Centaurian Ch. 09

"I'm guessing you're a tad miffed with me," he said. "Could we get on with why, please? I have things to do. Is it about Kratos?"

She stopped before Ronan. "You destroyed my son honorably, and he kept his oath to Zeus. I am not angry about that. I think oaths should mean something; wouldn't you agree?"

"Not necessarily."

"Not necessarily?" She sounded completely taken aback.

"I find it curious how so many people, including gods, find nuance so alien to them. I understand that it complicates matters, but have the gods no concern for circumstances?"

She looked upon Ronan as if he had spoken a foreign language.

Seeing his words had fallen upon uncomprehending ears, he said, "Let's just get to your point."

"Long ago, Zeus had the gods take an oath on the waters of the River Styx...on me. He bestowed that honor upon me because, among all the Titans, I gave my fealty to Zeus first." Whereupon she just stopped talking as if that explained everything.

"And...?"

"You are helping gods break their oath with no repercussions."

"If their oaths were anything like the one Kratos gave Zeus, I don't think I care. And what repercussions?"

"If anyone should break their oath, they must drink from my waters which would make them comatose for a year, they would be denied Ambrosia from then onward, and when they awaken, they would either be banished or excluded from everything for nine years, and they would live in disgrace for all eternity."

"Who ensures these punishments are met?"

"Zeus."

"Well, Zeus wouldn't leave me and my loved ones alone, so I've taken his power from him, and in doing so, I've voided all oaths."

"You dethroned Zeus..."

"Some of the gods threatened civil war if I dethroned Zeus, so I insist that he keep his title for as long as he likes. So, he can remain your king if you want; I couldn't care less about such things. However, Olympus now serves as a sort of holding place until they decide what they want to do. They're welcome to grow up, stay there, or leave whenever they like, but walking through the gate now exacts an extremely heavy price. As for all those who don't live on Olympus—such as yourself—if any of the gods go out of their way to harm anyone, they'll find themselves on Olympus with the same three choices. As I told the gods there, 'just play nice with others and mind your own business,' that's all I ask."

"No...," she said in disbelief, "you can't have."

"I have; it's already done. Zeus thought I would dethrone him, so he released Typhon to wreck Olympus, because if he couldn't have Olympus then no one would. But Ares warned me emphatically that I shouldn't thwart the will of the king. So, I wouldn't undo the damage Typhon caused when he destroyed Zeus's palace, but I figured, why should any of the others be homeless just because Zeus is so selfish? I hadn't left Typhon on Olympus, of course; he's a menace." He held up the baseball that contained a miniaturized Typhon frozen in Time.

"He's inside that?"

"Yes, I'm taking him to Hades as a gift."

"What about the Ambrosia delivered to Olympus every day?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Ronan, "because of the shield, that can no longer happen. No outside help can enter Olympus, but Chronos tells me the natural source was drying up anyway. Speaking of that, would either of you care for a glass?" Ronan manifested two goblets of Ambrosia and handed them to both Styx and Charon.

Charon immediately began guzzling his, but she sniffed the contents of her own. "You can manifest Ambrosia?" She drank of it.

"Yes. So, all the Ambrosia the gods receive must come through me. Outside of Olympus, I won't lord that over any of you. I'm hoping you will one day reflect my goodwill toward you into the world. I encourage all of you to evolve. I know you can, but as the personification of hatred, you might have the hardest time finding some love in your heart, but I believe in you."

"But no one can manifest Ambrosia," she said. "How?"

"The same way I can destroy a god," he said. "I'm something else. Something...more. You have my word that I will gift a rundlet of Ambrosia as fine as you hold in your hand to Hades for all his underworld feasts, so the gods won't go without."

"You are not as I expected," she said. "I don't know how to take you."

"I'm hoping you'll take me in the same spirit I take you, in a live and let live sort of sense."

"I wouldn't know how," she said.

"Oh, Styx, you're a river! I should think going with the flow would come naturally to you. You could just think about it for a while. Things will be different, yes, but there's nothing wrong. Life will be good; you'll see. And if either of you ever needs me, call me. We will discuss the problem, and we'll figure out a way to solve it. In the meantime, however, may Charon and I go? I need to get to Liam."

