by May Burnett
I cannot get over the way Hell, who is so young – not even fifteen – is treated as an equal by these ancient deities, and how they listen to his proposals, as though they came from the formidable Hera or the even more forbidding Pallas Athena. All the gods I have only seen on classical pictures, or read about in history and mythology, are here – and apart from a very few they look young and strong, and keen to tackle new challenges.
“So have you figured out what you were created for, Hell?” Pallas asks him at one point.
“This is an important part of it, I feel sure. Melinda has helped me understand that the current human world is in desperate trouble and indeed in existential danger, as they stupidly go destroying nature and animals, sawing off the branch on which they themselves are sitting.”
“You don’t need to elaborate, the ugliness of much of the current world is only too apparent,” Hera says, with a slight twitch of her nose.
“Indeed,” Aphrodite agrees. “All that pornography has driven out love and healthy sex, they are all adrift.”
“Their current music does not even deserve the name,” Apollo asserts.
“And even war is not a matter of courage any longer,” Ares adds, “they now kill with remote control, like a computer game, where the killers don’t have to face any danger. A thoroughly degenerate society.”
“The state of the seas is so sad and disgusting that I cannot even find the words to describe it,” Poseidon notes. “I have kept up a few reserves in remote areas, but the currents bring dirt and garbage, and radiation, everywhere. It cannot go on much longer before they kill off everything, including humanity itself.”
None of the Gods has a good word to say about our modern world. Have we humans really messed up so completely?
“At least fewer starve, and life expectancy has risen,” I dare to interject at some point.
“Maybe, but it’s very temporary,” Pallas tells me. “The current trajectory leads straight to catastrophe and annihilation.”
I am silenced, biting my lips.
“That is where my plan comes in,” Hell explains to the assembled gods. “We don’t have much time left. Tomorrow we’ll help Yila and her fellow pre-Colombian gods to build a dimension similar to New Olympus. That will only be the warm-up and dress rehearsal, however. If we can do it for her, we should do it again right away, and create a preserve to save the best parts of humanity, while the rest fight it out between them. A place where we can freely mingle with humans, and teach them how to avoid the problems they have created on Earth.”
“They don’t deserve it,” a woman with white hair sourly observes. “They have turned their backs on us – on all religions, really – in their greed and destructiveness. They let all other species perish miserably and don’t care. Why should we save any of them?” I wonder who she is; all the others look young to middle-aged, at most. One of the Norns, maybe?
“Not all humans are complicit,” Hell tells her.
Myra, who has joined us a short while ago, supports him. “Some are even now struggling to preserve what they can, and deserve a helping hand.”
“They will bring their greed and religion with them to the new place, and ruin it too,” the crone still objects. Many of the others look struck by that argument.
“That can be dealt with,” Zeus surprisingly pronounces, and the old woman finally subsides. “If we mingle with them freely, they would be fools not to understand that we exist, and as far as I’m concerned they can worship whoever else they please. We should have a resident deity always around to prevent abuses, of course.”
That Zeus has signalled his approval of his son’s proposal makes a big difference. From then on it’s all over bar the shouting.
Hell looks around the assembly. “Anyway, aren’t we ready for a big new project, a new experiment? Another place to go, besides New Olympus and the polluted Earth?”
They agree with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and almost all of them promise to come and help with the world-creating plan the very next day. Zeus himself will not come, but seems content to let Hell take the lead.
I am proud of Hell, proud to be his girlfriend. So many other boys his age are only interested in games or sports. For Hell, creating and saving worlds and species is all in a day’s work.
Finally everything is decided and he brings me back to Colombia, to Grandmother’s house. He stays around for a while, but I’m not saying what we do then – some things are private.
21 Hell
There would be plenty of power to furnish a new dimension between the Greek volunteers and Yila’s contingent of more than twenty deities, some looking very strange. notably a giant fish and a huge tapir-like semi god.
Hell had everyone stand in a circle, mixing up the two groups, each touching his two neighbours. They had met in bright morning sunlight, on a huge Andean mountain, far from prying human eyes.
Before starting, Yila described her requirements, which amounted to a world resembling South America before white people had arrived to despoil it. Mountains, similar to the Andes, were an essential part; a river as big as the Amazon; lakes and seas. Plentiful virgin forests and waterfalls and game.
The Tapir enquired, “What about humans?”
“Why don’t we create the new realm without any humans, to start with,” Hell proposed. "You can then select some who would fit - from the last indigenous tribes, I suppose – and transfer them. Most would merely start to ruin the place.”
“That is best,” Yila agreed, silencing all of her family.
Hell had studied the theory but found it was very different to locate and change a new dimension in practice. It was a heady experience to use and focus the combined power of all so many deities. When he found a suitable place, Pallas’ smile reassured him that the choice was right. Hell made the accumulated power circulate among all present, as they added their imaginations and wishes to the end result.
