“Apparently strength, speed and wisdom are just some of my powers,” I told him.
“Interesting.”
“I suppose it is. Now, if you’ll point me toward Tartarus we will be on our way.”
“Dear child do you really think that you’ll be able to save Ares and release the gods?” Aeacus asked.
“I do. If Ares and Athena have faith in me I might as well.”
“Athena?” Minos asked, surprised.
“My mother,” I replied.
“We never heard who your parents were, just that an infant was stolen from Mt. Olympus,” Minos clarified.
“Ah, well Ares and Athena are my parents.”
“Hmm, wise of the gods,” RhAdriananthys said.
“That’s what a lot of people have been telling me.”
“Take the road to the left. It will lead you into the depths of Tartarus. Be warned dear child the road to your destination is dangerous. There are vile and evil men and women being held there. Be careful and good luck,” Aeacus told me.
“Thank you.” I lifted Ares back onto my shoulders and began my steady trek to the gods.
The Judges of the Dead quickly faded behind me. The light that illuminated their stand disappeared within a few feet. The darkness was eerie and nerve wracking. From my readings, I knew this area of the Underworld was most dangerous and where the damned were kept. As I traveled further down the path the screams grew louder. I stumbled under the weight of Ares a few times but was able to reclaim my balance.
“You’ll never succeed,” a hoarse whisper said.
“Hello?” I called.
“Your friends are dead because of you.”
“What?”
An orange light appeared in front of my eyes. It was my campus. I watched in horror as my friends and professors fled from the building that was sinking into the open ground. I spun around and saw cars falling into an open pit, being swallowed by fire. People fell off the edges left and right. I saw Brandy. Her terrified, tear stained eyes seemed to be staring at me. She was running toward me!
“Cara! Help us!” she wailed.
“Brandy! I’m here!” I reached out to grab her but I couldn’t.
As she was running a hole opened up and swallowed her. I heard the screams become more and more distant. I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen. The earth just ate my best friend. It swallowed her whole.
“Brandy?” With Ares still on my shoulder, I tiptoed to the massive pit. I peered over the side but there was only blackness. No Brandy. “Wow. Does that mean she’s dead? Is her soul across the Styx roaming around?”
I wasn’t sure what to think, I didn’t have time to. The orange light faded. I didn’t really want to keep walking but I did.
“You killed your family,” the voice came again, only louder this time.
“Who’s there?” I laid Ares down and pulled out my sword.
“The world will end and it’s your fault,” it was a man’s voice.
I looked around, but saw no one. When I turned back around there was a soft yellow light with people standing in it. Sword in hand I walked to it. They weren’t just people. They were my parents.
“Mom! Dad!” I yelled while running to them, but stopped.
It was a scene. They couldn’t see or hear me. They were in the middle of Athens while Cronus and the other Titans were destroying it. I could see them on the balcony of the King George Palace when it fell to the ground. My breath caught in my throat. I watched helplessly as my parents plummeted to the ground below. My father was buried under rubble but my mother lay in the middle of the street. Her eyes wide open, blood pouring from her head.
“M-mom,” I cried.
I ran to her. Almost afraid to touch her, I knelt down. I gently cradled her body in my arms her crimson red blood staining my chiton. It felt so real. I could see the blood spreading up my own clothes. I held her as she breathed her last breath. Her eyes slid clothes and her arms fell limp. I placed her gently on the ground and began to dig for my dad. I found his arm. It was covered in blood and not moving. I couldn’t dig any further. I couldn’t see what lay beneath.
“This was your fault. If you had died they would be alive,” the voice taunted.
“No! This was not my fault! Cronus, this was his fault!” I screamed, holding my ears.
Tears streamed down my face. I ran to the darkness and threw up. The area lit up and I was staring at the bodies of my parents. I couldn’t escape it. The two people who had cared for me all my life were dead and it was being thrown in my face. The light faded and I fell over. I scooted backward quickly until I bumped into Ares. Maybe it was my fault. Everyone around me was dying.
“They have died because of you.”
