The Immortal Heart

A/N: CondemnedForLife, I'm sorry to say this, but Zeus is not going to start viewing Hades as an equal anytime soon. He's just an asshole that way.


Chapter 33

Hades was greeted by the sight of his youngest brother exercising the possibilities of his new power on the floor of the common room. Coils of white-hot lightning shot out from the god’s hands and crackled threateningly in the air before dissipating, and Hades instinctively took a step back.

He knew that Zeus would never harm him on purpose, but the thought of those bolts going through him already made him imagine what his own burnt flesh would smell like.

Zeus allowed the lightning to die down when he noticed his brother’s unease and held out his arms instead, beckoning Hades to step into them. Still the older god hesitated, wondering if traces of the current still flowed along Zeus’ skin.

“Feel this,” Zeus said with a smile, and immediately Hades hesitated, staring at the outstretched fingers. “It won’t hurt, I promise.”

Slowly, Hades reached forward until his fingertips were nearly touching those of his brother. Their hands did not make contact, because at that moment, something barely visible connected the space between their fingertips. It made a brief snapping noise and entered Hades’ hand, gone as quickly as it had made itself known.

Hades jumped back, eyes wide, staring confusedly at Zeus. “What on earth was that?” he asked with surprise.

“A very small sample of the power granted me by our friends,” the bigger god replied, his smile growing into a grin.

Blinking, Hades stared at his hand, flexing the fingers where he felt the current of what in his mind had to have been the smallest amount of his brother’s energy to be felt safely by another. It did not hurt, as Zeus had promised, but it was still a surprise to feel.

“If I touch you again,” Hades asked, a smile forming on his own face despite his doubt, “would the same thing happen?”

Zeus chuckled and reached forward. As he cupped his older brother’s face he did not feel fear in the smaller body, but a readiness, Hades preparing to feel the shock again. “Not at all. I can control it to release in any way I wish, or not at all. After all, I kissed your hand last night, did I not?”

“Rather messily,” Hades said. He was pulled into his brother’s embrace and squeezed tightly.

“That was nothing,” Zeus growled playfully, and Hades felt a tongue against his ear. He nearly squealed at the sensation.

The two gods heard footsteps behind them and interrupted their playful frolicking only to face very glum-looking Hera who had visible dark circles beneath her eyes. The goddess made a disgusted face at the scene before her and looked away as soon as she had entered the room.

“Please, if you do not mind… I was going to eat something,” she muttered, already knowing that this would be a bad day. An aching pain was present in her temples, and witnessing Zeus bury his face in Hades’ neck did not help one bit.

The Olympian leader released his hold on his brother, but not before delivering a loud, fleshy smack to Hades’ backside with his hand. The elder god predictably jumped and squealed, soon followed by giggles, and Hera grimaced at the vomit-inducing sounds. How badly she wanted to simply reach out and squeeze the throat they came out of, and…

*

The siblings ate their morning meal, but Chiron did not enter the house to join them. Poseidon started to wonder if the centaur had chosen not to take advantage of the gods’ hospitality and left the island already. It was a sad notion, and he truly hoped it was not the reason for Chiron’s absence.

“What are our plans for this day, brother?” Poseidon asked Zeus, wondering if the other had thought of any activities involving their new weapons. Poseidon could not wait to test his new trident and see how it worked in water.

“In fact, I think it would be best if we began to practice the use of our gifts immediately,” Zeus replied. “We need learn to master their full potential if we are to defeat our father on the battleground.”

“I agree,” Poseidon replied, taking a long gulp of water. “Wholeheartedly.”

“Chiron has promised to advise us in the use of our weapons,” Zeus added. “He was the one who was given the orders by the giants, and he said he would do his best to help us.”

At this Poseidon brightened, smiling. “I feared he had left already.”

“Oh, he is four-legged, brother,” Zeus said as he chewed on a piece of fruit. “He is given to wander like his horse brethren. Do not worry…” and here the youngest god winked. “I think he has too much of a soft spot for you already to leave without a kiss goodbye.”