Momentarily befuddled, she let them go, and while Ronan knew their dependence on him for Ambrosia would tend to sway them into compliance with his extraordinarily small request that they behave themselves, as he said, he had no intention of lording it over them. He wouldn't have to, their need for Ambrosia was so great that they would view him in a different light anyway, but he couldn't help that. The natural source was drying up, and only he could produce it, so that was that.

In the darkness, they turned a bend in the river, and from the light of the torches upon it, Ronan saw the gates of Hades's palace, and a silhouette of Cerberus, the three-headed hound, within the dark metal gates. He patrolled the grounds for living intruders and escapees of the dead. Fortunately, near the dock lit by the brilliant glow of a bident, he saw Liam standing alongside Hades.

The moment they were close enough, Ronan sprung from the boat, ran across the dock, took Liam into his arms, and kissed him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thanks to Hades. Zeus nearly shoved me off into Tartarus!"

"He won't bother us again."

Hades said, "Zeus's actions up until this were bad enough, but he crossed a very personal line, so I accept your decision on whatever you do to him. What was your decision regarding our brother?"

"I hadn't destroyed him, but I took his power," said Ronan, "and whether I ever give it back is up to Zeus. I want to thank you for saving Liam. I respect you for that."

Hades gave a little nod and a thoughtful smile. "I can tell."

"Oh! I have a gift for you." He handed Hades the ball.

"You have gifted me a baseball?"

"Read what it says."

He turned the ball around. "Typhon..." He pointed to the ball. "Is this?"

Ronan nodded. "Zeus released him from Mount Etna. He knew Typhon would destroy Olympus. I arrived, froze him in Time, and eventually shrank him down before I put him inside that."

"Astonishing," he said and held up the ball. "Typhon was extremely powerful, and for as much as we gods can do, none of us have this much power. That's why we stuffed all the troublemakers into Tartarus. So, thank you for this. It's certainly an improvement; he takes up much less space this way. I shall display him upon my mantle. I would invite you in to show you around and meet Persephone, but I know you have a lot to do, and a tour of the castle can take quite a while. From now on, you both have an open invitation to visit anytime, and feel free to teleport directly."

"Thank you, we will, especially when making a delivery of Ambrosia."

"Chronos informed me of the Ambrosia issue. We're grateful you can supply it. Well, I won't keep you. I'm sure the others wish to see Liam safely where he belongs. I will see the two of you again soon."

When Hades teleported back into his palace, Ronan saw that Charon and his boat had gone, so with no one left to bid farewell, they teleported back to the CS Fritz Himmel.

Aboard the ship, the crew typically kept busy with maintenance, cleaning duties, and that never-ending struggle against the deleterious effects of the sea. However, with Ronan having left the vessel anchored off the coast of Italy in perfect condition, the crew had nothing to do, so the captain had given most of them time off until needed. At first, they either meandered through the ship marveling at the miracle of its condition, or they stood at the deck railing staring at the city of Genoa, a view they shouldn't have had for a few more days. Ronan had won over the crew, including those initially skeptical of him and his intentions. They had seen far too much of what he could do to think it nothing more than a trick, and his repeated defense of them spoke volumes.

When Ronan led Liam into Emma's cabin, it pleased their friends to see him in one piece.

"Liam, I would like to introduce the god Hephaestus, blacksmith to the gods and a dear friend of mine. And I also want to introduce the demigod Colt Stallion, formerly named Elias Adrianus, billionaire, and as a son of Chiron, he is my son. Colt, Hephaestus...this is the demigod Liam Phillips, a former police officer of the Key Biscayne Police Department, my protector, and... husband?" He gazed upon Liam for confirmation.

"As far as I'm concerned," he said.

"And husband," Ronan said to Hephaestus and Colt.

"It's good to meet you," said Hephaestus.

Colt shook Liam's hand. "I've seen you!" Colt said. "You picked my father from the ground in the park on Key Biscayne."

"Yes, I did! You have seen me? How had that come about?"

"Kakia," said Colt. "When she came to my office in New York, she had with her a tablet that held a video of the whole thing. From just before Henri transferred my father with the eternal flame to Ronan's former human self, all the way to the next morning when you drove off with him to what I must presume was the hospital."

"Someone recorded that?" Ronan shook his head at the audacity.

