The Immortal Fire

by Anne Ursu

  “No!” yelled Steve, the trident shaking in his hands. “You’re pathetic. You’re awful. You’re a god! What are you doing with human women anyway?”

  “I—”

  “You could have made things better for her at least. Why didn’t you make things better? Why?”

  “You’re right, son,” said Zeus, “of course you’re right. I should have, and I will. I’ll give you whatever you want—”

  “No! You’re lying to me. You’re scared of me. You’re Zeus and you’re just a lying, scared, pathetic nothing.”

  “Steve,” whispered Zee.

  “You be quiet!” hissed Philonecron, whirling on Zee. His voice softened. “Now, now, Zero. Jealousy does not suit you. This is a great moment, isn’t it? Can you believe you are going to witness it? I only wish your little cousin were alive to see this.”

  Steve turned his head. “Charlotte? What?”

  “She’s dead, my boy,” said Philonecron, eyes twinkling with wonder. “Dead!”

  “Dead?” Steve blinked.

  “Yes! You don’t have to worry about that meddling miscreant anymore. She won’t bother us. Your path is clear! Now, go!”

  “What happened?” said Steve, eyes wide.

  “Oh, she can’t hurt us anymore, my boy. I promise you. You see, it is fated to be! I’m sorry, I would have liked to have killed her myself, but—”

  “What do you mean?” said Steve. “She risked her life to save me. She was just, what, thirteen?” He stared uncomprehendingly at Philonecron.

  Zee held his breath. He dare not move, not one inch.

  Philonecron goggled at Steve. “A trick!” he said. “A mere trick. Nothing that sniveling succubus does is for the good.”

  Steve turned his head to eye Philonecron. “How can you say that? She saved me. I never even thanked her.”

  “No, no, she is my nemesis, do you understand? Whatever she did, it was just to thwart me! Come now, Stephen, do it.” Philonecron motioned to Zeus. “Make him pay!”

  Steve looked to Zee, eyes wild. “Would she want me to do this?” he asked, his voice loud and trembling.

  Zee shook his head slowly, his whole face a mask of pleading. “He wants to use you. He wants the universe for himself—”

  Philonecron turned on Zee, eyes blazing, “Nothing out of you, Zero!” he shrieked. “I will kill you!”

  “What?” Steve exclaimed. “No! What’s wrong with you?” And with that, he took a long step back, exhaled, and turned the trident on Philonecron.

  “Attaboy, son!” said Zeus.

  “Shut up!” yelled Steve.

  Yes, yes, thought Zee. Shut up.

  “Stephen!” gasped Philonecron, “what are you doing?”

  “Charlotte saved my life,” Steve said, anger in his eyes. “She was going to let that crazy guy shoot her for me. And now she’s dead. And you’re being horrible. It’s not right.”

  “But—”

  “Why do you want me to do this so badly, huh? Why do you care?”

  “I just want what’s best for you,” cooed Philonecron. “You need a father figure, and—”

  “No, I don’t! And if I did, it wouldn’t be you. You’re creepy and weird and…creepy. He’s right. You want me to overthrow Zeus so you can rule the universe, don’t you?”

  “At your side!”

  “I don’t want to rule the universe. I want to go back to Canada.”

  “My boy! You can turn the whole Universe into Canada!”

  “No. I want to go back to my mom. I don’t need to do anything to him.” He nodded his head toward Zeus. “He’s a pathetic coward, scared of a fifteen-year-old boy. He’s got to live with that.”

  “That’s right, I do,” agreed Zeus.

  “You have to!” Philonecron was almost shouting. “You are fated to. It is foretold!”

  Steve let out a yell and a torrent of curses, then stepped back. He closed his eyes a moment, then turned to Philonecron and said, “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.”

  Philonecron screeched and dove for the trident. Steve stumbled and collapsed backward. Zee saw his chance. He threw himself across the room toward the thunderbolt as Philonecron and Steve wrestled, Philonecron screeching insults at the boy.

  And then Zee had it. Zeus’s thunderbolt. It was cold, lifeless, there was no power for him to use. But there was nothing else to do. He was the only one left with hands. “Philonecron!” he yelled, aiming the thunderbolt at him.