Poseidon’s face reddened at his brother’s words and he was rewarded with a loud laugh. Hera hardly found any humor in the morning and her head hurt greater at the noise. Thus she rose from her seat and left for her bedroom, taking what was left of her breakfast with her.

“I do not know to what you refer,” Poseidon said, his cheeks hot from the embarrassment, though his voice made the answer sound foolish and untrue.

“Do not tease our brother, Zeus,” Hades said with an amused smile. “Our hearts often choose a mate before our minds can.”

Neither Zeus nor Hades could have expected their brother’s face to get any redder, but it did, and Poseidon stood from his table and went outside, his breakfast unfinished and getting cold. Zeus could not stop laughing.

“That was mean of us,” Hades said, finishing his own meal, though a smile still marked his features. “Perhaps we jest too harshly. Poseidon cares for horses, and this is the only reason he is fascinated by Chiron.”

“I remember sharing this fascination when I was still a boy,” Zeus told his older brother. “Perhaps I should not be so quick to judge.”

Still smiling when he finished his sentence, the leader could not help but picture Chiron bending down to give Poseidon the kiss Zeus had teased his brother about, and soon he was laughing again.

After he had finished his breakfast, Zeus left the house in order to seek out his two companions, whom he assumed were already together. Hoping that Poseidon had remembered to bring his trident before his premature exit from the breakfast table, the youngest god realized he was being followed and spun around to see Hades tagging only a few steps behind him.

“Brother, why are you following me?” he asked confusedly.

“But…” Hades’ expectant countenance gave way for a look of surprised hurt. “But you said we should practice using our gifts. I thought…”

“Oh Hades…” Zeus said, sighing, and raised his hand to stroke his brother’s cheek. He understood now that Hades had believed that the training session would encompass him as well, since the older god had brought his helmet, tucked in under his left arm.

“You cannot come with us, dearest,” Zeus continued, sad to see the look of despair forming on Hades’ face but steadfast despite it. “You are no warrior, and this will be much too dangerous for you. Besides, what good is your helmet anyway? It is no real weapon and useless against our father. Go back home, brother. We will return at dusk.”

“But…” Hades began to argue. He stopped himself at first, but he had already spoken up and might as well follow through. “The giants made me this helmet for a reason,” he said. “Rhea ordered them to make something for me, and not just you and Poseidon. It may not be a weapon, but I can put it to use.”

“But what would that be?” Zeus asked, hand still stroking the hollow cheek. “If you are invisible whilst our brother and I practice, what if one of us were to run you through by accident?”

Looking up, Hades saw the concern in Zeus’ eyes as he asked the question. At least the leader of the gods was genuinely looking out for his wellbeing.

“Can I not stay close by and watch?” the older god asked imploringly. He thought he sounded like a petulant child as he asked.

Zeus shook his head. “It would be too dangerous.”

Hades’ green eyes seemed to grow brighter as he blinked away tears. He looked down hopelessly, avoiding his brother’s gaze. “I… I want to be useful.”

“You are,” Zeus insisted, hands grasping his fellow god’s shoulders. “I assure you, you are useful.”

How? Hades asked himself miserably, by letting you penetrate me every night?

“We will return at sundown,” Zeus said, not knowing what else to say. “If we are not back in time for supper, do not worry.”

Hades nodded and refused to look up at his brother’s face. Instead he turned around, head still lowered, and went back the way he came. Zeus watched him depart, and a sting of regret pierced him as Hades threw down the helm. It rolled as it landed and settled in the grass, a sad looking thing indeed.

*

He did not want to return home, but since he quite literally had nowhere else to go, Hades saw no other choice except going back to his sisters. He dreaded facing Hera, who would instantly notice his misery and no doubt feed off of it like sweet nectar, and he also did not want to face his beloved Demeter and have to explain to her all over again how useless Zeus considered him.

