by Vi Grim
Tat cartwheels across and gently catches the teapot before it hits the ground.
'Mum,' I say. 'Be careful what you say about slugs around here.'
'Emily, this is too much,' she says, then adds sarcastically, 'What is it with slugs? Is a giant slug going to attack me?'
'Well, yes!' I say laughing. For some reason, I don't think she takes me seriously.
We lay out a picnic blanket and have a delicious lunch of freshly baked bread and lots of yummy things I picked up in Kastela this morning. I carefully slip the lettuce leaves out of my sandwich and give them to the slugs as I shoo them out of the teapot and into a new home under a rock. I try not to touch them, they're so yuck!
With Mum and Dad here, my kids have grandparents. They can babysit and I can go out on the town with the girls. I don't feel like it though, not with all those people dying on Earth. I need to do my job and look after Earth. That's what Zeus saved me to do.
I don't know what to do. I go up to the moons and look at the latest disasters and watch the population tumble. It's plummeting. While I've been poncing about looking for my teapot, it's dropped to half a billion. I need to do something and I don't know what.
36
In the morning I'm awaken by a firm and familiar knock on the door. I jump out of bed, pull my clothes on and open the door. Zeus is there. He's in human form and is looking fantastic. He's standing tall and proud, and positively glowing with strength.
'Emily,' he says, giving me the biggest hug.
I hold him for a long moment then say, 'Breakfast.'
'Is the Pope a Catholic?' he says.
'I take that that's a yes.' I say, nipping inside and putting the kettle on.
We sit out on the sofa and soak up the morning sunshine. Izzy comes out and jumps up on Zeus's knee, and tries her best to charm him into playing. He's having none of it; he's got things on his mind. We eat breakfast in silence.
'Earth,' says Zeus, sipping on his tea, 'is in trouble. Hades is there.'
'Shade?' I ask. 'Smooth talking, dark glasses, designer suit.'
'Sounds like him.'
'He's missing.'
'We need to find him.'
'It's him,' says Castor, a few minutes later. 'That rat Renard left a trail of false information. He's led us up the garden path, changing information and blocking data. We're just going back over everything with his signature on it. Here's something. Petra's husband Angelo is back home on Salina, he's been there for over a year.'
Zeus clicks his fingers and a rather startled looking Italian balancing a young boy on his shoulders appears in front of us. He looks at us in disbelief.
'Angelo, io sono Dio,' says Zeus in Italian. 'Abbiamo bisogno del vostro aiuto. Volete un caffè?' Then turning to me, says, 'Em, two espressos please. Use the strongest capsules.'
I nip inside to get the espressos. While the machine's warming up I wake up Janice and Annie with, 'Can you hold fort for me; I've got work to do?'
Janice mutters something that I take as a yes and snuggles back under her covers.
Annie says, 'No probs, do take care Em.'
When I take out the espressos, Zeus says, 'Angelo says that Shade arrived on Mulo fifteen months ago. He seduced Petra. Angelo says she sent him and their boy off in the lighthouse's sailing cutter in the dead of night, saying, 'Angelo, you must go, take Stephano and take good care of him. I will love you always'.'
'How sweet,' I say.
Zeus has no time for my pleasantries. 'Sweet? Hades has somehow got the power of The Book and is using it to destroy the teroids.'
I click my fingers and are up with Pollux. He's got the more powerful moon.
'Hi Em,' he says. 'I'm working on it.'
Half a minute later he mutters, 'Piffle,' under his breath.
'What was that?' I ask.
'There's slimeballs down in the Amazon Basin. We've deployed Hither and Thither in their fighters. They're mopping up now.'
The moon swerves sharply to the left and picks off a couple of slimeballs. 'Slimeballs,' he mutters angrily. 'One of these days I'm going to go to Tartarus and blast their factory to kingdom come!'
'I wish you would,' I say.
'Mulo,' says Pollux. 'We need to know what's happening but we can't see.'
'Can't we just go and look, like knock on the door and walk in?' I ask.
'It would be a suicide mission,' we need information.
'There must be someone who's seen what's happening on the island,' I say. 'What about the bugs and the bees?'
