Everyone was out of their seats and a loud clamor of voices ensued. Aaron found me first and pulled me into a congratulatory hug. “If anyone has to replace Zeus, I am glad it is you.”

“I thought you would be angry,” I said to him.

“Me? No way! I never wanted the throne. I just wanted to be a general. Now, I am not so sure of that.”

Heracles picked me up off the floor and spun me around. “Well done! Well done.”

“Put me down, you big ox,” I said, but my voice was friendly. Heracles immediately complied. I gave them all a chance to say their congratulations before I addressed the group, “I know many of you aren’t using your ancient names any longer, so tell me who you are.”

Heracles answered first. “I am Hercules.”

“As if anything else would work for you,” I said to him.

“Bob. We could call him, Bob,” Dionysus said, mischievous as I remembered.

“Shut it, you,” Hercules said as he tried to grab the happy little god of the grape. Dionysus slithered out of his reach, bounded over the top of the conference table, and picked up one of the chairs to hold between himself and Hercules. Hercules laughed, one of those huge booming deep-voiced laughs that originated somewhere near his knees.

“Call me Dion. It is a cool name,” Dionysus said, as put the chair back on the floor. Then he started singing, I keep away from Runaround Sue.

“I didn’t know you meant that Dion,” Hercules said. “I thought you meant Celine Dion.”

Dion responded by singing My Heart Will Go On in a high tenor voice.

Dion could always raise the spirits in any room. He was the ultimate life of the party. He’s a great asset to me because I have a feeling I will need his kind of humor in the coming days.

I faced Hermes, “And you?”

“Hermes,” he replied.

“Well, that is easy enough. And Demeter?” I asked, turning toward my aunt.

“Demi, like Demi Moore. What do you think?” She asked me.

“Perfect. And my dear friend Nike, you shall always be Nike to me.”

She smiled and pulled me into a hug. It was good to be in her presence, again.

“This is Eli and Aaron,” I said.

Hermes cleared his throat and then said, “There wasn’t time to get everyone here, Athena. But you also have Mnemosyne, Metis your mother...”

“Later, Hermes,” I interrupted and he instantly fell silent just as if he were addressed by Zeus, himself. This would take a little time for me to get used to. I sat heavily in the chair that was directly behind me. My mind spun and whirled. Too much happened in too short a period of time. One moment, I blew apart a valley in the Caucasus, and the next, I ruled Olympus

Hermes, Dion, Demi, Nike, and Hercules—an impressive group of followers and I didn’t quite know what to do with them. I was never a goddess that had an entire entourage following my every step like Hera and Aphrodite. Which brought me to another thought. “Hercules, what about Hebe?” Hercules married her over 2000 years, previously. She had been a gift from Zeus to Hercules as payment for heroic deeds and Hebe fell deeply in love with her husband. But, she had also been in Aphrodite’s entourage and what I was contemplating would make my vain and vengeful sister very angry with me. By extension, her entourage would be pulled into the disagreement.

“Hebe will accept you, have no fear.” Hercules’s voice boomed in the room, deep and resonant. “She left Aphrodite’s side a very long time ago.”

That was good to know. I took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know what to do next.”

They all laughed at me which made me frown. Eli actually answered the question I didn’t ask. “I think we have to find a bigger place to stay. Your palace, as it were.” He looked over the faces and asked, “Anyone have any suggestions?”

“I know of this little castle in Ireland...” Dion suggested.

I shook my head. “Please, no castle. No palace.”

“What about a nice office building?” Hermes asked me. “A high rise with office space and apartments?”

“That does sound better. See to it,” I instructed, and belatedly realized that Hermes would take it as a command and follow my instructions as perfectly as he was able. Shopping for real estate seemed harmless enough, so I didn’t renege.

Then, “I don’t know how much Zeus has told you about what we are planning, so I will. If you want to back out, feel free.” I briefly described Phobos’s antics from killing individuals to killing the boys in the mall the previous day. I left out the part where he captured and raped me. Time enough for that, later. I concluded with, “I am planning to stop him. I will have to kill him. In doing so, I will make a lot of enemies. I will start a war among us immortals. A war that we have avoided for thousands of years; not since Zeus sat on the throne. Are you with me?”

Aaron started by dropping to a knee in front of me and he said, “I swear by the Creator of All and by this sword, Polemistis, which I hold in my hand that I give you my fealty and pledge you my loyalty. If ever my hand is raised against you in rebellion or in anger, then I ask Polemistis to pierce my heart for all eternity. My life is yours to hold and command, Athena Anassa.”

