by Jory Smith
“Die, son of Zeus,” the librarian screamed hurling another fireball towards him and Jessica.
Terry grabbed Jessica and moved out of the way just in the nick of time. He ran from the librarian trying to find a safe spot where he could get Jessica out of harm’s way. As soon as he had Jessica safe, he came out of hiding and looked for the librarian. She was not that hard to find. All Terry had to do was look around and follow the buildings that were on fire.
Terry finally snuck up on the librarian. What she was doing horrified him. She was yelling out his name and setting every human that crossed her path on fire. It didn’t matter if they were trying to attack her or running away. The smell of burnt flesh reached Terry’s nose causing him to vomit.
The librarian looked up and saw a school full of children. Terry recovered and ran towards the librarian, picking up speed. He couldn’t allow her to kill those children. As he was about to tackle her, she turned around and simply sidestepped his tackle; tripping him in the process.
Terry went tumbling and was about to fall into a building that was engulfed in flames when something stopped him. He looked around and saw that the librarian was confused as he was. Looking past her, he saw Jessica had followed him and she was holding out her arms. As soon as she dropped her arms, he fell hard to the ground.
The librarian turned her attention towards Jessica to toss a fireball at her, but this time Terry had the advantage. He ran towards her as fast as he can and speared her right in the back. He then picked her up from the ground and tossed her as far as he could. She landed into a wall and the building toppled on top of her.
Terry ran to Jessica to see if she was alright. When he got to her, he noticed that she was in shock. She couldn’t talk, but just kept looking straight ahead. He picked her up and looked for a direction to flee. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the librarian break free of the rubble and headed towards his way. In each of her hand was a fireball, ready to be thrown.
“I am going to make Zeus feel the pain that I feel,” she screamed. “I don’t know why, but he has shown an interest in you that he hasn’t shown in ages,”
Just as Demeter was about to throw both fireballs; a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, knocking her to the ground. They were followed by multiple bolts pinning her to the ground.
A figure began descending from the sky. As it got closer, the figure grew bigger and bigger until it suddenly crashed down into the street, causing an impact into the ground the size of a car. In the center stood Zeus; he looked the same he had before, but he was about eleven feet taller than the last time Terry saw him. He looked over to where Terry stood with Jessica still in his arms.
“So this is who you want to save?” Zeus asked, staring down at Jessica. When Terry responded with a yes, Zeus replied, “Who would have thought, the son of Zeus falling in love with a daughter of Metis?”
Zeus took Jessica up from Terry’s arms, grabbed Terry by the shoulder, and then jumped back up into the sky. As they traveled upwards Terry spoke up.
“Who the hell was that?” he screamed. “I thought the gods weren’t allowed to be on earth yet?”
“The Change has happened. The laws governing us have been purged. Besides, she was already on earth. I exiled her long ago.”
“Who is she?” Terry said trying to hold on to Zeus as they sped through the sky.
“That was Demeter, mother of Persephone. When Persephone died, Demeter tried to kill me. Instead of killing her, I just exiled her to earth, never to die, but to live as a mortal. Since the Change, she probably allied herself with Ares so that she can kill me.”
“I am guessing we are going to run into a lot of gods that want you dead.”
“When you get to the top, you never run out of enemies, especially gods. We are not the most humble creatures, if you have not noticed,” Zeus replied.
Chapter 6
Ares convened his council after the troubling news he just received. His council arrived just in time to watch the servants drag the messenger’s lifeless body away. He led his council into his war room that contained a map of earth on the floor. On that map held many figurines. The figurines varied in shape and sizes, representing both his forces and his enemies.
Ares’ eyes concentrated on three red ones. They represented the three demi-gods that were taken. How could Zeus pull off that extraction without my knowledge? Three demi-gods pulled from earth at the precise second the Change occurred. That was no coincidence.
“How did we miss this?” Ares shouted to his council.
His council took to their seats that formed a semi-circle in front of his chair. Ares sat down in his chair and asked them again. “Well, I am waiting for an answer.”
From left to right sat Apollo, Artemis, Atlanta, Dionysus, Helios, and Thantos. Looking at each other none dared to speak.
“If you five want me to succeed, you will find out what Zeus is up to.” Ares said breaking the silence.
“Well, you could just summon Demeter and ask her,” Thantos said. “Apparently she and Zeus battled a bit after she attacked one of the demi-gods. Zeus even picked that one up in person.”
“How do you know this Thantos? As I recall you were preoccupied slaughtering humans when the Change happened,” Ares responded coldly.
“I am Death. I am wherever death is. There was a lot of death that day, especially from Demeter. Zeus must have really pissed her off,” Thantos said chuckling.
“Apollo and Dionysus, you will go down and bring her to me. Thantos, you will go and tell your father that I want to talk with him. I want a status update on the project he is working on. Tell him that I love how he brought the Kraken back, I hope he has more tricks like that up his sleeve.” Ares stared down the remaining council members. “Now the rest of you, let’s talk strategy.”
Moving back to the map he motioned them to follow. Pointing at his forces position on the map he continued. “We are moving slower with my conquest than I want. Tell me why Atlanta is the only one on the correct side of the line. I want the land mass the humans call Africa under my full control.”
