“I do understand.” Ares looked into her eyes. “So I’m going to take care of it.”
“What? How can you take care of it if Poseidon can’t?” She studied him for a moment and then realized the implications of what she said. “It’s not that I don’t have faith in you, Ares, but Poseidon doesn’t want to hurt Fred. Is there a way to do this so we don’t hurt him?”
He gave her a relaxed smile that was somehow hopeful and sad at the same time. “Yeah, I’ve got this.”
“What are you going to do?” She noticed that he was still holding her hand.
“I’ll take his place.”
“Wha—No. You can’t do that.” He’d been locked in with Fred as a child when he’d refused to control his power. He’d never admitted it out loud to her, but this was one of his darkest fears. She wouldn’t let him do this. Not for Dagda.
He pulled her closer and she let him, his warmth enveloping her. “It’s not for him. It’s for you. It’s to do what’s right. And it’s my big thing, okay?”
His big thing… “Your Grand Gesture?” she dared whisper.
“I love you, Morrigan. I don’t want to fight it anymore. I just want you. If you’ll wait for me.”
Morrigan wasn’t a crier, but her eyes stung like she’d been punched in the face. She flung her arms around his neck. She wanted to rant and scream that it wasn’t fair they’d only just now found each other and now they were going to be separated for what could be years. Years upon years.
But this was his offering. His Grand Gesture. He was doing what was right. What was right often wasn’t fair. In fulfilling this, she could feel her power and his growing.
So instead, she said, “Of course I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait forever if I have to.”
He kissed her and the whole world fell away. The sunlight, the sand, the water…even Poseidon. There was no one in the universe but Ares and nothing existed but his lips against hers.
17
ARES
F red was the stuff of nightmares.
Literally.
When he’d been locked in with the Kraken as punishment for not controlling his powers, it had been terrifying. It had taken him two-hundred years to stop having nightmares about the darkness and the monster in it.
But he’d do this for her. She’d made him realize that he was no sniveling godling, but a god full grown. There was someone more important than himself—and it was her.
So he could do this.
“I’ll go with you,” she blurted.
He was reminded in that moment of all the reasons he loved her. “No, Morrigan. You have to go speak to Abstinence. You have to help Dagda acclimate to his new life, if she agrees. You’re head of your pantheon now.”
She shook her head. “I… this isn’t worth this sacrifice from you.”
“You already know this is the right thing to do.” For his part, he felt stronger, too. His power surged. “I won’t be gone forever. We have eternity. This is nothing but a drop in the bucket.”
“This is what I wanted from you. I’ll admit.” She nodded. “But now that I have it, I just want you.”
“You’re strong, Morrigan. Both of us are. We can do this.”
“We can, but I don’t want to.”
“If it was right before, it’s right now.” He eased her away from him.
“Wait!”
“Morrigan, you’re only making it harder.”
“I know, but I have to tell you before you go.” She pressed her lips together. “You’re a god strong enough to honor my strength, but to pick up my burdens when I need you to. You’re exactly what I was looking for and everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Ares didn’t know that the good things could feel like a punch in the face, too.
Poseidon saved him from having to come up with a good exit line. “Are you ready, brother?” He clapped his hand on Ares’s shoulder.
“We’ll hold Dagda in stasis until you meet with Abstinence. Wait here, Morrigan.”
“As if.” She snorted. “Make me a fish. I’m going, too.”
Poseidon shrugged. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m very sure.”
Poseidon’s power swallowed them and suddenly, there was only darkness—the heavy weight of the water pushing them all down.
The mouth to the Kraken’s prison yawned wide before them. He didn’t want to turn and look back at Morrigan, it would make it harder to go, but he couldn’t resist one more kiss.
Her hair billowed around her and the tail Poseidon had given her was blue-black, like Corvinus’s wings. Light emanated from her, chasing the darkness away.
He would take this image of her with him and knowing she was waiting for him, well he could do anything. Face anything.
Why had it taken him so long to realize?
When the door is open, I’ll pull Dagda out, but you must go in. No hesitation. Poseidon’s voice reverberated in his head.
He nodded and when the whirlpool manifested, Ares went into the dark.
18
MORRI
She knew they were doing the right thing, but that didn’t make it any easier. She thought maybe it should’ve.
But this wasn’t just the right thing for Dagda and for her pantheon. It was the right thing for Ares, too. He needed to prove to himself that he could step up—that he was worthy. This was as much a Grand Gesture to himself as it was to her.
When he’d gone and Dagda was out, Poseidon put a gentle, reassuring hand on her shoulder indicating it was time to go.
He transported them to a wading pool where a nearly naked, lithe woman cavorted with Zeus.
In bubbles.
There were so many bubbles everywhere.
“Uh Zeus,” Poseidon prompted.
The King of the Gods laughed and the woman with him shrieked.
“You didn’t tell her we were coming?” Poseidon asked.
“I—well—we were busy. You know how it goes.” He shrugged his massive shoulders.
The woman, presumably Abstinence, made herself a small toga out of bubbles. “You’re in so much trouble.”
