Pantheon (The Tamar Black Saga)

by Nicola Rhodes

  After a few minutes Tamar started to calm down again. ‘Better?’ asked Denny. No one else had said a word since Tamar had declared her intention to kill Nemesis. No one knew what to say.

  ‘I’m okay,’ she said. ‘I’m fine now.’

  ‘Sure?’ he said. ‘You can take as much time as you need. You need a clear head for this next bit.’

  ‘There’s a next bit?’

  ‘Yes, you have to summon her spirit the way you did mine. But it’s going to be harder. With me you did it on instinct and anyway, I wanted to come. She’s probably going to resist. You’ll have to concentrate.’

  ‘I can do that,’ said Tamar with grim determination. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me why?’

  ‘I don’t know yet,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know that you would have to summon her until after you killed her. It’s coming to me in stages. Cause and effect.’

  Tamar concentrated. ‘I don’t think it’s working …’ she began and was interrupted by a petulant voice. ‘Can’t you even let me rest in peace?’

  ‘No,’ said Denny and Nemesis turned in surprise.

  ‘You?’ she said. ‘You’re dead.’

  ‘Much as you are,’ he agreed.

  ‘So you are a spirit too?’ she said. ‘Can’t you let anyone rest in peace?’ she said to Tamar.

  ‘Shut up,’ snapped Tamar and Nemesis did – immediately.

  ‘Like a Djinn and its master,’ said Denny. ‘She has to do whatever you tell her to. Well, so do I, I suppose. You have complete control over the dead.’

  ‘So what are we going to do with her then?’ asked Tamar.

  ‘Her?’ hissed Aphrodite. ‘What’s going on now?’

  Denny smiled. ‘I see it all now,’ he said. ‘She will be leading you on the quest.’

  * * *

  Of course, when Denny said that he could see it all, he was exaggerating somewhat. But he had become aware of a few interesting facts. Nemesis, for example, was the founder – or one of the founders – of the quest. She would never have agreed to help them as a living god or even as a living mortal, but now she literally had no choice – no will of her own at all, in fact.

  And how was Denny gathering all this interesting information? Quite simply, since he had died he was seeing things from the point of view of eternity. Similarly to the way he had seen things inside the mainframe but in a more limited fashion. In practice, what this meant was that Denny could see the future. Because he was no longer in the streams of time, he was able to view the present from the point of view of the future. Like a memory of something that has not quite happened yet. But it had to be about to happen for him to see it.

  ‘I wish you could see further,’ said Tamar as they sat together by the light of the dying fire. ‘Like how it’s all going to end.’

  She had let Nemesis drift back to the underworld for a while, on Denny’s advice. She would call her back when they were ready for her. The others had backed away to a safe distance where they could watch the strange proceedings without getting in the way. It was just the two of them; it almost felt normal. Almost.

  ‘That’s still uncertain,’ he said, ‘from the point of view of the universe anyway. I can’t see what are still only possibilities. There are too many of them for me to separate out and make sense of. It takes a special kind of mind I think.’

  ‘Like Arachne,’ she said.

  ‘Yes, but the past is easy to see,’ he said, ‘for the most part anyway. It’s static, it’s already happened, fixed points. Unless someone like us comes along and buggers it all up of course.’

  ‘Of course,’ she said.

  ‘The Terastu isn’t quite what we thought it was,’ he said. ‘It’s not a weapon as such. I’m not quite sure, but basically, it was Apollo who was behind it in the first place. You see he knew that the time of the gods was going to end sometime, and the Terastu was their only chance to cheat destiny in some way. It could work either way, you see.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ she said.

  ‘No, neither do I,’ he admitted. ‘You see, he set up the quest with the help of his sister Artemis and Nemesis. Because he thought it was the only way that the gods might have a chance. It doesn’t make any sense to me at all. But that’s what happened.’

  ‘But we know for a fact that the gods will survive unless we make sure that they don’t,’ she said.

  ‘But that wasn’t their original destiny,’ said Denny thoughtfully. ‘We changed it – that’s why we’re here.’

  ‘So, what does that prove?’

  ‘Well, at least it proves that Apollo was right when he saw the demise of the gods.’

