Most of the dead were Ares’s soldiers who lived in yurts scattered across the island. They would have been safe if the tsumani hadn’t carried many of the yurts into the sea.

My partners and I did a metaphysical sweep of the ocean around the island and could not find any living person struggling in the water. Hermes transported several of the dead to a location on the south side of the island intending to transport all of them to Olympus when we located everyone.

None of my immediate advisors died, but I lost Euterpe, the Muse I chose to replace Calliope as my personal assistant. Mnemosyne had seven daughters remaining but she cried over the loss of Euterpe. Even Zeus was sad because she was his daughter, too.

I stared at the destruction for nearly an hour. Olympia Island would take weeks to rebuild. But, I had to deal with Circe, first.

Eli moved his horses back to the Valley in the Caucasus and what was left of my army went, too. Instead of 600, I was down to less than 500.

Bill took Hermes back to his house along with four others. They set up strong wards to keep everyone but my followers out.

I took the rest of my Eleven to the Highrise.

I turned on the lights in the living room and ached from the bad memories associated with the place. Eli was torn from the balcony just outside of the living room. My followers were killed in the kitchen. I closed my eyes and saw blood running across the white marble. Circe was in the guest room disguised as Eli.

Once Olympia was rebuilt, I would give the idea of selling the place some serious consideration. In the meantime, it was my temporary base.

Chapter 10

Friday, December 24, 9:00 p.m., Highrise, Norfolk VA

I woke up from a very restful nap to a dark bedroom. Eli stirred next to me and I asked him the time.

“Almost 9:00,” he said.

I moved even closer to him and I felt rather than saw his smile. My eyes adjusted to the meager light from the half moon that was just creeping out of the sea and leaving silver ribbons floating on the water of the Chesapeake Bay. I watched the bay from the comfort of my bed for several minutes, simply enjoying the aftermath of a good sleep and the warm body next to me.

My Eleven and Zeus all returned to the Highrise in Norfolk. Bill’s house was filled to capacity with refugees and so was the valley in the Caucasus. Every apartment in the Highrise was full. It would take some time to rebuild Olympia.

I didn’t like having my followers spread all over, but there was nothing else I could do at that moment. We set upwards of protection for each location. Ares stayed in the Caucasus, Bill, and Hermes in Bill’s house, and Helios, Zeus, and me in the Highrise. If an attack started by Circe and company, we could warn each other and like the proverbial calvary, come charging over the hill to save the day.

He closed his mouth over mine and the ocean, the bedroom, Circe and her demons, and everything else except him vanished from my thoughts. We reveled in the familiarity of the kiss and he lingered for long minutes. When my husband moved on top of me, I didn't object because it was what I was hoping for.

We made slow love, enjoying every sensation, every touch. He opened his mind to me and I opened mine to him. We frolicked in the emotional stimulus as much as in the physical.

Since we created our power partnership, Eli and I had not made love very often, but each time we touched each other, it seemed far more meaningful than when it was just the two of us. I was vaguely aware that Ares, Bill, and Hermes knew of our encounter, but they didn’t interfere. They gave us privacy so we could enjoy our intimacy. We could never fully escape our partners, but we could withdraw from them enough to exclude them from our encounters.

I swam in the beautiful lake named Helios and his touch slid over my skin like warm water. He caressed me with lips and fingers. I caressed him in return. Finally, he pushed his way deeply into my inner being, touching everything at the same time. The physical part of our joining was nearly incidental compared to the joining of our minds. Still, he moved slowly enough to prolong the inevitable outcome. The climax, when it finally arrived, was explosive. I shuddered and cried out as the muscles along my spine contracted, arching my back.

I spent several minutes relearning how to breathe and willing my heart back into a normal rhythm. Eli watched me, a smug smile on his lips. He knew we had achieved new depths of intimacy, just as I understood it.

“If it is going to be like that every time we make love,” he said, “I am unsure if I want to do that every day for the rest of our lives or if it should be saved for special occasions.”

“We used a lot of metaphysical energy, so likely we could not do that every day,” I said to him. “Although, when we have time, it may be fun to try.”

He gave me another lingering kiss that ended too soon in my opinion.

However, time marched forward.

One need taken care of, I had another. I was starving, so I showered and dressed quickly in rock gray pants and a camouflage gray and green sweatshirt. Eli and I stepped into the kitchen together and found a feast waiting for us.

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Chicken, ham, shrimp, fried monkfish, shaved corned beef, bread, wine, various side dishes, and several desserts awaited our pleasure. I filled my plate and sat at the bar to eat. My mind was on the next few hours, so I didn't pay much attention to the chatter going on around me.

At precisely midnight, Ares contacted me and announced we should all get ready to go. Eli and Bill popped into the Highrise dressed in the same gray and green camouflage as me because we would be the first into the valley and we certainly didn't want to call attention to ourselves.

Even though I wasn’t going into combat, I armed myself with the Glock Ares had specially made for me and my short sword as I was most comfortable fighting with it. Eli carried his spear and a sawed-off shotgun. Bill holstered his .38 Special in a special ankle holder and two .45 Magnums hung from his waist.

For the distraction, Ares appointed Zeus, Hermes, and several of my army to appear on the north side of the valley, just as I appeared on the South. Zeus's eyes sparkled with anticipation at finally getting to participate instead of standing aside and watching as every good ruler must.

At Ares’s signal, Eli, Bill, and I appeared on a small ledge high up the rock face. We dropped into a crouch, being scarcely hidden by the bushes in front of us.

