The younger of them, Rastus, was looking down on him with contempt and murderous intent. He raised his sword to strike, his companion watching on with glee. Suddenly, out of nowhere came Thanatos’ shield. The rim of the huge round shield struck Dion on the side of the head and sent him crashing into Rastus, who staggered a little. Aaron saw Thanatos smiling back at him in a drawn-out extended posture where he’d thrown the shield like it was a discus. He nodded in appreciation, turned back, and kicked Rastus’ shin. He was hard to move, but the impact knocked him back a little. It gave Aaron enough time to roll over, retrieve his sword, and get back to his feet. Dion lay in a bloody mess on the ground. Aaron doubted he was dead, considering who and what they were, but he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Rastus didn’t seem bothered at all by his comrade’s wounds.

  “Why do you even bother? You cannot win here, All you do is prolong the inevitable,” he scowled.

  Aaron smiled, seeing how frustrated his opponent was, and that was not the face of a winner. Not the expression anyone would have if they knew victory was assured. It gave him some hope as he lifted his sword back into a guard, his left hand held at the ready, but close to his body. Ready to go out to grapple and strike should the time come, and he knew it would. He’d fought with short blades like this so often that it was second nature to him.

  Rastus was seething with anger, letting the fury boil over as he rushed in against Aaron. But Aaron nimbly traversed off and parried one strike, then cut down to suppress a second. It astonished him that he was able to parry the blows. They came in far harder than anything he’d faced in training, but they were not too much for him. He had some idea how strong Thanatos was, and so it surprised him to find he was up to the task. His opponent rushed at him once again, hacking wildly, not giving Aaron a chance to return a strike of his own. He was being backed away by the barrage of blows, and finally tried to traverse away to safety. Rastus cut him off this time, and they closed to a distance where they could reach one another with their off hands.

  Aaron moved to control his opponent’s weapon with both his own and his left hand, but Rastus simply punched him in the face. His legs buckled from under him, and he collapsed, almost falling unconscious. It was the hardest he’d been hit in his life. His head tilted to one side to see Thanatos battling against the mysterious Erebus, who drove him back up against the wreck of their vehicle. Thanatos’ back and armor creaked from the pressure of the blow as he tried to press back.

  “They’re stronger than you, but not with that sword!” Thanatos gasped as the wind was taken out of him.

  But Aaron was stunned, and he felt someone grab him at the chest, hauling him up to his feet like he weighed nothing at all. Thanatos’ words were resonating with him, and as he regained his composure, he began to understand what it meant.

  Use a godly weapon to fight the gods.

  He’d realized what Thanatos was saying, but Rastus was shaking him angrily like a ragdoll.

  “You think you can fight me? You are nothing. You’re pathetic. A pathetic mortal who thinks he can play with the gods!” Rastus screamed into Aaron’s face.

  Fortunately, his opponent had made a huge mistake in not perceiving any threat from him. He stayed limp as the angry rant went on, choosing his moment wisely.

  “You see this!” Rastus turned to Thanatos who was splayed out over the hood of a burned-out car where he had been thrown. He kicked Erebus away and then slammed him with his shield as he peeled himself off the hood to face Rastus.

  “This is all that you have? This is all who will follow you!”

  Rastus lifted Aaron into the air with one hand; ready to finish him with the sword he held in his other. Thanatos could not close the distance without being blindsided by Erebus, who was waiting to pounce if he made a move.

  “You choose mortals, and you will die like them!”

  Aaron had found his moment, as Rastus was looking away and taunting the stronger fighter. His arms were dangling, empty, but free. Rastus had perceived no threat while he didn’t have a godly weapon in his hands. He ripped his pistol from its holster and put the muzzle to his attacker’s head. Rastus’ eyes widened at the sight of it, for he was too slow to avoid it. A single shot rang out, and Rastus staggered back a single pace, losing his hold on the police officer. Aaron crumpled a little, but was quickly back on his feet. He fired three more shots into Rastus’ head at point-blank range until finally he fell.