  ‘But their original destiny has already changed,’ she said. ‘Are you saying that we now have to find this Terastu to change it back? Or are we now stuck in some hideous paradox where we’re going to be the ones who change their destiny in the first bloody place – again. This could be how it happened.’

  ‘We’re second guessing ourselves again,’ warned Denny. ‘It never gets us anywhere when we do that.’

  ‘But it could be,’ she insisted.

  ‘I don’t think it’s that simple,’ he said.

  ‘Simple!’ said Tamar. ‘You must be kidding! My brain’s going cross-eyed just thinking about it.’

  Denny grinned. What a way to put it. Very Tamar

  He had to admit, though, it was easier to think clearly now that he was dead. His own brain was coping with the conundrum much better. But there were disadvantages too. Now that he could not touch Tamar he found he had never wanted to so much – not since the last time he had not been able to. Her skin had never looked so satiny to him, her hair so silky, her mouth so inviting. It was driving him crazy.

  ‘Awful, isn’t it?’ she said, divining his thoughts. ‘And it’s only been a few hours.

  ‘Anyway,’ he said to distract himself, ‘I think … I think … we went back along the timeline where the gods survived. Right to the point or thereabouts that history changed, so we have to find this Terastu to change their destiny back to what it ought to be.’

  ‘But you aren’t sure?’ she said. ‘I mean, if we’re in the timeline where the gods survive, then why would Apollo set up the quest in the first place?’

  ‘It could go either way,’ said Denny. ‘That’s the point. Even now, since we came back, the future is uncertain again. Just coming here changed things again, set us back on the path where the gods will die unless …’

  ‘Unless we fail,’ she said. ‘What a bloody mess we made. Clive was right. We really cocked it up this time.’

  ‘We have to find this Terastu,’ she decided. ‘If only to find out what the blasted thing is.’

  ‘I agree,’ he said.

  ‘It’s so strange,’ said Aphrodite to Hephaestus, ‘don’t you think? Watching her sitting there arguing with herself.’

  ‘She isn’t arguing with herself,’ he said. ‘We know that he’s there. At least, Hecate seemed certain of it.’

  ‘Well, they’ve been talking for hours and hours,’ she said. ‘What’s going on do you think?’

  ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘Poor boy,’ she said. ‘He was young to die.’

  ‘Well, he doesn’t seem to have let it slow him down too much,’ said Hephaestus tastelessly.

  ‘Don’t be crass,’ she admonished him.

  ‘Well it hasn’t,’ he said defensively.

  ‘You don’t like him, do you?’ she said. ‘You never use his name.’

  ‘Stop going on about him, will you?’ snapped Hephaestus. ‘How is a man supposed to feel about the man his wife is in love with?’

  And he stalked away in high dudgeon.

  ‘There’s going to be trouble there sooner or later,’ said Hecate to Prometheus.

  ‘What’s old Hephaestus going to do about it?’ he replied. ‘It’s too late to have the boy killed.’ And he laughed like a drain at his own wit.

  But Hecate had been growing fond of Denny in a sisterly sort of way
and did not think this was very funny. She swept away haughtily without another word.

  ‘You’ll pay for that later,’ said Proteus.

  ‘I know I will,’ said Prometheus gloomily. ‘Women!’

  * * *

  Nemesis was looking sulky and defiant, but to no purpose whatsoever – she might as well have been gracious about it for all the difference it made. If anything, Tamar had more control over the dead than even Hades had had. She had a very strong will and was prepared to exploit her new power shamelessly to get what she wanted.

  ‘Where do we go first?’ she demanded.

  ‘It’s not like that,’ said Nemesis. ‘I was not made privy to the secrets behind the quest, I was not considered important enough. Apollo and Artemis set up the quest. I only hold the clues.’

  ‘Good enough,’ said Tamar. ‘I suppose you were meant to lead the quest then?’

  ‘In the name of Apollo,’ she said. ‘But he has not chosen you.’

  ‘Fate chose us,’ said Tamar, ‘literally. Now get on with it.’

  Nemesis looked at Denny. ‘Well, she said, I suppose anything’s better than having to spend eternity with him. And it’s not as if I have any choice is it?’

