathers, and father-in-law, yesterday. Trak. He’s a very unusual man. Almost, mysterious I would say.”
“You have no idea,” grinned Eric.
“The animals were interesting and learning about your fathers and their experiences was enlightening. Once again, I can’t thank you enough for bringing me here, keeping me safe and helping my people. I will owe you a great debt that I doubt I can ever repay. Thank you.”
“Our pleasure, Nicolai,” said Cam. Eric and Luke nodded as he left and Hex returned.
“They’re on their way and I think we need to go as well,” said Hex.
“What’s the hurry?” asked Luke.
“Comms just informed me that the Turks and Syrians are encouraging Greece to become military allies. Or else.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ian, Bodhi, Devin, and Frank sat on the floor of the small attic space, enjoying the breezes blowing through. Marguerite sat in a chair across from them, two men beside her.
“This is Nico and Leonidas.”
“Like the famous leader of the three-hundred,” smiled Ian.
“Yes,” he nodded. “Only more handsome.”
The men all chuckled. Leonidas was as round as he was high and his balding head glistened in the light of the attic.
“These men are helping us,” said Marguerite. “They are helping Nicolai.”
“He is alive?” whispered Leonidas.
“He is very much alive. He was able to escape on a small fishing boat and then to a cargo vessel that took him to New Orleans. A friend found him, homeless and hungry on the streets.”
“He is alive,” said Nico folding his hands in prayer, nodding his head.
“We have to find out what those men are doing on your island. But we can’t do it alone. It’s too risky for you to help so we’ve called some friends of ours in to add strength and numbers. They’ll need a place to lay their heads. Marguerite has been a most gracious hostess but we’re large men.”
“We both have cellars where we store the olive harvest,” said Nico. “I can put three or four men your size down there.”
“Alright. We’ll put three men with you and two with Leonidas. Do not tell anyone that we are here. It will be risking your life and certainly ours,” said Bodhi.
“What are you going to do? Whatcanyou do?” asked Nico. “There are so many of them and they’ve already dug into the center of the island.”
“I know you won’t like this but at some point we need to get you all off this island. It’s too dangerous and as long as you are here, they hold leverage. Innocent lives are at stake.”
“It will be very hard to convince people to leave their homes. The men, they’ve told us that if we tried to leave, we would be killed and if we succeeded they would burn our homes,” said Leonidas.
“This is going to be very hard for you but we need you to trust us. Trust that we’ll do the right thing by you. Our men are specially trained and have done this sort of thing before,” said Frank.
“How many islands have you saved?” frowned Nico. The men chuckled, smiling at the two men.
“More than we care to count,” said Frank. “For now, don’t tell anyone about us. Our friends will be arriving this evening, after dark. We’ll direct them to your homes.”
“How will we know them?” asked Leonidas.
“They look like us. They’re built like us and they’re all Americans.” The two men nodded.
