Unlocking Olympus: Chapter 8

Unlocking Olympus

Chapter Eight: Adamaris

“Three dormant volcanoes had erupted simultaneously at the southwest of Asia; this occurrence was unprecedented and wasn’t at all expected by the volcanic specialists. Scientists are still studying the reason behind these mysterious eruptions after two other sleeping volcanoes erupted at Northern America yesterday at 2:30 PM…”

Turning off the television, I turned my attention to Cadence who was busy scanning through her gigantic book of spells. I couldn’t help but be in a foul mood for the past three days due to my impatience. Up until now, the only information that we got against that goddess was her name (thanks to Caddie’s superpowers of foresight), and we weren’t even sure with that one too. Cadence told me that knowing which goddess we were facing was more than enough, but I could care less whether that woman was called Alectrona or Petra.

“Stop staring at me,” Cadence’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I sighed and stood from the cluttered couch, weaving my way to her work desk, avoiding the boxes of pizza on her floor. “I am thinking,” I stood beside her, watching as she turned the old blank page of the book and placed her palm on it, her brows knitting in concentration.

“I really don’t know how that works,” I told her after a minute of remaining silent.

Cadence’s lips turned up, which were based from my observation, looked like a bow, as if Artemis sculpted it herself. “You don’t have to know,” she chuckled after she heard my incredulous snort, “this spell book needs to be read using the spirit eyes so I don’t really need my eyes to read this.”

Nodding, “That’s cool,”

“Have you learned more about the goddess Alectrona?” She tasked me to research about Alectrona from the Greek mythology books. I was never a fan of reading, so much more about the race which rejected me.

I took the notepad beside her and read the scribbles: moly, holy fire, Circe, Swine spell. Finding it uninteresting, I placed it back on the desk. “Only that the people of Rhodes worship her,” scoffing, I continued, “Apparently, she’s an offspring of Helios, a titan God of Sun, and Rhode, a nymph. After she died, the primordial Sun God resurrected her and gave her immortality, becoming the goddess of waking up, some sort of a lesser solar god with the blood of a titan. That explains the ability to produce fire.”

“How did she die?”

I shrugged, moving to the fireplace and started to throw logs in it to keep the fire going. We are going to need more supply. I made a mental note to call the supplier for Cadence tomorrow morning. 

“There are no records in any of the books you made me read.” I eyed her which caused her to chortle as if she could see my glare.

“Found anything about her weaknesses?” Cadence moved on to the important question.

“Nothing from the books as well, there’s only little information about her.” I frowned. This too was another cause of my frustration. How the hell was I going to get my retribution from the bitch?

“She was once a mortal,” Cadence shrugged.

“That is like a century ago, she’s a goddess now, an immortal.” I went back to the couch and flopped, taking the iPad from the ottoman. I opened it and the screen immediately flashed the page in Wikipedia.

“We’ll figure it out,” Cadence reassured me as something from the screen of the iPad held my interest.

I stood up, took my jacket from the rack and went for the door. “Going already?” Cadence called from her work desk.

“Yeah, I still have to go to the flower shop to get sunflowers. Call me for any updates.” Grinning, I went out of her house and headed for my car.

It was Saturday when Cadence finally found a way to trap a God, she told me there was no way we could kill an Olympian. Or at least there was something written by the book of Greeks, Cadence said, “But none of it is achievable by you.”

I was sitting on her couch again, my favorite spot, as she discussed to me about the binding spell she prepared for. “Somehow, you have to subdue the goddess then we have to bring her here. I am going to cast the binding spell to her here.”

“Are you kidding me? The last time I tried to subdue her she burned my freaking arm!” I jumped up from where I sat, shooting her a glare before I started pacing the length of her living area. I rubbed my nose, not because it was itchy but because it was a habit I had developed since I was a kid. My mind was racing about the possible ways I could combat that goddess, if there was any.

I didn’t need to look at Cadence to see that she was calm, looking at the direction of her fireplace, I often see her in that position. “You went charging there cockily, Adam, this time, you’ll go prepared.”

I heaved a deep sigh trying to calm the panic that was starting to bubble up the pit of my stomach. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to fight a God. I could kill creatures, but that too was already a challenge. And if without Cadence’s magic mojo, I would have ended up dead already. “You have a plan?”

