Page 6 of The Don's Deadly Assassin

"Your hubris is boundless, demigod!" another voice snarls, its fury cutting like a cold blade through my soul.

Jupiter, Neptune, Venus, Apollo, Pluto, Diana - the gods and goddesses all roar at me.

"Return what you have taken and suffer the consequences of your foolishness!" a third voice demands, echoing ominously through the shadowy recesses of my mind.

My heart races, and sweat beads on my brow as I struggle to confront the wrathful gods that surround me. Their divine fury is unrelenting, and their visages shift and swirl like storm clouds, always just beyond my grasp.

"Please," I plead, my voice trembling with fear and desperation. "It was not my intent to offend you. I only sought justice for my mother's untimely passing."

"Your quest for vengeance has led you down a treacherous path," one of the gods intones gravely.

"The arrow you stole holds a power you cannot comprehend, and your actions have unleashed chaos upon both the divine and mortal realms. Now, we are coming to seek our revenge. You will tremble as you remember the day you crossed us…"

I jerk awake, breathless, panicked.

"Calliope," I whisper urgently, shaking her gently. "Awaken, my love, for there is danger upon us."

Her eyes flutter open in confusion. "Pelagios? What troubles you?"

"Forgive me for disturbing your rest, but we have not a moment to lose." My voice trembles as I struggle to articulate the peril that lies ahead.

"There’s something you must know,” I begin and pull out the arrow, telling her who I am and what I did. "The arrow I have stolen and pricked myself on has placed you in grave danger, and you must disappear from this place at once."

"What is this arrow?" Calliope asks, concerned.

"An... an artifact of great power," I stammer, struggling to regain my composure. "Stolen from the heavens themselves."

"From the gods?" she gasps, her eyes widening with shock. "Pelagios, do you realize what you've done? What kind of danger you've put yourself in?"

"I’m aware," I whisper, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. "But the risks were worth the potential reward. With this arrow, I might finally have had the means to exact vengeance upon those who wronged me – those who wronged my mother.”

"Vengeance?" she echoes, her brow furrowing in concern. "Pelagios, that is a path best avoided, for it only leads to destruction – one’s own destruction."

"I’m aware of the wrongs I did," I say hurriedly, the words spilling forth like a torrent. "That's why I'm giving this to you."

"Me?" she exclaims, taking a step back in surprise. "Why would you entrust such power to me?"

“Because I need to get you to safety, and along the way, should you find yourself in danger, you must yield this arrow to win over those at your hunt to fall in love with you. Your enemies can be bent to protect you. Please, Calliope. Tonight, we’re heading towards the docks. You sail east, and when it’s safe, I’ll come find you.”

She listens, an alertness coming over her. I had braced myself for her reproach, her doubt, but all she does is take my hand in her own. “I knew it,” she whispers, eyes wide.

“Knew what, my love?”

“You aren’t a mere mortal,” she smiles, sad and gentle. “There’s this otherworldly glow about you…”

“You knew?” I gasp.

“From the moment I saw you.”

This makes everything simpler. I stand and extend my hand. She takes it without a question.

“To the ship,” she whispers, kissing me a last passionate goodbye before we leave this orchard hand-in-hand.

At the docks, I buy Calliopes safe passage to the East, paying the ship’s captain in gold. With a final nod and a tear-soaked kiss to my cheek, Calliope crosses the gangplank, her figure bathed in a silver glow as she steps aboard.

I watch from the shore as the sailors cast off, the ship cutting through the water with purposeful grace.

As the vessel shrinks in the distance, my heart swells with a potent mixture of hope and worry for Calliope's well-being. Despite the assurances I offered, I cannot quell the unease that gnaws at me.

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