Chapter 229: Zeus Returns

Tuesday, August 3, 1971

The tall figure in a glowing white robe towered over everyone, the radiance from his robe making it difficult to even look upon him. Finally, the apparition seemed to become slightly smaller and take on a more solid appearance with the glow subsiding slightly.

I stepped back so I wouldn’t have to crane my neck to look up at him so severely.

“WHAT in the name of Hades’ Ghost is going on?” he bellowed as he turned full circle taking in the entire cavern with a quick glance. Finally, his eyes fell on me.

“You! And you have the other ring, I see,” he growled. “What have you done to my daughters?”

I felt the pressure of his gaze and was preparing my words to answer him carefully when Clio spoke.

“Michael has done nothing to us!” she told her father fiercely. “We called you because Michael has uncovered a problem that is over four thousand earth-years in the making.”

“And it’s all Celeste’s fault!” Tally added cattily.

“That’s enough, Tally!” Cali chided her younger sister. “Let Father handle it.”

Zeus looked stonily over at his daughters and they quickly fell silent. Then, turning to survey the room, he silently looked at each member of my family before finally, with a sigh, he waved his hand.

A large chair, more like a throne, suddenly appeared. Seating himself, he shifted his considerable bulk to a more comfortable position. Then, with a nod to me, he said, almost kindly, “Tell me your story, Lad.”

I began by telling him about hearing the voice calling me while on the train, and then recounted, with the girls’ help, all the times we had heard the voice. I didn’t bother to explain how we got to the cavern, but when I reached that part of the story, I was surprised at how Sandy, Abby, and Hanna all jumped in to provide much more detail than I would have thought necessary.

However, Zeus didn’t seem to mind as he sat stonily, turning occasionally to glare at Celeste, who had suddenly found herself standing apart from her sisters.

“ ... and Lydia had just finished telling us her story when you, ... er, appeared,” Sandy finished.

Zeus stood and turned to look at Celeste.

“You ... I will deal with later!” he said with a withering stare. Then turning back to me he asked, “Where is this ‘codex’?”

I simply stepped aside that he might see the codex sitting on the chest behind me.

“Give it to me!” he commanded.

Maybe it’s the obstinate streak in me but I just didn’t like the way he said it.

“Why?” I asked as I stepped back between him and the codex. “What are you going to do to her? Are you going to make her whole again, or whatever?”

“You dare to question me?” he said, the ire rising in his voice.

“I just want to know what you plan to do with her,” I replied defiantly.

“Just because you have gathered a few trinkets doesn’t mean you can challenge me,” he said, rising back to an imposing height. “I took those once, and scattered them to the four corners, and I can do so again!”

“Daddy!” begged Clio.

“You can try!” I muttered as I grabbed the hilt of my sword and erected my shield to include the codex behind me. My family all withdrew several steps and I noticed Kip moving slowly to cover my rear.

“Daddy!” Clio and Polly both cried. “Don’t!”

Zeus ignored them, his narrowed eyes never leaving mine. Suddenly, a blue light flashed from his fingertips straight at me. But the beam seemed to bounce off my shield with relative ease. This caused him to pause and he seemed to consider something. I could almost imagine him rubbing his chin in contemplation.

“Maybe your trinkets are more than I thought them to be,” he mused with a slight mirth in his voice. “Or maybe it is the strength of the bearer. I’ll have to consider that. Now, let’s avoid any real damage here. Just give me the codex and I’ll find a way to take care of this ... er, maiden.”

“Sorry. Not good enough,” I replied. “We want to know what you’re going to do to her. And we don’t want her hurt.”

“You try my patience, boy!” Zeus growled. Then, without warning, he hurled what appeared to be a lightning bolt at me. The flash of the bolt bathed the small cavern in a light so bright, it blinded everyone for a moment. But when we could see again, I sighed in relief when I saw that my shield, while buffeted, had held up to the onslaught.

But I also knew that the effort was draining me. I had no more realized it, when I felt Ileana’s love for me. Then it was Abby’s, and then Hanna’s, and Sandy’s. And then, one by one, each of the others added their love and I felt my strength not only return, but begin to grow stronger.

“You realize I can destroy this whole world, don’t you Boy?” he asked.

“You can try,” was my reply as I desperately tried to think of a way to protect the codex and my family, and at the same time come up with a way to neutralize a god, since it seemed my diplomacy wasn’t working too well.

“Daddy, Please!” Polly cried. “Don’t do it!”

Zeus looked over at his daughter who wilted under his glare, then back at me.

“I have no argument with you,” I told him. “We just want to be assured that Lydia will be helped, and not harmed.”

“Why would you care?” he asked suddenly. “What is it to you what happens to her?”

“I would do the same if it was Desirée. Or Tally, or Polly, or Celeste. If one of your daughters needed help, I would help them. Or defend them!” I replied.

Zeus paused to consider for a moment, then looked to his daughters again, this time with maybe slightly more compassion. Then turning once more to me, he said, “That is very noble, but this codex is part of my daughter. It is a mistake and must be rectified and I am the only one that can do so. Now give me the codex and don’t trifle with me anymore. I have too much to do to waste my time on a puny little god from an obscure world with little redeeming value.”

I didn’t bother to answer as I pulled myself up as straight as I could and focused my whole being on the love I was feeling from my family, channeling the power of their love to my shield.

“So be it!” he bellowed. Then turning to his daughters he told them, “Leave! Now! This will not be pretty!”