  Tamar made a squeezing gesture with her hand causing the spirit of Nemesis to let out a scream. ‘No choice at all,’ she confirmed. ‘That was nothing,’ she added. ‘Don’t piss me about, or you’ll see what I can really do to you.’

  ‘Tasks,’ said Nemesis. ‘You have to perform tasks. That’s how he did it. Each task … no, no, I have to explain this, please.’

  ‘Tam,’ put in Denny. ‘Give her a chance.’

  ‘Each task leads to the next.’ she finished hurriedly.

  ‘How many?’ said Tamar.

  ‘Seven,’ said Nemesis. ‘Seven tasks to complete.’

  ‘Seven tasks,’ repeated Tamar. ‘And what’s the first one?’

  ‘An impossible one, even for you,’ said Nemesis with a nasty smile.

  ‘I’ll be the judge of that,’ said Tamar. ‘I don’t see why Apollo would have made the task impossible. He meant for someone to succeed, didn’t he?’

  ‘The world has changed since then,’ said Nemesis. ‘You are to retrieve the belt of Orion,’

  ‘Retrieve the belt of Orion?’ Tamar repeated for the benefit of those who could neither see nor hear Nemesis.

  ‘But … Orion has been placed in the firmament,’ gasped Hecate. ‘It’s impossible.’

  ‘I’ll be the judge of that,’ repeated Tamar. Denny was grinning. He knew his Tamar.

  ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘This shouldn’t take long.’ and she vanished.

  ‘It occurs to me,’ said Prometheus, ‘that even had Orion not been placed among the stars, this would have been a difficult task for a mortal to complete. Orion was a mighty man indeed, a son of Poseidon. I cannot see how Apollo expected anyone not of immortal descent to capture his belt or any other thing of his.’

  ‘He would have helped them of course,’ said Aphrodite cuttingly. ‘If he deemed them worthy, which he hardly ever does. I don’t suppose he ever expected a Djinn to take up the quest and throw all his plans out in this way.’

  Nemesis threw a startled glance at Denny. ‘She is Djinn?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, yeah – yes. Didn’t we mention that?’

  ‘Who then is her master?’

  ‘She’s pretty much her own master,’ said Denny. ‘She’s free.’

  ‘Free? A free Djinn. I never heard of such a thing.’

  ‘There are probably a lot of things you never heard of,’ he said. ‘Doesn’t mean they aren’t true.’

  ‘Apollo should have made the tasks harder,’ said Nemesis.

  ‘I don’t suppose he ever thought of this,’ said Denny.

  ‘But … she could succeed!’

  ‘Oh, believe me,’ said Denny, ‘she will. I’ve never seen her beaten.’

  ‘What, never?’

  ‘Never,’ affirmed Denny. ‘You think this is the first time I’ve been dead? She never gives up.’

  ‘You’ve been dead before?’ said Nemesis in utter disbelief. ‘How is that even possible? It makes no sense.’

  ‘I know,’ he said. ‘Believe me, I know.’

  * * *

  Tamar was – well, among the stars. It was peaceful up here – quiet. It had been easy enough to get here, but now she had another problem.

  Orion really was just a constellation. Nothing more. How the hell was she supposed to get the belt, when all it was, was a line of stars? Did that even matter?

  ‘Having trouble?’

  Tamar floated round. ‘What are you doing here?’ she said.

  ‘You called me,’ said Denny. ‘You really have an incredibly powerful mind, just not a lot of self-control.’

  ‘That explains a lot,’ she said. ‘But I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know what to do.’ She gestured to the constellation. ‘You know, it really shouldn’t even look like this up close,’ she said. ‘But that’s mythology for you.’

  ‘So?’ said Denny. ‘It’s not just a lot of stars then, is it? It’s more than that.’

  ‘I realise that,’ she said snippily. ‘But how do I use that fact?’

  Denny shrugged. ‘I don’t know everything,’ he said. ‘Omniscience, that’s your department.’

  ‘It’s just symbolic,’ she said. ‘You can’t do a lot with symbolic.’

