The Battle of Olympus | III

2. I Discover Vampire-Zombies

Wow, how long has it been since I last updated? Like ten years? Oops.

Olympus looked like a war zone.

The last time I had gone there, it had been beautiful, ageless, though a bit strange. Now, though, there were no cheery lights, no gods sitting outside cafes, sipping their drinks or playing on their version of a phone. Gods were running around in full armor, weapons strapped to their side or their backs, giving the seven of us grim looks when they passed instead of gawking like they had done my first time here.

"They know," Amara murmured to me. "War is coming. All knows it."

That was such a morale booster.

Paris, Ella, and I all exchanged dark looks. We had once been in what was known as the greatest war in all of ancient history, and though war was nothing new to us, it wasn't like we enjoyed it more as time went on. That was reserved for other things, like golf or gardening or... other stuff. What did normal people do for fun? I was beginning to find it hard to remember. The last few weeks (or days?) had just been fight, kill, don't die, repeat.

"Amara?"

The woman hurrying toward us wore golden armor over her shirt, her sun-kissed hair tied back, her blue eyes knitted in concern. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties, but that was rarely the case for immortals. Especially for one with as powerful an aura as she had.

"Polyhymnia," Amara sighed in relief as the two embraced.

Paris frowned and leaned toward me. "Polyhymnia? Sounds familiar. Who is she again?"

I rolled my eyes. "Several thousand years and you have yet to start remembering peoples' names. Polyhymnia is the muse of sacred poetry and hymn, and Amara is the Oracle, so..."

"Ah. Right."

"Zeus has called an emergency war council," Polyhymnia said to Amara. "All the Olympians are deciding the best course of action. Of course, Lord Apollo has complained about the uselessness of such an act. The enemy is shielded by the primordials, and more are sided with them than with us. No action any god could take would be enough to combat a deity's. But Zeus must look like he is doing something."

"What if Claudius succeeds?" I interrupted.

All eyes turned onto me, but I kept mine fixed on Polyhymnia, knowing that she must've at least had a good guess.

She considered it. "I do not know. But..." she hesitated. "Mortals and immortals, especially deities, are different in every aspect. You see, mortals are powerful precisely because they are not a god. They can pass through most places undetected, they can break any of the unspoken laws should they have the will power to do so, and mortals are ever changing, like the tides. Gods do not change easily, and they are slow to see the big picture. They have millennia to do so, after all. But mortals do not have the same perspective."

"But how can...?"

"Your family gift," Amara answered. "All humans are born with magic, but your family has always been born of magic. You and your brother may have only been half-Galerii, but Claudius was one entirely. He is more powerful than you may give him credit for. After all, he was able to retrieve his own memories and bring back the others, as well as convince the deities to be on his side."

There was a pause, before Aden said out loud, "I'm confused. What's happening?"

"Claudius is attempting to make another two-for-one deal," I grumbled. "God, I already got that for my prophecy, and now I have to deal with Claudius too? What's keeping the gods from just smacking him off the face of the earth? I doubt he's succeeded yet."