The demon in the skull, p.17
Hekate, page 17
You survived him.’
I had forgotten about Kronos.
I had forgotten about
how he was the maker of giants.
How he had made them
of Ouranous’ blood
in his very own image.
They were meant to be
Kronos’ personal army.
Until, at the very end
of the Titanomachy,
Zeus promised them freedom
in exchange for giving up their master.
Kronos had nearly trapped me,
until one version of me had taken a torch
and thrust it into his face,
the heat from the fire rescuing me.
I had not forgotten what it took
to make him very, very afraid.
‘Torches,’ I said softly to them.
‘We need torches, hundreds of them.’
Looking back at my army,
I amended my words.
‘We need thousands.’
Climbing a Golden Mountain
I had never been more grateful
to have the powers of a Goddess
than in the moment where we
turned damp pieces of wood
into torches with a touch.
If we were mortal, this would take
a hundred days or more,
but for Gods it was effortless.
Within moments of my suggestion
thousands of torches had been formed
and handed to the army behind us.
And this was when we began our climb.
From above, heavy marble pillars
fell past us, and the smell of sweet
ambrosian God-blood grew thick.
I felt a sickness as I climbed
and the smell of ichor and iron
grew stronger, reminding me of
Tartarus, where my father was trapped.
I was climbing a mountain full of his blood.
I pushed this thought away brutally
as the climb grew steeper
and we had to use our hands
as much as our legs to rise.
Finally, my hand reached up
and I touched cold, smooth floor.
Olympus Was Burning
When Hermes described this
he had failed to mention
the sheer scale of the carnage.
Red and gold blood caked the floor.
The Gods were immortal
but the giants were numerous
and only a few massive bodies lay
among the crumbling
marble of immaculately made
and once-seemingly invincible pillars.
Ares’s red storm was waning
and Zeus was high in the sky.
Athena looked to be tiring,
fighting them back from the altars
where the prayer-smoke was starting to die.
Without a moment lost,
I crawled forward to make way
for the army behind me,
and then carefully whispered
the words that would set
every single one of our torches alight.
‘γενηθήτω φῶς!
Let there be light!’
The Advance
The giants were distracted
and consumed with near-victory.
‘We will not get a better chance,’
I whispered to Thanatos and Hermes.
‘They are afraid of fire,’
I said softly, and the whisper
passed down the ranks.
‘Use your torches in their faces,
burn their toes, their eyes.
I have blessed you with unending flame.’
And with these words,
I looked upon the giant closest to me,
the one who was destroying
the altar with Hera’s sigil,
and crept up behind him
before he could see me.
The Element of Surprise
It was all we had.
The hope that the giants were
unprepared
for what we brought into the fray
and that our damage
was brutal
and swift enough
to force their retreat.
I put myself ahead of my army,
for it was my knowledge
that had brought us here,
and it was only fair
that I took the first risk.
I leapt to the huge being,
as tall as the pillar
he had lifted into his arms,
and I used my torch on his shin.
Battle
A roar ripped from the giant’s throat
as he looked down at me,
and his comical cry drove my fear away.
I smiled up at him insolently
as I twirled my two fiery torches.
He dropped the pillar with a hard thud,
Hera’s sigil crumbling.
Ungainly now, he reached down.
But I was prepared.
I climbed on top of
the closest pile of debris
and as he reached for me
I burned his fingers,
and while he snatched them back,
I set his loincloth aflame.
Shrieking, the great being
tumbled backwards
all the way off the edge.
I heard his roar as he plummeted
to the ground, a distant cry of dismay.
I felt a cry of triumph
bursting within my blood.
All around me the giants were falling.
My army of dead had turned this battle,
there was a chance we may win!
When I turned back I saw
Thanatos upon the back of
one of the giants,
about to shove the torch
into his face.
But before he could do it
the creature grabbed Thanatos
off his back, as though he were
one of Pallas’ carved toys,
and threw him across Olympus
till his back met a pillar and he slid
to the ground.
‘THANATOS!’
