Fury to the Stars (Universe in Flames Book 2) (14 page)

“If only life was that easy, Chase. But on the other
hand, if it was, perhaps it would be a dull experience.”

“Right...” Chase flashed him a weak smile. “But damn
would I love me some dull right about now.”

It had rained all morning, as if somehow the weather
had guessed Sarah’s mood. She and Chase had just walked into the cemetery. She
liked that it rained; it made her tears less visible. Even though it was
perfectly normal to feel sad for the loss of her uncle, she didn’t like to show
vulnerability. Probably just the soldier in her, she thought.

Chase held her hand, and from time to time he gave
her fingers a little squeeze. She was grateful he’d come, even though he didn’t
know her uncle. It was good to know she could count on him nonetheless in this
time of grief.

The past few days had been really hard, and they had
definitely taken a toll on Sarah’s psyche. She tried to push the memories of
torture away, tried to simply stay sane. No living beings should be subjected
to such treatment. And to come back only to find more grief awaiting her had
made matters that much worse. She felt extremely vulnerable right now. Perhaps
more so than ever before in her life.

At least the pregnancy had been a positive thing
amidst that dark and painful state she was in. Something to look forward to.
She glanced at Chase out of the corner of her eye. At least she had him, and
soon they would be a family. That thought was particularly prominent lately,
but it was also accompanied with fear. Fear that the world she would bring this
new life into was in utter chaos. She knew it was useless to over-think things
and project. After all, life had a way of presenting a reality that was unlike
what one had imagined one’s life would be. Still, it was human to do so. Weak
and perhaps useless, but human nonetheless.

Most of her family had made it to the ceremony, to
say goodbye to Uncle Peter. As she gazed out over their familiar faces, she got
lost in her own thoughts, remembering all the good times they’d had over the
years.

“You okay, sweetie?” inquired Chase.

“I don’t know.” She tried to force a smile. “But
don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Chase didn’t know what to say. He had lost crewmates
over the years, even a couple of friends. He remembered how it hurt to say
goodbye. And while he had never lost a direct member of his biological family,
the loss of his adoptive parents had been tough. So while he didn’t exactly
know if he could relate truly to what Sarah was feeling at the moment, he had a
pretty good idea.

But just the thought of her suffering so much sent
him on a dangerous path of hatred. He was quick to close his eyes and focus on
his breathing. But the rage still lingered there, just beneath the surface. All
of this—the attack, the tragic loss of too many to count—was because of his
family. Earth had lost millions of lives, Sarah her uncle—all because of Argos,
a brother he didn’t recognize or want to have. If they hadn’t looked almost
exactly alike, he at least could have denied his existence and fraternal
claims, but it was clear they shared a very similar if not near exact DNA.
Perhaps they were even twins… His blood ran cold at the thought. They couldn’t
be, could they? Argos looked so much older than Chase. But even Daniel had
mentioned how Chase hadn’t seemed to age a day in the last decade.

What did it all mean?

When Chase opened his eyes, he no longer was in the
cemetery and it had stopped raining. Instead, he stood in a deserted place—dark
and dry—with winds blowing black sand all around. In the distance, some spiky
mountain chains appeared, and on top of them, three planets or perhaps moons
hovered in the night sky.

“Now what?!” Chase cried out in exasperation.

A deep, male voice answered. “We need to have a
talk, Chase.”

Chase turned around to see a tall, muscular man
standing there. He glowed like Aphroditis, but unlike her, his aura seemed more
oppressive, radiating orange light all around him. He had short, bluish-grey
hair and looked older than Aphroditis, despite somehow radiating both health
and the energy of youth.

“And who might you be?”

“My name is Ares.”

Chase struggled to keep control of his
ever-dwindling temper. “That name supposed to mean anything to me?”

“I guess not,” the man mused. “After all, it’s been
a long time since your people have stopped worshipping us.”

“An Olympian, then.” Chase openly hesitated. “How
come I’m not speaking with Aphroditis right now?”

“Because what we must talk about, she can’t help you
with.”

“Look, I appreciate you summoning me into another
vision, but right now is not a good time.” Chase thought anxiously about Sarah
and the funeral.

“Worry not about this.” Ares dismissed his fears.
“No matter how long our talk takes here, only a few minutes will pass in your
reality.”

“Still, not really in the mood.”

“Defiant, arrogant, blind... I really wonder what
Aphroditis sees in you.”

Chase let the words bounce right off of him, at
least, that’s what he wanted Ares to believe. Inside his head was another story
altogether. A fierce anger was stirring deep in his soul. It was only an
intense fear of the repercussions that made him bury them back down.

“That’s
not bad,” Ares commented. “You’ll need more of that control if you’re to use
your powers efficiently, or the next time you face Argos, he will destroy you.”

Chase looked the Olympian straight in the eyes.
“What are you here for, Ares? What do you need to tell me that couldn’t wait
until after the funeral?”

“My timing is of no consequence. And it’s not so
much what I must tell you, but more what I must teach you.”

“Teach?”

“Yes, you need to learn how to gain total control of
your powers. And while you have already made a good deal of progress, I am here
to train you further.” He stepped forward with a grand, introductory flourish.
“First things first. As I have already told you, my name is Ares, formerly the
god of war.”

“Formerly?”

“Let’s just say we don’t hold to titles such as
these now that we don’t have the same number of followers as we once did.
Though Aphroditis’ questionable intervention on Earth has stirred the curiosity
in many Earthlings regarding our existence… Some have already started worshiping
her, in fact.”

“I see.” Chase steered him back on target. “So you
want to teach me to wage war?”

