by C M Thorne
“You’ll find that it will be a tad difficult to get home from here on your own. We are in London.” Adella shed her mortal guise, growing slightly taller as her skin glowed with an inner golden light. Her eyes flashed silver and she loosened her auburn hair from its bun, letting it fall about her shoulders and grow more lustrous with her divine power taking over now. She glanced to Diane, who did the same, glowing faintly white like the moon as her lavender eyes softly glowed. Evelyn snapped her golden wings open, glowing like the warm light of the dawning sun as her unrestrained smile spread across her full lips.
Thea’s eyes filled with wonder and her own mortality seemed to shed away in their collective presence. The girl emanated golden light, streams of white and silver dancing around as her own power broke free from the last tethers their father had placed on her. Her hair seemed to come alive with actual flame as it lightly danced around her shoulders in a nonexistent wind.
“We are gods, little sister,” Adella’s voice boomed in the library. “You are a goddess. Daughter of Zeus, like myself and Diane.” She smiled as she saw Thea’s own joy overtake her, freed from the false feelings of humanity. She laughed a little, unable to stop herself from keeping her composure as Thea’s eyes bulged a little in shock.
“Zeus?” Thea asked, voice squeaking a little in surprise.
“Yes,” Adella looked down, sadness flickering across her face. “Unfortunately, our father has recently died,” she looked to Diane, amending her words, “or, was killed, rather.”
Diane shook her head, forcing a smile as she shrouded herself back in her mortal appearance and walked over to Thea. “Here, sister,” Diane offered her hands. “Let me help you with glamouring yourself.” Thea looked down at Diane’s hands and placed her own on Diane’s delicate ones. “You wanted to close your eyes and imagine yourself as you were before, bring the light down as if it’s on a dimmer. Reach out with your mind and turn it down. Remember how you felt about yourself before. See that Thea in your mind and let it wrap around you.” Diane spoke softly as Thea’s glow softened, eventually returning to a more mortal looking appearance.
“Perfect, there we are.” Diane smiled. “Just remember this feeling, just in case it ever slips while you’re learning.”
“Yes,” Adella jumped in. “You must not allow it to drop around mortals. Your full divinity will burn their very existence away. Mortality. True mortality cannot be so near to full divinity. You must be careful.” Thea nodded, but said nothing, grey eyes drifting down to stare at her hands again in amazement.
“Well, she’s definitely a full goddess,” Evelyn smirked. “No half-blood has power like that. She has serious strength.” Evelyn’s words were true, yet Adella felt something else while looking at Thea with her full divinity about her.
Adella nodded to her cousin and responded, “Something other than our blood runs through her, though. We need to find out who. She does deserve to know her full heritage and decide who she wants to pl-”
Thea cleared her throat loudly, “Excuse me. Can we not talk about her like she is not standing right here? I do think I am keeping up after all.” She immediately laughed nervously at her own words, as if she realized she had just snapped at people with power she herself did not understand.
Diane nodded to her, “I like you, new sister.” She looked to Adella, reiterating, “I like her.”
Adella shook her head, suppressing the smallest laugh that nearly bubbled up. “Indeed, I like her too.” She looked to Thea, “We are sorry, sister. We are not used to new family members. Admittedly, we deal with mortals more often than not these days. Mortals will not take notice of what we are saying when it’s not directed to them.”
“That’s a thing?” Thea asked.
“If you want it to be, just have to work on that ability,” Diane shrugged.
Adella went to say something else, but Thea asked, “Is it normal that I can feel where people are, and what they’re doing? Like, the people that I’m close with, I mean.” Thea looked off between them. “And,” she continued, gaze drawn away in thought, “and almost know how they’re feeling or, I guess, what they’re thinking?”
Adella nodded, “Common for us, but not all gods.”
“We all have unique abilities really,” Evelyn added, finally folding her wings back in and returning to her mortal appearance. “Some families share a host of commonalities. It varies greatly,” she said.
