I glanced at Eli and said, “Take us to Phobos.” In an instant, we were back in the field beside the now destroyed house in Eastover where my captives waited, impatiently.

The field was dark without Eli’s ball of light hovering over the area. The moon had set. The sky was filled with millions of stars, all casting their feeble light onto those who waited. Eli landed us several hundred feet from the captives. A precaution, I am sure. I led Eli, Bill, Ares, and Hermes toward my prisoners.

Hercules, Dion, Ariadne, Nike, and Jason posted themselves around the captives, forming a pentagram where at least two others were in sight at all times. My captives sat on the ground, but they weren’t happy or comfortable. As the saying goes, if looks could kill, I would have keeled over on the spot.

Phobos and Deimos stood, and glared, but said nothing. One by one, others stood in response to my presence. They waited for me to speak. “Today is your lucky day, Phobos,” I said.

“I can’t imagine how,” he replied, sarcastically.

“I am not going to kill you if you answer my question. That’s how you are lucky.”

He waited.

“Tell me who is responsible for the boys dying in the mall. Who did it, Phobos?”

“I tell you, she comes after me.”

“Then, it was Circe,” I said.

He looked at the sky and shouted, “I never told her anything.”

“Don’t worry,” I said to Phobos. “Where you are going, she will not be able to find you.”

“Don’t bet on it,” he said, grimly.

“Not only are we going to put you on a nice tropical island—Sarah Ann Island—we are going to hide it from view. To the world, it will simply be another submerged Pacific Island. Circe won’t find you there.”

Phobos shook his head. “For one who is supposed to be smart, you certainly miss a lot. Athena, she doesn’t use a GPS to find her enemies, she uses magic. There is no place on this planet where you can hide us from her. She will come for us and she will kill us.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you are standing here, now. Because you won this little battle.” He sneered. “You may have won the battle, but the war is far from over. By confining us to Sarah Ann Island, you condemn all of us to death. Better you kill us all now, quickly, than making us wait for Circe. She won’t be quick. Our last days, months, or years will be a living agony. If you send us to your little island, then you are executing us, just a slower death.”

I looked at my feet for long minutes and then nodded. Of course, he was correct. Putting him on the island simply moved him from my sight instead of fixing the problem. And what was the real problem? Phobos’s lifestyle choice? Phobos’s killing innocent humans who belonged to him? Maybe my opinion was clouded because his life was so different from mine. Universal law stated that he was not allowed to kill anyone who was not his possession. In other words, Phobos was not permitted to murder. To my knowledge, Phobos murdered no one. He did kill those who chose to follow him. As Bill said, the lines between good and bad were very blurred.

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“Phobos,” I said. “The laws of this land state you are not allowed to kill any person.”

“It’s a stupid law,” he said.

“But, it is still the law of this land. That is not the point I am trying to make. According to the laws of this land, there must be a punishment for killing those people who belong to you.”

“So, you are going to send us to an island where Circe can find us and execute us, herself. Why don’t you show some leadership and kill us? A life for a life.”

“I have a better idea, Phobos.”

“I’m listening.”

“Circe is my enemy. I need to build an army of followers.”

Phobos was quick, I would give him that. “You want me to pledge my loyalty to you.” His expression was one of incredulity.

“Yes.”

“Do you think you are powerful enough to protect me from the likes of her?” Phobos’s voice dripped with derision. “You are delusional.”

I paced back and forth for a moment and then said, “No, I am not. I have defeated her once, today. What makes you think I can’t do it again?”

“But, she still lives!” Phobos countered.

“She won’t next time we meet.”

“A strong boast that will net you nothing when you lie at her feet. She can kill with a thought. She doesn’t even have to be in close proximity to you. She was in the basement of the house when she killed the boys in the mall.”

“Why didn’t she kill me when she had the chance? Why didn’t she kill me instead of Demeter? We were in the same room at the same time.”

Phobos shook his head and replied, quietly, “I don’t know. I wasn’t one of her confidants. Speculate for yourself. Maybe she still fears Zeus’s retribution if she harms you. But mark this: Even if she will not harm you, she can harm those around you. Your friends. Your companions.”

I stood beside Ares and felt when Eli, Bill, and Hermes the pig formed a line. From the edges of the prison, my other followers moved until they stood with us, shoulder to shoulder. “Phobos, will you join me?” I asked.

“Do I have a choice?” he snapped.

“Yes, you do,” I said.

“I join you, or I go to an island in the Pacific.”

“It is a choice.”

“If I agree to this, then I will have to do your bidding.” He shook his head in the negative. “I like this not.”

“

Phobos, you have played long enough,” Ares said to his son. “It’s time to take some responsibility.”

Eris stepped in front of Phobos. “He doesn’t speak for us all,” she said, sourly. “My sister, you are powerful but boring.”

“You, too, have a choice, Eris. All of you do.” I looked from one face to another. “If you wish to follow me, step forward.”

The inevitable moment of indecision followed when they glanced at each other for encouragement or any indication of solidarity. Tychon stepped around Phobos. He held his head a little higher and said, “I will always choose a winner.”

One by one, they all chose, leaving Phobos, Deimos, and Eris standing with ten others. Enyo had curled into a tight ball as if knees to her chest could hold her torn lungs together while they mended. She was in pain, without a doubt, but I didn’t regret what I did, nor did I feel sorry for her.

Finally, Phobos took a small step forward. “Just know that I do this with great reservation,” he said to me.

“If you can’t follow me freely, then I don’t want you. If you can’t bend your knee before me and swear loyalty and fealty, then I don’t want you. I will not have anyone near me I cannot trust.” My voice was firm and steady.

“I was a leader!” he shouted. “Why would I choose to follow? Send me to your island. At least there, I will still be a leader.”

“So be it,” I said. Then to the ones who joined me from Phobos’s group, “Bend your knee, now, or join Phobos.” I waited until the final decision was made and I gained seven new followers, including Tychon, Lethe, and Thanatos.

Phobos, Deimos, Eris, and by extension, Enyo, chose to go to Sarah Ann.

Eli bound them with a metaphysical rope and transported the captives, Ares, Bill, and myself to the small island in the Pacific Ocean.