Chapter 5 Meras Point Of View

"I am going with you." I told Ennina as she looked over the schematics of the building on a large table under the black tent that was set up within the Los Angeles Port. Ennina wove her magic around it so that the area we needed was completely undetectable. "Mera, this is not a practice session, there are real dangers in there. You have never faced a Shadow before." She told me. "Need I remind you again how important your life is?" She glanced at me, her sky blue eyes searching mine. "If Kallisto is going, then so am I." I told her. "Ariston could be in there, I am not going to sit around and wait." "Very well." Ennina said with a sigh. "Stay close to us." I nodded. After receiving John Alexander's call, I met him at the Los Angeles Pier where he told me about strange happenings at the port in Los Angeles. There were reporting's of strange noises and dockworkers were going missing, especially the female ones. I thanked him for his work and handed him a few thousand dollars discreetly. He kept trying to tell me that I did not need to give him more money, but I handed it to him nonetheless and told him there was more where that came from if he kept working for me. After telling everyone about the find, Cronus went to the port to look around and came back an hour later with his find. There was a warehouse on the water where the missing people were being held. Ennina conjured the schematics of the building and called in back up, which happened to be Aaron and I's old unit from the Army of Descendants. It

was great to see my old friends again and meet my replacement, a young woman named Elaina Victoria, a Descendant of Zeus. Once the battle plans were drawn up, Ennina, Cronus and Kallisto transported the fifteen of us to the Port once the sun went down and we have been waiting for the right time ever since. "My queen," Said two of my fellow Descendants, Roger and John, as they walked up and Ennina turned to look at them. I looked and saw that they had John Alexander walking between them. "We found him snooping around." John's brown hair was short and confusion was evident in his wintergreen eyes. He had a face that in some ways reminded me of my father, he was not a pretty boy by far, but he had rugged looks that worked for him. "Ms. Vandenberg." John said to me in greeting, looking over my outfit. I wore all black, so that I would be less noticeable in the night. It was something like a skintight jumpsuit that moved with my every movement, made of a mixture of neoprene and cloud silk, it was completely bullet proof and with the hood pulled over my head and hair and the glasses I would wear, my identity would be secure. All of my old until wore the same matching uniforms. The only thing that was not black was our Letters of Identification, or LID for short, on our right shoulder, which read Alpha, Omega, Sigma, Delta, Rho in shimmering gold. I wore the same UID since they still considered me part of the unit. "Mr. Alexander," I said. "What are you doing here?" "Trying to stop you from doing something dangerous." He said. "I saw the look in your eyes." "What should we do with him?" Roger asked Ennina. "Leave him here." Ennina said. "Yes my queen." They replied and let go of him before walking back out to their post. "You should not be here." I told John. "I had to be." He said. "You are just a girl, I do not want you to get hurt." "I have not been just a girl for what seems like a very long time." I told him. Come to think of it, I have never been just a girl. From the day I was born I have been trained, I am the last Descendant of Pandora, I am the last hope of the gods. I looked to Ennina.

"Ennina, this is John Alexander, the private detective I hired. " I introduced them. "Mr. Alexander, this is Ennina, Ariston's sister and soon to be queen of the place I come from." John tried to bow, but looked a bit ridiculous. "Rise." Ennina said with a laugh and he did. "My eldest son is named Alexander." "It is a good name." He said. Ennina looked at him, obviously apprising him. "You need not worry about our safety," Ennina said. "My family and I can handle ourselves." "You are going to get yourselves killed." John said. "Trust me John," Ennina said with a smile. "We can have this under control. This is not our first time doing something like this." "No disrespect Ma'am, but you do not look like the type." John said. I had to admit that even in her black uniform with her brown curls pulled behind her head and her blue eyes shining, she did seem like the type who could wipe the floor with the greatest fighters whom have ever lived. But if you truly looked into her sky blue eyes, the warrior within her was evident. "I get that a lot." Ennina said to John. "Come at me." "What?" He asked. "Try and hit me." She said. "Ma'am, that is not necessary," he tried to say. "Come at me." She said slowly in a voice that no one could disobey. He took a deep breath and raised his fists in a boxers stance, I could see he was uncertain about this. He through a punch, I had to say that he was fast, but Ennina was faster, she dogged his fist with ease, much to his amazement. He punched again, a combo this time, and she skillfully dogged him again. The next time he threw a punch, Ennina blocked him, got a hold of his wrist, spun behind him, bringing his arm with her and locking it to his back as she kicked the back of his knee softly, making him go down on one knee with his arm twisted behind his back. "Do you see?" She asked softly in his ear and he nodded, the pressure on his arm hurting him a bit.

Ennina let him go then stood before him with her hand held out and a friendly crooked smile on her face. He took her hand and she helped him to his feet. John looked at her in astonishment before he looked to me. "You can do that?" He asked me. "She trained me." I told him and he shook his head. "I never would have guessed." He said in all honesty. "Have you checked the perimeter?" Ennina asked Christopher, a Descendant of Zeus from my unit, when he walked in. "Yes my queen." He said. "Three guards on the back door, two on the side, and five on the front." "Innocents?" Ennina asked. "Perhaps one or two out of twenty." He said, Ennina nodded and Cronus walked in. "Stay close to Mera," Ennina said to Cronus. "Do not let her out of your sight." "Yes my wife." Cronus replied. "I can take care of myself." I told them. "Mera if you are going in there then Cronus will be by your side the whole time." Ennina said. "This is my express command as queen and as Ariston's sister. He would never forgive me if I allowed any harm to come to you." She told me, I nodded. I respected her far too much to try and defy her order. "Paula?" Ennina said. "My queen?" Paula said with a curtsy as she walked up. "Stay here with Mr. Alexander, see that he is safe and does not cause any trouble." Ennina said. "You don't need to do that." John said. "I will go home." "You are lying Mr. Alexander." Ennina said without missing a beat. "You would not leave, you would go in there to make certain that none of us got harmed, but in doing so you would put yourself in harms way. Although I admire the noble gesture, I do not need any more innocent lives in the crossfire. You will stay here with Paula." He nodded, knowing that he was in over his head and did not have a choice.

"What are you guys?" John asked. "Some kind of vigilantes? Mercenaries?" "We are warriors." Ennina said. "Fighting for the future of humanity and the safety of our families." Then she turned to me. "Mera, the time is upon us." I nodded and with one last look at John Alexander I followed Ennina and Cronus outside of the tent. Ennina went off to lead the main troop while Cronus came with me to lead the team that would infiltrate the rear. Kallisto would be leading the team through the side door. The plan was to hit them from all sides at once and take them by surprise. Before Cronus and I reached out destination he took hold of my arm and turned me to face him. "Mera, the things you are going to see in there are not going to be pretty." Cronus warned me. "I can handle it." I told him, he nodded. "I will be right by your side." He said, I nodded with a slight smile. That was a comforting knowledge. He let go of my arm and we continued walking. We met up with three Descendants from my unit. We checked our weapons, although I preferred my twin swords, I had to admire these adamantine handguns. Instead of bullets, they held tranquilizer darts that would knock an elephant out for an hour. The clip to the gun was designed to fit ten times as many darts as it appeared to be able to hold. I had to admit that for all my talk, I was getting nervous. I had never done anything like this before. This was not like when I fought that low life to save myself and my close friend Margret from a mugging. That man had been alone, a heavy smoker and had a limp in his leg. This was another thing all together. I had no idea what we were about to fight, but I knew what could be in there. I looked up at Cronus, he was looking ahead, studying the building. I took hold of his hand and held on tightly to it. His hand closed around mine automatically. Cronus turned his bright pale green eyes on me as I looked up at him. He seemed to understand my apprehension. He leaned in close and whispered into my ear comforting words. "You can do this Mera," He said so softly, his hot breath washing across my ear with each word he spoke. "You were trained for this, you are meant for this. Close your eyes, tap into the ichor within you, bring forth all that you are." In other words, release the warrior within me. I closed my eyes and blocked out everything else for a moment in time. Within my mind came the memory of the first time this warrior within me took over. It had been on the first day of school last year. Just hours before I had met Ariston for the first time at the Stables and he was all I could think about. I sat next to Aaron on that bench, back when we were still together. When I stood up, I took one step and felt what I now know is a

