The Hidden Goddess

33. Phase One.

Erebus lays her on the couch and Kila brings out her doctors bag to check on her.

"I am fine now," she says and tries to sit up.

"Shut up!" Kila, Garrett and Erebus all shout. Selene eases back down with no argument.

"No yell at mommy!" shouted Silva. He giggled as Erebus tickled his sides.

"Do they realize its our goddess they're dealing with?" whispered Dane.

"I'm not so sure that it matters to them," replied Raymond.

"They care about her as a person. I see why she's so hell bent on sacrificing herself for them," said Aria.

"They're probably the only one's that have genuinely showed care for her," said Dane. The three of them nodded as they watched the others dote on the goddess. She laid nervously but occasionally giggled from the coldness of the stethoscope on her chest. Erebus smiled from her reactions. Kila lectured her to hold still but kept a smile. Garrett patted her head gently and laughed.

"They're already a family who'd do anything for each other," said Raymond.

"If only they'd realize that instead of actually behaving like children," grumbled Aria.

"They'll learn eventually," said Raymond. He hugged his wife and kissed her cheek.

They picked up on Dane's pained eyes looking over at the children and goddess but chose to ignore it. They exchanged knowing looks and dismissed the non-verbal topic.

Selene sat up and Erebus pulled her onto his lap and kissed her all over her face.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said.

"It is fine. I am sorry for so adamantly dismissing your feelings," she said.

"Can we talk about it properly, later?" he asked. Selene sighed and nodded.

"Everyone, there is something I- we must do. Eachann's soul will be escaping soon and we must prepare to stop him," said Selene.

Dane stepped forward.
"The Council already has a plan to revive Eachann. It's safe to assume that they've acquired the all the pieces of his body and put it back together. There is a ritual that will attract his soul to his body and bring him back to life," he explained.

"That is his original body. His second body is one that I sealed away. Its weaker than his original because it has no heart. We cannot let him merge with his original body," said Selene.

"Weren't you able to stop him in his original body?" asked Aria.

"I was only able to catch him off guard and rip him to pieces. His original body also didn't have the level of strength his current soul has. A stronger soul and a body with a heart will make him much more difficult to stop. It will make it harder for me to take his soul within me to destroy it," she said. Erebus' hand tightened on her thigh, she frowned.

"We'll talk about that part later. The main focus is to keep his soul and original body apart," said Kila.

"Can we trap his soul in his secondary body and keep them apart from each other?" asked Garrett.

"That might work. If it is weaker than his original form it can buy us more time," said Erebus.

"Not a lot. His soul will burn the body up over time. It was originally no different from a capsule to keep him whole," said Selene.

"We don't need a lot of time. Just enough to decide on what to do with him," Erebus said quickly. The others nodded in agreement.

"My followers have been keeping an eye on where his body is trapped. I shall call them to lead us to him. Where can we store his body?"