* * *
Meanwhile, on Mount Olympus, the gods finally extinguished the fire.
“We have made her too powerful!” shouted Arawn, wiping off soot from his robe.
“Our mistake was using the bloodline of a war god!” shouted Freyja as she picked up pieces of a broken bust.
“Enough. We all created The Power and we are all responsible for her actions. Not a single god here can say we did not deserve this. We tore the child from her parents’ arms and gave her powers of mass destruction,” Athena added in Elpis’ defense.
“How do we end this? Her task is complete and is no longer required. I say we remove her powers and let her suffer a mortal life,” called out Don, Celtic Goddess of the elements.
“We made her more powerful than all of us combined,” Hera reminded the assembly.
“Love created her, why not let love destroy her?” Aphrodite interjected with a contemplative look.
“What are you proposing, Sister?” asked Zeus.
“Create a man she cannot help but fall in love with,” Aphrodite responded as if the answer was obvious.
Immediately upon Zeus’ agreement, Hephaestus set to work on constructing a handsome man fit for a queen. He assembled the body out of limestone, a porous stone that could absorb anything and withstand fire, seemingly a necessity with Elpis. Freyja casted spells over the stone to give the man extraordinary magical powers. The Egyptian god, Thoth, armed him with an enchanted dagger. The black onyx handle of the dagger buzzed with power in his hand, the metal hilt tingling against the top of his fingers.
Pluto placed one hand on his shoulder and the body sprang to life.
“You have one duty until we tell you otherwise. You will win the heart of Elpis and stay by her side as long as she lives. From this day forward, you are known as Eversor,” Pluto instructed the newly formed man.
When Apollo located Elpis hiding on a Greek island, he carried Eversor down in his chariot to meet her. Cupid accompanied Apollo and Eversor as they carefully snuck up behind Elpis. Eversor exited the chariot and noticed Cupid and Apollo disguised themselves as servants, hoping Elpis would not see through their camouflage.
Eversor walked up to Elpis and fell in love instantly. Meanwhile, Elpis noticed he was attractive but thought nothing of him until Cupid shot her with several arrows, sending her into complete devotion.
Together, Elpis and Eversor were invincible. Their powers were unmatched as they marched over smaller kingdoms to form their own massive empire. Elpis was a fair and tolerant queen. Despite her capabilities in war, her kingdom experienced twenty years of peace under her rule.
One night, in 1153 B.C., Thoth came down from Mount Olympus to whisper in Eversor’s ear as he slept.
Eversor rose from the bed and reached for the dagger on the table. The smooth, jet handle of the dagger vibrated in his hand. His movements were slow and eyes glazed over; the dagger seemed to possess him. He had no control over his actions. Eversor gently caressed Elpis’ hair as he knelt over his beautiful wife, bending down to give her a kiss.
Elpis woke with a smile until she saw her husband’s hazy eyes. Worried, she sat up. Before she could speak, Eversor plunged the dagger into her heart.
From outside, a thousand golden eagles painfully screeched as their patron lay dying.
Eversor snapped out of his trance, horrified by his actions and blood soaked hands. He cradled his wife’s head against his chest and sobbed, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, my love.”
Elpis coughed, splattering blood against her lower lip and her husband’s chest. She cupped the side of his face and whispered, “I forgive you.” She gently kissed his cheek, leaving a bloody imprint of her lips on his cheek.
She gasped, and then clutched at Eversor’s arm until the pain faded and her hand fell limp to the bed.
As Eversor pulled the dagger from his wife’s still heart, the blade emerged with a string of white light wound around it. Eversor eased himself off the bed, ready to take his own life as Thoth had ordered.
Elpis’ body then burst into flames, quickly turning to gold ash. A warm wind rustled through the windows and scattered the gold ashes into the night.
Tears streamed down Eversor’s face as he held the dagger over his heart. “I’m so sorry,” he wept as he watched his wife’s ashes soar away.
Astonished by what happened, the gods panicked above.
“He withdrew The Power! Stop him before he absorbs it!” Zeus shouted.
Thoth jumped down from Olympus and crashed into the room to stop Eversor. After knocking the blade out of Eversor’s hand, Thoth slashed at him with his sword. However, Eversor was quick. He dodged the blade and reached for his own sword to defend himself. It was a dance of spins and jabs but no fatal blows.
While the men fought, Athena glided into the room holding a wooden box. She quickly grabbed the dagger and tried to force the blade inside.
The dagger burned her palm, forcing Athena to drop it. When the goddess grabbed the dagger a second time the light unwrapped itself from the blade and soared out the window in the same direction as the ashes. The Power was faster than Athena could follow.
Thump!
Thoth’s body crumbled to the ground, blood trickling from the side of his head. After Eversor incapacitated Thoth, he grabbed Elpis’ cloak of invisibility off the bedside table. Throwing the cloak over his shoulders, he snuck up on Athena as she stared out the window in shock. He slammed his shoulder into her side and snatched the dagger out of her hand.
With a scream of outrage, Athena flew back to Mount Olympus carrying Thoth’s unconscious body. Witnessing the events, Zeus ordered the sky gods to search for Eversor and The Power, but their attempts were fruitless. The Power was strong enough to hide itself with its own magic and Eversor dared not remove the invisibility cloak.
The Phoinix: Age of Demigods Page 13