Cadence shot me a mischievous grin causing me to wince, “My plan wouldn’t work without your physical strength, Adam. This will be 50% bluff and 50% strength,”

“Enlighten me,”

Cadence gave me a brilliant smile, “Damn,” I muttered.

That brought me to now, a day after Cadence finalized the plan, standing under the shadow adjacent to Lockheart Café, waiting for the last customer to come out. I didn’t want to bring innocent people with this. After ten more excruciating minutes, the customer finally went out and one of the nymphs flipped their sign board. I stretched from when I was leaning on the wall and took the pack of needles that Cadence prepared from my pocket.

The nymph saw me immediately for which she spoke, “You are not welcome here demigod,”

I pulled the glass door open with enough strength to break the lock, the wind chimes tinkled above my head. “Aw, don’t break my heart.”

“You are arrogant for such an insignificant half-blood.” She hissed, her body morphing into a tree, her limbs extending and growing, becoming roots.

I looked past her and saw that seven more nymphs appeared behind her, all of them morphing into their original forms. Where was the goddess?

Adeptly pulling one charmed needle from the packet, I stabbed the nymph in the neck then she fell on the floor, rigid. “Nice one, Caddie.” I grinned at the effect of the paralyzing charm Cadence made for me.

“Sophronia!” One of the nymphs screamed as she charged towards me, the rest of the nymphs followed suit. They were meant to protect, they could be vicious if they needed to be. But I was born a hunter. Sophronia or whatever her name was ensnared me with her roots, its rough wood wrapping in my wrist and another in my neck. Pulling the Athena’s dagger from the sheath in my hip, I cut the roots in my wrist, emitting a howl of pain from the dryads just as I bent down to deflect another piercing wood coming my way before I stabbed Sophronia with one of the needle. She froze for a second, before she fell on the ground, the roots retracting.  She went back to her human form.

The fall of their sister enraged the remaining dryads, their attacks and attempts to subdue me using their roots became more desperate. Grunting, I pulled one of the nymphs by the hair (while maneuvering myself away from their attacks) with the intent of shoving her face in my knee but changed my mind. They didn’t do anything wrong so I shouldn’t hurt them. So instead, I rapidly injected her with the needle. She froze and then fell. Deflecting their attempts to make a barbecue out of me, stabbing them with the needles at their necks, one by one, and the dryads fell on the floor, motionless. They weren’t actually dead, they were just paralyzed.

All except one of the nymphs were subdued; one of them was still standing in front of me, breathing heavily.

“Where is Alectrona?” I asked her, her eyes darted on the Athena’s dagger on my other hand, which I barely used. Hurting one of them was more than enough.

“What do you need from her?” She asked, her eyes returning to me. I knew she wouldn’t be telling me anything by the intensity in her eyes. It’s her loyalty for the goddess.  I knew she would rather die. 

“What did you do to my sisters?” She followed hotly, speaking through gritted teeth. 

I glanced at the lying bodies on the floor for a short second before pinning her with my gaze, “They are just paralyzed, they’ll return to normal after 3 hours or so.”

The wind chimes tinkled again just as I felt her presence. “Good, because then I could be nice and kill you right immediately.” Her voice dipped dangerously as her anger rolled off like waves of energy, enough for the mortals to be knocked out.

I smirked, stepping a little bit away from the nymph, making sure she’s on my peripheral vision before I regarded the goddess. “Oh please, you have no idea how many times I have heard that threat and guess what? They are all in Underworld now.”

Turning her nose up and ignoring me, she turned her attention to the last nymph standing, “Krissy, are you okay?”

“Yes, he paralyzed my sisters!” Krissy screeched, balling her fists, the roots were now retracting from her limbs.

A muscle ticked in her jaw as currents of her magic crackled within the room, “You are going to pay for this,” Alectrona raised her arms, forming a ball of fire.

“I should have killed you –“ before she could finish what she was about to say, the ball of fire dissipated as the goddess fell as stiff as a statue on the floor and Cadence stood behind her with a worried smile.

“Alec!” The nymph ran to her friend, kneeling before her. Her limbs once again started to grow like roots but before she could continue, I have already embedded the last of the needles in her neck and she also fell on the floor.

“You’re awesome,” I told Cadence.

Her response was rolling her eyes.

