“The prophecy, Nyx. What about what Hecate said? If you fight in this…”
“I know that we need to do this. We’re…ourpower is better together. It’s a fact. We can’t escape that now, whatever arises because of the prophecy, we’ll face it.”
“If Zeus knows that we’re working together, he’ll be too guarded.”
“That’s why we won’t let him know. Tell no one that I’ve arrived in Greece.”
Erebus looked confused.
“Not even Hades and Poseidon?” The silence between them moved from comfortable to deafening as Nyx’s expression hardened. He was once more staring at the ancient, primordial being.
“I don’t trust anyone, Erebus. You shouldn’t either.” Erebus only nodded in response and Nyx continued. “We stay. We hope for the best when it comes to the prophecy. We defeat Zeus. We’ll work together when we must… It’s the only way.” There was a moment before Erebus responded, unable to keep himself from asking the question.
“And after this?”
Nyx was quiet, turning away from him once more and walking towards the door. Erebus thought that she was going to leave without saying anything, but she stopped in the doorframe. Without turning around, he heard her answer.
“I don’t know.”
33
Erebus had nothing else that he needed to say. Nyx would find him when it was time or they needed to regroup. He stared at her once more, drinking his fill as if it was the last time, and quietly left the temple. He didn’t see Makaria on his way out, but he heard her voice in the great hall as he stepped outside. The sun was high in the sky now, and Erebus blinked, sticking to the walled sides of the street in the shadows. His own shadows followed him, trailing up his calves when he stepped too far out into the sun. It took only a few confused glances from men until Erebus realized he was still dimming his power, therefore looking like a man with shadows acting bizarrely around him. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, gently shaking his legs as if he had dirt on his shoe. The shadows disappeared as did his brief reprieve.
The walk back to Mt. Olympus would’ve been shorter if he had shed his facade, and instantaneous if he went in his primordial form. He needed the time to think. They were all now playing a dangerous game—one that couldn’t be won through power alone. If all they needed was raw strength, there was no one more powerful than Nyx. The hierarchy was simple. That method would cause irrevocable damage to the mortal world, however, which they wanted to avoid at all costs. If they openly went against Zeus, while it sounded like Hades and Poseidon had allies, Zeus had his own. Even if everyone stepped aside, it would open a whole new power struggle for Mt. Olympus. Zeus wasn’t officially king yet, but he was acting like it, and no one seemed to be objecting. There were politics to consider now. With so many gods and a near never-ending number of immortals, monsters and titans—assassinations used to be so much easier.
It took the whole day to walk back as a mortal. When Mt. Olympus finally came into view, Erebus let his mortality slip away, and the glimmer of power returned to his eyes. He still took the long way up the side, using the gods’ path, refusing to turn into his primordial form. Even his shadows stayed hidden away. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was still haunted by what he and Nyx had done that morning; sliding back into that same form, his most powerful one, that had tasted her again would leave him breathless. As he neared the top, he lent his ear towards the great hall, listening on the perimeter of the mountain’s precipice. It seemed as though all the gods were gathered there once more, and while it didn’t sound like any wrestling matches had commenced, wine had begun flowing.
He turned his back to the pantheon and started walking away, staring at the rows of houses and buildings set up for the gods. Once the noise of the gathering was out of earshot, he slowed his pace. Dusk was settling. He looked up to the sky, a dull shade of gray as it waited in the in between.Is she going to call for me again?Erebus wasn’t sure. Almost as if she had heard him, the night sky began to darken. It shifted like a watercolor in front of his eyes, going from the lightest of blues to the darkest of orange and purple hues. The prettiest sunsets always happened when Nyx was in a good mood, and she stopped to chat with Helios; it always made for the best colors. Erebus let a soft smile cross his face as he looked up at the clouds.Now, you’re just showing off, my darling.
The sky began to darken another shade, and he heard it. The sweetest of melodies, a song that stirred his blood and made him stand up at attention. Nyx was calling for him.
Erebus immediately transcended into his primordial form, all previous hesitations abandoned, and met Nyx in the sky. Their job was more efficient this time, there were no distractions, and nightfall happened quickly and succinctly. It was a welcome change, the proper balance of darkness and night bringing proper balance to life and death—but it was clinical. They were working together the way that they always had, except it was like all their passions and lust had been drained out of them that very morning. Well… not drained but dormant once more.
It was a bittersweet moment when Erebus landed back down on the top of Mt. Olympus, eyeing all the torches that had been lit around the pantheon. In the time it took him to usher in the night, the party had evolved.Perhaps devolved is a better description. How many torches do they need? Who keeps letting Dionysus set the agendaandprovide the wine?Erebus rolled his eyes and began walking again, content to spend the rest of the night in solitude. He needed one night without plots or politics. He missed the silence of the Underworld and all that it encompassed.
Erebus only made it a few steps away when he felt someone behind him, a crackling electricity denoting their power. His shadows sprung to life, curling up around his arms and legs, some shooting out across the ground towards the intruder. Erebus turned around, fighting to keep the sneer off his face.
“Zeus.” His voice was barely more than a growl. The god stood there, a few paces away, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He was wearing a simple tunic, but the belt at his waist was gold as was the band around his forehead. Erebus noted it with a frown of distaste. “Didn’t take long for you to literally start wearing a crown, I see.”
“What can I say? There was a… popular vote.” Zeus’s voice was full of mirth, but there was something darker to it—more sinister. Erebus took a step towards Zeus, keeping his shadows at bay, even though Zeus kept one eye on the phantom limbs.
“I’m sure that you didn’t coerce any of the voting, either. Interesting, I didn’t think that the gods were a democratic lot.”
Zeus only shrugged. “You would be correct about that.” There was a second meaning in his answer, one that Erebus knew meant that quite a bit of coercing had happened behind the scenes.
“What have you come to say to me?” Erebus cut straight to the point, mimicking Zeus’s posture as he took another step toward the god. He smiled internally when he saw the god struggle for a moment to not take a step back. Zeus didn’t say anything, his mouth now set in a tight line, but he clasped his arms behind his back. He started to walk in a slow arc around Erebus, who backed up to keep facing the god as he moved. Erebus didn’t appreciate how he was trying to corner him like prey. He remained quiet until Zeus spoke. When he did speak, it was with a cold, calculating tone and a cruel smile.
“It’s interesting… how adept you think that you are.”
“I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on the subject.”
Zeus began pacing once more. “Did you really think that no one would notice what happened in the sky last night?” He looked up at the heavens, now flickering with starlight. Erebus’s breath caught in his chest, and he knew that they’d been found out.No matter. I guess we’re doing this the violent way then. More for me.Erebus couldn’t exactly say that he was frustrated with the outcome. It was too easy for him and Nyx to overpower Zeus and any of his supporters; yes, there would be some collateral damage, but it was better than all the politicking.
“If you’re jealous, you can say so.” Erebus’s face split into a warm smile as he tipped his head to the side, teasing Zeus. He let his shadows spill out a little more, flickering over the cobblestones and even crawling up some of the columns of nearby buildings. They were spreading out and circling around the two immortals, trapping them in a web of Erebus’s design. Zeus didn’t notice.
“You’ve reunited,” Zeus said simply, shrugging his shoulders as he continued to walk with his hands behind his back. Erebus raised an eyebrow and studied him, both seizing each other up like predators. Except Erebus was a very, very different kind of predator than Zeus.
“We did.” Erebus was careful with his wording. If Zeus noticed, he made no comment on it and continued.
