by Paris, Sevan
She exploded, stunning most of the gods in the alley, but not all.
The people of Athens heard thunder several more times that night before Zeus died.
BOOK THIRTEEN
THE LATE TALK
Alex woke up and saw his mother staring at him.
"Mom?"
"Yeah."
Alex looked at the clock. It was 3:30 in the morning. He wanted to ask her what was wrong. Why was she sitting on the foot of his bed staring at her like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie?
Then, he remembered his fucked up day.
He remembered Zeus, he remembered the baldy at the door, he remembered the Minotaur (and finally remembered its name), and most importantly, he remembered his mom had been lying to him for his entire existence.
Alex though of several things he could say to his mother. None of them were pleasant.
"Here." She extended her hand in the darkness.
Alex hesitated for a moment then reached out. She placed two objects in his hand. Both were made out of plastic, one was hard, the other soft and flimsy. It was the smell that made Alex identify them. "Cigarettes and a lighter?"
"I've been smoking for ten years. Never told anybody till tonight."
A silence passed. Alex thought she was grinning.
"I didn't have a way to explain it to you. By the time you were five, you would think it would get easier, but it got worse. I hadn't had straight sex since I was seventeen, and somehow I had a kid. Not knowing why or how, I was going crazy." She sniffed. "And I couldn't tell anybody, y'know? People who knew I was gay wouldn't believe I had sex with a guy. People who didn't know I was gay...it was just hard to deal with."
"That's when he came back to me. Ten years ago. He told me who he was and what he had done. I thought he was crazy. I actually started to call the police until I saw him change into her." She sniffed again. "So, when I saw him turn into her right there in my living room, I went from thinking I was going crazy to knowing I was crazy. He managed to calm me down and explained everything to me again."
"Why did he come to you?"
"Something about liking my ass."
"No, I mean, the second time. Why did he come back?"
"He kept watching me, he said. He saw what not knowing was doing to me. He wanted me to know for my sake. And I think for yours."
"Did knowing make things better or worse?"
"Better. I still had to hide everything, but at least I knew what I was hiding."
Another silence.
She put her hand on Alex's foot. "I never meant to hurt you, Alex. I didn't. I just didn't know how to tell you. I didn't have any proof and I...I just didn't know how."
"Okay. But I know now. And you know I know, so no more secrets." Alex put the cigarettes and lighter back in her hand.
"Fair enough."
"Did he ever show you anything? Like, some of the other gods?"
"No, I wanted to. I asked him. I thought I deserved it. But he said it was too dangerous. He told me about them though." The gentle hand on Alex's foot turned into a grip. "Did something happen?"
"Nope. We just met. That's all."
"Well, what did he say?"
"Pretty much what you just did, without the details."
"That's all?"
"Yeah."
"Alex, I think I deserve a little more than that."
"Mom, what do you want me to say? He came to me, told me I was his son, I freaked out; he told me not to freak out. He told me he wouldn't let anything bad happen to me, we sang Kumbaya, had a wonderful time."
Sophie held up a hand. "Okay, okay. If he comes back, let me know."
"I will, I will let you know. I promise."
She stood up. "Dinner tomorrow night? We could go to the Italian place."
"Yeah, sounds good."
She hugged him. Normally, he would pull away, but this time he let her. She needed the hug, and, on some level, Alex needed it too. He let his cheek sink into her neck. The soapy smell he had remembered since childhood was still there.
Alex looked out the window and heard thunder in the distance.
BOOK FOURTEEN
THE BORROWED TAMPON
Fiona Avery looked in the mirror of the Fite Funeral Home's bathroom. Her sad face looked passable, but then again, who would really judge?
She could run up the aisles of Jason and Jennifer Avery's viewing doing naked cartwheels and still have a perfectly legitimate, if not socially acceptable, reason for doing so.
Her parents were dead.
Maybe she should cry.
Fiona squinted her eyes and raised her cheeks. She thought about all of the awful things she had witnessed during her entire lifetime.
Her right eye managed to turn a little red.
"Shit."
She looked at her cell phone. She hadn't been to school for two days and hadn't tried to call Alex or Bos. She had no idea if they were coming, but she hoped. It would make the emotions--or lack thereof--easier to deal with somehow.
Thinking of Alex made Fiona's face turn red. Surprised, she looked in the mirror again and thought of Alex Anderson burning to death while somebody forced his mother to watch.
Nothing.
Why can't I fucking cry? They will expect me to cry. I can't just okey-dokey my way out of this.
Maybe cartwheels weren't such a bad idea.
Aunt Nikki knocked on the door. "Honey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. How many people are here?"
"I think everybody. But...don't...It's okay if you need more time."