"Apparently so," he said.

"Well, Ronan," said Emma, "William and I have talked."

"What have you concluded?" he asked.

"Dolos needs to go. I haven't been him in so long, I can't remember what it felt like to be myself in honesty rather than deceit."

"I love her no matter what," said William, "but she's unhappy as she is, and if she needs Dolos gone, then I support that."

Ronan gestured for her to come to him. "Tell me what you specifically want."

"I want to walk away from this ship Erastís, the lover, a self-determinate deity of any sex or gender I choose, and if I want to be Emma Nordström, then that's who I am, when I am, and in truth. I want to help people the way I do best and eliminate the constraint of it being a lie. Could you help me do that?"

Emma stood before him, and he turned her around, placed his hands on her back, and concentrated. "All the gods can look however they want and always could, but they all have a constraint preventing it from being true by their nature. Poseidon told me he had been equine many times, and—like you as Emma—Poseidon is the horse when he's a horse, but even while being that, he's still no less the god of the sea, so I comprehend what you're asking. Your mother is Nyx, the goddess of night. She has imbued you with dark energy, and that's what constrains you to the lies and deceit. I admire your strength of will. I find it amazing you've gotten this far in your evolution, but unlike the others who have evolved, you need to change your fundamental nature. To remove the restraint is to remove Dolos from you, so let me do this. Concentrate hard on being Erastís. This will feel warm, but it shouldn't hurt you."

She did so, and as Ronan fed her new energy with his left hand, he drew out the darkness with his right. It emerged as a sooty substance from Emma's back and swirled in Ronan's palm like a black cloud the size of his fist. "There, it's done."

Emma turned as everyone gathered around to see what Ronan held. William wrapped his arms around Emma's waist from behind and gazed over her shoulder.

"What will you do with it?" she asked.

Ronan transformed the cloud of dark energy into a small, shiny winged black bird with an orange beak like those indigenous to the area around Genoa. It sat in the hollow of Ronan's palm as though it were nesting. "Everyone, say hello to Dolos."

"So, that is Dolos," said Emma. "Why don't I feel any different?"

"It's as you told me," he said, "this hasn't been you for a long time. I'm unsure that you should feel different, but the experience of your life will be entirely different from now on. Hephaestus, would you open the window, please?"

"The windows don't open," said William.

"Sure, they do," said Hephaestus. He laid his hand onto the glass, removed the entire pane like he had a suction-cup hand, and smiled at William.

William shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I forget who I'm with."

Ronan helped the bird into Emma's hand. "I think you should be the one to release him."

She stroked the little bird on the way to the window. "Well, Dolos, I would say I hate to see you go, but that would be a lie, and I don't do that anymore, so off you go." When she tossed it out the window, it flew away, and Hephaestus replaced the glass in its frame. "So, am I Erastís now?" she asked Ronan.

"Yes, but one last thing," he said. He laid his hand on her shoulder and increased her ability to hold energy, causing her to feel a surge of power. "There, not only are you free to be yourself, but you have more power, and you can teleport many people."

Emma giggled and hugged him. She then manifested herself a Centaurian uniform like Ronan's. It highlighted her shapely form and had ERASTÍS across her chest with a little red heart. "Do you like?" she asked William.

He smiled, nodded eagerly, and kissed her.

Ronan raised his hand. "By a show of hands, who wants off this ship?"

They all wanted to go, and while Colt and Hephaestus hadn't lived aboard, Emma, William, Liam, and Ronan couldn't wait to see the CS Fritz Himmel in their proverbial rear-view mirror.

They stood upon the main deck ready to go, as Captain Stettler, the first mate Paul Hurst, and the entire crew wanted to wish them farewell.

"Well, captain," said Ronan, "thank you for your patience with us. You could have proven yourself far less understanding, and I wish to apologize for the disruption we caused aboard the ship."

"Think nothing of it," he said, shaking Ronan's hand. "I should be thanking you for all you've done for us, and you've given us an unforgettable adventure on our transatlantic crossing. I underestimated you repeatedly, and for that, I apologize. It has been a privilege to have met you all and had you aboard. Since the threats to us are no longer an issue, all the crew has decided to remain except for William, and the company is sending us a new purser who will be here this afternoon. We have arrived early in Genoa, so we haven't permission to dock; they schedule these things for a reason. The company also wants me to thank you for restoring the ship; it saved them time and money. They wish to apologize that one of their employees has leaked onto the internet all the video footage from the ship's uploads to the company's server. It seems they've gone viral, and the number of people who know about the gods, you, and what you are capable of grows exponentially. The public and the media have a great many questions and concerns."

