Unholy Chapter 28
The gods filed into the temple as the noonday sun burned high overhead. Instead of intermingling, the gods segregated themselves into the respective pantheons and chatted while they waited for the remaining deities to arrive. Gunnr fought to keep her temper even, it was just like Ares to be late. To leave her alone with his family who could barely tolerate her. Even those who had advocated the idea of the marriage alliance hadn't really warmed to her. Apollo glowered at her through his golden eyelashes. At the last Council meeting, he'd objected to her representing the Greeks at the conference. It had been Hermes who'd convinced the other gods that Gunnr was the perfect representative because she was a visible reminder of the Greeks' willingness to work with the other pantheons. Gunnr wished Hermes was here now, he was really the only one of the Greeks that she'd grown to like, and she thought the he liked her too, or at least he didn't seem to detest her.
"Where, pray tell, is that husband of yours?" Apollo crossed his massive biceps over his tanned, hairless chest.
"My husband is your king, a fact that you'd do well to remember," Gunnr responded icily.
"I'll bet you 12 of my finest rubies that he is holed up with that whore of his someplace." Apollo sneered. Just thinking of Xena made his veins pulse with venom.
"Cut it out, we aren't here to fight amongst ourselves," Demeter reminded. "You don't see the Egyptians at each others' throats."
Gunnr looked over to where the Egyptian delegation stood enjoying golden goblets of wine. Montu's back was to her as he spoke with the jackle-headed Anubis. All the male Egyptian gods were topless and wore knee-length white skirts with golden waistbands. Gunnr admired Montu's bronze-skinned back and his well-toned calves. Memories of their coupling flitted through her mind. It took some effort to tear her eyes away from him.
Hestia had caught the curious looks that Gunnr had given the Egyptian war god. It was almost as if she'd known him in an intimate way. As far as Hestia knew, the Norse had had very few dealings with gods south of the Mediterranean. She made a mental note to have one of her spies check into it later. If the Norse goddess was double dealing, Hestia wanted to know. They'd welcomed her into their world. Entrusted her with the queenship. If she was making alliances behind their backs, there would be consequences. Hesita was already miffed about Gunnr trying to pass her servant's child off as her own. That was all good and well for mortals, but godlings required a more pure lineage. "Ahh, Astarte is part of the Phoenician delegate. Good thing we didn't let Aphrodite come along." Hestia whispered as the Phoenician fertility goddess appeared in the temple in a spark of shattering stars. She was dressed in an indigo dress that was bespeckled with tiny golden stars. When she swayed her full hips, light bounced around the temple. All the male gods directed their attention her way, and some of the women too.
"That's everyone save Ares, then," Demeter said as the other delegates started taking seats at the long table which sat in the center of the temple.
Hestia tensed her jaw. She would have words with her nephew. His tardiness would have been excusable when he was merely the God of War. In fact, some would even expect it as part of his disaffected image but now that he was King a certain amount of decorum was required.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX
Eve crouched low on an overlook just east of the temple. It was the most unassuming temple she'd ever seen. It had clearly fallen into disuse over the years. The northern, rear-facing side of the temple was missing two columns. All that remained of them was a few chunks of marble that trailed down the grassy hillside. The gable on that end was still in tact. Leaning over, Eve could see a sickle carved in the center. Looking through the columns at the central floor, she could see a massive sun-dial painted in bright orange. "Kronos," she whispered and wasn't sure why the name left a bad taste in her mouth.
Eve gripped the helmet that Michael had given her firmly in her two hands. She took a deep breath and then settled it over her head. Miraculously, the temple was restored to its glory. The tableau was filled with boldly painted Titans and gods. In the center of the temple sat a massive marble table. Gods and goddesses festooned in finery the likes she had never seen gathered around the table. Eve sorted them out by the clothing that they wore. Greeks, Egyptians, the sea-faring Phoenecians, there were others from the Levantine coast and what was left of the Persian Empire. But there was no Ares. The Lord had commanded her to start with Ares. Eve wasn't really sure how this was going to go. She knew there would be chaos once she plunged the dagger into the God of War's heart but the gods would turn on her once she'd done the deed and she didn't see much path to escape. She smiled sadly as she considered that this might be a suicide mission. But then why impregnate her? None of this made any sense. Eve shook her head and reminded herself that she was thinking through a mortal lens. If the Lord her God had a plan then it was her job to see it through, not question the Lord's commands. Eve touched the smooth handle of the dagger as she looked for the part of her soul that could do such a deed. She'd given up the murderous Livia when she'd turned her life over to the God of Eli. Now she would need to call on her alter ego once more. It was almost poetic justice, Eve mused, that Livia would kill the god who was in large part responsible for creating her. Just as her resolve steeled, Ares appeared out of nowhere into the center of the Temple. He spoke to the blonde haired goddess that sat with the Greeks, a woman that Eve didn't recognize, then he took the chair next to her. Eve waited until the gods were deep in conversation before she dropped from the overlook like a panther and prowled toward the temple.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX
Darkon bid his time. The siege was in full swing. He'd cut off all the roads leading into Ephesus and had commandeered the fleet from Samos and blockaded the harbor. The general half expected the Elijans to come to their senses and surrender before his catapults arrived and his full assault of the city walls could begin. When it was all over, Darkon hoped Ares would give him a commission back in Greece proper. He missed the food, the sweet Thessalian wine, and he missed the women. The youth that shared his tent at night was a fine lover as young men went but he missed the softness of a plump breast, and the warm wetness of a woman's center. Some of his men took their pleasures with women they conquered. But Darkon had never developed a taste for that. He preferred a woman who was willing and wanting. He cursed himself as he felt his groin tightening at the memory of particularly gifted flaxen-haired barmaid in Thebes. "Gods," he muttered. Looking across camp he called to his second. "Tomen, I'll be in my tent. You have the yard."
