Titans of Chaos

I nodded. I was not going to quibble with touchy gods over titles. "But surely, Your ImperialMajesty, you have a similar choice. You must weigh the dangers, how likely they are, how severethey are, of your several possible courses of action. If you do not help us, Mavors drives us to theisland, where we may die, precipitating a war the Olympians cannot afford to fight right now. Orif we do not die, and Mavors is successful, he is covered with glory, not you, and some who wavernow might cleave to him-am I guessing wrong here?-when the real fight starts over the throne. IfMavors saves us, we might have to keep helping him, simply because he is trying to kill someonewho is trying to kill us, isn't he? The question is whether there is any advantage for you, in thiscourse."

Archer's eye twinkled, and he smiled a charming, charming smile. "No, milady, the question iswhat you are offering me..."

"If I'm really a princess, isn't that 'Your Highness' also, Your Imperial Majesty?"

He nodded gracefully. "Your Highness. The question is, if I help Your Highness, what's in it forme? Royalty is not so different from piracy. We both have some reason to cooperate on a venture,and we must agree on the division of loot."

Radioactive sharks with charming smiles.

Think, Amelia, think. You read all those books. What would Odysseus do? Dress up like a beggar,and then shoot everyone. No help there. What would Achilles do? Go sulk in his tent. Nope.

Aeneas? Sacrifice a cow or something.

Boy, these old heroes are really not useful as role models. Who were my other heroes? MargaretThatcher? Attack Argentina. No time to go wobbly.

Good advice, I guess. And what would Headmaster Boggin do? He was no hero of mine, and yethe was a master of intrigue...

... one who apparently kept his promises and followed orders even when his master was dead. Andif I had actually volunteered for this mission, what promises had I made to my mother and fatherback home? Why was I here? What were my orders?

No matter what I had sworn back home, my duty now was to escape. Every prisoner's duty wasescape. It is what we all swore back when we were children. Freedom was the goal. A freedom wecould keep.

The deep pit suddenly did not look so deep. And sharks can be handled if you keep your wits aboutyou.