  Aaron rushed over to the sword he’d dropped, keeping his pistol on target until he had retrieved it. He was all to aware of how little damage a firearm could do to these other worldly beings, but it still proved useful. Finally, he holstered it and put the sword back into his right hand just as Rastus got back up. He looked as furious as he did before, but Aaron sensed that was the way he always looked, when he wasn’t laughing at others’ pain and suffering.

  Aaron looked at the sword in his hand and could see it glowing lightly, almost as if his body was powering it. It was a marvel to look at, as the edges shimmered like asphalt in the hot sun.

  “Aaron!”

  It was Grace, and she was rightfully alerting him to the threat of Rastus storming toward him. His sword was primed back as if to deliver such a blow that would cleave him in two. Aaron lifted his sword and parried. Sparks flew from the clash of the energy in both blades. He circled off, allowing Rastus to stumble past and fumble his footing. Aaron didn’t wait for him to come back. He rushed at his opponent, who was surprised by the sudden burst of energy. Aaron cut from one side to the other, and combined a thrust in, too. Nothing could get through, but he did have his opponent on the back foot. He twisted the sword in his grip, placing his thumb up along the flat in a move he’d used a thousand times before. He pushed forward what looked like a normal cut but stepped well off to the side, snapping the back edge of the blade around his opponent’s. He connected with the blade, and that took some of the punch out of his strike, but the tip still lashed into Rastus’ cheek.

  He staggered backward, feeling the wound on his face. Blood was pouring down his face, and there was no sign of it healing like Aaron had become so accustomed to seeing in the past few days. Rastus’ confidence was shot to pieces. He was angry, but no longer as confident as he had been. Aaron smiled, for he could see Rastus’ shoulders slump just slightly. He knew that body language all too well. It was the moment he would close in for a kill were it a competition, knowing his opponent’s willpower and faith in their ability to win had been sapped away. But he hesitated, for this wasn’t sport anymore. This was the real deal. This was life and death, and an injured foe was not a defeated one. He’d always compartmentalized his job as a cop and his hobby of fighting with swords, but the two were overlapping in a bizarre way now. When he used swords he always had a smile on his face, even when he was losing. He loved every minute of it. All of that had changed now.

  An engine began to turn over, and they both saw that Max was awake. He was trying to get the vehicle to start once more. There was a pause as they all looked at one another in a standoff. The engine turned over and over as if it would never start. It finally coughed and spluttered to life, black smoke belching from the exhaust.

  “Come on!”

  Grace was hanging out of the rear door. She looked as battered and bloody as all who’d been in the vehicle when they were smashed off the road. Max revved the engine to really bring it to life, engaged the gearbox, and edged out of the rubble, giving them hope. Rastus looked to Erebus for orders. He clearly didn’t want to fight. Thanatos looked tired and was cut on the arm, but still standing.

  “You cannot run forever,” he growled.

  Thanatos took that opening for what it was and gestured for Aaron to join the others. He watched Rastus like a hawk as he went past him. Dion was still lifeless where he had fallen, but Erebus looked fresh, as if he were happy to fight on all day. Yet he held back as if letting them leave.

  “It’s not too late to choose the right side,” Thanatos said to him.

  “I have chosen the winning side.”

  Grace helped haul Aaron into the vehicle. Max edged out further from the rubble and began to pull away. Thanatos shouldered his shield and climbed onto the running boards as it began to pick up speed.

  “This isn’t over!” Rastus said furiously.

  “No, but your good looks are!”

  Rastus once again reached to his bloody wound. Thanatos smiled as he climbed in the back and slammed the door shut. Max veered toward what looked like a pile of rubble piled up against a high fence, but none of them doubted him anymore. They smashed through it with ease, leaving a hole in the barrier. In no time at all they pulled out onto the open road, and Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. Luca was coming to, and clearly had no idea what had just happened.

