by Black, E. B.
Hours must have passed, but he was no longer sure where he was until a crack of light broke against the horizon. He did it! He was still in the Underworld, but at least the darkness was over.
The demons would become servants of Hades. It wasn't the best solution. Hades enjoyed chaos and death-he'd allow them to roam free in the Underworld-but they'd be subdued. Humanity would be struck with plagues, famines, earthquakes, and more, but as a whole, it would continue to reproduce and survive.
Prometheus nodded at Hecate and she nodded back. Her dogs snarled, which made Prometheus laugh. They always hated him.
Hecate's eyes were teary and a part of him wanted to hug her because she obviously missed him, but neither of them spoke. He knew that Hecate wished things could be different, but there was no point in lying to her because they never would be.
Hecate's face warped and her snake turned into a key. This was going to hurt, but it was the only way for him to get back on Earth again.
A bright light exploded from the key and he was flung through the air and back on Earth. His body ached all over from the penetration of the light. He was dizzy. Everything spun around him as he landed. He tried to walk, but not only did his legs ache, but he couldn't tell which way was up or down. He vomited on the ground and impatiently stumbled. He still had some things left to finish. This determination gave him the strength in his torn muscles to stand.
He shrank himself again and walked a long time as the sun rose. The sky glowed golden in color because the sun wasn't as bright as it used to be. Everything was cast in shadow. He had work to do.
When he came across a man who was naked, shivering, and covered in blisters, he touched the earth near him. His skin no longer glowed silver; it sparkled with bronze flakes in the light of the torch he had conjured from his left hand. This was a new race of humans. The Silver Age was gone-the Bronze Age was here.
An aloe vera plant burst from the ground where Prometheus had touched it. He pulled off one of the leaves and rubbed it across the man's body. The man slowly relaxed at the touches and his eyes lit with intelligence. "I give you the gift of medicine and healing. Disease will spread through humanity, but you and your descendants will discover ways to fight and kill these plagues."
He came across another man, crying in the dirt. There were two men beside him. All of them were bleeding, but the two men were fighting with each other over a piece of meat.
Prometheus shook his head and smiled. It had only been hours since the end of the world had almost taken all of humanity, but here they were once again fighting to feed their bellies. It was what he loved about his creation-their resilience during adversity. Even when everything was thrown at them, they would get up moments later and try to carry on if they could.
He kissed the cowering victim on the lips. The man was shocked, but accepted his kiss platonically. Prometheus pulled away and stared into the man's eyes. "You will use those lips to bring peace to the world. You will be a diplomat and your tongue will be used to end wars."
He took sticks and piled one on top of the other until he built a type of hut. He threw a blanket of fur on a cold man and carried him into the hut. "You will build shelter, to protect yourself and others from natural disasters."
He smeared fat from the corpse of a man onto the hands of a living one and then pressed his palm into the earth. Stocks of wheat burst from it. "You will till the ground for food to prevent hunger."
He took a hefty rock and handed it to a man. "You will use tools like these to improve the human race."
He spit on his hands and rubbed it on another man's forehead. "I give you the imagination to create things like the gods do and improve the human race with your inventions, until your powers rival those of the gods."
That was the last gift he had to give humanity in order to help it survive. He didn't want to leave, but he felt tugging on his flesh. The higher the sun rose, the more everything looked normal. But humanity still lacked true light and fire.
The raven's corpse was probably twitching back to life and would chase him until he returned willingly. He climbed up the mountain and heard a caw crying for him.
This was his destiny. He could feel the power of the fire flowing through his body. It was the power that would lead humanity to greatness.
When he reached the top, he saw the crow flying overhead. Chains burst from the ground and covered his body. They pulled him until he was lying on his back again. He grunted and shut his eyes. How much crueler this punishment felt now that he had experienced relief from it for a while.
The crow pecked into his abdomen for the first time again. It didn't break through the skin, but he still cried out in sorrow over his suffering.
But at the same time a shudder ran through him as the sun burst bright and yellow. It stung his eyes, but its power warmed him. The campfires that had been snuffed out below burst into flames.
Zeus had won for now. He had unleashed horrible things on humans that would make them dependent on him. They would cry out to the gods for mercy during their suffering, but unfortunately, their voices would rarely be heard. Prometheus was back to being punished and could protect them from nothing. Their fate was in their own hands.
He took a deep breath and looked to the sky where he knew Zeus was probably watching him smugly. "Things will change!" he roared at the top of his lungs. He got no response and he expected none. It would take some time to fix everything. He felt spent after all that effort, but knew he had a long road of fighting ahead of him.
A high-pitched scream tore through his heart. For a moment, he was transported back to the first time he was forced to endure this punishment. Hecate had cried out in horror over it and begged him to give in to Zeus' demands.
He lifted his head as high as he could and saw Pandora running towards him. Tears were streaming down her face and although he couldn't understand what she was saying, he knew she was pleading for his release from the desperate tone of her voice.
He could handle this punishment, but he was no longer sure she could. He saw from the devastation on her face that she had hoped the two of them would be together forever. And just like with Hecate, he had chosen humanity over the love of his life's happiness.
