by Drako
Eris heard everything he said, but when she opened her mouth to retort, blood came out instead on a cough. Still, she dimly sensed a powerful presence enter the room. The presence was familiar, and didn’t bode well for her.
“Eris, you miserable wretch, you look like crap,” Odele told her.
The gods knew Eris wanted to respond, but talking wasn’t an option as she continued to cough up blood. Odele stood in the center of the room, a lovely white light emanating from her.
“I, the goddess Odele, beseech the lord of heaven and the Black Dragon God to enter this realm of darkness to witness the judgment of the goddess of discord and anarchy.”
Lightning struck from nowhere and where it struck stood the king of the gods. A swirl of black flames sprang up next to him and when they vanished, Jarel stood next to Zeus. Furthermore, with a bright flash of light, Apollo appeared as well.
“This is an interesting development,” Zeus commented.
“Yes, it is,” Jarel agreed.
Apollo said nothing, but his eyes were locked on Odele.
“With your permission, I will pass the judgment of Hera here and now,” Odele told them, carefully avoiding Apollo’s gaze.
Zeus looked to Jarel. “I’m willing to allow this if you are.”
Jarel merely gave a nod and Odele crossed the room to stand in front of Eris. “You have disobeyed the laws of every god above your station, from Ares to Jarel to Hera and Zeus. You have plotted for centuries the downfall of the Olympian Gods with your plan to revive the former king. You have slaughtered the innocent in your search, including the youngest child of Jarel. You are therefore responsible for the deaths of all the vampires that suffered his wrath. You targeted me in human form, and stole my mortal twin brother away from me. You removed the king of the vampires, Vacker, while he slept and are still hiding him through some means. Two innocent souls, lost to the gods now because of your selfishness. And for what? Because Olympus and the world as a whole hates you? You should have tried something simpler, like being less of a rotten bitch. As such, you are now not only stripped of your godhood, you are stripped of all powers and immortality. Furthermore, I now tie your limited life force to that of your realm. As it dies, you die. Upon your imminent death, you are condemned to burn in Tartarus for all time with no means of escape. There, the fires of pain you have caused will burn you with several times more intensity.”
Odele’s power filled the room, bringing the will of Hera into reality. Zeus and Jarel stepped forward to join Odele, while Apollo hung back slightly.
“Also, Eris, your son is already waiting in Tartarus,” Zeus commented. “He does not escape the wrath of the lord of heaven just because he was merely following your orders. My will always trumps yours, so he will suffer equally.”
“And now, we leave you to your suffering, which I’m sure will be short lived.” Jarel waved a hand and everyone but Apollo vanished.
Eris looked up at Apollo, barely able to see him. Apollo glared down at her with burning hatred in his dazzling blue eyes.
“Unlike my dear stepmother, I’m not content to let you die slowly from starvation or your wounds. I want the satisfaction of killing you myself.” His eyes narrowed. “I was parted from Odele because of you, and forbidden from interacting with her at all through each and every one of her lifetimes. The only thing I could do was give her a twin brother to protect her, and you took that from her in this lifetime.” He held up a hand and a ball of fire appeared in it. “For an eternity, I have been without the one woman I truly wanted above all others, all because Hera wanted you out of Olympus. I’m granting her wish, and I don’t give a damn about consequences.” The ball of fire enlarged. “So, as humans so eloquently put it, I’ll see you in hell!” He launched the ball of fire at her and Eris screamed as pain became her existence.
Thirty Three
The boys awoke slowly, becoming aware of their surroundings. The two sat up at the same time and looked at each other, wondering vaguely how they’d gotten home.
“It’s about time you two woke up.”
They turned to face their grandfather, who stood leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.
“How long were we out?” Brandon asked.
“Only a couple of hours,” Jarel answered. “How are you feeling?”
“Every bone in my body isn’t broken, so I’d say I feel just fine,” Demun answered.
Brandon examined his bare chest, noting that there was no burn. “I’m good too.”
Jarel walked over and sat at the foot of Brandon’s bed. “So, I suppose you’d like a bit of an explanation.”
Demun gave him a dull stare. “Gramps, you sent us into fights we couldn’t possibly win. We’d have to be brain dead not to wonder why.”
Jarel nodded. “Yes, I did give you a seemingly impossible task but it was for your benefit. For far too long, you’ve fought and not been truly challenged. You’ve gotten cocky, and therefore you’re slacking. In these times, you’ll encounter many beings other than the occasional rogue vampire you’ve run into over the years. These are uncertain times, and in order to protect yourselves you have to be ready for anything.”
“So there’s a vast majority of gods going rogue now too?” Brandon asked bitterly.
“Given the events transpiring, I can’t say I’d be surprised. But, this fight was about a certain lesson for you. You see, you could have won against the opponents I gave you if only you’d fought more intelligently.”
Brandon and Demun gave him identical bland stares. Jarel sighed.
“Demun, you rushed into a fight with an opponent that you should have seen from the start was physically stronger than you. You had one advantage over him, but by the time you used it, you were too weak to make it effective. Dmitri had nothing more than his strength. You have other powers at your disposal, and you have a strong affinity for fire. However, if your body is beaten, you can’t concentrate as well. If not for Vic, you’d be dead right now, and you’d have only yourself to blame.”