I screamed, a white-hot fear bursting through my chest. I raced across the mountaintop. When I reached him, Thanatos looked up at me, eyes wide in confusion and pain. I tried to help him stand up but he shook his head slightly and winced. I moved my hand to the back of his head, and my fingers came away with ichor. This is when the fear inside me changed to red-raw rage. I knew Thanatos would heal eventually, as all Gods do. But that creature had the gall to make him bleed. The idea of more Titan blood spilling on this unholy mountain made me pick up my torches and turn. My eyes met with the giant who had done this and with a cry of fury, I raced towards him. In my peripheral vision I saw Hermes battling two giants alongside my undead army. He turned just in time to watch me as once again I split into my timeless three. All three of us with our six torches leapt upon the giant, knocking him to the ground and shoving our flames into his eyes. The creature screamed in agony and struggled, trying to throw us off, but my rage had given us the strength of a thousand lions each. When the giant was finally dead, I looked at the two other versions of me that had come from my bones and sinew, before turning back to Thanatos, who was walking towards us. My heart lightened with relief as I realized he was recovered. He picked up a torch. Wordlessly, we all headed into the heart of Olympus where the Olympians had been cornered into their very last stand.
The Last Stand of the Olympian Gods
Years from now, when they tell this story,
pieces of it will be changed to erase
the truth: that it was an army of undead mortals
that saved the Gods in their last stand.
Even though my Legion soldiers fought till their
star-hearts began to flicker,
fought for unworthy Gods
with their blue hands and torches.
The tale will also forget that in the ruins
of Zeus’ once-fine palace, he battled
with an ever-dwindling quiver of thunderbolts.
That Ares was beaten so much,
he could barely move. That Athena’s
famous shield and spear lay broken
on the floor as she was left with her fists
alone against three angry giants.
Indeed, the story told will say the Gods
always had the upper hand.
That the giants were simply fortunate
they were able to get this far.
But what they would never erase
is the story of a Goddess who knew
how to raise the dead into an army,
marching upon thousands of giants
with the God of Death and the Trickster
by her side, with the torches and flames
that would finally bring the giants
to their knees and cause them to flee.
Aftermath
It was strange to stand again upon rubble that was once a palace. I had known the wreckage of palaces well. I was once a child who ran through a crumbling home, learning about a world beyond its walls that was covered in golden blood. I now knew what made the floors of this place gold and it invoked a bitterness in me. The sweet-burned smell of ichor was so pungent, I could not wait to return to the Underworld. But first I helped Ares recover his mother, Hera, from the edge of Olympus, distracting her captors with my torches as she freed herself from their chains. Thanatos went to find Hephaestus, locating him in the bowels of his mountain forge, locked away in a box they had forced him to craft. Hermes aided Apollo and Artemis in their return to the mountain, but not before they had sliced through the ankles of enough giants still climbing the mountainside and sent them tumbling. And Zeus helped Athena recover what was left of the altars for rebuilding. My army was back with me, thousands covering the mountaintop, nearly spilling over its edges. In the end, we stood upon the smoking ruins as all the Olympians assembled. They were beautiful, as all the legends said. Arrogant and powerful and yet… yet they had needed help from me. It was Zeus who spoke first. ‘Hekate, daughter of Asteria and Perses. Your efforts have served us well. For this, we will give you anything you ask.’
The First of My Boons
I had been expecting these words,
and yet I did not speak instantly.
Instead, I was careful with my answer.
‘The mortals that aided us.
The ones I brought back to help you.
Give them the ability to live again,
in comfort. For their services.’
I watched the faces of the Olympians
as they slowly processed this.
They could not fathom
a Goddess who cared about mortals.
To them, mortals were so insignificant
that they had made it a game
of playing with their lives.
But like my uncle Prometheus
before me, I saw a beauty
in humans. They were doomed
and yet still lived such full lives.
Zeus traded an unreadable look
with Poseidon. Then after what felt
like a thousand years, he looked at me
and nodded. ‘So granted.’
I bowed my head in thanks,
but did not move. Zeus raised his brow.
‘I am not finished,’ I said.
‘Hermes and Thanatos, please,
if you could lead my army away.’
Hermes grinned at me
and Thanatos nodded,
and I watched as they led
my star-hearted mortals away.
The Second of My Boons
Zeus waited until the last mortal’s hand
had left the edge of the mountain.
Then he looked at me and said,
‘What do you want for yourself?’
I knew what I wanted,
but I did not know if it was possible.
I stared down at the obscene gold floors
and then met his stare steadily.
