FATE\Deus Decipit

Chapter 106: Bacchanalia

....

Darkness fell like a curtain, but was shattered by the blazing light of a morning sun reflecting off of marble cobbles, the young Dionysus standing in an alleyway with a bag over his shoulder. Between the onlookers and him, as if they were themselves members of the crowd, were three boys about his age. One of them, a large boy with curly blonde hair, brandished a knife.

"My dad says you're the reason everyone's dying. He says that if you die, everything will be fine."

A boy with auburn hair crossed his arms defiantly, "Yeah! My mom says that you do dark magic. She says you raise the dead and curse the living. She says that you're the one who put Melissa in a coma! She says you raped her and put her to sleep so she couldn't tell anyone!"

Another child through a rock at Dionysus, though it went wide without him having to dodge.

"Why don't you just leave!?" He shouted. "No one wants you here!"

The young demigod examined his surroundings with a cool head, "I'm the son of the king. If you've got a problem with me, you can take it up with him."

"Yeah, right!" The third child chirped, "Everyone knows you're not really the king's son!"

The second child spoke up again, "Yeah! They just don't want us to know that Autonoe's a man-crazy slut!"

"You're all idiots."

"What was that!?"

"If you were smart," His cold, violet eyes locked on the boy in front, "You would've done this somewhere with witnesses."

The gold-haired boy took a step forward, "Is that a threat!?"

"Try me."

"I'm gonna kill you! And when I do-" He readied his knife and charged, "Everyone will call me a hero!"

He slashed out with his blade, Dionysus simply standing without reaction. The knife cut into his neck, and as a red ribbon decorated the white marble, another boy, the second who had spoken, stood in his place. He stood in shock, grasping at the blood that fell like raindrops from his neck, pooling in his hands and slipping through his fingers. All three stood shocked and in awe as the boy's strength left him, and he fell- dead- onto the cobbles.

The other two turned and saw Dionysus standing where the other boy had been.

"What did you- argh!"

He thoughtlessly charged again, positioning his knife like a lance, and sending it into the chest- of the other boy.

As the other boy fell, the blonde boy watched his own, shaking, blood-covered hands.

"What- what did you do!?"

"Nothing," Dionysus said, appearing behind the boy, "You did it all by yourself."

With a mighty roar, tears and snot streaming down his face, he raised his knife above his head and plunged it down- into his own chest.

With a whimper and a cry, he doubled over and fell into the growing pool of blood that was filling the alleyway and forming rivers between the cobblestones. Dionysus let his gaze linger for a moment, and then turned on his heel and walked away- removing an apple from his bag and taking a bite as he did.

The scene went dark, the shadows turning and shifting into a bedroom, where the sickly Macris lay silently. Dionysus was thrown into the room, landing on his bottom, and the door was slammed shut- the sound of grating wood revealing the bolt being turned behind it.

The half-sleeping girl raised her eyelids just enough to see her brother.

"Nysus? ... Did Mom get mad at you again?"