“What,” Thea asked, pausing slightly, “what family are we?” She looked around, “Like is mythos true? Are you a part of a pantheon? Panagos is Greek, though you sound British. Though, I do imagine you can sound however you want to really.” She laughed a little as she puzzled out her thoughts aloud.
Adella smirked. The girl was smart. She interrupted her litany of thoughts, “Yes. We are Greek. You may know me as Athena or Minerva.” Thea’s mouth parted slightly in renewed awe as Adella continued, “Evelyn here was once Aurora and Eos.” She waved a hand towards her sister and continued, “And Diane her is-”
“Diane?” Thea spoke suddenly, voice louder than before. “As in, Diana? Artemis? Goddess of the hunt?” She laughed a little as Diane nodded. “Renewing names?” Thea asked, her curious humor tinged her tone.
“Indeed,” Diane nodded with a smirk. Adella could see that her sister definitely liked this new girl.
“Everything old is new again,” Adella said softly. Thea caught her eye and Adella’s heart felt like it stopped. Her sister’s eyes were so much like their father’s, but something about that exact look caught her in the moment. Her eyes weren’t like their father’s, they were their father’s. Adella knew the look of Thea’s face well despite just meeting her. There was such familiarity in the look that passed between them.
The look was one of shared knowledge. The look of acknowledging the true meaning of the words Adella had spoken. Her heart pounded again and she swallowed the strange feeling that had risen in her throat. Despite being raised as a mortal, Thea was much too quick, too like an immortal. It was new to her, but it fit her like a glove. Adella turned away and waved the doors open. Glasses and two pitchers danced through the air into the room at her command.
“I am having a small glass of wine,” Adella spoke, back turned to her gathered family. “Does anyone want some, or some water?” Motioning to the two pitchers which stopped and hovered near her head. The glass pitcher of dark Malbec filled a gold rimmed wine glass, which she took without thinking.
“I will have some water. Thank you, cousin,” Evelyn answered, accepting a glass that floated over to her after the pitcher filled it.
“I’m going to have a scotch,” Diane answered, moving over to the drink cart along the far wall. Her sister’s lavender eyes flicked over to meet her gaze for just a second before she turned and poured herself a drink.
Adella turned to Thea, who was carefully following the path of the two remaining glasses as they danced around between the pitchers. “What about you, sister?” She said the last word carefully and slowly, letting it sink in. Thea was her sister. A powerful sister at that. If they got along, Thea would be a great ally to Athena’s claim to the throne. Poseidon had made quick work of gathering his supporters and Adella was worried. This new sister gave her hope. Hope of preventing any further squabble with her uncle, though her mind immediately turned on the logic, casting doubt on her hopes.
“Wine, thank you,” Thea smiled at her and accepted the glass that floated over to her. Adella returned the gesture and snapped her head over to the window as she swore she saw two black shapes take off from the railing outside into the cloudy sky.
CHAPTER 9: THE DEEDS OF THE SON
OSKAR SAT IN the small cafe near his son’s condo, sipping a shot of espresso and enjoying the swirling energy of the mortals bustling throughout the cafe and the city beyond. He bore his mortal signs of age and his amber brown eye, where there really was no eye at all. He wore an aged grey sweater with tan pants, and had his hair white and trimmed close to match h
is short beard. He still had darker streaks of hair on his chin and from the corners of his mouth. This form caused multiple women to steal glances at him and wish wistfully for him to approach them. Quite a few men as well. Typically, he might have felt the need to pursue one or two of them, but his mind was elsewhere today. Thoughts of war and worry over his son’s actions distracted him. Truth be told, he barely noticed the faces of those who looked his way.