Mountains even higher than the Andes and continents quickly took shape. There were steep peaks and spectacular table mountains with endless waterfalls. The seas had a profusion of islands modelled on the Caribbean. Trees, bushes, flowers and grasses, and many species of animal were introduced, including some which had never existed on Earth. The abundance of beautiful and downright weird fish imagined by the American deities was incredible. Hell promised himself he’d come with Melinda to do some snorkelling here when he found the time.
Myra added a special feature that she explained to Yila when they were done at last: a clear pool on top of the highest table mountain. “This will automatically attract and pool the life force of anything that dies in the new world,” she said, “from the smallest insect to the largest tree. You can use it as a source of power that automatically renews itself, without any additional work on your part.”
“Neat,” the Snake Goddess admitted. “Do you have such a feature in your own realm?”
“No, we partake of divine food, nectar and ambrosia, to renew our powers. It is pleasant, but this is more efficient. The water can be drunk or you can bathe in it, the effect is the same.”
“I’ll try it out first thing,” the divine fish announced, and vanished into the pool. One by one the local Gods disappeared into their new world, until only Yila was left. Diego had been one of the first to go. Hell had noticed that he carefully kept his distance from Melinda. He himself had to remind himself sharply that now was not the time for revenge; but he’d keep an eye on the fellow and would not allow him to kidnap any other innocents from Earth.
“You kept your word,” Yila said at last. “As you said, we can take it from there. It will take us a while to have everything just so.”
“Good luck in your new realm,” Apollo told the Snake Woman. “No pollution and no TV! It already is closer to paradise than anything on the old earth.”
“You are welcome to visit any time,” Yila told him, regarding Apollo’s handsome face and body with a gleam in her eye.
After a moment Yila turned
her cold gaze on Melinda. Hell took Melinda’s hand in his and stood close.
“You are free of us,” Yila announced. “As you have done us a favour, I will give you one in return.” She lightly touched Melinda’s brow. Hell wondered what Yila had done.
Then Yila too was gone, and only the Greek gods remained behind. They immediately began an exhaustive post-mortem of the project, comparing it to their previous experience of creating New Olympus, and made numerous suggestions on how to improve the next realm.
That would be done in one more day – to allow for a recovery of any lost energy, though they all looked pretty fit to Hell – and would take place in Greece, on a mountain near the original Olympus, for added power.
“You told me you had been to Greece, are you looking forward to seeing it again?” Hell asked Melinda as he escorted her back to the Rancho.
“I was very small, only five or so, and don’t remember much. It will be fascinating to see the place again.”
Hell kissed her small nose. “I’ll teach you to travel by yourself.”
“Really? That is possible?” Melinda was taking to immortality with endearing enthusiasm, Hell thought, kissing her again for good measure.
“I’m starting to believe you, that anything is possible for us.”
22 Melinda
At dinner that night my mother complains that she has hardly seen me recently, and though Grandmother does not say so, I know she feels similarly. I cannot tell them the truth. Since I left school just days ago the changes have come so hard and fast that I am struggling to keep up. And I haven’t figured out yet what Yila’s gift was supposed to be. Hell is as mystified as I on that score.
We are a smaller group now; Jacinta and her parents have returned to the capital. I wonder how long her engagement to the supposed Diego is going to last, now that he has that new place to play with. Esteban is out hunting once again, and has not returned in time for dinner.
“You look great, though,” Mom tells me. “Almost radiant and super healthy. The mountain air seems to do you good.”
“Her foreign school is also in the mountains, I thought?” Grandmother observes. “I have been wondering if she should be kept so far from the family and her future responsibilities. Surely we can keep Melinda safe here, too.”
“It’s the middle of the school year,” father says doubtfully. “But if Melinda does not like it there, I suppose we could look at different options for the autumn term.”
I consider. The school in Colorado is all right, but I like my own country better. “I would not mind coming back after this next term,” I say at last. “I don’t have a lot in common with these American kids. Most of them are unaware that the world is much bigger and stranger than they know. Also, they think I come from some mafia clan.”
“What of your boyfriend, though?” Mom asks. I shrug. Hell can find me anywhere, even outside this world.
“By the way, has anyone seen Jorge?” Pedro asks. “As I’m leaving for Tokyo right after Christmas, there are business matters I’d like to discuss with him before I go.”
It turns out that nobody has seen him since breakfast the previous day. All talk of my school is forgotten as they start to worry.
“He was upset about the inheritance, I’m sure he’s just left in a dudgeon,” Mom tries to reassure herself and everyone.
“Without saying good-bye to his grandmother, or parents?” Father doesn’t buy it. “Surely he would not be so rude.”
“Maybe he got drunk, or worse, and is in his room all this time,” Pedro speculates, and sends a servant to check.
I feel guilty. How could I have forgotten about the parrot? Because I was busy with more important stuff, of course, and thinking of my brother’s betrayal is unpleasant; I have avoided dwelling on the subject. The family’s worry shows me that I can no longer procrastinate. Only, I am unable to turn him back into a human by myself, if I can even find the pesky bird again in the garden. I will need Myra to help me with that.
Are a couple of days in a bird’s body sufficient punishment? Hardly. Jorge may yet murder me for good – at least he might try; I don’t think it is still in his power, but of course he doesn’t know that.