The Black Dragon God looked to Brandon. “Brandon, you have become shortsighted. You let your demon take over and strategy is not his strong suit. To defeat Eris, all you had to do was keep introducing her to the pain she was unfamiliar with. Your downfall began when you were hit by the lightning. Id held his own, but you failed to keep the pressure on Eris properly. All you had to do was outlast her and let her tire herself out. Instead, you gave her time to adjust and when she fought back, you were defenseless. Part of this is because you didn’t realize demons lose power in realms created by the gods. Had you not become so reliant on Id to bail you out, you would have been able to take her down. As it stands, you owe your life to Andreas.”
The boys remained silent and downcast. Tonight had been a humbling experience. Never before had they been so easily beaten.
“Do not fret, boys. Learn from your mistakes tonight. You are still mere boys and have been pushed into my world far sooner than I wanted. Tonight should inspire you to work harder than you have been to improve your skills and increase your power. After all, at least one of you has a more fragile being to protect from now on.” Jarel looked to Brandon. “You can defeat the average rogue, but I assure you, worse things will come for you and they will also exploit your one weakness. You must turn that weakness into a strength.”
“Who else will come after us now, Gramps?” Brandon asked. “Eris is gone, and I’m sure Andreas will get Kalos soon.”
Something flashed in Jarel’s silver eyes. “There are far more involved in this conspiracy than what was thought before and you have more enemies simply because of who and what you are. You are a blending of the three original and most dominating species in the universe. This makes you more of a target, unfortunately. To better prepare you, you must go where I cannot follow to learn about the darker part of you nature.”
“Wait, what? Where can you possibly not go?” Demun questioned.
Jarel turned to Demun. “You must
eventually venture into the world where your father was born, the demon world. A world where we gods cannot go. Your grandmother made a pact with Cronus during his reign in exchange for never rising against him. We gods are not allowed to venture in at all and due to Desdemona being the biggest bitch I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing, I can’t even directly communicate with you while you’re there.”
Brandon took a few seconds to think. “Why exactly are we being sent there?”
“Because only there can you truly learn about that part of your nature. I cannot teach you about it and neither can Andreas, because we are not demons. You must learn balance with all parts of yourselves in order to grow. As such, I agreed with her that you would be allowed to go into the demon world once for a period of time.”
“Any idea when we’re supposed to be going?” Demun asked.
Jarel shook his head. “She has a limited time frame, but because she is, as I said, a bitch, she won’t tell me when exactly she’s coming for you. I would count on it being soon, and for the record, if you’re anything like your father, you’ll hate her instantly.”
The boys gave him a questioning look.
“Desdemona is not a maternal parent really. She’s impossible to live with on her best days. On her worst, she makes you want to slit her throat. Unfortunately, no one currently in the demon world is stronger, so while you’re there you’ll have to live with the knowledge that you can’t kill her but she can kill you quite easily.” Jarel stood up. “Rest up, boys. When Andreas comes back, I doubt you’ll get much more rest.”
Kazarian sat in the bedroom he’d so briefly shared with Andreas. They hadn’t had time to clean up, so he could still see all the signs of their lovemaking. He sighed, knowing he’d have to leave soon. Perhaps it would be easier to return to Hades now while Andreas was out hunting Kalos.
“You don’t truly want to return to Hades, do you?”
Kazarian looked up to find Odele standing in the doorway. She looked intently at him, her eyes seeming to see right through him to the depths of his soul.
“Kazarian?” she questioned, clearly waiting for a response.
“No, goddess, I don’t want to return to Hades, but I am a mortal and have long since died. I belong in the Elysian Fields,” he answered.
“You sound so miserable when you say that, but the Elysian Fields are meant to be paradise.”
“The Elysian Fields merely numb me to the pain of being without Andreas. Meanwhile, he suffers here alone and will continue to suffer.”
Odele studied him. “You could have alleviated that suffering ages ago, had you chosen to be reincarnated.”
“Yes, or I could have been reincarnated into a form he doesn’t know and never found him. He would still be equally as lost, and if we did find each other, he could have refused me. He will always love me as Kazarian.”
“You are soul mates. He would love you under any form. His soul will always recognize you.”
“That’s not good enough for me, goddess,” Kazarian told her. “I must remain the same. When we are finally together again, I want to be the same person he’s always known. I don’t want anything to have changed about me. If I allow myself to be reincarnated, my personality will change.”
“But if you remain in the Elysian Fields, you must wait for him to die to be together.” Odele walked to stand before him. “Andreas is a black dragon, the strongest of his race. The likelihood of him dying is slim to none. He has an eternity to wander, lost without the other half of himself to anchor him. And rest assured, he has been lost all these years without you. He doesn’t live, he merely exists. Is that what you want for him?”
Kazarian found himself unable to answer. Perhaps it was cruel of him to continue on in the Elysian Fields while Andreas lived on. Perhaps he should have tried to be reincarnated. If he’d done it before, Andreas wouldn’t have had such a hard time dealing with Kalos and Eris.
