Excerpt from the sequel to Diamonds in the Sea.

I have been hard at work, researching ancient greek history and Greek mythology to bring you a small excerpt from the sequel to Diamonds in the Sea. I hope you enjoy. Here is a bit of back story, my main character are all descendants of ancient Gods, Goddess's or Greek hero's but in order to tap into their ancient power, they must each go through a trial to obtain their power. This is Max's trial. Beware there is some cursing but not too much. Enjoy, leave me a comment let me know your thoughts.

"Max I don’t want you to go. I didn’t want Basel or Bella to go either, but it’s different with you. I know you have to. I know it must be done but it still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want you to leave. What if you don’t come back?” She whispered against his ear, her lips brushing the sensitive skin of his ear. He swallowed his pride pulled back and lied to her. “Now why wouldn’t I come back? I have a princess waiting for me, I HAVE to come back.” He said with a sexy grin. She didn’t look at him, she hung her head looking at the floor. “Just make sure that you do come back. I need you. I can’t do this without you. I love you.” She said slowly lifting her head to look deep into his eyes. Max almost died in that moment. Seeing the real fear in her eyes, seeing the devastation in her face was almost his turning point. He almost told her he would stay. He almost told her he wouldn’t do the trial. But the voice in the back of his head told him he had to do the right thing and the right thing isn’t always easy. He took her in his arms and planted a mind blowing, soul searing, earth shattering kiss on her. She was left breathless and dazed when he finally let her breathe. “See ya in a bit, princess.” On that note he left Amelia stunned and dazed as he ducked into the fiery phoenix passage. Now granted Max said he didn’t need a song to get himself pumped up, he wasn’t about to tell them he had the theme song from Rocky running through his head. The eye of the tiger blaring loudly in his head. After he went a few feet down the passage it made a sharp turn to the right he followed the passage, not knowing what to expect. He tried to prepare himself, but after Basel’s encounter with Minotaur and Bella having to battle her twin and almost die in the process, he just didn’t know what to expect. He was on edge his hands sweaty and slightly shaky. He tried to tell himself that he could handle whatever it was he came across. He finally came to a point in the passage where it opened up into what appeared to be an arena. He looked up at the rows and rows of seating available in this arena. He looked down at the dust and dirt covered floor, his eyes traveled across the arena where he found two pits that had been dug inside the arena. He eyed them with suspicion before he slowly made his way closer. He was right he was ill prepared for what he saw next. To the right was a pit filled with four massive prowling lions. They were pacing back and forth and occasionally swiping at each other. He could feel the ground beneath him vibrate with each roar. He backed away from the pit hoping that the next one would fare better. He cautiously made his way to the next pit which appeared to be empty until he leaned in trying to get a closer look when it sprang to life with flames reaching for the heavens. He jerked back as the flames flew past his face. When the flamed came back down to the pit they didn’t die, they roared with need to touch something with its fiery fingers. He stared at the all-consuming fire, he watched as it tried to climb higher, it was fueled by something that kept its craving at bay….for the moment at least. He looked between the two as he backed away from both of the deadly pits. ‘What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?’ He thought to himself. He literally stumbled over his own feet falling onto his ass, when a garish voice echoed across the arena. “FINALLY WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS BRAVE ENOUGH TO TAKE ON PERSES TITAN GOD OF DESTRUCTION TRIAL. BUT IS HE WORTHY? IS HE BRAVE OR FOOLISH? WE SHALL SEE!” Max’s eyes raced along the seats and balconies looking for the source of the voice. His breathing becoming erratic, his thoughts becoming jumbled with onset of panic. He quickly got to his feet dusting himself off before he faced an opponent that had yet to reveal itself. Max gathered his courage before he spoke. “WHOSE THERE? WHO DECIDES IF I AM FOOLISH OR BRAVE? I DO BELIEVE I MAKE MY OWN DESTINY!” He yelled across the arena. “WE WILL SEE WHAT DESTINY HOLDS FOR YOU, SON OF PERSES!” With those final words the lions roared loudly and the fire in the other pit leapt into the sky. “Fucking lions and a fire that just won’t quit. His is turning out to be one swell day.” Max whispered under his breath. Max was ready to engage his opponent, when he heard a