The Cult of Kronos (7 page)

Jason nodded. He wondered what
Peter and Celene would do with their lives, now that they were
legally dead. Jason chuckled; it was out of the question, but Jason
would have loved to see the look on Dr. Phillips' face if Celene
walked in on the first day of school and asked for her job back.

“
Tomorrow I'll call, then,”
Jason said. “I'll explain that it's something they have to see to
understand and invite them over for a meeting.”

Peter yawned. Jason pointed at
him and then started cleaning up the plates. “Mr. Hadley has a
great point. You just walked back from the underworld. You need
sleep.”

“
Well, walked. Then caught a
greyhound. Then took a cab,” Peter said. “We didn't hike from New
Orleans. That'd be madness.”

“
How did you pay for a bus
ticket?”

“
We didn’t,” Peter said.
He reached out and touched Celene’s arm. For a moment they faded
from sight before appearing again. “And the cab, well, I may have
borrowed some cash from someone on the bus.”

“
Penny, can you get a set of
clean sheets out of the linen closet for Peter? You can take the
twins' room and I'll camp on the couch.”

Jason brought the stacks of
dishes to the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. Celene followed him
in, carrying an armful of cups. “You can have my room,” Jason
said. “I'm not sure if you had a real bed in the underworld.”

“
Wasn't there long enough to
get one. I've been camping and sleeping on bus seats.”

“
Then it'll feel nice to
have a real mattress for once. I got one of those memory foam things
in April. I never want to get out of bed anymore.”

Jason lead Celene into his
room, a calming space decorated in shades of gray and slate blue (a
space uncluttered by children's toys) and stripped the bed. He ducked
out to the linen closet to get clean sheets. Celene helped him make
the bed; the two worked silently together.

“
Your memories,” Jason
said as he laid the black and blue quilted comforter back on the
queen-sized bed. “You have them all?”

“
They're a little jumbled,”
Celene said. “But yes, I have them.”

Jason started shuffling
through his dresser drawers for something she could wear to bed.
“Would you prefer to sleep in pants that are too big or shorts that
are too big?”

“
Jason, don't worry,” she
said. When he turned around, Celene was dressed in a comfortable pair
of yoga pants and a cotton sleep shirt, both sage green.

“
The money you'll save on
clothes,” he said.

There was a long silence. The
sound of rain and thunder raged on outside. Jason didn't know what to
say. What was an appropriate conversation to have with someone who
had been dead for a week.

“
I'm sorry,” he finally
said. “about abandoning all of you in March. I shouldn't have.”

“
You have your family to
worry about.”

“
You and Penny should be my
family too. I ran away.”

“
You did what—”

“
I was a coward,” Jason
said.

“
Hey, no, don't think that,”
Celene crossed the room and took his hands. “People were dying. You
should not be ashamed of protecting your loved ones—”

“
But I loved you,” Jason
said. “Are my kids any safer when I'm at home twiddling my thumbs?
No, because my name is already on Kronos's list. Prometheus and
Epimethius knew to use me. Menoetius knew to use me. I sealed my fate
the moment we called that first meeting. I don't get to run away now.
The Pantheon is my family. You and Penny are my family.”

“
Let's go back to that loved
part. Past tense?”

Jason shook his head. “Love.
Present tense.”

Celene placed her hands on the
side of his face and drew him down into a kiss. Jason wrapped his
arms around her and pulled her close. It had been five months since
he had kissed her goodbye at the airport. All of that time seemed to
fade away as she parted her lips against his. All of his worry, all
of his regrets about that afternoon in March dissolved into the ether
as Celene pulled him back towards the bed.

As each article of her
clothing was shed, it transformed back to its original form. The yoga
pants that hit the floor shifted into Jason's old, worn sweatpants,
the shirt a men's football jersey. Only Celene stayed the way he knew
her, with her cat-like green eyes shining up at him, a curtain of
dark brown hair spread like a wreath around her head. Her long
slender fingers danced across his back, slid around his sides, and
played with the narrow trail of hairs on his stomach.

It was slow and sweet, the way
he had imagined it when they made their plans in the airport that
morning five months ago. Perhaps there was no wine and there were no
candles, but none of that was needed to make the moment perfect. And
when it was over, when they settled, breathless, against the pillows
and finally decided to climb under the sheets, Jason was free of
regret.

Peter was at the kitchen table
eating a powdered donut when Jason wandered out the next morning. The
box of donuts, a variety pack of plain, powdered, and chocolate
coated, had been brand new when Jason had brought it home yesterday
afternoon. Now it was half empty. Jason shuffled over to the coffee
pot and turned it on. He pulled a can of coffee out of the freezer
and dumped a few scoops into a clean filter and set the machine to
percolate.

“
Penny still sleeping?” he
asked Peter.

“
Yeah,” Peter said. “How
about Dr. Davis?”

Jason hesitated.

“
I noticed you didn't sleep
on the couch last night.”

“
Uh…”

“
How was that? A goddess.”
Peter licked the powdered sugar off of his fingers and grabbed
another donut—chocolate.

Jason scowled and turned back
to the cupboard. “I'm not having this conversation with you.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because you're seventeen,”
Jason grumbled.

“
No, I'm not. I'm dead.
Technically my age is not applicable.”

“
Well, for a dead man you
sure eat a lot.” Jason shook his head. He sat down with a rice cake
while he waited for his coffee to brew.

“
I'm thousands of years
old.”

