And Death lingers

 
Titus paced the empty kitchen. His life, his very existence, had changed so much in the last twenty-four hours. The thud-thud-thud of his heartbeat, something that he had not heard in centuries, made his head ache.

Stopping in front of the kitchen island, Titus looked down at the empty plates and realized that one was splattered with droplets of his blood. Snatching the plates up, he stomped across the kitchen to the sink and threw the delicate plates into it. The crash of porcelain against porcelain made him realize his mistake. Hanging his head and heaving a deep sigh, he began picking up pieces of the beautiful plates. The contrast between the broken dinnerware and his life crashed into him with such force it drove the breath from his body.

He too had been snatched up and slammed into an unfamiliar and unyielding situation. And now he felt as shattered and broken as the jagged pieces of porcelain he dumped into the trash.
A sudden change in temperature alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone. Unsure of whether it was Democritus or the demon woman who had sank her teeth into him, Titus spun to face the intruder.

Democritus, or Mitch as demanded to be called, was slumped against the wall. His pale skin glimmered with sweat and his hair was in disarray. Titus sprang forward and managed to catch him seconds before he crumpled to the floor. Titus eased him down softly, then sat down beside him, unsure what to do.

“I’ll be fine, old friend.” Mitch whispered. “Just give me a few moments to adjust.”

‘Adjust’, thought Titus, ‘what a strange thing to say.’

Minutes passed like slowly as Titus watched the color return to Mitch’s face. It was strange to think that this man, if he actually was a man, was also the personification of Death. That Death could care about a living being was a concept that Titus was having difficulty with.

“She’ll be okay, in case you were wondering.” Mitch said as he slowly rose to his feet. “I got her there in time.”

“Got her where? What have you done with her?” Titus suddenly realized that it mattered to him, that she, the woman the so looked like his Aelia, was important to him.

Mitch was surprised by the emotion in Titus’ voice. Gone was the cold, cruel creature that he had snatched from Satan’s grasp and in his place was a man that resembled the warrior of old. Perhaps things were not as bad as he’d feared, maybe Titus could save her.

“I took her to Lethe, she’ll be safe there.” Mitch answered.

“LETHE? Why the fuck did you take her to that heartless bitch?” Titus raged. “You know what she is capable of, you know what she is. Damn it, I thought you said she would be okay.”

Titus began pacing the length of the kitchen floor, his footsteps loud and angry. Mitch watched him, a mixture of frustration and amusement fluttering in his chest. If the situation wasn’t so tenuous Mitch would be amused at the man’s statement. If anyone had reason to know what a bitch Lethe was, it was definitely Titus.

“Titus, calm down. We need to talk and we can’t do it with you wearing a hole in my tiles.” Mitch said as he sank onto one of the bar-stools. “Fix us some coffee. You DO know how to fix coffee, don’t you? I mean, do they have coffee in hell?”

A snort of laughter escaped Titus’ lips. Shaking his head, he stared at Mitch. Sighing, he headed to the counter to start a pot of coffee. At least here the coffee wouldn’t taste like brimstone. Although the taste of brimstone did improve on that swill that Satan tried to pass off as coffee.

Silence reigned while the men waited for the coffee maker to finish its’ task. Titus grabbed the pot before the last drops had fallen and filled two cups with fragrant black liquid before setting them on the counter and turning to face Mitch.

“So talk.” Titus’ voice was steely and left no room for argument.

Mitch just stared at him, he knew he had to be honest with Titus, he had to tell him everything. That wasn’t a problem, he had known the time would come when he had to bring everything out in the open, when he had to live with the consequences of what he had decided to do. He just wasn’t sure how Titus would react and at the moment he didn’t know if he was strong enough to deal with whatever reaction there would be.

Letting out a sigh, Mitch decided there was no time like the present and reached for his coffee.

Taking a sip, he pondered his words. What he was about to say was nowhere near as important as how he said it. They all needed Titus’ assistance, without his help it would have all been for nothing.

“You’re right”, he began, “Lethe is a bitch, probably the biggest bitch that has ever walked this or any other planet. But she is also the only one that can contain Lisa at this point. And we need Lisa contained.”

Titus continued to stare at him, waiting for the rest of the story. The fact that the woman needed to be contained meant that she was more than just a human. But what was she? And why was she so important?

Mitch realized that Titus was going to wait him out, that there would be no comment until he had all the information. Taking an unneeded breath, Mitch continued.

“Lethe is her sister.” Mitch waited for a reaction, when none was forthcoming, he continued. “The woman you met is Aite.”

Titus sucked in a breath, he was familiar with Aite, more familiar than he wished to be. She was the reason he had lost his family, she was the reason he had lost his soul. And now she had wormed her way into his emotions.