“I didn’t kill my parents,” I cried.
“They all died because of you. You are a murderer,” the voice grew louder.
Another light came on further down the road.
“No, nobody else. Please,” I begged.
I slowly got up and walked to the next light.
“No, no, no ,no.” The tears began again, a sob escaped my lips.
My hands flew up to stop the noise and I turned my head. I couldn’t look.
“Look, Cara! Look at what you have caused!”
I looked. It was Athena. She was lying in the cavern. Her body was broken and bloody. Adronis and Adrian lay side by side. Dead. Adrian’s beautiful face was swollen and blood was pouring out of his mouth. He wasn’t dead yet!
“Adrian!” I ran to him and fell to the ground.
“Cara,” he whispered before his eyes slid closed. Now he was dead.
“No more! No more!” I cried.
I hugged my knees and put my head down. I couldn’t deal with it anymore.
“You are worthless. You have done nothing but brought destruction with you. You destroyed Athens. You destroyed the whole world!” The voice was even louder. It sounded as though he was standing right next to me.
I drew my sword and swung it wildly.
“No!” I swung it again.
I thought I made contact with something but there was nothing in front of me.
“Hello?” I sniffled.
Only silence. I waited a few more minutes but nothing. Satisfied that whatever had been tormenting me was gone, I walked back to Ares and picked him up. The surroundings of the path were thrown back into blackness and I was following the low orange light again. I tried to forget what I had seen and was told but I couldn’t. It was stuck. It didn’t take me long to stumble upon one of the more famous inhabitants of Tartarus. I recognized his punishment before him. It was Sisyphus. He was continuously pushing a boulder up a mountain, never reaching the top. He was almost to the top, but like always it rolled down to the bottom. He turned to look at me, pleading in his eyes. My heart went out to him, but there was nothing I could do. It was a punishment passed down by Zeus. A bit severe for telling where one of his many conquests was being held and who took her but the gods were known for being vengeful. I mouthed “I’m sorry” and kept on my way. I had to be getting close to the gods. I saw a dim light ahead, only this one was different. It came from behind a big iron door. The small bars that acted as the only way to see in let the light spill onto my path. I picked up my pace and leaned Ares against the wall next to the door.
“Hello?” I called in.
“Hey, someone’s there,” I heard a whisper from inside.
“Who could be here?” another person said.
“I can hear you,” I called into them.
“Who are you?” a man asked.
“Cara.”
“It is you!” A face popped up in front of the door, scaring me.
“Holy shit,” I yelled, jumping back.
“Sorry. I’m Apollo. My sons, are they okay?”
“When I saw them at the entrance to this hell hole; yes, they were alright.”
“Thank you.”
“How do I let you out?”
“There is a lock
that none of us can seem to break,” an older man said.
I knelt down and looked at it. It appeared to be a normal enough lock. I traced my hand along it and decided to do the logical thing. I grabbed my sword and began to whack at it.
“I’m not sure that’s working, dear,” a woman said from behind the door.
“Well, I’m not sure what else to do.”
“You are Athena’s child. Stop thinking like Ares and think like her.”
I was glad it was dark on my side of the door and nobody could see my red cheeks.
“I need two long picks or something like it.”
A pair of pale, dainty arms slid through one of the bars. “I use them in my hair.”
“Aphrodite?” I asked.
“How did you know?” she asked.
“Your voice, it reminds me of Adrian’s.”
“Ah, one of my twins.”
“Yeah,” I said softly.
“I know that kind of yeah. You love him,” she said.
I ignored her and knelt down next to the lock. I slid the two picks into it and began jiggling them around. I wasn’t sure what I was doing but I knew that if I kept it up eventually it would unlock. The clicking made me sigh in relief. I flung open the door. “Hades or Zeus! Whoever can save Ares, I need you.”
“Ares? What’s wrong with Ares?” A tall man with a long white beard emerged from the shadows.
“Zeus?”
“Yes.” I grabbed his hand and drug him out of the chamber. “What happened to him?”
“We ran into Atlas.”
