by James Hunter
Once more, the godstone whispered for me to use both godstones. The necklace rattled against my armor in opposition. I was tempted to follow its advice, but then I kept picturing Asteria’s concern, Phoebe’s sarcastic bemusement, and Myrina, whom I’d risked everything to save. They didn’t want Ares. They wanted Jacob. And as myself, I had the best chance of beating the odds. The hammer felt heavy in my hand. One more divine weapon I could wield ... The problem was, I only had two hands.
Then the idea hit me square in the face, and a slow grin broke across my lips. Might be a long shot, but it was worth a try ...
Still grinning like a maniac, I floated down Rural Avenue and stopped at Highland Park.
When I reached the playground, I spun in a slow circle to get my bearings. If the Palace of Hades was to the north, that meant the big church was to the west of the park and the Riverside Apartment complex to the east. A strip mall made up the southern border. The north side of the park was packed with houses. Souls walked the streets, moving below me with their kids in strollers, creating a kind of mist that clung to the town.
Normal, everyday souls living in the Midwest. That meant lots of beer, football, and macaroni casseroles.
I came to rest on the top of the play structure and remembered the swings and slides that used to be there when I’d been little. Weird that I would return to my hometown to save the world. How many times had I played there as a kid, rescuing damsels in distress, vanquishing imaginary villains, or toppling the evil Galactic Empire with my buddies? I’d played out a million dreams with my friends, and that was just it. I was with my friends. I hadn’t done it alone.
Phoebe messaged me. Uh, boss, where did you take off to? Gonna go kill all the bad guys by yourself?
No. Just the opposite, I sent. I’m in Highland Park off Rural and Westchester.
That helps me out how? Phoebe asked. I’m not seeing street signs, and I’m not sure I’m in the same place you are.
Here. Follow the light. With a thought, I turned on the Aegletes Crown full tilt. The circlet on my brow lit up the dark park, acting like a beacon for my Amazons to find me.
I knew what I needed to do. I just hoped I had the skill to do it. And this was one choice I wasn’t going to run past the committee.
First things first, I had my Attribute Points to consider and my one Ability Point. That last one was easy. The godstone heated my chest, but I scoffed at it. “Shut up, you overgrown piece of coal. I’m running this show.”
From the Path of the Builder Skill Tree, I chose Elemental Smithing. Now we could modify the ballistae, javelins, and arrows with some serious sick shit.
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PERFECT.
As for the Attribute Points, I dropped the whole shebang into Intelligence, and in the blink of an eye my miracle damage jumped by twenty points. And just like that, everything became crystal clear in my head. Yes, Highland Park would be a good place to make a stand. We could put the snipers in the houses, build barricades, and create a bottleneck. Hades might have hundreds of thousands of soldiers in his army, but that wouldn’t matter if they had to fight us one at a time—at least initially.
I went to the picnic area and set Hephaestus’ gem and the crystal shard on a table. The godstone threw red light across the wood.
All that power could be yours, my own godstone whispered.
Broken. Fucking. Record.
“I don’t want power,” I said out loud. “I want to win.”
That table wasn’t going to be able to handle the blow I was preparing to deliver, so after a moment of thinking, I moved the gemstone to a big, flat rock near the swings. I gripped the hammer in a sweaty hand, just a hint of nervousness roiling inside my belly. If you’re somewhere out there, Hephaestus, guide my hand. I need this to work.
Before I could rethink anything, I lifted the hammer and slammed it down onto the bloody godstone, channeling my essence and will. Break, I thought. A flare of crimson light blinded me. An explosion, like Armageddon on a bad day, boomed across the houses, sweeping away the mist of souls for a minute.
I blinked rapidly, banishing the purple afterimage tattooed across my retinas. As the hazy blindness finally passed, I glanced down. The gem lay in three glittering pieces. With the added shard, that meant I had four crystals, all about the same size.
“Thanks, H,” I said to the dead god of blacksmiths, hoping he heard me. “Sorry Ares killed you. But we’re going to try to make it right.”
