by Sue Allerton
“Can I see?” he asked trying to sound nonchalant but failing. She grinned at him and asked him what for, if she just willingly let him into the basement without questioning it he may suspect something was wrong.
“Mum wants some ideas on what to do with her basement, just wondered what you did with yours” he explained
“Well, it’s my mum’s house. But sure” she smiled and opened the door, she walked down the stairs with Axel in front of her. He stopped when he saw the room. He stared wide eyed at the books. She felt bad for deceiving him. But she knew she would lose him completely if he knew.
“I’m sorry” he muttered, she turned to him, surprised. Why was he apologising? He had done nothing wrong.
“I thought there was a chance it could have been you, Molly was so sure that it was. She remembered a basement but obviously it wasn’t this one” he explained, she had gathered as much but she faked a hurt expression. As if it hurt her that he doubted her. He took her into his arms, the guilt pressed against her chest like something was trying to strangle her.
“No, it wasn’t me. But there is something I do need to tell you” she told him quietly and he looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.
“What is it?” he asked, urging her to tell him everything. His eyes were trusting and looked at her as if she was the jewel of his life. If only he knew.
“You’re going to hate me afterward” she muttered. She couldn’t tell him all the things she had ever done. She could tell him who she was. But that was all. He held her hand and walked her to the sofa in the middle of the room. He sat down with her and kissed her fiercely. He kissed her as if he was never going to see her again. She broke the kiss; she could feel her willpower slipping away. She needed to get it over with.
“I’m not who I told you I am” she began and his eyebrows raised with confusion. “There’s no sane way to tell you this and you will probably never believe it. I’m actually…really old” she spat out, she didn’t know how else to word it and he was already looking at her like she was crazy. Her heart was pounding and her breathing had become erratic.
“I’m…I’m actually not of this world. You’ve read about me a lot. Greek Mythology and all that, you’re writing an essay about me” she tried to explain but it was coming out all wrong. He stared at her blankly, not knowing what to say. His face turned white and his mouth twisted into a grimace.
“My name is Eris”
***
Chapter 10
She had to be lying. She could not be Eris the Goddess of discord. The Gods were fiction. They weren’t real. How had he stumbled into this life of chaos and lies? Looking at her he couldn’t believe it. Her eyes were wide and full of tears as she told him about how she came to walk among humans. He sat there listening to her but not hearing a word. She was crazy. That was the only explanation. She needed help. Then it dawned on him, Molly said the woman who held her captive called herself Eris. He was in her basement, there was no prison. It had to have been someone pretending to be her. Why was he so quick to dismiss anything Molly had told him? He didn’t know but he wanted so badly to run away. He didn’t want to hurt her but he feared if he stayed any longer, she would hurt him. She had to be crazy.
“I don’t believe you” he said after a long while of silence. He was quiet and she nodded once. She rose to her feet and stood in front of him.
“I better show you then” she sighed and closed her eyes. Her hair began swirling around her, growing more and more. Her clothes melted away and she was left with a black dress floating around her with gold vines running down the length of her torso and arms. From her back sprouted a pair of large bat like wings, they were battered. Her hair fell down the top of her thighs, it was still fire. Still bright red with streaks of orange and yellow that didn’t even have names. Her eyes were still black, but with a silver band wrapped around the outside of the blackness, separating the white from black. He couldn’t believe it. He thought she must have drugged him or something. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen. The woman he loved had turned into a Goddess right in front of him. Then he remembered, she was always a Goddess. She was just hiding herself.
“I’m sorry, Axel” she whispered, she hadn’t made eye contact with him. She hung her head slightly. She changed back to her human form, just keeping her eyes and her hair the same. He had to admit, her eyes were even more beautiful. He didn’t know what to say. He knew she was keeping her distance. She didn’t want to scare him off, she just wanted him to know who she really was. He thought she must really care for him to allow him to see her in that state. She could have kept it a secret. He had no idea up to that point who she really was.
“So…that was the real you?” he asked and she nodded. He didn’t know what to do or say. He took her hand and pulled her gently onto the sofa. She looked shocked.
“You’re the Goddess of discord…you like chaos?” he asked, she looked at him then and smiled lightly but nervously.
“I am chaos; I’m the reason bad things happen. These days I don’t even need to try, things just seem to happen” she shrugged and looked ashamed. He didn’t say anything. They just sat there in silence for a few moments.
“If you’re a Goddess…have you made me feel this way about you?” he asked and she looked at him puzzled for a few minutes “Have you made me love you?” he reiterated.
“Axel…I’m the Goddess of discord, I can make you hate me, I can make you do bad things. But powers of love are beyond my control. I’m not Aphrodite” she muttered, keeping her eyes low.
“Okay, but you said you’re the reason bad things happen? So you’re the one responsible for murders and disasters? Wars?” he asked worriedly, he may be able to get past the fact that she was a Goddess, but if she had done all those awful things throughout history, he didn’t know if he could bear it.