“And you weren’t killed?” he asked stunned.
“No, Atlas is a bit further back unconscious.”
“I just have to draw his soul back up.” Zeus placed his hand over Ares head and body, breathing in and out slowly. It was amazing to watch. The body began to glow a soft golden color and I saw his chest begin to rise and fall. He sucked in a deep breath and sat up with a start.
“Ares?” I whispered.
“Cara? You’re alive?” He stared at me stunned.
“And she saved you,” another woman said, kneeling down next to him.
“Mother!” Ares leaned over and hugged the woman.
“Mother?” I gazed at the woman.
“Cara, this is my mother, your grandmother, Hera.”
“Hera? So that means.” I looked at Zeus. The man was laughing.
“That’s right, I’m grandpa.”
“Grandpa?” I fell backwards and onto my butt.
The gods burst out laughing. They all began to file out of the small jail cell.
“How about we go and restore order to our world?” Apollo asked.
I just nodded. My mind was a swirling, chaotic mess. It had never occurred to me that since my parents were both Zeus’ children, he would be my grandfather.
I’m the granddaughter of the great king of the gods?
I watched the man for some time. His twinkling eyes, the dimples when he laughed, the strong jaw, and the lightly olive colored skin. We did share some similar traits. But that could all be coincidence. I followed close behind him as we left Hell. It was such a humbling time. They all had such air of power to them.
Chapter Nineteen
I had never been so happy to leave a place in my life. Seeing the iron doors that led to the outside world took a load off my mind. Until I remembered the last of the visions I saw. Athena, Adrian, and Adronis were dead. What if they suffered the same fate as Brandy and my parents?
“Wait. Don’t open the doors yet,” I squeaked from the back.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Hera asked, putting her arms around my shoulders.
“After the fight with Atlas, someone was taunting me. Some guy. I kept seeing visions of my best friend falling into a bottomless pit, dying. I saw my parents, the ones who raised me, lying in the middle of the street in Athens crushed by the rubble of our balcony. Then I saw Athena, Adronis and Adrian lying outside those doors. They were dead.”
“That doesn’t necessarily mean they are in fact dead,” a tall, dark haired man said.
“It doesn’t?”
“No.”
“So they could be alive?” I asked.
“Yes they could.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m the lord of this realm.” He smiled.
“You’re Hades?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Then let’s open the doors.” The tears were flowing again. I couldn’t seem to stop them now that they started. I didn’t feel like a mighty goddess.
Hera reached out and hugged me. I took a deep breath preparing for the worst on the other side. Zeus and Ares pushed on the doors. They creaked to life and moved. Cerberus was standing next to them. Same spot as when we had entered. I looked around but didn’t see anybody. They were dead. They had to be. Why else wouldn’t they be here? I heard rustling from the left and looked. It was Adrian. I ran to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and letting the sobs escape my throat. I didn’t bother hiding them.
“Cara, what’s wrong?”
In between sobs I was able to get it out. “I thought you were dead!”
“Why would you think that?” he asked.
“I was shown a vision of you, Athena, and Adronis dead. I thought I’d lost you.”
“I’m fine. Don’t be afraid.” He hugged me closer and kissed the top of my head.
“Adrian?” Aphrodite stepped forward with tears in her eyes.
“Mom! Dad! You’re alright,” he let me go and ran to his parents.
Adronis and Athena emerged from the trees that were off to the side. Adronis ran to his parents and the four of them embraced. I looked at Athena and saw the tears streaming down her face. I bit my lip and walked to her. She wrapped her arms around me and held me close. I could hear her heart beating faster.
“You did great, honey.”
“Thanks, Athena. Mom,” I cried.
“We have one heck of a daughter, Athena,” Ares said, standing next to us.
“That we do,” she said, hugging me tighter.
“If everybody is done crying, how about we go save the world?” Zeus asked.
“Sounds good,” Apollo said.
“If it’s alright, I’d like to get the souls sorted so that they can go to judgment,” a handsome, blonde man said, standing on the bank of the Styx.
