Game of War (Cashby)

Chapter 10

The 12 Olympians gathered us the next morning. Once again we stood in their hall and pretended that we were okay. This time, however, I saw the pain more openly on my friends' faces. I caught it in the way they stood, the look of dullness in their eyes. I lead my group in and positioned myself at the foot of my father's throne. I knelt down and bowed my head towards him.

"Rise." He commanded. The room was dead silent. A couple legions had new faces that I did not recognize. So, we had not been the only group to be attacked. For a moment my heart lightened, then it sunk again. The room darkened suddenly, an unknown presence filled the room. Pluto had arrived. Very rarely did Pluto ever leave the Underworld. I watched his legion trail behind him. A throne had been placed for him at Jupiter's right.

"How is my wife, dear Ceres?" He had a sly grin plastered on his face, as though he found all of this to be of the utmost humor. Deep down I could see the care he put into the question. It was no secret that he truly loved his wife.

"She is well," Ceres said. She glared at him with a look of hatred only a Goddess could conjure. He nodded happily.

"At long last, we will present you all with new orders." Jupiter's voice commanded authority easily, like a fish to water. The hall came to a newfound stillness and deep in my chest I twitched in fear. "First you will-"

"Won't you even explain to them what's going on?" Minerva spoke, her voice even and intelligent. Jupiter paused.

"I will not. You may speak if you so desire it." Her gaze wandered around the room.

"Some of you have suffered losses, but you will have to heal quickly. The roman city of Pompeii has fallen, assaulted by the fires of Mount Vesuvius. Instead of praying to quell our anger and making offerings in our name, they turn against us. We have no choice but to show them the full power of our wrath. Though, we cannot fight to win back your honor, you must do that yourselves. We are giving you this chance out of the kindness of our hearts." It was silent for a moment as we all soaked up the information.

"Yes, we are most humble to be granting you this opportunity after you've failed so horribly. You have divine blood, do you not? We order you all to go back to your cities and take back your fame. However, to ensure you do not fail a second time, we have assigned you pairs." Hades cleared his throat. "How could I forget? We are joined by my brother, Pluto. He has so generously offered to us his own legion. They will go on their own.

"Mercury will now announce partnerships. Afterwards you will report to your city. You are given leave to kill, pillage, burn, or whatever you see fit. No mercy." He grinned a vicious and toothy smile. Mercury stood and unrolled a list.

"Jupiter and Juno, how lovely. Neptune and Mars. Vulcan and Bacchus. Apollo and Diana, of course. My boys and Minerva. Venus and Ceres. Good luck, warriors!" A few deities stopped to talk with their children. I saw Apollo smiling and laughing with his kids and Artemis talking cheerfully with her followers. Venus grinned slyly with hers and listened to all their gossip. Neptune did not. He did not even look our way.

We marched out of the great hall of Olympus and out into the grassy common area. I didn't know how long we had until we needed to leave again, but I was sure it would be before nightfall. We waited until the Mars legion joined us outside.

"Always paired," Alex said. I nodded and clasped his arm.

"Duly matched," I said, I did not talk much anymore. He smiled, humbled. Jack had a nervous look on his face and opened his mouth. He paused before speaking.

"I don't like this." Everyone shook their heads except me. I could not be bothered.

"A lot of innocent people are going to be killed," Aaron spoke. His voice didn't sit well with me yet.