HEPHAESTUS

The soldiers kept dragging Hephaestus to the vehicle which the gunsmith’s eyes had drawn their attention to from the beginning. This was their goal and plan. To steal it from under their noses.

They let Hephaestus down to their knees, in front of the driver’s door. ‘’Test them out and get them to Naraka’’ One of the soldiers commanded the driver as they both walked away.

Not away. Hephaestus felt a shiver of panic down their spine. To Naraka.

Two minutes. They counted, listening to the metallic boots fade away. The door opened and the driver got out. Hephaestus formed a piece of steel out of nothing again and stood at their height.

They stretched their wrists, remembering Mordred's words from back then.

They could be no human. They bite their lower lip and hold their breath, rushing to the soldier’s figure. They shut their eyes, pushing the soldier back to the car and using the sharp angle of the steel to the soldier’s throat.

They are not human. No human. They said again, feeling the soldier's breath tremble at their ear.

‘’You won’t do it,'' a familiar voice said. ‘’You couldn’t even punch me when we were kids’’

Hephaestus opened their eyes, drawing their attention to the soldier. Their lips parted far from one another, letting whimpers get out with no words or meaning.

‘’Talus’’ They said, looking at their friend’s roughly shaped face.

One minute.

He did not ask questions. Of what they were doing, where they had been, or whose blood was stained all over their clothes. He looked happy to see them again

He smiled and pushed himself back Then he pulled himself to their side, with his thick arms hugging them with laughter getting out of his lungs.

‘’I can’t believe you are alive’’ He cried.

Ten seconds.

They couldn’t believe it either. He hugged them. That he had become a soldier. That he was a human.

One, two, and three.

They rested their head on his shoulder, losing count of time with their hands tugging at his coat. They hoped he would not stab them. They just rested, feeling for once more that they were safe. His presence was one of solace, providing security to a soul deprived of it.

Losing track of time, their ears opened up, listening to an explosion.

‘’Why are you here?’’ They asked, lifting their head confused. He laughed and arched his brow.

‘’I was going to ask the same thing of you’’He grinned.

‘’Boss fired you,'' they guessed.

‘’Boss fired me'' He agreed.

‘’I will tell you everything but first I will need your help’’ they said with a stutter.

‘’Will it bring me trouble?’’He asked, concerned about his well-being.

Yes, absolutely and it will probably kill you too so please just say no.

‘’Whatever you need to tell me'' He said without even listening to it.

‘’The vehicle’’ Hephaestus let out a heavy breath.

''Done'' he agreed. ‘’I will come with you’’

‘’No, please’’

‘’I want to see what you ‘ve been going on’’ He insisted. ‘’Sounds more interesting than what I am doing.’’’

‘’So you are Hephaestus’ friend’’Lucifer summed up what happened. Talus laughed and shook his head. ‘’One of them’’He said, lowering his hat, greeting all of them. ‘’Pleasure to meet you, pretty lady.’’ He tried to flirt but made Lucifer roll her eyes back.

Hephaestus looked down, facing their burned hands as they tried to ask one simple question. One question that almost made them cry.

‘’Orion?’’ Hephaestus asked Talus about him shakily.

‘’A lot of things have changed since you left’’ Talus implied and turned around to look at the others.

Hephaestus was aware of that. The last time they saw Talus, both of them were still working as gunsmiths. Now one was a fugitive warlock and the other was the one who hunted them down.

‘’Have you changed?’’Hephaestus asked him nervously.

Almost two weeks passed and Aztlan changed. There was no life walking the streets or opening workshops. There were soldiers though. Guarding each corner, placing wanted posters, and putting them down.

They remembered two weeks earlier that the entire area had people cheering with joy, people showing their inventions to the world and soldiers getting treated like heroes.

You caused this. Hephaestus clenched their right wrist and looked away from the window.

They could see from the small mirror of the car, Mordred trying to embrace his hand on their shoulder. He hesitated at first. Then he noticed them observing him, so he pulled back.

That made Hephaestus’s lips slightly smile, sighing heavily.

‘’Alright’’They lifted their hands and stretched their arms, letting out a moan.

They flipped back and noticed that Mara had let go of the silk around her eyes and was now looking around the car and Aztlan, almost amused.