“I haven’t personally made them happen. As soon as I stepped foot on Earth, chaos infected the land. People’s belief was stronger back then and it didn’t have much effect. As the years went by, humans became hungry for wealth, knowledge, status…they became greedy and because they wanted such things they let chaos in to their minds. They didn’t care what they would become, what would happen to their souls, they wanted what they wanted and they would stop at nothing to get it. I am not responsible for every individual persons’ actions. I’m responsible for what I am. I am chaos and there’s nothing I can do about that. No matter where I go or what I do, trouble will always follow” she explained to him and he could feel his whole body shaking. She couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t control what happened and that made him wonder what life was like to live the way she had.
“So…when my brother fell through the ice, did you know?” he wondered
“Yes. I knew, at first I thought it was my doing. I thought my powers extended to all things in the world. My powers only stretch to the mind. I didn’t make that ice break. Nor did I kill your brother or father. As I said, there are things that are beyond my control” she told him
“What about wars? Millions and millions of people have died because of wars” he exclaimed and she looked at him desperately.
“I told you, people want things and will do anything to get it. I could have stopped the wars, but sometimes the world needs a lesson. People need to learn from their mistakes and if they don’t, I can’t help that. One of our laws is to never meddle in human affairs” she explained as she leaned back in the sofa.
“But you said that chaos only exists because you stepped foot on Earth? Why would you do that if you knew such terrible things would happen?” he questioned wanting, needing to understand.
“I stepped foot on Earth the same way all the Gods did. We all did, the same for if Poseidon hadn’t come to Earth we wouldn’t have the oceans or storms. If Aphrodite hadn’t come to Earth, we would not have love. It takes all of us to create the world. But others would rather I wasn’t a part of it” she sighed as she explained. He felt his head being heavy with information. T
he Gods were real, at least the Greek Gods. He wanted them to be real for so long and now that he knew the truth, he didn’t know what to say. It was all too much.
“Who’s your parents?” he asked and she stared at him for a moment.
“Hera and Zeus” she answered bluntly. He was amazed, speechless. This girl he had fallen so hard for was a Goddess and the daughter of Zeus and Hera of all people.
“This is too much…I need some time” he told her and she nodded once in acceptance. He got up and left, she followed him to the door. He hugged her hesitantly goodbye and she kissed him on the cheek. His skin burned where her lips touched him, but not in a bad way.
***
Chapter 11
She had done it. Even though he didn’t time. She had told him who she really was. Everything she told him was completely true. She couldn’t control her power because the greed of man amplified it to their own greediness. Whatever bad humans had done, was on them. She thought for a while, she thought about how much lighter she felt. She was worried that Axel would never want anything to do with her again, she understood why. She was not of this world. She wasn’t supposed to live happily ever after with a human. She thought about leaving. She wasn’t supposed to live among humans. She decided to put off leaving for a while. She wanted to make sure Axel was okay for a start. She could make him forget if she wanted to, make him forget he ever met her. The thought of him not knowing her, hurt more than she thought. She sighed heavily as she watched the Mustang disappear into the distance. She watched over him all the way back and smiled when he made it home safely.
When she went back inside, she realised she wasn’t alone.
“Touching” the venomous voice sounded from the corner of the dark room.
“Shut it” Eris mumbled, she stormed down the hallway and back down into the basement, she slumped down on one of the chairs but the shadowy figure followed her. Nyx was a tall woman, much taller than Eris. She was like a shadow, the bottom of her long jet black dress floated and disappeared like smoke at the bottom. Her eyes glowed bright like amber and her nails were as long as steak knives. She wore heavy black eye makeup and bright red lips. She had no hair. She just wore a black silk scarf wrapped around her head. She had a round face and a curvy figure. But when you move like smoke, you don’t care about your weight. She looked amazing, just like the Goddess she was. She leant against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. She had one eyebrow raised and a smirk fixed on her lips.
“Was that…? A play thing?” she grinned devilishly, Eris rolled her eyes and with a flick of her wrist, knocked Nyx over with mild force.
“I seem to have struck a nerve. I have to say, I preferred this room how it was, was this for the benefit of your pet?” she sniggered and Eris rose quickly to her feet. Her wings spurted out from her back and she got in Nyx’s face.
“He is not a pet. You need to leave” she hissed, allowing her demonic side to come out just a little bit more. Her skin greyed slightly and the veins around her eyes blackened. Nyx watched her quietly. She had never seen Eris behave this way toward her.
“Just remember who took you in. I will take this as you are just in a bad mood. The plans are going ahead on the next full moon” she warned and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The next full moon was only a couple of weeks away. She didn’t know what to do. She had to find some way to stop her. It was no longer just about Axel, but the whole world. She knew what plans they had together and she knew it would destroy the world.
Her family would help if she asked them, but how could she bring herself to ask them considering everything she had said to them. She still hadn’t forgiven them for what they did to her. She remembered it as if it was yesterday. She remembered how they tried to strip her of her powers to make her mortal; they underestimated how strong she was and paid the price. They didn’t know what she was capable of, she thought they did it because they were scared of her. Maybe that was just wishful thinking. She sighed, turning back to her human form. She couldn’t let Nyx know that she was plotting against her. Nyx was a being with no emotional capacity whatsoever. She refused to let the other Gods hold any sort of power over her. She had turned herself numb to her feelings and all that was left was an empty shell of a Goddess. She did not feel nor did she care to. She wanted to watch the world burn, plunged into chaos and darkness where she would rule and the other Gods would be forced to create yet another world.