Shadow approaching. All of my training that I had been receiving through my dreams for the past seventeen years since my birth all came into play, and for a few seconds in time I went from a seventeen year old equestrian attending her last year of high school, to a warrior who had been trained to fight Shadows since her birth. Of course I never faced the Shadow that day, moments later I had felt a strong burst of light. A month later I found out that that light, my protector, was none other than Ariston, the god I intend to marry. But now my protector, my love, my future husband, my Ariston, has been kidnapped by the Nameless One and is being held somewhere and tortured. I shivered once at the thought of what they might be doing to him and opened my eyes, looking at Cronus who was watching me. "I can't." I whispered. "You can." He said to me. "For Ariston." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again, focusing all my emotions into a single purpose as Ennina had taught me. I took everything I felt, my love for Ariston, my fear for him, my hatred of the Nameless One and his Shadows and every other emotion swirling around me and focused it. I felt the light begin to grow within me, I felt the warrior come forth as my hands grew hotter and my senses expanded. When I opened my eyes I was something more, a stronger being, the warrior I was always meant to be. "Lets do this." I said, cocking my handgun. It all happened so quickly that most of it seemed a blur. My small unit took out the guards at the rear entrance with ease, knocking them out with the tranq darts. Cronus went in first with me behind him, we were stealthy, quitter than a mouse. We took out three more men with ease, they did not even have time to call out before we tranqed them. The rest was a blur of madness. All three teams converged on twenty men in a large room, most of which had women on their laps who looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but where they were. They were doing and making drugs, just about every kind you could imagine. We took them by surprise, but they got a few rounds off before we could tranq them all. Cronus pulled me out of the way just as a bullet zinged by where my head had been. All in all, the whole fight seemed too easy and part of that was because there was not a single Shadow there, except for the ones in those low life's dark souls. But the raid was not in the least a waste of time. It turned out that these horrible men were not only growing and dealing drugs, they were trafficking women and girls. We found thirty of them shut up within a crate not far off. They were dirty, hungry and scared, and to my shock, one of the women was dead. The dead body was taken away and the women and girls were brought back where our base was set up and given hot food and drinks along

with warm blankets. The men were put into a cell of Ennina's creation not far from our camp and guarded. I walked around afterwards, looking at the women as they stuffed themselves with food. I could only imagine what these women had been through I did not want to imagine. Ennina and Kallisto went around talking to the women, telling them all over and over again that they were safe. It took a while for it to sink in for them, but when it did, each one of them cried in relief. I would have talked to the women as well but I did not know what to say. What do you say to someone who has gone through something like that? Ennina walked up to me where I was sitting a while later and handed me a bowl of food. I shook my head. "Please, eat." Ennina said. "I cannot after what I have seen." I told her. She nodded in understanding. "The men are soon to awaken. It is time you witnessed a judging." Ennina said and I nodded. "Ladies." Ennina spoke up and everyone turned to her. "I know you have all been through hell and that is putting it mildly, but I can give each of you justice. If you would like to witness the judging of those men who held you captive and harmed you, then please, come with me." Most of the women got to their feet, but there were a few who still looked too shaken to move, like something had died inside of them. My heart ached for them, I wished there was something I could do for them. I followed Ennina along with the other women out to the prison they had set up. "Awaken." Ennina said in a low voice and all of the men began to stir. They looked around and when they saw Ennina and the others they began shouting, warning her to let them out. They were like caged animals, wild and vicious. Ennina only watched them, though I saw the women cower back. "Silence!" Ennina said and suddenly, no sound came from them even though their lips moved furiously. Their voices were gone. Ennina waited until they had calmed down before she spoke again. "I know the evil within each of you." Ennina said. "I have seen it, I have experienced it, I have fought against it and won. But not everyone is so lucky as I have been, and by how

you each turned out, I am guessing that you did not have the support that I had from those I love. "None of you were born like this, you were not always evil, you were made this way, you accepted that darkness into your souls because it gave you a kind of freedom from the pain. At some point or another, you found that the best way to protect yourselves from being hurt was to hurt others first. I am truly sorry for everything that each of you have been through to become so hateful, to welcome a Shadow into your soul just for relief." It was clear that before her, she did not see monsters, she saw men who have made the wrong choices in their lives because they were unloved, because they were hurt by those they trusted the most. Only the unloved hate, the unloved and the unnatural. Charlie Chaplin said those words in his famous speech at the end of his movie The Great Dictator, and they could not be more true. "Everyone deserves redemption, to find peace." Ennina continued, her voice soft. "But some of you have committed crimes far too great and horrific for you to be allowed to continue on with the lives that you have been given." "I am sure that none of you know who I am." Ennina said. "My name is Ennina, though if any of you know mythology, you will know me as Athena or Minerva. I am a mother, a wife, a sister, an aunt, a niece, a daughter, a goddess and a queen. You may not guess it, but I have been through more than most of you in the thousands of years that I have lived. I have witnessed the evil mortals are capable of, but I have also witnessed your goodness, your compassion and your love for one another. I and my family are working to bring that back to this race, to bring you peace and show you a better way. To show you the way things were and the way they can be again. Now, it is time that you are judged." Ennina walked up to them where they clutched at the bars and looked each of them in the eyes in turn. "Guilty." She said to the third man in the row and he suddenly dropped dead. "Guilty." She also pronounced the forth and fifth man, they also dropped dead, much to the shock of their companions. "How is she doing that?" I asked Cronus, who stood beside me. "She is shutting down their nervous systems," Cronus said in a low voice. "A human nervous system controls everything that happens in a human body, their organs stop working, their heart stops pumping and within moments their souls leave their bodies." I went back to watching Ennina. She judged all fifty-one men, only twenty of them she allowed to live, the others died on the spot. The bodies inside the prison were teleported out, I could not have said where they went. Ennina looked at the remaining men, they were truly scared now.

"Each of you have a being of darkness within you known as a Shadow," Ennina said. "To purge you of this Shadow will be a pain beyond belief, but it will free you of your hate. But know that if you choose life, the purge will be the easy part. You will have to live with everything you have done and everything that has been done to you. So I give you each a choice, death and what awaits you in the pits of Tartarus or in Asphodel, or a new life if you survive the purge." She looked at them and as they watched her there was an audible gasp as she began to glow a golden light, showing her truest form to these creatures of darkness. Her sky blue eyes shined through from her golden form, she was stunning, beautiful. "Do you believe me now?" She asked them and the mute prisoners nodded in amazement. "Just as I am a being of light, what is inside of you is a being of darkness. While I and others of my kind heal, the Shadows bring pain and suffering. You may speak now." "GGoddess." One of the prisoners stuttered. "What have you chosen? Death or the purge?" Ennina asked. "Death." He said. "The things I have done cannot be forgiven, even by you." "As you wish." She said. "May you find more peace in your next life." "There will be a next life?" He asked. She smiled and nodded. "Once your soul is restored, once you have lived out your sentence in Tartarus. It is a hell of hells, worse than any prison you can imagine. Are you certain this is the path you wish to take?" Ennina asked. "Yeah." He said and Ennina nodded. "Prepare." Ennina spoke to my unit and they drew their bows, their arrows were adamantine, the white metal glowing faintly blue in the night. The spell of a Decimator was carved into each arrow, only a Decimator or the light within me can kill a Shadow. Ennina looked down at the man she had spoken to and a moment later his body went limp, his eyes rolling back into his head as he fell dead to the ground. A moment later a dark mist began to rise from his body. I had seen a Shadow before, but the sight was still as terrifying. They were as tall as a man, their bodies made completely out of solid darkness. Instead of hands, three claws made of wisps of darkness grew from each arm. Their mouths could open up twice as large as normal and their teeth are like razors, like a piranha's teeth. But the worst part of them were their eyes that were somehow darker than they are, like black holes that promised to suck all light into them. Before the creature even had the chance to stand, nine arrows went through it and it screamed in its awful voice as it became nothing more than ordinary darkness.

"Life, I choose life goddess!" Another man spoke. "I will do anything, just please let me live." "The purge is more painful than you can imagine." Ennina warned and I shuttered once, remembering what it felt like when that Shadow tried to bond with Ariston's soul. There is no way to describe that pain. "You may not live through it. Are you certain this is what you want?" "Yes, please." He begged. Ennina nodded. A bright light surrounded the man and he disappeared from within the prison and appeared laying on the ground in front of Ennina. He looked up at her in shock. "Stay still." She said to him as she placed her hands over him and his body began to hover off of the ground until the man was a foot from her hands as she stood. "Light as a feather, stiff as a board." Cronus whispered and I smiled a bit at the joke. Ennina closed her eyes and her hands began to glow, that light flowing within that man. His eyes went wide and his back arched in midair, he opened his lips to scream, but no words came out, he could not make a sound through the pain. I looked away, remembering all to well what it felt like when they had tried to bind a Shadow to Ariston's soul. Tear welled in my eyes when the man began to scream bloody murder, in that moment I felt a warm granite-like hand take mine. I clutched onto Cronus' hand and moved closer to his side. Cronus turned me towards him and let go of my hand only to place both of his hands over my ears, blocking out the sound of that mans screams completely as I looked up into his eyes. "It is alright." Cronus lips moved and I although I could not hear the words, I could read his lips easily enough. It was a while more before Cronus finally removed his hands, and when he did, the screaming had stopped completely. After a moment I looked over to where Ennina knelt over the man who was now lying on the ground. Ennina ran her hand over the mans still wide eyes and closed them with a sigh. She nodded to two Descendants and they carried the mans body away. Ennina made the same offer to the rest of the prisoners that she made to the first two. Most of them chose death, but seven of them chose the purge. However, only three of those seven survived the purge. Cronus put his hands over my ears every time Ennina purged one of the men, I was thankful that he did. After it was done, Ennina spoke to the three remaining men that had survived the purge and I watched and listened.

