Fallen Gods, page 16
“Aaron, what are you doing?” Luca said in a worried tone, as he could see his partner was quite literally playing with fire. Aaron would not back down.
“Answer me!”
“Hades is powerful, and he has an army the likes of which you cannot defeat. You would need many gods to defeat him in battle.”
“Or godly weapons.”
“Mortals are not worthy of such an honor. Your weak minds and bodies cannot withstand such power.”
“You’re wrong.” Aaron lifted the sword he was carrying, showing how it glimmered, “I may not be immortal, but I fight on the right side, the side of good. I didn’t used to believe in good and evil, that things could be so black and white, but now, in this battle we face, it couldn’t be clearer.”
“You have not earned the right to wield such a weapon!”
Vulcan was angry. There was a flash of light from his hand, and a large hammer appeared in his grasp. The head was as large as a shoebox and gleamed as if made of solid gold encrusted with diamonds. He let out a mighty cry and swung a thunderous strike down against Aaron. But the cop didn’t move. He didn’t try to avoid it or run for his life. He stood his ground and held up the sword, his offhand bracing it at the tip as he parried the mighty blow from above.
“Aaron!” Luca shouted frantically, expecting his good friend to be crushed by the mightier blow. It looked as though it could flatten anything it struck. A huge flash lit up the tunnel and blinded them as the two weapons collided. Luca looked horrified and thought he’d lost his best friend, but as the light dissipated, he could see Aaron. He was down on one knee, his sword held aloft with the hammer locked to it.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
Aaron wrenched the hammer aside as he rose up and closed the distance with the shocked Vulcan. He responded by pulling the hammer back and swinging it again.
“Stop!” Thanatos yelled.
But they were engaged in battle now. Aaron ducked under one strike and then cut down against another with all his might. The cut suppressed Vulcan’s own. The head of the hammer crashed into the road and smashed a hole in it. Cracks reached to either side of the tunnel. Aaron didn’t have time to be shocked by the tremendous display of power, for he was fighting for his life. The hammer was thrust at him as if to hit him, and he stepped off to the side, narrowly missing it. He stepped under it, quickly closing the distance, and finally stopped dead as his blade touched the god’s stomach. Both of them froze, each knowing what would have happened had he continued to drive the blade home.
Yet as they looked into one another’s eyes with a newfound sense of respect, the god fell back, collapsing into a heap on the road.
“What the hell did you do?” Luca asked, as the others rushed to Aaron’s side.
“I didn’t touch him. I swear.”
Thanatos pulled back the robe from Vulcan’s torso. Several bandages were wrapped around his body. They were soaked with fresh blood, and clearly not of Aaron’s doing.
“He’s hurt, badly,” Thanatos said as the other god began to open his eyes. He looked groggy and exhausted. “Who did this to you, Vulcan?”
“Hades, he wanted me to make weapons for his…for his armies.”
“And you said no?”
“I would die first.”
“Yeah, well you’re most of the way there. Why did you try and fight us, too?”
“I had to know.”
“Know what?”
“That you were better than him.”
“Who?”
“Hades.”
He began to fade once more as he tried to say a few more words but lost consciousness.
“Damn it, we have to help him,” said Thanatos.
“What can we do?”
“For a start, Aaron, get him somewhere safe. We can’t stay out here.”
“My cabin, trust me, we’ll be safe there,” insisted Max.
“You know what you’re getting yourself into here, right?”
“Not really, Luca, but this guy was hurt by the same assholes that shot up my place, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“And he wants payback? I can relate to that.”
Luca nodded in appreciation.
“Come on, give me a hand.” Aaron was trying to lift the fallen god. He got one arm up and could lift him no further.
“Jesus, what does he weigh?”
Luca and Max helped lift him from his arms, while Thanatos lifted his legs alone.
“There are few as strong as the God of Fire. He’s never been a great fighter, but he’s as strong as a Titan. Zeus himself would not want to wrestle with him.”
“So he’s a smithy?” Luca asked as they carried him to the back of the vehicle.
“My armor, my sword, my shield, all made by the master smith. The God of Smiths, he is like no other.”
They threw him in through the back door and turned back to find Grace holding the god’s hammer in both hands. It was a struggle for her to have even lifted it as she clutched it close to her body. But Thanatos took it from her in one hand, and held it as if it were weightless.
“Vulcan’s hammer,” he stated in disbelief as he marveled at it, “No mortal has ever laid hands on this, few gods even.”
Grace’s eyes lit up at the revelation that she was the first. It was like a dream come true, considering what she had dedicated her life to.
“Enough talk, it’s time we got off the road.” Max slammed the door shut and ushered the rest of them to quickly get in.
“Can this day get any crazier?” Luca asked as they shut the doors and set off once again. The truck rocked as it went over the ground where Vulcan’s hammer had opened up a crack. It was pitch-black by the time they reached the end of the tunnel.
“You kidding me? I’ve been waiting for this all my life,” replied Grace.
