The High Court

by Chris Ledbetter

  Metis looked down at my aegis breastplate. “It’s still holding the toxin away from your brain. Just relax. You’ll be fine.”

  I took a deep breath as we all continued toward the humongous, wooden entry doors. Black-skinned Erebos greeted us upon our approach.

  “Rhea and Olympians, please remove all armor and weapons. They are not permitted in this hall.”

  Several of us removed bracelets, gauntlets, and such. None of us had any weapons so they all proceeded to the next checkpoint where golden-skinned Phanes stood with his scepter.

  Erebos grabbed my arm. “Your breastplate must be removed.”

  I shook my head and shrugged. “I can’t. It’s fused to my spine.”

  “What?” Erebos said with a commanding tone.

  Rhea fell back to help explain. “A toxin was crippling his nervous system. And this procedure was the best option available to save him. But yes, it is fused to his spinal column, channeling the toxin away.” She wheeled me around to show the darkened, inky spread across my back. “The breastplate can’t be removed.”

  “Who performed the procedure?” Erebos asked.

  “Cyclopes,” Rhea said. “Brontes, mostly.”

  Erebos manipulated his fingers down my spine, and then looked me over. “This is some damned fine artisanship. I am seriously impressed. Brontes is one of the strongest hammer wielders I know.” But then his lips drew into a tight line. “But I am sorry. Rules are rules. And these rules exist for a reason. We must maintain order within this hallowed hall.”

  Every negative memory associated with these trials slammed into me. The spears flying through the air. Holding Anytos in my arms as he died. The bloody Observatory. Ouranos’ dying words. My voice cracked. “Please. You can’t deny me this. I’ve waited too long.”

  Rhea pleaded. “Listen, Erebos … I have the highest respect for you, Phanes, and Eros. I honor the conventions of this institution. But allow me to simply say this. A breastplate is not a weapon. And you may fully inspect it and its construction. This particular cuirass also harbors no magical properties, save its ability to redirect a particularly nasty neurotoxin away from his spine and brain. It is a sanity-preserving device that can’t be removed without great damage to Zeus.”

  Phanes, having checked everyone else with his scepter, approached our debate. Having heard Rhea’s plea, he pulled Erebos several paces away to confer. A few moments later, they both returned. Phanes waved his scepter over my body. Like the last time during their investigation, the scepter scraped my insides raw as it searched me over.

  Phanes spoke, “I am putting you on a short leash, Zeus. I am ultimately responsible for you and your actions. Know this, if you or your breastplate causes any problems. I’ll have you thrown so far in the depths of Tartarus you’ll never find your way to the surface again.”

  I nodded.

  “But,” Erebos added, “in the final analysis, it may not even be up to us.”

  My eyebrows shot up.

  “If Our Mother, High Goddess Gaia, deems you unworthy or unfit to remain inside The High Court, you will be removed forthwith.” Phanes slammed the butt of his scepter on the ground. He waved his hand toward the giant doors. “You may enter.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Rhea and I crossed the portico. It towered high enough that all three Cyclopes could’ve stood on one another’s shoulders and not touched the ceiling. We strode between two more columns into the inner pronaos area. Above the doors an inscription read:

  Know Thyself.

  Through the doors, textured by weather and ill-fated verdicts, stood the circular inner hall. A domed ceiling like nothing I’d ever seen soared high above us. Two additional rooms flanked the back of the chamber, as indicated by the metal doors that guarded them.

  We all stopped walking at the edge of a sand-filled circle surrounding a square, stone floor at the center of the circular room. The floor was a five by five grid. A black square stone sat alone in the center of the grid. Far to the back of the room another larger black stone sat flush with the floor.

  Tall, white-skinned Eros greeted us. “Good to see you again. I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances.” He directed us to sit in the witness’ seating section while he pointed Rhea to sit in the spectators’ galley. I wiped my hands down the front of my tunic, which was ill fitting due to it going over my breastplate instead of beneath it.