“Adam!” Cadence reprimanded me as I threw the bucket of cold water on the sleeping goddess on her garage floor.

Alectrona sputtered water as she woke up with a start and dripping wet. “What? It’s not every day we have a goddess on your garage.” Cadence shook her head before motioning me to look at the fuming goddess in front of me.

“What insolence! You don’t know what you brought to yourself, demigod!” She said, standing up, balling her fists so hard it went pale. I knew she was trying to conjure her fire but when nothing came up, her head snapped up to look at us. “What did you do to me? Why can’t I use my power?”

“Aw, cannot use your mojo?” I said with derision. She tried to walk to me but was only stopped short by an invisible wall. She looked around, eyes wild, her pale face, stricken.

“Alectrona, you can’t go out of the God’s trap.” Cadence said with a fairly reasonable voice, subtly elbowing me.

“What?” I whispered.

“God’s what?” Alectrona asked with a raised voice, shooting us a dirty look.

“I casted a binding spell in the powdered Moly which was diluted to the holy water from the Catalian Spring. Can you believe I was able to order it on e-Bay? You must commend today’s technology.”

“Moly,” she repeated, her face contorting with disgust, “Let me out,” the anger rolled off her skin like tidal waves, her beautiful face was smeared with red as she shook from humiliation. The fact that she was trapped by a mere human witch and demigod had finally sunk in.

“Now, that can be negotiated,” I butted in.

“I,” she breathed in, her voice was vibrating with hate, “am not going to negotiate with you!” She spat.

“Well you can stay inside that trap for eternity.” I said, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Alectrona, we are not going to harm you,” Cadence spoke, standing a foot away from the circle she created.

“I care not! Your lives wouldn’t be spared by your audacity to trap a God!” It was a promise that our deaths wouldn’t be simple. I knew we were playing with fire by trapping her, but we needed it.

I was about to speak but Cadence beat me to it, “We are not going to live much longer to face your wrath because the world is about to end. Even though we don’t want to admit it, the Gods keep this world intact. And now that the gates of Olympus had closed, the humankind would cease to exist.”

“And I care because?” The frown on her face smoothed as her shoulders relaxed, crossing her arms on her chest.

I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to rip the smug look in her face. Cadence was a lot more patient as she continued her speech, “We need to know what happened to Olympus,”

The smug look in the goddess’ face grew and I inched closer, retracting the Athena’s dagger. “You can’t kill me,” Alectrona sneered.

Cadence placed a gentle hand to my arm and I stopped advancing, “We can’t kill you but that doesn’t mean you can’t die.”

Alectrona’s eyes riveted to Cadence, her eyes turning into slits of angry glare. “You know that the longer you stay here, your essence will fade. After your essence fade, your spirit will be dispersed in the wind. You will cease to exist. And you can fade while trapped in my garage, not seeing your beloved sunrise.”

It was my turn to grin, Cadence was pure genius. We totally got her. “You need us more than we need you, Alectrona. Even without your help, we can figure out a way to stop this apocalypse. We have lots of resources, but you don’t.” We don’t really have many resources like what Cadence said but I remembered what she said, 50% bluff and 50% strength.

“You will have to let me out,” she was still speaking very quietly.

“And have you after our asses? No thanks.” I scoffed but Alectrona didn’t even as much as look at me.

“Yes, I will kill you. I will tear you from limb to limb and I will make sure you are alive to feel the pain that I will inflict to you. After you die, I will take your soul and torture you for all eternity.” The goddess vowed looking up at me and pinning me with eyes burning with hatred.

I looked at her and said as quietly, “Your kind doesn’t deserve to be alive, Alectrona.”

She studied me for a moment before a smirk tugged her lips upward, “Poor boy, left alone by his mother. This is about that right, the hatred for Gods that I could sense from you? Your teenage angst.”

My nose flared just as I remembered the pouch in my pocket. Getting it, I threw the powder from inside the pouch in her and a shriek of pain boomed inside the garage. I returned the smirk, unperturbed that she could read me, “You think that will taunt me?”

“What was that?” Cadence asked, looking at the goddess worriedly.

“Powdered sunflower seeds, didn’t know it will actually work. I got the info from Wikipedia.” A wanton smile spreading in my lips before I returned my gaze back to the heaving goddess, her skin was red from the powder that hit her neck and face. It didn’t leave any permanent damage though, as much to my chagrin.

