"You brought him here?!" Hephaestus stared at Sage, wondering if she'd lost her mind or just wanted him dead.
"Ares is here to talk. Just talk." She soothed, standing between the two gods. Hephaestus looked unconvinced. His instincts warned him to grab Electra and escape. But then Ares surprised him, by saying one word.
"Brother."
The tone of the war god's voice made Hephaestus freeze. There was a tenderness and uncertainty in Ares – something that Hephaestus had never seen before.
"You really want to talk?"
Ares nodded.
"I remember the night mother threw you from Olympus."
Hephaestus flinched.
"I didn't think-"
"I pretended not to know."
Ares sighed and ran a hand through his tawny hair. "I pretended a lot of things. But the truth is that I never forgot. I had nightmares of it as a child, every night. I'd dream that mother tossed me down the mountain instead and that I shattered on the rocks. I'd wake up screaming."
Sage blinked. She stepped out of the way and settled at the edge of the room, listening to every word – her heart pounding.
"I started to fear her." Ares continued. "It got so bad that I ran away. That was how the giants found me and imprisoned me when I was a young. None of the gods knew where I'd gone, so they had no idea how to find me." Ares shuddered, his gaze temporarily lost and distant.
With a rougher voice he continued.
"When I returned to Olympus, older. I no longer tolerated fear. I strove to impress my mother, to make her proud and adore me. Rumours about you circulated the court, but I could see that they upset her. So pretended not to hear them. As you know, she embraced you once your talent for jewellery and craftsmanship become renown."
"She never embraced me." Hephaestus interjected. "She merely wanted me to make her beautiful accessories. I was told, very clearly, to remain beneath the mountain. To hide my ugly face and this." He slapped the side of his bad leg. The bitterness in Hephaestus' voice made Sage wince. She glanced quickly at Ares, unsure how he would react.
"She was wrong, to blame you for your injuries – when it was her that caused them. And I'm sorry, that I never told her that. That I never told you that. The pain and misery between you both, I should have tried to fix it. Then, perhaps, things might have been different."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
"Thank you." Hephaestus looked uncomfortable but sincere. Ares frowned, confused.
"Thank you? I thought you would blame me longer. After, what happened between me and your wife..."
"No man ever refused Aphrodite. I stopped hating her lovers long ago." Hephaestus dismissed.
Besides, he had a new perspective these days. Hephaestus glanced across at Sage before quickly looking away. He understood now what it was like to want your brother's woman.
Sage bit her lip, hope blossoming in her chest. This was great, the brothers were talking. And for Hephaestus at least, this was real. Sage crossed her fingers. Maybe, just maybe, Ares would forgive her for this.
**
The shredded remains of humans were strewn across the tarmac, a river of blood flowing down the street. Typhon's high shrill shriek of demented ecstasy made the remaining soldiers cry out, as they tried to protect their ears from the awful sound.
Typhon came to a stop, sniffing their air and purred with delight. The war god was finally here. The titan's feral gaze turned and he watched Ares' approach.
Ares' eyes glowed, the same gold as his circlet crown. The new king of the gods radiated light, bravery and strength. Typhon opened his awful mouth, revealing row upon row of teeth that went all the way down his throat. Typhon shrieked, his poisonous saliva scattering across the ground – killing all life it touched.
Grim-faced, Ares raised his shield – blocking Typhons attack. Conjuring his spear, Ares launched it at Typhoon. The spear shot straight through Typhon's chest – embedding itself in a concrete wall behind him. Typhon reared up, angry, but – already healing. A dark cloud materialised around Typhon and he launched himself at Ares.
The war god fell back against the ground. He couldn't see anything, only the darkness of Typhon's conjuring. But he could feel Typhon's claws tearing at his armour – searching for a weak spot. Ares rolled free, kicking Typhon off him. Ares conjured the god-killing sword, and the glowing blade broke up the black mist – allowing Ares to make out Typhon's shape.
He was just in time to catch Typhon by the throat, before the titan could skewer him. Ares' grip was crushing, but Typhon melted into a sickening goo – writhing out of Ares' grip – before taking shape once more and lunging at the war god. Ares was slammed back against the wall and the ground trembled beneath him.
Launching this time his shield, Ares pushed Typhon back away from him. Giving the war god a second to catch his breath. The air smelt foul and Typhon's dark haze continued to cling to him and – even with the light of his sword – Ares' was squinting to see only a couple of feet in front of him. He couldn't make out the sky. Nor the human soldiers he was trying to protect. He was alone, alone in fight against the worlds most feared titan.
Ares didn't wait for Typhon to attack again. The war god struck at Typhon, slashing at the beast with his sword. The fight became a frenzy of steel and claw. Ares roared, enraged – his blood pumping with the need to kill. But the new king was sent flat on his back. Golden blood poured down half of Ares' face – blinding him in one eye.
