by Lisa Kessler
Zack lifted his hands and allowed his mortal disguise to fade. The glow of his Olympian skin reflected in the mortal’s wide eyes.
Nate’s jaw went slack. “You really are Zeus.”
He nodded. “Yes. And my father will be here soon. Go collect the children and the others. Take them to the theater. My mother is waiting for you there.” Zeus clasped Nate’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you and the others sooner. I’ve waited too many lifetimes for this moment; there is much at stake. I couldn’t risk revealing myself too soon.”
Nate holstered his weapon, the shock of meeting a god fading from his eyes. He cleared his throat. “Just tell me what to do to protect my family.”
Zeus lowered his hand and kept his voice hushed. “There’s no way to stop Kronos. Tartarus will no longer hold him, and unlike Philyra or Iapetus, my father can manipulate time itself. There is no sneak attack, no physical way to kill him. He is a force of nature.”
Nate cursed under his breath. “You’re not inspiring much hope.”
“No.” Zeus shook his head. “The last time the Olympians faced the Titans, the entire world was nearly destroyed. I plan to save it once more, but it won’t be through killing or trapping my father.”
The detective frowned. “You’re talking in riddles again.”
Melanie came up behind her husband, wonder on her face. “Okay, I knew you were Zeus but…you really are Zeus. The God of Thunder is on my welcome mat.”
Zeus chuckled. “Go, children. If I’m successful, we can celebrate at the theater opening.”
“And if you’re not?” Nate asked, lifting a brow.
“There won’t be any humans left to attend.”
Trinity’s legs trembled as she supported Mikolas’s weight, her heart pounding like a drum in her ears. He and Reed were trying to hit Iapetus with a boulder, hoping it might knock the Titan’s head free of his shoulders, but all she could think about was dragging Mikolas over to Cooper and having him heal Mikolas next. But what if Mikolas was too weak now to handle the surge of Apollo’s power?
Erica came around to the other side of Mikolas, wrapping her arm around his waist and bearing some of the weight. She looked over at Trinity, tears in her eyes. “I love you, Trin. If this is it, I’m glad we’re together.”
“This isn’t the end.” Trinity gritted her teeth. “This asshole is not going to keep us from opening our theater and kissing our future children. We are not dying today.” She glared at the Titan, then took a slow breath, pulling air deep into her diaphragm. She braced her legs against the ground and let out a deafening, high-pitched note that carried all her fear, pain, and rage.
For a split second, Iapetus stopped his forward progress. Blood was dripping from his forehead, his skin having been torn open by the rocks Reed had been launching in his direction.
Mikolas grunted to Reed. “Get…Cooper’s…scalpel.” He coughed. “Take his…head off.”
Reed glanced at the paramedic working on Mason, and his jaw clenched. Sweat soaked through Reed’s shirt as he focused his power, and then Cooper’s medic kit fell over and the contents dumped out onto the ground. Almost faster than Trinity could see it, the sharp blade shot through the air and sliced open Iapetus’s neck. Blood spewed down the Titan’s broad chest, but he didn’t fall.
The sick monster just laughed. “You mortals merely delay your inevitable destruction.”
He dropped his spear, and Trinity nudged Mikolas. “The spear.” She looked from the Titan’s weapon when Mikolas didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and his head had lolled forward, but his hand was still clamped tightly on Reed’s shoulder, determined until the end.
This was not going to be the end. No fucking way.
“Reed!” She raised her voice a notch. “The spear! Mortals can’t touch it with our hands, but you don’t have to hold it…Use it!”
Reed’s entire body tensed visibly, and the legendary weapon rose from the dirt and turned on its master. The spearhead pierced the Titan’s wounded neck, straight through. Iapetus gurgled, his head cocking back exposing his severed spinal cord as he collapsed to the ground.
Trinity’s stomach roiled at the carnage, but it had worked. It was over.
Reed spun around, blood trickling from both his nostrils. “We…we did it.”
His elated expression darkened, and Trinity followed his gaze to Mikolas. His hand that had been on Reed’s shoulder through the battle now dangled at his side. Lifeless.
