Circe was still at large and so was Hecate. They stood alone. Or at least considerably weakened as a result of their diminished numbers.

I still had another concern. When we, me and my 56 new followers and my close associates, arrived to the Valley, I issued commands. The new 56 would go to Themis to get quartered where we could watch them. The Valley was getting very crowded, so I needed to take care of Circe quickly. I left Apollo and Themis in charge of the newcomers and transported the rest of my close associates to the Highrise Conference Room.

I told the rest, “I must speak with Helios, alone. Please leave us alone for a bit. Make sure Hebe and Ariadne are organizing breakfast. I will be along, presently.”

One at a time, they departed the conference room--Hermes, first, then Bill, and Ares and finally, Zeus.

“I need to commission an artist to paint portraits of the Athenian Twelve, plus, I want to add Zeus, making it thirteen. Include a portrait of Demeter.” I said to Eli.

“You didn’t ask to see me alone to discuss portraits,” Eli said, closing the distance between us. He pulled me into an embrace and kissed the top of my head.

“No, I didn’t,” I whispered, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What troubles you?”

“Pasiphae and Aeetes, and the others of your children. I killed them today.”

Without breaking the embrace he said, “You executed them for crimes against your rule. You sent a powerful statement to all who follow you. Even our Bill approved of your decision and he is the champion of doing what is right. Furthermore, I am the one who did the actual execution.”

“You would not have without my order and my help,” I said.

“You didn’t want to discuss the execution, either. Tell me what you are guarding from me so assiduously.”

I nodded, not leaving the comfortable embrace of his strong arms. “I have to face Circe alone.”

“Athena, what on earth are you planning?” he asked and then fell silent. “You know that Bill and I won’t let you go to her alone.”

“You will have to. This war has to end.”

He knew I was right. “I don’t like it.”

“You are in good company. Neither does Zeus.”

“Really, what is your plan?”

“I am planning to destroy her,” I told him. “I will end her, once and for all time. It doesn’t have to be a complicated plan. I just need to find a secluded place and wait for her to arrive.”

“What if she brings Hecate, too?”

“Then they are both doomed.” I watched his stricken face and added, “I can beat her. Don’t worry.”

He stared into my eyes, hoping for a reconsideration. When it didn’t come after a full two minutes, he pulled me into an embrace that said he never wanted to let me go.

The place I chose was in the Sonoran Desert. The reasoning behind the choice was simple; I didn’t want there to be too many things Circe could use against me, metaphysically. Deserts tend to be the most magically scarce places on the planet.

Small scrubby bushes surrounded the area where I sat in the shade of a small rise. The sun crept upward behind me. No clouds marred the pristine blue sky. No breeze stirred the sand or disturbed the spindly grasses near me. A baby rattlesnake slithered its way in front of me, hoping to find a warm spot on the sand to settle down and heat up its body. A fly buzzed near me to land on a lone yellow flower. It lingered a few seconds, flew up, and landed on my knee. After exploring long enough to realize I was not edible, it flew away over my head. Shadows moved and I waited, not hiding my metaphysical self in any way.

My life changed so radically over the past five months. Five months ago, I owned a small book store in Norfolk Virginia and I lived in a small apartment above the store with my husband. Our lives were quiet and time slipped by us, unnoticed. Eli and I searched for rare books to put in our store and Julie Adams made sure of the day-to-day operation. Many times, Eli and I idled away the hours by sitting in the garden outside of the store sipping coffee and reading. A simple life.

Then, I found myself surrounded by constant companions.

I thought about each of them. Ares, my brother. We shared a father, but not a mother. When we were younger, he was my nemesis, nearly always taking the opposite side in any war waged by people of old. We rarely met. We never talked. He opposed everything I believed in and stood for. I never knew him and never wanted to know him in the Golden Age.

Ares of the 21st century was a troubled soul. He was troubled by past deeds and past alliances. He despaired over his relationship with Eris and Enyo, our sisters who opposed us by siding with Phobos. He regretted what Phobos had become. He anguished over the death of his son, Deimos. Ares of the 21st century wanted love and wanted to be loved, like he once loved his lost Rada. The only time he attempted a relationship with a woman was when he and Nike made love in Bill’s house at the same time Helios and I loved and metaphysically married all of my followers.

Nike rejected him afterward and he smarted from the slight. I hoped he would find someone whom he could love and who would love him in return.