"What I have given you tonight is the chance for a new and better life," Ennina said. "I have seen your sins and you survived the purge. You chose life, which is the harder option, the more difficult one than death. Even though the Shadow is no longer within you, you still have to find a way to make peace with everything you have done in your lives. If you turn yourselves over to the police and confess to your crimes, it will be your first step in turning over a new leaf, you will feel more honest for having done so." After talking to them more, each man decided to give himself over to the law and face the sentence for their crimes. After the men were taken away, Ennina gathered the women together and spoke to them all. "I know what you all have been through," Ennina said softly. "I myself went through something of the sort long ago. I can bring you each peace." "Will you kill me?" One woman asked hopefully. Ennina smiled softly and shook her head. "No my dear," She told her. "Death is not the only way to find peace." Ennina walked up to the woman who spoke and kissed her forehead, the goddess's eyes were closed and the woman closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks and a smile came to her lips. When Ennina pulled back to look at the woman, there was a visible change within her. The woman held her head higher, her smile shined brighter and her eyes shimmered with untold gratitude and joy. She looked as if she had been brought back to life. "Thank you, goddess." The woman said, crying now. Ennina hugged her and the woman hugged her back. "I will never forget what you have done for me," The woman said. "Until the end of my days I will tell all I meet of the goddess who saved my body and my soul." Ennina smiled to the woman as she released her from her embrace. The same thing happened with each woman, Ennina would kiss their foreheads, bringing them peace, and then the women would smile and hug the goddess. The women and girls looked at Ennina like a mother, they loved her, they worshiped her. "My friends here will see you all safely home." Ennina said. As everyone began to clear out, I saw John Alexander standing there with a look that was something between shock and awe on his face. His wintergreen eyes still stunned. I walked over to him. "Now you know what we are fighting against." I said to him. "These creatures are no joke and their master has the man I love." "So your fianc is" He could not seem to get the word out.

"A god, a son of Zeus." I told him. "And I am a Descendant of the Twelve Olympian's." John was still in shock. "I know that it is a lot to take in." "I am a Christian." He said. "But I cannot deny what I just saw." "Think of us as angels, if it helps." Ennina said from behind him, he spun around to face her. "I thought you should know the truth, to know what we are fighting against and what you are helping us in. You are a good and trustworthy man after all." "I have seen what you have done here tonight," He said. "And I cannot deny the wonder in it but I do not know if I can go against my religion and worship you." "We do not ask for worship." Ennina said. "We just want to free this race from the evil that is slowly consuming it, and to bring forth a peace that will last for a thousand years." "You are like Christ." John said. "Are you the second coming?" "In a way, I suppose." Ennina said. "I am far older than Jesus, I knew him during his life." "You knew him?" He asked, truly moved. "What was he like?" "He had this way about him, such a wonderful kindness," Ennina said with a smile. "He had such a way with others. He was a great man and I was honored to know him." John looked at Ennina in wonder then held out his hand. Ennina smiled as she placed her hand in his and he kissed it then looked at her. "You are a divine being," He said. "To meet you is an honor and it is an even greater honor to be able to help you in any way that I can. I would say that I would name my daughter after you, but my wife is carrying a son." "How is Katie?" Ennina asked. "You know my wife's name?" He asked. "Of course," Ennina said. "I am a goddess of knowledge." "She is doing great," He said with a smile. "She will never believe what I witnessed tonight, no one will." "In time they will." She said. "The time is coming where we will no longer hide the fact of our existence. If you like, I would be happy to visit you and your wife sometime and prove what you have seen to her." "It would be an honor to have you in our home." He said. "You are all welcome."

"Thank you," Ennina said. "You should go home to your wife now." He nodded and began to walk off before he turned back and looked at Ennina. "The men you" He said. "Took care of. Did they deserve it?" "Far more than you could ever imagine." Ennina said. "When I looked into their eyes, I saw their entire lives. I saw what made them into the monsters they were, and I saw the good they did as well as the evils they committed. I weighed the good against the bad and came to my judgment, but that does not mean I enjoyed it." John nodded and walked away. "My queen," Said Christopher. "What are we going to do with all the drugs?" "Burn them." Ennina said. "I will make certain the fire does not spread."

I sat on top of a large metal shipping crate in the distance, watching the warehouse be consumed in flames. I could hear the fire trucks in the distance as they rushed here. The drugs would be destroyed by now, and I was sure that Ennina was filtering them out of the flames so that they would not harm the atmosphere. "You did well my lady." I turned at the sound of the voice to see Jason Gray, the immortal I met only this morning sitting beside me, watching the flames in the distance. "How did you know I was here?" I asked. "I simply followed your trail," He said. "Burning down a building is not exactly discrete." "I do not care." I told him. "Let the Nameless One know I am coming. Let him know that Pandora's granddaughter is coming for the man she loves, that she is coming for vengeance." "You are brave to speak such words." He said. "I have little left to be scared of." I told him. I could feel his eyes on me, I turned to look at him and he looked into my eyes, his pale blue eyes searching. "What?" I asked him. "You are not going to stop are you?" He asked. "Not even when you get that god back."

"How can I?" I asked him. "You must know the evils in this world. It is my destiny to stop them, to save this world and the race of men. It is my duty and I will not turn my back on these people, even if it should cost my own life." "You would risk your life for this? For these mortals?" He asked. "In a heartbeat." I told him. "Why?" he asked. "Why would you risk yourself for mortals you do not even know?" "Because it is the right thing to do." I told him, looking into his eyes. "Surely you must see that." "Don't call me Shirley." He said. And I cracked half a smile. "You have watched Airplane." I stated. "It is a good movie." He said and I gave half a smile. "Do you ever truly smile anymore?" He asked. "What is the point?" I asked. "The man I love has been taken from me and is being tortured. The world is in chaos. This place was not the only of its kind. How can mortals do such things?" I asked. "They should be stronger than the Shadows." "They are only human after all." Jason told me. "They are weak when it comes to temptation." "Not all of them." I told him. "I have seen the strength within humans, they could over come the Shadows if they only knew how." "You truly believe that?" He asked. "Yes." I told him. "Do you not see that this is the right course of action? That these evils must be stopped at all cost?" He smiled a bit and looked down. "It is not so simple as that for me." Jason said. "It could be." I told him. "It is a choice, pure, plain and simple." "I see that." He told me. "But some choices are more difficult than others." "I can understand that." I told him. "But what is right is rarely easy, and what is easy is rarely right." He looked into my eyes, searching again. "It seems you have company, I should be going." Jason told me a moment later. "Until next time my lady."

I nodded and he vanished before my eyes, becoming invisible. I heard a sound and I looked up to see a hawk flying above me, gipping something in its talons. To my surprise, it slowly flew lower and lower until it flew right beside me, leaving what was in its talons next to me as it flew off again. I looked down and to my surprise, it was a plate of food. I could not have been more confused. I heard few more squawks in a row, it almost sounded as if it were laughing. I watched in amazement as the hawk flew right towards me and stopped a few feet from my face as it flapped its large wings in midair. To my shock, the hawks eyes were a very familiar bright pale green. My eyes went wide. "Cronus?" I asked in shock. The bird started squawking again as it turned its body and flew right beside me and as it did so, the bird turned into golden light as its shape shifted into the familiar form of Cronus. He was laughing as he sat beside me, I was still in shock. "For give my laughing," He said. "The look on your face is quite priceless." I pushed his arm in annoyance and he just continued laughing as he reached over my lap and picked up the plate on the other side of me and placed it on my lap. It was filled with about five stuffed blueberry pancakes with ambrosia, that wonderful golden fruit, sliced up on the side. I looked at Cronus, he was still smiling a wide even smile. I smiled, not being able to help it and shook my head. "You too?" I asked, talking about the food. "You need to eat Mera." He said to me. "I am not hungry." I said, he sighed. "You are going to eat this anyways." He said. "Even if I have to spoon it to you myself." "I am not hungry." I said again. "I already ate dinner." "That was almost twelve hours ago. Have you not noticed that you are losing weight?" He asked, worry clear in his tone and his face. "I eat." I said. "Not enough." He told me. "You are too thin, your metabolism is five times that of a normal mortal your age, which means you need to eat five times as much. Your body is eating away at itself to survive. You may not think you are hungry, but you are. Now eat."

I sighed and decided to give in before he began force-feeding me. I took a bite and closed my eyes at the taste. I had not noticed that I was so thin, but as I looked at my hands as I ate, I saw how boney they were. It is just hard to think about food at a time like this, I never seem to know that I am hungry until I taste or smell food. I finished off whatever had been on my plate before I knew it. "Is there more?" I asked, he smiled like he had just won some big victory and nodded. "Back at your parents house." He told me. "Your father made food, and a lot of it." "He is still up?" I asked in surprise. "It is nearly morning." "He wanted to know how everything went, he is waiting for us." Cronus said, holding out his hand. I smiled a bit and placed mine in his. "Thank you," I said to him. "I could not have gotten through tonight without you there." "I do not believe that." He said. "You are stronger than you know Mera." Cronus teleported us while holding my hand and we arrived in my parents kitchen where my father was still cooking, though he looked tired. He smiled when he saw me and came right over to hug me. "I am so glad you are safe." He said as he held me, kissing my head. "I am fine." I told him. "Ariston was not there, but the night was not a waste." "I am glad to hear it." He said. "Mera, come and eat." Cronus said nonchalantly. My father and I let go of each other and I looked at Cronus to see him at the table. He had prepared a huge plate for me and one for himself as well. I sat next to him at the dinner table and dove into the delicious food. "Where is Ennina?" I asked Cronus. "She has a few loose ends to tie up," He said. "She will return in a few hours." I nodded and continued eating, Cronus would glance at me every now and then with a smile, clearly grateful to see that I was eating. Cronus made certain that I ate another two plates of food since except for what he brought me, I had not eaten since dinner last night. For whatever reason, Cronus felt the need to walk me upstairs and to my bedroom door.