I certainly didn’t expect that level of commitment to me and my cause. I have to admit that I was more than a little bit uncomfortable with his action, but I understood that the pledge of loyalty was necessary if I was to be an effective leader. This wasn’t worshiping, but rather a promise to follow my lead. Aaron, the god of war Ares, was promising to accept my role as his queen. He referred to me as Athena Anassa, meaning Athena my Queen. His pledge was a public, formal pledge that could not easily be recanted because to do so would mean his death.

One at a time, all fell to a knee and made a pledge. Bill Townsend stood off to the side, frowning deeply as he watched the proceedings. He finally asked Aaron, “What just happened?”

Aaron glanced at me, asking for permission to continue. I nodded. Giving Aaron permission to speak. We all fell into our roles without thinking. Aaron could have been in Zeus’s presence for all his reactions. “By offering Athena our swords and our pledge of loyalty, we have promised to follow her as our leader. It is not something that is done in the twenty-first century, I realize, but we are all from a much earlier time when a formal declaration of loyalty was honored and respected. It implies that we will do anything and everything she asks and we will do anything and everything to protect her life.” He turned to me and asked, “Do you require the Oath of Binding from all of your followers?”

I almost said no, but then at the last instant, I knew that would be a great mistake. “Yes,” I said, quietly.

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Aaron grabbed Bill’s arm. “If you do this, understand what it means. This is a promise that is in force until your death. It is not a job where you can turn in your resignation if you get tired of it. Americans are not used to this level of commitment. You would leave everything behind if she asked it of you. If you change your mind, it will mean your death. She will be well within her right to kill you. Do you understand? Do you fully understand?” Not only was Aaron speaking aloud for those assembled in the room, but I felt he was sending telepathic messages to Bill at the same time. Before we would allow him to engage in a practice that was so alien to his culture, we had to be completely certain he knew what he was agreeing to. Aaron was giving him the fine print on the bottom of the page.

Bill turned and gazed over the bay through the window. In the moonlight, the water sparkled with moonlight and the lights from the house. It appeared unreal, like a painting. Zeus chose his setting well. I felt Bill thinking, pondering what was expected of him. I felt him weigh the consequences in his mind, but there was still only one choice for him to make. “Yes, I do understand.” He said to the window. He turned and walked those few steps to get closer to me. Bill looked deeply into my eyes while he sought to reach my mind at the same time. He wanted a final reassurance that this is what he must do and I gave it to him through our connection. He fell to one knee in front of me and said, “I don’t own a sword and I don’t use fancy language like I just heard from everyone, but my guns and my life are yours to command, for as long as I live.” He reaffirmed the promise in my head. Bill’s days as a policeman had just ended.

“So, now what?” Bill asked.

“Now, we stop Phobos,” I said. It sounded so simple when I said it that night in Zeus’s board room.

“Do you have a plan?” Hercules asked me.

“Not really. We know where his lair is and the basic layout of the building,” I said

Dion said, “Then, let’s be about it.”

“How do you suggest we do this?” Aaron asked with a trace of contempt in his voice, glaring at Dion.

“I mean, let’s plan our strategy. Ares, you are the greatest tactician of all time. I will defer to your expertise,” Dion said and Aaron nodded.

Eli found a yellow legal pad and some pens on the console beside the table. He passed these to Aaron who immediately began drawing the exterior of the house in Eastover and, to my surprise, the interior or as much of the interior as I had seen. “We can’t know where Phobos is in the house because Eli can’t see him. All of the followers of Phobos are holed up in there... or many of them. We cannot assume that all of them are in that one spot.”

“So, Athena,” Hercules asked, “Is it your plan to kill all of Phobos’s followers?”

“If I need to,” I said. “But considering the character of the ones who follow him, many will scatter when the actual fighting begins.”

“OK,” Aaron said. “We can’t drive up to Phobos’s front door.”

“And transporting is not an option because we can’t get close enough,” Eli added

“Phobos has some pretty strong psychic protections around his place,” Aaron agreed.

“Have you been inside the house?” Demi asked Aaron as she inspected the drawings that Aaron made.

“No, Ares hasn’t,” I answered for him. “But, I have.” I sent a mental message to Aaron, Bill, and Eli to keep our power partnership a secret from the others. I heard their psychic ascents.

“You were inside?” Nike asked me. “What happened?”