“War is part of life, as you know full well.
Aphroditis and I don’t always see eye to eye, but I don’t take orders from her.
When she defied our father, I decided to see what she was up to. On the other
hand, if our father knew it would piss him off, so at least there’s that.”

“I see that family feuds also run in Olympian’s
families. Maybe we’re not so different after all…”

The man laughed hard.

“Let’s just say my view of war and violence isn’t
really well accepted by all Olympians.”

“You sound like a hoot,” Chase said flatly.

“And you’re a Fury, alright.”

“Part Fury.”

“If you say so.”

“What does
that
mean?”

“Look, I’m not here to become your friend and chat
with you. Let’s get started, shall we?”

“Started with—”

But before Chase could finish the sentence, Ares had
disappeared from sight, reappearing instantly behind him. As he turned around,
the Olympian kicked him so hard in the neck that he flew in the air and landed
face first in the black sand. An intense pain radiated from the point of impact
all the way down his spine.

As he got up, Chase spat blood on the ground. He
could feel anger flowing in every part of his body now. He quickly got up and
faced Ares, a look of determination in his eyes.

“You’re gonna pay for that cheap shot. I wasn’t
ready!”

The former god laughed. “Typical excuse, not being
ready… Do you think you will ever be ready for what’s to come? Like, ever?”

Chases anger grew even stronger.

“Before I kick the shit out of you even more, I want
you to be mindful of how you are feeling right now.”

Chase fumed. “I am pissed, angry, and I want to kick
your ass. Is that mindful enough?”

Ares smiled calmly. “Yes, you are. And in that
state, you can try and hit me until the end of days, and you will fail.”

“Let’s see about that shall we?”

Two blue fireballs formed in Chase’s hands and he
threw them towards Ares with as much velocity as he could. But before they
reached him, Ares made a circular motion with one of his palms, deflecting the
fire back onto Chase so fast that all he could do to protect his upper body was
raise his forearms before impact. There was a small explosion, and once again
Chase was thrown into the dirt.

“Do you know what you did wrong?” Ares asked calmly.

Chase got back up, dusted himself off, and looked at
his burned forearms.

“Besides getting up this morning?” he said
sarcastically, trying to not let the pain leech into his tone. “Enlighten me.”

“Ah, the Fury pride. You feel hurt. You don’t need
to hide it from me. I can sense everything you feel, so stop acting tough. We
don’t have time to serve your own ego. Now let’s talk about your reaction. I
taunted you, found the right words to make you lose control. That’s because your
ego is too strong. You’re too young, not mature enough, and the things people
tell you, you take too much to heart.

“Because you’re a Fury, these manifest in surges of
power. But you can’t control this power as long as it’s guided by hate. Anger
gives you only an illusion of control, but in fact, it’s blinding you. You need
to use anger the right way, to channel it to your advantage. If you let it
control you, the results will be catastrophic, not only for you, but for those
around you.”

That last statement seemed to hit home, a regular
bull’s-eye.

“Start with calming down right now. I know you want
to hurt me at the moment, but try breathing slowly. Empty your head of thoughts
instead. Quiet your mind, lower your ego. For just one moment try and forget I
just hit you where it hurts.”

Chase didn’t like the way Ares talked to him. He
thought it was condescending and rude, but a wiser part of him had to admit
that perhaps he could learn something here. So he started to breathe slowly and
deeply, and soon enough he felt anger go away little by little.

“Good, that’s better. Remember how you blew open
that door after the building’s explosion yesterday?”

“Yes…?”

“You did that without any anger, yet you managed to
bring your powers to the surface through nothing but instinct. The main problem
you have at the moment is that your instinct is to seek revenge towards Argos
and your ego is bruised by the fact that you didn’t manage to save every life
on Earth. I can understand that you wanted things to turn out better; it’s
human, but it’s not realistic. You are not responsible for the fate of the
universe.”

“You guys should maybe consult one another on pep
talks,” Chase smirked. “Aphroditis actually tried convincing me that I was all
that stood between darkness and light.”

“If you are, in your current state, if that’s even a
fraction of the truth, we’re all screwed. She needed to motivate you, and at
the time it might have been good advice. But tell me, how did it make you feel
knowing that?”

“Anxious, worried that I might fail.”

“Exactly. All of a sudden, the weight of the
universe is on your shoulders. Do you like baring that responsibility?”

Chase shuddered. “Not at all. In fact, it makes me
feel helpless sometimes.”

“And so it should.” Ares looked at him square on. “I
am immensely more powerful than you are, at least at the moment, and I am not
even entertaining the thought that the universe could actually depend on me and
my actions. So you need to unload that burden. The sooner the better.”

Chase sighed. “I... I  don’t know that I can.
Whatever happens next is on my head. At the very least, I must make sure I do
my absolute best; I feel responsible now.”

“You’re only responsible for your own actions. The
sooner you embrace that, the better.”

“But the consequences?”

“Are you so arrogant to think that should you die,
which is a very strong possibility from where I’m standing, all would be lost?”

“I don’t know,” Chase mumbled.

“Nobody knows, Chase. Nobody. Not me and certainly
not you.”

Chase stayed quiet, reflecting on Ares’ words.

“Now try to empty your mind of all thoughts,” the
war god commanded.

“That’s not going to happen, I’m afraid.”

“DO IT anyway!”

“Right, there is no try.”

Ares paused. “What do you mean? I
do
want you
to try.”

“Never mind…” Chase said with a little smile.

He proceeded to empty his mind of all thoughts. It
wasn’t an easy thing to do. For as long as he could remember, his head was
filled with worries for the future, and the last few months had been so charged
with heavy events, sometimes he felt like all he was doing was over-thinking
everything. After no time at all, his mind focused on the explosions that had
happened on Earth the day before.