“Can you wait until after we’re finished? I don’t know what souls will be returning to their bodies yet,” Hades told him.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Those who died because of the Titans will be going back to their bodies.”
I gasped. “You mean they’ll be alive?”
“Yes.”
“Oh thank you.”
“Why?”
“The man and woman who have been raising her were killed,” Adrian told him.
“I see. Don’t worry, Cara, we’re not letting the destruction the Titans have created stay. The world won’t remember any of this.”
“Where are we going to fight them?”
“Mt. Olympus,” Zeus replied.
“It’s in ruins,” Adrian told him.
“I figured as much, but that is where we have the greatest advantage. Plus, that is our home.”
“Well, how do we all get there?” I asked.
“Our chariots,” Hera smiled.
“You will have to fight Cronus.” Ares said.
“What? Why me?”
“Nobody else can defeat him.”
“It took us ten years last time,” Zeus sighed.
“Ten years?” I asked in disbelief.
“We’re hoping since we have you it won’t take that long.”
“Exactly how long do you think this will take?” I asked.
“We don’t know,” Ares said.
“Perfect.”
The chariots arrived and cut our conversation short. I was a bit surprised by some of them. Ares had a fire red chariot with two enormous black wolf-like
dogs pulling it, Zeus had a white chariot with two white stallions, Apollo’s was golden with two swans, Athena rode in Helios’, Hades had a black chariot pulled by two black stallions. Those of us who were fighting climbed onto the awaiting vessels. Once we were in the air I looked back as Hera, Aphrodite and Hestia began to shrink with the growing distance. I looked to the horizon, watching for Mt. Olympus. Terror gripped at my heart. It felt as though time itself were stopping.
It was a distant sound, almost like hearing underwater. Zeus was talking. I stared at him trying to focus. I couldn’t hear what he said. I was gripping the side of the chariot for dear life. I couldn’t think clearly. Every part of my body began to tingle. Cronus was near. The man I would have to fight to save the world was getting closer and closer to me. Before the chariots arrived at Mt. Olympus they diverted to the left and headed toward Athens.
“What’s going on?” I managed to get out.
“We’re going to the Parthenon,” Adrian said, squeezing my waist.
“The Parthenon? Why? Cronus and the Titans are on Olympus.”
“We’re not ready yet. We need to get armor and fix our weapons. Zeus sent Hephaestus to his workshop. We have to wait for him,” Athena told me.
“His workshop?”
“Yes, it’s buried deep inside a volcano. It’s highly unlikely the Titans were able to find it. Hephaestus is the best metalworker; it won’t take him long to have everything ready.”
My body and mind felt numb. I had a reprieve from death for the moment. Now all we could do was sit around waiting for weapons to be made. I didn’t know how I would be able to do that. The chariots made their descent onto the ruined acropolis. I scanned Athens. Nothing was left whole. Fires were blazing out of control throughout the once mighty city. I could see Syntagma Square. The beautiful palace was crumbling and smoldering. I looked a bit further south and saw King George Palace. I had to close my eyes. I knew two of those bodies lying in the street were my parents. I held onto Adrian, breathing in his sweet scent.
Could the goddess of war and the god of love and archery have a future together?
It was the only thing keeping me from losing it. Without him, I’d feel so alone. He leaned his head down to me, our lips meeting. I pushed my own body into his, slid my arms up and around his neck, knotting my fingers in his tousled blonde mane. The chariot landed roughly. I jerked backward almost falling into Athena. I let Adrian lead me away from the chariot and to the remaining steps of the Parthenon. I sat there while he went off with the others to devise a plan. A plan that was supposed to help us win. I was fairly certain I was going to die goddess or not. My powers were stolen from me once before I’m sure it could be done again. If I am going to die I can’t think of any better way to do it then a heroine. Giving my life so that those I love and care for can live. At least it won’t be in vain. The thought of death should have scared me. I should have been terrified but for some reason I was remarkably at ease. I cocked my head to the side observing Zeus and the other men argue about which way was best.
Goddess of War Page 10
