Page 39 of The Night Belongs To Lovers

Mighty Zeus, his face red with fury, prepared to unleash his Olympian wrath. His radiant eyes, pulsing with energy, were fixed on the night god who bound his child. The lightning crackling in the dark clouds above was a portent of the impending clash. Hermes and Hera stood at the ready, awaiting their king’s command.

Olympius, utterly without fear, turned towards the other gods with hatred in his heart; the protective, living darkness loomed large, throbbing with power, ready to strike on command.

Wishing to prevent further chaos, Athena, the valiant goddess of wisdom, moved swiftly to her Maker’s side. She placed her hand gently but firmly upon his shoulder, halting Zeus’ movement. She calmly requested a respite.

“Please, Olympius, release my brother. Let us do no further harm to man, god, or nature. What is done is done. There is no need to compound the tragedy with more violence.”

As she spoke, the tension in the air began to ease, a testament to her power and influence. The gods gradually calmed down, realizing the futility of their conflict—all except Ares, but Zeus quickly put him in his place.

Retracting his power, Olympius dismantled his armour and released Apollo from his binding. Though still in discomfort, the sun god found the strength to run and hide behind his Maker for protection. Seeing a light channeller so cowed in the face of a true master of darkness put a smile onOlympius’ face.

But that smile soon faded, making way for outrage.

“How dare Olympus interfere with my business!” Olympius raged. “To wage this war is my right, my—”

“You have no rights above any of us!” Zeus interrupted, his voice booming and drowning out Olympius’ rant. “We are both children of Titans, Olympius, as is Hera, but we do not place ourselves above the rest of godkind. Yes, I rule the Olympians, but I am no dictator like my Maker was. You should have come to us first for approval before waging war on humanity.”

“Not doing so has resulted in this,” Athena lamented as she pointed outward toward the throngs of dead mortals. “Such tragic devastation, but we Olympians do nothing in half measures.”

“And we do not have to explain ourselves further,” Zeus proclaimed. “This action before you is the judgment of Olympus. If you attempt to recreate this army to continue with this pointless old vendetta against Rome, we shall imprison you and your progeny in Tartarus. This is my final word on the matter!”

Then, in a flash of blinding lightning, the Olympians vanished.

But as they did, a massive wave of force spread out from the brilliant burst, obliterating the bodies of the fallen soldiers and their dead mounts, sending the remaining dust to both the wind and Gaia’s earthy embrace. The powerful force moved around Olympius and the soldiers’ surviving steeds, leaving all unhurt.

Only the dead were affected.

CORIOLANUS

The Past

“THEOlympians kept their word,” Coriolanus noted as he stumbled out of the forest. Though banged up, all his lacerations from slamming into the tree were fully healed. “Nature and god were unharmed in their action to remove all evidence of godly presence. But my poor men! I tried to stop them, Olympius, but I—oh!”

Before the warrior-god could finish his explanation, Olympius appeared at his side. With a fierce expression, the angered god grabbed Coriolanus’ arm and ascended with himinto the night sky, unwilling to discuss anything amid what he believed was their collective failure.

Taken aback by this sudden aggressive action, Coriolanus tried to reason with Olympius, imploring him to calm down and loosen his grip, for he was not his enemy. He stated he wished to fly alongside him, not bound in such an unfriendly embrace.

As Olympius came to a sudden halt, his face contorted with anger as he pushed Coriolanus away from him. With his arms crossed, the older immortal launched into a furious tirade against the warrior-god, his voice filled with venomous accusations of betrayal.

“How could you betray me, Coriolanus? I trusted you, yet you rushed back to show your allegiance to the Olympians. Have I not always said we were never in any real danger from them? Gods do not kill gods, Coriolanus. I do not fear them. As you saw, even Apollo’s power is nothing to me, whether day or night. Even in a weakened state, I am stronger in the blood of the ancients than he. Than most of them!

“All of this was nothing but Olympian boasting and bluster! They have no right to stand in my way! Blast their threats of Tartarus. I am no fool like Prometheus, taken and imprisoned like a misbehaving child.I am Lord of the Night—and I will have my revenge upon Rome!”

Coriolanus was confused and profoundly concerned about Olympius’ erratic behaviour. Though deeply wounded by being accused of betrayal, he desperately searched for ways to calm thesituation. Though his heart was heavy, he tried comforting his agitated partner with soothing words.

“My love,” the warrior-god spoke gently, “I know nothing of betrayal. I tried to stop the Olympians. They appeared upon the road and ordered me to turn away from Rome and disband our army. But I am ever loyal to you, even to my death, if gods can die. You must know that! I refused their order, of course.”

Coriolanus attempted to place his hand upon Olympius’ shoulder, but his Maker shrugged it off.

“Liar! You told me yourself that you accepted their ruling, their reasoning. Do you take me for some addled simpleton who quickly forgets? Your charms, alluring as they are, will not obfuscate my memory.”

Coriolanus scrunched his face, utterly perplexed and teetering on vexation now that his word and honour were in question. “I did nothing of the sort!” the hot-headed warrior-god loudly declared, tossing his calm demeanour aside. “Have you gone mad? Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? Unlike you, who—”

Catching himself, Coriolanus paused mid-sentence, but it was too late. The beginning of an accusation, a revelation of secret information he had never meant to weaponize, now lingered between them, impossible to retract.

“Unlike me?! What do you mean? Speak plainly! I have given my reasons for gifting you immortality, for falling in love with you! What evil do you believe I did that you have kept hidden from me, secretly resenting me for?”

Like poor Pandora, it was too late for the warrior-god to undo his act. The meaning behind his few words was already out of the box, and the lid had closed too late.

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