Page 2 of You Can't Fight Lightning
“Like a freshly cracked green olive.” One of the most bitter things known to god or man.
Nyx let out a laugh that was both robust and silvery. How did she do that?
“I don’t find it funny.”
“I do.” Her words were simple. “You’re going to be well, Zeus. You’re strong, and even though you are one of the more donkey-headed of the gods, you are adaptable. All of you are.”
“Will we?” I wasn’t sure if I was asking for me, for my family, for the humans—there were many questions about all of these gods and people. And why would she call me donkey-headed?
“You will.” Nyx nodded, her chin moving in a sharp motion. “You’re already different. Had you been like this in the past, I might not have had to threaten you.”
“Had your son not snuck into my chamber and bespelled me, there would have been no need for threats.” I let the previous insult about donkeys go. Focus, I told myself. There are more important things to focus on.
“Hush. Given who we are, how we came to be, conflict was inevitable.”
I felt my shoulders drop. I didn’t want to fight. There was enough to deal with as it was. We needed a safe place, a place where we could go. We had to fit in with the human world, something we’d never bothered with before. I mean, who didn’t want to be seen as an all-powerful god when dealing with humans?
But now, we needed to change our thinking.
Once we’d started discussing moving away, I noticed that everyone was excited to leave Olympus and seek out new adventures—but I wanted to be sure that when the adventures didn’t go as planned, we had a place where we could be ourselves, safe from the rest of the human world.
Because if I knew one thing about dealing with humans, it was that things often didn’t go as planned.
“You are doing the right thing.” Nyx was gazing around.
“I hope so.”
“You are. I like this newer version of you.” Her smile enveloped me.
It was like immersing myself into a dark, cool pool of water.
“Thank you, I think?”
Her hand rested on my arm, although I wasn’t aware of how she’d gotten so close. “You’re going to be fine. I’ll check in on you from time to time, if you like.”
“To laugh?”
“No. As a friend.”
I felt a shift. The plates of the earth, the paths of the stars, something. I peered at her to make sure she wasn’t having me on.
“As a friend.”
“Yes. I think we all might need a friend.”
“All right. As friends.”
“Good luck, Zeus.”
“You as well, Nyx.”
She patted my arm and walked away from me. She turned around to look at me. “Why don’t you take this time to look for something… new?” One of her finely arched brows went up.
“What do you mean?”
Her shoulders moved in the graceful shrug once more. “I don’t know, Zeus. Perhaps allow yourself to be more open? You never know what or who might come across your path.” Nyx smiled. Then she disappeared, in a swirl of mist and shadow.
“Cliché!” I yelled at the mist.
