Page 64 of Releasing the Gods
“In human terms, maybe,” Panacea said, finally speaking up after spending most of her time doing the crystal thing over Rhea. “But compared to us, you’re nothing more than an infant.”
I crossed my arms. “Well, this infant would like her information now, and if you lie to me, I will change my allegiance to the sins and let the fucking world burn.”#Dramatic #IllShowYouDramatic
Hyperion was at my side in seconds, reaching for my hand. A ripple of something passed between us, our energy recognizing each other. “In the last battle, the Titans contained the sins, but we were losing our hold on them as each released. Your mother drew on the power of the moon, which was bright in the sky above, and formed a prison for them. But in doing so, she had to sacrifice her power…”
“This weakened her, and of course Zeus took advantage, killing her soon after,” Cronus added. “And all of her sacrifice wasn’t enough. The prison only lasted a thousand years. We need a better solution this time.”
My free hand wrapped around the necklace again. “That’s why I feel a connection to this,” I whispered. “It’s built from my Selene energy.”#AllegedMother
“It’s also why the prison called so loudly to you,” Hyperion added.
He knew? Of course, Selene was in the underworld with him. She must have told him.
My eyes found Cronus’. His gaze was heavy on me. “You think I’ll have to sacrifice myself the same way Selene did?”
His expression didn’t change. “Not happening. Not while I draw breath. As I said, it didn’t work last time either and we won’t try it this time.”
Rhea coughed. “I can see you’re all greatly concerned, but can we have this chat another time? Sickness is almost released from my hold, and I’m almost dead.”
She was awfully bossy for an almost dead person, but I understood.
“So my necklace will hold them for now?” I asked.
Hyperion nodded. “Oh yes. It’s powerful enough to hold most of them, but not for long. It’s a temporary solution. As more of them are trapped, the stronger the power inside the necklace will be. Think of it as a temporary prison until we can find a more permanent one.”
For now, it was all we had. It hadn’t escaped my notice that Hyperion still hadn’t answered my question about how Selene was my mother, but I guess it really wasn’t important in the great scheme of things. Not now. We had a ton of other things to worry about first. So I didn’t push it.
Best to just focus on one thing at a time.
Sickness was going back in the prison. Today.
Chapter 18
Panacea helped Rhea up. She was as gray as Cronus had been. Thankfully, his color had returned to a nice normal bronze; clearly the gods didn’t do well with power loss. One day I’d figure out where their power came from—was it worship, or something more?—but for now I’d just be grateful they had some, and that it was able to transport us to where Sickness was frozen in the middle of a town.
“Where are we?” I whispered.
“Lynmouth, England,” Rhea mumbled, her head falling forward.
The town itself was beautiful beyond anything I’d ever seen back home, with cobbled paths, and buildings clearly filled with history and life, all of which was shadowed by the bodies lying in the street. Bodies surrounded in vomit and … other bodily fluids. Bodies that were bloated with death and disease.
I coughed, covering my mouth, my eyes filling with tears at the horror of what I was seeing. “Sickness did this?” I choked out. “In … a few days?”
And we’d wasted time. With me almost dying, and with the hotel, and …#Arghhhhh
I wanted to throw my head back and scream, but that wouldn’t help anyone. It was too late now to save this small town, but we could save the rest of the world.
“Sickness is this way,” Rhea said, pointing beyond a large, ornately carved fountain that seemed to make up the center of the city. It hid the sin from sight, but as we crossed around, I let out a gasp to see how many bodies were piled at his feet. He stood tall, arms held aloft, like a statue greeting his people. His dead people. No doubt he had been spreading his disease when Rhea froze him, but it was too late for those close by.
“Sickness first and then we burn this town,” Cronus said, face steely. “Otherwise it will spread far and wide until there’s no hope for the rest of the world. This is ground zero.”
None of the gods showed any outward reaction to the death surrounding us. They moved through the bodies, not sparing them a second glance. Meanwhile, my heart was trying to shatter from my chest. Old and young, children held in the arms of their parents … no one was spared. No one! I wanted to rip Sickness into a million pieces, break his skin, and tear into whatever lay below.
All of this for power.Power!
A sob formed in my throat, and then a hand wrapped around mine, and I stared at Cronus. He wasn’t looking at me, but somehow he knew the agony coursing through me. These weremypeople, and their lives had been ripped away. I had opened the box. Whether it would have opened on its own, we’ll never know. As far as I was concerned, this was all on me.My fault.
“Stop,” Cronus said softly. “Stop looking and stop feeling guilt. The sins are the only ones to blame here. They made choices to be what they are, just like they did when they were first manifesting. You didn't do this.”
