OF WAR Anthology Novels 1-3

by Lisa Beth Darling

  Raven’s eyes were nearly clear and bright as Eros watched the last of the spell lift from his mind. “Ares sent me to watch over the two of you, now go back to bed; you’ve been sleepwalking.”

  Raven scratched his dully aching head and then held a hand to his temple as he tried to think; his parents put him to bed, Ares did go out, he went to…Aphrodite. Raven remembered standing in the third floor window watching his Father make his way around Olympus but then…then he was standing here with Eros. “Whatever,” Raven grumbled and slammed the door to his bedroom.

  Eros laid Alena back in her bed and covered her up with the warm blanket. Taking her hand in his as he sat on the side of the bed he whispered, “I’m afraid this place will be the death of you, Maggie. For now you’re safe, rest well.” Eros laid a soft kiss on the back of her hand and then closed the door before leaving the room, hoping his scent wouldn’t set off Ares too much. Making sure the Fortress door was tightly locked he flew off back to the top of his Tower to wait for Ares to emerge from Aphrodite’s Temple.

  His wait turned out to be much shorter than expected, and wasn’t that lucky for Apollo. Otherwise, when Ares returned home and found his bed empty, Olympus would have rocked to its very foundation.

  V

  Ares’ visit with Aphrodite didn’t go as he expected and certainly not as Zeus planned. At first he found it odd when Erato greeted him at the door and not Aphrodite all done up in some slinky little negligee, but it got stranger when Aphrodite was nowhere within his sight. “Where is she?” The Temple, usually alive with some soft flowing music and alight with a hundred candles, was quiet and dark.

  “In her room, Lord Ares, but if I may my Lord, I don’t think Lady Aphrodite is up to….receiving visitors tonight.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Ares pushed his way past the Muse of Love Poetry and strode off through the Temple to Aphrodite’s boudoir. Again only silence and darkness greeted him as he opened the door. Holding his nose to the air he took in a deep inhale and did not smell roses, only the air mostly clean and crisp but there was an underlying tang he couldn’t quite place. “Aphrodite?” Cautiously he ventured into the room, fearing he was walking into some kinky trap and was nearly certain of that idea when he first heard her moan but then Ares realized that wasn’t the sound of anticipation, but pain. His eyes scanned the dark and fell upon the lump in her bed, but she wasn’t lounging on it seductively waiting for her lusty evening. Aphrodite was under the covers and the closer he got to her the more the tang in the air tingling his nose turned into the distinct stench of vomit. “Aphrodite?”

  “Go away,” her voice was raspy and thick.

  Ares tossed his hand in the air and each candle in the room sprung to life, bringing its glow to the dark room and casting their collective light on the bed. “What happened to you?” She was paler than the snow and the vomit he smelled he now saw drying on her chin, her pillow, the blanket, and in her straggly hair.

  “Just go away, I can’t do this, not tonight.”

  It was completely out of character for her to turn down a night with him no matter the circumstances. Ares walked up to the bed and put his knees up against the side as he planted his fists in the mattress and leaned over her. “Look at me.” She tried, but those lovely sapphire eyes of hers were swimming in her head and she couldn’t focus. Ares wondered how many of him she was seeing in this moment. “You’re a mess.”

  Aphrodite let out a sickly little sound that might have wanted to be a laugh but all it produced was another round of puke and bile. The Goddess of Love didn’t have enough energy to get out of its way and it spit up into the air a short ways before falling back down onto her lips, in her mouth, over her chin, and splattered against her cheek.

  “That’s attractive.” Feeling torn and conflicted but unable to leave her crusted and caked in her own filth, Ares waved a hand in the air to produce a warm bowl of water and a washcloth. Besides, he needed information and she’d be more inclined to give it to him if he showed her some compassion. He cleaned off her face and did his best to get the chunks out of her hair and off the satin rim of the blanket. “Who did this? Zeus?”

  Aphrodite’s head was moving but she could only hope that she was nodding; it seemed that her eyes weren’t the only things that couldn’t focus, it seemed her brain was on holiday as well, but there were things she needed to tell him. “Hera knows,” she managed to croak. “About this pact, she knows.”

  Ares grunted. “Perfect, another butt-in-ski.”