Hermes was also my brother. In days of old, he protected travelers, particularly those who were lost. He was playful and mischievous, but eventually, he outgrew his childish traits. He became a serious helper of humans, training himself as a healer. The caduceus he carried of old, he still used to focus metaphysical energy that could reinforce the body’s own abilities to repair itself. He was not any particular danger to anyone in days of old. But, because he was cunning and wiley, Zeus used him as a spy and his own personal messenger.

Hermes of the 21st century was still a spy because he could enter a room full of people and no one would notice his presence. He could move from place to place without leaving a metaphysical trail. Although Hermes had many wives and many lovers in his lifetime, he was mostly in the company of Bill Townsend. They developed a physical relationship along with the close mental bond they shared with me.

Bill was a policeman, a righteous man, my enforcer, my paladin, a defender of all beings, and a human, through and through. I didn’t know what continued association with us Athenians would do to him. That remained to be seen. I hoped he would only get better and not be corrupted by us. We are a powerful race and even our Bill could be corrupted by the heady feeling.

Zeus, the former king of the Olympians, abdicated his position and willed it to me. Most of the Titans never pledged their allegiance to him because he fought a war with the glittering throng and won, abyssing all those who opposed him. So long they had been buried, sealed in a cave, that releasing them now would be folly.

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Zeus was, in many ways, still mysterious. He was the one person in my ever-growing horde of followers who did not have to answer to the queen. Zeus’s new role as my subordinate was anything but a subordinate role. He was one of my most trusted advisors and would likely tell me off soundly if he thought I needed it.

Eli, the former god of the sun, Helios, was my husband and had been for 600 years. It was said in the Golden Age that he was the eyes of the world and he could see everything and everyone. That was only partially true. While he could see most people, he did have limitations, plus, he couldn’t see everyone at the same time.

Helios was highly principled and when he helped Hephaestus to expose his cheating wife, Aphrodite, she cursed Helios and all of his family in her rage. Thousands of years later, Helios bears the scars of that curse, finding it nearly impossible to trust that I really and truly love him.

I opened each one of the boxes and examined them closely. I looked at past traits and the person they are today. Everyone was different from the person they had been 3,000 years ago. Maybe when a race is as long-lived as we are, it takes us millennia to mature.

The air grew warmer and I removed my tshirt, but kept on my tank top. I shifted my bottom into a more comfortable position and watched the shadows creep across the sand.

It occurred to me that Circe may wait until after dark to attack and I was prepared to wait for her if it took a month. I could borrow a few tricks from my followers to overcome anything she could try. I could pull power from all of my followers. I could use any trick that any of them knew. If Circe chose to battle at midnight, I could grab stored sunlight from Helios and create a light overhead bright enough to illuminate an area a mile in diameter.

Before arriving at my location, I shrouded myself in a shield that would prevent her from turning me into a swine--one of her favorite tricks. I brought my favorite sword, but it was only a gesture. This battle would be metaphysical. Even though Ares squawked, I left my armor behind. Bill wanted me to bring my gun, but I left it behind, too. Hermes pleaded with me to hide until she arrived and then to attack her when she was not looking. I rejected their plans and ideas, opting for simplicity.

I drank some water and ate two sandwiches provided by my mother and packed in a hiker’s backpack. The afternoon sun baked my head, so I moved to the opposite side of the bush that shaded me. I was more concealed because the vegetation was thicker here. The jojoba was behind me and junipers clustered together in front of me. The afternoon wore on and I felt sleepy. I curled up on the sandy shade of the jojoba to doze in the warmth.

When I opened my eyes, the sun was nearly down. I watched it slide behind the distant mountains and then shivered in the sudden chill. I put my tshirt back on and removed a jacket from the backpack before drinking more water and eating an apple.

I watched the moon rise over the mountains, following the sun across the sky. It was not quite full, but would be in 3 days. The moon provided enough light for me to see clearly in every direction. I waited in my nest of bushes, feeling the cold beginning to creep into the jacket. I stood and walked around to warm my body up, not venturing far from my chosen spot.

I glanced up at the moon and saw the shimmer as if a clear balloon hung in the chilled air.

Taking a page from Helios’s book, I threw a ball of light, brighter than a spotlight up into the sky and it hung over me, moving with me when I stepped in any direction.

The balloon shriveled and suddenly she stood in front of me.

“Where are your followers?” she asked.

“I don’t need them,” I responded.

“You killed my people,” she accused.

“You killed mine, first.” She dismissed my accusation with a wave of her hand.

“I will have your throne. It doesn’t matter what Zeus has done.”