“Waiting for what? To be stuck in the middle of an apocalyptical war, with beings so strong they can just snap your body like that?” Luca snapped his fingers to mimic the sound of a spine snapping.
It was a visceral image to imagine, but none of the others were put off by it.
“No, to realize there’s some meaning to my work beyond just remembering the past. My work in history and archaeology was not just about preserving the past, that it is relevant today,” she replied with a smile.
“And getting killed for it, that will be worth it?”
“The lady has a point.”
“You, too, Max?”
“You know some people spend their whole lives looking for a meaning, looking for a reason to do the things you do. When you have an enemy to fight, and a war to win, that gives purpose. I’ve not had that kind of purpose in my life since I left Vietnam.”
“And you want another war to fight?”
“You know what I do with my time, Luca? Find some way to waste away the hours until my time comes. The end. I don’t fix cars and trucks because I enjoy it. I do it because I’ve got nothing else better to do. There’s been no good fight to fight. Hell, there wasn’t even when I was in the service. People spat on me when I came back. I wasn’t fighting for our country or for our people. It was bullshit, all of it. But this fight, this is the real deal, isn’t it? It really is good versus evil. I never really believed in all that scripture crap, but here we are, a reckoning, and I have front row seats and a chance to make a difference.”
Luca couldn’t believe it, yet he could sort of understand it, and it was giving him some new form of hope.
“So we’re really doing this?”
“Doing what, Grace?” Aaron asked.
“We’re really joining this fight.”
They all looked to each other to gauge the feelings of one another, knowing instantly what the others would say, because they felt it, too. Except for Luca, who was still fearful of the situation.
“I don’t know how we ever ended up in the middle of this, but I’m gonna see it through. We have to.”
“Why?” Luca asked.
“Don’t you see what’s going on here? This is the greatest battle of our lives. Of anyone’s lives.”
“Come on, of all the shit people have been through, and you think this is that big?”
“Open your eyes. This isn’t like any war we have ever seen, we as humans. This is bigger than all that, bigger than us.”
“And you still think we can make a difference?”
“I know we can.”
Aaron looked to Thanatos for support, and he looked mesmerized.
“What is it?”
“Just that I never believed I would see such fire in any mortal, let alone this many. In Olympus, mortals were little more than servants. Lesser beings, because we have always been stronger and better, and we live forever.”
“But none of that has changed,” replied Aaron, attempting to understand Thanatos’ perspective.
“It has, or at least now I can see it. We might be gifted with powers that you are not, and eternal life.”
“That’s a pretty sweet deal.”
“But we are not better, Aaron, not better as people. Immortality is a gift as much as a curse.”
“How can that be true?”
“Because I have lived with so few consequences to my actions.”
“Is that why you chose to stand with Theodosia?”
He nodded in agreement.
“I resented Zeus for so long, so many lifetimes it would have been for you. But you mortals, you do not have that privilege. You cannot go on like that. For your bodies wither and die.”
“I don’t know. There are people who harbor grudges till the day they die. They carry it to the grave with them, even pass it over to the next generation,” said Luca.
“I’m not saying all mortals are good, only that there’s more good in you than I had ever realized. The mortals I have known have been subservient to the gods. But you, you have lived beyond all that, and look at what you have become.”
It was a lot to think about, and none of them were entirely sure where Thanatos was coming from anymore, but they were glad to have him on side.
“This is it.”
Max pulled off the road onto a barely visible trail between a line of trees. You’d have to know it was there, or you’d drive right on past. It was a bumpy trail, but they didn’t take it slow. It went on for about a mile before finally they came to a small clearing with a cabin.
“A gun nut with a creepy cabin out in the middle of nowhere. Jeez, Max, could you be more of a stereotype.”
“A wise cracking cop who acts like an asshole can’t say much.”
Aaron failed to stifle a laugh at Luca’s expense, who looked sheepish as Thanatos clearly got a kick out of it, too.
Thanatos pulled out the unconscious Vulcan and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. The weight was visibly a strain for Thanatos, but they were all equally as amazed that he could even manage it. The God of Fire weighed as much as a horse, and he was also carrying his hammer in one of his hands.
They went inside the cabin and found it surprisingly spacious. A large window on the far side looked out to a lake in a valley below, but they were well concealed by trees all around. There was nice furniture, a large TV, and a modern kitchen. Despite its outward appearance, it was more like a suburban house inside.
“How do you afford a place like this?”
“You think I worked all my life with nothing to show for it, Luca?”
“You were in the service, not exactly the biggest pay day.”
“Yeah? So why do you think I left?”
Aaron could see the place was well looked after. It had been recently cleaned, and was far from the dusty disused cabins that many were like.
“So this is where you live?”
“Unless I’m too busy at the workshop, or too drunk to drive back.”
Thanatos placed Vulcan down on the largest sofa when he noticed a large fireplace in front of it.
“Have you got wood?”
“Outside, under the shelter.”
Thanatos vanished for a few moments and came back with an armful of chopped timber.
