Secrets Uncovered

Dionysus cowered in his bed as the sound of Nyx’s voice echoed across Olympus. A small part of his brain wondered if every sound from Lethe’s chambers echoed that way, and if it did what their lovemaking must have sounded like. Not that they actually made love, it was more like fighting a war each and every time he and Lethe got together.

The satisfied smirk that had begun to play across his generous mouth changed into a grimace of pain as hands made entirely of shadows snatched him from his hiding place and launched him toward the door. No one could hide from the primordial Goddess, as he was personally finding out. Pain flared as the fingers of darkness sank into his flesh and dragged him toward a place he swore he would never return.

The door burst open just as he was flung toward it, leaving him to land in a tangled heap at the feet of the one woman he wished to never see again. Lethe’s eyes bulged as she realized who the babbling mess on the floor in front of her was.

She wailed like a banshee before launching herself at him. “You fat, worthless bastard. I said..”

Nyx flashed out a hand and Lethe was slammed to the floor with such force the tiles burst.

“Enough! I do NOT care about your petty quarrel with this slug, I only care that he helps your sister. Afterwards you may tear him limb from limb. Just don’t get blood on my dress.” Even now, amidst all the turmoil, Nyx managed to keep her dark humor.

“Get up, Dionysus, and be quick about it. My patience is wearing thin and you are treading on it.” Nyx turned her black eyes in his direction causing him to quiver with fear. “Stop shaking and stand up. You were man enough to seduce my granddaughter, now be man enough to cure her sister.”

Before Dionysus could respond he was propelled toward the small, feminine form draped across the couch. Although he had never met her, he knew this was Lethe’s sister, whom they called Lisa. From the way her head lolled back, it was obvious she was dead drunk.

“What’s the hurry? She’s only drunk.” Dionysus regretted saying it as soon as the words left his lips. Nyx would not have dragged him here if her granddaughter was merely drunk, there was something he was missing.

His head jerked as a hard slap made his ears ring. No one had come near him and yet he felt as though he had been kicked by a mule.

“She drank uncut Ambrosia. And entire jug of it.” Mitch said in a calm voice. Dionysus stiffened at the sound of his voice, there was no love lost between them and Mitch had vowed that if he ever laid eyes on Dionysus again he would have his head. Literally.

Dionysus swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. This was bad, oh this was so bad. Uncut Ambrosia caused even the most stable of their kind to be unpredictable and dangerous. And from what he had heard Lisa most certainly wasn’t stable, and she was unpredictable and dangerous to start with. This was so bad.

“Don’t just stand there, DO SOMETHING!!” The glass in the windows broke and the plaster walls cracked from the force of Nyx’s demands. “NOW!”

Dionysus took a tentative step toward the Ambrosia drunk goddess, unsure that anything he could do would make a difference in the outcome. But he had to do something or else die in the most painful of ways. The Primordial Goddess could make even Zeus cry like a baby and she had proven that she enjoyed killing her enemies only to bring them back and kill them again. He was so fucked.

Reaching out his hand, he laid his palm against Lisa’s forehead. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to sink into her drunk mind. Visions of blood and death invaded him, pain racked his body as he dove even deeper into her Ambrosia clouded thoughts. The Ambrosia had amplified her powers, chaos and confusion clouded his thoughts as he struggled to absorb the magic laden liquor. Never before had he struggled with such darkness, usually when one of the others had gotten a hold of his uncut version of Ambrosia they couldn’t consume more than a mouthful before the power overwhelmed them and sent them spiraling into unconsciousness.

His body contorted as yet more images of death racked his senses. He realized that Lisa was the granddaughter of Nyx, but until now he didn’t realize that she was a direct descendent of the Primordial, more powerful than even the oldest among them. He had to absorb as much of the magic as he could or else they would all suffer the final Death, of that he was sure. His fear of Nyx took second place to the terror he felt as he drew more and more of the Ambrosia into himself, for with it came the knowledge that only the One was more powerful than the Ambrosia drunk woman that lay before him.

Nyx paced restlessly as she watched the Drunkard God attempt to save her granddaughter. She idly wondered how much Dionysus would discover as he sucked in the poison that coursed through Lisa’s system. With that thought came another, darker one, would she have to destroy him to keep the family secret from being discovered? She almost felt sorry for him, almost, but not quite, for he had brought this upon himself by screwing around with one of her grandchildren.

Mitch stood quietly across the room. He looked at his Mother, wondering if she realized that he was aware of who and what Lisa actually was. Did Nyx actually believe that her manipulation wouldn’t be found out? Did she think that she could hide the power of the universe inside one of them and the rest wouldn’t discover it? His Mother was not a fool, yet to do what she had done was foolish. Perhaps her love for them had overshadowed her fear of making a mistake, or perhaps her quest for power allowed her to use them all for her own purposes.

No matter the outcome of this little situation, Mitch was determined to find out exactly what his Mother was up to. He only hoped that Lisa would survive the effects of the Ambrosia with at least some of her senses intact. She had gone insane once before and they had dealt with it the best they could, but now her powers were awakened and there was no way they could control her the way they once had.

Lisa moaned and began to thrash about, throwing her arms up in a defensive posture. Nyx’s eyes turned to slits of midnight as she stared at the scene that played out before her, if Dionysus did not manage to save her grandchild she would tear him apart bit by bit. Lethe crept closer to her sister, fear turning her already pale skin even whiter. Placing a hand on Dionysus shoulder, she lent him her strength to continue.

Visions flashed before her eyes. Darkness, so complete it rivaled death, cold and still. The flares of light, strong, white light and the sound of a thousand voices singing in harmony. She realized she had just experienced the birth of the planets, the beginnings of life as it was now known to be. Then pain racked her body, the smell of blood and death invaded her senses as the she saw the first people destroyed. Before she could collapse under the weight of those visions, Mitch lowered her to the couch beside her sister and took her place, his hand resting upon the shoulder of Dionysus as his power joined the younger god’s in a battle that could end them all.

Nyx was frozen in place as she watched the scene play out. Now they would all know that Lisa was more than she seemed. Now they would all realize the true reason for the theft of her granddaughter’s memories, for the death of her family’s human bodies and the reason Nyx had allowed her to suffer so. The silent war that had been fought since creation would be laid bare before anyone that attempted to clean Lisa of the poisoned wine that ran through her system.

For the first time since she blossomed into life, Nyx felt fear.