After collecting the demi-gods and seeing them settled Zeus convened a meeting of his advisors. Though not as powerful as Ares’ advisors, Zeus had to use the resources at his disposal. Still waiting for Hermes, Zeus sat on his throne sipping from a cup and staring off in space. Both Athena and Aphrodite sat uncomfortable not daring to intrude on his thoughts. Very few gods would dare interrupt Zeus when he was in this state. Most of them were long gone. The door to his chamber suddenly flew open as Hermes flew in.
“Zeus, the other gods are falling into position. They are furious they can’t join in the battle. Some have even gone to Ares.” Hermes gathered himself a drink and sat down in his chair. “I don’t know anything about military strategy, but we should move fast, before we lose anymore gods to Ares.”
“You can tell the rest of the gods we will move when it is time,” Zeus spoke harshly to Hermes. “The reason they are not to fight is the same reason as it always has been. Because I command it.” Zeus gulped the rest of his wine before adding. “What is Ares doing now? What do our scouts say is happening on earth?”
“Well, he is doing what he has always done,” Hermes said lounging in his chair. He was one of the few gods who could get away talking to Zeus like that, since he had saved him from the monster Typhon. “He is putting the ones who support him in charge, and he is either enslaving or feeding his enemies to his monsters.”
“The weird thing is, he is not acting the same way he normally does,” Aphrodite said. “He would usually be savoring the bloodshed, but he is not,”
“Regardless,” Hermes continued. “He is spreading like a plague. He has started his assault on two fronts. The lands named Africa and Asia. He hasn’t hit the main land—Greece— or the Americas yet, but he will get there soon. The most intriguing aspect of all of this though is how fast he is conquering. He is using one of man’s religions to gain more followers and pra
yers. He is growing stronger by the second,”
“What do you think about all of this, Athena?” Zeus said.
“It is strange,” Athena commented. “Your brother knows warfare, but he isn’t the most intelligent among us. To do something like this is beyond him. I wonder where he got the idea from,” Athena answered. She turned to Hermes. “What religion is he using anyways?”
“He is using the one called Islam. He is claiming to be some kind of prophet or god or whatever they believe in. He is there to lead them to world domination,” Hermes said not fully understanding the importance of what he was saying.
Zeus looked at Hermes with a sense of pity before turning to Athena. “Athena, you are wrong. Ares is not the stupidest among us. Hermes has taken that claim.”
Zeus then looked calmly back to Hermes and spoke to him like a child. “You know that as you receive prayers from the humans, you can get stronger, right Hermes?” Zeus waited for Hermes to nod yes. “Islam is one of the largest religions on earth. If Ares has directed their prayers to him, that is 1.3 billion humans praying to Ares. They are some of the most devout religious people on earth,”
Hermes eyes finally lit up as he understood the complication of the matter. Until now, he didn’t know understand the severity of Ares’ plan. “How did that come to his mind?”
“That is what we are trying to figure out Hermes,” Aphrodite said patting him on the cheek before turning back to Zeus. “Who is helping him with this battle plan? Could it be Hades?”
“I don’t think so,” Zeus said. “He is not going to do all this work to not be the king. If I know him, he has a plan that will hurt Ares. He wouldn’t want Ares to grow more powerful than him. Has there been anything else that is strange about Ares’ actions?”
“Well, it is strange that he is actually allowing his enemies the chance to surrender. Usually he just sets up one government and destroys all the rest.” Aphrodite mentioned.
“Ares is using more diplomacy than he has in the past,” Athena said. “Usually he just destroys a kingdom if they show any signs of resistance. His first wave has only met pockets of resistant in Africa. In Asia he has had some resistance, but one country has joined forces with him and now it’s just a matter of time before that whole area is going to fall.”
“There is some hope though,” Hermes said. “Even though the weapons the humans have are pitiful, they still can kill some of his forces, the ones who aren’t immortal. It just takes them a bit longer.”
Zeus sat listening to the other gods continued to deliver their information. When he realized they were done talking, he spoke up.
“We need to start concentrating on our plan. From what you have told me, Ares still doesn’t know what we are doing. If he did he wouldn’t be wasting his time slaughtering humans. First we need to get the demi-gods trained. At the same time we need to have the gods still loyal to me in stowed in a safe position. We can’t put any more gods in harm’s way. Ares is willing to kill any god who gets in his way. Being one of the original born from a Titan he has the power to do it. Finally we need to find out what happened with Artemis. I sent her to see if she could spy on what Ares was doing. I have not heard back from her.”
“Why is it bad that gods die?” Athena asked. “We can breed more when this pointless war has ended. I am sure Aphrodite would love to partake in that.”
“You don’t understand, Athena,” Zeus said annoyingly. “Our life force is holding a prison together that binds a force so horrible, it will destroy everything in its path, including earth. If earth goes, every plane that has been created to house us will be destroyed. Then we would have no place to hide and we will be slaughtered by the force that has already destroyed everything. This almost happened when the Titans died. You remember when we killed the Titans during the second Titan war. This time it would be more horrific.”