"I am quite certain that Ennina did not mean for you to stay by my side for the rest or forever, just for the fight." I told him. "Something is bothering you." He said. I sighed and nodded towards my room, I did not want my father hearing the conversation. Cronus followed me inside and I closed the door and sat on my bed. "Do you know who she was?" I asked him. He sighed and sat next to me on my bed. He knew I was talking about the woman who we were too late to save. "Her was name Edna Wilson." He told me. "She lived in San Francisco. She has two distant friends and no living family to speak of. They usually take people like that, those who will not be missed." Tears came to my eyes. She was a woman, a human being. She should not have had to be alone, no one should have to be alone. "If it is any consolation, I have it on good authority that she is now in Elysium, reunited with her dearly departed." "I am glad to hear that her soul is well." I told him, he nodded. "I understand what Ariston meant when he said that this life takes a toll on you. I do not think that I will ever be able to forget her face or everything else I have seen tonight." "This life has its rewards as well as its horrors." He told me. "It is not an easy path to walk, that of a god. You do not want to know the things I have seen." I looked down at his hand that sat so close to mind. I held his hand as I had hours before, right before we began the assault. I liked holding his hand, the warmth of his skin reminded me of Ariston in a way that made my heart throb and brought a smile to my lips at the same time. I looked up into Cronus' eyes. "Another tortured soul." I said, speaking of him. "I am sorry for what you have been through and witnessed, even though I am oblivious to most of it." He smiled. "The joys in my life have far outweighed the pains." He said. "I have been blessed with two wonderful and loving wives and many extraordinary children. Not to mention my parents and siblings and other family members. You want to know something?" He asked and I nodded. "I would not trade my life and all that has happened for the world. It made me who I am. Follow your heart, let your soul guide you, give your all to your every endeavor, love with all your soul, keep your balance and you will feel the same way in a few thousand years." I looked down at our hands. I was not even entirely certain that I would live through the month, never mind into the next thousand years. There was always the chance that if I was not immortal, the Nameless One might want to destroy my soul just for good measure. I worried about leaving Ariston and Kallisto alone. At least Kallisto has Aaron but who will Ariston have if I die?

"What is wrong?" Cronus asked me, gently lifting my chin when I would not look into his eyes. "Nothing." I lied, but he did not call me on it. "I just need a hot shower, a conversation with Ariston and a good nights sleep." Cronus rose from my bed and I let his warm hand slide out of my own. "Sleep well Mera." He said with a kind smile, I returned his smile and he left my room. I closed my eyes and connected to Ariston, mentally conversing with him while I showered. I dried off and stumbled into my room, still thinking to Ariston. The sun had risen so I closed my drapes and my door then laid in my bed. Are you alright? Ariston asked. I just miss you more than I can say, I told him with tears in my eyes. Last night was a lot to take. I laid in my bed on my front, pretending that Ariston was laying beneath me with his arms around me. Can you feel me lying on your chest right now? I asked him. Yes my beautiful love, He told me. I feel you so closely it hurts. I fell you right underneath me, I can feel your arms around me, I told him. Can you feel me caressing your arms and moving your hair out of the way? He asked, I nodded with tears in my eyes, I could feel it so easily. Yes, I whispered. Can you feel me kissing your chest? I can feel you removing my shirt as you do so, He said and my smile grew as my heart rate increased. Can you feel my hands on your body? Yes, I told him. I can feel you kissing my neck as you undress me. I wish we could do more than just talk about this. I will have to see what I can do about that, He said and I laughed. I brought his shirt to my nose and inhaled as I thought to him. What is that? Ariston asked, seeing through my eyes. The last shirt you wore, the one you took off when you changed right before you left, I told him. By some miracle the nymphs did not wash it, so it still smells like you.

I do not want you to be so alone, He said to me, his soul aching at the thought. I would rather be alone than be with anyone else but you, I told him. There is no replacement for you, you are it, my soul mate. We only get one of those. But that does not mean you will not love anyone else, He told me. You know how I loved Elianna and she was not my soul mate. Ariston, I began. Please, just hear my words, He pleaded with me. I know that you hurt, I know how alone you feel, I have been there. If you develop feelings for someone during our separation, I am asking you to not deny that to yourself. If you love another man, know that I will not be upset so long as he makes you happy. I could never love anyone but you, I told him. I know it can seem like that, He said. But there is nothing wrong with loving someone else, so long as he is a good man, someone who will love you and take care of you. You are speaking like you are never coming home, I thought to him as tears ran down my cheeks. I have to be realistic about this, He told me as my throat constricted further. I do not know if I will get out of here alive, and if I die, I cannot stand the thought of you sacrificing yourself because you have nothing left to live for. "No," I said suddenly, getting off of my bed and looking into my mirror with a determined look. "You listen to me you wonderful god. I love you, I am going to find you and bring you back home alive, and I will be faithful to you, no if's and's or but's." I could feel him smile. "I love you." His words came from my lips and made me smile. "I love you." I told him. We talked for a while more as I laid in bed. I knew that what I did tonight made a difference and that gave me some peace. I kept thinking to Ariston for as long as I could before I fell asleep.

Jason Gray's Point Of View

I looked down on Mera as she slept, wondering if she knows how beautiful she is, if that god she says she loves ever tells her how extraordinary she is. I thought back on her words when I found her yesterday in the park. "If you loved someone like that, would you give up? Would you let go?" She asked. "Never." I told her, barely able to control my feelings for her. In that moment, I wanted more than anything to kiss her and tell her how much I love her. Could she know? Could she remember all that we were to each other so long ago? I could only wonder. She does not seem to remember me, but the waters of Lethe have the power to make you forget. When I am with her, the darkness within me goes away, I become someone different, a better man than I ever thought I could be. Yes, I love her, I have loved her since I first met her when she took pity on me all those years ago, when she saw goodness within me when everyone else saw only hate, only evil. She showed me another way, gave me hope for a better life, only to be taken away from me shortly after. For years beyond count, I have searched for her since she has been reborn, but every time I find her, they take her away from me again. Mera turned over and smiled although she was clearly still asleep. I wondered if she could feel my presence, if I was what was making her smile. That thought brought a smile to my lips, I used to make her smile. "Ariston." She whispered in her sleep and the smile slid from my face, a miserable feeling coming over me, the same feeling I have felt since I found out she has fallen in love with another in this life. She was dreaming of him, dreaming of him made her smile, not my presence. Everything within me ached for her, if she only knew how long I have waited to be in her arms, to taste her again. Does she even want that anymore? Does she want me? But more importantly could she want me after all I have done? The thought that what I have done may have changed her feelings for me, that she might hate me, reject me I do not think I could stand her looking at me that way, seeing a monster instead of the god who loves her. It would shatter what little good is left within me. I had to admit that that actually scared me, I was more afraid of her not loving me anymore than I was of anything. I was scared of what I would turn into if I lost all hope for her affection. "If you only knew how much I love you." I just barely whispered to her. "I will not give up, you will be mine. I will not stop until we will are together as we are meant to be, I swear this to you my beloved."

She moved and made a mumbled sound at my whisper and with one last look at that beautiful woman who holds my soul and all hope for my future, I teleported out.

Mera's Point Of View

In the past five days we have raided four different sites, only two of them were holding immortals and none of those immortals were Ariston. Thankfully, every night I have been able to connect with Ariston, that was one of the few things getting me through this. I walked up to my bedroom, just wanting a hot shower and a good nights sleep. I went into my room and closed the door behind me as I took off my dirty shirt and bra while looking for my robe. I took turned around and gasped, my hands flying up to cover myself. "What are you doing here?" I asked, startled out of my wits and a bit outraged to see none other than Jason Gray sitting on my bed, looking me over. "I found something I thought you would be interested in." He said. "Especially since you did not find Ariston or so much as one immortal or Descendant during your raid tonight." "How did you know that?" I asked, temporarily forgetting I was topless. "As I told you before," He said with a smile. "I have eyes everywhere." His eyes ran over my body again as he spoke. "Get off my bed." I commanded him. "And turn around." "As you wish, my lady." He said as he rose to his feet with a look in his eyes and turned his back to me. I quickly found a shirt and put it on. "What did you find?" I asked him, he turned around to face me again. "A den of Shadows." He told me. "Where?" I asked. "Colorado." He told me. "A city called Colorado Springs as it turns out." "How did you find it?" I asked. "It is clear for anyone who knows what to look for." Jason told me. "People disappearing, fights erupting, crimes becoming more frequent." "Is Ariston there?" I asked, hoping, praying.

"I cannot be certain." He told me. "But the word is that they are holding Descendants there, along with a few immortals." "Thank you." I told him with a small smile. He stood there looking at me, smiling when I looked into his eyes from time to time. He has a way about him that makes me anxious, I could not explain why. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" He asked. "I am just tired." It was only half a lie. "Of course." He said. "Forgive me, I shall leave you too your slumber." There was an intense longing clear in his eyes and I saw him glance at my lips. I could feel my cheeks burning and I was embarrassed by that, but that only made them burn more. I was about to ask him to leave when he held out his hand. I placed my hand in his and he held it for a moment longer than he should have before he let it go and disappeared in a pale gold light. That light made me wonder if he was telling the truth about being nothing more than an immortal. Immortals essences are golden, not pale gold. I shook the thought off, being too tired to think on it more. I took a nice long shower and, after drying off, I put on a dark blue nightgown that just barely reached my thighs with lace here and there. I knew that blue is one of Ariston's favorite colors and I knew he would enjoy seeing me in this piece of lingerie. I got changed and laid in bed in my silk nightgown. All I could think about was Ariston, I closed my eyes, reached out with my soul, and there he was. Give me a minute, He thought to me. Alright, I replied and he disconnected from me. I sat there, waiting for Ariston to connect to me. I had to feel him again, I needed to hear his voice within my mind. There was a knock at my door a few minutes later. I sighed, not in the mood to deal with whoever was on the other side of that door. I tried to stay quiet, perhaps whoever was there would go away if they thought I was asleep. But to my dismay, they knocked again. "Just a moment." I said as I slipped on a blue silk robe. What I was wearing was for Ariston's eyes alone. I opened it and saw Cronus standing there shirtless, I had to admit that he had a great body, but there was something different about his eyes, there was a look in them I could not understand. He was looking at me in a way that he would look at Ennina or Sif, as if he were completely in love with me and had not seen me for decades.