“I will kill you!” Alectrona shrieked.

“You think you can kill us? Look at you. Look at where you are. Think again.” I snapped, tired of this game.

Alectrona bit her trembling lips as her eyes shone from unshed tears. Her pride was too high to allow the tears to fall. “What can I get out of you?”

“Manpower,” Cadence supplied.

Alectrona scoffed, “A witch and a demigod?”

“You are not so great yourself; you are just a lesser God. Don’t act all high and mighty.” I gritted.

“You tell us what you know about Olympus and we will help you open the gates. That means you can’t kill us.” Cadence mandated.

Alectrona smirked, “And you think I will really follow that?”

“You will have to vow it to the River Styx,” That was a bloody brilliant idea. I fought the urge to clap my hands.

“No!” the goddess shrieked.

“Alectrona, it’s the only way.” Cadence sighed, “Vow and we will set you free.”

The goddess gave me a lingering look which I matched with my loathing stare.

“I vow to the River Styx not to kill you while I lend you my help in opening the gates of Olympus.” Alectrona said.

Thunders boomed outside the garage.

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Unlocking Olympus: Chapter 7

Unlocking Olympus

Chapter Seven: Alectrona

I left the human clothes Krissy bought me, hidden deep in my bed back at the treehouse and I don’t regret it one bit. Flying in the sky in a tight-fitting dress must be the hardest and stupidest idea in the whole world. I would be visiting my dear brothers, not him or any other god she had in mind. But I did get the Louis Vuitton bag with me just in case my brothers give me any souvenirs.

Swooping lower below the clouds, lower and lower until the tips of my fingers were touching the ocean, I teared through the opposing current of air at full speed. I did hope to reach Rhodes by the time the sun was beginning to set. I encountered sea nymphs, waving at me like they’ve known me for so long. I waved back at some, thinking that my mother was like them, a water-based nymph that the Titan-god of the sun, Helios, had fallen in love with, who bore him the Heliadae and me. We had other brothers and sisters by my mother’s sisters but it didn’t matter.

I was lost in thoughts that I had to stop mid-air to look back at the island of Rhodes. I was home. A smile spread across my lips and I flew back, descending, toes first on the ground. Raising both hands to tie my hair in a tight ponytail, the golden bands wrapped on my arms and ankles, I stayed invisible to eyes of the humans. I didn’t come for them, I came for what’s left of my nine brothers.

The island was lively as always and bursting with human activity. The modernity of humans, if, at one point amusing, was still something the gods couldn’t grasp. And though we are adapting with the times, we couldn’t help retaining our olden inclinations.

Walking past familiar roads and unfamiliar surroundings, I could easily see the spot where the Colossus used to be. It’s a statue of our father: so massive and divine, it was how the people of Rhodes worshipped him. But it was only destroyed during one of Poseidon’s angry days, trampling it down with an earthquake that was so powerful. Of course, father didn’t turn a blind eye on it and asked for repentance. Poseidon’s answer was his own daughter.

True, their relationship had a rough start but eventually they fell in love, and had ten bouncing children. I could say it’s a rather pretty tale. And you don’t always get that same love story with any other gods.

I reached my brothers’ ‘den’ and entered the massive wooden doors. It wasn’t the old stone house they had built millennia ago, it was a two-storey house, with glass windows, the walls painted white. It was so sleek that I couldn’t help feeling amazed at how modern they were.

Auges, the second to the youngest of my nine brothers, welcomed me with a warm hug. “Well, look who’s here!” he exclaimed, putting on his work belt his telescope.

“Where are the others?” I asked him, looking around their house. “How did you manage to build this house?”

“Ochimus is in the observatory upstairs.” He mentioned, and whispering, he added, “He practically lives there. Cercaphus is in the kitchen. But I doubt he’s cooking something. He’s probably staring at constellations once again. Thrinax…” he paused, catching his breath. “Hmm, staring at the skies.”

“Yeah, about that.” I started but he went ahead towards the left side of the house.

“Come, the kitchen’s this way.” He called, his sky-blue eyes sparkling, reflecting the rays of the setting sun. I gazed at it by the window on my side, the feeling of being abandoned by the one thing that kept you strong sinking in my gut.