Athena nodded as she remembered those dreaded days.
A few seconds of silence passed and finally Zeus asked, “What do you think? Would the humans be able to perform their task?”
“I think they will,” Hermes said. “They just have to be trained. What do you think Aphrodite? Athena? You have been around them more than I.”
“Well, based from the time I have spent with Nicholaus, I know he can get the job done. He will have to learn to control his powers though. When I picked him up, the strength of his power was amazing. I had to concentrate in order to fight off his power that he uses to kill. I would say he is even more powerful than Hades.” Aphrodite shivered as she remembered the raw power emitting from Nicolai. “When I saw him kill that human, with little thought about life, it sent a shiver down my back.”
Zeus’ eyes lit up in amazement as soon as Aphrodite stated her opinion. Now that was a shocking statement Zeus thought, Aphrodite actually afraid of a man. “How about you Athena? What did you think of our dear general?”
“First of all, he is cocky. But I believe he can learn his powers the quickest. After observing me only once, he figured out how to talk telepathically. He saw me do it with my men when I went to gather him and his army. You better be careful when you use your lightning bolts. He may learn how to use them.”
“That is good news. As for my son he is a quick learner,” Zeus said. “He picked up his speed fast, but he will need training to control his powers. He seems to not be able to control his powers very well. But he is young. The only concern I have is his lack of experience. He may have the family rage inside him.” Zeus refilled his cup and continued. “The reasons I believe these three men are our only hope is that they think differently than us. Ares will be able to out maneuver whatever we throw at him, but he will have trouble figuring to outwit a human, especially demi-gods. He always had trouble with Heracles.
“So this is what you are going to do. Hermes you will work with Nicholaus. Athena you will work with Assaraeus. I will work with Tereus. I have placed them in Athena’s valley so we can use her training compound. I also sent servants to look after them while our healers will look over the woman. She strained herself when she unleashed all of her powers at once.”
Zeus then looked at Aphrodite, “I want you to do something special for me. I need you to find out what happened with Artemis. If possible go and find everything you can about Ares’ plan. Before you go Athena, there is something I wish to discuss in private.”
The rest of the gods got up and went to carry out their orders.
Zeus waited until they all left and then put up a protection barrier so no one could eavesdrop on them. “Athena you know of the prophecy that caused me to kill your mother right.”
Athena nodded. “Yes I do. She was supposed to produce a daughter who would then be followed by a son who will overthrow you like you did your father. But instead you ate her. What you didn’t know was she was already pregnant. While she was inside you, she gave birth to me and I was freed when Hephaestus opened up your head. Why after all these years do you bring this up? You know it’s hard for me to hear this.”
“The reason I brought this up is that the woman that Tereus brought is your sister. She is not one of my daughters. That only leaves one thing…”
“That my mother is still out there,” Athena said with a sense of hope in her voice. “If this is the case, we have to question this woman. If she can lead me back to my mother…,”
Zeus cut Athena off, “Yes that would be a great thing. Your mother was the one that I loved most out of all of my wives and consorts. The problem is we still have the prophecy to consider. I need you to get close to this woman. If she is the one to fulfill the prophecy, and Metis is still alive, you know what we have to do. Once the prophecy has been diminished, maybe your mother will come back to us.”
“I will do what you have asked. Don’t worry; if she is supposed to be the one that destroys you I will stop her. This I swear,” Athena stood up and hugged Zeus and exited the room.
Zeus sat studying Athena as she walked out.
When will it ever
end? That human saying is correct. ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown.’ With a daughter of Metis showing up, the whole game has changed. I need to go and see the Graeae. Maybe they can bring some clarity to this new piece on the board.
Chapter 7
Terry stood looking over Jessica as she laid asleep on the bed. The cabin they were in was full of beds and dressers. It looked more like a barracks room than anything else. The healers were sitting around a table, playing dice when he first walked in.
The healers were strange looking creatures. He was shocked when he first saw them. They were pale as white, and had a snakes head. They had four upper limbs and four lower limbs. Their skin was leathery and they had fangs coming out of their mouths.
What am I going to tell her? They were abruptly uprooted from their lives in an atrocious way. Even prepared, Terry was troubled with what he saw. Not even war had prepared him for the heinous acts Demeter committed. Terry was afraid for Jessica. Hopefully she won’t remember all that happened.
Terry held her hand as she slept peacefully. At least she can’t claim I’m crazy. He wished there was a better way to have proved to her that he wasn’t crazy than having a half-crazed god trying to kill them. But of all that had happened to them, the biggest shocker for Terry was learning that Jessica was a demi-god.
“Don’t worry, she will be fine,” Zeus’ voice said behind him. “We are going to start your training so this won’t happen again.”
“What’s wrong with her? If she is a demi-god, why hasn’t she recovered?” Terry asked concerned.
“She has just exhausted her body. Don’t forget, you are still human. Your bodies need to rest.”
Zeus stepped closer and put his hand on Terry’s shoulder. “Come with me. The healers will look after her,”
As Zeus and Terry started to walk out, Zeus turned his head to see one of his servants removed some hair from her head. Now he will just have to find time to get away.