  “We made it?”

  “Bet your ass we did,” replied Max as he wiped blood from his forehead.

  Chapter 12

  Aaron had no idea where they were heading, but he didn’t care. Anywhere but there would do. Daylight was fading fast as they headed out of the city. He slumped back into his seat and felt Grace’s hand reach out to his. He took it with a gentle smile.

  “You really can fight,” said Thanatos.

  “I thought you already knew that?”

  “Those skills with the sword, we’d never have taught a mortal to fight like that.”

  “Yeah? Why not?”

  “Because with a weapon of the gods,” he said, looking down at the blade resting in his lap, “You could kill one of us.”

  Aaron shook his head as he tried to take it all in.

  “You can be killed by one of us, so long as we use one of these?” He held up the sword.

  Thanatos took it from him, and as he ran his hand up the flat, it fizzled with energy.

  “These weapons, they are masterpieces, but the energy, that comes from the one who wields it. It the hands of a god it is a mighty weapon, but even the energy in a mortal is enough to deal a killing blow.”

  “Why the hell are you even still fighting with swords?” Luca asked, as he began to awaken fully.

  “We do,” replied Aaron.

  “For fun, yes, but not for real.”

  “Now we do.”

  “You wonder why we don’t use guns like you do?”

  Grace was watching and listening intently, hanging on to his every word, in the hope of learning some great new piece of information or revelation. She was ever the academic.

  “You’ve seen how little they can do.”

  “But they do something, and when you’re not fighting other gods?”

  “Olympus is a paradise, eternal and unchanging, or it was. Anyway, a weapon of the gods without a life force to power it, is nothing more than a common weapon of the mortals.”

  “You’re saying your weapons need a life form to fuel them?” Grace asked.

  “Yes.”

  “And that’s why you still fight hand-to-hand?”

  Thanatos nodded in agreement to Aaron.

  “So a firearm made of whatever these are?” He held up the sword.

  “Useless.”

  “And a thrown weapon? Like a spear?”

  “The power of our weapons falls the moment they leave our hands. They might maintain it for a few meters after they leave our grasp, maybe, but nothing more.”

  “Surely there must be some way to power them?” Luca asked.

  “If there is, we have never discovered it. These blades, they do not require power like this vehicle or your cellphone. They require a life force.”

  Grace was wide-eyed and open mouthed in astonishment for what she was hearing. As Thanatos placed his hand on his sword and drew it, it shimmered. He placed it down on the floor before them and watched it fade.

  “These are ancient and powerful weapons. They do not change with the wind like the weapons of mortals.”

  “If these weapons can kill you so easily, how do you keep a check on things? You’re saying I could kill you?” Aaron picked up the blade.

  “You might have gotten the better of Rastus, but we’re not the same being. I am a god. If you tried to fight me, you would find things would go differently. Very differently.”

  “Okay, but then me and ten other fighters, could we do it?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Probably?”

  “Look, the weapons of the gods are not given out freely like your gun and badge. They’re carefully guarded. They’re the weapons of the immortals.”

  “Yeah? Then how come I have one? And those assholes fighting with Rastus and that other asshat?”

  Thanatos sighed.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen so many of these masterful weapons outside of Olympus. Hades must have opened the armories, or stolen them before we were cast out. I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “Luca, I haven’t been down here for long, and I’m still trying to get a handle on things. All I know is there’s a war to be fought, and I’m gonna fight it.”

  Luca muttered under his breath and turned back to the road. He looked to the driver, Max, who was still bleeding and looked exhausted.

  “You okay?”

  “Not really, but I’m still breathing, aren’t I?”

  They entered a long tunnel. There were no other cars on the quiet stretch of road.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Some place safe.”

  “What, you got a cabin in the woods?”

  “Something like that, yes.”

  The lights in the tunnel began to flicker on and off.

  “What the hell?” Luca swore.

