Greek Blood

Chapter I: Rapture

Heraklion, Greece - March ninth, 2012

"If you could choose one of the Greek gods to keep alive while the others fade away, who would you choose?" His voice stirs my memories, but it is the curious tone that makes me feel unbearable, just like always, except now he is asking me a question that I already know the answer to.

          "Hera." My voice echoes in the empty night as I relax on the stone wall, gazing out over the shimmering blue painted waters, swaying melodically so that it appears calm. The sun sets on the horizon, spilling all shades of pink and purple, red and yellow, mixed to form orange.

"Why Hera?" He chokes, looking over with his liquid golden brown eyes, the color on his bronzed skin paling ever so lightly. "Why the Queen of the Gods? She is almost nearly a pointless Goddess nowadays."

I don't bother looking over to him as I answer, not particularly interested with getting lost in his gaze at the moment. "She's the only faithful one out of all of them."

Pretty self-explanatory, yet the boy next to me shifts his ripped jean clad legs and swings his body to sit up beside me. "Faithful? So the other gods had some fun, so they played around. That doesn't cancel out how important they are compared to her. She's probably just a jealous bitch who wants to make all the others seem so bad just because Zeus got tired of her."

I roll my eyes and give in, pulling my gaze away from the beautiful scenery in front of me with a heavy heart and blinking slowly. "Well, she has been faithful for thousands of years. That speaks legions. She put up with all the lies and cheating of her family. She is just any other mother and wife trying to keep faith in a family doomed to fail her. She reminds me of someone I used to know." I explain slowly to make sure he gets the point, trying not to be irritated at his scowl. Gosh, he is a dream crasher, isn't he?

"Sure, let's go with your idea. But still, why not pick Apollo? He's the God of the sun. He'd be way more useful. Handsome to." He strikes a pose, pretending to be Apollo and holding his arms as if he is about to shoot an arrow out into the sunset. "God of poetry. Don't you like that stuff?"

I burst out laughing, shaking my head and feeling the ease slip back into me, making me feel light. "No, I don't think so. I think if I couldn't save Hera, I would save Athena or Artemis. Other than those two, I think Hephaestus or Mercury."

  "Oh come on, Dana, you’re killing me. Hephaestus and the Goddesses? And Mercury? That’s Hermes’ roman name." The boy next to me groans, flinging his head back and closing his eyes. "Why not Apollo?"

“Alright then, Hermes" I concede, smiling softly at the boy while trying to remember his name. "Apollo just seems so... Preoccupied with himself in all the old stories. The Goddesses are strong and smart, cunning and useful. Hephaestus I have always had a weak spot for because of how he was treated, it reminds me of all the bullying that I went through a few years ago. And Hermes... I have no idea. I guess he just seems so... bright in my eyes, like someone who is willing to work and believe in things and be there for his causes. Gosh, I sound like a fool" I laugh softly and give his shoulder a playful shove. "What's your name again? I'm sorry, I'm bad with names."

He sighs dramatically and slowly bows his head to look at me, tilted to the side ever so slightly to appear curious. "I never told you my name."

I shake my head and slowly get up, stretching and shivering in the shadows that drape over my arms like blankets. "Impossible. I have been hanging out with you for five days now. You’re the local in this Greek place that's been showing me around and whatnot. How could I have not noticed if you never have given me your name?"

He laughs ever so softly, like the sun rays shining through the canopy of the forest trees, and gets up. He steps away from me and holds his arms open as if to hug me, yet the gesture seems distant. "You were caught up in the beauty of Heraklion. It doesn't matter now, though, because I must be off. See you in a week or two, Dana Logan." He gives me a soft eyed wink before swooping down and kissing my cheek. Before I can react, he disappears. Like, literally vanishes. The sun falls beyond the ocean as I look around, leaving me in the pale moonlight of the moon high above the houses behind me.