Hades wiped at the tears that had fallen over his cheeks before entering the small house, but it was useless trying to conceal the proof of his sadness, as his red-rimmed, watery eyes would betray him. Hades prayed that his eldest sister would remain in her room and not be alerted of his return, but the first one to face him was predictably Hera, and her sour face instantly lit up at the sight of his tears.

“Back already, Hades? What happened? Did you fall and hurt yourself, mayhap?” Hera’s tone reeked of mock sympathy, and Hades attempted to pass her without answering her question, but she followed his movements and rudely stood in his way.

The goddess’ cruel smirk widened when the realization hit her. “Zeus sent you back to us, didn’t he? Because you are not able-bodied enough to join our brothers in their practice?”

Hades felt a brief but strong momentary impulse to punch his fist into his sister’s leering face, but such a rash and foolish action would only make matters worse, not better, and he quickly quenched it.

“Please let me be, Hera,” he quietly pleaded. “I wish to… be alone…”

“Do not be sad, brother,” Hera whispered, and Hades flinched when her hand reached up to stroke his cheek in a spiteful mockery of kindness. “At least you are not in their way if you stay here.”

“Stop it, just STOP IT!” Hades’ hands moved on their own and shoved Hera against a wall.

Surprised that he would even do such a thing as this, the goddess was overpowered at first, but she did not tolerate her treatment any longer than a few seconds.

“You can’t even stop crying!” Hera shouted as she grabbed her brother’s wrists and knocked him to the ground. “You are trying to beat me into submission and you can’t even stop crying!”

Hades was pinned to the floor as he struggled and he would have received a blow to the face had Demeter and Hestia not arrived in response to the commotion.

“What is going on??” Hestia exclaimed, throwing her hands upon Hera’s robes and yanking her off of their distraught brother. “Stop this at once, both of you!”

Hades tried to kick Hera as she was pulled away from him, but he missed and hit the wall instead. The wall did not hit him back so he continued to kick, tears flowing but producing no sound as he wept.

“Hades, Hades,” he heard Demeter’s voice behind him, and her hands fell against his shoulders in an attempt to still his outburst. “Brother, please, come with me. Let us not stay here.”

“Zeus will hear about this,” Hera shouted as she shook Hestia off of her and stormed down the hall away from her siblings. “He will know how stoic our precious brother is when he returns home.”

The moment he could no longer hear Hera’s tirade, Hades sat up, breath slow and deep as he tried to calm himself.

“Perhaps you should take him to your room,” Hestia suggested. “If we take him outside, we run the risk of bumping into our sister all over again.”

Hades kept his head down and acted as though he could not hear Hestia, but he easily stood up when his sisters nudged him to rise, escorting him to the bedroom he and Demeter shared.

*

Zeus reminded himself to stay focused on the training ahead of him when he moved on to meet up with Poseidon and his equine half-brother. Hades’ reaction to the leader’s dismissal had been worse than expected, and Zeus could not help but pity his poor brother.

Hades must understand, he told himself. And if he doesn’t, I have to make him. He cannot go into battle with us. He is too weak to fend for himself; I would have to protect him, and on the battleground I cannot spare an eye to keep on Hades. Cronos would sense my distraction and use it against me.

As predicted, Poseidon and Chiron were already present on the large meadow the brothers had chosen as their place of training. Zeus spotted a large rift in the earth that had not been there before and could only assume that it was the work of Poseidon’s magical trident.

The god and the centaur were standing with their heads close together, wrapped up in a heated conversation and did not even notice Zeus’ arrival to begin with.

“The tool you wield not only has the power to split the ground open, but also to close it,” Chiron explained. “Focus, my friend, and you can do it.”

Poseidon thrust the three-pronged end of his weapon against the earth once more, his brow furrowed in deep focus, but rather than closing up the rift he had made, a new one, slightly smaller, opened up and propagated toward where Zeus stood. He leapt out of its way and could not help but chuckle at his older brother’s obvious frustration over the failure.

“It appears like you might need to practice some more,” the Olympian leader said with a grin.