voice that made his heart go still, his blood freeze in his veins and the hairs on his head stand on end. “DADDDDDDDDY!!!!!!! DADDY PLEASE SAVE ME!” Max watched in horror as his son was lowered from the somewhere up above, left to dangle above the pit that had he lions in it. “JAKE! JAKE! HOLD STILL I WILL GET YOU. DON’T WORRY DADDY WILL GET YOU!” Max screamed out to his son. He ran as fast as he could right up to the edge of the pit, he tried to reach his son yet he dangled just out of reach. Max whirled around facing the arena. “YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO A CHILD? TO MY SON?!” He cried. He could feel a stirring in his gut, a stirring that was starting to fuel his rage and anger against the people or whoever included his son in this trial. “IT GET’S BETTER, SON OF PERSES.” The voice mocked him, taunted him. It was really enjoying the pain and suffering that he was enduring and the agony his son was going through. The sounds of his son’s cries and pleas were cutting through him like a knife, it was shredding his heart into pieces. He turned to offer his son some words of encouragement but dropped to his knees when he watched a bound and gagged Amelia lowered from the heavens to the just above the pit with the fire. She squirmed and flailed about as she was lowered. She spotted Max first, trying get past the gag she grunted and screamed to him and then she noticed Jake across from her, her eyes went wide and she started to cry and cough around her gag. She tried to use her eyes to tell Max to save Jake, but the look in Max’s eyes were complete and utter torment. Max knelt on the ground his eyes going back and forth between his son who he would die for and the woman he loved, who he would also die for. “WHO WILL YOU SAVE? WHO IS WORTHY? CHOOSE, SON OF PERSES.” The voice rang out across the arena vibrating through him. His soul was crying out with agony over having to choose one over the other. That agony quickly changed to fury, he pounded the ground as it built up inside him fueling the frenzy of emotions inside him. He heard his son squeal, he looked up and watched his son slowly lower closer to the lion’s pit. His eyes snapped to Amelia and watched as she too was lowered closer to the fire pit. She tried to use her body weight to swing herself away from the flames that were itching to wrap their blazing fingers around her. Max could feel the tears build up in his eyes as the two people he loved most suffered and he had to choose which one he loved most. He had to choose which one lived and which one died. Max remembered that Amelia had the Fleece it should protect her. His eyes stared looking over her arms, looking for the Fleece but it wasn’t there. His heart broke when he heard the lions go into a frenzy trying to reach his son. His son’s screams echoing through the arena resonating in his heart. His body felt hot, his soul felt like it was tearing in two. His heart crumbling on the inside. Yet his blood was boiling with the rage and fury of warrior. He could feel the ancient blood in him flowing through his veins, just waiting for that moment to come to life. If he could just tap into his divine right he could save them both. He thought about his path, he choose the phoenix, a symbol of rebirth and renewal. He thought about the Titan God of Destruction. “TICK TOCK, SON OF PERSES. WHO WILL IT BE?” The voice beckoned him. Max let out a cry that could only be described as torment, rage, fury, agony and a battle cry rolled into one. He watched as the lion’s jumped upon one another, each of them greedy to get their paws on Jake. Jakes screams struck terror in his heart as the lion’s paws inched closer and closer to him. Amelia screamed around her gag as the heat from the flames seared her skin, the flames hadn’t even touched her skin and she was pulling her legs up higher and higher with each inch she was lowered. For some reason Max’s mind kept coming back to the phoenix. Images of it being destroyed, melting into ash and being reborn better than it was before. While he debated over the images and what they meant he saw one of the lions leap at his son taking his shoe with him. Jake screamed out for his father, the fear so evident in his shrieks. Amelia screamed around her gag. Max’s eyes went to her and watched helplessly as she used her other foot to put out the ambers from the fire that had licked her pants. Each of them fighting to stay alive, each of them not wanting to die. If he didn’t do something they were both going to die, if he choose one to save then the other still died. His heart was being tormented beyond what he thought he could feel. He could feel the hate for his opponent swirling inside him, he could feel it crawling under his skin. It touched every cell, it caressed each pore, filling him with a vengeance that was consuming him little by little. His skin felt tight like it was being stretched too thin