'Good idea; bats and swallows,' says Pollux. 'We're onto it.'
Five minutes later, he brightens up, 'Yes, we're getting data. They are sending memory bytes. We're piecing the jigsaw together, slotting the pieces in. We'll be there soon.'
Zeus arrives with Izzy hanging around his ankle. He tries to shake her off but she giggles and hangs on.
'I can't get rid of her,' he says.
I laugh, 'She's a bit a clingon.'
'Here we go,' says Pollux. 'I'll just show the main bits.' The view of Camillo disappears and his screen shows images from Mulo. The picture is 3-D but jumps around with a constantly changing viewpoint.
'Brilliant,' says Zeus.
The first image shows Petra and Shade standing up on the lighthouse. They're holding hands but she appears scared, very scared and very pregnant. The next scene is her giving birth, out in the courtyard with Mario and Jasmina helping. I come over all funny just watching, reliving the pain. But that's nothing compared with what comes next.
It's about a week later and they're having a special dinner in the garden to celebrate the new baby. Mario and Jasmina are sitting holding hands; their twins who must be about ten years old are sitting next to them, then Petra and Shade, who is, as always, wearing his sunglasses. Shade takes the young baby from Petra and stands up to make a speech. The footage is a bit broken with bits missing but we get a clear enough image to see what happens.
'The arrival of this new baby is a very special occasion in more than one way,' he says lifting his glasses and looking at the baby. His eyes glow red.
'It is Hades,' shouts Zeus.
The baby screams.
Shade transforms into an anode.
The humans jump up. In a flash Jasmina is pulling out a throwing knife, Mario is raising a gun and Petra has her bow out and is drawing back an arrow.
Hades sweeps his hand around and they all turn to stone. 'Not so quickly,' he says, chortling to himself. 'Take your time.'
Then he eats the baby. Alive! It kicks and screams as he munches on it.
I throw up all over Pollux's moon. It's the grossest thing I've ever seen. To make it worse, the human statues are watching. Their eyes are alive and seeing. They stand tortured, watching, but unable to help.
Zeus slams his fist against the side of the moon, knocking me off my feet and making Izzy cry, 'Damn!' he bellows. 'Evil, just like his father.'
'Your father,' corrects Pollux.
'Don't remind me!' shouts Zeus.
Once the baby is gone, Hades wipes the blood off his face with a serviette and chortles to himself. He holds out his hand and The Book rises from its hiding place in the roots of the olive tree and floats across into him. He holds it high above his head and shouts, 'Now the power of The Book is mine. Earth belongs to the Titans.' Lightning shoots up from The Book into the sky.
'Whoa,' I say, lost for words.
The next scenes are from the last couple of months. Hades has rearranged the human statues around the courtyard to give them a good view and sits at the table with his precious book, opening it and writing in a quill pen. When it closes it, bolts of lightning shoot up to the sky, harbingers of disaster.
'This is just coming in,' says Pollux. The image is crystal clear and seamless. Hades is talking to Petra, with his nose just inches from hers, 'My beauty, my lovely, innocent, naive Petra, my granddaughter!' He rumbles with laughter, 'Yes my granddaughter. You are about to help me finish life on Earth;
to wipe the slate clean. I might just let you live long enough, if the radiation doesn't kill you first, so that you can meet my side of the family, the Titans. We are going to party until the Ozone is gone, then use the wasted planet as our home.
'You, my dear, will send the order to fire the missiles. You'll enjoy that, won't you? Signing the death warrant for Earth.'
'We need to do something. NOW!' I shout.
I pick up Izzy, grab Zeus's hand and click my fingers.
Blip!
We're back on my front lawn.
Blip! Blip!
Jesus and Azziz arrive.
Jesus clicks his fingers.
Blip!
Tat arrives, holding a staff, his weapon of choice.
I run in and grab my photon canon.
We are just about to go when Mum and Dad come running around the corner.
'What's going on?' screeches Mum.
I spin round and blast a couple of slimeballs out of the sky, before Pollux can get a shot in. I'm in no mood for messing today.
'Mum,' I order. 'Take care of the kids.'
'Ready?' asks Zeus. Him, Jesus and Azziz all change into anode form.
