HEPHAESTUS

Looking outside the window, Hephaestus felt a cold sharp arrow down her spine as both of the fires were bright and powerful. Everything proceeded according to their plan.

They stretched their wrists, watching every other noble panicking and trying to take a better look from the window or trying to escape.

‘’Do you think that…’’Mordred whispered without finishing his damn question.

Free me. The girl’s voice whispered in their head.

Hephaestus took a deep breath and let their hand go of his. Sometimes they imagined that he was trying to find every excuse to touch them. How stupid were they?

‘’Everything is fine’’ A loud Lion's proud voice announced from the stairs. Bright red hair like fire, sharp eyes like gems. Hephaestus wondered for a time, how could this woman be Lucifer’s relative. She looked like a ruthless beast who could do everything with the snap of her fingers. When they saw her in Aztlan she seemed also gentle, kind, and hopeful. But now, her eyes seemed mechanic, soulless. That even she was a rusty machine, ready to break.

‘’Enough of this facade Boudica’’ A priest yelled at her with disrespect.

She crossed her fingers and looked at him confused, keeping her smile.

‘’Is something wrong?’’She asked.

He groaned and took out of his mask to speak with her, without any other lies between them.

‘’You called us here’’Hephaestus found a drop of sweat around his greasy face. ‘’Let us enjoy the food, drinks, and company…for what? For you to keep us from the truth?’’

‘’And what is the truth you want me to tell you?’’She kept her monotone, looking at everyone calmly as she played with her ring finger.

Hephaestus could see a thread around her neck, ready to snap at any second and throw her scream at all of the people who were looking at her with wonder.

‘’That you are weak. Probably the weakest one of all the Rulers’’The priest scoffed with arrogance.

‘’And what do you suggest?’’She asked him again.

The man approached her, standing at the edge of the stairs and looking her in the eyes.

‘’I am the main priest of Olympus ’He announced. ‘’Sailus is my name, you may have heard me’’

He was at the age of thirty, with dark hair and eyes and with a clean face.

Boudica did not reply to that statement.

‘’I have seen how the believers have risen, my lady’’He said arrogantly. ‘’I think that it is time for…a fresh era’’ His hand moved back, showing the other priests, shaking their heads.

Hephaestus tapped their fingers upon their cane. They wanted to yawn at boredom but they knew they would draw more attention than before.

But in honesty, their heart was panting with fear. Not about the tension between the Great Ruler, and the army with the religion but if the plan would actually go as they had planned.

‘’You are right’’ The woman spoke calmly. From the corner of their eyes, Hephaestus found more soldiers arriving, surrounding everyone at the edge of the wall.

Sailus's smile became wider from joy.

‘’I was hiding the truth’’She let out a melancholic sigh, placing her hand on her forehead in pain.

‘’I thought that I had more time to…to prevent this’’She stuttered and looked back at all of them.

‘’Here is the truth’’

The light vanished and everyone let out a panicking gasp. Then fire appeared from two torches and the soldiers kept moving around, creating images on their ceiling with their shadows.

‘’Far aside from the wall, where we can walk or see with our own eyes'' She said with the shadows creating a building.

‘’There is a … rebellion who thinks that there is a kingdom, filled with monsters such as warlocks and demons…believing in the Mother of the Deep’’

A woman made of darkness with a big smile appeared right at the top of the tower.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

‘’The name of this.. the place is called Babel, guarded by strong incantations. We could not reach there but they could…’’She made a long pause and the shadows were now attacking. Forces attacked people who were trying to escape.

‘’All the warlocks came to form this place to bring distraction like the ones to Aztlan and…the ones who took my niece and poisoned her ‘’She let out a whimper. The only thing that Hephaestus could think about her was that if she had no jewels and a crown…how amazing of an actress could she become?

‘’They made her one of them..’’She let out another sigh.

‘’They have grown, become powerful enough that can have the power to destroy all of us’’

The shadows were now extinct with the light returning. Everyone looked concerned, Even Sailus lost his confidence, looking around with his shaking gaze. But not his arrogance.

‘’Tell me Sailus’’Boudica took one step down with her fingers crossed. ‘’How will prayers and hopes for a miracle stop the bloodshed?’’

He frowned with anger, looking back at her.

‘’Just because of your show’’ He scoffed and looked around. ‘’Do we have to believe you?’’

Few people agreed with him. Even a few of the soldiers.

Boudica hummed and shrugged.

‘’No, of course not’’ She said and snapped her fingers.

Help me.

