His mother held a hand to her heart. “Who would do something so terrible to one of the doves?”
“It was a sun lance,” Beau replied. “I saw it struck down myself. There’s no mistaking it for something else.”
The clouds beyond the enormous windows turned dark and stormy, mirroring the furious expression on Zeus’s face. Lightning flashed in the distance as he slammed his hand down on the intercom button. “Iris, assemble all deities of the divine realm for a trial. Participation is mandatory. Send in Helios last.”
It didn’t take long. Beau and the others kept back while the room filled with their fellow deities—gods and goddesses he hadn’t seen in generations.
“What’s going on, brother?” Eris asked from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and studied her desert fatigues.
“Still in the Middle East?”
“Where else would I be, since when I try to visit you, you never have time for me? Now, are you going to answer the question or not?”
He grunted. “You’ll see.”
“Fine, be mysterious.”
More and more people entered, but the room never seemed to fill. The office widened, elongated, and when it was done shifting, the room had become a grand amphitheater, complete with a roaring fire pit in its center. Zeus’s desk vanished, replaced by two golden thrones and a small podium.
“Everyone is here,” Hera said.
“Good. Send him in.”
Helios entered, as regal as Beau remembered despite the hundreds of years since their last encounter. His purple robe trailed behind him on the polished floor and, for a moment, Beau wished the old fashions hadn’t gone out of style in the world below. He easily imagined Esme dressed in a colorful, linen chiton with jeweled pins and silk ribbons.
He’d have to buy her one soon.
“My lord Zeus, how may I be of service?” Helios asked once he reached the golden throne.
“Helios, son of the titans Hyperion and Theia, you stand accused of a most heinous crime, the slaughter of the ambrosia doves.”
A low rumble of conversation began around the edges of the amphitheater as the spectating gods whispered among themselves in varying levels of outrage. The loss of the ambrosia affected them all, a crime against every person present.
Helios blinked, visibly taken back. “I did no such thing.”
Zeus placed the blackened remnants of the dove on the podium before him and gestured to it. “Was this not done by your spear?”
“I… The damage done is by a solar lance, but I swear upon my honor, I did not do this.” His brow furrowed beneath his golden hair.
“Are you in possession of your spear?” Zeus asked.
Helios presented the weapon. It appeared on his outstretched palms as six feet of polished gold. “I am. I have watched for the creatures to aid my friend, but I would never harm them. They are innocents, and as innocents, they are to be protected.”
“And yet this one was taken from the sky by your divine gift. If not by you, who could it be?”
Alex stepped forward. “Please, I am the one who asked him to assist with finding the doves. Helios sees all and has always spoken truth, even when that truth hurts. You must know this.”
“He’s right.” Hera laid her hand on Zeus’s arm. “We have never known Helios to be anything but honest, a pillar of integrity when other gods would choose dishonesty. He is a good man, and I don’t believe he would do this.”
Zeus shook his head. “While you make an exceptional character witness, my love, what say you to this proof on my desk?” When she had no answer, his hard gaze returned to Alex. “For some time, we have gone without fresh ambrosia in this realm, and the shortage occurred only after you initiated your plans to restore Aphrodite to godhood.”
Helios frowned. “I have no grievance against Aphrodite.”
“Don’t you?” Beau spat. “Didn’t she curse you to never find love?”
The sun god raised his chin and stared back. “She did, but I have accepted her retribution as the cost of my loyalty to Hephaestus. After all, would I have shared your betrayal with her otherwise, slayer of Adonis? Though she had cursed me, I still did what was right.”
A low murmur spread throughout the office.
“One could say you shared the news to hurt her. Does misery not enjoy company?” Athena spoke out from the front row.
Helios frowned. “I am sworn to report all I see, whether good or bad. Withholding the truth to let her continue dallying with the one who killed her lover would have been a spiteful retaliation.”
Several gods murmured agreement with his logic, but others appeared unconvinced.
“I saw the dove killed with my own eyes. Esme, current incarnation of Aphrodite, witnessed this as well,” Beau said.
Alex frowned at him. “You saw the weapon only, not who threw it, brother.”
Beau grabbed his arm. “I saw what I saw.”
“The fact still remains that this dove was struck down by your spear. The crime must be punished.” Zeus rose from his throne. “Once again we have learned the titans are not to be trusted. You will be sent to Tartarus to join the rest of your kind in eternal damnation.”
Alex pulled away from Beau’s restraining grip and stepped forward. “Great Zeus, please, I beg you to give me time to find the true killer.”
Demeter rose, elegant and poised. “I agree. You do a great disservice to Helios by damning him to Tartarus under such flimsy evidence. Was he seen perpetrating the crime? No. Ares speaks of nothing more than seeing the figurative gun, but not of who pulled the trigger. I know Helios and the kindness in him, for he is a man who has always spoke with candor and more integrity than many gods within this room.” She raised her chin and stared across the amphitheater at Zeus. “Give Hephaestus his chance to clear our friend.”
Hekate was the next to stand. “I, too, wish to see more time given.”
Persephone joined them. “Do you do this in the name of justice, or do you judge him so harshly for being the one to uncover your crime in gifting me to Hades, Father?”
A low hum of agreement spread throughout the chamber until most of the gods were standing, nodding their heads and offering their own tales of Helios’s endless benevolence.
Hera placed her hand on Zeus’s shoulder. “Please grant them time. What harm is there in giving them the chance to prove his innocence? You swore to me you are a changed man, my husband. Show me today that you are in actions, not in promises.”
Zeus grunted. “One moon cycle. I grant only this to uncover the true villain behind these acts. Until then, Helios must remain under close watch. This court is adjourned.”
19
Despite mending Zeus and Hera’s relationship, the king of Olympus claimed Esme hadn’t yet fulfilled all three stipulations of her quest. Zeus wanted her to prove herself capable in war, but that seemed a tall order when she wasn’t a member of the armed forces and didn’t have a chance of surviving any branch’s basic training.
Marie popped into the living room and pinned her under an exaggerated stare. Her jaw dropped, then she feigned clutching a pearl necklace, raising one hand to her bosom. “Oh, wow, look who’s actually home for once. Not off boning one of the boys?”
Esme sighed. “No. I’m exhausted, and I need a vacation from my winter break.” She also wanted some time with her friends, for as much as she adored her men, she also missed Marie’s jokes, Ashley’s compassion, and Jordan’s perverted sense of humor. Christmas and New Year’s Eve seemed so long ago.
“Hey. Is everything okay? I was just joking, but you looked really sad just now. Everything’s still good with the guys, right?”
“Everything is still fine.”
“So what’s wrong?”
“Everything else.”
“Worried about how you’ll balance school and three dudes?”
“That barely scratches the surface of my problems.”
Marie’s flashed an encouraging smile then veered into th
e kitchen. “Well, if you need an ear, I have two. I’m going to start the chili now for dinner. You want some?”
“Sure.”
Esme thought about Marie’s offer. Since the hellhound attack had turned her life upside down, she’d confided all thoughts, worries, and fears in Luke or Alex, finding they were the most empathetic and the best listeners.
Love you. Hope your day is good. Is it okay for humans to know about Olympus? Esme sent in a text to Alex.
A few minutes passed before his reply. There was once a time when all humans knew of Olympus and the gods. Now we are tall tales, a myth told in fantasy novels and romantic movies.
That doesn’t answer my question.
Divine Ambrosia Page 20