'Ready,' we say, and are gone.
37
We tumble to the ground in the walled garden on Mulo.
'Darn kid,' curses Zeus, standing up and trying to shake Izzy off his ankle.
She giggles. I grab her and duck behind the nearest cover. Lightning bolts fly in all directions, smashing holes in the walls and setting trees on fire. Then all goes quiet. I wait for the smoke and dust to blow clear then giving Izzy my fang to play with, I whisper, 'Stay there, don't say anything; don't do anything. I'll be back.'
She smiles at me.
I scamper across to behind the statues, sure that Zeus and his sons will have finished off Hades.
'Oh do come out my dear,' says Hades, in a sickeningly playful voice. 'Come and see your friends.'
There's no point in hiding. Me coming out might give Tat an opening. I stand up and walk out into the courtyard. The immobile bodies of Zeus, Jesus and Azziz lie smoking on the ground at the feet of the statues. If only I could bring the statues back to life.
Hades is standing by the table with his book. He looks at me with his evil red eyes.
I relax, I think Zen. I click my fingers. It happens in a flash. The statues reanimate. The twins run away, as the knife, arrow and bullet find their mark on Hades forehead. He staggers back.
Yes! We got him.
He staggers forward as another volley hits him. He sweeps his hand to turn his attackers back to stone and laughs, a deep rumbling laugh. 'Wonderful, Emily my dear, you are a feisty one. I'm so glad you came.'
Faster than he can see, the photon canon is in my hand and I blast and blast him, knocking him back against the wall. I keep blasting until it runs out of charge. He straightens himself out and gives a little shake like a wet dog, 'Oh Emily that was good.' He lifts his hand and the canon is torn out of my grip and flies over the wall. Will nothing stop him?
'Now Emily, I'm so glad to have you in the audience. Let's get down to business; we've got your planet to destroy. Petra, my dear, I need you to sign The Book.'
Petra's statue walks stiffly across to the table. I can see in her eyes that she's fighting every step of the way. When she reaches the table, Hades opens The Book and flicks to the right page. He places a pen in Petra's hand and says, 'Now, sign here my dear.'
I see a flicker out of the corner of my eye as Tat cartwheels across the courtyard swinging his staff. As he reaches Hades, a bolt of lightning hits him, sending his flaming body spinning over the wall.
'This is getting a little annoying,' says Hades. 'Is anyone else coming to the party?'
Izzy lets out a little cry and toddles into the courtyard. 'What is this?' laughs Hades. 'Breakfast?'
My blood boils, I charge towards Hades, pulling my arm back to strike. At the last moment, the fang appears in my hand and I sink it into his throat.
Blood spurts out.
'What was that?' exclaims Hades, putting a hand to his neck. 'Emily, you are testing my patience. First we sign The Book, then I have breakfast.'
He raises his hand and a lightning bolt knocks me back across the courtyard. My body is torn and burnt but I refuse to lose consciousness. This monster is not eating my Izzy for breakfast. Over my dead body he will!
I can't move, The Book will be signed in a few seconds. It's all over.
Something nudges me, again and again. It's in my pocket. Summoning the last of my strength I reach my hand in and flick open the cage with my fingertips. The last thing I feel is the cold sensation of Enzo brushing past my hand.
38
I wake up on the sofa on my veranda. It's the middle of the night. I feel like I've been asleep for a thousand years. My body is numb and aches all over. I remember Mulo and being hit by Hades's lightning bolt. I should be dead. I feel a breath of cold pass down one leg. It reaches my toes, then turns and comes back up. I give an involuntary shiver as it passes over my groin, then it crosses my stomach and up to my arms. It slowly moves over my whole body, round and round and round, sucking out the toxins, healing me and giving me new energy. Once it's finished, it snuggles into my pocket. I reach in and close my palm on Enzo and bring him out where I can see him. I watch his gently glowing surface with its swirls of orange lava then pull him close and give him a kiss, his fiery surface burning cold on my lips. 'Thank you Enzo,' I say. 'Thank you for taking care of me.'
He gives a barely perceptible shake, just a little shimmy, emits a few rays and tucks himself back in my pocket.