"Cronus?" I asked. "Mera." He said, tears came to my eyes as I looked up at him in shock. I knew what was so strange about his eyes now, it was because it was not Cronus looking through them. "Ariston?" I asked, my heart pounding. He took me into his arms and kissed my lips in response. Cronus had held me before, this was not Cronus, this was Ariston who held me in his arms and my flesh soon felt like it was on fire, a wonderful sensation that I have not felt since the last night we spent together. I held him closer and kissed him in return, tears of joy ran down my face as I felt Ariston's lips on mine. We continued to kiss as he came in and shut the door behind us, our hands were all over each other. Ariston undid the tie at my waist and slid his hands under my robe and around my back to hold me closer as a moan escaped my lips. He slid my robe off my shoulders and I let it fall to the floor before quickly wrapping my arms around him again, feeling his too warm perfect skin. He picked me up in his arms and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he held me close and kissed my neck. I moaned and he laid me down on my bed, his hands on my thighs and his body on top of mine while trying desperately to get what I was wearing out of the way. It was only then that I realized that it was Cronus' body, though Ariston was controlling him as I allow him to control me when we connect. "Wait." I whispered. Ariston pulled back and I could have sworn that I was looking into his sky blue eyes through Cronus' bright pale green ones. Our breathing was harsh, our souls burning for each other. I was trembling at having him so close. I looked at him, it was Cronus' face that looked back at me, Cronus' hands that were on my hips, Cronus body that hovered hungrily over mine, but the eyes that looked back at me and the expression on that handsome face belonged to Ariston. I felt him, I felt the connection between us, but I could also feel a bit of Cronus in there with him. "What?" Ariston asked breathlessly in Cronus' voice, but with Ariston's tone. "What about Ennina and Sif?" I asked. "What about Cronus?" "Cronus gave me permission to use his body tonight, he is still here, but he is trying to give us some privacy." Ariston told me. "And Ennina and Sif gave their consent. If you are comfortable with this, then I fully intend on making love to you tonight." As I looked up into his eyes and knew I could not waste this opportunity, this gift. "I have not taken the seed." I told him, speaking of the immortal form of birth control.

For half a moment, I wondered if this would be the best way to get pregnant. But I was too uncertain if the child would be Cronus' or Ariston's, and I had to have hope that Ariston and I would be reunited, that we would conceive our children after we were married. Ariston smiled and showed me a seed in between his fingers. I opened my mouth and he placed it on my tongue. I chewed it and swallowed, he leaned down and kissed me again as we went to work quickly removing what little we both wore I laid on his chest as he held me and I looked into his eyes. I have not been this at peace or this happy since I went to him that night at his house in Italy, the night before he disappeared. "How long can you stay for?" I asked him. "A little while longer." He told me, caressing my cheek. His thumb tracing my lips. I captured his lips with my own and kissed him deeply. "Make love to me again." I told him as I moved to sit on his lap and he sat up so that our torsos were flush as our arms wrapped around each other. He nuzzled my neck and we let out a moan

I woke up with Ariston's perfect naked body cuddled behind mine, his arm wrapped around my waist. I sighed and smiled as I closed my eyes again, remembering last night and all its wonders. I placed my hand over his and laced our fingers together, tears of joy rolling down my cheeks. I felt him awaken and smiled as his arm tightened ever so slightly around my waist as he moved a bit closer to me. "I love you my Ariston." I said to him softly, leaning back against his chest slightly to be even closer to him. His body stopped all motion, he could have been a perfectly carved sculpture laying behind me. "Mera?" He said, I turned my head with a smile on my lips and looked into his eyes. The smile slid from my face as I realized that it was not Ariston's eyes I was looking into. "Cronus?" I asked. "Yes." He answered. "Oh." I said. There was an awkward moment where we were both frozen realizing we were naked together and holding each other so close. He removed his arm from my waist and moved away from me, his face blushing a bit golden. I pulled the sheet up to cover my nakedness and he got out of my bed and looked

for his pants. I looked the other way, he did have a great body, one that was quite like Ariston's, and after last night my heart began to beat faster at the direction my thoughts had taken. "I will see you at breakfast." He said to me. I nodded and he left my bedroom in sleeping pants. I laid there in my bed and thought over every sweet and insanely passionate moment of last night. Ariston has never been quite like that with me before, he could not seem to control himself like he usually does, and I was just as wild with him, all my built up longing and desire were poured into every movement. It may have been a bit different, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was Ariston within me, his touches are unmistakable. After showering I dressed and crept down the stairs, listing to the sounds of everyone at breakfast. I went out the front door as quietly as I could. I did not know what Cronus remembered of last night, or if he remembered any of it after he gave his body over to Ariston for the night. I do know that last night was wild and passionate, and I was embarrassed to say the least at the thought that Cronus might remember that side of me. Only Ariston has ever seen that side of me and I wanted to keep it that way. I walked to the barn, hoping for some time alone before I would have to face Cronus. Even if he did remember, I did not regret last night, not one beautiful moment of it. Being able to make love to Ariston again was worth any embarrassment or awkwardness it might cause between Cronus and myself. I smiled and blushed, last nights events still so fresh in my mind. I almost forgot how good it feels to make love to Ariston. I could hear my father humming when I was five hundred feet away from the barn. I smiled, he has never been the best of singers, but he picked up the habit of humming from my mother long ago and I enjoyed the sound. "Hi dad." I said as I entered. "Hello Mera." He called to me. I followed the sound of his humming to where he was cleaning a stall. I watched him work as I stood there. "Should I ask what all the commotion was about last night?" My father asked. I blushed and smiled. "Ariston visited me, through Cronus." I told him. My father was thoroughly confused. "Gods can go inside another's soul and control their actions if they allow it. Ariston came to Cronus and asked to borrow his body for the night." "Ah." Was all my father said. "Well you certainly kept your mother and I up." "Sorry." I said as my blush deepened. Ariston and I have never been quiet in our passions and I forgot to ask him to sound proof the room.

"Don't be." He said. "This is the first time I have seen your smile in months." "I am going to see Luna." I told him, he nodded. I walked to Luna's stall and she greeted me and I gave her a hug, her fur smelled wonderful, everything seemed more vivid this morning. "You would not believe what I did last night." I said to her as I stroked her face. "It was well worth it though." I smiled and I could feel that she was thankful to see me so happy. I rested my cheek against hers. My senses were more active since last night and so I felt Cronus walking into the barn before I saw or heard him. I took a deep breath, I can do this. I turned to see Cronus walking towards me with a smile carrying two large plates of full of breakfast. "Cronus." I said. "I thought you might be hungry." He said. "I do not want you starving in order to avoid me." "I am not avoiding you." I said to him. He raised an eyebrow. "So that is why you snuck out the front door and came out here instead of eating breakfast with your family?" He asked. "It is just," I began, not knowing how to word this. Cronus smiled as he came to a stop a few feet from me. "I am going to tell you something that Ennina told to me long ago." Cronus said. "This will only get awkward if we let it." I nodded. "Come and eat." I followed him over to a bail of hay were I sat next to him and he handed me a plate of breakfast. But as I dove into the delicious food, Cronus did not touch his plate. "You are not going to eat yours?" I asked, he smiled. "I already ate, this is for you." He said, speaking of the second plate. "I thought you might be hungry after last night." I blushed and looked away. "Forgive me, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, I was simply stating a fact." "I know." I told him. "It is just a bit odd the thought of being with another man." "It was not me you were with last night, that was all Ariston." He assured me. "So you do not remember?" I asked hopefully. He blushed, his face taking on a golden hew, as he smiled.

"No, I saw, and felt last nights events." He said and I blushed horribly. "This is completely embarrassing." I said to him. "Since I met Ariston, I thought that the only man who would ever know my body in such a way was going to be Ariston." "I am sorry this is difficult for you," He told me in all honesty. "But you should know that you have nothing to feel guilty for, and Ariston is not going to be upset with you for making love to him through me. It was his idea after all." "At least he did not ask Aaron." I said and Cronus laughed. "Even if he wanted to he could not have." Cronus said. "You see, Ariston can speak into your mind and merge with your soul because you two share the connection of soul mates. He does not have any such connection with Aaron, only Kallisto would have that because of the bond she shares with Aaron." "Do you know what I asked of Aaron?" I asked him a few moments later. "No." He told me. "I asked him to get me pregnant if something should happen and we should not find Ariston in time." I told him. "Pandora's line must go on. Last night I was tempted to try and have Ariston get me pregnant, but I did not know if the child would have been yours or his." "It would have been both of ours since our souls were mixed as they were." He told me. "Mera, if you are comfortable with it, I am willing for you and Ariston to conceive a child through me. At least in that way the child would be half his." "You would do that?" I asked. "Ennina and Sif would not mind?" He laughed. "I have had children with other women before, and we both know that this is more than that. I know how important it is for Pandora's line to continue, and with Ariston and I as your child's fathers, he or she will be more powerful and able to protect themselves better." Cronus told me. "And if something were to happen to Ariston, or to you, then the child would have me, her half father, to raise her." I had to admit that I liked the idea more than my original one. I know that Aaron will be a wonderful father and I trust him, but since there seems to be a way for my child to be Ariston's, even if only by half, I am going to take it. "I will have to talk to Ariston about that," I told him. "But if he agrees and your wives do not mind then if we do not find Ariston in two months time, I would like to do that. Your children are evidence enough that you are a good father, and I know you to be a good man." He smiled.