She moved her head close to Tlaus and let out a nervous chuckle. Then a sort of scream when he noticed her eyes and ears.

‘’Can I drive?’’ She asked with excitement.

Talus laughed and agreed. They pulled their hands away from the wheel for Mara to grab it.

Her hands were now on the wheel shaking from excitement as they were now going to hit a wall from a temple.

‘’Miss, you can stop’’ Talus laughed nervously. Mara could not let her clenched hands let go of the wheel.

‘’Turn left’’ Mordred suggested.

‘’Which is left?’’ She asked. Hephaestus pointed to the right side and Mara turned the car fast.

‘’I think that I am going to get sick’’ Lucifer bowled up.

Me too. Leviathan added.

Talus turned behind, noticing now a dark jar trying to speak, he began screaming from terror.

‘’What is that?’’

I am the most powerful warlock of all-

‘’This is Levi’’Mara introduced them.

Leviathan screeched.

Hephaestus laughed harshly as they tried to help Mara to drive. Unfortunately, it helped only to make it worse.

In the end, Talus pressed the brake fast and all of them got pushed in front.

‘’Sorry,’’ Mara groaned and pulled her trembling hands away. Talus gave an embarrassed smile, "At least we didn't end up at the grocery store like last time!"

''Last time?''Mordred whispered.

Talus let out a deep breath and opened the door.

Hephaestus looked around as they realized that they were now right outside form the workshop where they were working.

They stood up to follow Talus before Mordred grabbed their wrist.

‘’Are you sure that we can trust him?’’ He asked Hephaestus calmly as his eyes were glaring at Talus with mistrust.

They were always saying that they never wanted to become a soldier. Their dream was to just invent. Not to become famous but to have simple fun by making devices. No matter how many times he got kicked out he never gave up.

Becoming a soldier was not his decision.

‘’Do you trust me?’’ They asked.

‘’No’’ Lucifer and Mordred agreed to a sync. Mara shook her head while Ukko stayed silent.

‘’Every idea you had didn’t end up well’’Mordred implied.

‘’I saw your plan,’’ Hephaestus said with sarcasm and moved their hands into their pockets.

Hephaestus looked up and hummed with a frown, agreeing with them.

Mordred’s face softened and he stood with a military posture.‘’But it is better than nothing’’Mordred sighed and got out.

They were standing in front of the door with Talus knocking nonstop.

‘’We are closed’’ a voice yelled from inside.

‘’They are not’’ Mara whispered.

‘’It’s me,'' Talus said.

The door opened fast enough for Hephaestus to flinch when they saw Orion standing right in front of them, staring at them surprised.

He seemed exhausted with his facial hair covering the smudge of his face. Clothes that he forgot to change for days. Dark circles stained like two pieces of coal underneath his mechanic eyes.

‘’You stupid little’’ Orion breathed heavily and walked back inside, leaving the door open for them to follow, even though he did not want them inside.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

There was an amount of paperwork, folding to each desk as there was also an empty box where inventions should have been. There were no gunsmiths except for Orion who was walking front and back.

‘’Do you know how much trouble I am going to be in because of you being here?’’

‘’You are always in trouble because of me’’ Hephaestus raised their brow, curving a grin. They had never seen him being like this. He was always whining, complaining about them and Talus and yet he remained happy and energetic, no matter how tired he was. But now there was a thick dark shade around his face.

He wiped the sweat from his jaw as he was speaking shakily, frightened. He was afraid. Upset. Sad. He studied them once more, analyzing their prosthetic leg.

‘’It’s almost ruined‘’He cleared his throat, holding his tears, showing their leg. ‘’I will make you another one’’He decided.

‘’You are not mad?’’ Hephaestus asked, confused. Aren’t you afraid?

Orion kept walking closer to them with his gaze being drawn to them. He stopped a few feet away from them, looking from one face to the other. "No," he finally said.

Hephaestus saw a sort of blush underneath his wild features and squeezed him tight. Oriona let out a breath and with a slight hesitation, his hands rested on their burning back.

'' I am furious'' he said roughly. ''But I am glad that you are alive’’He whispered. Hephaestus could feel strong pressure in their heart and they tried to ignore it as much as they could.

Mordred cleared his throat, breaking their hug and they turned back to look at him.

‘’Can you please tell us what is going on?’’

