Hera, Queen of Mortals (Goddess Unbound)

by Thomas, T. D.

  Hera, Queen of Mortals

  T.D. Thomas

  Text copyright © 2013 T.D. Thomas

  All Rights Reserved.

  For dreams, and those who dream them.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  EPILOGUE

  PROLOGUE

  Life is about one thing, and one thing only.

  Power.

  That's what I'd always told myself, anyway.

  There was a time when power had meant everything to me. I'd lived for it. Breathed it. Bathed in it. For millennia, I'd lost myself in my power. I'd become nothing but my power. Pure. Perfect. Unchanging.

  But then something happened. Something so small, so insignificant, that it snuck by all that power.

  I met a boy. An ordinary, mortal boy. A boy named Justin.

  And after eons of everything being the same, eons of being the Queen of Gods instead of just being me, the impossible happened.

  I changed.

  That was how, without even realizing it, Justin had brought me back from the dead. He'd made me me again. Hera.

  And that's how I learned the greatest lesson of all.

  The one thing stronger than power was love.

  CHAPTER ONE

  "Him?" Demeter asked.

  She had a hard time believing me. But she trusted me, as her queen, and even more importantly, as her sister. But apparently trusting me wasn't the same as believing me.

  Not that I could blame her. I had trouble believing me. But there was no denying it. I was right. We'd finally found him.

  "It's him," I said.

  Demeter went quiet. She cocked her head, studying the boy, hoping she'd see something she'd missed the first time. But she wouldn't. There was nothing different to see.

  He was just another ordinary mortal boy. At least, that's how he looked. But we'd both learned how different a mortal boy could be inside.

  I pushed that thought away. I refused to remember him right now. I couldn't let myself get distracted. Not here. Not now. I couldn't let the dreams haunting my sleep invade my time awake too. Our mission was too important. It was all I had left now that he was gone.

  "It's him," I assured her, though it was mostly to silence my own thoughts.

  A soft blue light flickered out from the boy's chest and danced along his skin before vanishing, only to reappear a second later and repeat the process. Over and over. Ebbing and flowing. All that untapped power.

  That was how I knew. This ordinary boy was anything but ordinary on the inside. This boy was meant to wield the power of a god. This boy was a Hero.

  Sighing, Demeter got up from the cafeteria table where we were sitting alone.

  "Where are you going?" I asked.

  "To talk to him?" Demeter answered, as if it were obvious.

  "Have you lost your mind?" I demanded, keeping my voice as low as I could. "You can't just go talk to him. What are you going to say? Oh, hey there. Nice shirt. Anyway, I'm an ancient Greek goddess in the body of one of your classmates. But enough about me. You're destined to be a Hero. So put on this magick amulet. It'll jumpstart you powers. Then you can help us defeat some monsters and save the world."

  Demeter paused. "Well, I wouldn't say it exactly like that."

  I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you would. And he'd just think you're crazy. We have to come at this a different way."

  "Fine," Demeter sighed. "I don't suppose you know what way that is?"

  I didn't answer, because I didn't know. My visions were hard to control. Being able to take only one divine power down to the mortal world from the Heavens was bad enough. But when that power was seeing the future, it was doubly difficult. The future kept changing. It was too fast for this mortal brain to keep up with.

  So I just stared at my Hero, biting my lip, waiting for some kind of sign.

  "Hey, ladies!"

  A guy I didn't recognize walked up to the table, blocking my view of my Hero. I looked at him, but I didn't really see him. He didn't have a flaming aura, which meant he was blocking my view for nothing.

  "Just wondering if you two are interested in helping out with the spring formal," he continued breathlessly. "We could really use a hand. We're kind of short..."

  He stopped talking. The look I gave him was bone-melting. Fortunately, in mortal form, that was just a figure of speech. But it was a look I'd perfected over millennia of being the queen of powerful, stubborn gods used to getting their own way.

  Demeter tugged on my arm, and I blinked, releasing the poor boy from my blistering glare. He hadn't meant any harm. Somewhere, deep inside, I knew that. But my temper didn't know the difference. I was raw these days, an exposed nerve. It didn't take anything to set me off.

  I looked around. "Hey! Where'd he go?"

  "He ran away," Demeter replied. "Probably to find himself a therapist. Or maybe an exorcist. What did you expect?"

  "Not him," I replied dismissively. "Our Hero."

  Demeter pointed at the cafeteria clock. "To class, I guess. Lunch is almost over."

  I kept forgetting how fast time moved in the mortal world.

  "We can't let him out of our sight," I said, getting up from the table.

  "What? Why?" Demeter asked. Her face paled. "Wait. You don't think..."

  I didn't answer. I headed straight for the door. Demeter had to jog to catch up.

  "But Ekhidna can't sense our Heroes... can she?" Demeter continued.

