Son of Thunder (Heavenly War Series) (22 page)

The goddess turned to Jord again. “You are sure of this course?”

Jord nodded to her.

Athena raised her arms then and a glimmering portal appeared out of nowhere.

“Follow me to Olympus then.” She stepped into the light and disappeared through the portal.

Jord hadn’t set foot in Olympus for almost two centuries, and that fateful day was one of the darkest he could remember. He was one of only a handful who knew of the devastation here.

The tall marble columns and classic Greek architecture of the buildings greeting him on the other side of the portal were stunning and surprising. The gardens were breathtaking.

Jord turned to Athena. “You’ve rebuilt?”

Athena shook her head. “We have built anew. The old ways pass. There is no way to rebuild what was. Not with what we lost.”

Jord nodded his understanding. “How much have you built?”

“Only this small area here at the foot of the mountain. It is all we need for now—all we are able to defend. It is too dangerous for us to move up the mountain. They still hold the pinnacle.”

Jord looked past the beauty and tranquility toward the mountain looming before him. The roadway, perfect and paved in gold for about one hundred feet, then connected to a devastated highway full of potholes and covered in debris, snaked up the side of the great mountain. Along it Jord could see the ruins of once great structures. The buildings were blasted, some of them still smoking. A thick haze covered the top of the mountain.

He’d been in the catacombs on the day Set, the Titans, and the other rebel gods attacked Mount Olympus, so he hadn’t seen the devastation here. It was worse than he had imagined. The glorious realm lay in ruin.

“A Norseman, here!”

The voice was filled with anger, but it only made Jord smile.

“You’ve a lot of nerve showing your face in Olympus.”

Jord turned to see the stocky man in classic Greek armor. There was fire in the man’s eyes, and a great spear in his hand, as he pounded toward them.

Jord took a step forward and extended his hand. “Greetings Ares.”

“Jord?” Ares stopped, and his face brightened. “Sorry man, didn’t recognize you with the new hair. All you Norsemen smell alike, you know.”

He reached out and took Jord’s hand. “What brings you to Olympus, my friend?”

Jord shook the man’s hand firmly. “I’m just passing through on my way home.”

The Olympian’s visage darkened. “You don’t want to go up there. It’s really not healthy.”

“It’s the best of a number of bad options right now.” Jord gazed toward the top of the mountain. “Are they still here? I was hoping we could sneak past them.”

“Yeah, they’re still holding the mountain top.” Ares brow creased. “And while I hate to admit it, we don’t have the power to take them out.”

Jord pulled Mjolnir from his belt. “We might now.”

Ares glanced at the hammer then back up to Jord’s face. “Whoa! Your dad let you borrow the big gun?”

Jord smiled.

“He gave it to him.” Meghan’s comment hit Jord like a thunderbolt.

He turned to confront her. “What?”

Meghan’s eyes widened in surprise. “He told me at Utgard. The hammer, the belt, the gloves, even the goats are yours now. He wants to retire. Didn’t he tell you?”

Jord was stunned. “N-no.”

Suddenly there was a rumble from up on top of the mountain.

“Incoming!” A feminine voice shouted from off to their left. Jord saw Artimus running toward them. The auburn-haired goddess was also dressed in Greek style armor, and had a bow and quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder.

Jord saw the shadow on the ground. Grabbing Meghan he dove to the side. Artimus leapt and pushed Athena and Ares out of the way just as a large chunk of stone landed right where they’d been standing.

The woman rolled, doing a very athletic tumble and landed back on her feet.

“Artemis,” Jord picked himself up, then helped Meghan to her feet. “My thanks for a very timely save.”

The goddess held her head high, but was smiling at Jord. “Jord Thorson. No wonder they got all worked up. I hope you’re not staying long.”

Jord returned her smile. “Just passing through, but if you guys need some help . . .”

Ares shook his head. “This is our problem. We’ll handle it.”

Jord knew better. “That’s what got you into this situation in the first place. We all need to work together, especially now.”

Artemis shot a glance at Athena and raised an eyebrow. It was the first crack in the Greek’s defenses Jord had seen in the past two hundred years.

Ares just crossed his arms and stood defiantly. “We’ll handle it.”

Athena, Artemis, and Ares were all that remained of the classic Greek pantheon. They’d done their best to conceal it from the other gods. The Greeks had always stood as the shining example of classical mythology. They now had no hope of restoring their former glory and wanted to keep their final defeat a secret from the world.