Fiona sighed. She had to get this over with. She wondered if people ever thought about how lucky they were to have regular emotions.
"No, I'm ready." She rubbed water in her eyes and went to greet people at her parents' coffins.
~ * ~
"Shit!" Helen DeTroy threw her gym bag on the locker room floor.
Her friend, Justine Wimber, turned away from the mirror. She was taking out her earrings. "Problem?"
Helen looked at her. "Do you have any pads?"
"Got some tampons."
Helen shook her head. Slut.
Only she and Justine remained in the locker room. The other cheerleaders were already on the bus, ready to leave for today's competition.
In short, it was either the fucking tampon or nothing.
Helen held her hand out. "All right, gimmie it."
Justine sighed and fished one out of her gym bag. "Why do you think girls that use these things are sluts?"
Helen unwrapped it. "Why do you think they aren't?"
"Just hurry. We're late," Justine hurried out.
Helen walked into a stall and shut the door behind her. She pulled her skirt down, sat on the toilet and looked at the tampon in her hand. It starred back, mocking her. Helen winced, spread her legs and started putting it in...
Then she heard the bathroom door slam.
She yelped and nearly fell off the toilet.
The sound of a woman's heels echoed through the locker room. Nobody should be in here wearing heels. All of the teachers had gone home for the day and her coach was in sneakers.
The sound came closer and closer. The heels stopped underneath the stall door and faced her. They looked old. Not old-old, but, like, fashion old.
"Can...I help you, old heel wearing person?"
That's when the stall door was ripped off its hinges.
Helen screamed and fell off the toilet. She back peddled into the space between the tank and the wall.
A woman in her mid-forties threw the stall door to the side. "I think you'll do."
She stepped into the stall.
Helen tried to scream.
BOOK FIFTEEN
AN ATHENIAN LUNCH
Alex Anderson stared at his cheeseburger, willing it to turn into something else.
Bos plopped his tray down beside Alex. "Where've you been for three days?"
"Home. I needed a while to figure stuff out."
&nbs
p; "You even go to the funeral?"
"Shit...no. No, I didn't." Alex dreaded seeing Fiona now.
"She'll be alright. So what's the what with Zeus?"
Alex took a bite of hamburger. "My father is a bona fide god, Bos. Which apparently makes me a demigod."
Bos bit into his pizza. "Sweet. Totally sweet."
Alex swallowed. "But, wait a minute, Bos. You can't tell anybody, and I mean anybody about this. You understand? Not only will they not believe you and think you're a freak. But who knows what Z will do?"
"What Z… Did that asshole threaten you?"
"No, but I--I just want to play it safe. You know. I mean who knows what could happen. The guy isn't all there"
"Play it safe. Gotcha'. Safe. Hey no problem. I'm the king of safe. You wanna play it safe. We'll play it safe. I got no problemo with that."
Fiona sat her tray next to Bos's and took a seat.
"Hey, Fiona, guess what. Alex is a superhero. His momma's baby daddy just said so."
"Bos, what the hell?" A chunk of hamburger flew out of Alex's mouth and stuck on Bos's bowler.
Mr. Tuddlemeyer, the cafeteria monitor looked their way. The man would not abide outbursts of any type, especially those of a profane type. Alex looked at his hamburger.
"Hey, Alex I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry, but Fiona's our bud. She has to know. You can't keep something like this a secret from her. Besides, who is she gonna tell? It's not like she has any friends."
Fiona put a french-fry in her mouth. "Hello? Am I not sitting right here?"
"Fiona, you know I love you, but you're a freak."
"I have no problem with that." She leaned forward. "So, what's goin' on?"
Bos's leg bounced.
Alex played with a french-fry in ketchup. "First off, I'm sorry about missing--"
"Forget about it. It's done, and I do not want to talk about it."
"Okay, well, after the field trip, I, uh--"
Bos bit his thumbnail and rocked back and forth in his chair.
"I found out, when I got home...I found out…"
Bos slammed his palm on the table, causing another glance from Tuddlemeyer. "Alex is the son of Zeus. That's cool right? Isn't that totally cool? He has superpowers and everything!"
Fiona stared at both of them and swallowed her fry. She slurped some coke through a straw, threw the rest of her lunch in the trash and left the cafeteria.
"What-the-what?" Bos said.
~ * ~
Both of them caught up with Fiona next to the teachers' parking lot. She walked fast, arms crossed.
"Alex ran in front of her. Hey, Fiona, look, I know it sounds, crazy, but it's the honest to God truth. Greek gods are real and my father is one of them."
"Stop following me," Fiona said.
"Alright, look..." Alex grabbed her elbows. She gave him a dangerous look. "What if I could prove it to you?"