“If you want it, then come and take it.” I braced myself waiting for her first move. She kicked sand into my face and while I dealt with the grit in my eyes, she kicked me in the stomach. So, she wanted a conventional fight. I could accommodate her.

My round-house kick connected with her jaw. It was rough and viscous and she spat out a tooth. She dove toward me and I allowed her to take me to the ground.

Once in the sand, I grabbed her copious red hair and pulled her head backward, I hoped painfully. It was my intention to hurt her physically as much as she hurt me when she killed my people. I held her prisoner with my legs and tried to break her neck or at the very least, snatch her bald-headed.

The remembered deaths spurred me into wicked action. I hit her and elbowed her and kneed her and kicked her time and time again, hoping to shatter her in some way, but she healed herself from each wound with lightning speed. So much the better. She would tire herself far more quickly that way.

I didn’t bother trying to heal any of the wounds she inflicted on me, because she gave as good as she got. My nose bled and my lip. My knuckles wept blood and my left wrist felt either broken or sprained. She knee-capped me with her booted foot, but even that pain I ignored rather than trying to heal it. She stomped on my foot and heard the bones crunch together. Still, I didn’t waste time trying to heal myself.

We strove, pulling hair, gouging eyes, tearing flesh, and breaking bones for many minutes. I felt her weaken as her blows became increasingly less effective. She wasted too much energy healing herself.

She swayed back and forth as if she were trying to summon the energy to continue the fight. She was near her limit and I was happy.

She leaned over, with her hands on her knees and I dealt the final killing blow. I disintegrated her like I did Helios’ Valley in the Caucasus.

Just like that, she was gone.

It seemed very anticlimactic. I somehow felt as if something more should have happened. But then, this was a real fight to the death and not something someone would see in a movie. No heroics. No fanfare. No resounding musical accompaniment. She was gone just like she had never existed, her darkness extinguished forever.

Her execution was complete, I collapsed to my knees in the sand and shut down Eli’s light. I drew in great draughts of air, replenishing my wracked body. I crawled to my hiding spot in the jojoba and found my backpack. I drank a full bottle of water and then poured a second bottle of water over my face.

I felt him before I saw him. Zeus crouched down beside me and draped a protective arm across my shoulders. “You look like a dog’s breakfast.”

“I expect I do,” I told him.

He nodded and said, “She opted for a conventional fistfight. Maybe she finally realized you are stronger than she was. She could never beat you in a metaphysical battle. Either that or her own power diminished because of her loss of followers.”

“She came to the fight, knowing she was defeated. She didn’t even put up much resistance.” I inhaled deeply. “Now, there is still Hecate. I have not spoken with her, but I don't think there will be much resistance there, either.”

“Let’s go and get your wounds looked after.”

As if I was still an infant, my father lifted me off of the sand and cradled me in his arms. A moment later, we were in my bedroom in the Norfolk Highrise with Eli, Ares, Bill, and Hermes waiting on the bed. Apollo stood ready and relieved Zeus of his burden, namely me.

I closed my eyes and Apollo placed my broken body on the bed, careful not to jar broken limbs too much. My power partnership all placed comforting hands on me while Apollo healed my broken wrist, my dislocated knee, shattered foot, multiple bruises and contusions.

My partners gave me some of their energy and I started to feel immeasurably better.

When he was finished healing, he prescribed a shower for me and I nodded my assent.

Eli accompanied me and turned on the hot water while I undressed. He scrubbed my skin and massaged my scalp. He took his time, ensuring that every inch of my body was relieved of desert sand.

After washing my hair and scrubbing the desert from my skin, he gently caressed my body with a fluffy towel, lingering over the task. He combed the tangles from my hair and dried it with a hair dryer. Then, the God of the Sun gathered my hair into a braid that hung down my back.

I dressed in a purple woolen dress, black leggings, thick purple socks, and black booties. I felt warm and cozy, so I made my way to the kitchen where Metis provided a meal for me.

They were all present, my Twelve. Everyone was quiet and subdued while I ate my fill.

I finally asked, “What is going on?”

“We are waiting for you to speak,” Eli said.

“You want an update?” I asked and he nodded. They wanted to hear my story and graphic details of the battle I just fought. I wasn’t inclined.

I regarded each one of the Twelve: Zeus, Helios, Ares, Hermes, Bill, Metis, Titan, Mnemosyne, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus and Themis.

Then, I said a single sentence to sum up the previous five months, “Circe is dead.”