“
Hey, tell me, if you're
thousands of years old, why did you hang out on the throne for five
months before deciding to make an appearance?”

Peter shrugged, “The
memories are kind of messy right now. It never occurred to me that I
could leave.”

“
Never occurred to you?
Didn't you think that maybe you should try to come back? You're kind
of the boss down there.”

“
I didn't think anyone would
want me,” Peter said quietly.

“
You didn't…” Jason
sighed. “Of course we wanted you. Everyone was destroyed over it.
Even Nick was crying at your funeral.”

“
What was I gonna come back
to? A dad who only stopped beating me because he was afraid of me? A
minimum wage job?”

“
Friends. Penny missed you.”

“
It's not like that with
Penny. She's never going to—”

“
She's still your friend.”

Peter put the donuts down and
pushed the box away. “I guess I figured everyone would be kind of
relieved when I died.”

“
Relieved? Peter, it's been
five months. Five months since you jumped off that damned schoolhouse
and devastated everyone in The Pantheon. I still have nightmares
about it at least once a week, showing up in time to see the Titan
tumble off that roof, to see you appear on the ground, broken. That
wasn't supposed to be you and Frank and Lewis up on that roof. That
was supposed to be me.”

“
Yeah, well, good thing it
was me,” Peter said. “Lewis and Frank couldn't just walk out of
the underworld without me. And you…you're not even one of us.”

“
I've been one of you since
Celene and I called that meeting two years ago. Maybe I'm not a god,
and maybe I can't shoot lightning or turn invisible, but this is my
responsibility too.”

“
I sacrificed myself for you
guys,” Peter said, standing up and walking to the sink. “I
thought you'd be grateful.”

“
We are,” Jason said. “We
are, Peter. You just…you didn't have to throw your life away. It's
worth something. If you did it for your friends, that's honorable. If
you did it because you had a death wish, that's…”

“
What?” Peter turned his
head to look back at Jason.

“
Tragic.”

Peter chewed on his lip. Jason
looked him over, now noticing that something was different. Given the
chance to conjure clothing from his imagination, Peter had set aside
the baggy thrift-store clothes of his life. Instead, he was wearing a
fitted black shirt with black leather on the shoulders and down the
sleeves. His trousers, too, were well-fitted, and Jason was sure it
was the first time he had seen Peter in pants without worn-out knees.

“
I see you're taking some
liberties with fashion,” Jason said. Peter looked healthier and
more confident in clothes that fit him well.

“
Yeah. I uh… no more
hand-me-downs.”

“
It looks good,” Jason
said with a nod. “Listen,” he got up and went to pour a cup of
coffee. “I'm sorry about getting on your case. You stopped a Titan.
That’s something to be proud of.”

“
It's alright,” Peter
said. “I guess I wasn't thinking that people might miss me.”

“
Well, I'm glad we have you
back. Most people don't get second chances.”

“
Second chances,” Peter
repeated, “Like you and Dr. Davis?”

Jason laughed. “I'm not
sharing details with you. You're still a kid to me, oh great Lord
Hades, King of the Underworld.”

“
Have it your way,” Peter
said. He grabbed a clean mug and poured himself a cup of coffee
before sipping it, black.

“
No one loves the man whom
he fears.”

-Aristotle

viii.

Queen Hera was seated at
his right hand side,

and Prometheus took a seat
at his left,

while Lord Zeus drank
heavily of wine and sang

at his weekly feast.

Zeus was already sloppy
with too much drink

and boasting loudly of his
latest exploits.

Prometheus lectured him
under his breath;

his words went unheard.

As Zeus continued to ignore
his cousin,

who still remembered his
long imprisonment—

the vultures picking at his
liver in hell—

the Titan grew mad.

At last Prometheus rose and
slammed his fist,

shaking the entire table
with his strength.

The feast grew quiet as
everyone listened

to his loud tirade.

And when Lord Zeus had
recovered from his shock

of being chastised in front
of the others,

he began to shout back with
a reddened face.

Spit flew from his lips.

Prometheus did not wait for
Zeus to bark

the order to eject him from
the chamber.

He stormed off into the
night to find his kin

to punish great Zeus.

“
Union gives strength.”

-Aesop

VIII.

Zach skipped furniture
shopping and drove back to Olympia Heights the next morning. Jason's
tone had sounded urgent. June stayed behind to pick out a sofa,
coffee table, and end table for their little apartment in
Gainesville. Zach sped along the Florida Turnpike, only slowing for
tolls, and made it home in four and a half hours.

Just after lunch, The
Pantheon—minus June and Minnie—sat down in Jason's living room.
Zach paced around in jeans and a plain white undershirt. He needed to
shave and his hair was messy from tugging at it during the drive.
Devon, Frank, and baby Xander took the sofa, and Penny sat next to
them, admiring the infant's golden hair. Teddy and Lewis sat on the
step to the sunken living room, hoarding the pizza rolls that Jason
had set out. Diana and Evan took the loveseat, and Nick perched on
the arm. Valerie sat on a folding chair that Jason had put out for
the gathering, and Astin lounged on the floor. Peter and Celene
waited in the kitchen.

“
So what's up?” Zach
asked. “What did I risk a ticket to get down here for?”

Jason pointed to an empty
chair.

“
Sit down.”

Zach sat down and leaned
forward, bridging his fingertips. “Alright. Shoot.”

“
I had a surprise visit last
night,” Jason began.

“
Was it Kronos?” Lewis
interrupted.