Phoebe walked into the park in her mech. Pterodactyl Asteria dropped in with Myrina on her back. The Battle Warden slid off, touching down with the grace and lethality of a fucking tiger, and strutted toward me on the dew-covered grass. She wasn’t naked anymore but was covered in piecemeal armor that her sister Amazons had given her.
Asteria shifted, taking human form. The three gathered around me, their faces solemn. No, make that four. Loxo appeared out of the shadows. She grinned. “Myrina wanted her javelins back, but I say finders keepers and losers weepers. That is an American idiom, is it not?”
I nodded.
Myrina came forward. Her eyes were on my face. “Thank you for saving me, Jacob.”
That surprised me as much as her passionate kiss had. “What? I thought for sure you’d go off on me. Something like, ‘Jacob Merely, you were foolish to risk the universe for my insignificant life. You must work to rise above your own idiocy.’”
Damn. That was spot on, Phoebe messaged us all.
A small smile played across Myrina’s lips. “We have played it safe, and I find the logistics tiresome. I long for the glory of battle. I want to fight by your side, Jacob, and not you as the war god, but you as my man.”
That kind of melted me a little. Myrina had changed so much. A temporary death and a stint at a Rockford 7-Eleven will do that to a girl.
She continued. “I say we make our stand here, now, and if we all die, then we shall die in glory rather than live in fear.”
Don’t live in fear. Die in glory. We could make T-shirts. Phoebe laughed.
“I like it. But I don’t plan to do any dying. I’ve made it this far against the odds, and I plan to keep right on kicking ass and taking names. And I’ve got a plan to do it.” I picked up the crystal shard that had powered Daedalus’ steampunk Minotaur. The red light painted Myrina’s face. “Can you loosen your armor. I need to see the skin above your heart.
“What are you doing with that?” Myrina asked, flinching.
But Phoebe knew. Damn, my dude, you aren’t fucking around here.
No, I’m not, I replied.
Hesitantly, Myrina unclipped her breastplate and let it slide down so her upper chest was exposed.
“Myrina, you will no longer simply be my Amazon. Now, you are the demigoddess of battle.” I pressed the shard into her skin. The crystal entered her easily, with no blood. She let out a cry as scarlet light enveloped her, pouring out of her eyes and mouth in a torrent. I remembered the process of becoming a god, and it was not a pleasant experience. But Myrina was tougher than a combat-hardened drill instructor, so I had no doubt that she’d handle her business. As I watched, she grew taller, her muscles thickened, and finally, that glow left her. The sliver of the godstone glittered like a ruby in her chest.
A single tear tracked down her cheek. “I do not understand. You could have taken all the power for yourself.”
“Not my style,” I said, shooting her a wink. “Now, who’s next?”
Asteria came forward. She was already naked, and blue, so it was easy. She too had tears in her eyes. “You would make us goddesses, Jacob? You would bless us so much?”
“I would. I need the help, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have at my side than you four.”
She pressed herself to me, holding me tightly, and then stepped back. “I am ready.”
Without another word, I pressed the second piece of the shattered gem into her chest, just above her heart. “Asteria, you are now the demigoddess of an
imals and life itself.”
Asteria’s blue skin burned red, becoming a shining purple color. She too grew taller, and her muscles flexed. She was wincing when the gleam faded. “The power,” she whispered. “I felt it fill me. And it feels so good.”
Loxo didn’t hold back. “Ha, that’s what she said. It fills her up and feels so good.”
A little spark of the carefree Asteria came back. “Oh, Loxo, you are so funny.”
Loxo came forward and bared her chest. I must admit, I got a little distracted. The Huntress noticed. “Focus, War God, we do not have time for that. Though when we win this thing, I’ll give you all the time you can handle and then some.”
With a grin, I pushed the third piece of the gem into her chest. “Can’t wait. Loxo, you are now the demigoddess of stealth, lust, and the hunt.”
Unlike Myrina and Asteria, Loxo fell to her knees, hunched over, screaming in pain. That blinding scarlet light filled her eyes and mouth, and every inch of her skin burned red. Her hair stood on end, sizzling as though she’d been hit by a lightning bolt.
I tried to talk to her, message her, but I was powerless. Why was she having such a powerful reaction? And would she survive it?