His heart welled up in his chest. For the first time ever, a part of him regretted his decision. Why did he always wind up in this place?
She collapsed by his side and he saw the craziness in her eyes. She was gasping between sobs and clinging to his arm.
"This is all my fault," she whimpered. "I hurt you and everyone. I made nothing better."
He wanted to grab her by the face and stroke it gently as he gazed into her eyes. He needed to reassure her, but his arms were strapped down. If he stretched his fingers really hard he could barely stroke the tip of her fingernails. He couldn't let her suffer through this pain as he'd made Hecate suffer.
"It's not your fault." Prometheus' voice was soft. "This was between me and Zeus. He wanted to prove to me that humanity was weak. If he gave one of you a jar that held something dangerous inside it and one of you opened it-therefore destroying humanity-then the other gods would say it was your own fault you were destroyed. He tricked you so that people would say that your curiosity was what destroyed the Earth.
"He wanted to prove humans were weak by having them construct their own downfall. He is afraid of you and the power you hold. Humanity was made to resemble the gods and every day, you become more like them."
Pandora sniffled, tears still running down her cheeks. "So then it is my fault? I fell for Zeus' entire plan."
"No." He wished he could crush her in his arms. "I saw the look in your eyes before you opened that jar. It was the same expression on my face the night I stole the fire from Zeus. You knew what you were doing was crazy, but you did it out of love. That's a strength, not a weakness."
Before he even realized that she was moving, Pandora had grabbed him by the back of the head and was pressing her lips against his. Their mouths fought as th
ey battled their feelings and their passions. Pandora shuddered as her mouth explored his and he could tell by the movements of her body that she was aroused.
More than anything he wished to grab her by the waist and throw her to the ground. He would thrust her with enough passion to make her sore by the morning.
But he couldn't move. He couldn't have anything he wanted to have with her and he knew over time that it would kill her to realize this. She had a job to do-to populate the Earth with humans before Zeus destroyed them all.
He couldn't give her marriage or children, but at least he could give her peace of mind.
Before he could regret it, he focused his powers on her mind. As they kissed, he knew he needed to use the fire inside him to erase her memory of him. Tears ran down Prometheus' cheeks as he concentrated on the heat. He just needed to find the right place in her brain to melt and erase, and then she'd forget that she was ever in love with him. It was as if he was touching the canals of her mind and her every thought was beautiful. He found the part he needed to erase and she screamed as he burned her memory away.
*** *** ***
The apocalypse changed Epimetheus.
Pandora had searched for Prometheus while he was fighting the demons and on fire. She found Epimetheus being ripped to shreds instead. As he screamed, she squinted her eyes in the dark, barely illuminated by Prometheus' flaming body in the distance. She found his axe and she was able to raise above her head from an adrenaline rush, cutting several of the demons in half with. She freed Epimetheus and he held her, amazed that she had come back to rescue him after he had almost raped her. She didn't move, even as she was quickly covered by his blood, until he fully healed.
He didn't tell her, but that heroic act changed his view of women. Maybe all of them weren't bad. Maybe only a few of them were. Pandora had the opportunity to hurt him with the axe while he had been weak, but she had done the opposite. She should have wanted revenge and to escape, but she rescued him instead.
Prometheus could see the change in his eyes and his demeanor when he came to visit. Prometheus didn't have to see Pandora to know that Epimetheus no longer beat her.
Epimetheus was still sad over what had been done to him as a child, but the bitterness was dissolving. Prometheus was happy that Pandora had been able to accomplish something he had tried for years to fix and failed.
Epimetheus also came over often with stews and fried fish that he would allow Prometheus to have bites from. He was allowing Pandora to cook now and letting them sit by the fire to keep warm at night. A part of Prometheus wanted the two of them to have all the comforts this world provided them, but another part of him felt as if he had lost his best friend. Even Epimetheus had given up hope that Prometheus' punishment would ever end and accepted its continuation as inevitable.
A year later, Epimetheus and Pandora welcomed their first child into the world-a daughter named Pyrrha. This was more painful for Prometheus than he expected it to be.
Epimetheus brought her with him alone, saying he could barely separate her from her mother. When Prometheus asked why Pandora hadn't come as well, Epimetheus shrugged his shoulders.
Pandora had a mental block when it came to Prometheus. Whenever Epimetheus mentioned his name, she would change the subject. She never wanted to visit or even hear about what he was up to. That part of her brain had not only died, but was resistant to coming back again.
And when Prometheus looked into his niece's eyes and saw his own eyes reflected at him, he knew all that he had truly lost. Of course his brother's child would resemble Prometheus as well, but it hurt to see it. Tears pricked the back of his eyes as pangs of jealousy filled his stomach. He wanted to father Pandora's children, but this was for the best.
Humans began to move away. They got tired of hearing him scream at all hours of the night and day from the pain. Soon the world collapsed around him. Everything except for Atlas' island and Prometheus' cliff fell into the ocean. Humans spread across the Earth as they reproduced and populated the dry land. They married Pandora's daughters.
