I opened the folder. On top was a contract. I scanned it and a few words stood out. Proprietary…holder…board voted…Nike of Olympus will now be the legal blah blah blah of Dark Sparks. My eyes grew wide as I scanned the document again before looking up at him. “Dad, seriously? You’re giving me the company?”
Is Hera alive? Safe? Did my bargaining work? Did Zeus set me free? Am I imagining all of this? Another nightmare? Did I really escape or just trade one prison for another? I have so many questions and no answers.
I groaned in pain as several thousand years of memories rushed back in. I felt nauseous and struggled to put everything into perspective. I felt Zeus kiss my hands, and I opened my eyes, immediately remembering every argument, every laugh, every moment with him.
As things seem to break apart, I take the opportunity to make my way over to Atë. I lay my hand on my half-sister and best friend’s shoulder, and it’s as if we haven’t been apart for centuries.
“You are the reason I am what I am. You are the strength in my heart, the fire in my eyes. You are the most beautiful creature that has ever lived, and every day without you has been worse than death. Something I sadly have experience in,” Zeus said.
“Nike, are you saying that since you stepped in to help run the shop on Olympus Boulevard, you brought in a half a million-dollar increase to the company?”
“He gave me this to give to you.” Hermes produced a black envelope with a golden “Z” seal on the back. It was an official OA envelope, and he kept it just out of my reach.
“That after everything you did, after everything she did, I watched them take her away, and I actually felt guilty.” I stop, raising my head to look at him. It is the first time I admitted that to anyone. Let alone myself. “So yeah, guess my crimes have earned me eternity.”
His back is towards me as he stares out at the night sky. It makes my heart drop. My father is usually confident and happy. It is hard to see him anything but that.
The hands were still spinning in lazy, counter-clockwise circles. I looked down at the watch. My eyes glowed in the reflection in the glass, but…nothing. I could feel no power surging through me, no pull into the watch.
Taking a deep breath, knowing that once again, my feelings were impeding my duty. Duty, duty, duty, I thought to myself as I turned to fly back to the room.
Another call, not yours. When I heard it, it came with all this nourishment for me. Chaos, tragedy, strife. Taking a bite of each one was like taking a step, like following a trail of breadcrumbs.
“I want my wife back, Moxie. I want her back. She left me when she thought I’d died. In thousands of years, the things I’ve done, she always stayed. The one thing I never did was die.”
“Be careful with that powder,” Than murmured as he continued to study the substance. “Something about this…” He stopped talking as the sandy dust lifted from his fingers and spiraled upwards towards the watch.
They are the afraid, the lost, the forsaken, and the forgotten. I never forget, though. I know them all…
