by Drako
“What exactly is your problem with me?” he asked. “I don’t believe I’ve done anything to wrong you.”
“You’re a god and you’re not known for having altruistic intentions,” Victoria told him. “Not in the myths told by mortals, and not in our actual world. Your children are numerous and often misguided, brutal beings that have been put down repeatedly. Your own father has stepped in to slay some of them.”
Ares’ face was unreadable. “Yes, and I have slain even more with my own hand. You cannot fully blame me for the actions of my children. We all have our choice in life. So often my children have chosen the path of darkness, and as such, they have been punished. I myself condemned them to Tartarus. I’m no softer on my children than your father is on his. But since you know so much, tell me, have you heard of my children that have done good in this world? I have had children act only in defense of others. These children that never need to tout my name but are nonetheless mine.”
Victoria looked up at him curiously. “Who would tell of children of Ares, the great god of war, that aren’t warlike in nature? Do you brag about them on Olympus? Or do you only brag of the ones that have incited terror and rained destruction down on mankind?”
“I do not brag of the destruction caused by my children. I’m the god of war, and true enough I thrive and gain power from the wars of man and gods alike, but I do not revel in senseless destruction. More often than not, I have punished those that invoked my name for such acts. Would you brag of something like that? Would you brag about the brother you never knew that caused such massive destruction that Andreas was charged with the unfortunate task of hunting and killing him?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ares took a seat across from her and rested his head on his hand. “Surely you’ve heard the story of the first renegade Black Dragon? He rampaged and destroyed whatever he felt like. Andreas’ very first mission was to hunt down and destroy him. Their battle is the reason that dragons are never allowed to hunt dragons. They are the reason that Jarel declared that should a dragon go rogue then the parent that birthed or sired him or her will be the one to personally hunt and destroy that dragon. In the event that said Dragon God cannot or will not destroy their progeny, Jarel himself will dispatch the rogue and cast judgment on the god that refused to do their duty. And sure enough, he has done so several times, though never again on a Black Dragon. My question is, would you brag about your true eldest brother’s power now that you know he’s forever suffering in Tartarus for his violation of your father’s laws?”
“I most definitely would not.”
“Why then, do you assume I would brag about children who have done nothing positive for the world?” Ares countered. “You perceive me as innately evil. Have I shown you a single evil deed in the time we’ve spent together recently? Have you seen me delight in the pain and torture of others?”
Victoria couldn’t argue against that.
“Then why is it that you act as if you despise me?” Ares asked.
“Why do you care if I do?” Victoria countered.
“You intrigue me, more than any woman I’ve ever come across. It’s not as complex as you make it out to be. I’m not just after a casual fling with you. I know better than to try that.”
Victoria studied him for several seconds. “This is strange to me. It doesn’t seem like you.”
Ares shrugged. “If you were anyone else, you’d be right. However, it’s not every day that the god of war meets a chick that can probably hand him his ass at any given moment that he pisses her off.”
Victoria laughed. “I can’t beat my brother, but you think I can take you.”
“I wouldn’t say you can take me, but you’d always be a challenge for me. There’s nothing hotter than a woman that can stand up to me. It’s so boring to find the women that become enamored with me because I’m a god or the ones that fear me because of my nature. You don’t fear me in the slightest.”
Victoria smirked. “Well, I can take care of myself, and if I can’t take you, my father can. Why should I be afraid?”
Ares smiled. “Good point. But you and I both know you’d never bother to call your father. You’d just jump me. I can live with that.”
Victoria laughed again. “So why are you here now?”
“I figured you could use a distraction. I know you’re restless and I have a few leads to follow. Would you like to come along? I’ll have you back in time to take Brandon into the Realm of Roses.”
That didn’t take much thought. Anything was better than simply sitting here waiting for Brandon to be ready to go. She stood up and went to her closet to grab her armor. She turned to look back at Ares.
“Do you mind vanishing or something?” she asked. “I need to change.”
Ares turned to face the opposite direction. “This is the only way you can be sure I’m not watching you.”
Victoria shrugged and stepped out of her dress, then into her armor. Once she’d put her coat on, she walked over to Ares.
“So, where are we going?” she asked.
“We’re going to a few different places. I want to round up possible Cronus supporters before he can get to them,” Ares answered.
“Sounds like fun, so long as I get to kill something,” Victoria commented.
Ares laughed. “Then this should be a grand time for you.”
Demun had left the palace and was out walking through the realm. He had no particular direction really. He simply needed time alone with his thoughts while he waited for Krazas to return.
I gave that damn demon a simple task. All he has to do is gather a little intel and come back. How long can it take to find out the little bit of information I need to know, he thought.
He found himself on the beach where he’d trained with his brother and uncle earlier that day. The sun was setting as he stared out over the sea. He felt a familiar shimmer in the air as Krazas appeared next to him.
“What did you find out?” Demun asked.
“Your grandmother has already squashed anyone that thought to rise against her. Her power is still immense and she fully understands the limits of her body. In short, you wouldn’t be able to defeat her now either.”
Demun snorted. “I do hate to admit this, but my grandfather is always right.”