“Titus,” Mitch continued, “she is also your Aelia.”

The words had barely left his lips when Titus sprang from his chair. Rage and hatred blazed in his eyes and he launched himself toward Mitch. Only the quick thinking that came from centuries of fending off the hatred of millions saved Mitch from Titus’ wrath. With a quick wave of his hand the man froze in mid-air, the hatred and rage coming off of him in waves.

Calmly finishing his coffee, Mitch got up and poured another cup. Turning back to Titus he grinned at the sight of the man frozen in mid-air like some type of enchanted carving. Even amidst all of the chaos, Mitch could find humor. And that was what made him so good at his job. Death and laughter work together in the most astounding way.

“I know you can hear me.” Mitch said. “So I will tell you the rest of it.”

Sitting down, Mitch began to tell Titus a story that would forever change his perception of life.

“Aite loved you, loves you. She watched you as a young man, she saw the pain of your life. She saw why you became such a warrior; she saw the hatred that drove you to greatness. And she was impressed.”

Taking a drink of coffee, Mitch made himself more comfortable on the bar-stool and continued.

“She knew that you hated her, she knew that she was at the root of all the pain you suffered. She didn’t want to fall in love with you. Love was a foreign emotion to her. Confusion and discord, pain and suffering, those she was familiar with, but the emotion she developed for you, well, that was new.”

“She talked with her sisters, she even spoke to her mother, Eris, about you. But no one could give her a solution to what she saw as a problem. Only Lethe offered a respite from confusion.”

Taking another sip of coffee, Mitch contemplated allowing Titus a small allowance of movement.

With a nod of his head, Titus slowly glided to the ground. Struggling to acknowledge Mitch, Titus managed a small movement of his head. Mitch took that as a sign that the man was ready to listen and would at least attempt to control himself.

Waving his hand, he freed Titus from all restriction. Surprised at the freedom, Titus simply stared at him, then slowly moved toward his seat and cautiously sat down.

“Continue”, was the only thing Titus said.

“Lethe wiped her memory. The intent was to remove all memories of you and in doing so remove all emotions Aite felt towards you. But it backfired. Aite forgot you, forgot watching you grow and turn into the warrior she was so very attracted to, but she also forgot who she was. She forgot that she was a goddess, that she was the cause of pain and strife, of despair and confusion. She forgot everything. And in her moment of weakness another of her sisters decided that it would be a good thing to drop her down on earth and allow her to live as a human. So Aite was sent to earth and sat down in a small, primitive town next to a beautiful, clear stream. The same stream she was standing in when you saw her for the first time.”

Mitch paused for another sip of his tepid coffee, got up and refreshed his cup. Turning to face Titus he watched the river of emotion that played across the man’s face. Love, anger, fear and confusion tainted with heartache, pain and despair rippled across his face. Mitch hated to see him experience centuries of emotion in the space of a few moments, but it had to happen. Titus had to know what was going on and how important it was for the existence of all living beings.

“Titus, she didn’t deceive you. She simply didn’t remember who or what she was. But when she saw you, she remembered the love she felt. It was real, Titus, she loved you and she still does. She just doesn’t remember.”

Titus spun to face Mitch, the rage flaring in his eyes caused him to look insane. Mitch feared he would have to stop the man from doing anything dangerous to their cause.

“Why doesn’t she remember? Did that bitch of a sister of hers destroy those memories too? Why didn’t she destroy mine? Why did she leave me to suffer?” Tears glistened in his rage filled eyes. “I would have died for her. I DID die. I died and sold my soul so I could have the illusion of her, of our children. Was my suffering so entertaining to them?”

Mitch realized that the man could not process any more. He had reached his limit and was about to break, and that was the last thing they needed. Titus was essential to their plan. There was no way they would succeed if they lost him and lose him they would if he continued to suffer like he was.
Closing his eyes, Mitch imagined Titus at peace. He allowed that image to engulf him and, with the merest mental nudge, he sent that image to Titus. Mitch opened his eyes just in time to see the man crumple to the floor. With a twitch of his fingers, he moved Titus to the comfort of his bed. Mitch knew Titus would be able to continue once the image of peace had time to settle over him.

The tug of duty caused Mitch to sigh. A woman was struggling, fighting to hold on to the illusion of life. She was an important woman, one that was well known and important to the ongoing battle with Evil. Death needed to comfort her, Death needed to move her on to the next phase in her journey.

With a sigh, Mitch donned the robes of his office. The handsome, laughing man that walked the earth every day was replaced by Thanatos, the daemonic personification of Death. A blast of freezing air and he was gone.

Titus shivered in his bed. Even in sleep he was aware that Death had lingered a moment too long.