Shadow Justice

43: Hearsay and Tension

Artemis tossed the weakened god of war to the marble floor in the  middle of the council chamber. The other gods present reacted with  surprise, a few even standing in shock. Artemis paid them no heed. She  wanted vengeance.

"Sister!" Artemis turned and saw her brother Apollo racing over to her, his blue eyes filled with concern.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zeus demanded standing, his long white robes gleaming in the light surrounding this place.

"Hear  me, Zeus," Artemis said, her voice carrying through the open air  council, ignoring Apollo for the moment. "I seek retribution for crimes  against me and mine."

Zeus slowly eased himself back into his throne. "Crimes you say?"

"Yes, my father," Artemis replied.

"Speak then," the king of the gods commanded.

"Ares  has attacked one of my own using trickery," she said, allowing Apollo  to stand by her side. She did not need his presence but it was nice to  know she had him on her side already.

"How was this done?" Zeus asked.

Artemis's  eyes narrowed. "By taking over the mind of Set, the Egyptian god of  Chaos, and forcing him into battle against Diana and the Thanagaran."

"Took  over..." she heard Apollo murmured in shock. His words were echoed by  several other gods present including Dionysus. "But he is a god."

"How  can what you say be true?" Athena asked, her calm voice and cold logic  broke through the rush of heightened emotion. "You are accusing him of  attacking another pantheon and controlling one of their gods."

"I am," Artemis said, refusing to be intimidated. "Diana of Themiscyra told me herself when she delivered Ares to me."

"Was he already in this state," Dionysus asked suspiciously, "or did you...?"

The  goddess of the hunt shook her head. "I did nothing. He was in this  condition when he arrived. I believe it was a courtesy warning from the  Egyptian pantheon."

"At least he's back," Hera said calmly. "I will have Helios call off the search."

"There is no need, my Queen," Artemis said. "He was there when Ares was delivered to me."

"Was  he now?" Dionysus said, a playful smile on his face. "I was under the  impression no man could step into your temple in Themiscyra. Was I  mistaken or is Helios hiding something from us?"

Artemis rolled  her eyes. "You are not mistaken and since Helios never set foot in my  temple I have taken no offense. However," she said, turning back to the  king of the gods. She thought carefully on her words, knowing they could  lead to consequences no one could ever have anticipated. "Helios has  been hiding something from us."

"I knew it," Ares muttered at her feet, distracting her for a moment. "That Titan has no business here among Olympians."

"That  is enough Ares," Zeus said, voice calm and under control for the moment  although thunder rolled in the distance. "You have deliberately  disobeyed my expressed command to wait and committed a crime against the  Egyptian pantheon which leaves us in their debt."

"He was a  human!" Ares spat. His handsome face framed by fire red hair and proud  brown eyes gazed boldly back at Zeus. "Humans are fair game, always have  been."

"Unless they fell under the domain of another pantheon  rendering them out of our reach," Hera countered. "Or humans who have  been deified over time and become gods themselves."