Krazas raised a questioning eyebrow.
“He told me I wasn’t strong enough to take her down now,” Demun explained.
“Ah.” Krazas fell silent and looked out at the setting sun.
“You’re strong enough to take her out, aren’t you?” Demun asked him.
“Possibly,” Krazas answered. “But I won’t. I’m not the right person to rule demonkind.”
Demun gave him a quizzical look. “Why?”
“I’m much better at remaining in the shadows. A ruler has to stand out in the open, defend from all attacks, launch attacks, and make major decisions. If I have a choice, I’d rather put the right person on the throne and assist them from the shadows.”
“Is that why you’re helping me?”
Krazas turned to face him. “I happen to like you as a person. I will help you regardless of whether you take the throne from Desdemona or not.”
“And if I take the throne?”
“Then I will be there as your right hand man. Think of me as your messenger, like Hermes is to Zeus and Vic is to your grandfather.”
Demun’s face hardened at the mention of Vic’s name. He hadn’t seen the phoenix that served as his grandfather’s messenger since before he’d left for Shevat. If he was honest with himself, that fact bothered him. But he didn’t dare ask where the phoenix was. His grandfather saw too much and asking that question opened a whole new door for Jarel to kick in and assert his will. Demun loved his grandfather, but the last thing he needed was Jarel meddling in his personal life.
“You seem troubled,” Krazas commented, interrupting his thoughts.
“I have a lot on my mind. First and foremost I want to know w
hat is holding me back from being able to take her out. We need her off that throne permanently.”
“Perhaps it is simply that you have not transitioned yet,” Krazas suggested. “Is that not the reason you told me your grandfather is holding you here? Your true power will be unlocked when you transition into this new form. Perhaps once you have that power and are able to control it you will be ready to take the throne.”
Demun remained silent for several seconds before responding. “This transition scares me. My personality is very demonic in nature, while tempered with the honor of a dragon. I can’t help but wonder what I will be when this transition occurs.”
“I couldn’t offer much of an opinion on that. I have always been a demon. I was born with this hair you see and the blue skin you are accustomed to seeing me in. There was no transition, no great unlocking of my power. I simply grew in power bit by bit, naturally. The power you sense from me now is the culmination of centuries of training and fighting. I was not born with the natural power possessed by you and your twin brother, and therefore did not have it sealed away. But then again, I’m not descended from your grandfather either.”
“Yes, but you’re also a full demon. I’m a mixed breed. And even though my blood doesn’t cause a split in my personality like my brother, it can still cause issues with this transition. I simply fear losing myself to the demonic side of my nature and becoming a threat to everyone, especially my brother.”
“Why do you worry about turning on your brother?” Krazas asked. “Even in a loss of control, I cannot imagine you hurting him.”
“Because demons view him as being weak because of his humanity, and I’m afraid if I were to become more demonic with this transition and lose control, then I would view him the same way.”
“If your demonic nature is identical to your grandmother’s, then that would be a problem. However, I still have faith that even if you come close to losing control, your brother will snap you back.”
Demun looked out as the sun finally set. “I sincerely hope you’re right.”
Twenty Six
Jarel stood on the roof of his palace, gazing out over the land he’d created. His swirling silver eyes saw all throughout his realm. His mind was troubled as he watched over his realm. As he stood there, he felt a familiar arm drape around his should. He knew without looking that it was his twin brother.
“I can sense your turmoil from my own palace, brother,” Zarel told him. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“For the longest time, I’ve given this woman the space she seemed to need,” Jarel replied, knowing his twin knew exactly who he was referring to. “Since she made it clear she had no desire for me, I left her alone. I never reached out to her until today and only because I have one of her subjects here that I plan to allow to stay here. But I found that all of her subjects have ruled themselves for so long that they can’t remember when she was last seen. No one anywhere knows where she is. It disturbs me that not even her strongest, most loyal angels know where she is.”
Zarel sighed. “I suppose it’s about time I tell you what I know.”
Jarel turned to look at his twin. “You know something about her disappearance?”
Zarel nodded solemnly. “I’ve always known what happened to her. There is a reason I named my daughter after her. Deep down, brother, you know the reason as well.”
Jarel turned away. “She’s long gone, isn’t she?”
“Yes, since before the Olympians gained the throne of heaven.”
Jarel closed his eyes and remained silent for several moments. “How did she perish?”
“I’m sure you can figure out who would be malicious enough and have the power to kill her. You only had one enemy at the time.”
Jarel scowled. “Lucifer.”
Zarel nodded again. “He despised her and everything she stood for. She is the creator of the angels, after all. The power of her creations more than rivaled that of his children. Most of the angels are innately good and it was natural for them to take the role of demon hunters. He hoped to stop them by cutting off the head, not realizing that her will would continue regardless.”
“Why exactly have you waited so long to tell me this?”
Zarel knew his brother’s temper was beginning to build. “She didn’t want you to know. She left explicit instructions that none of the angels or the Fae were allowed to tell you.”
Jarel remained silent again for several seconds. “You named my niece after her. Why? She is not the goddess reincarnated. I would sense that and it would make my life excessively complicated.”