  First, no deity magic and then, no headmistress support, mental or otherwise. Damn. But I guessed that made sense. They wouldn’t want a spectator mentally feeding testimony to someone. I also supposed that a fight could erupt, causing untold damage to the court itself. Another reason not to have hurled everyone here, in case the giants found us yet again.

  Iapetus, Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimethius sat in the spectators’ section with Rhea, while Pallas, Perses, Okeanos, and Tethys populated the witness area with me. I stared forward, figuring that eye contact would only bring unnecessary drama. Oddly, Telesto also sat in the spectator section, which made me wonder even more about why she had come. Had she come simply to see me? Witness my demise?

  Steam rose and billowed around the four sides of the large black stone at the rear of the courtroom. Stone ground against stone as the black slab slid. Thicker steam clouds billowed into the air, obscuring the object that pierced the mist from below. A thud rumbled through the entire room. The steam dissipated … to reveal a stately woman sitting upon an ebony throne.

  Eyes closed, I shook my head, unsure of what exactly I was seeing. A greenish-gold aura emanated around the woman. I’m pretty sure they mentioned that our magic was disabled in here, but this woman obviously defied all of that. I immediately felt the same supernatural emotional tug that I’d felt when Aphrodite first showed up. Not because I found her attractive, though this woman most certainly was, but it was more than that. Much more.

  She radiated charisma. And beauty. And authority.

  With her elbows resting on the arms of the throne, her silky brown arms formed the sides of a triangle, ultimately ending with her steepled fingers. Her long, opaque, pistachio green chiton draped over her crossed legs.

  Themis announced, “All rise!”

  Everyone stood at varying paces.

  Themis kneeled and bowed her head. “The Honorable, Queen, Most High Goddess, All Mother Gaia.” She paused, and then lifted her head. “You may be seated.” She then turned to Gaia. “The Earth agrees with you.”

  The mysterious Gaia spoke. Her voice was velvety like the most beautiful musical instrument I’d ever heard. “And the Heavens, you.” She directed her attentive gaze upon the court. “Yia sou. Kalimera. Greetings, all.” She turned her palms upward. “Honor providence. Love whom you rear. Long for wisdom.”

  “Two cases today, Queen.” Themis stood. “Trial one is Hellas versus Hyperion.”

  “Bring him,” Gaia said. Firelight danced off her high, chestnut brown cheekbones and full, glossy, stained lips.

  At the back wall of the building, a huge door slid upward, stone grinding, chains rattling. Out of the dark shadow of the room beyond, stepped Hyperion. His faded yellow tunic hung rather loosely around his impressive ash brown, muscular frame. I stared, until I caught myself, at just how ordinary he looked when not hauling the sun or wearing the dark matter infused armor. But then our gazes met. Fury flickered in his eyes.

  But behind him, oh my Gaia … a truly hideous beast followed. It stood at triple the height of Hyperion. My fingertip to fingertip wingspan could scarcely touch both edges of one side of this monster’s chest. Atop the creature’s gargantuan neck sat five independently moving heads. And from his broad shoulders, ten arms jutted down his flanks. The monster held the dark matter rope that bound Hyperion’s hands as they approached Gaia. My skin flushed hot. Perspiration suddenly appeared on my forehead.

  Nearly as tall as Hyperion, Themis faced him in front of Gaia. “By virtue of thorough investigation by the Khaos C
ouncil, enough cause has been discovered to bring you before The High Court on charges that you conceived, ordered, and executed the unprovoked assault of Amalthea and murder of Anytos on the island of Crete. Hyperion, how do you answer these charges?”

  Hyperion’s face twisted into a smug frown. He belted a throaty, gravelly growl. “Not even on the same planet as guilty.”

  “Duly noted,” Themis said. “You may sit.”

  Hyperion settled his large frame into the defendant chair provided. The multi-headed beast again secured Hyperion’s mouth and hands with the dark matter rope.

  She turned to the rest of us. “Will any step forward to present testimony for or against?”

  I stood on creaky joints that hadn’t moved properly in several suns. Pallas and Perses joined me in standing.