When I reawaken in the morning, I'm under attack. I'm being pulled and tugged in all directions.
'Mummy, mummy, mummy, mummy, MUM, wake up!' yell my attackers.
My eyes flicker open and there's my kids, all four of them.
'Mum, mum, are you okay? We thought you were dead,' they say, jumping on me and giving me a lots of hugs.
'I was dead,' I say, 'but I'm back with you now. Someone special has been looking after me.'
'Tea mum, tea,' they say pushing a steaming cup of tea into my hand.
'Toast for Mum,' says Vinny's little voice, 'I made it.'
I struggle around to a sitting position and drink my tea; savouring every golden sip.
Mum and Dad come to see me.
'Oh, thank God you're alive,' says Mum. 'When we found you last light, you looked dead. That horrible black kitten was sitting on you, guarding you. It was ferocious, it snarled and scratched and blew fire at us. It wouldn't let us near.'
'That's Negrita,' I say, laughing. 'Isn't she adorable?'
'Not at all,' says Dad, holding up a badly scratched hand. His shirt sleeve is burnt and the hair singed off his arm.
'We were going to call an ambulance but a voice from above told us to leave you alone, that you'd be okay. It must have been God.' says Mum.
'No, Zeus got zapped; it was probably Castor. He keeps an eye on us.'
'Me too!' calls Pollux.
'Pollux too, the two of them watch over us and protect us. They're always there to help.'
'Like God.'
'Sort of, but they're more useful. I'll take you to visit them sometime. They love visitors.'
Zeus arrives, in human form, wearing a long flowing robe. He makes himself a cup of tea and sits down beside me. 'I feel like I've been run over by a bus,' he says, stretching painfully.
'I know the feeling,' I say. 'I'm having a bit of a shaky start myself.'
'Emily, I don't know how you did it, but Hades is defeated and The Book destroyed.'
'Girl power,' I say, looking into his greeny-brown eyes. 'What happened?'
'That's what I should be asking you. When I regained consciousness, Jesus and Azziz were still down on the ground. I freed the statues and they told me what happened, how you tried everything and got beaten by Hades at every turn, about Tat's attack and you being zapped by Hades' lightning bolt. Petra said tha
t all was lost and she was signing Earth's death warrant when a small black glowing ball appeared in front of her. Hades swiped at it but when his hand touched it, it sucked him and The Book in. No drama, just a gentle plip and he was defeated and that darn book destroyed. The ball then went over to you, tucked itself in your pocket and you disappeared.'
Zeus looks into my eyes and smiles. 'Plip?' he asks.
I reach into my pocket and gently open Enzo's cage. Enzo flies out, circuits around my head a couple of times, then shoots across the lawn. Negrita springs out of long grass and wrestles him to the ground. He shakes himself free and they chase off along the beach playing happily.
'That's Enzo, I say. 'He saved my life.'
'He did a little more than that,' says Zeus, smiling.
After we've had breakfast, Zeus says, 'You've done a great job of Camillo, I couldn't have done it better myself.'
'It's not my doing, it's your son Jesus.
'Get off. No way!'
'Yes, Jesus is running it.'
'Well, I'll be, I never thought I'd see the day!' says Zeus, twiddling with his beard.
I spend the day curled up on the sofa, trying my hardest to do nothing. Mum and Dad walk the kids along the beach to the cafe to get them out of my hair. I see Jesus pass them, coming the other way arm in arm with a tall, elegant anode. She looks pregnant.
'Emily,' he says, introducing us. 'This is my friend, Valeria.'
'Congratulations,' I say, giving her a kiss on both cheeks, 'It's wonderful to finally meet you. I hope he didn't keep you waiting too long.'
She rolls her eyes to the heavens, 'Just a couple of thousand years!'
39
Having kids, there's not a moment to sit back and gather my thoughts. I'm dragged back into the routine of daily life, of cooking and laundry, of running them to school and soccer practices, and telling them bedtime stories. Zeus comes round for breakfast every day, just like he used to. He gets to know me again and meet my family and my kids, and his grandkids too. He’s gained a few of them while he’s been away. He's always said how cold and unemotional he is but, from what I can see, he positively adores them.