“Yes, my queen.” Zeus’s expression was one of non-repentant glee.
Abstinence coughed and straightened her bubbles. “Hi.”
Morrigan laughed and reached out to shake the other goddess’s hand. “I’m Morrigan.”
“Oh, I’ve heard so much about you.”
“It seems everyone has.” Morrigan gave her what she hoped was a friendly smile.
Abstinence covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, I didn’t mean—”
Morrigan smirked. “I did. I mean, there was a centuries old betting pool. So, everyone knows.”
“Still, it would’ve been terribly rude of me to bring it up.”
“Right. Which is why I did. The elephant in the room has been excused.”
Abstinence laughed. “Best thing for it, I suppose. So what can I do for you, Morrigan? I assume if you’re popping into my bath—” she shoot Zeus a reproachful glance “—then it must be more than a social call.”
“It could be a really social call…” Poseidon teased.
Abstinence smacked his arm. “You Greeks are terrible.”
“And you’re one of us now.” The sea god grinned.
“It’s been dangerous to my health.” She turned her attention back to Morrigan. “So how can I help you?”
Morrigan decided she adored Abstinence. It had been interesting hanging out with Hera, but she had a harder edge than Abstinence. Hera was… well, she wouldn’t ask Hera for anything unless she had to. Morrigan respected the goddess, but she seemed much better suited to Tartarus than she did the Queen of Gods. Of course, she’d heard that Zeus had made her crazy, which she could believe.
“I don’t know if you know that the Celtic pantheon’s numbers have declined quite a bit in recent years.”
“I’d heard that. It’s such a shame.” Abstinence took her hand and squeezed.
“There’s tw
o of us left. Me and the guy who won the bet.”
Abstinence’s eyes narrowed. “So that’s why Poseidon was unleashing the Kraken. That’s what he deserves.”
“Maybe, but it’s not all his fault.”
“How so?” She lifted her chin.
In that moment, she could see the mettle that made her fit to be Queen of the Gods, the strength that made her Zeus’s match in every way.
“I don’t know if it’s like this in every pantheon, but when our deities die and go to the great sleep, or the sands of time, their power doesn’t always go with them. Sometimes it goes to those who are left behind. It seems that when I wasn’t paying attention, I got the good and he got the bad.”
“Still sounds like his fault. Power goes where it’s nurtured. Where it’s wanted. The dark things manifested and found a home in him because he’s sour and dark. They didn’t make him that way.”
“Be that as it may, I still have to help him. It’s my responsibility, but even with all the power I do have, I can’t give him what he needs.”
“I say we leave him with Fred. He could use the companionship.” Abstinence smiled.
“Ah, no. Ares has already taken his place.”
“What?” Abstinence drew her hand to her throat, then a strange light began to shine through her eyes. Her power bloomed like a flower, petals unfurling all around them. “Oh, what a beautiful gesture. My power just increased threefold.”
“How does that honor Abstinence?” Morrigan asked.
“Ares spent his life glutting on pleasure. He’s never denied himself anything. Now, he’s denied himself his freedom, and you, when they were both within his grasp.”
“Huh. Who’d a thunk it?” Zeus’s laughter was so loud and boisterous it shook the marble columns.
“So what is it you wish of me?” Abstinence asked again.
“I want you to do what you did to Zeus. Make him mortal.”
“Forever, or until he passes your test?”
“It’s not my test. It’s to exorcise the darkness in him. Whatever’s made him sour. I’d like to see him healed.”
“You think mortality will do that? Mortals are angry. Some are keepers of darkness so foul even a god’s mind can’t wrap around the depravity.”
“I think it will teach him. I believe he can be saved.” Hope surged in her chest.
“Then I’ll do as you’ve asked.”
“Thank you.”
“Where is he?”
Poseidon produced him in his watery cell, frozen mid-scream.
“Have you decided where he’s going?” The goddess asked.
“There’s a small coven that still prays to me. I’m going to give him to them to care for, to teach.”
“What will you do if he hurts them?”
“He won’t, because if he does, he’ll go back to the Kraken.”
“But he’ll be mortal.”
“Exactly.” Morrigan nodded.
Abstinence reached out her hand and into the strange water that rippled around Dagda. Her fingers closed around his wrist and hatred flared in his eyes.
“In time, I hope you come to see this as a gift, Dagda. I hope you return to the Hall of Gods.” Abstinence released him.
“You’ve got it from here, Morrigan,” Poseidon said.
“You have my gratitude. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, do let me know.” Morrigan said.
“I’ll keep that in mind. We’d love to have you come back to visit when it’s not in my bath.” Abstinence smiled.
“I’d love that.” She turned to Poseidon. “Thank you for all that you’ve done.”
“I can’t have my brother’s woman without a champion, now can I?”
She laughed and kissed his cheek. “You’re good to me.”
“Stop with that. You know Greek gods and goddesses get pregnant in strange ways. I don’t want to end up like a seahorse.”
She laughed. “Okay. I guess that’s fair.”
“Everything works out, you know.” Poseidon added.