  More important than that was the fact that, “Apollo’s not here tonight.”

  A split second went past as Ares let that settle in his head and he reached for the meaning of it. Apollo had been here last time watching them, that’s what she wanted to tell him, but he wasn’t here tonight because he was off somewhere else. Doing something he considered even more fun or pleasurable than watching Ares squirm. “Alena.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  An Old-Fashioned Greek Tragedy Part IV

  Ares bolted out of the door of Aphrodite’s Temple as though his heels were on fire. Racing down the temple’s hill, his midnight hair flying behind him, nostrils flaring and hands balled into heavy fists, he was ready and raring for a fight. If Apollo dared to touch Alena while she slept Ares would rip his head clean off his golden shoulders.

  High atop his Tower, Eros watched his Father tear out of his Mother’s Temple and toward the Fortress. Chin resting on his hand, Eros wondered what Aphrodite said or did that set him off and caused their evening to end so prematurely. The answer came to him in a roar carried by the wind.

  “Apollo!”

  Eros glided down from the Tower to talk with Ares but, for once, Ares was faster than him and Eros was unable to catch him before Ares stormed through the doors of his own house, bellowing Apollo’s name as a warning as he went.

  Ares threw open the door to his bedroom expecting to catch Apollo in the act of violating Alena, but all he found was his Wife sleeping peacefully almost exactly as he’d left her. “Alena?” he whispered, taking hold of her hand, but she didn’t stir. Peeling back the covers he found her nightgown in place and intact. More important than that, he didn’t smell Apollo’s scent anywhere in the air. However, there was another scent irritating his nose. “Eros.”

  “You called?”

  Ares turned so swiftly he almost broke his own neck. “What are you doing here?”

  Eros with as much tact and serenity as he could muster told Ares of Apollo’s visit and how he’d thwarted it. “She’s fine, I promise, I got here before anything could happen.”

  “How come the only thing I smell in here is you? What were you doing in my bedroom, Eros?”

  “Someone had to see her safely back to bed,” Eros protested and then, even though he knew it would cause trouble, he told Ares how Apollo wormed his way into Raven’s head and had the boy bring Alena to him.

  “Where’s Raven?”

  “In his room as far as I know, I think he went back to sleep.” He looked towards the open door and across the hall to Raven’s door, which was partially closed. “What happened with Mother? Why are you back so soon?”

  “Is nothing secret on this godforsaken mountain?” Ares roared as he got up, pushed past Eros, and opened the door to Raven’s room only to find the boy sleeping peacefully like his mother. Striding over to the boy’s bed Ares gave it a kick so hard the mattress bounced off the box spring, tossing Raven into the air. “What’s wrong with you boy? You’re willing to let Apollo steal and violate your mother?”

  Raven, jerked awake and from a rather intriguing dream, rubbed his eyes, squenched his face as he looked up at his Father. “What?”

  “Don’t lie, Raven, tell our Father the truth,” Eros encouraged.

  “Lie? ‘Bout what? I dunno what’s goin’ on.”

  “You don’t remember seeing Apollo tonight?”

  “The only person I saw was you,” Raven said to Eros before turning to Ares. “I woke up and
he was in the hall with mom in his arms. She was still sleeping.”

  Ares thought his eyeballs would explode as he turned around with a dark sneer and took purposeful steps toward Eros, who began backing up.

  “Now, wait, just wait, Father,” Eros held up his hands in front of his athletic frame to ward off Ares, “he just doesn’t remember. Apollo did something to him.”

  “Apollo wasn’t here,” Raven said in a sleepy voice. “You were.”

  “Look, look, I can prove it. Go outside, you’ll see his footprints in the snow all the way from his door to yours and back again,” Eros offered, still trying to fend off an attack by the God of War. “Why would I hurt Alena?”

  Ares grabbed Eros by a length of blonde hair and hauled him downstairs to the front door with Raven hurrying along close behind them. Under the starlight, Ares looked down in the snow and saw his own big booted footprints and only one other set left by a pair of bare feet. As though someone had flown over the twenty-foot high stone wall those prints began just inside the kill zone between the Fortress and the wall, and extended to the front door. “The only prints I see are yours,” Ares growled.