She paced up and down, racking her brain for a plan to stop Nyx. She was drawing a blank. She was a Goddess of chaos and she couldn’t think of a way to being Nyx to her knees. If she was going to do it, she was going to need her army. The world would suffer, there was no way the Earth would come out of this unscathed. But maybe she could stop it being completely destroyed.
Before she did anything, she was going to need to say goodbye to someone.
She knocked on his door. It took a few moments before he answered. He looked at her with worry, even though he tried to hide it.
“I’ve not come to rush you. I know you need some space right now. I’ve come to say goodbye” she told him and his brow furrowed in confusion.
“Why?” was all he said, she smiled slightly, she liked how useless he was with emotions.
“There’s things you don’t know, things I can’t explain. I need to go and fix this. I want to stay, for you. But this is bigger than us” she explained without giving away too much. She wanted him to know how she felt but did wanted him to understand why she had to go.
“Come in” he muttered as he stood aside for her to enter the room. She wasn’t going to, she thought it would be easier for the both of them if she left. She hesitantly stepped inside and the door closed behind her. She could feel her willpower slipping away by the second. She turned and found him standing much closer than expected. He looked down at her and smiled lightly. He leant down and brushed his lips against her, as light as a feather. Her willpower broke and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. He held her waist and they stumbled backwards into the wall. They laughed but their lips never parted. He pushed her jacket off her shoulders and it slipped to the ground. She pulled his shirt over his head and she kicked her boots off as they fell back onto the mattress. They kissed and laughed for what seemed like hours. They talked about nonsense, about Axel’s life growing up, they talked about Eris and what her life was like. She only told him because he asked. Otherwise she would have been happy to just keep it to herself. She shared with him things she never thought she would ever tell anyone. She told him about Nyx and what she was like, she told him the world was going to get messed up and she didn’t want him to be caught in the crossfire. She told him she was leaving to protect him. He didn’t understand fully, how could he? He was just a human man. But at the same time he was much more than that. She had only ever had her heart broken once before, it was her father. After a while, in the early hours of the morning. He fell asleep. He snored softly and she propped herself up on her elbow to watch him for just a moment. As she moved, it stirred him.
“I love you” he muttered in his sleepy state, he smiled at her lightly and his eyes fluttered shut again. His snores got louder and louder.
“I love you too…” she whispered as her tears fell and landed on his chest. She lay with him for a few minutes. Feeling the rise and fall of his chest and listening to the sound of his snores. She didn’t want to leave him, but it was time.
She got up and he rolled over; he mumbled some nonsense and began snoring again. She smiled a tears slipped down her cheeks. She found his notebook and pen, scribbled a note and left it by the side of the mattress under his phone. She knew he had class that morning, she set his alarm for him and grabbed her boots to leave.
The street was quiet outside. Apart from the sound of her quiet sobs. The further she walked, she more and more she cried. The more hysterical she had gotten. She didn’t know if she was ever going to see him again. She didn’t know if she would live throug
h the upcoming events; but she would fight until she end to keep him alive.
She stopped walking. She was blinded by her tears and her whole body racked with fear. She had never been so scared before.
She screamed. A loud, painful scream. It sent a shockwave through the ground, the road tore up around her. A car on the side of the road was flipped over into the side of a building. The windows shattered and the foundations cracked. One of the older buildings gave way and collapsed slowly into a pile of rubble. She stared around and saw the damage she had done. She forgot what kind of power she held; and that was a small fraction of what she could do.
***
Chapter 12
He woke with a gut wrenching feeling. He felt the ground shake around him and he looked around to find she wasn’t there. He didn’t know where she was going and he was afraid to even ask. It was still dark out. He turned on the lamp by his bed and saw his phone lying on top of his notebook. The writing wasn’t his.
Axel
I wanted to stay with you. I hope you know that I’m not leaving because I want to, I’m leaving because I have to. It was wrong of me to allow to you get mixed up in all this. I need to sort this out. I need to do it without you. One day, when all this is over, I hope to explain everything. I hope to be able to tell you about how I valiantly saved the world.
But just in case I don’t live through this, I want you to know I never wanted to do anything to hurt you. You were…are, the first and only man I have ever loved. You made me feel like I didn’t need to be this person I thought I was. And for that, I thank you.
Be safe. I will fight to come back.
I love you
Eris
He read the note over and over. He wondered how long she had been gone. He hauled himself out of bed and pulled on a shirt and shoes before stumbling out the door and down the stairs. The street was filled with people running towards a commotion. As he ran along with them, car alarms started sounding in his ears and the ground became uneven. Dust was settling in the street and the people were talking loudly asking what happened. One of the buildings was destroyed, it had completely fallen to rubble.