Hephaestus saw it. They saw Venus lifting his pistol and aiming to their side. But not for longer than two seconds as he shifted his weapon to Mordred’s side.

Tell me. What side will you choose?

When the bullet got free from the rifle, time stopped for the mechanic. Mordred could heal. Nothing could happen to him if a bullet hit his heart. And yet, everyone would see what could happen. They had stuck to their plan. They had to do everything right. But their hands did not listen. Their body did not listen when they moved to his side and flexed their fingers, making the bullet move high to the ceiling just like their lifted arm.’

Your calculations or your emotions?

Not iron. There was a beam of sweat at their sticky brow. Steel. Their eyes met Venus for just one second before they listened to a broken sound. Looking up again, they saw what they had hit. The chandelier with all the weight of the crystals, was enough for one bullet to make it fall with the balance.

There were screams and cries as Hephaestus shut their eyes and looked down, fearing, and feeling that the sharp pieces would kill them.

‘’I got you’’ Mordred wrapped his body around them with no hesitation.

The rainshower was ready to keep them impaled, everyone would have been. Until Hephaestus felt a warmth wave from eight above them, showering the entire area. As they opened their eyes they held their breath, watching the flying image of a firebird swimming around the air, melting each part of the chandelier.

‘’Hephaestus,’’Mordred gasped.

‘’It’s not me’’They admitted and looked at their hands, feeling their skin melt from the heat.’’ It’s not, It’s’’ They let out a cry.

Just like almost everyone else’s mask was burned, so did a few parts of their jewels. And everyone’s gaze, right at the two warlocks.

When the firebird vanished, Boudica clapped her hands, drawing the attention back to her.

‘’These are the ones who thought that they could enter here and won’t be noticed’’

‘’Shit’’ Hephaestus gritted their teeth towards the Ruler and looked at their cane.

One two three. One two three. One two three.

They tried to breathe as they fell back to Mordred with cold sweat showing their face.

‘’Warlocks, powerful enough to enter Elysium…something that never happened for thousand of years’’

Her eyes became one with Sailus and there was a soft, devious grin.

‘’Is this enough for you to believe? Strange for you to have a bigger faith in things you cannot see, isn’t it?’’

Everyone lost their tongues waiting for the priest’s answer. The faith fails from the invisible conquerors to the visible enemy. To the visible Ruler.

Sailus’s eyes darted and his jaw was now clenched as his legs sank on their knees slowly, eyes on Boudica.

‘’What are you suggesting?’’He said with no life to his voice. ‘’Your Grace?’’

Her lips curled into a deciduous grin and moved her fingers to the soldiers’ side.

Hephaestus could see the soldiers getting closer to them, ready to shoot. But there was no Venus to be found.

‘’Any other insane idea?’’ Mordred asked them, being back to back with each other, looking everywhere for a path of escape.

‘’Yes,’’ Hephaestus said, looking above, noticing the ceiling, opening half with a loud shrieking noise, showing the night sky. The entire ground shook, glasses fell, windows broke, and even more screams than before accompanying the cold wind appeared. And Hephaestus looked up, shocked. A dark.Darker than it was supposed to be. But around the clouds, something was moving, with thunder helping the giant worm swim into the air.No. Lights. There were lights. Bright like the sun.

It was one of the machines, covering the moonlight.

‘’These flying inventions, thanks to Thoth, can fly past the wall and destroy the warlocks and their rebellion once and for all,’’ Boudica announces loudly, making her hand into a fist, showing an example.

Everyone started cheering, screaming with joy. The soldiers were ready to shoot at Hephaestus and Mordred. They forced themselves to stand up by resting their hand at Mordred’s shoulders.

‘’We have to go’’Mordred Moved their arm tiger to his body.

Hephaestus did not move from their place; their eyes kept looking at the sky with the machines making the most satisfying sound they had ever heard. With reluctance, they followed, never letting go of Mordred's grip, but mesmerized by the symphony of the machines, they couldn't help but look back.

‘’We have to do something,’

‘’The plan will fail if we leave now,'' Hephaestus stated. I can do both.

‘’What about the others?’’Mordred asked, focusing on their ring.

A shimmering light like sunlight hitting the glass found Hephaestus's eyes from the flying machine.

‘’Stick to the plan…I am not a strategist or a soldier’’ They explained and tried to force a smile as they took his mask out of his face.

‘’I invent. When there is something wrong, I improvise’’ They took a deep breath and counted from one to three with their fingertips caressing the tip of the cane.

‘’And this improvisation has to be perfect’’They prayed before they were now departed from the ballroom, thinking only of one name on their head.

The one who they wanted to find.