  Philonecron was on top of Steve, trying to wrench the trident from his grasp. He looked up at Zee and his eyes narrowed. “Zero, you bad little boy,” he hissed. “You cannot stop me. Remember, Zero, you will always be mine.” And then Philonecron’s voice turned soft and Zee’s blood chilled. “Zerooo,” he cooed. “Zero, freeze.”

  And there was the feeling again, the one he hated most in the world. Control was gone from Zee; his body stopped of its own accord. He could not move.

  With a great grunt Philonecron wrested the trident and aimed it at Steve. Zee stared in horror, unable to speak.

  And then, out of the corner of his eye, Zee saw movement coming from the sky beyond the blown-out wall. Flapping wings, a flash of purple and green, then of a very familiar red. His mind sharpened, his heart leaped, warmth spread through his body, and Zee felt suddenly in perfect control of every muscle.

  As Philonecron screamed at Steve, Zee aimed the thunderbolt and ran toward him, thrusting the sharp point into the god’s back with all of his might.

  Philonecron screeched and arched backward, the trident falling out of his hand. Zee dove for it as Philonecron fell to the ground. And then Zee was standing over him, trident and thunderbolt poised, as his tormentor howled.

  “Zero, no! Zero, my boy! Zerooooo.”

  Zee could sense rather than see his cousin—his brave, marvelous cousin—climb into the room. Philonecron’s voice insinuated itself in his mind, but it no longer mattered. Zee’s blood was no longer listening. If Charlotte had defeated death, Zee could defeat Philonecron.

  Zee had felt the trident before, cold and dead. It was different now; fresh out of the hands of Philonecron, it was humming with life, with possibility. Zee felt a surge of power, of the world being his.

  “Destroy him,” Zeus cheered. “You can with the trident. You can blast him into bits.”

  Standing there, the trident in his hands, Zee saw himself saying the words, he saw Philonecron exploding in front of him. And then he thought about justice, and he thought about revenge, and the difference between the two. And then he made his choice.

  CHAPTER 33

  The End, the Beginning

  EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO QUICKLY. ONE MOMENT it looked to Charlotte like it was all over—Zee frozen, Zeus bound (and armless), Philonecron about to use the trident on someone, she could not see who. And then suddenly Zee was running at Philonecron, Philonecron was on the floor and Zee had the trident at his neck, and then two giant black birds swept in above her, picked up Philonecron by the jacket, and carried him off.

  And then Zee was staring at her, eyes alight, face bright and open as the sky, and she thought how very happy she was to see him again.

  And then he was next to her, his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her into his chest protectively. And no one spoke.

  And then another voice was exclaiming, “You’re alive!”

  Charlotte turned in surprise to find someone she had decidedly not expected to see.

  “I’ll explain later,” Zee whispered.

  And then, from his place on the floor, Zeus coughed slightly.

  Charlotte and Zee turned to him, wary. He was sitting there, trussed like a cow, armless and looking very much like he was struggling for dignity.

  “Hmmm,” said Zeus. “I would have prevailed, you know. I had him right where I wanted him.”

  “Oh, we know,” said Zee earnestly, nodding.

  “And you,” he said, turning to Charlotte. “My pledge will not hold if your sacrifice was n
ot sincere. If you knew you would live…”

  “Your pledge will hold,” Charlotte said quietly. She could feel Zee’s eyes on her.

  “And you,” Zeus said to Steve. “I am very proud of you. Indeed, you are worthy of being my son. It is a shame that I have to end your life. Mortal”—he nodded to Zee and the trident—“give me my arms back!”

  “What?” said Zee, taking a step back. “No.”

  “No?” Zeus repeated, blinking.

  “Not if you’re going to kill Steve.”

  “Yeah!” said Steve.

  “I have no choice,” Zeus said matter-of-factly. “There is a prophecy. He will overthrow me.”

  “No, I won’t!” said Steve.

  “So?” Zee straightened. “Do you want your arms back or not?”

  There was silence as Zeus furrowed his brow, trying very hard to think.

  “We’ll just go,” Charlotte said, tossing her hair and taking a step toward the elevator. “I’m sure someone will come for you eventually. Maybe we’ll go tell Hera you’re here, all bound up and helpless without your thunderbolt….”