Poseidon had clearly not forgotten about Zeus’ teasing from hours before, nor had he forgiven it. The older god disengaged from Chiron’s close proximity and acted as though his youngest sibling was not present. A grumble was heard low in his throat as he immersed himself in the focus of closing the rift in the earth again.

“Where is Hades?” Chiron asked Zeus as the two watched Poseidon’s arduous performance.

“Not you too…” Zeus muttered under his breath, arms folded in impatience. The centaur’s ear twitched as his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Hades was following me here,” Zeus explained. “I sent him back.”

Now Chiron’s brow was reaching for his hairline. “Why?”

“See here, Chiron, why should he be here with us as we train with our weapons?” the god inquired, no idea as to why the centaur would not see reason.

“Why not?” the half-god argued. “He was granted a gift by our allies and yet you tell him to return home?”

“It is not a weapon,” Zeus said stubbornly. “It is a piece of armor. And it is a means on defense, not attack.”

“Is it?” Chiron asked. His face was a blank slate, but his irritation showed in the flick of his tail. Zeus felt the hairs lash against his arm and he winced in surprise.

“He is made invisible,” the god said, already feeling his argument losing its strength. “How much can you do when invisible apart from getting accidentally wounded by swinging blades or flying arrows? How is he to engage in a fight when he has no skill for it?”

“How do you know he has no skill when you do not allow him to try?” Chiron asked in annoyance.

Their argument was interrupted when a triumphant cheer burst from Poseidon.

“Did you see that??” the older god asked in elation. Both god and centaur looked at the ground and found no rifts in sight.

“Yes, of course,” Zeus lied. “Well done.”

Chiron looked in Poseidon’s direction long enough to show that he had noticed the other’s feat but then quickly turned his attention back to Zeus.

“I do not think you treat your brother fairly,” he said. “If Hades wants to join us, let him! Your list of allies is not infinite, Zeus. Why would you deny your own sibling the right to help?”

“Because Hades is weak!” Zeus growled back, his patience exhausted. Despite his respect for Chiron, he would not have the centaur question his decisions, especially not regarding Hades. “If we were to bring him, he would be a liability rather than an asset.”

“If you do not even give him a chance, how can you be sure?”

The Olympian leader snorted. “I know my brother more intimately than you could ever hope to. Hades prefers to write in scrolls, not wield a sword or anything else, for that matter. I love him dearly; he is my brother as well as my chosen mate, but he is not and never will be a warrior. Will you take my word for it, or shall we waste more of the day bickering over something so trivial when we should be practicing our skills?”

Chiron did not dispute Zeus this time but simply gave a regretful sigh. “Your chosen mate, you say? And you claim to love him above all others?”

“Yes, which gives me all the more reason to keep him out of harm’s way,” Zeus said resolutely. “Or would you insist that we take Hera, Hestia and Demeter to battle as well? Hades is more like them than he is like us. I don’t see anything wrong with that, as long as he learns his place.”

Chiron did not reply, which Zeus interpreted as the centaur conceding. He walked over to Poseidon, who was now practicing various battle moves with his trident and clapped him on the back. “You seem to be doing well, brother. I’m impressed.”

“Thank you, Zeus. What do you intend to do with your own gift?”

The Olympian leader grinned and locked his eyes on a pine tree approximately fifty yards away. “Target practice,” he said.

While Poseidon had experienced a hitch in his reversal of destruction, Zeus had excelled in aim. Chiron suggested that the youngest Olympian was so successful because the lightning had become a part of his body from the beginning, and he had thus been able to master his understanding of it much more quickly. Though the theory made sense, it discouraged Poseidon, as he could not do the same with a trident.

Perhaps if I carry it at all times… he wondered, feeling a little silly about the idea. A mental image came to him of cradling his gift as he slept, and he rolled his eyes to himself.

Zeus was thoroughly enjoying himself as he manipulated the energy which flew from his hands. The bolt he hurled at another tree split into several smaller bolts, striking the largest of the tree’s branches in a dazzling set of explosions. Poseidon frowned.

“Braggart.”

Zeus grinned.


TBC...