“Ah, Auges!” I called, trying again to ask them if they know something about what had happened in Olympus. Even if they weren’t in the actual place, at least they can sense something. They aren’t just gazing at the stars like complete buffoons, they could also observe beyond them. And I hoped they saw what Olympus the day I went down.

“You see,” he turned towards me, stopping short. He leaned on the frame of the door and crossed his sleeved arm. Even though it was warm this evening, he was wearing a wool sweatshirt. “Cercaphus had this fling once… about a century ago. She was a beautiful nymph. Great-great-great whatever granddaughter of Poseidon, I guess. He was ready to ask her hand in marriage but then he found her dead. Apparently, a jealous satyr had killed her. You know the usual stuff? You can’t be mine then nobody will ever have you. That kind of drama.”

I gasped. “That’s horrible!”

He shrugged and chuckled. “Devastating.Cercaphus was depressed. Vowed to avenge her and flayed the satyr alive.”

“Well, that isn’t new.” I walked over to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. “My, you’ve grown taller!” I commented silently but didn’t really interrupt his story.

He looked back, a nerve popping on his neck and I followed suit. Cercaphus was there, leaning on the sink of their kitchen. “He got her corpse and blessed it. Now, she’s in the skies, as a constellation where he could stare at forever.”

I breathed out in sympathy and caught my other younger brother in a tight hug. His arm raising in surprise, Cercaphus looked back and hugged me back. “Hey, it’s been a long time, Electryone.”

Laughing, I patted his shoulder. I can’t believe he’s now taller than me. “You’ve grown too. And no, people call me Alectrona now.”

“Ah, yes, yes.” He absentmindedly nodded, “Time has changed, passed and will never return to what it was before.” He sighed, returning to his earlier position. I looked worriedly at Auges and he shrugged.

He pulled me by the hand and smiled softly. “Come, let’s meet the others. They’ll be ecstatic to see you.”

“By the way, Auges, I’ve been meaning to ask.” I finally managed to interrupt. “You’ve been watching the skies, correct?”

“Yes.” He simply answered, not looking at me.

“Then—”

He stopped, his head bowed. I could sense the anxiety wrapping his form. Auges had always been the happiest kid in the litter, but now he was different. The grim expression on his face, the dark look in his eyes all spelled one thing: something’s definitely not right. “You have fled Olympus sometime last week.” He started and I thought I should talk to him about this in the couch. So I was the one who led him to their living area, walking around like I knew the place and sat beside him. “The gates have been closed. Most of the temples are destroyed but the gods… they’re still up there. Imprisoned, unable to come down.”

“Yes, apparently that’s what had happened. It was what I last knew before coming down.” I said, playing with the frills of my silk tunic, the smooth cloth suddenly felt cold to the touch. “But who would do such a thing? I know there’s always been war among the gods. It’s like a norm but to close the gates? Well, that’s a first.”

“At least now, I have one culprit in mind.”

“Hades?” I knitted my brows. Of course, with all that had happened among the Big Three, it was always Hades with this kind of scheme.

To my surprise,Auges slowly nodded. “Corpse Breath isn’t present at the banquet the day before even the day when that happened. Barnacle Beard, though arriving late for the meeting the day after, was there. And yes, Air Head, of course, wouldn’t miss a thing. I’ve scanned every bit of Olympus. Hades isn’t anywhere. What’s more, the spot where the gate is was totally blurred, like something odd is enveloping it. What that is, I don’t know.”

Auges shrugged his shoulders and we both looked up to a crashing sound and the eldest among them, Ochimus’s voice. “Thrinax, I told you not to tinker with my binoculars!”

“He’s still using binoculars?” My face crumpled in disbelief.

Auges finally laughed. “Apparently, yes. Says it’s better than telescopes.”

“But I thought…” I mumbled, pointing at the ceiling.

“The observatory?” he asked, “Nah, the room has a large glass dome above it. We still have to wait for the gigantic telescope Hephaestus was making. But then again, with the situation now, who knows if we can still receive it.”

“Hi, Electr—I mean, Alectrona.” Ochimus greeted from the stairs, and I looked up at him. He was holding Thrinax by the shoulder, pushing him downwards. “Keep still, you little—”

“Hey, hey!” I stood, relieved for a moment at the welcoming atmosphere of my brothers’ bond.”Thrinax!”