Jord didn’t agree with them, but he respected their wishes to keep things quiet. He was glad they’d at least agreed to take Meghan into their confidence.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, so Jord decided to drop it and change the conversation.

“So, how’s little Stavros?”

Stavros was the infant son of Zeus and Hera, born just weeks before the attack.

Ares laughed and the tension eased. “Not so little anymore.”

Artemis pointed up to the sky. Above Jord saw the black, feathered wings of a dark Pegasus against the deep blue sky. The Pegasus landed and Jord watched the young god bound off the back.

Jord hadn’t seen Stavros since that fateful day he’d rescued him as a babe in Athena’s arms. When word reached Asgaard of the attacks on mount Olympus, Jord snuck into the portal while the old gods of Asgaard debated whether or not they should help the Greeks.

Athena, together with Ares, Artimus, Hermes and Aphrodite fought their way into the catacombs under Zeus’s temple. They were preparing to make a last desperate stand against overwhelming odds when Jord found them.

Jord came through a secret portal, set up by Odin and Zeus. The two kings had developed a relationship over recent centuries. Odin still grieved the loss of his friend.

Aphrodite and Hermes had been mortally wounded, but Jord was able to escape with Athena, Artimus, Ares, and Stavros to Asgaard. Of course he was berated and punished for his overzealusness in going to Mount Olympus before the old gods finished their debate, but Jord never regretted his decision.

The baby Jord remembered from that day was nothing like the young god he saw. Of course two hundred years tended to change a person. Dark was the best way to describe him. Black hair, black eyes, and lots of black leather. His ensemble, while borrowing from the ancient Greek, reflected a more modern styling.

Stavros scowled as he strode toward Jord. “Who’s this?” Jord could almost see the chip on the man’s shoulder.

Ares shot Jord a wink. “Stavros, meet Jord Thorson.”

Stavros stopped short, just staring at Jord. Then his demeanor completely changed. His eyes widened and his stance relaxed.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I owe you much.”

Jord shook his hand. “You don’t owe me anything.”

Ares harrumphed. “Well, you owe me a report, young man.”

Stavros took a deep breath. His expression went bland, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Then a huge smile lit up his face.

“They’re coming. The Cyclopes have remembered their loyalty to my father and will come help us.”

Ares punched Jord in the shoulder. “See, told you we’d be fine. Finally we can start to take back the mountain top.”

Jord shook his head. “I still think we need to be working closer together. All of us.”

Stavros’s smile fell and he stared intently at Ares. “I couldn’t agree with you more. We . . .”

Jord saw the shift in Stavros’s eyes. Jord followed his line of sight. Stavros had just noticed Meghan.

The young god was enthralling. Black hair, black eyes and black clothing. Everything about Stavros was dark and mysterious, and Meghan found herself under the intense gaze of those black eyes for long moments.

“You’re the mortal from the prophecy.”

Why did her introductions always seem to start out that way lately? Ares walked over to Stavros and slapped the young man on the back of the head. “Stop staring at the mortal, kid. You’re making her nervous.”

Meghan found herself stifling a laugh, as Stavros looked down embarrassed.

“You have to forgive him.” Ares seemed chagrinned. “We don’t get much action up here. . .”

He turned to Athena and Artemis, and the two women raised their eyebrows at him.

“Don’t start Ares.” Athena’s caution hung in the air, but the God of War barreled right on.

“You’ve got to wonder how we’re going to repopulate Mount Olympus when our only two surviving goddesses are well known
virgins.

Ares stressed the last word and Athena looked embarrassed, but Artemis just laughed.

The huntress put her hands on her hips and confronted Ares. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, big boy. There’s a prophecy going around that says something like ‘the old ways will pass’. And just maybe that’s one old way I’ve decided to let pass. So, come here, God of War, we’ve got us a mountain to repopulate.”

Ares’ jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” A quirky smile crossed his face as he followed Artemis toward one of the buildings.

“I have a feeling I’ve been waiting a couple of thousand years for this,” Meghan heard Artemis add as her voice trailed away. “You better be good, that’s all I’ve got to say.”

Stavros turned his gaze toward Athena.

“Oh no!” The goddess shook her head. “I’m going to wait and see how that works out first.”

Jord clapped the young god on the shoulder. “I may know a couple of goddesses who wouldn’t mind relocating.”

“Really?” Stavros said, hope returning to his eyes.

Athena cleared her throat. “Jord, you’re meddling again.”

“Yeah, I tend to do that, don’t I?” Jord turned his head away from Athena so she didn’t see him shoot a wink toward Stavros. Meghan smiled and shook her head.