  “Come forward,” Themis commanded.

  I stepped down from my seat, as did Okeanos and Tethys. Tethys peered at me and shook her head. I glanced over my shoulder at Metis. She mouthed the words you got this to me. I caught Rhea’s gaze. In that moment, I prayed that I could hear her speak to me mentally. Nothing came. She nodded to me, an assurance of support.

  Telesto twirled the ends of her hair and pursed her lips. But she hadn’t gotten up. So, she hadn’t come to testify after all. I wondered how she’d convinced the headmaster and headmistress to allow her to come if she wasn’t going to participate?

  Pallas and Perses both glared at me. Pallas’ face appeared thinner, more elongated than I’d remembered. I wanted to think that it was because of the punch through his ear hole that I landed on him last term at the wrestling match … that I’m certain he’d never forgotten about. Themis pointed to the room in the rear from which Hyperion and the beast had recently come.

  A single, small torch illuminated the far back wall. The Hecaton-creature escorted us in and promptly absorbed all available air and space. With his humongous foot, he nudged us to the rear of the room. His foot could probably cover my entire body were he to step on me.

  He looked down and growled loud enough to rattle my breastplate. His breath threatened to melt my nose clean off my face. But then after I had mistakenly inhaled, because breathing is an auto-function, I felt light-headed. And suddenly the monster’s five heads seemingly multiplied right before my eyes. Arms too. I tried to shake free from it, but the horrifying images assaulted me. Consumed by the haze, five heads seemed like fifty … and ten arms seemed like a hundred. And then I understood why they were called the Hecatonchires … hundred-handed ones.

  Themis appeared to the side of the beast’s left leg. “Pay his manners no mind. I’ll translate what he just said …”

  “He actually said something?”

  “Sure,” Themis replied. “He said, ‘Stay here. Do not try to run.’”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Pallas said, and then turned to me. “Titans do not run.”

  “Also, ‘don’t talk unless requested to do so,’” Themis added.

  “That one growl said all of that?”

  “In so many words. Now,” Themis said, “you witnesses are in this room because to seek out the truth, you must neither hear, nor be influenced by another’s testimony. There will be no touching and no talking. Am I clear? One wrong move, and Kottos here will pull this lever and send you straight to Tartarus.” She glared at all of us. “Okeanos, you’re first.”

  I averted my gaze from Tethys, determined not to acknowledge her. With heavy heart, my thoughts again drifted back to Limnos. I hated leaving them. This trial could not be over soon enough, so we could all get back to help. But first … justice needed to be served.

  A knock rapped on the far side of the door. Kottos pulled the chain to raise it, which was the loudest thing ever. Themis poked her head in. “Tethys, you’re next.”

  Good riddance.

  My skin tingled and itched from being in the room alone with Pallas and Perses. Though, under the watchful gaze of Kottos, none of us would dare start something we couldn’t finish. After several very long, silent moments with nothing to keep us company except Kottos’ heavy breathing, the door opened again.

  Themis’ silhouette spoke, “Perses, you’re next.”

  She waved him forward. Once he’d cleared the threshold and re-entered the court, the door to our room fell sharply and slammed shut. I willed myself to not look at Pallas. But standing this close to him after all this time frayed my nerve endings. I wondered if he knew anything about the more recent Crete aggression that killed Amalthea and slaughtered Aristaeus and the Kouretes? I struggled to produce even a hint of energy in my hands, just to see if I could. Nothing. Phanes wasn’t joking about our abilities being dampened. All except Gaia, perhaps.

  Pallas testified next, leaving me alone with creature.

  The door slammed shut again with a crash that vibrated my chest. As I stared longer at the monster before me, he became less so. He wasn’t a threat to me. That’s not to say he couldn’t squash me like a zucchini without my powers. But he didn’t seem inherently evil, or crazy, or aggressive. I doubt we could’ve had long conversations, what with his one growl responses. But at that moment, I held no unease that he could smash me into flat pita bread. He had two legs and a torso just like everyone else. Only differences were the arms. And heads. And that breath was positively offensive. And it was odd what happened to my vision afterward. But it begged the question … if everyone else had one head, two eyes, two arms, two legs … what happened to them? And what happened to the Cyclopes … with the single eye and all?