“Cooper! I need you!” Trinity shouted, praying to the gods that his healing power would still work, even with Iapetus gone. “Now!”
Reed quickly helped Erica lower Mikolas to the ground. Trinity’s legs were rubbery as she stumbled over to where Cooper, Lia, and Clio worked on Mason. Mason was a man again, but the gaping hole in his abdomen was far from healed.
“Mikolas needs help.” Watery tears welled up in Trinity’s eyes, obstructing her vision.
“I’m losing Mason. I need to summon Apollo.” He looked over at Reed and Erica with Mikolas. “Can they bring Mikolas over here?”
Trinity shook her head. “He’s too weak. Iapetus did something to him. He needs you, too. He’s…”
Cooper scooped up his bag. “Keep pressure on the wound,” he instructed Clio and Lia. “I’ll try to patch Mikolas up enough to help us save Mason.”
Clio nodded, but the pain in her eyes made it clear she knew the love of her life was dying. Gods, Trinity couldn’t face losing anyone else. She ran back to Mikolas and dropped to her knees beside him. She took his hand, holding it tight. “Hang on. Please.”
He winced, and a weak moan escaped him.
Cooper pulled out his scissors and cut Mikolas’s shirt up the middle to get to the wound in his shoulder. Trinity’s eyes widened. The blade of the spear had sliced right through the handprint from Rhea’s blessing. Could that have cursed the gift from the goddess?
“Is this from the Piercer’s spear?” Cooper asked.
Trinity nodded, biting back tears. “Yes. It got him in the leg, too, but Mikolas said it healed. Why isn’t this one healing?”
Cooper shook his head, meeting her eyes. “This is just like the wound on Callie’s foot. His life is draining out.”
“We have to stop it.”
“Dammit,” Cooper cursed under his breath. “No human medicine is going to do that.”
Mikolas squeezed her hand, and Trinity leaned down close to him. His hand was cold. Too cold. “I’m here,” she said softly.
He blinked, staring up at her. “We need Apollo. He’s the only one who can heal the spear’s cut.”
“You’re too weak.” Trinity shook her head. “Summoning him knocked you out when you were healthy.”
“No choice.” He winced. “Help me touch Cooper.”
Lia came over and knelt beside Trinity. Her eyed were red and swollen. “We have to try, Trin. It’s our only hope to save them both.”
Trinity shrugged off her comfort. “No. We’ll find another way.”
Mikolas whispered, “Stin kardiá mou…You are in my heart, my soul.” He swallowed, wincing again. “We have to try. If I start to fade away, sing to me. Your spirit will call to mine.”
Trinity shook her head. “You don’t know if that will work. No. Please.”
“We don’t know it won’t.” He closed his eyes. “We have to try.”
Cooper reached over and took Mikolas’s other hand. “I’m ready when you are.”
Trinity sobbed. “Please don’t. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t. I’ll find my way back.” He clasped Cooper’s hand but looked deep into her eyes. “Sing.”
Trinity’s pulse surged. How could she sing when her world was crumbling before her eyes?
Erica crouched beside her, swiping a tear from her cheek before she wrapped her arm around Trinity’s shoulders. “Your song. Now. You can do this, Trin.”
Her song. The song of her soul.
She closed her eyes, her voice cracking on the first
few words as she began. But gradually, her tone strengthened as light flashed on the other side of her eyelids. Apollo’s light. Cooper and Mikolas had summoned the God of the Sun. It was happening.
“Regrets are all I have left,
“My heart’s an empty hole.
“But now you’re here,
“And I want to let go.
“Don’t make me hate you,
“Don’t hurt me more.
“Don’t lie to me,
“I’ve been in love before.”
She hadn’t written the second verse yet, but somehow the words and melody flowed from her heart directly to the universe, to the gods.
“You taught me to trust,
“Your patience was my gift,
“And if you leave me now,
“Nothing on Earth will fill that rift.