"I will have to tell Aaron that he is off the hook." I told Cronus and he laughed. "I have to thank you for last night, you do not know how I have been craving Ariston, it was driving me mad." "Believe me, I can understand that." He told me. "I know what it is like to love someone to the point of madness and beyond, and to lose them. Please do not take this the wrong way, but if you and Ariston should desire each other again, I am more than willing to lend myself." I blushed and nodded. "Thank you." Was all I could think of to say in that moment. "This is not going to make things awkward between us?" I asked. "Friends can make love and be only friends." He told me. "In many societies, sex is used as a bonding devise. Many whom are not madly in love do sleep together from time to time. And besides, it is not me controlling the actions, I am just along for the ride." I had to laugh at how he put it. Cronus laughed with me before leaning in and kissing my cheek. It surprised me that he did so, there was something more tender, more intimate about the way he was with me. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "This will make us closer, especially if we have a child together, but I would never dream of taking you away from Ariston. This can just be what it is, sex between two very good friends." He moved my hair out of the way and placed his hand on my neck. I felt his warmth seep into me as he healed the marks Ariston made last night. "Are you comfortable with that?" He asked. "Strangely enough, yes." I told him, my cheeks blushing from having him so close after last night. "Ariston used to do this every morning." I told him a few moments later. "Heal the marks that he made on my skin in passion." "He learned that from me." Cronus told me with that smile. "I taught him that trick when he was young so that he would not get caught." "So he was as bad as he claimed to be when it came to women?" I asked him. Cronus laughed. "Ariston was almost as bad as I was." He told me. "You?" I asked. He laughed. "I was the sort of man mothers warn their daughters about." He told me. "Not that I am proud of that fact." We talked for an hour or so as Cronus told me about his first love, a nymph by the name of Adresteia who gave him his eldest son Erastos when Cronus was just barely out of his teenage years. He would have married her, but fate had other ideas, and so they raised

their son together and are still good friends to this day. He also told me about his many escapades during his youth and when he and Ennina agreed to have an open marriage. He had to stop halfway through some of the stories because I was blushing so fiercely, he kept laughing at that and I found myself truly laughing with him. "You think that is bad, you should have seen Ariston as a boy." Cronus said, laughing. "Ariston already warned me if we should ever have a son." I told him and he laughed again. "And rightly so." He told me. "There is this one time he pulled a prank on my wife that to this day makes me laugh when I think about it. It was one of those times you had to be there. May I show you?" "Show me?" I asked. He smiled and placed his hand on the side of my face. Within my mind I could see his memory as clear as day. Ennina opened the door to a beautiful cottage. Cronus could not help admiring his wife's body as she walked ahead of him. He went in after her and closed the door behind them, then with a Poof, soot dropped all over them, covering Ennina's pure white dress in the black powder. Cronus could feel how shocked she was, that was when they heard the laughter. Cronus turned his head to see a ten-year-old Ariston doubled over laughing so hard he could barely breath. Looking at Ennina, covered in soot, Cronus could not help a few chuckles but one look from Ennina silenced him. "So you think that is funny do you?" Ennina asked Ariston who nodded his head because he could not speak from laughing. Ennina smiled to him and he suddenly stopped laughing as he looked at her. Ennina just kept smiling, as his eyes got wider. Cronus removed his hand from my face and I came back to the present. "That was amazing." I said to him. "What happened after that?" "Ariston learned the hard way that you do not mess with a war goddess." Cronus said, placing his hand on my face again. I saw an image of Ariston walking around in a rainstorm with a solemn look on his face. He began running and I soon realized that it was only raining on him from a small cloud that floated a foot above his head. Cronus removed his hand and he began laughing.

"That cloud followed him around for a month, never once did it stop raining on him, not even as he slept in his bed." He told me. "He never played another prank on my wife again." I laughed then began crying, wishing Ariston were here with me telling me this story from his youth. I rested my head on Cronus' shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me. "We are going to find him Mera." He said with such a calm certainty that I believed him. I nodded and clutched onto him as he kissed my forehead. Just then I remembered what Jason Gray told me last night. "I know where they are holding some of our people." I said to Cronus as he held me. "Colorado Springs, Colorado." "How did you come by this knowledge?" He asked. "An immortal named Jason Gray told me last night." I told him. Cronus pulled back to look into my eyes. "I have not heard his name before." Cronus said with puzzled look on his face. "I met him almost a week ago when I went on my ride with Luna in the snow storm." I told Cronus. "Jason showed up and we talked. He noticed my jade dragon bracelet and showed me his jade dragon ring, telling me that he is an immortal. When I saw him last night and he told me about this den of Shadows." "You trust him?" Cronus asked. "I do not know him enough to trust him," I told Cronus. "But I am not going to turn away any help we can get in finding Ariston." "I will look into this." Cronus told me and I smiled to him. "Thank you." I said.

Mistress Of The Shadows Point Of View

I put on a black lace nightgown that was scandalously short and slipped a black silk robe over that. I brushed out my black straight hair and looked over my pale beautiful reflection in the mirror. I did not always look like this. Even after all these thousands of years, the change in my appearance still surprises me from time to time. There are times when I expect to see my sun kissed skin and blond hair again, but that was gone along with the life I once had and no part of me wanted it back.

How could I want to go back to that with all that I have now? I am the Nameless Ones queen, together we rule over the Shadows. I daresay that I am even more powerful than Ennina herself. Yet still he wants more. How he can care for that girl when he has a goddess like me by his side is beyond me. Am I not as beautiful as she? Am I not as desirable? There was a time when I thought that I was everything to him, when he took me into arms and into his bed every opportunity he got. I enjoyed those days, I treasured them, but for the past few years things have not been near the same. My craving for him has not ceased no matter the changes within him, and tonight will be the night we finally make love again and reconnect I hoped. I have given him so much, but first and foremost was what I finally gave him nineteen years ago when I gave birth to something he has always wanted, an heir, in the form of a beautiful daughter. Her face is a mixture of myself and her father as it should be, she has our black hair and my pale skin and her fathers pale blue eyes. Once she gets over her childish antics, she will be worthy to stand at her father and I's side. I felt my daughter walk in a moment later. I looked at her from the reflection in the mirror, giving her a smile. "Going to see father?" My daughter asked, looking at what little I was wearing. I turned around and smiled. "Yes in fact." I told her. "Why aren't you with your husband at this hour? Surely he desires you." "He is drunk." She said. "And not kind to me by far." "But not a bad lover I hear." I said to her. "When he is sober." She said. "I cannot stand being around him when he is like this." I sighed, more of her childishness. "Hiding from him will only anger him further." I told her. "It is your duty as a wife to please him, to make him happy." If she were only more mature she would understand something so basic. "Then should it not be his duty as a husband to make me happy?" She asked. "Or at least treat me kindly?" "He would not be so cruel if you treated him better." I stated the fact. A look of outrage came over her face.

"Treat him better!" She yelled. "How dare you! You do not know how kind I have been to him, all the things I do for him! You should be taking my side! You are my mother!" "I am your mother, and you will not speak to me in that manor." I told her. I did not know where this insolence was coming from. "I should never have agreed to this marriage." She said. "This marriage was your fathers choice, not yours." I told her. "He chose his best commander, it was a smart match for his daughter. You are a princess after all." My daughter just looked at me, her eyes were watery. I wanted to roll my eyes at her ungratefulness. She was blessed to be born with all she had. She is the heir of the Nameless One, wife to his greatest commander and a powerful dark goddess. Yet she never even smiles, not even on her wedding day. I suppose she gets that sullenness from her father, it is rare that he is ever happy. "Why did I even come back?" My daughter asked. "I should have stayed at Blueridge or gone to the gods for assistance." "Do you truly think they would have helped the daughter of the Nameless One?" I asked her. "Zeus is his son as well," She said. "He is my brother by ichor, he would have helped me." "No child." I said to her softly. I walked up to her as she glared with tears in her eyes. "Zeus has more light in him than you do, he would have seen you as a threat and if you go to him now he will lock you away in Tartarus." "Mera would not let that happen." She told me. I did what I could to hide my anger at the name. This Mera should be dead already. Just because he has feelings for this girl does not mean she needs to live. "Nellena, do you truly think she would still be friends with you if she knew the truth about who you are?" I asked her. "You are a creature of darkness, whatever you do, you will never be able to escape what you are. It is best for you to just accept the truth." "Mera was the only true friend I ever had, the only person who cared about me, except for Hunter." She said. My hand flew out and slapped her across her pale cheek. "That is enough!" I commanded. "That is the last I ever want to hear about this Hunter or Mera Vandenberg ever again! Am I understood?" "Yes mother." She said darkly. I smiled to her and went to touch her cheek where I had hit her but she pulled away.