  “Hmm,” said Zeus. “Well…” He looked around the wreckage of the room uncertainly. Then he clucked his tongue and thrust his jaw out like a child. “Fine,” he snapped. “I swear no harm will come to this boy.”

  “Swear on the Styx,” said Zee.

  “I swear on the River Styx. Now can I have my arms back?”

  In a few moments Zeus was standing in front of them, whole and unbound, thunderbolt in his hand. Zee stood slightly in front of Charlotte and Steve, trident raised, just in case.

  “There,” said Zeus, brushing himself off. “Just how I planned it. Now”—he nodded to Zee—“do you still have the Flame?”

  Zee nodded slowly.

  “Show me.”

  Zee glanced at Charlotte, and she shrugged. He reached into his pocket and produced the lighter. Zeus’s eyes flashed, and he lifted his thunderbolt and blasted the Flame. Zee yelped as the lighter skidded across the floor. There was a burst of fire, and then—

  The lighter was still there, unharmed.

  Zeus frowned, muttered something to himself, and then blasted it again, with the same result.

  “You cannot destroy it, Zeus,” said a voice. “Only its mortal bearer can.”

  Charlotte turned her head. Persephone was standing in a corner, face impassive.

  Zee whipped around and looked at Persephone in utter confusion. Charlotte squeezed his wrist gently. It’s all right.

  Zeus looked no less confused. “What are you doing here? And how do you know?”

  Persephone simply shrugged. Zeus frowned at her. “You were always contrary,” he said. “You should be grateful to me. I arranged your marriage, made you a queen….”

  “Oh, I am grateful,” said Persephone, wide-eyed, her tone dripping with insincerity.

  “Brat,” Zeus sneered. Then his face turned questioning. “But the Flame? You’re telling the truth?”

  Persephone nodded. “I am. If you want it destroyed, you will need them to do it.”

  “Well, then—” Zeus turned to Zee and raised his thunderbolt. “Mortal, destroy the Flame.”

  Man, he was bossy. Charlotte opened her mouth to say something lippy, but before she could, Zee scoffed, “Why should I?”

  Zeus frowned. “Do it. I command you!”

  “No,” Zee said simply.

  “I am Lord of the Universe!” bellowed Zeus. “Do it or I’ll destroy you both!”

  Again Charlotte opened her mouth, but Zee had already begun to speak. “If you kill us, who is going to destroy the Flame?” he asked matter-of-factly. Charlotte glanced over at her cousin. He was standing as straight as she’d ever seen him, and he looked almost as if he were enjoying himself.

  That seemed to throw Zeus for a loop. He frowned and thought carefully.

  “Hmmm…,” he said. “What if I promise not to kill you if you destroy the Flame?” He looked at them questioningly.

  “No good,” said Zee.

  “Arrrgggghhhh!” Zeus threw up his hands. “What do you want now? Eternal life? Wealth? What?”

  It took Charlotte a moment to realize what had just happened. Her breath caught in her chest. The air around them hummed. She looked over to Zee, and, eyes flashing, he nodded at her imperceptibly. There was only one answer possible.

  “The Dead,” Charlotte said, struggling to keep the excitement out of her voice. “You must give them a better afterlife. Build a city for them. Get rid of the Harpies. Take care of them. So people don’t fade.”

  Charlotte could feel a wave of excitement from Persephone so strong her heart fluttered with it. She struggled to keep still. Next to her, she sensed Zee doing the same.

  Zeus eyed them thoughtfully. “For the destruction of the Flame.”

  “Yes,” they said at once.

  The god’s eyes flicked over to Persephone. “I suppose you’ll whine about this, too. After all, you are Queen down there.”

  “Well,” said Persephone, “it will be a great bother, of course. But we will make do, for the destruction of the Flame. This is very wise of you, O Zeus.”

  Zeus blinked. “It is?”

  “Oh, yes. Only someone with your great wisdom could come up with a solution like this.” Charlotte looked down, trying to suppress a smile. She could learn a thing or two from Persephone.

  “Well.” Zeus nodded slowly. “That is true.” He turned to Zee and Charlotte. “Very well, mortals. If you destroy the Flame, I swear by the River Styx the Dead will be well treated.”

  Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut, letting the words wash over her. She struggled not to squeak, sob, squeal. She was there, in the Underworld, Zee next to her, an honor guard of Dead lining their path.

