Read Fleeced for Free Online Page B

and Aries followed Athena and the other competitors to the scarlet starting ribbon that had been strung between two olive trees. Peering down through the pavilion gardens they could see the obstacles, each hung with lanterns that cast patches of light on the grass, patches that grew steadily dimmer as the course stretched away towards the flagpole at the finishing line.
    “I can’t believe it!” growled Alex, squinting through the trees towards the first obstacle, a network of ropes, its top pegged with several peculiar objects, to the long narrow pipe lying flat on the grass beyond.
    “Me neither,” said Aries, frowning. “Athena’s made it really different!”
    Alex cast his eyes up at the starry sky. “I wasn’t talking about the obstacles, you great steaming dollop!” he said. “I meant the fact you still wantto enter. Anyway, what’s different about a climbing net? Unless there’s a ram tangled up in it?” He glanced at Aries’ belly and raised his eyebrows in dismay. “Or squeezing through pipes?”
    “Has it occurred to you,” replied Aries dryly, “that despite your lack of support and help this afternoon, I might have a plan?”
    Alex sighed, wondering what sort of plan could possibly help Aries now.
    “Ladies and gentlemen and, er, rams!” Athena raised her voice as the Greek ghosts drifted out around her to take their places along the roped-off spectators’ areas. “I present the Earthbound Assault Course! The oracles have helped me create a competition full of the challenges our winner will face up on modern-day Earth.”
    Curious whispers rippled through the crowd as everyone stared at the strange assortment of obstacles.
    Which was hardly surprising. You see, the problem was that ever since the oracles’ eyesight had become too fuzzy to gaze into pots they’d taken up psychic ear trumpets instead. And at Athena’s request, they’d tuned these in through layers of rock and soil and buried dog bones to the sacred temple at Delphi. Or rather, the café built next to it where they’d used themto listen to the chatter of tourists and reported back to Athena on exactly what they’d heard.
    “I know it may look a little unusual,” said Athena. She snapped her fingers and a burly man in full armour stepped out of the crowd, jumped up onto the goddess’ owl-carved chariot, reined to a white horse, and drove it over to her and waited as she stepped up demurely behind him. “But don’t worry!” Reaching down, she unclipped a polished goat horn from the side of the chariot and held it to her lips. “Because I shall be giving you a running commentary to tell you about each obstacle as the first athlete reaches it, using this!” she said, her voice now ringing out through the trees. “Calling all competitors!”
    “This is your last chance,” hissed Alex urgently. “You have to come home!”
    “No!” snapped Aries. “Shan’t!”
    At which Aries clamped his mouth tightly shut, feeling an overwhelming combination of annoyance with Alex, and puzzlement as to how indeed he might make it even over the first obstacle, let alone finish the whole course – and finish first too.
    Whilst Alex felt a similarly overwhelming combination of annoyance with Aries, puzzlement as to why Aries remained so proudly stubborn mixed with the horrible certainty that it’d all end in disasteranyway. So he closed his mouth too, leaving them both in an uncomfortable silence, lost in their own gloomy thoughts and taking what is proverbially known as ‘the hump’ 10 .
    Casting one last tight-lipped glance at Alex, Aries took his place between Theseus, who was busily clanking through his leg stretches, and Jason, who stood basking in the breeze that rippled his hair (a breeze, I might add, filled with the sighs and murmurs of lovesick ladies amongst the spectators).
    Alex had by now, as you might imagine, had enough and stumped back around the pavilion to sit alone on its front steps, unable either to stay