  A knock came from the far side of the door. Chains clinked as Kottos raised the door.

  My eyes struggled to adjust as Themis appeared with a halo of light behind her.

  “Zeus, it’s your turn.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  I followed Themis into the light and down the aisle to the front of the witness section. My vision took a moment to adjust after being inside the dark holding room. I shielded my eyes with my right hand. All the previous witnesses who testified had retaken their respective seats.

  “Proceed to the center of the witness box. Stand on the black square,” she said.

  I did so gingerly. The square’s dimensions were larger up close than I had anticipated; a fair amount of space surrounded my sandals. My back was as stiff as it had been during my unfortunate paralysis. The last person I saw before turning toward the court was Metis. She nodded slowly. I wheeled around to face Gaia and Themis. My knees nearly buckled under the seriousness of it all.

  Themis continued, “I will ask the questions, but you must direct your answers to Gaia. Understood?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you swear upon the Immortal Queen, Most High Goddess, All Mother Gaia that your words in this proceeding will be unabridged truth?”

  “I do.”

  “State your name for the court.”

  I drew a deep breath. “I am Zeus. Son of Rhea.” I barely contained my smile after declaring that.

  A subtle mist wafted up through tiny holes in the mortar between the stones on the five by five grid of the witness box. Without warning, every square on the floor except the one upon which I stood, descended into the earth below, away from my vision. Darkness surrounded me, as black as the stone beneath my feet.

  I made the mistake of looking down.

  I shouldn’t have.

  Far, way far below me … something orangish-red like lava surrounded the pillar beneath my feet. The image began to pulse and shift like haze on a scorching day, ebbing closer, then receding. My stomach rose into my throat like I was falling. I grasped at the air, then hugged myself and shut my eyes. A gust of hot wind surged up from below and nearly took my skin off with its force. I wobbled but then gripped my stone tightly. I couldn’t even shapeshift into an eagle due to the magic dampening … but then where was this vision even coming from?

  “What is going on? Is this necessary?” I grumbled.

  “Are you all right?
” Themis said. “Can you talk?”

  “Yes, I can talk. What sort of madness are you up to here?”

  “The witness box is designed to render real your greatest fear so that your mind can only focus on truth. It has no other capacity since the rest of its power is being spent on wrestling with fright.” Themis said calmly. “Everyone is different. I have no idea what your fear is. But you need to answer my questions. Ready?”

  I nodded the best I could. I was ready to see Hyperion get what he deserved.

  “It is my understanding that you were present during Hyperion, Pallas, and Perses’ attack on your village. Please offer your perspective of the events that transpired that day.”

  As long as I kept my eyes closed and crouched, I’d be fine. I kept telling myself to not look down anymore. I struggled through the maniacal, strangling mind-hold of the fear of heights and slowly but surely told them everything. I began with getting back late from the beach, moved to their search for some boy as Hyperion had said, and ended with their comments about the Oracles, and who threw the spears.

  “Thank you,” Themis said. “Just so we’re clear, Pallas and Perses threw the spears, correct? Not Hyperion?”

  “Yes, but Hyperion gave the order.”

  “I understand,” Themis said. “And the spear that allegedly killed your friend Anytos, ricocheted off of your shield first before impaling him, yes?”

  The sting of Anytos’ death nearly choked me with a fresh lump in my throat. “Yes, but—”

  “And, you said there were others present during this ordeal? Witnesses, perhaps? Kouretes, you called them? And the woman who raised you, Amalthea? Why are none of them here to corroborate your story?”

  Rage boiled inside me. My blood ran hot to the surface of my skin. I stood from my crouching position, but kept my eyes closed. “Because they’re dead! All of them!”

  “You will gather command of your faculties and not yell again in this proceeding,” Themis said. “Just so we’re clear, the people who could give further testimony to this case are all dead?”