  “I’m telling you the truth. Apollo was here and he was going to take Alena back to his home while you were off fuh—” He looked down at Raven standing there by his side, “…busy. If it weren’t for me he’d have her now because this one was ready to hand her over.” Rudely Eros pointed a finger at Raven.

  “No way, he’s lying, I love mom. Why would I do sumthin’ like that?”

  “Why would I?” Eros countered through clenched teeth.

  Raven was willful and insolent but Ares didn’t believe he would willingly hand his mother over to Apollo. The look of bewildered innocence on the boy’s face made Ares onyx eyes flash with fire as his head slowly turned on his thick neck toward Eros. “You’ve always had designs on Alena, always!” With his big hands and thick arms Ares gave Eros a hard shove to the chest and then kept coming as spittle flew from his angry lips. “I gave you Onya and that wasn’t enough for you?” Ares pushed again and Eros stumbled backward as he tried to block the pushes that were turning into blows. “I let you back in my house! I let you around my Wife and my Son even though it was against my better judgment! THIS is how you repay me?” Disregarding the thought process, Ares clenched his fist, cocked back his arm and let a haymaker fly at Eros’ jaw. The impact would have been devastating if Eros hadn’t anticipated his Father’s move and started to take off just before the connection could be made with his face. “I didn’t do anything!” Eros shouted from high in the air. “I protected her as I’ve always done!”

  “Liar!” Standing on the ground empty handed Ares looked up at his Son flying overhead. “You? Protect her? You STOLE her from that camp. You and Apollo. I don’t care what Alena says, you’re never to come back here again or I’ll kill you!”

  “You’re going to regret this, Father.” Eros flew off, leaving an angry Ares behind.

  “What are you looking at?” he snapped at Raven. “Get back to bed, boy.”

  Raven didn’t hesitate as he skittered into the Fortress, sprinted up the stairs and jumped into his disheveled bed with a satisfied grin on his face. “Looks like you’re out of the game, big Brother. Score one for me.” He didn’t know exactly what Apollo wanted tonight but Raven did remember his Uncle being outside the Fortress, but decided against defending Eros as Raven preferred to have his saintly big Brother out of the way for the foreseeable future.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The Good Son

  I

  Ares and Alena argued almost all the next day and they did it so loudly that they never noticed when Raven exited the Fortress with Spirit Walker at his side. Today was a big day for the young Raven and he wanted it to go perfectly. Hanging around the outer rear wall of the Fortress, Raven had a perfect view of that precipice he took Trinity to yesterday. All he had to do was wait; it wasn’t his favorite part of the game, but today he would do everything in his power to manage it.

  II

  Trinity spent another day cooped up in the Temple looking out the window at her small world, wanting so badly to travel to the Mortal World and see all of the things Raven told her about yesterday. She was sick and tired of being pent up like an animal. Putting aside her stuffed animals and her teacups, Trinity wandered down to her Mother’s bedroom.

  Aphrodite hadn’t been out of bed since she came back from Zeus’ Palace. Trinity checked on her Mother a few times last night once she heard Ares’ voice in the bedroom and hung around outside the door, even though she knew she shouldn’t. It was hard to understand what they were talking about or even why the God of War was in the Temple, as he never came to visit them. When Ares started raising his commanding voice, she ducked behind the nearest pillar just before he tore out of the bedroom and then the Temple.

  “Hello, Mother,” Trinity let herself into the bedroom and walked over to the bed to sit next to Aphrodite and hold her hand. “Feeling any better today?”

  “No.”

  She didn’t look any better either. Aphrodite looked very pale and she usually had the most beautiful glow about her rosy skin. “Can I get you some Nectar or tea?”

  The thought of having anything in her stomach made it want to revolt. “No thank you, darling. I’m tired. I’m just going to sleep for a while longer.”

  “Oh, ok,” she stopped and thought for a second but then decided she would ask, “if you’re going to sleep can I go out and play?”

  “Why don’t you stay inside and play with your dolls?”

  “It’s sunny out, I kinda wanna go run around a little.” The girl’s feet started swinging in the air as she grew nervous. “Just for a little while. Maybe when you feel better we could go down to the Mortal World?”

  “There’s nothing down there for you.”