"Do not be angry with me child." I told her with a smile. "I only want what is best for you. You do not belong with the gods, you have too much darkness within you. You belong here with your father and I and the Shadows, they will be yours someday." "May I go?" She asked. "From this room yes, but not from this palace." I told her. She turned on her heal and left the room. I left through a different door and to my husbands bed. I laid down on the black silk and struck a pose as I waited for him. The lord and master of the Shadows, the once and future king of the gods, the Earth and its realms, entered soon after. "My king." I greeted him. He looked at me once with little interest then went to a table to remove his belongings. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "Is it not obvious?" I asked. He began unbuttoning his shirt. "I am tired tonight." He said. "What man gives such an excuse when a woman like me is half naked in his bed?" I asked. "One that does not desire you tonight." He said. "And what about what I desire?" I asked him. "You are upset. 'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.'" I quoted Shakespeare, hoping to get a smile from my king. I remembered all to well the times we would change our shapes and see a play by Shakespeare when the playwright was still alive some four hundred years ago. We had such fun when other gods would show up, we greatly enjoyed watching the play right under the nose of Ennina herself many times over. "Let me ease your burden my love." I said to him. "Not tonight." He said. I sighed and got up. "If you keep spurning me like this I may find myself in another's bed." I warned him. "If that is what you want, I will not stop you." He told me, it was not the answer I wanted. What I wanted was for him to rip off what little lace I was wearing, carry me to his bed and ravage me like he used to. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his pale body, kissing his shoulder.

"What troubles you?" I asked him. He looked at himself in the mirror as I rested my head on his shoulder to look at his reflection. "Do you ever get tired of this? Of hurting all these souls" He asked. "Do you ever find yourself wondering at the purpose of it all?" "If you have forgotten our purpose, then I will remind you." I told him. "Our purpose is to save the Earth and its realms. The mortals are polluting and destroying it, it is only through their destruction that this planet can be saved. The race of men is not worthy of the world that they have been given. You taught me that." "What if I was wrong?" He asked. "What if they have simply been misguided?" "If that is so, then when we come into the throne we will show them the way." I told him with a smile. "If they are lost it is because the gods have not been doing their job properly." "You are right." He said to me with half a smile. "I just cannot help wondering." "A king should wonder." I told him. "Do you think Zeus ever thinks over his decisions? He just does what he feels like, when he feels like it." "He is my son." He said. "If I had had the chance to raise him, things would have been different." "I know." I told him. "Nellena will do well when her time comes, and that is all because of the way you raised her." "I have made too many mistakes with her." He said solemnly. "I was uncaring and barely spent any time with her while she was growing up. She will never understand how much I love her, and it is too late to ask for her forgiveness, I do not deserve it. She will hate me, always." "She loves you," I told him. "She is still young, she does not understand why you have done the things you have done." "There are times when I myself do not understand the things I have done," He said softly. "Or the things I am doing." "Where is all of this coming from?" I asked him. He has not been himself for months. He has become soft, weak. "My mind is playing tricks on me it seems." He told me with a smile. "You should get some rest." "Kiss me first." I said to him.

He turned around in my arms and I began leaning up, waiting for a long kiss, the kind that would entice him enough to bring me to bed, but he only kissed my forehead then let me go. "I love you." I told him as he went towards his closet, he looked back at me with a sad smile. "You shouldn't." He told me softly. I took a deep breath then walked out of his bedroom. My sadness and anger brewed within me, and the Shadows within my soul magnified these feelings, making me want to kill the next thing that entered my sight. He is becoming weak, he has always been weak since he fell in love with her. He is oblivious to the fact that I even know of her existence, he does not know the times I have followed him when he goes to watch her. This fact alone, that he does not know, speaks magnitudes to how he has changed. It used to be that nothing ever escaped his notice. I cannot understand his obsession, how he could want her over me. I gave him my love, I gave him my soul and shared with him my body, I even gave him the child he wanted so badly, and yet still it is not enough for him, still he loves this girl who by all rights should be dead. If she takes him away from me, I will kill her myself.

Ariston's Point Of View

I sat there in my cold cell with a smile on my face, thinking over what it felt like to make love to Mera the other night. The warmth of her flawless skin, the taste of her, the way our bodies moved together and the sounds she made filled my mind. I could still see her hair falling like a curtain around us as we made love, her wonderful scent of raspberries and rainstorms filling my every breath. I could not control myself that night, I kept needing her to be closer, to feel more of her. I prayed I did not hurt her with my strength and passions, but if I did, she did not say so and the only time she cried out was in ecstasy. Her only request was for more, and I was all to happy to give her what she needed, what we both needed. The second time we made love that night was different. They were tender, sweet passions we shared instead of the frenzied, mad passions of the time before. I treasured that just as much, if not more. Yes, Cronus was there as well, I knew he was experiencing everything I was, but he never took over no matter how passionate it got, he never touched her. It was very respectful of him.

I spoke to Cronus last night. He gave me his word, his promise that he will take care of Mera while I am gone, that she would not be alone, and that if she should come to him seeking comfort, he had my permission to give it. It gave me some peace of mind, knowing that Mera would be protected and cared for while I am locked away here. Tonight I decided to surprise Mera. Instead of waiting for her to connect to me, I reached out to her first. Hello beautiful, I thought to her. "Ariston?" She asked out loud as I connected to her more to share her body. "Ariston?" Aaron and Kallisto asked at the same time, they were all eating dinner at Mera's parents house. "He is here." Mera said. "He can see you all." "Father?" I turned Mera's head at the sound of my daughters voice and tears came to my eyes when I looked upon her beautiful face. "Oh my daughter." I said to her. I stood up and walked over to her, wrapping my arms, Mera's arms, around my beautiful little girl. She cried as I held her. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I am alive and stronger than I have been in some time." I told her. "Thank the Moirae." She said. "How are you?" I asked her, pulling back enough to look into her eyes. "I am well," She said. "Aaron will not leave my side and Mera has been wonderful I have taken to calling her mother." "Mera told me about that." I told her with a smile. "I am so thankful that you two are so close." I kissed her cheek and hugged her again. "Ariston? You are truly in there?" I turned to look at George, Mera's father. "Yes, I am." I told him. I could see he was still shocked about this. "I am glad you are alive." George said after a moment. "So am I." I told him. "Where are you?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I do not know." I told him. "My cell is one of ice and there is little life around me, but I cannot pinpoint where I am." "Not that I am some kind of expert on this," George said. "But if you can connect to others like this, then couldn't they connect to you to find out where you are?" "It is not so simple as that George." Ennina said. "It is like passing through limbo to connect to someone who is being hidden. You feel lost, it is usually only if they are thinking of you that you can find your way to each other. Everything in between you and the god you are connected to does not exist, there is nothing but space and emptiness between the two of you." "That is too bad." George said. "Thank you for trying," I said to him. "It would have been a good idea." Marie walked up to me and hugged me. "I am thankful you are still alive," She said. "Come home to us soon." "I will try." I told her. After greeting the rest of my family and talking for a while with them, I wanted some time to speak with Mera in private before I would ask Cronus to borrow his body again. Mera said goodnight to everyone. "Goodnight Mera," Cronus said to her with a smile and to my surprise, she smiled to him and a warmth spread through her. She did not even seem aware of the way her body reacted to him, but I felt it. "Goodnight Cronus." She said to him, then turned and walked up the stairs. What was that about? I asked her curiously. What was what about? She asked. You and Cronus, I said and she blushed. It is nothing, She told me, then sighed. Things have just been different between he and I since you made love to me through him. I see, I said. Are you upset? She asked, she felt almost like she was betraying me by feeling something for him.

Not at all, I told her in all honesty, a smile on my lips and a bit of relief feeling me. Now it is my turn to ask why, Mera said as she shut her bedroom door behind her. Why are you relived? She asked, sitting on her bed. Because you feel something for him, I told her. I do not feel that, She told me. You are the one I love my Ariston, you are what I have chosen. I do not want him like that. I smiled at the sincerity in thoughts. I knew that every word she thought to me was the truth. But you must know that I do not mind if you do, I told her in all honesty. If you should ever want him, ever need a respite from all that is on your mind, I will not be upset with you for sleeping with him. I told her in all honesty. How can you be comfortable with that? She asked in shock. Because I know I am not going to lose you to him, I told her with a smile. I know how much you love me, as much as I love you. If he can bring you happiness and peace when I cannot, then why would I have a problem with that? I have already told you before that I will be faithful to you, She said. I am not that kind of woman. I know my Mera, I told her softly. But you being with him would not change anything between us, you know how much I love you. All I am saying is that you are allowed to change your mind. That will not happen, She thought firmly. Will you stop being so damned hardheaded and listen to me you beautiful creature? I asked, making her smile. You are allowed to change your mind. If you desire Cronus, if he will bring you comfort in this dark time, then take him into your bed and into your heart if it be your will. He is a good man, a great god, if there is anyone I would trust with you, it is him. And truth be told, I am relived at the thought of you being with him. Why? She asked. Because he is a great god who will care for you, love you and treat you with the respect and tenderness you deserve, I told her. I do not doubt your love for me, that is why I am telling you this. If you want him, even if it is nothing more than sex, be with him for as long as you want to be. I cannot hurt you like that, She told me. It would kill me to do so.