As Orion was getting up and front, giving Hephaestus and the others blankets, food, and layers for beds, Talus told them everything about what had changed.

Conscription. The ones who had no work till the age of ten were now being forced to become soldiers. Made a fence around the borders and almost every soldier was positioned there.

The biggest inventors from Aztlan had to relocate to Olympus, leaving the rest of the inventors to take their place. Every invention had to be sent to Elysium. But most of the remaining work was just paperwork and just a few details for bigger parts of it.

A lot of warlocks escaped from Naraka so the guard rose and there was even a curfew. But Everyone was afraid to go outside. They were usually going only out to pray at the temples.

And then there was something that caused Mara to curl into a corner and look away.

‘’The ruler ordered me to make an example for the citizens of Diyu’’ Talus mumbled. ‘’For kidnapping a royal and hiding warlocks that caused a terrorist attack’’

‘’What example?'' Mara stuttered and took a step back. She had been caught off guard by the accusation, and fear was written across her face as she awaited the response.

Talus lifted his head and shook it, noticing her voice and accent where she was from. He hesitated to speak.

''I can handle it.''She shrugged.

‘’They built a wall to the entrances. None can get in, none can get out.‘’Orion answered her question. ‘’Not even trucks.’’

They will starve. Hephaestus looked down on their hands with the thought of hunting them. They will die slowly or all at once.

Mara held her breath and scratched her scar with her finger.

‘’I am sorry’’Talus let out a deep mourning sigh.

‘’Don’t be’’ She interrupted him, breaking out of her shaking act and her eyes faced everyone from Mordred to Lucifer to Orion to Hephaestus. ‘’Specters are Spectres’’

But Hephaestus could see that she was playing with the long sleeves of her gray coat. No, not playing. Shaking.

''Scary girl.''He repeated over and over again.

Orion let out a sigh and his eyes fell on Hephaestus.

‘’About you know who?'' He licked his lips and breathed heavily. ‘’He is a guard now’’

None spoke. Hephaestus’ mind was burning from the news they heard within five minutes. Two weeks passed and everything changed for the horrendous. Venus was in the place where they were supposed to arrive.

You caused this.

They played with their fingertips nervously and they tapped the tip of their cane, counting from one to three.

‘’Also’’Talus munched the sandwich loudly as he tried to talk. Orion shook his head fast and moved to another table, taking an article of a newspaper, and slamming it to the table close to them. The letters were printed roughly, deeply, and heavily with one picture of a photograph at the top of the article. It was them, burning in the stakes.

Five warlocks caused chaos in Naraka, helping the rest of the lawful criminals escape. This brought them to a silent execution as the bringer of the new rules for every area.

‘’Wait’’Ukko raised his palm, stopping every possible conversation. ‘’We are dead?’’ He yelled and panicked.

‘’They did not take my good side,’’ Mara complained with her finger pointing at the picture.

‘’She is playing with us’’ Lucifer mumbled, with everyone’s attention pointed at her.

She took one deep breath before she tried to speak again.‘’My aunt wants to break our souls.’’

Their heart got pierced by a knife and their head lit up like an engine.

Not your aunt. Him.

‘’Wait, what do you mean?’’ Talus asked Lucifer in a formal tone.

‘’Who is your aunt?’’ Orion continued.

Well, this is getting exhausting. Leviathan rasped.

Orion and Talus faced Lucifer who was still holding tight to the jar and tried not to scream when they realized where the voice came from Lucifer smiled and looked down at the jar.

‘’This is…’’Hephaestus tried to introduce them but they had no words to say.

A piece of shit that tried to kill me more than once.

‘’This is Levi’’ Lucifer said.

Leviathan. LEVIATHAN.

Orion sighed and took a few turns.''Of course. Talking jars''He hit his forehead and faced Hephaestus. ''I should expect this from you.''

Talus laughed.

‘’I need a drink. ''Orion said after.''But first, what is Levi?’’

A sharp pain in their head, made Hephaestus realize that they were both still in the dark about what exactly had happened.

It was their turn to inform them of what had happened within two weeks, no matter how furious Mordred was looking at them. But they did not tell Ma'at, or what they could actually do. Or about Leviathan…

Both Talsus and Orion were standing still with their mouths falling to the floor.

