The Pantheon (26 page)

“
Which one’s next, bro?”

Celene put her hand to stop anyone else from attacking. Everyone looked to her. “What do you want?” she asked.

Mark-- Epimetheus-- laughed. His brother put his own hand up to silence him. “I would think that Dr. Davis could figure this out,” James said, his expression grave. “We are the protectors of this world. We are here to watch, to guide, to teach. You were supposed to be upgrades. Titans 2.0. But the Olympians were a mistake. So we’re here to get rid of you once and for all. It’s really for the greater good.” They could all tell he sincerely believed that.

“
You think you’re going to save mankind by killing a bunch of kids?” Jason asked.

“
Sure. They’re just kids now, but it is just a matter of time before they start laying waste to countries just because their egos got bruised. Humanity has been doing fine without them. As for being just kids? Their souls are thousands of years old. They were put on earth to replace a corrupt generation of beings before them. They were made in the shape of man in hopes that they would be better at leading humanity than their forefathers,” Prometheus explained.

He spoke to them all, now. “You abused it. You were supposed to give people guidance. You were supposed to protect humanity. Well the world isn’t full of minotaurs and giants anymore. We have been protecting humanity in your absence and we will continue to do so. All you can bring is chaos.

“
Your justice for a harmless prank was to take fire away from humanity and leave them in the dark. We outsmarted you, so you created Pandora and her jar and preyed on the impulsive nature of my brother. Innocent mortals became casualties of your games.”

He patted the jar. “Nick, Poseidon as I know him, raped a girl on the floor of your temple, Athena.” His eyes trained on Minnie. “You turned her into a monster as punishment. You punished her for being raped.”

Minnie sat down. She remembered not even thinking that the girl, Medusa, might have been an unwilling participant.

“
So, to answer your question, mortal,” his eyes went back to Jason, “I do think that I’m saving humanity. They are kids here and now, but even as governors of mankind they acted like children. They are the real horrors and I am putting them in the jar where they belong and killing them if they won’t go willingly.”

“
Now,” Epimetheus was grinning. He had faded off during his brother’s speech, but now he was engaged. “We’d like to be reasonable, but now that Hades is in our jar, murder is an option. We’ve had centuries to learn how to use this wonderful present.” He patted the jar. “So it’s really your choice. Jar or death.” The flames in his hands surged. He wanted them to choose door number two.

“
Why did you kill your own team-mate? Was he part of this?” Minnie asked.

Prometheus sighed. “An unfortunate casualty. Heckley saw my brother use his powers, found out our assumed identities were false, and tried to extort us.”

“
You don’t blackmail a god,” Epimetheus said with a shrug and a smile. “He had to be dealt with.”

Celene stared at the jar. Penny was inside of it? Alive? She could only hope. Devon was far more impulsive. She crossed slowly to Epimetheus. He roared his flames as a warning, but soon the air around him was heavy and the flames died.

“
You should let them go,” she suggested, trailing a finger along his jaw.

Prometheus would have none of that. Beautiful women had always been a weakness for his baby brother. Prometheus grabbed the temptress by her blonde hair. He yanked her head backwards. Devon screeched. Prometheus pulled the lid off the Pithos. The black net engulfed Devon and dragged her screaming and cursing into the jar.

June let loose a shrill scream. She charged Prometheus, her nails tearing at his face. The jar hit the carpet with a thud and rolled across the floor. The Titan shouted and swung. His hand glowed white-hot before he struck her. The glancing blow didn’t do much to burn her, but the force of the attack knocked her to the floor. Her vision doubled. Prometheus dove for the jar.

Evan lunged at Prometheus, but Mark was there and knocked him off his feet with a swift kick to the stomach.

“
Back off, grease monkey. Wait your turn.”

Prometheus removed the lid from his position on the floor; this time the black net found June Herald. Epimetheus laughed and threw a burst of flame at Astin. It was a compact explosion aimed in his direction, not a rolling, roaring flame like the special effects in movies. Astin dove out of the way and the curtains behind him went up in flames.

Teddy picked up the chair he had been sitting on. He took a swing at Epimetheus. With a flash of fire the chair was scorched and Teddy was on the ground with the wind knocked out of him.

Astin came through the smoke of the flaming curtain and landed a single punch to Epimetheus’ cheek. Astin’s hand, too, glowed white-hot. He turned them to Epimetheus, blinding him with the brilliance of their luminescence. He used the momentary advantage to take Epimetheus by surprise and sucker-punch him for a second time.

Prometheus grabbed Astin’s ankle from the ground and tugged the baby rock-god off of his feet. Tendrils sprang from the jar and pulled Astin into the mouth.

Epimetheus held his swollen face. His skin was split at the apex of his cheekbone. Prometheus pushed himself to his feet and pointed the jar at Teddy. “Jar or death?” he taunted.

Teddy coughed; he couldn’t speak. Prometheus cracked the lid and then Teddy, too, was gone from the room.

The Titans regained their composure and turned to face the remaining Olympians. Jason stood in front of the girls, his fists raised and his sleeves rolled up. Minnie, Celene and Valerie were gathered behind him.

“
Oh please, this is just hilarious,” Epimetheus said. His flames grew as he took a step forward.

“
I don’t think so,” Valerie said. “You should take a chill pill.” Epimetheus cooled his fire. His hands went out. He wasn’t mad anymore and that confused him. He knew they needed to be taken care of, but his wits were not nearly as sharp as his temper. He looked back at Prometheus. Prometheus knew that this momentary calm was Valerie’s fault. He shook his head.

“
Do you want to see your daughter again?” Prometheus asked Celene directly.