"Aye, general," the lieutenant tapped his chest.
"Clement, fetch me a fresh wineskin," Darkon ordered his young steward.
When Clement opened the tent flap to bring Darkon the refreshment that he requested. The general was already naked and sprawled out across his bed.
Clement smiled, showing two precious dimples and near perfect teeth. "You didn't want any wine, did you, sir?"
"Oh, I'll have some but it's your mouth I crave right now."
The boy went down on his knees before his commander. Darkon reached down and fisted the boys long golden locks in his fingers. If he squinted hard enough, he could almost pass for a certain barmaid.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX
Peleus manned the Ephesian ramparts with the other archers. He hated drawing second watch. The sun was unforgiving. And the cool sea breeze was only a deception. On days like this he often went home as red as a lobster. He huffed as he shifted on feet already sore from standing ten hours the day before. He didn't understand why the magistrate was protecting the heathen Elijans to begin with. Artemis had always been the city's patron. Why run the risk of angering her?
A draft of hot air swirled around Peleus. The air was blowing in from the coast but it felt like he was standing near a furnace. He adjusted his helmet as sweat poured from his brow. The heat agitated him. Intense anger overcame him, anger at standing there all day in the heat, anger at his governors, anger at the Elijans.
Peleus never saw that it was the archangel Michael who caused the unnaturally hot wind. He sent the air spinning in a cyclone around Peleus. When Michael could see that the mortal was reaching a tipping point, he whispered into the archer's mind, "it is the army out there that's responsible for your discomfort. You don't want to stand here all day. Kill them and it will all be over soon. Then you can go relax along the riverbank with Lysa and a basket of figs."
Peleus raised his bow, pulled the string back, and let his arrow fly. It whizzed through the air until it was stopped by an artery in Tomen's neck. After that, all hell broke loose.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAXAX
Ares stood at the doorway between the two worlds, the world Xena had always known, and the one he had created for her. It had been harder than he had expected and had taken him the space of the morning to complete it but it was done. He'd made such spaces before. He'd even brought Xena to one when Mavican had challenged her to be her successor. But this one was different. This one had to have all sorts of spells protecting it from other gods, wards that would prevent them from even crossing the threshold. Ares had never dabbled in such strong magic. He'd even had to resort to visiting the great library on Olympus. He'd shrouded himself in a cloaking spell and slipped right past the warden who tended the ancient scrolls. Now that the thing was done, came the really hard part. Convincing Xena to remove herself to the safety of this world. Ares mumbled a few Archaic words and the portal closed up concealing the space from view. The god turned and was standing in the ruins of his temple in Amphipolis. The last time he was here, she'd been with him. Ages ago. Ares walked to each corner of the room and cast a ward in each one. The best way to prevent them from finding the portal at all was to prevent them from entering this room. Lastly, as he left the temple, he placed a protective aura over the entire building which would prevent the other gods from using any powers against him in that space. The problem was only the Greeks were bound by that spell. The other wards though, should cover them all, at least that was his fervent hope. Outside the temple, Ares looked to the sky. The Pan-Mediterranean Conference should be well underway. He hoped Proteus was holding his own with the other gods. Ares hated delegating such a responsibility to an underling but Ares knew he wouldn't rest easy until Xena and his unborn child were safely away.
AXAXAXAXAXAXAX
Xena had pushed the men hard since they left Elis in the early morning hours. With the sun high overhead, she raised a hand signaling her men to a halt. Xena gave orders to her officers and then they each started barking to individual members of their units. Xena dismounted and stretched out her back before heading to the nearby riverbank for some shade and to wash off some of the dust from the road. She'd taken a wedge of cheese, an apple, a hunk of salted meat, and her wineskin, telling her second that she didn't want to be bothered for half an hour.