Talus shouted, laughed loudly, and walked around them. Orion hit his head and apologized with a formal bow to Lucifer.

Lucifer and Ukko took a step in front as Mara was looking towards the window that was covered with dark curtains.

‘’So this is the one who ...'' Orion cleared his throat and pointed interest at Mordred.

‘’Saved you?’’ He ended his question bitterly.

Mara, Ukko, and Talus turned to him and then back to Mordred, waiting for his answer.

Mordred shrugged and hummed a yes.

‘’Well, I can say thank you for that. ‘’Orion tried to speak but Mordred interrupted him.

‘’Why should you? It had nothing to do with you’’ He asked rudely, even if he was just curious about Orion’s actions.

Orion’s lips curled a painful grin and Hephaestus could feel a cold wind hitting the closed room.

‘’Wait, maybe that is the reason the ball is happening’’Talus raised their finger shouting with a smile.

Lucifer lifted her shoulders and her chin looking surprised.

‘’What ball?’’ She asked.

Orion signed and took a newspaper out of the pile of paperwork and gave it to her with his shaking hand, avoiding looking at her.

Her eyes opened wide and she let out a small scream.

Orion started coughing loudly and roughly as he tried to sit on an old chair.

His hands were trembling too.

Ukko learned from Lucifer and tried to read the article too.

‘’The Great Ruler Boudica opens Elysium for all the noble houses to attend a ball’’ Ukko read out loud the article and let out a bored sigh.

''Shit'' He rolled his eyes.

''What?’’ Hephaestus asked, confused.

Lucifer poked her nose and then played with her ring finger.

‘’Balls, Galas are a way for the Ruler to say’’ Lucifer took a deep breath as Ukko interrupted her.

‘’Things are a mess. We will have a ball to show you how to solve things’’ He explained simply.

Hephaestus’ mind got a small spark and let out a scoff.

Mordred’s jaw clenched and he started coughing.

‘’It is also in three days’’ Ukko ended the article with a nervous smile.

At this moment, Hephaestus wanted the earth to swallow their hole so none could ever find them.

They were getting inside Ma’at’s plan. In this moment they were just simple pawns with him ordering them where to move and do. Machines with no free will.

He had the dagger, he would show it to the nobles and his plan of destroying Babel. He wanted them there so he could succeed in his attack. Make them leave Babel, telling Leviathan what will happen in one week. And then.

They returned to look at Mara who was still silent.

‘’He knows that we will go’’ Hephaestus admitted and looked at the others and stretched their wrists.

Their minds were working like an engine. They could feel smoke coming out of their ears as loud noise was getting out of their grinding teeth.

Their fingers were tapping on the cane. Eyes looking around for an idea.

And then…They let out a deep long sigh as their lips made a nervous grin.

‘’No’’ Orion said, looking at them frightened. ‘’No, no no no’’He said.

‘’Yes yes’’Talus lifted his arms and laughed.

‘’What did you think?’’ Ukko asked. Mara turned her head back at them.

Lucifer gulped and played with her finger as Mordred let out a nod for them to continue. Talus was smiling with excitement.

‘’I have an idea, not a plan’’

Hephaestus took a chair and sat right in front of a table and pushed the paperwork to the floor.

‘’I spent all night on this,'' Orion said with a pout. Talus patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Hephaestus took an empty paper and a pen and started writing fast and roughly. They could feel Mordred’s gaze looking down on them.

They let out a mocking chuckle and turned their gaze to his side, with an enormous smirk.

‘’Stop staring’’ They complained, saying the words he told them so many times.

Mordred scoffed and took a step back, trying to look away, even if Hephaestus could feel that he was trying to take small peaks.

Their minds did not stop thinking, even if their hands kept writing on the paper. This time, it had to work. No matter what.

A few hours passed and Hephaestus’s mind stopped thinking. Two weeks passed and everything changed and Hephaestus could not make a plan for a change within hours.

They scratched their head and looked back to see that there was none around as they were sleeping inside the room next to theirs.

They did not care though. Because they had to keep moving. To think and plan.

‘’Shit’’ They muttered and glared at Leviathan. The eye made a circle and let out a deep tired sigh. Seeing that they wouldn’t help once more.

‘’Asshole’’ They whispered.