Gemma entered the cafe. She wore a long, camel brown trench coat over a black turtleneck, and a beret balanced perfectly off the side of her head over her immaculate, golden hair. She waved a black, leather-clad hand and moved over to the counter gracefully to order. A minute later she came over and sat next to him. She removed her gloves, pulling a finger off at a time until she could slip her slender hands free. Gemma checked her golden watch and looked over to Oskar. “Father,” she acknowledged him with a firm voice after a moment.
He watched her for a moment before sighing. “What have you found?” Oskar asked.
“Thomas has been with the Orlova woman twice since our meeting.” Gemma glanced out the windowed walls of the cafe, watching a young couple awkwardly sitting on opposite sides of a round, metal table. He felt her push out with her power and encourage the young mortals, who were both mad for each other, but too shy to make the first move. The girl placed her hand on the table, next to her mug, and the man, made bold from Gemma’s unseen push, reached across and grabbed it.
“He thinks he feels deeply for her,” Gemma continued with their conversation while still watching the mortals, “but he has many doubts and reservations.”
“How does she feel?”
Gemma shrugged, looking to the waiter as he brought her the latte she ordered. She thanked him in perfect Swedish, running her hand over the tan skin of his arm. Oskar watched as she peered into the young man’s mind and consoled his emotions over the loss of recent love, filling him with passion one more. Little spells, here and there to influence mortals for the better. It was her way of doing things in the modern age.
“She has feelings for him, but her heart and mind are well guarded. I would need to touch her to get to the root of it all.”
“Arrange a chance meeting then,” he offered, though they both knew he was telling her, not simply suggesting. She did not need direct orders from him. They understood each other.
Gemma looked around before catching Oskar’s eye and nodding to the woman sitting in the corner. With a flourish of her fingers, she eased the tension that was an obvious storm around her aura. “She has five kids at school right now, poor dear. Husband is cheating on her too.” She shook her head before cocking it to the side. “Though she’ll be less hurt than most,” she sipped her drink, “as she is in love with her husband’s lesbian sister. Only married him to stay hidden. Satisfy her parents.” She clucked her tongue, “Poor dear.”
“Indeed,” Oskar commented dismissively. He did not particularly want to hear about those around him. His mind was on more important things. “Do you ever tire of always meddling with them?” He asked, poking at a sore spot for his daughter in his mild irritation.
She bristled and set her mug down. “I do not meddle,” she said softy, but firmly. “If you want pure business, here it is. Your son’s feelings have not changed in the days I’ve been tracking him. He is loyal. He is conflicted with Sonia. He will not break rank, though.” She settled her green eyes on his and asked, “Can I go back to my home now? I have things to do there.”
Oskar considered his daughter’s request. She could easily pop up and check up on Thomas, but he worried about his family stretching out too far away from each other. “Which home?”
“Copenhagen,” she answered flatly.
“Fine,” he relented. “No further south. I want you to be close so you can feel him, if he meets with her again.”
“I have put a charm on him,” she sat back and crossed her legs. “I will feel him no matter where I am.”
“Still,” Oskar sat back as well, crossing his arms. “No further.” His voice grew deep with his last words, closing the door on any further debate amongst the two of them.
Gemma still bristled, but she calmly grabbed her mug and drained the latte. “Honey, dear father,” she spoke firmly, a hint of anger in her tone. She stood, gathering her gloves as she spoke up again, “Honey, not vinegar.”
When Oskar declined to answer, she shook her head and walked to the door. “Have you learned nothing from me?” she asked, sending the words only to him.
“Sparing the rod does not equate to love, daughter,” he replied, voice booming and surprising those in the shop.
Gemma turned back, eyes flicking over the mortals who watched her and Oskar in fascination. She waved a hand, settling all of their emotions back down and removing their memory of Oskar’s outburst.
Oskar felt satisfaction ring through him as he watched his daughter, her magic, which was so smooth and effortless. He enjoyed seeing that she was still adept at all the things he had taught her. She narrowed her eyes on him and shook her head, disappearing as the door swung closed.