“Jorge told me he was going away until he felt calmer,” I tell them, and earn incredulous glances. Just then the servant reports back that his room is empty and unslept in.
“Why didn’t you say so at once?” Mom asks reproachfully.
“I’m sorry. I felt hurt at how angry he was, when I had never done anything to him,” I try to explain. “He should be coming back tomorrow at the latest, I think.”
“Well, I’m not putting off my departure for him,” Pedro says, annoyed. “A businessman does not neglect his job because his feelings got hurt. This is very immature behaviour.”
“We’ll discuss it with him when he comes back,” Grandmother says, frowning in a way that bodes ill for Jorge’s ambitions. Father looks torn, but nods after a short moment of consideration.
So much the better. If I have to inherit the company, I don’t want Jorge anywhere near it. With any luck he’ll get fired, it’s the least he deserves after all.
As soon as I retire after dinner, I call for Hell and Myra, and they both answer my call. Myra opens my window, and the parrot is brought in by a sudden gust of wind, twisting and squawking in protest.
Once the bird is squatting on my carpet, Myra turns Jorge human again. I’ve never seen my brother so angry, even when he was a teenager, but there is also an element of fear in his dark eyes as he sees me flanked by Hell and Myra.
“Jorge, after what you did, I never want to see you again,” I tell him. It is easier than I expected, his anger makes me hard and angry too. “You will resign from the company right away and move away from Colombia, I don’t care what you do, and where, but that is my condition. The alternative is to live out your life as a bird.”
“That’s more mercy than he deserves,” Myra comments, steepling her fingers as she looks at him. Encountering her cool gaze, Jorge flinches. In that moment Myra strongly reminds me of her mother Hera. “Betrayal of a family member is the most heinous of crimes.”
“If you ever again make the slightest move against Melinda,” Hell adds, “There is no place on this planet that will protect you from my retribution.”
Jorge shakes his head, as though to clear it. “Melinda, who are these kids? What do they have to do with us? Whatever lies they have told you about me, I hope you don’t believe them.”
“This is my boyfriend, and his sister, who turned you into a parrot and can do it again any time. That’s all you need to know.”
Jorge is not yet ready to give up. “Nonsense. That was just an illusion, a temporary confusion.”
I want to point out to him that he has already dealt with Diego, also a supernatural creature, but why bother? I just shrug, and tell him, “Make up your mind.”
Jorge hesitates, but defiance wins out. “I’m not resigning at your say-so. This is all nonsense, and I’m leaving now.”
As he turns towards the door, he collapses into the bird form again. He flaps and tries to open the door with his claws, but lacks the strength.
Myra re-converts him once again.
“Last chance,” I say grimly. Jorge regards the three of us with horror now.
“All right, all right!”
“I have a couple of questions,” I tell Hell. He nods at me. “Go ahead. Like Christabel back at school, he will speak the truth now.”
Looking at my brother’s handsome face twisted in hatred, I tell myself that he’s no longer part of my family, that I will put him out of my thoughts and feelings. It still hurts, but it will pass. “Did you have anything to do with that kidnapping attempt five years ago?”
Jorge squirms, clearly does not want to answer, but a sullen “Yeah” is torn from him against his will.
“Why?”
“I had got into debt. The ransom would have cleared me, and I knew our parents would have been
glad to pay to get their little darling back. You would have survived.”
“Did you feel no remorse at putting your own sister into such danger?” Myra asks, as I struggle for composure.
“No,” he says. “I never liked her anyway. The family was fine before she came along.”
I have heard enough. “Jorge, I want you to leave and resettle in another continent. Cannes or Southern Italy would probably suit your tastes. You are to cut any connection with this cult you were into, and with the family company. Don’t come to any family meetings if I’m around. You would not like the consequences.”
“Banishment,” Hell says softly. “That is mild under the circumstances.”
I know, and hope uneasily that he won’t harm others wherever he decides to resettle. “Be careful, we’ll be keeping an eye on you. This is the only pass you get, for mother’s sake, but if you mess up again the punishment will be a great deal worse.”
Jorge stares at me as though about to ask who I am to order him around, but finally he nods jerkily, and leaves. My anger dissolves into sadness, and I find tears rising into my eyes. Hell hugs me. “He is not worth a single one of those tears,” he declares fiercely.
“I know,” I whisper, happy that somebody loves me, even if my brother cannot.
23 Melinda
Hell’s family look around modern Greece with a mixture of longing and disgust. This was their realm long ago, but from their disparaging remarks, they find the current reality depressing. His mother has also come this time, and wrinkles her beautiful nose at a line of electrical masts marring the landscape. “We can do better than that,” she tells Hell.
Even Zeus has come this time, to my surprise. As this is their original stomping ground, they must be feeling very strong. My glance passes from Hades to Apollo to Pallas and Poseidon. I cannot begin to fathom the power assembled here. I am the only human present, but nobody remarks on my sticking to Hell’s side. Are they getting used to seeing us together? I hope so.