"I bet they do," said Liam.

"In a world of internet users eager for amazing content, I figured that would happen," said Ronan, "and I accept it. They'll get their answers over time, but eventually, they must grow accustomed to our presence."

"What about the paparazzi?" asked Paul. "They don't get used to anyone's presence; you get used to theirs."

Emma said, "That's alright, we have ways around virtually anything."

"So, where will you go now?" asked the captain.

"That's a good question," said Liam.

Emma spoke up. "We have an enormous villa with a dozen bedrooms on Mykonos. When Ronan said he wanted to go home. Prometheus and I ensured we had somewhere to go."

"That's not big enough for everyone," said Hephaestus.

"I intend to form a new island in the Aegean Sea for a permanent place to resettle the gods from Olympus," said Ronan, "but like Rome, it can't be built in a day. You, my friend, will soon be extraordinarily busy."

"You will let me design the whole thing?" asked Hephaestus.

"Once I make the island. All I ask is that you do what you think is best with it, and not let them bully you again into producing some marble and gold nightmare."

With all business complete, all apologies made, and every goodbye said, Emma used her extended power and teleported them to Mykonos.

-------

The Grecian LGBTQ mecca of Mykonos, an island of the Cyclades of the Aegean Sea, had picturesque views and villages, many beaches, and an active nightlife with frequent parties at various locales. Prometheus had informed Emma about the villa, and she secretly bought it on their journey to Genoa. To Emma's mind, it presented the perfect location for their home. They teleported to the vast stone courtyard behind the white multi-leveled limestone villa, with its twelve bedrooms, and fourteen bathrooms.

Colt started laughing when he realized where they were. "Oh my," he said, gazing about.

"What's so funny?" asked Liam.

"I built this house about a decade ago."

"You lived here?" asked Ronan.

"No, I bought the property and had it built for an investment. I've done that all over the world. The agent sold it immediately to some Turkish billionaire. I can't remember his name now. It seems like it was Murat something."

"Murat," said Emma, "yes, that's the man I bought it from."

"You had the money for this?" asked William.

"Prometheus did," she said.

"I see some damage to that stone wall over there," said Hephaestus. "Looks like Murat hadn't taken care of it."

Liam peeked over the edge of the enormous empty infinity pool behind them. "The pool has a crack."

"I suspect he used it for parties," said Colt.

"I bought it as is," said Emma, "so the house isn't in pristine condition."

"I think I can take care of that," said Ronan. He set his bag onto a stone block of the courtyard beneath his feet, squatted, and laid his hands flat on the stone. "When I removed the curse from Hephaestus, I discovered that I could see beyond what my eyes can see around me, including other realms and universes. Let me see what the house can tell me." He concentrated for a moment. "The house isn't livable. It has no water, no electricity, no furnishings, or necessities at all. I see damage throughout the house, and the construction crew hadn't built the pool properly; that's why it cracked." He searched to see how owners of the house in other universes had decorated it, he found one he liked and duplicated some of their décor. He sent pulses of energy into the entire property. He cleaned it, made repairs, and manifested everything they needed to turn the empty house into their home, like furniture and linens, but he also stocked the cabinets and refrigerator with groceries and dishes, and he filled the bar with an array of alcohol and glassware. He made a correction to the pool's design and filled it with water. He gave the house a permanent water and electrical source, and lastly, he took care of the landscaping. When he opened his eyes and stood, the courtyard had outdoor furniture and a retractable sun sail above them to shade part of the space.

"Looks like we've moved in," said Liam.

"If you dislike anything I chose," he said to them, "you're welcome to change it." He suggested the others find bedrooms, as he wanted some time alone with Liam. He embraced him. "Had Zeus made you afraid?"

Liam rested his head on Ronan's shoulder. "No, I wasn't afraid," he said. "I knew if you had to tear the universe apart to find me, you would."

He nodded. "If it came to that."