Page 48 of The Night Belongs To Lovers

The Present

OLYMPIUSrecoiled at the condemnation and confession. “I—I—” He still had no words, but he knew they would be meaningless anyway. “You never listen, Coriolanus. Never trust. What is the point?”

The atmosphere in the alley was tense and heavy as the two powerful gods locked eyes in a fierce standoff. Neither made any sudden movements as if waiting for the other to take action first.

The silence between them was deafening, broken only by the whizzing of the security camerasattached to several buildings surrounding them. Each camera suddenly sprang to life as if some unknown force triggered their simultaneous motion.

Is this your doing, Fortuna?Olympius looked up at the annoying cacophony. A sudden realization struck him; Fortuna’s cryptic marks about technology finally made sense to him. The puzzle pieces fell into place in his mind, illuminating a path forward.

“Beloved! The cameras! They must have caught the horrid act! The security footage will prove my innocence. Please, I beg you to stow your anger, even your hatred, if that is fueling you now, and come look with me.”

But Corey did not move. His eyes remained glued to Olympius in a pained, tortured stare.

“So obstinate! Have all bridges truly been burned between us? No, I will not accept that. I apologize for this action, but I must do it for both our sakes.”

With a simple hand gesture, Olympius summoned his immense power and created a forceful grip around Corey; invisible arms held him tightly as they brought him forward to be at his Maker’s side.

The warrior-god struggled fiercely to break free from the invisible restraints; his frustration was evident by the many colourful expletives he spewed. Corey even went as far as to remind his Maker of the last time he bound him, which caused a deep pain in Olympius’ heart.

Despite this, Olympius still refused to let go. He knew his actions were necessary and the last hope for repairing their fractured relationship.

“I am sorry, beloved,” Olympius began in response to seeing the strain on Corey’s face, “but the darkness will not come to your aid. It obeys me before you.” His tone was gentle.

Planning to get inside one of the buildings, Olympius turned toward a brick wall, not even bothering to locate a doorway, as Corey had done earlier. That was unnecessary as walls, doorways, roofs, and floors were identical to the ancient god: no barrier. Olympius summoned the darkness to create an entrance upon an outside wall, which he promptly walked through with Corey in tow.

Upon arriving inside the building, Olympius wasted no time and quickly searched for the room containing the monitoring screens. With his speed, it only took him a few seconds to locate it. However, upon entering the room with Corey, he became so frustrated by what he saw that he slammed his fist down on a nearby desk, destroying it in his rage.

“What is all this? I have no idea how to work this damnable thing!”

“For fuck’s sake, Olympius! What have you been doing this century? Let me go! I’ll do it since you seem so adamant that you’re innocent. Fine, I’ll watch the fucking video, but if you ever use your powers on me like this again, you’ll be spitting teeth!”

Olympius grinned and released Corey. “Beloved, you are so very sexy when you act all ferocious and warrior-godlike. It reminds me of our lovemaking that one time above Corioli, right after you tore apart those beastly legionnaires. Remember me licking their blood off your fists and forearms? I get hard thinking about it.”

Corey rolled his eyes as he moved to sit in the chair before the monitors. “Really, Olympius?! Read the damn room! How you flit between emotional states!” It took Corey hardly a moment to figure out how to playback the footage.

Both gods were stunned by what they witnessed on the screen as the events in the alley unfolded in shades of gray, albeit for different reasons.

“What am I seeing?” Corey asked, confused. He played the scene again. “What the hell is this, Olympius? The night air killed Christian? A poltergeist? No, I think it’s you using your powers to kill from a distance so you don’t have to get your hands dirty. This video is more incriminating than anything. Do you think I’m so stupid that I’d fall for this deception?”

Corey turned to glare at his Maker and rip into him further, but upon seeing Olympius’ face, he paused in shock. Corey thought that if the ancient night god was not already naturally pale, he would have seen him turned stark white.

Fearsat clearly upon Olympius’ face. That emotion was one Corey had never seen him express before, one he would never have associated with a god as powerful as him.

“What is it?” Corey asked gently, wondering what shook his Maker to his core. Curiosity and genuine concern tempered his rage. “Why do you look so—well,terrifiedis the only word that fits? You who fear nothing. What’s going on?”

As he slowly stepped back, away from the screen, Olympius opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was drasticallyflabbergasted. The god’s vision, far more powerful than his progeny’s, could easily make out the apparition’s form on the screen. “No, it cannot be.”

Corey watched as Olympius disappeared from the room—and without a second thought, he immediately followed, catching up to him at the shadow door. They both went through one at a time, back to the alley.

Olympius became erratic, rapidly moving about the alley, searching maniacally for something unseen.

The homeless teens walking by at that moment immediately turned and fled in panic, as did the drunk sauntering toward them. He turned on his heels, as if sobering up in seconds, and hightailed it out.

Corey had no clue what was happening, but he suddenly felt thickened shadows pulled close to both of them as if Olympius was trying to shield them from an impending attack.

“What’s happening, Olympius? What has you so spooked?”

His questions continued to go unanswered. Olympius persisted in conveying nothing.

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