“No, I named my daughter after her because she was born exactly as the original Verlaine passed from this existence. I wanted to honor her memory. Honestly, I’m surprised you never asked me why I did it before.”
“I assumed you owed her something and that was her price. Besides that, she is very similar to my Verlaine.”
“Yes, I like to think that perhaps they intercepted each other and some of your Verlaine rubbed off onto my daughter.”
Jarel looked at his brother again. “Tell me, has my Verlaine been reincarnated yet? If you knew of her passing, surely you would know of this.”
“To my knowledge, your Verlaine has not been reincarnated.” Zarel studied his brother. “I am not sure if Chaos would willingly release her back into the world.”
Jarel grunted. “Of course not. Far be it for our loving mother to do something that would actually be beneficial to me or anyone else. But you do understand that I will have Lucifer’s head. I will bathe in his entrails and scatter his ashes across Tartarus, then damn him to be rebuilt and die the same way each and every day from now into eternity with no possibility of ever being freed.”
Zarel folded his arms across his chest. “No obliteration for him, I see.”
“Obliteration is far too nice of a punishment for him.” Jarel looked off into the distance again. “I already hated him. But for that single act he has condemned himself to eternal torture.”
“Are you angry with me as well?” Zarel asked. “After all, I have hidden this fact from you for ages, literally.”
“I’m not pleased with you, no, though you were honoring her wishes. I wish I had known when it happened. I wish I could have properly mourned her then instead of mourning the fact that she didn’t desire me any longer.”
“I daresay you were mistaken in that impression. She was a goddess, and goddesses hold grudges. She was angry with you, but she’d have gotten over it if she’d had the time. She would be here, reigning alongside you as your queen.”
Jarel didn’t care to examine that thought too closely. “There’s nothing I can do about that now. I refuse to bring her back in the method that gods must be resurrected. She’d truly hate me for it if I did. So unless she is somehow reincarnated and none of us knows about it, then I have no choice but to continue on as I always have. And that means we need to get down to business.”
“Yes, I suppose we do,” Zarel said quietly. “What would you like me to do now?”
“All dragons are now under orders to slaughter any and every descendant of Lucifer loyal to him and any of his warlocks on sight. I want his children on earth hunted and if they do not stand against their father, kill them and let Hades deal with them in the Underworld. I want his forces eliminated. I want him to have no place to hide from my wrath.”
“You and I both know that he can’t hide from you much longer, nor does he intend to.”
Jarel’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “Oh yes, I’m aware of his impending entrance into the mortal world and the shattering of his protective barrier to his realm. And although the cost to me personally for him to enter this realm is going to be far greater than what I want to pay, I’m aware of my inability to stop it from happening.”
“The pain Lucifer is going to cause is mind boggling,” Zarel muttered.
Jarel sighed. “I know if I do anything to intercept what has been destined then it’ll make things wors
e. Things have to go the way they are now in order for Lucifer to be destroyed in the long run.”
“And we still have Typhon and Echidna to worry about as well,” Zarel reminded him.
Jarel ground his teeth. “Typhon will be my warmup. I’m going to do what Zeus should have done when that creature was born.”
“You do realize Gaea will not be pleased with that kind of talk, don’t you?” Zarel asked.
“Ask me if I care. Go ahead, ask me.”
Zarel held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, she’s a dangerous enemy to have.”
“And you know better than anyone that I’m a far worse enemy to have. If the bitch doesn’t want to end up in Tartarus, she’ll get the hell over the fact that I’m about to slaughter her son for being a heartless murdering bastard. Typhon’s cruelty is even with his brother’s and I will not allow either one to reign in heaven. If she gave a damn about the creatures she birthed, she’d be doing everything to help stop them.”
At that moment, they heard the high pitched cry of a female phoenix. The large ruby red bird hovered over them, staying in her bird form and speaking telepathically to the two gods. They instantly recognized the female as Vic’s sister, Janelle.
My lords, I’m sorry to disturb you, but the former god queen Rhea is requesting an audience with you.
“How strange for Rhea to come here and not go to Olympus,” Zarel commented.
“Bring her to my throne room, Janelle. I will speak with her personally,” Jarel ordered.
Yes, my lord.
She immediately flew off. Jarel looked at his twin brother.
“Come along if you wish. I want to see what she has to say.”
Zarel smiled. “Oh, I’m most interested in this as well. I’m right behind you.”
Victoria had to hand one thing to Ares. He knew her a lot better than she thought. She needed to hunt and he’d given her some targets. He’d taken her right into a rogue hideout and she’d gotten a good workout in. There hadn’t been any strong ones, but the sheer numbers were enough for her to break a sweat, and maybe she’d gotten a scratch or two. She didn’t get any valuable information, unfortunately. The number she’d slain alarmed her. Wolves normally went about in smaller packs. Too many wolves in one place always led to fighting, especially among rogue wolves. Wolves didn’t follow orders very well. They were always determined to prove who the alpha personality in the group was. Tonight, she and Ares had taken out well over a hundred wolves.