  Suddenly, they all went off, and they were left with only their headlamps to light the way. They soon failed, too, and the engine cut out.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  “I don’t know, Luca. I’ve got no power.”

  Nobody said a word as they slowed to a halt. This was no ordinary breakdown, and they knew it. They were in complete darkness. There was the faintest of light at the far end of the tunnel where the streetlights glowed far in the distance. But something or someone was standing between them and those lights, obscuring the light as it moved toward them.

  “What is this?” Aaron asked.

  “Nothing good,” said Max.

  “Wait here.” Thanatos threw open one of the doors, but Aaron wasn’t willing to wait or follow orders, and climbed out after him.

  “What did I tell you?”

  “You aren’t in charge here. Whatever it is we’re facing, we’ll face together.”

  He placed a hand on Thanatos’ shoulder. They could barely see one another as they went forward, blades in hand. They stopped in front of the stricken vehicle and waited for the mysterious figure to close with them. Aaron could feel and hear his heart pumping loudly as his pulse raced.

  “Who are you?” Thanatos shouted.

  “You’re running from the greatest fight of your life!”

  The voice was deep and thunderous, but Thanatos appeared to recognize it, without being able to say how or why.

  The lights in the tunnel flickered once more and finally came back to life. They saw a burly man in a dirty bloodstained robe. He was cut and scarred. Some wounds were fresh, and some very old. He had a dark salt and pepper beard, with hair to match. He was the size of Zeus himself.

  “Vulcan,” Thanatos whispered in disbelief.

  “The Vulcan?” Grace had snuck up without them noticing.

  “Vulcan?” Aaron asked.

  “God of Fire, the Smithy,” she said in awe.

  “What are you doing here?” Thanatos asked, who looked uncertain whether he should fear the mysterious Vulcan. Luca climbed out to join them.

  “Vulcan?” he asked Aaron quietly.

  “Yes, I’m wishing I did more reading, too,” he replied, seeing the confusion on his partner’s face. Max joined them, with a short shotgun in hand, and he racked a shell into the chamber.

  “Are you in this war?”

  “I was not. I fell for a long time. But when I arrived here, I was attacked,” he said wearily.

  “By who?”

  “Hades and those following him.”

  “I…I am not with Hades anymore,” insisted Thanatos.

  “I know that. Why do you think I’m here?”

  “So you’ve been watching us?”

  “Yes.”

  “But why?”

  “To know if you had changed.”

  “Changed? What do you mean?”

  “You turned on the Allfather. We were cast out from Olympus because of you.”

  Thanatos sighed. “I made a terrible decision, but none of us are innocent in this.”

  Vulcan just growled angrily in response.

  “What are you doing here, Vulcan? Are you here to help, or to fight me?”

  “I will die before I see Hades reforge the crown, but it will take a great army to stop him.”

  “That’s what we’re trying to do, to get that kind of force.”

  Vulcan began to laugh. A deep and resounding chortle that echoed along the whole length of the tunnel.

  “With earthly, mortal weapons?” He looked at the firearms they carried.

  “With whatever we can get. I’ll fight with rocks if I have to.”

  “You fight with Theodosia.”

  “I do.”

  “Then know that every day that goes by, her allies are laid to waste. Every day Hades draws closer to finding the last shards.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Because I’ve been watching! Hades has found much of the crown now. You do not have much time.”

  “We? This war isn’t just ours!” Aaron angrily pushed past Thanatos and stepped up to face off against the hulking god. He showed no fear, even if deep down he was terrified. He knew what he had to do.

  “So much fire for a mortal,” replied the god.

  “You say this is our war, but you’re one of them. One from Olympus, you served Zeus, didn’t you?”

  He didn’t reply, but did not refute it either.

  “What would Zeus have you do? Thanatos may have done terrible things, but who hasn’t? He’s fighting this war now, and I’ve seen what he’s willing to sacrifice for it. Will you not do the same? If not, what are you even doing here? Why are you wasting our time? Or did you just come here to gloat?”