New God

Part II

Previously...

"It's decided. The boy must honorably make the woman he loves, fall in love with him."

Meanwhile, back at the village, Iphis and Daemon both appeared in their homes. Iphis' mother was overjoyed when her daughter appeared out of thin air. No one was there to greet Daemon when he appeared. His father was out in the fields so he could gain as much money as possible and his brothers were at the palace because they had become king's guards. Daemon's mother had died in childbirth. Daemon ignored all of his chores that night and went straight to bed.

In the morning some parchment sat on the corner of the bed. It was folded and sealed with wax. The crest pressed into the wax was the most elaborate he had ever seen. Daemon grabbed the parchment and broke the seal. Inside it read:

To become a god you must do a task to prove your worth.

You must gain the love of the woman who you love.

This task must be done honorably.

We will be watching from above.

The Council of Olympus

And so he set off, a plan in mind, parchment, ink, food, and water in his bag, to the Island of Sirens, while Iphis continued life obliviously.

When Daemon reached the Island of Sirens, he wrote what looked like a letter to his father and stored it in his bag. He approached the cave where the Sirens lived and screeches could be heard, but was too afraid to go in so he called out, "Come and face me so I may rip off a lock of your hair and give it to my beloved." The screeching in the cave got closer and louder.

"A lock of hair?" something hissed from the shadows. "You'll be dead before you get it."

The creature charged from the shadows of the cave to reveal a beautiful woman. Daemon tried to fight her off but she was too strong for him. Before he ran he grabbed the sirens head and ripped hair from her head. As he ran, he dropped his bag that held the letter. The siren grabbed the bag as her sisters came from the cave.

"What does it contain?" one of them asked.

The siren ripped the bag open. The letter dropped out. Curious, the youngest sister grabbed it and read.

Sirens,

I wish to become a god but to do this I have to make a woman who will never love me love me.

To do this I need your help. If you make Iphis love me I will send ships of men to feed your hunger. But it must be discrete; the gods must never know.

Do this for me and you will be rewarded greatly.

Daemon

"Ships of men for us! Look sister!" The young siren shoved the parchment into her oldest sister's hands. The siren read the letter and after some deliberation, she agreed.

~*~*~*~*~

When Daemon arrived home he presented the hair to Iphis. As soon as the strands touched her fingers, her eyes became glazed and an enchanting smile came over her beautiful face.

Iphis threw her arms around Daemon and proclaimed in an ecstatic voice, "Oh my dear, I love you so much!"

Iphis thought she was going insane! She did not love this selfish and cowardly fool! Her actions were not her own, it seemed.

The dizzy feeling that was now familiar swept over them. They appeared on Olympus where they had been last time.

"You have done it. You have shown that you are worthy to become a new god," Zeus stated. Aphrodite looked upon the couple with joy and pride, happy to have brought a man and woman together again.

Zeus nodded at his family. In unison, they all rose and waved their hands at Daemon. He felt a strength and power fill him. He seemed to glow and all memories of his family disappeared from his thoughts as the power clouded his mind.

~*~*~*~*~

A year passed and every month Daemon forgot more and more of his life before. The memory of his deal became dimmer and dimmer until it had almost completely vanished from his mind. As the thought was pushed deeper into his mind the ships became fewer and farther between. At the end of those twelve months, the ships of men completely stopped. This angered the sirens and the spell they had cast broke.

Iphis, who was required to live with Daemon in the palace, was given back control of her body, and was incredibly furious with Daemon for she found no other person who would force her to love him. She vowed she would be the one to kill him.

She planned for months. She had to act like she still loved Daemon but his every touch revolted her. She tried many things that would kill him: poison, assassins. When none of these methods worked Iphis finally decided to give him too much ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the immortals. Because Daemon was only a minor god an overload of this meal would make him combust.

So under the guise of loving him still, she fed him nectar and ambrosia until his belly was full and expanded. Still, she fed him.

After Iphis had fed him without stop, he became bloated and weak. The power he received from the meal was too much for him and his own power died out. He became mortal without his notice.

To replenish his strength, Daemon went to sleep. But during his slumber, Iphis took a dagger and stabbed him in his heart.

~*~*~*~*~

In the morning, when it was discovered that Daemon was dead, an uproar arose. Iphis stepped forth and toke full credit for the murder. The gods pondered about what was to be done about Iphis. They finally came to a decision after hours of deliberation.

"Iphis you have been found worthy of becoming a new god. You were able to kill a god therefor you are anointed a god," Zeus decreed. He looked to the others. They all nodded.

"Then it is done," Zeus affirmed. "Welcome, Iphis."

~*~*~*~*~

Thank you for reading!