Stavros agreed to accompany them to the top of the mountain. Jord was finding more and more to like about the young god.

“I found a way into the catacombs a few years ago, Stavros said. “It’s not completely safe down there, but it’s a good place to escape the
grownups
.

Jord brought out the goat chariot, and he, Meghan, and Stavros climbed on to fly to the top of Mount Olympus. The devastation at the top was unbelievable. Not one building remained intact. Most were nothing but piles of rubble.

Crawling amidst the debris Jord saw shadows of the creatures left behind to guard the mountain top and keep the Greek gods from retaking it.

“We’ve killed hundreds of them, but they repopulate too fast for us. I’ve been arguing with Ares for the past fifty years we should bring in help from the other pantheons, but he won’t have it. He doesn’t want anyone to know.”

Jord nodded. “He has his pride.”

“For all the good that does us.” Stavros pointed toward a large pillar. The bottom half was still intact, though it leaned at a precarious angle. “Land there, the entrance to the catacombs is underneath.”

Jord was just compacting the chariot and goats into their orb when he heard a hiss.

Jord quickly jumped in front of Meghan as a giant, six-headed snake slithered out of the rubble.

“Hydra!” Jord threw Mjolnir. “I hate these things.”

Stavros brought his fist up and shot a bolt of lightning at the creature. “A little something I inherited from my father.”

The hammer struck one of the heads, smashing it to pulp, and the lightning jolted through the body of the hydra, stopping its progress toward them. While the creature was distracted Jord leapt over the heads of the creature to land on its massive body. As he jumped, Jord pulled the jackknife from his pocket and opened it into his sword. He plunged the blade deep into the monster’s back. The hydra writhed, lashing its tail back and forth. Jord fought to stay on, using the sword as an anchor, as the creature coiled and twisted beneath him.

He saw Meghan pull Prudr from her pocket and step toward the hydra. Trying to stay just out of reach of the creature’s heads, she swung at any that came close enough to hit. Stavros shot a second spear of lightning toward a head that threatened to get too close. The head blackened and went limp.

Jord had Mjolnir back in his hand now, and brought the hammer down hard at the place where the hydra’s necks connected to its massive body. Stavros, his hands sparkling with electricity, grabbed onto one of the creatures massive necks, and pumped a charge into the beast.

The hydra bucked frantically, throwing Jord from its back. Jord rolled and quickly got back to his feet, but the creature stopped moving.

Stavros motioned toward the slope under the pillar. “Down here before more of them come.” The slope ended at a dark hole in the ground, and Stavros jumped in.

Jord retrieved the chariot orb, stuffed it into the backpack, then helped Meghan down into the hole, before jumping in himself. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom of the tunnels.

Stavros pulled out a flashlight and led them down the tunnel. “The catacombs are mostly intact, and the creatures seldom venture down here. I don’t think they ever found the portal to Asgaard. I know I haven’t ever stumbled across it.”

The portal on this side, was hidden by magic and illusion. Odin and Zeus never planned on anyone else using it, but on that fateful day, two hundred years ago, Odin told Jord about it with a wink and a nod, as he debated with the old gods about whether they should help Olympus. His grandfather knew Jord well.

Jord was sure he could find his way back to the portal, if he could just find a land mark down here—something he remembered from that fateful day.

Jord was talking with Stavros as they made their way through the tunnels. Meghan contented herself with just following and listening.

“You probably don’t remember any of that day.” Jord’s voice echoed in the darkness. “The fighting down here was fierce. It had to be ten times worse up on the surface.”

Tunnels branched and twisted constantly. Occasionally she would hear the scampering of small feet, or a serpentine slither, down one of the tunnels.

They came to a spot where the skeletal remains of two people lay on the floor.

Jord’s expression grew grim. “It was here that I found you, Stavros. Athena had you in one arm and a sword in the other. Ares stood in front of you, fighting like a cornered badger. Artemis was unconscious, but still breathing.”

Then he indicated the two skeletons. “Aphrodite and Hermes were not so fortunate.”

Jord stood silently for just a moment. This had to be so real for him. Could this happen in Asgaard? These gods had been real. Living, breathing, loving. But even eternal life could be cut short by death.

What had they been like? What had the world lost when the Messenger of the Greek Gods and their Goddess of Beauty died? Would Olympus ever see their like again?

“This way.” Jord pointed down one of the branching tunnels. “I know where we are now.”

Jord moved on and Meghan followed. Her heart was heavy with loss for people she’d only known through their legends.