A fourth figure entered the area illuminated by the firelight, and Heliodas saw the handsome visage of dark-haired Athena. She appeared not as a statue, but as a woman. “I did as you asked,” he said. “I retrieved the sword. Now live up to your end of the bargain. Remove her curse.”
“It is done,” she said. “No longer will you turn the men you bed to stone. Nor will you transform into the hideous form of the Medusa again. You are free of the curse.”
Thermiandra wiped back a tear, and Heliodas could see a hint of a smile through the pain.
“One additional favor,” Heliodas said.
“You wish your friend returned to life,” Athena said.
“I do,” said Heliodas.
Athena placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “If only that were within my power. Only Hades holds the power over life and death, and the souls of the dead have only ever gone in one direction.”
“So there are limits to what the gods can do?” Heliodas asked.
“There are many limits,” Athena said. “Most of them are too great for mortal minds to comprehend, but they do exist.”
“Can you at least destroy the Titan?” Heliodas asked.
“That is another thing we cannot do. It is subdued, and the one you faced in Mycenae will be held immobile beneath the stone for some time, but it is not dead, nor will it remain injured for long. I will ensure that it returns to its slumber shortly. Right now, I am… enjoying… its pain.”
“Thank you,” Heliodas said.
“The three of you have a destiny before you that you do not yet comprehend,” said Athena. “I had to set you out on the path so you could find your way forward. But understand that your success is far from assured.”
“We’ll face it together,” said Heliodas. “Can you at least help us understand what we are to do?”
“All of Greece depends upon your actions. But there is a matter you must attend to first. The Pearls of Atlantis…”
“What of them?” Archetus asked.
“You must prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.”
“Why do you not do this yourself?” Heliodas asked. “Can you not destroy them?”
“If I were to handle them, I would be destroyed.”
Heliodas’ eyes widened. “So the gods can die.”
“They can. And we work very hard to ensure that this does not come to pass. And so should you. We are the power that keeps the Titans in slumber. Without us, they would ravage the world. They would not enslave humanity, they would consume it.
“But I must take my leave now. Farewell, son of Zeus. The time of my interference in your life has ended and you must shape your own destiny now.”
Heliodas watched as the form of Athena vanished, and he was left alone with Thermiandra and Archetus. He smiled, touched Thermiandra’s chin, and lifted her lips to his. As he placed an arm around her waist, he continued kissing her, tasting her lips, and feeling her breath upon him.
Archetus cleared his throat. Heliodas glared at the cultist, and the other man moved away from the fire.
His heart ached for fallen Pelephon, but holding Thermiandra felt right. He looked into her eyes, and he could see his future.
Epilogue
Ninkalla brushed the black hair out of her face as she entered the ruins. The stars were bright on this evening. She had spent many days searching for this location.
Before her was a Greek temple to some god she cared little about. Atop, however, was the unmistakable image of a man cast in stone. It was a form she recognized. She moved to the base of the temple, threw her arms wide, and closed her eyes for a moment as she felt power surge within her. She then began to float skyward.
When she reached the apex of the slanted roof, she put a foot forward and found purchase upon the rooftop. She let the magic dissipate and she faced the statue in front of her. The stone man’s hand was stretched out, as though holding something.
She examined every inch of his exposed body. The stone skin appeared unbroken, and the garments showed no visible holes. She smiled, and she began to concentrate. She recalled his appearance the last time she had looked upon his face. She remembered the times they had made love, and the times they had held one another.
Ninkalla placed her hands upon the stone cheeks of her beloved, and then felt power rush through her and into the statue. The stone became warm under her touch as it began emanating a fiery glow. She continued to concentrate, channeling as much power as she dared into the stone man.
At last, there was movement. The man’s stone eyes blinked. An instant later, they changed from gray to white with a brown iris and a black pupil. His face was once again flesh, and his garments were of cloth. “I have missed you, my beloved,” she said.
Khejani smiled. “I would say the same, but my last memory was staring into the face of the Medusa.”
“Did you not recover the pearls?”
“No.”
“That is alright. There will be time for that later,” said Ninkalla. “Until then, we have one another.” She touched the bearded face of her lover with one hand and ran a hand down to his buttocks with the other. “I can think of many things we can do to pass the time while we continue our search.”
Heliodas, Thermiandra, and Archetus will return in
Pearls of Atlantis
Echoes of Olympus (The Atheniad Book 1) Page 32