“Don’t start blaming yourself for the actions of others,” Odele told him, clearly reading his thoughts. “My questions here are merely to test your love of Andreas. What do you truly think he would want?”
Kazarian searched for the answer in himself, trying not to answer as himself. He tried to place himself in Andreas’ shoes. He found himself unable to come up with a different answer than what he’d already said.
“I still feel he’d want me as he always knew me,” he told Odele. “This form is familiar to him. This is the person he grew up with, trained with, laughed with…”
“Died with,” Odele finished. “When you died, his soul went with you. Not physically, clearly. But no other has been able to touch his heart. Not in the way soul mates do.”
Kazarian sighed. “I know, and it hurts me to watch him hurt. But this is what I feel I must do. Perhaps knowing that I am in the Elysian Fields will allow him to continue living and find some semblance of peace.”
“Perhaps,” was all Odele said.
“Can you take me back to Hades, or must I continue waiting here only to make our parting harder?” Kazarian asked.
“Returning you to Hades is not my job, and besides, you will want to attend the meeting on Olympus.” A strange twinkle was clearly present in her eyes. “I believe you will find it most interesting.”
She vanished, leaving Kazarian alone in the room once again. He fell back on the bed with a sigh. Odele had become much stranger since regaining her godhood, developing the same cryptic nature that all gods had.
Thirty Four
Kalos scowled as he looked at his surroundings. The cheap motel was the best he could do on such short notice. He hated running, but he’d had no choice. His mother had effectively wiped out his forces. Unfortunately, the old bitch was stronger than ever and took her responsibilities to the Black Dragon God far more seriously than his father had.
He sighed as he thought of his father. He’d loved the man. After all, Vacker had given him so much freedom. It was Eris that had decided to do away with him. Frankly, Kalos had no real idea what had happened to his father. And now he’d never get to ask her.
The room was basic, and somewhat outdated. He closed the thick curtains to keep anyone from seeing inside. He sat in complete darkness, not bothering to turn on the ancient mechanism for lights. He felt his hunger building. Fortunately, no one would miss the people in this place. They were mostly the useless dregs of society; alcoholics, drug addicts, and hookers.
As he sat there, the hair on his arms stood up and a strange tingle went up his spine. There was something wrong here.
Shit, I’ve been discovered already, he thought.
He sprang up and rushed to the door, hoping he could get out before his exact location was discovered. He started out of the door and was met with a fist to the face. Kalos stumbled back and Andreas stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Andreas kicked Kalos in the stomach, and then tossed him face first into the mirror. The mirror shattered and Kalos’ nose was broken and bleeding. Andreas caught him by the hair and shoved him into the toilet, clearly attempting to drown him. Kalos struggled desperately but Andreas held his head under, until Kalos flushed the toilet and elbowed him in the stomach. Pushing himself up and taking a gasp of air, Kalos turned and Andreas punched him in the side of the head. Kalos rolled sideways and pushed himself up, only to be met with a kick to the jaw that sent him flying across the room. Kalos landed on his back and almost immediately found Andreas’ foot on his throat.
“Last time, you got a bit of help. There’s no Eris to get you out this time.” Andreas pressed down harder. “So that you understand, the last ass kicking was for Kazarian. This one is for Julian.”
Kalos was losing air fast and could only find one way out. He swung his leg up and kicked Andreas right in the balls. Andreas’ eyes widened and he let out a groan as he released Kalos and stumbled back. Kalos sprang up and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back against the broken mirror. Andreas grunted from the pain as glass nicked him. Kalos charged in but Andreas
suddenly shot forward and tackled him. Rising over him, Andreas punched him in the face several times, gaining the satisfaction of knocking several teeth out.
Kalos spit blood in his face, blinding him long enough to kick him in the head, knocking him off. With Andreas on the floor, it was Kalos’ turn to rise up and strike back, or so he thought.
Andreas took only two shots to the face before he caught Kalos’ fist with one hand while reaching for the dagger in his boot with the other. The hand that held Kalos’ fist flashed and lightning shot out, sending Kalos flying again. Andreas sat up and threw the dagger while Kalos was still in the air. Kalos hit the wall and the dagger embedded itself in his left shoulder. The dagger went through, actually pinning him to the wall. Kalos let out a yelp of pain and reached for the dagger, only to have Andreas put another one in his right shoulder. Pulling two more daggers from his jacket, Andreas sank one in each thigh, effectively cutting off all movement.
“Now it’s time for some payback.” Andreas punched him in the balls so hard Kalos couldn’t catch enough breath to make a sound. “And now begins the real pain.”
Kalos spat in his face, which made Andreas laugh. A small bolt of electricity encircled Andreas’ body.
“Defiant until the end, I see. I was so hoping you’d still be so stupid.”
Bright light filled the room as Kalos screamed in pain. Strangely, no one seemed to hear a thing or see the strange bright light that accompanied each scream for several hours after.
Zeus stood on the balcony of his palace on Olympus, gazing out over the home of the gods. He turned as he sensed the arrival of his wife.
“You should be quite satisfied with yourself, my dear wife,” he told her.
Hera raised a questioning eyebrow. “And why is that, husband?”
