Reborn
Page 6
Linos and Orpheus, who had been allowed to leave Hades for one day for this special occasion, performed on the stage. Orpheus" beloved, Eurydice, sang so beautifully that the female deities cried out with emotion. Even Athena, who had many reasons to be in a completely different mood now, could not hide her tears.
The new father god had planned the feast well, because of course this party was only a pretext for an important announcement. When the musicians" performance was over, he made a gesture, with which he ordered them to leave the banquet hall and took his place on the stage. The crowd"s delight faded, chattering voices turning to silence or hushed whispers. Though the celebration was merry, it was no secret that Ares had killed Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. He fixed an embroidered scarf around his neck and began.
“My beloved gods and goddesses,” he smiled at the crowd around him, clutching mugs of wine and staring up at their host. “I have gathered you all here because I want to explain some things to you and clean up the atmosphere a little bit. You all know what I did, of course, but I will say it out loud. Yes, I killed my father and two of my uncles. It was not an easy decision, but in the end, they left me no other choice. Their tyranny, I repeat, tyranny, lasted for eons. They were powerful beings who at one point became so in love with themselves and their powers that they were deaf to our requests and ideas. Everything was guided by their whims and they did not pay attention to their wrongs. My poor mother was betrayed and tricked by her own husband for millennia, the Titans sentenced to eternal damnation and people cheated and murdered as they saw fit. If it had lasted much longer, they would have decided that we were not needed either.”
He paused and turned around so that everyone would see the lightning that once belonged to his father, and then continued. “But I am different. I think that without you, this world would collapse. I am not going to teach you reason. But I am making a new law.” He stopped and looked around at the restless crowd. “Any attempt to kill me or my new entourage, or to help anyone to do so, will be punished by death.”
He looked severely at Thanatos, but not only did she not move, but with her skill she created an unpleasant image in his head. Himself on his knees, bleeding from a deep sword wound in the stomach. He shivered, throwing off the image, fury filling him at her trick.
“Carry on,” he said to the crowd, inviting the mus icians back onto the stage and smooth the tense atmosphere that had gripped the party.
He turned to make his way back to the palace. On his way, he passed the goddess of death, who fixed him with her dark stare, and whispered in her ear, “You, my dear, shall be the first.”
Twenty-two
The goddess of death had a sense of humour. Indeed, she"d mentioned that Nestor could take four souls from the Elysian Fields, but what she had not revealed until the last moment was the fact that she would get one soul from Tartarus and the help of someone else at the desolation of Aphrodite.
Therefo re, standing in front of Charon"s boat were five people. The mighty Herakles, with whom he"d exchanged delighted roars and slapping of backs, the nimble Achilles, who graced his former master with a smile, the righteous Theseus and the clever Perseus, both of whom had hugged Nestor tight when they"d seen him and, to Nestor"s astonishment, the Minotaur. As soon as he saw the leader of this expedition, Minos" son threw himself at him with open arms, huge black eyes filled with tears. “I"ve waited an age to finally meet you, Father!”
“But I was only your father"s servant,” answered the confused Nestor, embraced by muscular arms almost as big as those of Herakles. The dark fur had grown thicker, large horns adorning his head.
“I don"t know, master, he"s definitely got your hooves,” remarked Achilles, to general amusement. “The father is not the one who passes the blood, but the one who sacrifices his life for the child,” said Perseus, his eyes widening when everyone turned to stare at him. He shrugged and said, “What? I spend too much time with Orpheus.”
Once everyone had said their greetings, Nestor could finally answer the Minotaur. “Thank you. It means a lot to me, but I"m not sure if you should come with us on this mission.”
“Don"t be scared, Father,” said the Minotaur. “Beautiful faces like these here,” he pointed out the heroes, “wouldn"t survive three hundred years in Tartarus. Besides, I"m indebted to you, and I will pay it back only after I give my life for you.”
“How remarkable,” remarked Theseus, folding his arms. “A noble monster.”
The Minotaur stiffened, bull-like nostrils flaring as he turned towards another of Nestor"s former students. “What did the killer say?” the Minotaur snarled. “You heard me,” said Theseus. He was tall, with a face that could have been carved by angels. Now it was twisted in a sneer. “I already killed you once. I can do it a second time right now.” He dashed towards the half-man, half-bull.
Doom of the Olympus “REBORN”
“Yes, kill the rejected child again!” The Minotaur roared. “Kill me for a curse that isn"t my fault!” Nestor quickly stepped in between them and tried to separate them. The Minotaur pushed against him, a mountain of muscle, making Nestor stumble. Herakles helped, pulling the scratching and snarling brawlers apart easily as if they were puppets.
“Calm down!” Nestor yelled. “I don"t know what ha ppened between you two, but there are more important things at stake now. Does everyone understand?”
“Yes,” said Theseus through his teeth.
“I do,” said the Minotaur, steam bursting from his nostrils. “Yes!” bellowed everyone else.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, master!”
Charon watched the whole scene, sighing as if exhausted. “Has the wonderful family clarified their misfortunes so we can move to a direction I never carry souls into?”
With a light tilt of his head, Nestor made it clear to the whole group that it would be better for them all to hurry. Once everyone was settled in the boat, Theseus and the Minotaur sitting well apart from one another, the carrier moved his oars, and they set off. To war against the gods.