  "I don't know," I admitted. I was saying that far more often than I liked these days. "But if she can, she'll kill them all before we can get to them."

  Ekhidna. Our worst enemy. The Mother of all Monsters. The living, breathing embodiment of Chaos. And the reason we were in the mortal world in the first place. Her cloaking spell hid the mortal world from the Heavens. The only way to get past it was to borrow mortal bodies and come down ourselves. She was up to something. Something she was desperate to keep us from seeing. But try as I might, I couldn't figure out what it was, not even with my visions.

  "Miss Alvarez," a shrill voice rang in my ear.
"You know that you're responsible for cleaning up your table after eating. Go back and..."

  That's as far as he got.

  I recognized that voice. One of the teachers. Mr. Snider. He didn't recognize me at first: I was in a different body than the last time I'd come to the mortal world. Everything about me had changed.

  Except my eyes.

  As I turned, our eyes met for an instant. I didn't have to say a thing. He froze, petrified. He knew it should have been impossible, but he recognized my eyes. Ancient. Powerful. Unforgiving.

  Demeter and I continued down the hall.

  Mr. Snider was the least of my worries. The last time we were in the mortal world, I'd lost Athena; I'd lost Hephaestus; and I'd lost Justin. I was done losing. Whatever it took, there would be no more loss.

  Mr. Snider was the least of my worries. But if he or anyone else got in my way, I wouldn't just be their biggest worry: I'd be their last.

  CHAPTER TWO

  "Justin?"

  Even before he turned around, I recognized that thick brown hair, the curve of his neck, the slope of his shoulders. But that was nothing. It was the way he seemed to pluck a string deep in my soul. He made me tremble in the very core of my being. He shook me. Nothing shook me.

  But Justin was dead. Even as I drank in his dazzling smile, the truth was undeniable, a searing pain cutting through all my happiness, a knife plunged so deep into my heart that I'd never be able to pull it out.

  Justin was dead. I'd watched him die. He'd died for me.

  The pain crashed down on me. I couldn't breathe. I was going to collapse.

  Justin caught me. I hadn't even seen him move. He was just there. As if he'd always been there. As if he'd always be there.

  "This isn't real," I whispered.

  I tried to turn away. But I was starved for him. This cruel mirage was better than nothing. So much better.

  "It's real enough," he promised.

  He felt so warm, so alive.

  He brushed my hair back from my face, caressing my cheek. I quivered at his touch. When we'd first met, he’d been an awkward, mortal boy. By the time he'd sacrificed himself to save his world, he'd grown into a powerful, confident man.

  A hero. My hero. My love.

  His eyes shone. With his happiness, and with mine. We were reflections of each other. A god and a mortal. Opposites. But somehow, in this shadowy world, equals.

  "I watched you die," I murmured.

  He leaned closer. I could feel the heat of his skin. His smell. It made the ache even worse. I could barely hold back the tears. It was agony, wanting so badly for a lie to be true.

  "This is just a dream," I said. "I have to wake up."

  I wanted to sound strong. I wanted to be strong. I used to be strong.

  Justin said nothing. He just smiled, standing there, loving me. He looked like he could stand there forever. I wished he would.

  "I miss you so much," I finally confessed, my voice breaking.

  I told him the same thing every night. And just like every night, I knew what he'd say.

  "I miss you too," he said.

  It was too much. I couldn't. I could feel my control slipping. I could feel myself breaking apart.

  "I have to go," I said.

  I pulled away. It was like tearing out my own heart. But all the pain finally ignited inside me. My anger burned. The familiar walls inside me came up. I sank against them in relief. Anger had saved me once again, like it always did.

  "Will I see you again?" he asked, his voice thick.

  Before I could answer, he rushed forward and pressed his lips against mine. Hungrily. Fiercely. Like he never wanted to let go.

  "Don't go," he begged. "Stay with me."

  "I can't," I said. "Your world..."

  "I don't care!" he replied. "Stay here with me. Please. I love you."

  "I love you too," I said.

  But I pulled away again.

  His smile disappeared.

  "I wish that love was enough," I said. "But you died. You're dead, Justin. And none of this is real. But your world, the mortal world, it’s real. So I'm going to go save it. "

  "Hera," he begged.

  But the world around us was already beginning to melt away, like a painting splashed with water, colours running down in streams.

  As I watched, Justin began to disappear too, right in front of my eyes.

  He reached for me.

  I stepped back. It was the hardest step I'd ever taken.

  Then just before he faded entirely, I changed my mind. I wanted him back. I wanted to stay. I didn't care about the world. All I cared about was him.

  "Justin!" I screamed.

  But it was too late. He was gone.

  I was alone.

  CHAPTER THREE

  "You have got to be kidding me!" Demeter hissed.

  My eyes flew open. It took me a second to figure out where I was. It was dark, and my arm was throbbing.