but the building emotions inside him. His heart was beating furiously. Perspiration dripping down his face, his clothes sticking to his body as he was filled with emotions and an energy he had never felt before. His body was filling to the max and each second that ticked by was another second that Jake and Amelia lost. His hands started shake he looked down at his hands and say tiny fissure of black cracks start to spread across his palms. He turned his hands over observing the cracks spread across the tops of his hands traveling up his arms. Beneath the black cracks he spotted what appeared to be a black and deep purple light start to burn brightly. He looked at the cracks as they traveled up to his bicep and watched in astonishment as his skin started to flake away. It rose from his skin floating effortlessly away. It looked very much like ash. ‘It looks like…..ash. I’m turning to ash? Ash…like the PHOENIX! I AM THE PHOENIX!” He jumped to his feet he yelled out to his son and Amelia as he dashed to the fiery pit. “I LOVE YOU BOTH! MORE THAN YOU KNOW. SO MUCH SO THAT I AM WILLING TO DIE FOR YOU!” Suddenly the voice that had mocked him and put his loved ones in danger boomed across the arena. “WAIT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE!” Max watched his son kick his legs higher away from the lions, he watched Amelia scream as the flames caught her pants on fire. He ran as fast as his body would carry him. “I AM! I CHOOSE MYSELF!” He screamed as he launched himself into the fiery pit. The last thing he heard were the screams of his child begging him to stay and Amelia screaming grunts around her gag, before he was swallowed by the flames. Max could feel the heat from the flamed before they even licked his skin. He landed at the bottom of the pit, the fire tearing into his crack skin. He screamed out in misery as the flames melted his flesh from his body, he looked down and saw that as his skin melted away more of the black and deep purple light shone brightly. The flames hissed when they touched the light. He dropped his head back and let out a roar that vibrated the walls of the arena. There was an explosion of black and purple light around him surrounding him, encompassing him with an ancient energy that woven itself into his soul. Max collapsed to the ground in a heap of gray ash, fissures covered his entire body. He felt weak and could feel his heart slowing, his eyes becoming heavy. He was dying and he knew it. ‘This better work.’ He prayed. “I….love you….both so much. Let my death…..” He cough out a plume of ash. He curled up into a ball in the middle of the pit. “Let me death give you life.” He said with is last breath. His heart stopped, his organs failed within moments. His body crumbled away to nothing but a pile of ash. He was gone, he saved the people that he loved more than anything. His sacrifice would prove to do more than either of them would ever know. Max’s ashes lay still in a pile in the middle of the fire pit until there was small purple flame that erupted from the middle of the pile of ashes. The flame shot higher and spread out over the ashes. The black and purple light was like liquid it ate up every piece of ash that was left behind by Max. The light started to grow bigger, burn brighter and grow hotter. The light started to form into a large ball of black and purple light, I took up the entire pit leaving nothing behind. It pulsed with energy, crackles of white lightning racing along the surface. It pulsed with an energy that many hadn’t seen in ages. It pushed at the walls of the pit until the walls couldn’t contain it anymore and they exploded outwards in a violent eruption of power and strength. Once the dust had settled and the smoke had vanished there standing in what used to be a pit was the silhouette of a man. Actually it wasn’t a man it was more than a man. There standing renewed and reborn was Max, but he was so much more than what he was before. He stood shirtless in the midst of the fallen pit. The fissures gone and replaced with intricate black tattoo’s that covered his arms and back. Most would mistake them for tribal tattoos but they were so much older and more ancient than that. He was rippled with muscles that he had before but they were more pronounced now. His head bowed his breathing harsh and demanding, his body glistening with the power of a Titan coursing through it. He lifted his head and beneath his lashes were the eyes of a man with the power of a Titan behind them, swirling with the same black and purple light that had consumed him and renewed him. He looked above him and Amelia was gone, he looked to his left and Jae was gone. He balled his hands into fist that were ready to dish out some punishment until he heard the same harsh voice from earlier. “WELL DONE, SON OF PERSES. YOU ARE A TRUE WARRIOR. A TRUE GOD! GO AND FUFILL YOUR DESTINY!”

Aaaaand scene! Be prepared for an epic battle!