He tried to get up, knowing he would die if he wasn't back on his feet – fast. But his limbs couldn't obey. He smacked his head against the ground, and sighed in frustration. This was it – this was how it ended for him. Typhon's face became clear in the darkness, as the titan loomed closely over him. Ares closed his eyes – not wanting Typhon to be the last thing he saw. Instead, he thought of Sage...
Typhon opened his mouth wide, saliva dripping from his many teeth. The poison dripped onto Ares' bloodied face, dying the golden blood black.
But suddenly, Typhon reared back. Something had latched onto the monster's spine. Typhon smashed his back into the wall – trying to destroy the metallic device as it heated up – cooking his skin. The awful stench of burning flesh made Ares open his eyes, in time to see Typhon tear apart Hephaestus' creation.
**
Sage sat at the table; her head slumped against the wood. She was mumbling to herself, ranting, but Jaz couldn't understand her words.
"Sage?" He asked tentatively, taking the seat beside her. "Are you sick?"
"I did a bad thing."
Jaz's lip twitched.
"Ok, ok – tell me what you've done and we'll fix it." He soothed.
Sage shook her head. This wasn't something that could be fixed. "Sage?" He prompted, stroking her back. At last, Sage lifted her head and looked up at him. Her eyes were red raw from crying and tiredness.
"I enslaved a god." She mumbled.
Jaz's eyebrow rose. He really hoped he'd misunderstood her words.
**
"Here." Barked Hephaestus, standing over Ares. "Put these on." It was a pair of goggles. Hephaestus was already wearing a pair, the glowing green lenses covering half of his face. Ares shoved them on and was finally able to see again. Looking at the black mist through the lenses, Ares realised that the mist was being produced by two openings in the side of Typhon's neck.
Ares conjured two throwing stars and released them. The silver disks imbedded in Typhons neck – temporarily blocking the mist. Hephaestus yanked Ares to his feet and shoved the war god a little behind him, so that he was shielded by Hephaestus' bulky build. With the black mist gone, the human soldiers were able to see what was going on. They blinked, confused and not recognising the new god that had shown up at the war god's side.
**
"Which god?" Jaz clarified.
"My god. Ares."
"Ok..." If she'd done something bad to Ares, he could probably relax – Jaz reasoned. The war god would forgive her anything.
"I took away his free will."
"But, why-"
"Jaz-Jaz-Jaz-Jaz-Jaz-JAZ!" Cesar yelled skidding into the room. "The war god has teamed up with this like, mega arm muscle guy and they are taking on Typhon! It's all over the internet!"
He showed them the grainy footage and Jaz stiffened. The burly frame of Hephaestus was unmistakable. But if the brothers were fighting alongside...
Jaz's head snapped around and he stared at Sage.
"You're making them allies?!"
Sage nodded; her gaze tortured and apologetic.
"It was the only way..." But her voice faded away, reading Jaz's expression. "How much trouble am I in?"
**
Typhon ripped out the throwing stars and threw them on the ground. His neck healed and the mist returned. Ares conjured more throwing stars. He glanced across at his brother to see what he was up to. Hephaestus was putting on a spiked knuckle duster. Ares wondered what strange metal it was made from. Typhon lunged at them but Hephaestus caught him mid-air.
Hephaestus' punch sent Typhon sprawling across the ground with his face badly scorched. Ares stared at the crackling knuckle duster and realised what it was made from. One of Zeus' thunderbolts. Typhon opened his mouth to spray more venom and Ares acted fast, throwing himself in front of Hephaestus to shield him. The war god's eyes opened wide as he felt one of Typhon's talons rake down his back.
But Typhon went suddenly rigid. Distracted by the chance to kill Ares, Typhon hadn't spotted what Hephaestus was doing. The net Hephaestus had made closed in around Typhon, even when he tried to turn into slime – the net just shrank and tightened with him until reduced to a small metallic ball – with the titan trapped inside. Hephaestus winced as he stooped on his bad leg and picked up the little prison.
"What do we do with him?" Hephaestus grumbled. Ares reached out for the ball, waiting for Hephaestus to hand it over.
"We need to put him back in the underworld."
**
Jaz ran his fingers through his hair.
"You don't think he'll forgive me..." Sage murmured, her heart sinking. Jaz looked at her, horrified.
"Sage, you don't realise what you've done. Ares has just been seen allied with his parents' killer. He's broken the Olympian code of honour."
Sage blinked, confused.
"What does this mean?" She asked.
But it wasn't Jaz that answered. Instead, Eros spoke for him – the slender god leaning against the kitchen doorway.
"It means that he will have to face punishment. The immortals won't follow him after this. He'll lose the crown and be cast out once more."
"No." Sage's face drained of colour. "He can't lose Olympus again. It will destroy him."
Eros' face told her, that it was already too late.