Before, when I’d tried to process Ares’ godstone all at once, the agony nearly snapped my sanity. I worried for Loxo, yet I couldn’t take back what I’d done.
Loxo finally gasped out, “I can do it. I can take it. I like it rough, War God. And this is rough.”
After what seemed like a trillion years, the light slowly faded away, absorbing into her skin. Loxo let out a long breath and stood. “That was a little much, but I do like how you pierce me, Jacob, in all kinds of ways. Demigoddess of lust, eh? It fits.”
I wiped some sweat from her brow. “And you can multitask. I’ve witnessed that firsthand.”
Asteria piped up. “He means sex! Loxo can have sex with a great many partners simultaneously.” She giggled a bit.
Myrina sighed and rolled her eyes, but there was no malice in it. And I loved it. Asteria was her old self again.
Loxo flexed a fist and cocked an eyebrow. “Sophia is going to be so jealous! I’m a goddess now!”
More troubling, Phoebe didn’t comment, and she hadn’t stepped forward. Did she think this was a bad idea?
If you do me, I want the hammer, the Rune-Caster sent. Also, that’s what she said. She lowered her breastplate.
Are you okay with this? I asked.
I’m just worried for you, she sent back. And just worried in general. This seems desperate. I hate desperate. She paused. I am curious to know what this is going to do to my stats, though.
Yeah, me too. I eased the last godstone crystal into her skin, hoping she didn’t have Loxo’s reaction. She didn’t. As with Myrina and Asteria, when the transformation was done, she was back to being my girl, my Rune-Caster, my Phoebe, with a glowing red shard of Hephaestus’ godstone lodged in her chest. “Phoebe, you are now the demigoddess of engineers.”
Fuck yeah, I am.
“And the demigoddess of cursing,” I added.
That’s also pretty fucking obvious.
I laughed and pulled up her character sheet.
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I COULDN’T BELIEVE it. I’d increased her level cap with Artemis’ Blood, but that meant she’d have topped out at level twenty. Nevertheless, she sat at level twenty-five, and all her abilities were maxed out.
Phoebe and I shared the view. How is this even possible? I asked her.
Easy, she sent. I’m massively smart now.
She was. She’d jumped up ten levels, so she’d had 100 points to divvy out. Fifty went into Intelligence, and another fifty went into Fortune. That seemed particularly auspicious given the army of death we were about to face.
Phoebe messaged all her fellow demigoddesses as well as me. We’re no longer Amazons, guys. That’s why we didn’t hit the level cap. We are legit goddesses now. We might max out our levels at some stage, but honestly? I don’t think we have a cap. Now that we each have a piece of a godstone, the rules have completely changed for us.
I thought of Loxo’s difficulty in assimilating the godstone. Whipping up her character sheet, I saw that she too was at level twenty-five. Which meant she’d shot up nineteen levels in a matter of seconds. That showed how tough she was. That might’ve broken most people, me included, but not her.
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I NOTICED HER POINT gain in Fortune, but unlike Phoebe, her points had been spread through all her attributes. Yet her Stealth Damage was downright sick. She’d also raised her Class and Combat Abilities, though she hadn’t started out as a general and so those skills weren’t maxed out. However, the Toxic Blade looked particularly lethal.
Loxo, standing right there, faded from sight and materialized a second later like a ghost. Holy shit. She had become the ultimate assassin.
We needed to get to work, but I wanted to just check out Myrina’s and Asteria’s character sheets quickly.
Myrina first.
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HER STRENGTH WAS OFF the charts, and with her Health, she had become the ultimate tank. I also noticed something I hadn’t seen before. That Frenzy Damage nearly matched what I could do with the Crystal Scythe using my Smite miracle. Damn impressive. A little scary, even. I filed that away for future use.
Finally, I pulled up my Beastiamancer’s sheet.
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ASTERIA’S ATTRIBUTE Points had been spread about, but again, her Fortune had been increased by fifty points.
If nothing else, luck was going to be on our side.
Her Animal Summoning ability had been maxed out as well. If that did what I thought it could do, that could prove vital in the upcoming fight.