“What do you mean?”
“Aphrodite told me about the vision she had of you and Ares. You were chasing your daughter, laughing, through green fields. It’s all going to work out.”
Abstinence smiled. “Oh, is that why you’re glowing? Are you pregnant?”
“No. No.” She shook her head. “No.”
Zeus eyed her hard. “Not as of yet. That glow is your new power coming to you for accepting it and your responsibility.”
Morrigan breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted a child, but not yet. She and Ares still had too much to do together.
“With that, I’m out.”
“See you soon, kid.” Poseidon clapped her shoulder.
She took her package earthside and allowed their bodies to form from the ceremonial fire.
Confirming her existence to her followers only increased her strength and as they backed away from the fire and bowed, one of the women said, “This was the dream I had last night.”
“Take him. Care for him. He is my chosen, as are you.” She offered up Dagda as the water melted away from him and he sank to his knees down in the grass.
The women immediately began looking for something to wrap him in, prepared a mug of mulled wine. A man, her high priest, stood to the side watching. Morrigan motioned for him to come to her.
“I dreamt of him too,” he said softly. “But not like this. He is Dagda, the light bringer.”
“Light bringer no more as he was lost to the darkness. His flesh is mortal. Will you accept this burden?” As soon as she saw the thread of Fate weave around them, she knew Dagda would never return to the Hall of Gods. He’d choose to stay mortal to stay with this man.
And it was good.
“Yes,” her priest answered.
“Then accept my blessing now, and for what the future holds.”
The priest came to her and knelt in front of the fire. She kissed his forehead in blessing. The women followed suit and she gave them all a tiny spark of her magick to bring them health, wealth, and joy.
And maybe even a little magick of their own.
Morrigan felt in that moment that almost everything in her life was perfect. The only thing missing was Ares.
19
ARES
A s he read Goodnight Moon for the three-hundred and seventeenth time, Ares decided that maybe Fred wasn’t all that terrible.
Poor bastard was just lonely. He’d hatched into being around the same time as Ares and had never gotten the nurturing or love he needed. He hadn’t known how to control his strength either when they were young. That’s why they’d been locked away together—to teach each other kindness and empathy.
Only it hadn’t exactly worked out.
When Ares was free, he was going to see if he and Poseidon could work something out. There was no reason for Fred to be alone.
“Glad you came back,” Fred said. The sound of his voice was strange for such a large creature. For all the world, the Kraken sounded like a child.
He acted like one too, sometimes.
“The last one was no fun. He didn’t want to play.”
“He was having a hard time.”
“Awes,” he began. “Why am I the punishment?” The big, tentacle beast asked him.
The question was a little heartbreaking. “You’re not really the punishment.”
“Unleash the Kraken!” he mocked Zeus’s thunderous voice and the walls of their prison rattled. “I am.”
“You’re supposed to teach us how to be kind.”
“Even when I’m supposed to break things?”
“No, then you’re the punishment.” Ares nodded. “But that’s okay. Sometimes I’m the punishment, too.”
“I know you don’t want to be here, either.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to be here, Fred.” He tried to think of the best way to phrase it so that he could understand. “I have a girlfriend and I miss her.”
“She could
come! We could have a tea party!”
Ares tried to picture that, but failed miserably. “She’s not a tea party kind of goddess. She’s a war goddess, but she can’t come here. She is the last of her pantheon and she has responsibilities that won’t let her be…” He looked around. “Wherever here is.”
Fred’s tentacles flopped and he sighed. “You can go with her.”
“No, we don’t want you to be lonely.” Ares tried to stamp down the hope that surged in his chest.
“I won’t cause a fuss, Awes. I don’t want you to be here because you have to.”
He reached out and patted a tentacle. “I don’t want you to be alone. It was scary when we were kids, but it’s not scary now.”
Suddenly, he found himself wrapped in all of Fred’s tentacles being squished up against his body in what he supposed was a hug.
“It’s okay, big guy. Want me to read Go the Fuck to Sleep, or The Fox and the Hound next?”
The tentacles tightened and it seemed as if he was losing consciousness. He was a god. It wasn’t supposed to work like this.
“Uh, Fred? Fred, that’s a little ti—”
The world went black, but he wasn’t unconscious. There was nothing but endless pitch, no stars, no moon. Nothing but the darkness and he sped through it like a rocket, until off in the distance, he saw a sliver of light that merged into something more. Soon, he could see a ceiling of water, but his propulsion didn’t slow, if anything, it increased.
He burst through the water and found himself just off the coast of an island. The water began to turn blue, so clear he could see the white sandy bottom.
The place was packed with tourists lounging around in small huts that had been built out from the island like little fingers dipping into the amazing water.
He was earthside.
He was free.
He had to find Morrigan.
The sand warm on his toes reminded him that Fred didn’t have these experiences. Fred was alone. He had to do something about that. He couldn’t leave him there. Maybe he could talk to Hades about how Cerberus managed to change his size and see if there was anything that could be done about Fred.
Ambrosia Lane 1-3: Saranna DeWylde Page 61