Celene’s jaw was tight. This man had taken her little girl.

“
Do you?” he asked. “She’s right here, Demeter. You can see little Persephone again.”

Minnie placed her hand on Celene’s shoulder, unsure of what to say but wanting to be a supportive presence. Valerie stood on her other side.

Jason clenched his fists tighter. “Let the kids go.”

“
Or what, mortal?” Prometheus asked.

“
I’ll kick your ass.”

Prometheus threw a blast of fire at him. He was more annoyed than angry at Jason. It was like the Olympians had a yappy loyal terrier that wouldn’t stop jumping and barking. Jason picked up the platter that Celene had used to serve cookies and used it like a shield. The force of the burst smashed the platter into bits and knocked Jason back. His head cracked against the wall. He was out.

Minnie wasn’t going to sit around and wait for capture. She grabbed a decorative pewter clock and threw it across the room. It nailed Prometheus in the nose. He staggered back. He dropped the jar again. It landed with a soft thud on the carpet. Epimetheus calmly set her on fire and picked up the jar again. Minnie stopped, dropped and rolled as Epimetheus said, “C’mon bro. Stop dropping the jar. It was a wedding gift, remember?” He snickered. It seemed that Valerie’s attempts to cool the hot-head had only made him more purposeful and more useful.

With a final tug on the lid, the ebon net stretched out over the space, wrapping around the remaining Olympians. Evan, Minnie, Celene, and Valerie were swallowed by the mouth of the jar. Jason groaned, but didn’t get up. Fire sirens sounded in the distance. The room was well ablaze by now as the flames from the drapery spread to the sofa and across the old shag carpet.

Prometheus leaned over Jason. The human being was awake but too dazed to move. “Goodbye, pet of the gods. See you on the shore of the styx.” Prometheus hoisted the jar up under his arm. He lit a few more pieces of furniture on fire, for good measure. “We’ve got three more Olympians to find. Come on.”

“
Quarrels often arise in marriage when the bridal gifts are excessive”

-Antisthenes

xxii.

They declared friendly intentions when they came.

Athena and Aphrodite brought the girl

and delivered her as a peace-offering--

a divine beauty.

Prometheus tried to turn the girl away

but Epimetheus caught sight of this gift.

He was captivated by her graces

and soon fell in love.

They prepared for a lavish wedding feast

and the Lords of Olympus all attended.

When Epimetheus went forth with his bride,

his brother fretted.

Late at night Pandora rose from the groom’s bed

and looked upon the jar that was her dowry.

Her mate-- warmed in the afterglow of their love--

slept without stirring.

His brother had warned them not to touch the jar

but the curious girl thought no one would know

if she only sneaked a momentary glance.

She removed the lid.

It fell to the floor and black tendrils lashed out,

spreading from the mouth of the jar like disease.

There was a rush of horrible screams that seemed

they might never end.

The cries clawed out from the depths of the pithos

and gripped the very fabric of creation.

A shock of icy, hard air hit Pandora

and made her shrink back.

Darkness poured forth from the mouth of the clay jar

and consumed everything before it settled.

The colors in the world seemed less full of life

when the screaming stopped.

Epimetheus sat up in bed and stared

at his pretty wife and her jar of horrors.

Now he could see, as his brother had, that she

was a lovely curse.

“
We make war that we may live in peace.”

-Aristotle

XXII.

Devon’s eyes focused on a picturesque sky. The clouds couldn’t have been more beautiful if they had been rendered by a naturalist painter. She sat up and ran her fingers through her tousled blonde hair. Her scalp hurt.

The memory of the battle flooded her mind’s eye. She looked about and saw all of her comrades lying in the grass or bent over nursing injuries. The grass was a rich green but it wasn’t cool or soft. It felt dry.

Ahead was a stone temple. The doors were shut. Teddy was walking toward it, daring to explore. To Devon’s left, Valerie was bent over, tending to an unconscious Evan. Everyone was dressed in strange, draped tunics and sashes.

“
Where are we?” Devon asked.

The doors to the temple opened. Dr. Davis shouted, “Penny!”

Penny ran out to embrace her mother. Peter and Lewis cautiously followed her.

“
Where are we?” Devon repeated.

“
In the jar,” Lewis answered. He looked around. Where’s Zach?”

June pushed herself to her feet. Her hair was down in waves. A circlet made of a gold olive branch rested on her head. The blue tunic she wore was gathered at her shoulders and belted with a silk sash under her bust. She looked more powerful and beautiful than any of them had ever seen her. “Not here,” she said. “Zach, Frank, and Diana had a scheduling conflict with sports boosters. It probably saved them.

“
For now,” Peter sat down on the steps of the temple and continued to speak. “But Epimetheus and Prometheus will catch them and we’ll all be stuck in this fabricated hell forever.”

Jason pushed the beam off of his legs. He was horribly bruised but nothing was broken. The burning house was falling apart. The flames had reached the second story apartment.

Jason staggered out of the door, covered in ash and wheezing. The fire department had just pulled up. One of the fire fighters tried to stop him to make sure he was okay. “I’m fine,” he coughed and pushed him off. He got in his car. He was in no condition to do anything, but he needed to warn the others. Adrenaline kept him going.

He hit the curb at the school and left the Buick running. The sports teams were out collecting pledges of financial support. There were a few other tables selling school sweatshirts and coffee mugs. Zach Jacobs was wearing a green OHSH Athletics sweatshirt and four baseball caps stacked on his head. He was signing an autograph for a young fan when Jason approached.

Diana was the first to see Jason, even as he headed for the quarterback. She dropped her clipboard and ran to him. It was obvious by his sooty state and limp that he was not okay.