The Twelve Labors of Nick by Amy Wolf

Author:Amy Wolf
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: books for boys, Greek myth, Greek mythology, myth, mythology, YA, coming of age, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief, Apollo, Zeus, centaur, fantasy, fun, mythic fantasty, YA fantasy, Medusa, gods, Olympian gods, Athena, Greek, high school, ancient Greece, hot guy, hunk, fantasy romance, romantic fantasy
Publisher: Lone Wolf Press Ltd.
Published: 2020-08-05T00:00:00+00:00

A Tusk for A Tooth

Leaving was hard: Nick just couldn’t feel joy at the touch of the sun on his skin or the view of vast, jagged cliffs. All he could think of was Dad: a stranger to him, really, until his appearance that morning. Nick wished they’d had more time—he could have asked him things like: What had he taught Achilles? How’d he get that Pelian spear? And why was he in charge of a herd of maniacs? Now, Nick would never know. His dad had agreed to be new Prometheus, still in a world of pain.

“See him?” Nick heard a voice. He recognized it as Helen’s. Who were they looking for again? Oh yeah, Orion.

His giant form wasn’t too hard to spot. He was jammed up against a cliff, his face as blue as the merman’s.

“Was it fun?” Nick yelled down loudly.

“Shhh,” cautioned Orion, putting a hand to his eyes. “Head . . . hurt.”

“Can’t run with the centaurs, eh?”

“I’d like to,” Orion whispered. “But I don’t have their—” He turned his head to throw up. “—stamina.”

“Ech,” said Nick, making sure his sandals were clean. “We have something to do. Or did you forget?”

“The Boar,” Orion groaned, trying to raise his huge body. He finally got up after two or three tries.

“You ready?” asked Nick.

Orion looked dazed, his eyes swimming so hard you could have put goldfish there.

“‘Course,” he said. “I never miss a hunt.”

“No matter the prey,” Nick muttered.

“Huh?”

Nick changed the subject.

“Have you seen it?” he asked.

“What?”

“The Boar.”

“No,” said Orion. “Trust me, you’d hear it. It likes to blast farmland and everything else. It is a fearsome creature.”

“But you’re not afraid?” asked Nick as the three of them walked downhill.

“Ha! I could fell it with my bare hands. Yet Artemis seems to like it.” He rolled his eyes, then winced. “Ow.”

“Great,” said Nick. “I’m supposed to kill it. Is she going to shoot me dead?”

“Nah,” said Orion. “Not if Zeus has decreed it. She must obey her father.” He frowned. “And her meddling brother.”

“Let’s not mess with the gods, okay?” Nick wanted to slay the Boar and then Exit, Stage Left. “So, where does this thing hang out?”

“In the foothills of Erymanthos.”

“Which is—?”

“Here.”

“Okay then.”

Nick gripped his sword.

“There’s the farmland,” said Helen, pointing to an abandoned field. Husks of dried-out crops lay sadly in their rows.

“The Boar,” said Orion as he bent over some tracks, “was here within the hour. And was carrying prey when it left.” He leaned back on his heels. “From the spacing of these prints, I’d say a person was taken.”

Nick jerked his head back.

“So it’s a maneater?”

“‘Course,” said Orion. “And nearly as tall as me.”

Nick swung round his shield. He needed to be prepared.

Orion, the great Hunter, motioned them downwind. He studied the field carefully, rose, and sniffed the air.

“Anything?” Nick asked.

“It will rain soon,” said Orion. “Beyond that, I don’t detect much. Besides the two little rabbits hiding behind that rock.”

Nick turned his head to look: sure enough, there were two bunnies.

“You’re good,” he said to Orion.

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