  Zee looked as if he was struggling to keep the emotion off his face too. He exhaled, then picked up the lighter and looked to Persephone questioningly.

  “Anything,” she said. “It will work.”

  So Zee placed the lighter on the floor and, with a great breath, stomped on it. There was a small crackling noise, and the air was suddenly filled with a tremendous sense of loss. The three mortals in the room all shuddered at once. Then Zee bent down and picked up the small silver lighter and flicked the switch. Nothing happened. The Promethean Flame, kept hidden for centuries, the mother of the mortal soul, and its savior, was gone.

  “Now,” said Zeus, “would you all please go away?”

  The cousins eyed each other. Gladly, Charlotte thought.

  “And I strongly suggest not coming back,” Zeus added. “Remember, it is only through my great wisdom that you live.”

  “Wait,” said Charlotte. “What about the Mediterranean? The gods? They’ve all gone crazy, and—”

  A pained expression crossed Zeus’s face. “Oh, bother. Is there still life in the trident?” he asked.

  Zee felt it and nodded.

  “Very well,” Zeus said, looking relieved. “Poseidon will put it all right. I have a feeling that as soon as he returns everyone will fall in line quite quickly.”

  Charlotte did not doubt it. But was he going to return? “Poseidon? You know where he is?”

  Zeus nodded toward the back of the room. A large aquarium sat in the corner. Inside, a sea cucumber was watching them intently.

  Charlotte and Zee exchanged a look. Was that…? It couldn’t be. But if it was, it was time to leave. They began to back out of the room, slowly.

  “Oh, Steve?” called Zeus, sounding uncomfortable.

  “Yeah?” Steve asked.

  “If you should see my wife,” Zeus said, “it would be best not to tell her who you are.”

  The three mortals wasted no time traveling down to the ravaged lobby and out the door, where they were met by a great purple and green bird that bowed when it saw them. They climbed on its back, first Charlotte, then Zee, then Steve, and they headed back to the mortal realm.

  Charlotte found herself shaking slightly—from relief, f
rom exhaustion, from residual terror, from joy. There was so much inside of her she could not contain it all, and it was only the feel of her cousin seated behind her, holding on to her back, that kept her from exploding.

  She could not see Zee, but she imagined his face set in a sly, quiet smile. They’d had an obligation to the Dead; they had been bound with them ever since the cousins set foot in the Underworld and saw their plight. And now it was over.

  Soon they were on a mountain clearing, with the holy beauty of Greece surrounding them. The bird became Persephone, and every person within a hundred miles felt a flash of pleasure but did not know why.

  The goddess smiled at the trio. “You will find the Temple of Apollo half a mile away,” she said. She looked at Charlotte and Zee, eyes full, and neither had ever seen anything as beautiful in their lives as the goddess before them. And then she shook her head and muttered to herself, “Mortals.”

  She took a step back. One moment she was there and the next she was a bird, but somewhere in between she told them, “Send my regards to your cat.”

  And then she flew away.

  The cousins exchanged a glance and shrugged, and then the trio made their way along the path, reveling in the sun and the air and the sea and the earth. The cousins began to tell their stories. Zee told Charlotte of the imaginary forest, the fake Charlotte, the hearth room and Persephone, his confrontation with Zeus, his cousin’s appearance and beautiful, horrible disappearance, the arrival of Philonecron and Steve, the moment when the universe might fall, then the flash of red that let him know that they were going to get through this.

  And Charlotte told Zee of the dream-Hartnett, the Sphinx’s curious riddle, the cows and the eagles and the lounging gods, being borne to Zeus in Hera’s bitter arms, the pain and the darkness and the moment of light and truth, the beauty of the endless sky, the great bird and Persephone’s apology, and the sight of her cousin, trident raised over Philonecron, and the knowledge that they were going to get through this.

  When they arrived at the clearing below the Temple, they looked up to see the great mass of tourists winding their way as tour guides rattled on about the dead religion of the ancients. A family stood a few feet away from them, the mom and dad wearing big, ugly straw hats, the dad thumbing through a guidebook, a high school girl tapping her feet and rolling her eyes, and a little boy running in circles around the group, singing a song about bodily functions at the top of his lungs. Charlotte looked at the ground and grinned.