Epimetheus, Pandora, and Pyrrha were the last to leave. Every day that Pyrrha came to visit him, Prometheus' heart swelled. He could see so much of Pandora in her smile that it was almost like having his true love with him.
Zeus had forgotten one important detail. By giving the first woman to a Titan, he had guaranteed that all human beings would have at least a little bit of Titan blood in their bodies. Titans hated the Olympians so strongly that they spread it through their descendants.
Zeus always underestimated humans, but now with the abilities Prometheus had given them and the Titan blood they held, they would overthrow him with time.
Pandora would be long dead when the Olympians were overthrown and wouldn't remember him, but Prometheus would remember her. He would travel down into the Underworld as it was destroyed and fetch her soul, create her a new body, and keep her forever by his side. He would make sure she was born into a stronger body, one that could live longer, and given a new name. She would be his forever.
THE END
Read More By E.B. Black
MEDUSA'S DESIRE-FATE OF EROS # 1 (Read the first three chapters for free at the end of this book)
When Medusa was beautiful, finding a man to love her was easy. Poseidon fought for glances from her heavy-lidded eyes against suitors who proposed whenever she left her house. Even goddesses weren't treated with such worship.
Athena grew jealous. She allowed Medusa to be violated in the Parthenon and turned her into a monster for her indiscretion.
Now when Medusa stares into the eyes of men, they scream as their skin hardens into stone. A caress against her cheek will be rewarded with the poisonous bites of the snakes that slither on her head.
No man is brave enough to approach her, until Perseus is ordered by the gods to kill her.
When they meet, desire sizzles between them. They are willing to risk it all-death, the wrath of the gods, the destruction of their families-if it means they can spend one more night together.
REVENGE FOR SISYPHUS-FATE OF EROS # 2 (Coming Soon)
Sisyphus was born a mortal, but knows that fate will lead him to become a god. He announces this to Zeus and gets thrown out of Mount Olympus. Their laughter rings in his ears.
Don't they understand how hard it is to win the love of a woman? His wife slept with Poseidon-he has a high standard to live up to! She says that all she wants in a husband is someone that is nice to her, but Sisyphus knows those words are rubbish.
When he tricks Thanatos into tying himself up in Hades, death ceases to exist. Sisyphus comes back to earth, throwing knives at his friends to show them that even if they bleed out, they can't die. A race of undead emerges; the world is thrown into an apocalypse. The gods stop laughing as mere men become immortals.
His wife screams at him to stop, but he knows her words are foreplay. Who wouldn't be impressed by an army of zombies?
The gods are powerful, but Sisphys is clever. Either they make him a deity or he makes them mortals. He'll have all he wants.
FOR YOUR TOUCH (Coming Soon)
Henry Jorgenson was diagnosed with schizophrenia shortly after his father's death. Since he was a child, he has been plagued with the knowledge that he is a fictional character. There is a beautiful woman that he calls "the reader" who understands him and his thoughts more deeply than anyone else.
No woman he meets compares to "the reader." He is falling rapidly in love with you, even though the two of you can't speak or touch.
His family worries about his "delusions." The doctor has prescribed him pills. He must decide whether he wants to leave these "fantasies" behind or if he wants to embrace a relationship that could compromise his entire existence.
ALSO COMING SOON
Varicia waited until she was in her twenties before receiving her first kiss. It had to be perfect-the right guy and the right setting. The moonlight is bright and his lips are soft. It was everything she pictured, until she
opens her eyes and screams.
He collapses on the ground, veins bulging and body seizing. A black ooze fills him. She touches her lips and feels her fingers tingle with death.
She buries his body in the ground, but finds the ground uncovered the next day. She'll receive the death penalty for killing him! It was an accident, but no one will care.
The truth is, her boyfriend has emerged from the grave. He refuses to move on, until she can admit that she loves him. No matter who he has to hurt or what he has to do, he'll hold her heart within his hands. Even if he has to give up his soul to retrieve it.
Learn More About E.B. Black...
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Medusa's Desire Sample-Chapter 1
She prayed to be rescued, but her god raped her instead.
*** *** ***
Earlier…
"I'm tired of your attitude," Phorcys, Medy's father, said. "You need to be taught a lesson."
Medy barely dodged the vase he threw at her head. It shattered into clay pieces behind her. Maybe she should have held her tongue, but he was taking their dinner money and leaving them to starve. Her father inched towards her as she backed up against the living room wall.
Her blue eyes flashed. "Maybe I'd treat you like a man if you would act like one. Or is throwing vases how you earn respect?"
He hiccupped as he stared at her. He was drunk again. "Get over here and say that. See what happens."
Before she could retort, he charged her, hands outstretched. She dodged to the right of his clumsy attempt to choke her.
Medy crossed her arms. "And you wonder why I hate being in this family."
"I provide for you, don't I?" Phorcys puffed out his chest.
"Actually, you don't. We take care of ourselves, selling all our stuff to pay your debts!" She stomped in the direction of her room.