  “Raven says there’s lots of things down there, lots of wonderful things and….”

  “No.” Aphrodite was solid and stern on that point. “We don’t mingle with the Mortals anymore.”

  “Raven does and….”

  “I don’t care what they let Raven do, you’re not going to, do you understand? Now go back to your room and play with your toys, I need some rest.”

  “You never let me do anything!” Trinity jumped off the bed. “I’m not a stupid little girl anymore. I don’t want to play with dolls, I want to play video games and see ships, go inside lighthouses, listen to rock and roll and eat cannolis, I want to go roller skating and swimming and fishing.”

  “Cannolis will only make you fat.” Trinity picked a fine time to start her rebellious stage, when Aphrodite could hardly lift her head from the pillow. “Fish smell bad, video games will rot your brain and so will that horrid rock and roll, and there’s nothing special about ships and lighthouses. Now, please, go back to your room.”

  “Everyone thinks I can’t do anything! They all think I’m a baby and a reject, but I’m not!” Trinity slammed her foot on the marble floor as she exclaimed.

  “Stop that, Trinity.” Aphrodite tried hard to muster her strength and sit up, but couldn’t make it. In that moment, she wanted to kill Zeus with her bare hands. Trinity had to have heard him say that nasty word ‘reject’ about her, maybe even Apollo, the man she thought was her Father but who could never come around to pay her any attention. “I don’t think you’re a reject; you’re my Daughter and I love you. You’re just too young to go down there; when you’re older and you understand I’ll take you.”

  “You can’t keep me locked up forever!” Then she stormed out of the room leaving behind a sick and now exasperated Aphrodite.

  At first Trinity did as she was told and went back to her plush room where she slammed the door so hard the Temple rocked. Running over to her tea table she kicked it and the stuffed animals surrounding it waiting to have tea with her. “Stupid baby toys! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Then she threw herself down on her soft bed with its pink canopy, pillows and comforter only to slam he
r fists into the mattress while she screamed into the pillow. “I’m not stupid! I’m not a reject!”

  Then she had an idea; she could prove it. She could prove to her Mother that she could at least go outside and play in the cold snow without a babysitter. Once she did that, Aphrodite would see that Trinity was ready for more. Maybe she’d even take her down to the Mortal World just as soon as she felt better.

  Yanking her fur coat from the closet and then pulling it roughly onto each arm she repeated her mantra; “I’m not stupid. Not a baby. Not a reject.” Trinity made sure the coat was buttoned all the way up to the top and then pulled on her gloves and boots. She stopped to take a look at herself in the full-length beveled mirror. “I can do this, piece of cake.”

  Creeping down the stairs, looking left, right, forward and behind in rapid succession, Trinity snuck to the door and then outside.

  III

  Raven was almost ready to give up when he saw the door to Aphrodite’s Temple open and Trinity, alone, her face set with angry determination, stepped foot onto the stoop. The body that had been slumping against the outer wall of the Fortress now stood up a little straighter as he wondered if she was really going to do it. Raven was surprised to see that Trinity actually made it this far on her own. Trinity wasn’t a very brave soul, she was pliable, contrite, willing to do anything to please someone and to make them like her. After the conversation yesterday, he understood why. Until then the mere idea that Zeus didn’t like Trinity never entered his head, not when all Zeus did was extol Trinity’s virtues to him. There was definitely some type of fucked up game going on here. Zeus was using Raven and Trinity as pawns, but in a few moments there’d only be one pawn standing. Only one to threaten the seated King and kick the old bastard off his Golden Throne, then Ares would be King of Olympus and after him was Raven.

  The boy’s mouth dropped open as he let out a deep chuckling sound, watching Trinity skitter down the steps and head straight for the precipice. In his head he thought it would work, he even saw his plan working, but now that it was playing out like clockwork, it was a little awe-inspiring. “Damn, I’m good, I am the best.” He looked down at Spirit Walker who’d been sitting by his side shivering most of the day. “You’re just about on, boy.” Raven peered out from around the corner of the Fortress to look up and see Eros wasn’t perched there. For once. After last night, Eros was probably inside his Tower licking his wounds as he drowned his sorrows with Nectar, wondering how it all went so wrong.