  "Next time, I'm hitting you in the face," Demeter whispered. "Thank the Fates that the substitute's playing a DVD. You were seconds away from snoring so loud the class across the hall would've heard you. And you're the one who was telling me how we had to keep our eyes on..."

  She stopped. She pulled back, studying my face. "What's wrong? You look ..."

  She stopped again. But it was too late. We both knew that she'd seen it, seen what I hid from everyone else. It was too late to pretend.

  "It was him again, wasn't it?"

  I didn't answer. In the dim light, she wouldn't see the tears in my eyes. And in seconds, they'd be gone. Swallowed up. I was good at that. I'd had a lot of practice.

  "I'm fine," I promised when I was sure I was in control. "What did I miss?"

  "You're not fine," Demeter said. "These dreams are killing you."

  We'd had this conversation before. It never went anywhere, so when I said nothing, Demeter gave up. It wasn't over, but at least it was over for now, until she figured out what to do. The problem was there was nothing to do.

  "You didn't miss much," she said. "I wasn't really paying attention either. It's not like we're sticking around to take the test."

  But I wasn't listening to her. I was searching the room. I spotted him. That blue aura was a beacon, even in the dark. The dancing flames, so rhythmic, so dependable, they were comforting somehow. A reminder of divine power. My power.

  But I tried to look past all that. I tried to see my Hero. I tried to see him.

  He was bored. Texting under his desk. Not very subtle. But he wasn't as awkward as Justin had been. Maybe he had friends. A life. Maybe he was happy. I wanted that to be true. But if it was, it'd only make things harder for him. His life was over. He just didn't know it yet. And I was the one who was going to end it.

  An eraser shot from the back of the class and smacked my Hero in the head. He flinched, then stiffened. But he stopped himself from rubbing the spot where he'd been hit. Instead, he went back to texting. But his face had changed. His jaw was clenched. His skin was bright red. He was frowning.

  A chorus of stifled laughter erupted from the back of the class. I whipped my head around. Three guys. Big. Dumb. Mean. I knew the type. Vicious, cowardly scavengers preying on anyone they thought was weak or different. Hyenas. I hated them immediately.

  One of them drew something on a paper and handed it to his buddies. They exploded into laughter again.

  "Quiet!" Mr. Williams, the substitute, ordered. But he didn't bother to look up from his book of puzzles.

  One of the hyenas tapped a boy beside him and passed the paper to him. The boy unfolded it carefully. He gave a forced laugh at whatever the drawing was. He was about to hand the paper back, but the hyena jerked his head at the girl in front of him. Reluctantly, the boy passed the paper to her.

  But I was faster.

  I snatched the paper and unfolded it.

  The drawing was bad. At first, the only thing I could recognize was my Hero. But I quickly figured out that the rest of the dra
wing was gross beyond words.

  I tore it up.

  "Hey!" one of the hyenas growled.

  I turned my head slowly. He glared at me. I glared back. I couldn't tell which of us looked more furious. But I knew I felt more furious. No one in existence could beat me when it came to that.

  I reached over to Demeter's desk.

  "Hera, no." Demeter tried to grab my wrist, but I twisted out of her grasp.

  When the hyena looked away, I flung an eraser at his head. It hit him in the cheek. He yelped and jumped out of his desk in surprise. It made a loud scraping sound.

  "You! Principal's office! Now!" Mr. Williams shouted, pointing to the door.

  A tense silence followed.

  "Whatever," the guy finally muttered.

  He glared at me as he walked out. I waited until Mr. Williams wasn't looking, and then I smiled and waved.

  My eyes locked with my Hero for a moment. I nodded slightly at him. He gave me a confused look and went back to texting. But he was smiling.

  "You're dead," one of the hyenas behind me hissed in my ear. "And so is your little boyfriend up there."

  Demeter shot an elastic directly at his eye.

  He bolted out of his desk, howling.

  "What's going on back there?" Mr. Williams shouted. His face was purple. That man really enjoyed his Sudoku time.

  "She shot me in the eye with an elastic!" the hyena accused.

  "I did not!" I replied, all wide-eyed innocence. "I don't even have any elastics."

  "Not you!" he snarled. "Her!"

  He jabbed his finger at Demeter.

  "I don't have any elastics either," Demeter answered innocently.

  "Hey! Aren't those elastics over there?" I asked, pointing.

  A pile of elastics sat on the counter next to the final hyena.

  "What the ...? These aren't mine," he protested.

  "Both of you! To the principal! Immediately!" Mr. Williams yelled. "And I don't want any more trouble from anyone, got it?"

  The guys stomped out of the class.

  "How did you even get those all the way back there?" I asked.

  Demeter smiled and caressed a bean-plant on the counter beside her. The bean-plant wound itself lovingly around her fingers. There was a whole row of the plants, leading all the way from Demeter's desk to where the last hyena had been sitting.