I could see the fear in their eyes, but they remained where they stood, clinging to each other. Zeus also saw that they were not obeying him. As he turned back to me, I could almost see his mind churning, searching for a way to destroy me, get the codex, and not harm his daughters. I couldn’t imagine any father doing something that would harm his own daughters, so I ruled out total annihilation of the cavern, the island, or indeed, our whole world. But I had no doubt that whatever he did next, would be the most wicked, powerfully devastating thing he could.

“I love you, my prince!” I heard Ileana’s intense thoughts. “We ALL love you!” I could feel the power of their love flowing through me, strengthening my shield. I could only hope that it would be enough.

“Zeus!” a powerful voice cried out as a new presence descended upon the cavern. “You will DESIST! Now!”

I didn’t know the voice, but I sure remembered that tone. It was the same tone my mother used, usually when I had really fucked up.

“Great-Grandmother?” Melody cried in astonishment.

The Grand Dame, for that is the only way to describe her, seemed to float from the roof of the cavern to alight on the floor between Zeus and me. Once she alit, I could see that she stood barely five feet tall, but she held all the majesty of the universe as she stood regally, staring down her son.

“Why must you make everything a challenge?” she scolded.

“Why must you meddle in the affairs of this puny world?” he replied. “I was handling it.”

“Really? I hardly call using your power to destroy Celeste’s mistake ‘handling’ it,” she replied. “Now. Be gone. While I try to straighten things out without making them worse!”

“Hurrumph!” he grunted as both he and his throne disappeared.

Dressed in a robe of shimmering purple hues that covered her from neck to toes, her hair was woven with sparkling purple gems and piled high upon the top of her head. Her long slender neck was adorned with a necklace of clear gems, much too large to be diamonds, but sparkling as if they were. On her hands, almost every finger was bejeweled with large rings sporting massive sparkling gems. From her posture to her eyes, this lady radiated splendor, elegance, and power.

I don’t care how strong you think you are, this was definitely someone not to be trifled with.

Once Zeus had fled, the Grand Dame surveyed the room slowly before her gaze finally stopped on her nine great-granddaughters. “Come here, sweetheart,” she said kindly, motioning for a tearful Celeste to join her. When she did, the Grand Dame hugged her tenderly, before turning to Cali.

“Dear?” she asked softly, “Would you be so kind as to introduce me to your friends? Then maybe we can get to the bottom of this.”

“I’m sorry Grandmother, but I don’t know everyone. However, this is Michael and he has found three parts of your Te’trad,” Cali explained. “He is also the one who brought Polly such ecstasy on her maiden, ... er, voyage, shall we say. And he has been very good to me as well.” Cali blushed slightly at what she had just told her great-grandmother.

“Let’s leave that for another time,” Thesan said gently.

“Michael, this is our great-grandmother, Thesan. Goddess of the Dawn and Mother of All Creation. The sword and rings you bear once belonged to her sons,” Cali explained reverently. It was obvious she held this Grand Dame, her great-grandmother, in deep veneration.

“Why don’t you introduce me to your family, Michael?”

I walked over to Ileana and, offering her my arm, I escorted her to stand in front of the Grand Dame. The rest of my family closed up behind us.

“Thesan, may I present Her Royal Highness, Princess Ileana, of the Island Nation of Tapato. That is the name of the country where we are at this time. She is your hostess while you are here. She is also my very cherished mate,” I explained by way of introduction. Ileana drew herself up to her regal best and bowed as deeply as I had ever seen her do.

“We are honored by your presence here, and we welcome you with open arms,” Ileana told her.

Proceeding next to my other mates, and then everyone else, I introduced them one by one. In every case, Thesan seemed to capture them in her smile, creating for that moment, a singular, exclusive bond between them. As for my family, they seemed to stand speechless, in awe and admiration as they were introduced. I thought that poor little Aida would die of fright when Thesan addressed her by asking if she was the “gift” her son had bestowed on me.

“Y-y-you know about that?” Aida stammered in response.

“Of course, my dear,” Thesan replied as she reached out to stroke Aida’s cheek softly with her fingertips. “It is a great honor, that is rarely bestowed; especially on your world. I dare say that you are only the third or fourth such gift in all your world’s recorded history. You should be proud, for you will, no doubt, play an important part in its future.”

“Really!” Aida squeaked.

“Really!” Thesan replied as she smiled benevolently at the teenager.

“Oh, thank you!” Aida cried as she impulsively reached out to hug the Goddess around the neck.

Thesan just smiled as she hugged the young girl back. “I too, know what it is like to face an uncertain future. However, you will be just fine,” she whispered to Aida.

Aida released her hold on the Goddess and stepped back. It then hit her that she may have just committed a big social faux pas. But taking Aida’s hand, Thesan pulled the young girl to stand at her side as I finished the rest of the introductions.

Then, turning to the great-granddaughter she still hugged to her side, she said, “Celeste, dear, why don’t you tell me about this codex.”

“Well, I didn’t know about the young girl until a few moments ago, but I will tell you what I remember of Ak’med and the codex,” Celeste replied. Then she began to relate how she had been chosen to help Ak’med, a young scribe in the court of King Sargon, develop a way to record the king’s victories and his inventories without using scrolls. She thought she had done her assigned task well, but it was another two thousand years before the process became popular, and then, it was because of the invention of the printing press.