  ‘I’ve had enough of this,’ she said suddenly sitting down cross legged in the complete lack of air. ‘What’s the point of all this anyway? Why don’t I just take Nemesis’s arrows up to Olympia and start shooting? Why does it always have to be so hard? You know, I don’t think I can do this anymore.’

  ‘What?’ asked Denny, alarmed.

  Tamar waved her arms. ‘This! All this … crap. The price is too high. After I get you back, I’m packing it in. I mean it. Enough is enough. The world can save itself from now on.’

  ‘You know you don’t mean that,’ he said.

  ‘I believe I said I did mean it,’ she said. ‘You’re dead. Dead! I can’t keep doing this.’

  ‘I’m not more important than the whole world,’ he said. ‘And you …’

  ‘You are to me,’ she said.

  Denny would have taken a deep breath, except for there being no air and the fact that he was dead anyway. ‘But …’ he began.

  ‘No, Denny,’ she cut him off. ‘I’m sick of it. Sick of almost losing you and everyone else I care about. Of actually losing you. Sick of always fighting. All we wanted was a little break – just once – haven’t we earned it? And look what happens. What always happens.’

  ‘Are you done?’ he said.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Feel better?’

  ‘Much better.’

  ‘And …?

  ‘I know what to do,’ she admitted. ‘I think maybe I always did.’

  ‘Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?’

  Tamar vanished. And reappeared as a constellation of stars.

  ‘Wow!’ exclaimed Denny. ‘I never saw that coming.’

  The constellation Tamar winked at him.

  From Tamar’s point of view, it looked rather different. It was like entering another world. Everything looked normal – for a given value of normal– like the world below. There was Orion, and the Pleiades fleeing from him. And Scorpio chasing him.

  But it all looked like the real world. A sort of still life cameo of the real world. Tamar though it was creepy. She grabbed the belt and got the hell out of there.

  ~ Chapter Twelve ~

  It was not so much that the job was boring; it was that it was so boring that Denny often found himself contemplating digging out his own eyes just for something to do.

  But at least he could go for a kip in the back whenever he wanted to; it was not as if there were ever any customers.

  So it was a bit of a surprise when the bell over the door – well it did not tinkle; it had not tinkled for many years, but it did make a s
ort of grinding noise that made Denny look up as the door opened.

  A gorgeous blonde stood in the doorway. Denny straightened up automatically. ‘Can I help you?’ he said dredging up the phrase from the recesses of his memory.

  The blonde smiled. ‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘I want to know all about you.’

  This was actually far from the strangest request Denny had ever heard – at one time the store had been the general hang out of all the local stoners and street dwellers in the area. Denny had been asked some pretty peculiar questions during that period. So he smiled and not just with his mouth – it reached to his eyes – and said. ‘Okay then.’

  Well it beat being bored senseless, he thought and wondered if she would feel the same way after he had finished telling his absurdly tedious life story to her. She had evidently mistaken him for someone with a life.

  The blonde seized on what Denny had considered she would find perhaps the least interesting part of his ramblings.

  He only mentioned it because it was so much on his mind lately.

  ‘I bet I can find out what happened to your Miltonian Fulcrum thingy,’ she said suddenly as he was just in the middle of telling her about his nasty tooth infection of a few years ago.

  ‘Millennium Falcon,’ he said.

  ‘Yeah that thing,’ she said. ‘After all I found you didn’t I?’

  ‘You found me?’ said Denny perplexed. ‘Why were you looking for me?’

  The blonde blushed. ‘It’s not important,’ she said dismissively. ‘The thing is … if you want me too, I bet I could find out what happened to it. It seems very important to you.’ She leaned seductively over the counter as she said this – it had the desired effect. That is, it confused Denny enough to make him forget his original query.

  ‘It’s a collector’s item,’ said Denny. ‘I really, really wanted it at the time. But now…’

  ‘Now you just want to know what happened to it?’ she finished.

  She looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Sounds fateful to me,’ she said without bothering to explain this remark. ‘Leave it with me.’ she added. ‘You know you might turn out to be quite interesting after all.’ And blowing him a flirty kiss, she stalked out of the shop.

  Denny went back to thinking about the best way to dig out his eyes.