Persephone zoomed in on the Helios Chariot, while I worked with my generals—now my fellow gods—to divide up the weapons we’d picked up on our journey. She touched down and stumbled out, her eyes wide as she scanned my new and upgraded ’Zons.
“What have you done?” she said, inching forward, nearly slack-jawed. Loxo turned toward her with a wide smile, pulling down her top to let the spring goddess inspect my handiwork.
“Since Jacob couldn’t get any help from the old pantheon, he made a new one.” She waved at her sisters. “Welcome to the new wave of gods!”
Persephone grinned from ear to ear, a dangerous glint in her eyes, which were now a stunning mixture of jade and gold. “Yet another nasty surprise Hades won’t see coming,” the goddess said, heading over to me. She traced fingers across my chest then down my shoulder. “None of the old ones would’ve ever thought to share power—the notion never would’ve crossed their minds. You are full of interesting ideas, Jacob. I just hope we win so we can celebrate.”
The rest of the army arrived a few minutes later, drawn by the burning light of the Aegletes Crown on my brow and shepherded by Hippolyta. They filed into the park, neat, orderly, and ready for war. Right up until they saw the newly forged demigoddesses. And then the whole lot of them just lost their minds. Excited murmurs broke out amongst the group, some falling to their knees, other weeping openly. By the time all of the Amazons had arrived, the awed chatter had died down and every eye was on me, waiting for me to make a speech, perhaps. Or offer an explanation.
But I’d given enough speeches. Now was time for my generals-turned-gods to shine. Myrina, you have the mic.
She nodded and stepped forward, easy to see since she was now so much taller than the rest of the Amazons. “Warriors,” she called out. “This is a dark hour. Hades marches against us with an army as endless as the sea. He would crush us. Obliterate us. And yet, in our bleakest moment, our war god has found a way to restoke the embers of hope. He has come here and saved my sisters and me against all odds. He has done a thing that not even Ares himself would’ve done by invading the realm of the dead. And more”—she pulled off the breastplate revealing the glint of red embedd
ed in her chest—“he has exalted sisters and me.
“Jacob could’ve taken the godstone of the fallen Hephaestus and absorbed its power for himself. Yet instead, he chose to do a thing no god has ever done: sacrifice power. He has humbled himself in order to give us a fighting chance. He has entrusted us with more power than any Amazon has ever known, and I for one, sisters, do not intend to fail him. So, if you are with me, then rise. Steel your hearts. And make ready for war. We are going to teach Hades a lesson that he shall not soon forget.”
Hope burned bright as my army let loose a war cry loud enough for Hades to hear, even miles away. And then it was a flurry of work. Upgrading weapons with elemental enchantments. Fortifying ballistae, digging berms, creating overlapping fields of fire. The minutes flew, carried away in a whirlwind of activity, but we were ready when Hades strode down Rural Street, past the fire department, and into our final apocalyptic fight.
Time to get some.
Rockford Bloodbath
HADES STOOD ON RURAL Avenue, staring up at me. He towered over his army, twenty-five feet tall, with a club the size of one of my Amazons. The spikes on the thing exuded a terrible stench. An inky black liquid dripped from the spikes to pool on the ground below him. The asphalt sizzled next to his big naked feet tipped with curved yellow toenails. His massive fingers had nails equally big and jaundiced.
Just looking at his shield made me want to get another tetanus shot.
We’d stacked cars on all four corners of the park, buttressed with playground equipment. Those cars didn’t run. Even Phoebe couldn’t get them to turn over. However, they were real enough and big enough to use as impromptu barricades to block off the intersections. We’d also wedged them in-between the houses on the north end of the park.
Behind them, on towers of other cars, we had our four ballistae at the corners of our fortified square. Phoebe had used her fancy new demigoddess powers to create fully adjustable mechanized mounts for the ballistae that allowed us to launch tree-sized projectiles in any direction with ease. And they weren’t firing normal bolts. Nope, this was the final throwdown and we were pulling out all the stops. I’d used my combination of Battle Forge Level 2 and Elemental Smithing to unlock their next-level abilities. I’d also put a little extra mojo on the arrows, javelins, and bladed weapons.