“Alectrona!” he exclaimed, escaping from our brother’s hold. “You’re safe! Ochimus and all of us were worried you won’t be able to come out of Olympus.”

“Where are you staying now?” Ochimus asked, appearing behind Thrinax. “Chrysopeia’s?”

“Yeah, how’d you guess?”

“I saw through my binoculars.” He bragged, putting on his proud expression.

“He’s lying.” Auges snapped, breaking his ego. “He checked on you once. You know him, acts like the eldest when you are.”

“I’m still the eldest brother, at least I should keep watch. She’s still our sister.”

I smiled. Ah, I guess this stay will be worthwhile. And I do hope I find out more while I am here.

Gazing again outside the window, at the blackening sky, the horizon tinted only with a dark orange line, I began to feel at home once again.

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Unlocking Olympus: Chapter 6

Unlocking Olympus

Chapter Six: Adamaris

I could feel my pipes being crushed as the serpentine tail coiled around my neck, tightening. I was trying to harden my jaw, straining the muscles of my throat, a futile attempt to stop the Lamia from breaking my neck. It hissed in front of my face and I looked at its wide, unblinking eyes. I struggled to swallow air, opening my mouth, trying to suck oxygen.

“Hiss…no use fighting me demigod…hissss…I’ll make this quick for you.” A curtain of blackness threatened to cover my vision. I was in desperate need of oxygen in my brain.

“Your breath stinks!” I wheezed out as the Lamia’s horrid face contorted in rage. Its mouth opened in what I presumed was supposed to be a sneer. My eyes twitched at the hideous sight of its uneven, sharp teeth and its purplish tongue which was dripping with human blood – an innocent infant’s blood. Hot, boiling rage surged through my veins, invigorating me, lending me an energy to spend so I could fucking send this bitch into the depths of tartarus.

With shaking hands and no oxygen in my lungs, my fingers wrapped on the rough, worn out leather around the handle of the Athena’s dagger, “Your breath fucking stinks!” I spent the last of my energy in plunging the dagger into its heart, emitting a howl from the creature. Instantly, the tail around my neck loosened for a fraction and I hungrily sucked air to fill my lungs. Before the Liama could disentangle itself from me, I dragged the dagger down to its gut, causing for its innards to spill in my fists.

I groaned in disgust as it let out a deafening screech, jerking away from me, extricating itself from the dagger. Hot red liquid oozed from its gaping flesh, its eyeball rolling at the back of its disgusting head. Seconds after, it fell limply on the filthy floor of the sewer.

“Apparently, you’re not quick enough.” I said as I threw the flame from my zippo to its corpse, watching as the fire engulfed it and incinerated it until not even an ash existed.

Two Days Later

I was writhing from pain by the time Cadence parked my car in front of her lawn. She helped me out of the car and I brushed her help away, hissing as my burned arm stung like hell. “I can walk.” I said through gritted teeth.

I heard her sighing and made her way to her door and opened it. She entered without saying a word even after I followed her, closing the door behind me. Cadence lives alone in this one-storey spacious house after her mother got killed by a Minotaur. Different witchy knick knacks adorned her house, from stacks of spell books down to different kinds of herbs.

Cadence emerged from her stock room and sat beside me at the plush couch. “You were burned by God-fire.” She said with a very low voice. Cadence sounded eerily calm as she focused her attention into putting balm in my blistered skin. The concocted ointment was like ice to my burning skin and it gave a temporary reprieve. I knew this wound would heal after a day but it still hurt like a son of a bitch! I would kill that blonde woman!

“You are so stupid,”

“Sorry?” I asked, not hearing what she said because I was so busy plotting the demise of a certain goddess. Her finger stilled for a second then she repeated what she said, this time a whole lot louder.

“Why are you so stupid, Adamaris? That God could have killed you with a blink of an eye! Thank the Gods because she allowed you to walk out of that place with a mere burn!” She was fuming with silent fury, her eyes burning amber from anger. “I told you to give it a rest, don’t get near her!”