A quick dip cooled her down, but it also made her belly grumble. She was thankful that she'd brought such a bounty with her. Xena made quick work of the meat and then sank her teeth into the juicy apple. She'd just gotten to the core and spit a seed into the river when she felt that old familiar tingle. Inwardly, she smiled. She hadn't expected to see Ares again today after the way she'd dismissed him in camp. Outwardly, she kept an even, if a bit sour expression. She'd wanted him to ride with her this morning. But he'd pissed her off. When she'd asked him to leave Gunnr and he'd refused, it had felt like a spear.
Ares didn't lurk and he didn't make any show of his arrival either. He just simply appeared out of the aether and moved toward her. The set of his jaw bothered Xena. Where was his bravado? Or at least his fight. He looked determined but not fired up. This was an Ares she hadn't seen much of and frankly, she didn't know what to make of him. Well, she knew how to get a fight out of him. "Unless you've had a change of heart," she emphasized the word heart, clipping the t at the end harshly, "you can take yourself right back to Olympus, back to Gunnr."
Ares didn't give her the quarrell she sought. Instead, he put one hand on her arm and they disappeared from the riverbank. When they reemerged the bright sunny woods, were replaced by the cold stone walls of his temple in Amphipolis. The only light was what filtered in from the crudely patched-over hole in the wall. "What are you doing?" Xena demanded jerking her arm free of his grip.
"What I should have done last time." Ares picked up a bundle of reeds from the floor and started fanning Xena with them.
Xena swatted them away. "Stop that."
"Hold still," Ares ordered.
Xena reached for her blade and realized that she had left her weapons along with her armor sitting on the riverbank. She was dressed only in her leather dress, she was even barefoot for crying out loud. "I said hold still, Xena." Ares waved his fingers and she was paralyzed. She couldn't move, but she could feel heart beating against her chest in anger. When he released her, she was going to pommel him senseless.
"Ares," she managed to spit out without moving her lips. "I'm warning you," she tried to say but it sounded more like, "I ornen you."
"You aren't in a place to warn anybody, Xena. You're a fucking mortal. And you are carrying my child. A child that because of your blood will be susceptible to all kinds of maladies not to mention weaknesses. And this child will be a target. Make no mistake! You left Solan with the centaurs to protect him, you tried to protect Eve and look what that cost you. I will not play dice with this child's life and I won't let you."
Ares cast aside the rushes and then opened his palms. Smoke rose up out of his hands as he cleansed Xena of the smell of the world. He wasn't taking any chances. When he finished, he looked at her more earnestly than he ever had. "If you'd come to me a year ago, Xena. This would have all been different. But you didn't want me until you couldn't have me. Now, I am in deep with the Norse in a pact than is more binding that you will ever understand with your limited mortal brain. I should have stayed away from you. I should have. But you, you're like opium. No, no, you're like Charybdis, pulling me in. I can't fight you. I've never been able to win with you. They'll kill you, Xena. Every last one of them, save maybe Aphrodite, would line up to thrust a dagger in. You carry the seed of the King of the Gods, Xena. It doesn't get more threatening than that."
Ares reached behind her and opened a door that shouldn't have been there. Xena craned her neck to see but she hadn't needed to because suddenly she was falling, falling through the door. Through a lavender sky. She realized she could move again when she saw her arms flailing against the air. She could see the ground coming at her fast. She knew he wouldn't let her hit, what would be the point in protecting her from the gods to bring her here just to kill her. When she was 10 meters from the ground, he slowed her descent and set her feet gently on the soft grass. He alighted beside her. Xena decked him with a right hook into his jaw.
"Fuck, Xena." he cried. And Xena could see the red mark she'd left on his face.
"Don't worry, you're not immortal. I have diminished powers in this plain of existence. It was the cost of warding this place so strongly from the other gods. This is your world. All yours. That is your palace, your vineyards with ripening grapes, your farmlands stocked and planted, your woods flush with game, your rivers running with fish. The Elysian Fields doesn't even compare to the beauty of this realm."
"So this is to be my prison?" Xena looked at the white towers of the castle. It cut a striking profile against the dark slate mountains and the cloudless purple sky. The green of the vineyards rolled as far as her eyes could see southward. To the east was a dense hardwood forest and a silver river snaked along its edge.
"If that's how you choose to look at it yes."
"What about the army I'm building. My Empire. Our Empire." Her voice nearly cracked. When had he stopped wanting the things that she did?
Ares looked at her, stone-cold. "The time for that has come and gone."
He vanished and left her standing alone in Paradise.
