The Trident
As I fight the infection, my limbs are reinvigorated with the need to live. I shout their names to remind myself and all who are listening that I have something to live for.
As I fight the infection, my limbs are reinvigorated with the need to live. I shout their names to remind myself and all who are listening that I have something to live for.
Everything stopped as I walked across the balcony and down the stairs. “I don’t believe you all know me, but let me introduce myself. I am Alexandros Korias. I am the owner of the ship you sank this afternoon.”
“Eros!” I roared as I flipped the coffee table, spilling my broken laptop onto the floor. “I needed that! Do you have any idea…my files…my calendar!” My rage and dread were making it impossible for me to speak. “I’m gonna kill you!”
He smirked and tilted his head like he was trying to make a decision, so I threw a pillow at him, aiming for his head. His hand shot out, catching it before it could hit him. “You’re no fun.” He really was, and we both knew it.
“I did have a feeling you were not paying attention to my daily floor updates all this time. I swear, master. Sometimes you have the attention span of a toddler.”
“Well, feed me mushy peas and grape juice then, Luis. Do toddlers sleep out in the forest? I’m not Tarzan, you know.”
“Goodbye, my Kallis!” I exclaim. She smiles at me with that same smile that always makes my heart soar. “We did a thing here today,” I hum to her. “Be proud of that,” I say with complete sincerity, as for once I’m even proud of myself.
I watched the sun rays dance along my carpet, remembering the first rug upon which I smote a mortal and how my grandson used it to dispose of the body. That was my favorite rug, and I missed it.
Look at me. I’ve turned into a sappy romantic bitch. “Love me, or I’ll die.” Ugh, I can’t even look at myself right now. And yet, it’s how I feel. Like Dionysos is my future, and I can’t shake it. I don’t want to shake it.
Fortunately, the two natural paths that formed a cross in the forest were already pulling us, the energy palpable, pushing my heartbeat into my throat. I loved Earth, but there was something about the icy grip of the Underworld that called to me, serenading me with its cacophony of wailing souls and the promise of quiet corridors I could get lost in.
Back in Black by ACDC blasted out of the speakers as I started the engine and floored the gas. I imagined my hysterical laughter trailed behind the car like the tail of an asteroid. A new era was about to begin. Lord Hades was back, and the world better watch out. The King had returned.
I gripped the glass tight in my fist, and it hissed under the pressure. It was a warning not to press the issue or attempt to follow me when I left. I glared at him from the corner of my eye and drank the rest of the whiskey in one final gulp.
My father loved you and it got him killed. I wasn’t assigned to you. I chose to work with you because you are the only other person that I thought knew him as well as I did.
“Nice! Ares is finally getting some. I’m so proud. Maybe now you’ll stop walking around with a stick up your ass.”
“They are coming, Lykos,” I say, looking up at him in panic just as the first contraction starts.
The reason I say it to her so much…I went two thousand years without saying it to her. Then an extra thousand years with my mind wiped and her being trapped in a dagger. So, yeah, I’m going to say I love her at every opportunity.