“You’ll find kindling in that box over there.” Max pointed to chest at the far side of the room. But Thanatos threw the lumps of wood in the fireplace and reached for Vulcan’s hammer.
None of them could find any words as they watched with curiosity at what he did next. He thrust the hammer into the wood in the fireplace. It seemed a bizarre thing to do, but they’d all seen enough unbelievable things now to not question it. For a moment nothing happened, and they wondered if Thanatos knew what he was doing, but seconds later the hammer flashed. The wood burst alight into a full fire, embers glowing, and all. Thanatos drew back the hammer and placed it down with a thud as if it weighed a ton. The roaring fire beside him left them all dumbfounded. It looked like it had been burning for an hour, as they could all feel the wave of heat coming from it.
“He’s the God of Fire, the God of Smiths, what did you think was gonna happen?”
“Wow, I’ve got to get me one of those,” said Max in amazement.
“Are we okay to crash here for a while?”
“As long as you need, Aaron. Just keep me in the loop here, you get me? I’m not some witness in a case you’re running. We’re in this together, right?”
Aaron nodded in agreement.
“Ms. Harris, you can take the bedroom. I’ve got a few camp beds lying around, and it’s sofas for the rest.”
“It’s Grace,” she replied in a friendly tone.
“There’s a lock on the door, and a gun in the bedside table, just in case you need it.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. She was exhausted, but hardly ready to sleep.
“Have you got any coffee?”
He pointed toward the kitchen as the others slumped down on the sofas. The sun had gone down, but it was far from time to go to bed, even if it was so quiet and dark at the cabin one could think it was the middle of the night.
“Is he gonna be okay?” Aaron asked, looking over to the sprawling body of Vulcan.
“We can only hope.”
Chapter 13
Aaron was awoken by cries of pain. He shot up and reached for his pistol. He had it drawn before he even realized and remembered where he was. He was still fully clothed and wearing the body armor from earlier.
“It’s okay,” insisted Grace. He saw Thanatos, Luca, and Max holding Vulcan down as Grace seared his wounds with a burning hot blade, the one belonging to Thanatos himself. Vulcan was roaring in agony as his flesh burned. They let off for a moment to let him breathe and recover before going to the next.
“A godly weapon can kill him, but also fix him?” Aaron holstered his weapon and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
“We aren’t so different to you. You’d do the same with a knife of your making,” replied Thanatos.
Grace applied the scorching blade once more, but Thanatos had loosened his grasp when he’d spoken to Aaron. Vulcan lashed out, striking him with a massive punch to the jaw. Thanatos’ head snapped aside, and he dropped to his hands and knees before recovering. Blood was pouring from his mouth.
“A little help here,” he said, spitting out blood.
Aaron got down and helped secure Vulcan who had fighting back with all the energy he had left. They could barely hold him down even in his weakened state, but Grace went on, as if she’d done this before.
“You good with this?”
“Spend enough time on a farm and you get used to things not being pretty,” she replied, pressing the blade down onto another wound. They went on for another few minutes until finally Vulcan lost consciousness, and they all breathed a sigh of relief that they could relax a little as Grace finished her work. Finally, Aaron slumped back onto the sofa he’d been sleeping on. Relieved it was over.
“Will he be okay, Grace?”
“This is a god we’re talking about? I’m a doctor, but not a medical doctor.”
He turned his attention to Thanatos, thinking he would know more, but he merely shrugged.
“I’ve never seen a god endure such injuries from an Olympian blade and still be alive.”
Aaron didn’t know whether to take that as reassuring or not.
“So, he’s built like an ox?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Luca replied, who was breathing heavily from the exertion of fighting to hold him down.
“Hell, I’ve held an ox down, and it wasn’t nothing like that,” added Max.
They all took a few moments to breathe and recover. Max went out and came back with a handful of beers. They all gladly took them, even Grace, who looked at it with suspicion. She was clearly not a beer drinker, but she twisted the cap off and slugged it back anyway.
“All those things he said back in the tunnel, they’re true?” Grace asked.
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be. Theodosia has been having a hard time fighting this battle, and Hades is hunting for those shards with every thing he has.”
“And if he get’s them all?”
“Then he would be all powerful. With Zeus gone, and Poseidon missing, there would be nobody to stand in his way.”
“What would that mean for us, though?”
“Hell on Earth,” he replied solemnly.
“The crowning of Hades?”
“What of it?”
“It’s a prophecy, one seen in may ancient texts. It’s believed to be just be a myth, like…”
“Like me, and him?” Thanatos gestured toward Vulcan.
“Well…yes. We never took any of it literally. They were stories. Ancient stories.”
“And you never thought to believe them?”
“Come on, there are thousands of religions and ancient bullshit fairytales. What are we supposed to believe? All of them?” Luca joined in with the conversation.
“Maybe,” replied Thanatos.
“Wait, you’re telling me more of it might be real!”
“There are more gods in this universe than just us. Many have been defeated in time, but some must remain. These books you have, some of them must surely be real. Why would they not be?”