‘I want you to free my father
and his brothers from their punishment.’
A loud, dark silence fell
across this devastated realm.
‘That,’ Zeus responded, his voice
laced with danger, ‘is not possible.’
But another voice interrupted him.
‘It is possible if you so desire, God-King.’
Hera stepped between me and her husband.
‘We have lived with the guilt of this
under our feet for long enough.
Besides that, this mountain shining gold
is what made it such an easy mark.’
Zeus looked like he might argue this.
But instead, he sighed and nodded.
‘I will release them from the blood-let.
But not,’ he added firmly, ‘from Tartarus.’
The Third of My Boons
It was more than I could have hoped for.
I was expecting a direct refusal.
At least this meant my father
would be finally free from torture.
And Tartarus was unpleasant,
but at least he would not have to bleed
for the pleasure of his enemies anymore.
I took a deep breath and said,
‘I thank you. I have one more request.’
Zeus’ face distorted into a scowl.
‘You push too far, Titanide.’
A warning. A threat.
I held my ground.
‘My final request is for Gods and mortals alike,’
I said softly. ‘Mortals are dying
and your powers are dying with them.
It is Demeter’s winter that is killing them.
Let her have her daughter back, oh Zeus.
Let them be reunited and order be restored.’
I watched his face as I said this.
At first there was annoyance at me,
then a wave of grudging understanding.
And finally, at long last,
Zeus spoke again.
‘I will allow it.
But only
if she has not eaten anything
in the land of the dead.’
A caveat. Constraints.
I wondered if this was his trick.
While Gods did not need food,
we did eat for pleasure often.
And everything I had heard
of Kore spoke of joy and kindness
and yes, even of pleasure.
She was a Goddess of spring,
used to fruits every day
for her meals. But I could not argue.
I had used all of my cards here.
I nodded and just as I was about to leave,
Zeus said to me,
‘Hekate, tarry.’
I stopped but did not turn back.
‘I never want to see you
anywhere near this mountain again.’
I closed my eyes at these words.
Gods are not good with fear,
and I had proven myself worthy of their fear.
‘One more thing.’ Zeus’ voice rang out.
‘You must never marry.
Especially not a child of the night.
Especially not Thanatos.’
My eyes widened and I spun back
at his words. His stony gaze met mine
and I realized he knew something
I had refused to admit to myself
until this moment. That Thanatos
meant so much more to me
than just friend. I did not speak.
I turned away, not giving Zeus
the satisfaction of agreement.
A Cruel Demand
As I made my way down Olympus
I turned over Zeus’ words inside my head
as though they were a stone in my hand.
‘You must never marry.
Especially not Thanatos.’
Especially not Thanatos.
Why had I not seen it clearly,
what was brewing between us?
And how had Zeus known?
And why? Why could I never marry?
And then I realized why.
My gifts. Witchcraft. Necromancy.
These were not gifts Olympians
were blessed with, and powers
they did not know, they feared.
Zeus was not just afraid of me.
He was afraid of what my children
might do to his rule.
Especially if I had a child
with Thanatos, a son of Nyx,
the only Goddess Zeus feared.
To prevent even the idea of an uprising,
Zeus had taken Styx’s and Pallas’ children.
But our offspring would pose a greater threat to him.
For he had no control over us.
Unlike Styx and Pallas, Thanatos and I
had not declared loyalty to Zeus.
A Return
Styx was waiting for me at the mouth
of her river’s cave. Her long green tresses
were loose again as they always were
when she was tending to the souls
in her waters. She saw me approach
and rose, her dress’ hem wet
and her eyes full of questions.
‘I must find Kore.’
I told her quickly of Zeus,
the Boons and his conditions
on Kore’s return to her mother.
She listened carefully and nodded.
‘I will come with you.’
I was about to protest
but a single glare from her silenced me.
Charon appeared upon his ferry.
I could already see Styx’s acidic waters
damaging his small boat.
But he smiled, his eyes reassuring,
and gestured open-handed
for us to jump in.
We did as he asked
and he moved us with the speed
he would move Gods,
not the mortal souls he was used to.
Quickly the rapids were gone
and we were standing at
the banks of the Forest of Silence.
Back in the Forest of Silence
It was so quiet here