Fiona sighed and sat on the curb.
"What? So that's a yes, right?"
She remained silent.
"Alright," Alex held up a finger, "watch this."
Bos smiled. "Watch--watch!" He stepped close to Alex. "What'ere you gonna do?"
Alex pointed to the curb beside Bos. "Just wait right here."
Ever since that night, there had been things Alex wanted to try. Bos was right, he did have superpowers, but he didn't know how many or what kind. The only way to find out was to try stuff. He wanted to try shooting lightning from his hands. He wanted to try jumping off a tall building. He wanted to try stopping a train. So far, he only had the balls to try the lightning and that was zip. Being out here in the parking lot reminded him of one other thing he wanted to try though.
Alex walked to a Crown Victoria and picked it up.
Bos laughed then clapped his hands. "Action comics number one, dude, awesome!"
Alex grinned. He felt good. Really fucking good.
But Fiona was no longer there.
~ * ~
After Alex set the car down, the two set out looking for Fiona yet again. She wasn't too hard to find. She always went for something she called a "safe spot" in the library. The library at Athens was much bigger than the library in a school of five hundred students had any right to be. It composed the entire second floor, which originally, the school had planned on using for classrooms. However, a yearly fifteen million dollar donation put those plans to an abrupt halt. The anonymous donor's only condition: use the second floor of the school and the money for a library. As a result, the school bragged about the lavish library on their website and at parent teacher conferences, but did nothing but complain about it in the presence of other teachers and students.
Fiona's safe spot was the poetry section. Nobody was ever there, and the shelves formed a person-sized cubby.
Alex and Bos found her there crying.
Alex kneeled. "Fiona, I don't understand. What is it?"
Fiona looked up. Mascara ran down her pale cheeks. "This? This is what it takes to cry? How do you deal with it?"
"Okay," Alex said. "Still not understanding."
"It's her mortal desires that betray her. They always do."
Alex turned and saw a woman in her mid forties staring back at them. She looked like she'd just left a dinner party in 1944.
Fiona sniffed once more and stood. "Get behind me, Alex," she said in a horse voice.
Alex's eyes froze on the older woman. "Hera."
"Who?" Bos said.
Alex shoved Bos back. "It's the bad guy, Bos."
Hera laughed. "Oh how wonderfully quaint. Yes, I will accept that description, Alex Anderson. For many before you have defined me as such." She pointed at Fiona. "Just ask Athena."
Bos pointed at Fiona as well. "Ahaa! What? Wait a minute, what's an Athena?"
BOOK SIXTEEN
THE MAGIC TAMPON
Fiona reached behind her back and pulled a four-foot sword from under her t-shirt. It hummed with each movement. There was no way--no way--she could have hidden the thing in her shirt. But, somehow, there it was.
And there she was.
Fiona, the vulgar little goth-girl Alex had known for half his life, twirled a sword above her head like she was auditioning for a Conan movie. Alex knew her, but had no idea who she was.
The floor rumbled. Alex grabbed the nearest bookcase. "What was that?"
"Don't know, dude," Bos said. "Sounds like a freaking Sarlacc."
Fiona never took her gaze off Hera. "What have you done, stepmother?"
Something underneath them screamed. It sounded like a cross between a woman and the Incredible Hulk. The floor rumbled again. Books fell off shelves and book carts rolled in random directions.
Fiona looked at the floor. "Surely you did not. Not even you would be so..."
Hera smiled. "So what? Cruel? What an unwise judgment of me, Athena."
Fiona's lips curled into a snarl. She took three quick steps to Hera, raised her sword…
And the floor exploded.
Floorboards smacked Alex in the face and chest. Some unseen force flung him into a bookcase. He caught a glimpse of Bos going over another shelf yelling, "Fuckin' A!" as he went.
Muffled screams came from the floor below. Alarms wailed through Athens Central, and sprinklers hissed in another room.
Alex slowly stood. He watched something rise from the hole with its back turned. It had a girl-like shape from the waist up, but the rest of it looked like a thirty-foot snake. Dark green scales covered its entire body, and a nest of snakes ranging from six to eighteen inches sat where its hair should have been.
At least thirty snake heads looked his way. The creature's entire body went rigid. It raised its tail and Alex saw a huge rattler on the end. The sound it produced was crazy loud and Alex felt it in his chest. The creature jerked its head around and faced Alex.
Fiona slammed into Alex. The two of them went tumbling behind a bookcase in a tangle of arms, legs, and sword. Fiona held him against the floor. Her strength surprised him. Alex didn'
t think he could have resisted her if he wanted to. "Don't look at it!" She moved to the far end of the bookcase.