The valley was covered in sparse vegetation, likely owing to the altitude. The lake in the center of the valley was a finger, about a mile long and only a few hundred feet wide. Most of Circe’s people camped on the east side of the lake with a few yurts scattered farther away from the main hub of action.

Midday and nothing stirred. No insects flew and no wind blew. Below and to the right, a lone sentry stood watch. He was bored and distracted, so he didn't notice our arrival. A puma lounged on a ledge above us, its tail flipping up and down in slow motion. It probably had a family nearby and they would dine primarily on mice or viscacha.

Across the valley, Zeus and Hermes started a small avalanche of rocks and debris. As the first rocks fell, they dislodged others until a sizable swath of destruction tumbled toward the center of the valley. On the valley floor, several of the witches looked up to see what was happening. Before the rock slide began in earnest, Zeus and Hermes appeared by my side. We watched the witches pointing and gesticulating towards the north and the avalanche. Their attention was clearly away from me.

I could see Circe’s ward of protection as clearly as I could see the lake near the middle of her valley. I nodded toward Zeus and we pulled a thread of Circe’s metaphysical wall. It started to unravel piece by piece. Gently and slowly Zeus and I worked so as not to attract the attention of anyone below. In less than ten minutes, the barrier was gone. Across the valley, pebbles still tumbled down the rock face and then, silence. Like the calm before the storm.

Several of the witches scaled the north side of the valley to see if they could determine the cause of the rock slide. None even glanced towards my perch.

I erected my own barrier. No one who wasn’t directly linked to me would be able to breach the ward. I nodded toward Hermes and he vanished, going back to the Highrise to await the arrival of any inevitable wounded.

I contacted Ares and he started his show.

They arrived en masse, taking the witches completely by surprise. Confusion filled the valley as witches ran for shelters to, presumably, retrieve their weapons. Several of them attempted to transport, but my ward held them fast.

One of my people died and I gasped for air feeling as if Euos kicked me in the stomach. Somewhere, a long way away, I heard Helios reminding me to breathe. Another died and another. I was prepared for my physical reaction this time and it seemed to hurt a little bit less. I still didn’t like it.

I opened eyes that I didn’t realize I had shut and found myself lying prone on a small ledge, with Eli’s arms holding me tightly. Bill gasped my hand so tightly, he crunched the bones together. The pain in my hand helped to distract me from the people who died on the battlefield.

Zeus kept his eyes on the battle far below. He glanced at me and then said, “We are prevailing, but there are still skirmishes going on. Ares has subdued the powerful players. That was his plan all along. Rather like playing chess with Apollo. A surgical cut right into the enemy’s heart. Troubling though. I haven’t seen anything of Circe’s bright red hair.”

No, that couldn't be true. I struggled to my feet and looked down at the battle below. Here and there warriors fought, but most were on their knees with their hands behind their heads. Ares stood beside Apollo and the two were involved in a heated debate.

“I have to know what is going on,” I said to Eli, Bill, and Zeus.

“You are not going down there, yet,” Helios said.

Zeus waved a hand over me and I was rooted to the rock I stood on just as if I were a hundred-year-old tree. I glared at him and my father simply glared back. “As soon as the fighting is over, I will let you go.”

I tried to pick up my feet, but I was a prisoner. “Zeus, let me go,” I said.

“I will in a few minutes. Or you can do it yourself,” he said. He stubbornly looked at the field of battle, not moving to release me from his fetters.

So, I did it myself. I unraveled his spell and stepped out of his trap. It took me close to twenty minutes. Zeus grinned at me and said, “You can go down there, now. The fighting is over.”

“I cannot believe you just did that,” I said, acidly.

Zeus shrugged his shoulders and then he transported all of us down to Ares and Apollo.

Zeus could wait. I was beginning to see what a court jester could really accomplish. Was Zeus the real power behind the throne? A question to be explored at another time.

“What is going on?” I asked Ares.

“Circe isn’t here. I have got people searching every yurt, but she isn't here.”

“She can change her looks, you know,” I said.

“We know,” Apollo said. “Ares and I were discussing a method for finding her in this crowd. You will have to negate all metaphysics in this area, Lady Athena.”

Could I do that? I glanced at Zeus and he said, “Well, go on.” He waved an impatient hand in my direction.

This was something I had never done before. To eliminate all metaphysics in a given area was tricky, to say the least. I thought about it for a moment, then just decided it would be so. I felt all magic float away. I could almost see dark smoke heading up to my barrier to be trapped just underneath it. No one wore a disguise. No one tried to escape. No magic at all. But, worse than that, no Circe.

I saw Pasiphae and beckoned to her. She walked up to me, not of her free will. She tried to resist my summons but was unable. She came to me because I manipulated her, metaphysically. “Where is Circe?” I asked her, adding a metaphysical demand for truth.

“I don't know,” Pasiphae said. She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe she just answered the question. “I don’t know. She left last night but didn’t tell us where she was going. Hecate accompanied her.”

I nodded. “Ares, how many of Circe’s people are here?”

“We counted 313 still alive. We killed 645. Seventeen of our followers died and 44 are wounded and have been transported to the Highrise.”

“Alright. Leave Circe’s people here. I am going to leave my magic in place and the prisoners can stay here. Get our army back to the Valley.”

“Do the prisoners need guards?” Ares asked.

“No. Just like Phobos on Sarah Ann Island. They won’t be able to leave. Let’s get back home,” I said and Eli transported us.