“But I can’t hate you,
“And I won’t ever hurt you,
“Because you’ve shown me,
“I’ve never been in love before.
“Until now, in your arms,
“I found my home.
“I found my love,
“When I found you.”
As her voice faded out, she opened her eyes, terrified of what she might see.
Mikolas looked like hell, but he smiled up at her and whispered, “I’m not leaving you, Trin. You brought me home, too.”
CHAPTER 15
Zeus rose from the sofa inside the darkened home of the Muse of Tragic Poetry, his ancient heart thundering in his chest as his ears gave a tiny pop.
An immortal had just left this plane.
Iapetus. It had to be.
The corners of his mouth twitched. The Guardians and their muses had done it, just as the Guiders of Destiny had foretold.
Eons ago, after his final battle with Kronos and the Titans, Zeus had gone to his mother and consulted with the Guiders. They had warned him of the day his father would return and the ensuing war. Their visions were always murky, shaped in the mists of mortal free will, but one of the possible outcomes had pointed to mortals felling a mighty Titan without any help from immortals.
That vision was why he had forged the prophecy for the muses. His daughters would be reborn into mortal women every generation, and he would mark mortal men to be their Guardians and bless them with a gift from the gods in order to protect his daughters.
If the moment came that the muses and their Guardians faced a Titan alone, their combined gifts might level the playing field. At least that had been his hope.
And now it had come to pass.
Perhaps this world could be saved after all.
Zeus hadn’t laid eyes on his father since he had banished Kronos to Tartarus at the center of the Earth so many millennia before. Much had happened since that day. The mighty immortals had faded into myth and legend; they were figures in literature now, not real beings with passions and desires or capable of envy and hate.
Suddenly, Zeus noticed the silence. Outside the condo, the night birds had ceased singing, dogs had stopped barking, no children were laughing.
Time had stopped.
The front door opened. His father had dropped his mortal disguise, standing before him in his true form. His windblown white hair and bronze skin accented his bright silver eyes. They flashed with power and rage.
“My brother has left this world,” Kronos growled, his hands balled into fists.
Zeus allowed the glow of his Olympian skin to cast shadows on the walls around them. “He is stardust, once again.”
“I will destroy this world and every mortal in it until my brother is avenged and you and my wretched wife are destroyed.” His eyes glowed with immortal power.
The light emanating from Zeus intensified, brightening the space around them as electricity snapped in the air. “I don’t want to fight you, Father.”
Kronos let out a disgusted laugh. “No, you expect your children to fight for you. You are a coward.”
“Caring about humanity doesn’t make me a coward. This world is worth saving. You may never have noticed humanity, but the mortals revered you. You gave them the Golden Age of Man—milk and honey, no wars, no hunger. You and your brethren shepherded humanity into being.”
Kronos crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re vermin. They don’t live long enough to bother caring about them.” He shook his head. “Why are you so concerned about them?”
Zeus took a step closer. “Because they have something we will never understand,” he said. “Hope.”
“Hope is futile.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “We’re stronger, faster, more powerful, wiser…”
“And yet, they have children and love them unconditionally, knowing full well that they will be separated from them eventually. Their finite days on this plane become precious in a way we’ll never fully comprehend.” Zeus gestured to the photos of Maggie and Noah hanging on the wall. “They have hope that their children will change the world for the better.” He focused on his father again. “They don’t need eternity. Doesn’t that intrigue you at all?”
“No,” Kronos said flatly. “You and your mother conspired against me. I will have my revenge.”
Zeus’s skin surged brighter again. “To what end, Father? Your thirst for revenge is all you have left. What if there could be more?”
Kronos opened his arms. “I’ll rebuild this world to suit me and the Children of Gaia.”
Zeus raised a brow. “Without humanity to worship all of you?”
“Are you and your mother truly willing to sacrifice your lives to save the worthless human race?” He frowned, his brow furrowed. “I don’t believe it.”
“If I can convince you they are worthy, and that there is room for all of us here, would you give up this assault on this world?” Zeus crossed his arms, gauging his father’s reaction.