I remembered it all when she asked the question: the hurt, the humility, the rape. “Unspeakable things, Nike. Unspeakable things.” Suddenly, the righteous leader was gone and a wrathful goddess stood in her place. I wanted Phobos and all the others with him to suffer and die for what they did to me. I wanted to wreak revenge on Phobos. I wanted to tear his body apart with just my hands. Aaron, Eli, and Bill were worried that I didn’t feel enough anger toward him. I felt rage. I felt it deeply and completely. It simmered and the pressure in the pot was building.

Nike eyed me, knowing I didn’t tell her everything. There was a time when I would have. Best friends forever. Many, many nights, we stayed awake and talked about the day’s events. We shared each other’s secrets and each other's fears, although she shared much more than I did. She always told me I needed to get in touch with my feelings. She accused me of being detached, cold and distant from the humans I was supposed to be teaching. Eli felt the same way, as his little drama in the Caucasus indicated. It still rankled that my power partners forced me into destroying that once beautiful valley. I promised myself that I would never allow that to happen again. Power partners they may be, but they could not control what I did or what I thought.

Theories and ideas were discussed for over an hour and we came to no consensus, at all. When the discussions came full circle and we were back where we started, with no real plan of action, I called a halt to the proceedings.

“I need to get back to Norfolk and my bookstore,” I told them, but actually, I wanted to have a go at my power partners. I wanted to draw the lines, set the limits, and make certain they all understood they went too far with me.

“You are not going alone,” Hercules said. He didn’t understand the psychic connection and I didn’t explain it to him.

“You’re right. Eli, Aaron, and Bill will be with me. I suggest we meet at Bill’s house in three hours. Tie up any loose ends you have at your individual dwellings and prepare to stay in Newport News for a few days. That will be our temporary base of operations. Eli, if you would be so kind...” I said, placing my hand in his. Aaron and Bill drew closer and we four held hands.

Instantly, we were in the kitchen of my apartment.

“Why here?” Aaron asked me.

“Because I need to make something perfectly clear. That stunt you pulled in the Caucasus will never happen again. Anything that happens, going forward will be with my consent, only. No more secret plans, no more subterfuge. Is that understood?”

Eli said, “We thought it was the right thing to do.”

“How can totally destroying your valley be the right thing to do?” I demanded.

“That isn’t what we expected to happen,” Aaron said.

“Have you thought about what to do with your horses, now?” I asked Eli.

“I have some ideas,” he replied, lamely.

“Another thing. No one else can know about our power partnership. It must be kept a secret. And no, don’t ask me why. Only Zeus has that answer, but I suspect it has something to do with keeping that information away from our enemies.”

I may be shorter than any of them, but a lack of stature didn’t mean a lack of personal strength. Maybe I simply realized that I am, indeed, nearly as powerful as Zeus. If I know it, then my partners had to know it, too.

“If I am to be the heir to Zeus’s throne, then I have to have full cooperation from everyone who calls themselves my allies and that starts with the three of you. I mean it. No more scheming behind my back. I will be watching for it.”

Before me stood three tall, but contrite men. Maybe it was the tone of voice I used. Maybe it was my firm stand in front of them—feet apart, arms akimbo. Maybe they were just feeling guilty about what had happened. Or possibly, men sometimes require a good dressing down from the nanny. Regardless of the reason, the result of my tirade was all that I desired.

“I have to talk to Julie and get things set for her to take over for the next few days. Eli, you can gather some clothes for us to take to Bill’s house.” I pulled the back door open, the same French door that I ran into and broke when I escaped from Phobos. The plywood on it was ugly, so I made a mental note for Julie to get someone in to fix it.

When I walked into the back door of my store, Julie didn’t seem surprised, at all. “You are finally back. I expected you earlier.” Julie had some pretty strong psychic abilities, too and I was always careful of my thoughts when I was near her. Today, she looked like a Gypsy fortune-teller, with her multi-tiered skirt and red silk blouse. A red scarf kept her long hair out of her face and her arms were covered in silver bangles.

“We are going to be gone for a few days, so you can handle the store while I am away. Also, can you get someone to fix the French door upstairs? Just pay them with a company check.”

“All right.

“Thank you,” I said. “Watch my store for me.”

“I will.” She paused and then asked, “How did you get back here? Your Blazer is not parked in the back.”

“Flew in,” I said and gave her a grin. I headed out of the back door before she could ask me any more questions I didn’t want to answer. Julie was too perceptive sometimes. Or maybe she simply paid more attention than most normal people.