Rain fell hard on the little town that day, harder than it ever had in a while. It let up by nightfall, leaving the sky clear enough to see every star, see the bright sliver of the moon. Dark shadows flitted through the trees, speaking in soft whispers that were no louder than the fluttering wings of a butterfly.
"This is the place!" It was a female voice-soft and sounding a little afraid.
"It is… A little small for a god, don't you think, Elena?" A male this time, his voice harsh but young. He made to knock the door down, but it flew open just before he could touch it.
A tall, slightly pudgy man leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. He glared down at Elena and her companion with dark violet eyes, though he didn't look angry. "Are you here to kill me?" A smile played on his lips. It was almost as if the thought amused him. "Elena and Roger…" He trailed off and looked over the two, his gaze landing on Roger. "One of you is mortal."
They boy-Roger-took an involuntary step backward. His gaze hardened and he pulled out a dagger, the blade a strange silvery-bronze. "You're wrong," he said, pointing the dagger at the god. "Both half-bloods." His voice shook slightly.
"Are you sure about that, boy?" The god snapped his fingers, and in a flash of light, the dagger in Roger's hand was suddenly a glass full of sparkling amber liquid. "Drink it, and we'll find out if you are truly who they say you are."
Roger stared at the glass fearfully, whatever confidence he'd had draining away. "You-You're-,"
"Amazing? Handsome? Wonderful? Stop me if I'm getting somewhere." I think I stole that from something. The god smiled wryly at the boy, who was staring from the cup to the god, the god to the cup. "Drink it, boy!" the god commanded. Roger's eyes went strangely blank, and he lifted the cup slowly to his lips.
Elena's eyes widened and she tried to wrench the cup out of Roger's hand, but it was too late. The cup fell from his senseless fingers and shattered on the floor. His lips moved soundlessly as he moved toward Elena, arms outstretched. She watched in horror as he dissolved into ashes.
She gave a little squeak of horror and backed away, eyes wide with fear. "Nectar," Elena whispered. "Not a half-blood…" She pulled out a dagger similar to the boy's and held it loosely at her side.
The god snorted. "Obviously. If he was, he wouldn't be-"
"Daddy?" a small voice interrupted. Elena looked down too see a small girl hugging the god's leg. She couldn't have been more than four or five, with deep black curls and piercing violet eyes. "Daddy, who's that?"
"No one, darling," the god said softly, still staring at Elena as if daring her to make a move. "Please, go inside with your mother while we…. Discuss things."
"But mommy's being boring! She won't make Quinn play with me!" She tugged on the god's shirt, trying to make him go back inside. "And she smells funny."
Elena flinched at the comment--this small child, this godling, who thought she could insult the daughter of Zeus? She bristled and glared down at the girl.
"Go on inside, kid," the god said.
The little girl unflinchingly met Elena's judgmental gaze for a moment before scampering back inside.
"She shouldn't exist," she said, chewing the ends of her unruly black hair thoughtfully. "And neither should you, for that matter."
The god smiled bitterly. "So you've heard the prophecy too." He leaned against the doorframe, ignoring the fact that two small children, the girl and a small boy, were watching through the open door. "Athena found out first, before telling Hermes to pass on the message. They both disappeared a few weeks after that…." he paused, casting a sideways glance at his children. "But before they disappeared, the message was passed on to me." He raised an eyebrow at Elena. "But, of course, you already know that. Or you wouldn't be here." He smiled softly, to himself. "But if you only knew the truth, little lightning girl. Did you speak to Valkyrie yourself, or did the Oracle decline to meet directly? I presume the latter, as you are not nearly important enough for She of All Knowledge.."
Elena gripped the hilt of the dagger, knuckles whitening. "Are you trying to distract me?"
"Only if you're distracted. You heroes are all the same, did you know that?"
"No," Elena said through gritted teeth. "Enlighten me, please."
The god smiled. "Always think they know more than everyone else, always believing whatever lie their godly parents have told them… Like you, believing them when they told you that you have the power to kill a god!" He sounded almost cheerful now. "I'd like to see you try."
Quick as snake Elena lunged forwards, the point of her dagger aimed straight at the god's heart. Almost as quickly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the side, slamming the door shut with his free hand as he did so.
"Do you heroes ever just listen?" he growled, twisting the arm holding the dagger behind her back.
Elena whimpered in pain and dropped the dagger. Her face was white with pain, and she stifled a cry as one of her wrist bones snapped.
He released his grip and Elena dropped to her knees, cradling her arm against her chest. The god smiled, but it held no warmth. "See? Weaponless, partner-less, crippled." His smile faded as he watched her grovel in the dirt, trying to hold back tears. "Look at me, child. Look me in the eyes. let me free your of all your painful memories, let me free you of the council's control."
"No, no, no..." she murmured under her breath, although she wanted more than anything to look up and be... be... free.
"Now," he said, a commanding edge to his voice.
She dragged herself to her feet, hand going to her pocket. The god's eyes widened, and he realized what she was about to do a split second before it happened. Her eyes met his for a fraction of a second, and he channeled all of his power, quickly unhinging bits and pieces of her mind before cold, sharp steel entered his body.
He stared down at the sword protruding from his chest in disbelief, mainly because the metal was hurting him. He felt, for the first time, mortal. He felt, for the first time, fear... Fear of death. Golden blood welled around the hilt of the sword and slipped down the front of his shirt. "You... you...," he whispered, trying to get the words out. He coughed and stumbled backwards, exploding into a pillar of purple flames.
Elena stood by and watched, laughing manically. "Pretty purple fire!" she cackled, pointing. She crouched on the floor, ignoring the pain in her broken wrist. She stood and staggered off into the forest, eyes unfocused, mumbling nonsense and laughing at nothing, talking to no one, going nowhere. She began to sing at the top of her lungs as she wandered down the highway, not caring where the cars came, how fast they were going.
He's a real nowhere man, sitting in his Nowhere Land, making all his nowhere plans for 't have a point of view, knows not where he's going to, isn't he a bit like you and me?