Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 155 of 619

By midmorning the sun cleared the cliff and the shelf grew hot. Elara came up from the cliff blind with a clay jar in both hands. She set it on the top stone by the killing lane and pulled the cork. The oil inside was pale gold and smelled like crushed root and something sweeter under it. "Seven days of strength and steady aim," she said. "You all agreed to it. Now is the time. Strip and rub it in before she comes." Ajax pulled off his fur vest and set it on the wall. He dipped two fingers in the jar and worked the oil across his chest. It warmed on his skin at once. His arms felt heavier and looser both, like a rope pulled tight and then oiled. Tucker came down from the lane first. He shrugged out of his leather vest and hung it on a peg. His two gold chains sat flat on his chest. He took a handful of oil and rubbed it up his forearms. "Do my back," Tucker said. "I'll do yours after." Asher pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the stone. His gold chain caught the sun. He stepped in behind Tucker and worked the oil across his shoulders, thumbs digging under the blades. Tucker rolled his neck and grinned. "Feels like I could throw the mule," Tucker said. Grayson came down from the south slit and set his bow across the wall. He stripped to his loincloth without a word. His silver chain hung against his chest hair. He took the jar, poured oil into his palm, and worked it into his arms in short hard strokes. Marco climbed down from the roof. He pulled his blue shirt off and folded it once. He oiled his chest and stepped over to Asher. "Turn," Marco said. Asher turned. Marco worked the oil down his back and across his shoulders. Asher closed his eyes for a breath and opened them. Chalam set his staff against the wall and opened his robe. He watched the oil sink in on his own chest and nodded once. "It's working," Chalam said. "I can feel it pulling clean. No hook in it. Elara did it right." The men stood in a line on the hot stone and felt each other's arms. Tucker squeezed Ajax's bicep and whistled low. Grayson pressed a thumb into Marco's shoulder and grunted approval. Asher lifted a full water jar one-handed and set it down easy. Bran came up from the north slit, already oiled by Elara at the blind, and lifted the spare stone block chest-high without a change in his face. "Good," Ajax said. "Bows up. Shirts stay off till she's dead." Then Marco went still. His hand dropped from Asher's arm. "She's on the road," Marco said. "Coming fast. She's not alone."