Brat. Leviathan replied.

‘’Trouble?’’ Mara’s voice whispered from behind. When did she open the door? How did she moved so quietly? Like a cat.

She put a dark fabric above the jar and covered Leviathan completely. Now, both of their gazes are locked in.

Hephaestus agreed with a nod and tried to smile at the small light that was coming from the lantern next to them, making her red eyes glow like there was simple blood on her face.

‘’I am sorry for Diyu’’ Hephaestus said.

‘’Don’t be'' She answered bitterly. There was a small depth in her voice.

‘’They never actually cared about Diyu either way.'' She stretched her neck.

‘’What do you mean?’’ Hephaestus asked, confused.

Mara scratched her nose and took a deep breath.

‘’It was three years ago.'' She took another deep breath and titled her raven hair behind her, exposing the left side of her neck, showing a peculiar dark tattoo.

‘’There was a boy, forgot his name that got accepted to enlist in the army’’

‘’Accepted?’’ Hephaestus asked, confused.

‘’Yes, they have to pay an amount of Eke’els to’’Mara lifted her head and realized what was happening. ‘’On Diyu at least’’

Hephaestus could not forget that soldier who offered Venus to study so he could become a soldier just like that.

‘’He was sending us, and to his mother, letters about how amazing the outside world is. That he was a brilliant student and graduated fast’’ Mara rolled her thumbs.

‘’And a day after his graduation, he returned inside a shoe box’’

Mara’s voice became deeper and rougher. Hephaestus felt a cold wind around Mara‘s presence. ‘’An accident they called it.’’

‘’I am sor-’’ Hephaestus tried to speak.

‘’A member of the Elysium house was also a soldier, The one who gave the shoe box to his mother’’ She interrupted them.

‘’Or Olympus, but I don’t think it matters.’’ She laughed harshly.

‘’After he saw his mother crying, hugging the now opened shoe box..what do you think the royal soldier did?’’ She asked Hephaestus.

They did not reply, letting her answer for herself.

‘’He laughed’’ Mara answered her question. ‘’Telling how disgusted he was to be there to give a box back to a thief like her’’ She was making her voice change, pretending to be a royal. Hephaestus was amused by how easily could sound like a noble. But also, her cruel words made their mouth fill with a bitter flavor.

‘’I found out from Mammon that this Royal did it, killed the boy by a river and cut him to pieces.’’ One more deep breath before she rested her heavy dark eyes on the light once more.

‘’I thought someone would say something…’’Mara placed her hair in the front and covered her mouth. ‘’But instead of seeing a cruel man mocking the dead, the people saw just a royal, a soldier, a hero giving a lost body back.''She took a deep breath and laughed again.

‘’None will remember the boy.’’ She repeated what she had said earlier.

''The soldier will,'' Hephaestus said.

‘’But he will be remembered as someone pathetic’’

Hephaestus’s stomach got twisted into knots. A drop of sweat drew around their left cheek.

‘’ Specters are still specters.'' Hephaestrus murmured Mara’s words.

‘’None cares. None is going to tell their story. ‘’Mara continued. ‘’If the ones who have strength tell you that you are good, people will see you as a good person, a hero even...and if they say you are a monster…’’

Hephaestus understood that well. They tried to help two kids and ended up in this situation. And they could see that Mara was not bothered by what had happened. She was not mad or upset. Was it because she knew how the world worked around her? Or because she had already planned what she would do when they arrived at Elysium?

''What about you?''They asked her.''How do you feel''Their wrists now stretched, eyes on her scar.

She inhaled and as she was ready to answer honestly, she changed the subject.

‘’It doesn’t seem that they care about Rusallas either though’’ Mara implied with a nod as she kept tapping her hand on the table, making it freeze slowly.

‘’What do you mean?’’ Hephaestus asked, confused. ‘’What are you saying about the gunsmiths?’’

Mara’s eyes opened wide as her lips parted away. ‘’You don’t know?’’ She asked, regretting speaking.

‘’Know what?’’ They asked her again.

‘’Well, I overheard your friends and I thought you knew…’’ She hid her face around her coat. ‘’No, I shouldn’t say it.’’

‘’There is a curfew and soldiers around the area..children are forced to become soldiers’’ Hephaestus tried to think again and again about what could be worse than that?