Chapter 16 Ares
Two Weeks Later
Ihave a love/hate relationship with being human.
Let’s start with the things that I hate.
Fucking illness. I have seen mortals cough and sneeze, and it never bothered me.
I went to a meeting, and someone sneezed.
Guess who got the flu? Me. Medication? It was designed in the depths of hell.
I have never tasted anything as disgusting as cough syrup.
A fever? I didn’t know you could be hot, cold, and in pain all at the same time.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss my divinity and the power that came with it. I miss the raw power that used to run through my veins. I miss Aric’s presence, but I know he will always be a part of me.
There are things I love. The intensity of hunger and, the genuine pleasure, that comes from eating food. Food for a god is not fuel. The salty taste of chips and fish with a sprinkle of malt vinegar. By the Fates, it’s delicious.
Small acts of kindness. Affection is given not because of devotion, but just because mortals were being mortals.
My wife, seeing her bounce on my cock, feeling her squeeze around me.
I have never felt this desperate love in my life.
She sees me, not the man or a god, but the inner person inside.
As we both climax and I lie in her arms, she allows me to be vulnerable.
As a god, I couldn’t afford to be seen as…
weak. But with her, I can bleed, fail, cry… and her love is constant.
Soraya makes my new life livable. I pull her closer to my chest, settling into the night.
I kiss her forehead. “I love you.”
She snuggles into my chest. “Now until forever.”
I don’t remember when I fall asleep, but the knock on the bedroom door wakes me up.
I groan, pulling the cover over Soraya. “Come in.”
The door opens, and the first thing I see is the walking stick, then the long black pleated cotton dress. The smell of peppermint and frankincense invades the room.
I smile. Finally, she was home. The old lady hobbles to a chair in the room's corner.
Soraya wakes up groggy. “Ares?”
“We can meet you downstairs, Mrs. Grady.” I don’t want anyone to see my wife naked.
“Introduce us, Ares,” Mrs. Grady says, leaning her chin on the top of her walking stick.
Soraya sits up straighter. I pull her to me. Mrs. Grady and her family have been with me through the years.
“Mrs. Grandy, please allow me to introduce my wife, Soraya. Soraya, Mrs. Grady.”
Soraya pulls the sheet around her and presses a hand to her chest. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Grady. I am so sorry; I can’t stand.”
Mrs. Grady smiles. “I always love good manners. It’s a pity Zeus never had them.”
Both Soraya and I stare at her in shock. “Zeus?”
“Right, hold on.” Mrs. Grady places her stick to the side.
She raises her hand, and the darkness in the room rushes to her fingertips, wrapping around her body.
As the darkness disappears, a beautiful woman in a cosmic shroud sits on the chair with her legs crossed.
I can see pieces of galaxies moving within her shroud.
A half-moon crown sits at the back of her head.
Soraya shakes in my arms a little.
“Have no fear, mortal. I am Nyx, born of chaos, primordial…powerful.” Her finger taps the edge of the chair. Her long black hair hangs straight against her light blue skin. She looks like a goddess to be worshiped and feared.
I swallow in fear. As Ares, the God of War, I would be no match for her. As a man, I am dead. Zeus even feared Nyx. She was the oldest deity.
Her finger points in my direction. “I have been watching you since your judgment. Never could I intervene because I never go against the Fates.”
All the Gradys that served me in the past…were Nyx. I bow my head in reverence. “Your presence is revered and praised.”
Nyx chuckles. “Others trade in pride. But you, Ares, traded your eternity for love. That is a power none of the gods will understand.”
Her view switches to Soraya. Soraya’s nails dig into my palms. “You, mortal, broke the pattern and chose him when Olympus would have let you burn. You are not a reward; you are his equal. Let no god claim you. Rise with him not as a consort, but as a counterpart.”
Nyx’s hands rotate. The air swooshes, and the darkness thickens around Soraya and me. I feel her shoulders shiver.
“Power given, power taken away. The thread of godhood, a thread of rebirth, a thread of protection. When you awaken, you will be gods founded at the edge of the cosmos.”
I look down at my hands, and I feel a strength that I have never felt before. I can’t help but laugh.
Black clouds swirl around us.
“The god you served mocked you; the mortals you loved betrayed you. You are no longer theirs. You are mine.” Nyx closes her fist, and her purple eyes glow.
Soraya looks at me with wide eyes. “Ares? I feel…stronger.”
“You are gods to the Forgotten, of those unseen, unloved, cast aside. As the night welcomes you, walk together eternally.”
And just like that, she’s gone.
SORAYA
I shoot out of the bed naked and tumble to the floor. Ares scrambles after me.
The light from the sun beams into the room. “It was all a dream.”
Ares sits proudly and naked at the edge. “It was a dream. But you are a goddess now, Soraya.”
“Me, a goddess? What about Nisa?” I cry out .
Ares stands and rolls his shoulders, accepting his new power. “We will figure it out. But as for today,” he bends and picks me up in his arms. “You are now Soraya, Goddess of the Forgotten.”
I can feel energy flowing through my body with a small, pleasant tingling. “If I get to be at your side, I can be a happy goddess forever.”
Ares walks into the bathroom, kissing me on the head. “I love you.”
I sigh. “Now until forever.”
HECATE
I sit on the throne next to Nyx. The castle is made of dark clouds and mist. We both look at a new galaxy being born. “Thank you for finding them worthy, Nyx. Zeus is upset.”
Nyx nods and sips on her ambrosia. “Of course he is. Let Olympus remember it was not power that saved them. It was the love that Ares dared to sacrifice, to surrender.”
DEMIOS
“I can’t believe you never had a drunken s’more.” I roast my marshmallow over the fire.
Phobos shrugs. “It was never a need.”
The screams from within the bronze Sicilian bull don’t bother me nor my brother.
I throw another log under the bull as the people Inside the bronze body cook alive.
“Please let us out!” someone cries.
“Who is that? The aunt or Michelle?” Phobos asks as he places the marshmallow between the graham crackers.
I shrug. “I give a fuck about some things but not this. I don’t give a fuck about this.”
Phobos pauses, and I hear what he hears. A prayer? After the three of them tried to hurt Soraya, now they pray?
I lick the melted chocolate off my fingers. “Death is a privilege you will beg me for, but it’s a prayer I will never answer.”
Phobos picks up his beer and sips it. “This was just what I needed.”
I smile. “Justice with a side of torture?”
“Precisely.” Phobos places his beer at the side of the chair. “Now, tell me of the woman that you fell in love with in the Caribbean.”
THE END