Your being with him will not hurt me, I told her. Not if it makes you happy or at the very least brings you relief. There is something I want to ask you, Mera said. Ask away, I told her. I spoke to Cronus today and he told me that it would be possible for you to get me pregnant through him, She told me. Pregnant? I asked, surprised. We had agreed that right after we got married we would conceive a child, but I could understand her not wanting to wait. Is that what you want? What I want is for you to come home safe and sound, She said. What I want is to wear that dress that is hanging in Kallisto's closet as I walk down the isle to you. What I want is to conceive our child on our wedding night but fate does not seem to take into account what I want. Ariston, I need this child, I need to know that Pandora's line will continue and I need you to be this child's father, even if only by half. I thought over that for a moment, of course I could think of a lot more in a moment than a mortal can, my mind works much faster. I wanted what Mera wanted, to marry her, to finally get to see that dress that she has been teasing me about but would not allow me to set eyes upon, to conceive our first child together on our wedding night in our bed, in our home. But I also knew how important this is and if this child should be born before I get out of here, I know that Cronus will be with Mera and our child throughout. The thought of missing out on the birth of my own child was torture, but if it was necessary, then I would accept it. How about tonight then? I asked her. I can connect to him tonight and we can conceive a child through Cronus. He knows what to give you to remove the effects of the seed. Tonight? Mera asked, completely surprised. So soon? Why wait? I asked her and she smiled, she said the same words to me the night we confessed our love for each other and almost made love. I told her that we did not have to do that that night and she replied 'Why wait?' You are right my love, this child needs to be born to ensure the future of the gods as well as the mortals. So why not tonight? Alright, Mera agreed and we both smiled a bit. I will ask Cronus what I need to take. It was just then that I heard the footsteps coming down the hall where I was. I must go, I said to Mera in a hurry. I love you my Mera, I will connect to Cronus when I can tonight. I love you with all my being my Ariston, be strong, She replied and with that, I disconnected from her.

I sat there with my back against the cold ice wall of my cell and let my posture go a bit so as to hide how much stronger I am since I made love to Mera last night. I was already trying to work out an escape plan. The door opened and none other but the hooded figure of the Nameless One stepped through. "And how are we tonight?" He asked in his cool voice. "I am locked up in this cold cell without hope of escape." I said. "I am the same as I always am." "That is good to hear." He said. He sat down opposite from me and removed his hood. I had never seen his face before, he resembled my father greatly only his skin was paler and had less life to it. The strongest similarity were his eyes, only unlike my fathers that always have humor within them, his eyes were cold, like the sky blue they had once been had turned to ice. I knew that having a Shadow within you can change your appearance, the color of your hair and skin, but it was most dangerous when it changes the color of your eyes, because then it has truly bound with your soul. He produced an ambrosia from his pocket, my eyes widened at the golden pear shaped fruit. It is the food of the gods, although we are fully able to enjoy mortal food, it is the nutrients within ambrosia that our bodies crave. I had not tasted ambrosia since I was put in this cell and as he took a bite of the fruit right in front of me, I wanted to rip it out of his hands. He smiled cruelly as juice dripped down his mouth. "Want some?" He asked. "No thank you." I lied, I was not going to rise to his bait no matter how badly I needed the fruit. He produced another from his cloak and tossed it to me. I caught it out of midair, I wanted to devouring it, but I was skeptical. I looked up at him. "And what is this going to cost me?" I asked. "Just a few moments of your time." He said. After a moment, I could not wait any longer, I bit into it, I had never tasted anything so good except for Mera, nothing could taste like her. As I devoured the fruit, enjoying every bit of it as it nourished me, I would have traded it in a heartbeat to just kiss Mera's lips once with my own. But I would be kissing her lips once the Nameless One left me on my own tonight. It was almost poetic, the Nameless One coming to talk to me on the night that I am going to impregnate Mera, bringing yet another being that would be his doom into the world.

"So what is it that you want?" I asked him. "Just some friendly conversation, this place can get very dull you know." He said. "I hear you are to be married." "If by some miracle I make it out of here alive, then yes, I will be taking a wife." I said, sounding nonchalant. "Her name is Mera?" He asked. "How do you know that?" I asked him, already worrying that he knew who she truly is. "My guards tell me you call her name out in your sleep." He said. "Mera, and the name Kallisto." I looked down and took a deep breath, realizing that I had unknowingly given away the names of the two people who mean the most to me. "Tell me about this woman, Mera." He said, I did not like him saying her name. He is unworthy of speaking the name of a creature of such purity. "Is she a goddess? An immortal? A Descendant?" I also did not like him asking questions about her. "She is a Descendant if you must know." I told him. "Tell me more about this Descendant." He said. "Are you in love with her?" "I would not be marrying her otherwise." I told him. "And does she love you as you love her?" He asked. "Yes." I said, with a bit of a smile thinking about her. The Nameless One just watched me. "My siblings," I said, meeting his eyes. "Are they alive?" "Some." He replied. "The ones who reacted to bonding the best." Anger surged through me and my hands clenched into fists. The bonding process itself can kill someone if they try and resist it and the Shadow is stronger than they are. I glared at the Nameless One with nothing but hatred in my soul as I contemplated ways to kill him. I did what I could to calm myself down, losing my temper would not do me any good, it would only get me killed and then everything Mera has done to find me will have been in vain. I live to get back to her and Kallisto and this new baby we will conceive tonight. I also did not want the Nameless One to know how much stronger my nightly visits with Mera were making me. Even when we do not make love, just feeling her gives me strength. "About this fianc of yours." He said. I took a deep breath.

"What about her?" I asked, my voice a deadly calm. "I am curious." He said. "Is she beautiful?" "Yes." I said simply. "Brown hair or blond?" He asked. "Blond, like spun gold." I said, looking down at my hands. Thinking of Mera helped to calm me. "Her smile?" He asked. "Like sunshine, a warmth and a beauty that cannot be described." I said. "I envy you such a woman." He said. I nodded, knowing how blessed I am to have her love. "And her eyes, they would not happen to be a unique mixture of purple and blue, would they?" He asked. I looked at him in shock. "Did you honestly think I was oblivious to who your fianc is?" The Nameless One asked. "That you are in love with Pandora's Descendant?" "If you harm her, I will kill you myself." I told him, I may not be up to my full strength yet, but I knew that if he harmed one hair on Mera's head I would find a way to end him as Mera suggested so long ago. "I have other plans for Mera." He said in a voice that worried me more than if he were to say he was going to kill her tonight. "Stay away from her." I said. "You stay away from her." He said in a dark tone, the fake friendliness gone from his voice. His pale blue eyes were suddenly livid and alive with hatred. "She is not supposed to be in love with you. She has never loved anyone before this." "Before?" I asked, my confusion temporarily taking over my anger. "It is not of your concern." He snapped. "Mera is my concern." I stated. "She is my wife." "Not yet." He stated. "She is my wife in all but name." I told him. "And I am her husband since she has seen it fit to love me as such. Stay. Away. From. Her."

"And if I could save her life?" He asked me. "Would you let go of this obsession you have with her in order to keep her alive?" His words shocked me. "Why would you save her?" I asked. "She means more to me than you will ever know." He told me, trying to keep his voice calm. "I can protect her, but not if she is with you. Connect to her, tell her you do not love her any more, that you do not want her." "I will not lie to her like that." I stated. "And besides, she would know I was lying. Not to mention that I do not trust you." "I give you my word that no harm will come to her." He said. "Your word is worthless." I told him. "Not where it comes to her." He said slowly. The intensity in his voice took me aback. "Ariston, who but me can keep her safe? Who else has the power to protect her against the Shadows?" "I will never agree to put her safety in your hands." I said. "I do not trust you with something so precious as her. I would not trust you with anything." "So much for respecting your elders." He said. "Need I remind you that I am Zeus' father and therefore your grandfather?" "You have done nothing to earn my respect!" I said. "And Cronus is my fathers father, all you did was impregnate Theia, and it takes a hell of a lot more than that to be a father. Cronus raised my father, he is my grandfather, not you." For a moment, I thought he was going to attack me, a part of me wished me would, then perhaps I could kill him. Of course, only Ennina has the power to do that, she and her sword of dark and light. "There will be guards on you day and night." The Nameless One stated. "Remember this warning Ariston, if you so much as think one word to Mera or anyone else, the consequences will be dire. Your life is not the only one at stake if you connect to her again." "You are not to threaten Mera." I stated. "And who said it was Mera I was threatening?" He asked with a dark smile. "I hear you have a daughter whose beauty is renowned. Kallisto, I believe?" That did it. I lunged him, taking him by surprise with my full strength as I knocked him off his feet and began punching him with all the force I had within me.

"No one threatens my family!" I screamed at him, punching him over and over again. Next thing I knew, I was being pulled off of that evil bastard and held down as I was kicked and beaten. I fought back as best I could, but I was quickly losing strength. "Enough." The Nameless One said and they stopped as I laid there in pain. Thanks to the ambrosia, I was already healing. "I hardly think one ambrosia did that. How did you get your strength back?" He demanded. I smiled up at him. A part of me was tempted to tell him just how I got my strength back, but I would not dishonor Mera like that, boasting of bedding her. "I have my ways." I told him and his face grew angrier. "I think it is time to try and bind your soul again." He said to me, then looked to the men before him. "Do not stop until there is nothing left." And with that he walked out of my cell as I laid there. I would not let them see the fear within me for the excruciating pain I knew was coming. But that fear only lasted a moment before another one took its place, a greater fear by far. I feared for Mera, but how could I warn her of what was coming when warning her might put my daughter in danger?