Amazonomachy

For three days she had been tracking her. She knew the Athenian messenger would eventually cross that bridge. She slipped beneath it, into the shadows, and waited.

At noon, the sound of hooves rang against the paving stones. She sprang out. The spear struck the horse in the flank, and the animal plunged down the ravine with a dull crash. The envoy hit the ground badly, rolled across the earth, dropped her shield, and lost her spear. She tried to get up, dazed, but the Amazon was already on top of her.

The first stab was meant to immobilize her. The second, to make her stop struggling. The third, just in case.

Now she held her by the hair. The pool of blood spread among the stones. Along the bed of that miserable stream, more blood than water now flowed. The heat blurred her vision. Or perhaps it was the loss of blood. It no longer mattered. She had failed.

The Amazon raised the knife, and the sun glinted off its blade. Far beyond, following that dry channel, the temples of Athens shimmered in the distance, tiny and wavering beneath the hot air that made them seem to dance. Too far away for anyone to hear her cry for help.