Oskar twitched a finger and his espresso refilled. He sipped at it absently, watching the door as if his daughter was still there. She was often the most outwardly defiant of his children. Her power was great, and he had taught her well. If she was his own true blood, he would’ve named her as his heir. Thomas’s love of women and fun still overshadowed many of his duties, but his crown belonged to his surviving son even so.
For all his power, Oskar could not change the nature of any of his family. He had banished Lukas, one of his adopted children, as a means to learn a very serious lesson that had yet to sink in after eons of consequences. Gods could not be manipulated the way the world around them could be. Oskar could turn apple to orange to diamond if he so desired. He could not make his son a different man though.
An unexpected feeling suddenly overcame him, disrupting his thoughts. One of his family suddenly called to him through his blood. Oskar thought it was potentially one awakening from a centuries long slumber. Perhaps one who had faded was now renewed. That did not feel right. This was not one from before. He realized that it was a different presence, a different source of power. One he did not know.
He mentally summoned his familiars, the ravens Huginn and Muninn. He had called them forth from the cosmic energy when he had been young, binding them to him and making them immortal. He called for them to find his blood. The otherworldly ravens answered, interrupting their regular flight through the realms of the cosmos. They were bound to him, but he had also made sure that they were independent, not wholly bound to his will.
Despite this, they always answered his summons without hesitation. Respect and adoration spurned them, sending them to pass through the veil of the many worlds. He felt them fly out towards the sudden, steady thrum of the deity’s power that called out to Oskar. They moved faster than any earthly bird, rocketing down from the cosmos unseen. He closed his eyes and allowed the ravens’ sight and hearing to become his own. He had not channeled them for several years, but it was second nature for him, like taking a deep breath after holding his air in for too long. He saw clearly with their superior sight as they honed in on their target.
They flew over London, moving towards the magnetic pull that seemed to shoot up into the sky, calling out to him. It was the singing signature of the piece of his magic in whoever had come to life that drew at him, at his familiars. They circled wide over a neighborhood Oskar did not know, closing in on brick townhouse. They were swift and careful, coming to a silent perch on a set of iron railing outside a large library that took up an entire side of the brick house. Four figures were within, and Oskar was almost pulled from the vision as he felt his son draw near his physical body.
Thomas sat down next to him and touched him arm, his consciousness mingling with Oskar’s and joining the vision from his ravens. His son was not talented the way Gemma was, but he still knew how to use his own gifts, as
well as some tricks Oskar had been able to impart on him. His mind moved against his sons, mixing comfortably as they shared in Oskar’s magic. Their minds worked in tandem, both recognizing Athena, Artemis, and the winged Eos standing in the room, their full divinity shining forth.
One of the ravens looked to the fourth person, who was standing off to the side, by herself. She was wreathed in golden light, red hair seemingly aflame as shooting trails of white and silver arced off the girl. Oskar and Thomas’ mingled minds recognized the girl as one of their own, power pulsing off her in a familiar way, though she was not familiar in a way that marked her immediately as either of their children.
The four women shrouded themselves in mortality one by one and Oskar thanked his ravens, bidding them to take flight once more. He broke the connection to them, returning to the sights and sounds of the cafe as Thomas let go of his left forearm. He looked to his son, who anxiously ran a hand through his red hair.
“One of your sons’ perhaps?” Oskar asked, not really expecting a true answer from his son. It had been years since his truly reckless youth, fathering all manner of deities, full and half blooded alike. That girl was green though, both new to her power and new to life. It was also unmistakable that she has a full goddess, and a powerful one at that. He doubted either of his grandsons had brought that goddess into being.
“Perhaps.” Thomas rubbed his fiery stubble thoughtfully. “I doubt it, but not Tanja either. She would not have hidden it. Perhaps the mother never told my sons?” He shrugged. He looked around the shop slowly and exerted his own power so none would hear his words. “She had power.” He paused, breathless, “Such power.”