A short burst of anger flurried inside my chest, “Monsters littered the Earth and they are fucking running amok and killing humans, Caddie. I need to know what happened to Olympus and figure out how to fix the mess they made, again. I just can’t keep a blind eye to all those killings!” During those two weeks, after what people now called as ‘God’s Storm’, monsters had walked the earth freely as if the Gods had stopped controlling them. “Have you forgotten what happened to those infants that were eaten by a fucking Lamia?” Cadence winced from my question but held my angry gaze. It was just two days ago when I killed a Lamia, one of the many monsters resided in Olympus which was supposed to be governed and leashed by the freaking Gods. But they were all MIA, completely neglecting the people they were supposed to be protecting, not that I was expecting much from them.

A week ago, a series of missing infant cases had took over the news, the media and people were all in frenzy for what they thought was a kidnapping spree. But it turned out that a Lamia was behind the missing infants. I could still remember its hideous face, those wide, unblinking crazed eyes, the scaly hollow cheeks and its broad devious grin, revealing bloodied uneven sharp teeth, the blood of its latest victim still dripping from its hanging purple tongue. I repressed the shudder from rocking my body. I killed it, remorseful that I wasn’t able to save those infants. I was blaming the Gods for my own shortcoming. It has always been easier to blame others for the things you failed to do, I grimly thought.

“But what good did it bring you when you went there carrying just your dick? You were almost killed, Adam!” Treating the burn now forgotten, Cadence threw her hands up.

“Then it’s her greatest mistake that she didn’t kill me when she had the chance.” I knew she was worried for my wellbeing but I still couldn’t help but be crossed that she wasn’t sharing the burning desire to demand answers from the Gods.

As if reading my thoughts, Cadence heaved a long sigh and when she spoke she sounded more irate than angry, “We can get information from someone else. We just can’t demand answers from a goddess, Adam. We could barely put a wrinkle in her clothes.”

“Then we have to do something about it.” I told her, determination set on stone.

Knowing me well enough that that bitch had just gained herself an enemy, I wouldn’t be stopping until I could get my retribution, Cadence sighed again, her eyes rolling upward and muttered, “Gods,”

“We have to do something, Caddie.” I took her hand as her eyes came back to me, not talking about that goddess but talking about saving innocent people that could be victims of the Olympian’s neglect. Reading the sincerity from my voice, Cadence gave me a brief nod.

“We are already trying to help them, Adam. We can’t save the world with just the two of us.” She said, her eyes now trained at the general direction of her working table that was just across us.

Damn.

She turned to me, mustering a smile, “You are doing a great job saving people, Adam. Don’t beat yourself too hard for the death of those babies. It’s not your fault, you did your best. Think about how many lives you saved by killing that Lamia.” She has a point but I could have saved those three babies, I wasn’t just sure how but I knew I could have done something.

“That Goddess is our best shot of knowing what happened there if you are right that she fled here from Olympus.”

Cadence stood, her face reflecting that of someone who just remembered something important, “I was on the phone with my aunt when I sensed that you were doing something reckless and had to run and save you from your own stupidity.” I cringed but remained silent even after she averted her eyes and was lost again in her thought, “There was something she told me, a rumor, but it wasn’t quite an answer.”

Getting my full attention, Cadence continued, “There was this rumor among the sea nymphs at Jersey that Poseidon was in Olympus at the same day because of a very important council meeting. And here’s the interesting part, there’s a rumor among the sea creatures that all but one of the council members were present before the gates of Olympus closed.”

“The gates of Olympus had closed?” I shoot up from where I was sitting, wincing as my burnt arm stung from the movement. “Why? Are you sure?”

“You know how Aunt Priscilla is communicating with the sea nymphs in her county. That’s what she told me, I can’t evaluate if it’s true. What would be my aunt’s intention to lie, right?”

“Why would the Olympians would fucking close their fucking door!” It was a fear that I only learned I was harboring. What if the Gods had finally closed their door to leave the humans alone? But no, the Gods needed the humans as much as the humans needed them. It was how it worked. They couldn’t just close their gates to us and neglect us.

Cadence’s brows were furrowed as she hummed thoughtfully, walking the length of her living area, lost in thought. “No, no, no. I don’t think they closed it purposely. Something happened. But for now, at least we know the reason why these monsters were running wild here on Earth. No one is controlling them.”

“We need to talk to that goddess, torture her for information if we must.” I told Cadence.

“You hate her that much?” Cadence snorted as the gravity of our situation was momentarily forgotten.

The frown in my forehead smoothed as I shrugged my shoulder in response, “A burn for a burn.”

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