“As if you could ever do that.” Kronos took a step closer, pointing at Zeus’s chest. “Bring me your mother, and we can discuss your banishment from this plane.”
Zeus shook his head slowly. “Give me a chance to show you why I treasure humanity. There is no victory in a family war.”
“No,” Kronos bellowed. “No more chances. It’s time for retribution.” Immortal fire flashed in his eyes.
Zeus opened his hands, laying his bet on the table. “A game, then.”
Kronos frowned. “A game?”
“Yes.” Zeus kept his emotions buried, his expression neutral, praying his father would be unable to resist the temptation. With all the time in the world, immortals were drawn to games like moths to bright light. “I will meet you in the park with a Petteia board on Friday. If I win, you will give up your vendetta against mankind and accompany me to the opening of Les Neuf Soeurs in peace.”
“And if I win?”
Zeus chuckled. “You won’t.”
Kronos raised a brow. “You are cocky, my foolish son.”
“No, I am confident.”
Kronos clenched his jaw, but he’d taken the bait. “If I win, you will bring your mother to me and face the punishment of my choosing.”
“Done.” His mother wouldn’t be pleased to discover Zeus had bet her life on a game, but this was a bet he didn’t have any intention of losing.
With Trinity’s help, Mikolas made his way over to Clio and Mason. Through Cooper, Apollo had closed the cut from the spear, but the healing hadn’t regenerated Mikolas’s strength. Between the blood loss and the overload of heat and light from Apollo, his legs were rubber and his strength was nonexistent. He feared one more jolt from Apollo could kill him.
Cooper knelt beside Mason, putting his fingers to the other man’s neck. “His pulse is weak and irregular, but he’s alive.”
Mikolas ground his teeth, fighting the fatigue that hollowed him. He was an empty husk, in no condition to tap into a god’s power, but he had to try. This plan had been his idea. Mason’s blood would be on his hands.
Trinity helped him sit without falling. Her dark eyes met his, concern plain
on her face. “I suppose I’m wasting my breath by telling you that you look like hell and this is a bad idea.”
Somehow, on the edge of the abyss, Trinity coaxed a smile from him. She was magic, his muse. He took her hand, losing himself in her eyes. “I need to do this. And I have every intention of making all of this up to you…if you’ll let me.”
She rolled her eyes, blinking back tears. “You’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever met.”
He kissed the back of her hand. “Like a mule.” He looked over at Cooper and gripped the paramedic’s shoulder. “I’m ready.”
Cooper took a deep breath and then placed his hands over the open wound in Mason’s abdomen. “Come on, Apollo. One more time.”
Mikolas closed his eyes, wincing as the searing otherworldly heat crept up his arm. As it reached his heart, his muscles seized. The pain was so intense, he wished he could die. But in the pit of agony, a balm came to him. A melody. A familiar tune.
His reality split into a surreal yin and yang. A power overload ravaged his muscles and organs on one side, but on the other, he was safe in Trinity’s embrace. She hummed into his ear the Greek folk song he’d shared with her. Somehow, without understanding the words, Trinity had memorized it, and the simple tune filled his head with recollections of his family, of holding Trinity in his arms. The warm remembrance embraced his battered soul, protecting his exhausted spirit. She kept him grounded in this world through her music.
Suddenly, the heat vanished. Mikolas groaned with relief, but he couldn’t speak, or even open his mouth. He rested against Trinity, oblivious to the rest of the world. She was his world, his lifeline.
Her lips brushed his, breathing her life into him. “Stay with me, Mikolas. Please.”
He wanted to tell her he was still there, but forming words seemed impossible. The worry in her voice tugged at his weak heart. Every part of him ached, the darkness tempting him to surrender, to escape the pain and bone-weary fatigue. Cooper shouted something. He felt compressions. his rib cage cracking under the repeated pressure.
It would be so easy to fade away…
Finally, the assault on his beaten body ended, and a warm drop of something fell on his forehead, followed by one more. Trinity’s voice whispered through his mind like a siren’s song.