44. Mouthpiece of the Gods

"Do you remember me?" Jaz asked Eros, his gaze heated. Eros looked like a young man, with boyishly smooth skin. But his hair was completely white. Sage stared at cupid's face, and saw the traces of Ares in him. Both men had the same amber eyes and wide mouth. But Eros also had Aphrodite's petite nose and elfin chin. "Ares, no!" Jaz yelled. Ares appeared at their side, his sword out and pressed against Eros' throat.

"Don't kill him!" Jaz roared. Sage stiffened, alarmed to see pink sparks crackling from Jaz's fingers tips. He held out his arm, threatening Ares with the pink flames. Eros was staring at Jaz, looking lost and confused. "Don't you want to know who sent him here?" Jaz asked.

Grudgingly, Ares pulled back his sword slightly – no longer choking Eros with the blades edge.

"Start talking, brat." Ares growled crossly. But Eros was staring at Jaz.

"Who are you?" He breathed. Jaz took a deep breath.

"I thought so..." His voice was troubled. "You don't remember anything do you? Do you know who this man is." He inclined his head toward Ares.

"He's the war god."

"Yes, and he's your father."

Eros looked appalled at the idea.

"What?!"

Ares lowered his sword completely and frowned at his son.

"You don't remember me?"

"You can't be my father." Eros protested, backing up from them.

"You can see for yourself. Examine his heart and see your place in it." Jaz suggested. Eros was dubious and wary but he focused his gaze on Ares, using his gift as the god of desire.

"You hate me..." He murmured carefully. "But you also harbour hurt..." Eros closed his eyes. "Hurt because I ran away from you." Eros staggered back and opened his eyes. "You love me..." The feeling was buried very deep but it was there, in Ares' heart.

And the heart never lies.

Sage peeked over Jaz's shoulder to see what was happening.

"What's going on?" She muttered to Jaz out of the corner of her mouth.

"Eros has the ability to read a person's heart." He explained quickly, still keeping half an eye on a potentially volatile Ares.

"Where have you been all this time? We thought you were dead." Ares asked Eros, his nostrils flared angrily. "And you," he rounded on Jaz. "Why did you bring Sage here?"

"Because if I hid her away, a love arrow would still find her. I thought it was better to address this head on." Jaz explained. Everyone's gazes dropped to the arrow still notched on Eros' bow. Hesitantly, Eros relaxed his grip on the string.

"Who sent you to fire an arrow at Sage?" Jaz asked him. Eros bit his lip and hesitated before finally replying.

"The Lady Metis."

Ares and Jaz frowned and looked at one another, taken aback.

"The Cunning Nymph?"

"That doesn't make any sense." Metis was greatly respected for her wisdom, what would she gain from a trick like this?

Eros hung his head guiltily and the bow and arrow finally de-materialized from his loose grip.

"She's been taking care of me. She found me on the banks of the Lethe river." Eros explained. He kept looking at Jaz. Ares ran his fingers through his hair.

"That explains your lack of memory at least." The War God muttered. "The waters of the Lethe have that effect, even on gods."

Sage cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. She waved at Eros.

"Hi. Errr... can you stop trying to shoot me with a love arrow?" She asked. Eros looked torn.

"Metis' orders were very clear."

Ares glowered at his son.

"Well now you can listen to my orders." He snarled. "Sage is off limits."

Eros looked between them.

"You're in love with each other." He stated, nodding understandingly. Ares' eyes widened. The heart cannot lie. He looked at Sage, confused. But she was determinedly not meeting his gaze.

Jaz scratched his head.

"Do you have any idea why Metis is interested in Sage?"

"I think it's to do with a prophecy." Eros replied, shrugging. He frowned at Jaz. "I can't read your heart."

"I know." Jaz agreed.

"Why can't I? And why do I feel like I know you?"

Jaz sighed.

"It's ancient history now."

Ares was thinking deeply. He'd forgotten about the fate's prophecy that he would return to Olympus. So, much had happened that it had become insignificant.

She shall give the war god the glory he needs to return home.

That was what Clotho, the Spinner, had said about the fate that linked him and Sage. What if somebody else had heard the fates words? And that person wanted Ares never to return to Olympus. If they wanted to stop him, then they'd have to mess with Sage's fate, he realised.

That was a powerful motive for sending an amnesiac love god out of hiding.

Ares rubbed his tired eyes. But why would Metis want to stop him from returning to Olympus? Ares' gut clenched. Hestia's hearth had been lit...

Ares had assumed that Olympus was threatened by giants or demons. But what if the trouble from Olympus was coming from within?

Ares turned to Sage and grabbed her arm. There was so much he wanted to say to her. He wanted to ask what Eros had meant about them both being in love with one another. Did she love him? Why then, was she pretending that she didn't?

But first there was a different question that he had to ask.

"Who is Metis' greatest enemy?" He asked in a slow, deliberate voice. Sage's gaze became vacant.

"Zeus." Sage replied in a distant, breathy voice.

"Why?"

"Zeus wanted Metis to be his lover, but there was a prophecy... That Metis would raise a son that would be even stronger than his father and would take his power." Sage swayed unsteadily on her feet. She clutched her head, wincing in pain. "Zeus made her barren, so that he could lie with her without the prophecy coming true."

Sage's eyes snapped into focus and she collapsed into Ares' arms.

"Sage?" He called her name, anxiously. Sage groaned.

"I'm fine." She murmured, but there was a sheen of sweat shining on her forehead. Ares hoisted Sage up into the air and carried her easily in his arms.

He'd had no idea that his father had wronged Metis. Ares frowned regretfully. Forcing her to never have children, just so that he could sleep with her, was yet another evil deed Zeus could add to his collection.

Sage put her hand over her mouth, worried in case she threw up.

"I'll take you inside." Ares murmured softly.

"Ares," Jaz spoke up. He was frowning after hearing Sage's vision. "The prophecy was about Metis raising a son. Not bearing one." Something Zeus had clearly missed.

"So?"

"So," Jaz stared at him as if it were obvious. "Metis found a baby with a shattered leg that had been thrown from Olympus. She raised that child."

Ares' brain clicked and he realised who Jaz was talking about.

"Hephaestus."

Ares carried Sage up the stairs to her bedroom.

"I can walk." She told him; her voice rough. Ares' expression was one of remorse.

"I know." He muttered softly.

"Is it safe to leave Jaz with Eros?" She questioned.

"Jaz can handle himself pretty well."

Ares set her down on the edge of her bed.

"Do you need a glass of water or..."

"I'll be fine." She cut in, staring determinedly at the wall.

"Sage... what did Eros mean when he said-"

"You can go now." Sage cut in.

"Sage," Ares dropped to his knees so that they were eye-level. "He looked in our hearts and he saw that we loved one another."

"He was wrong." Sage's hands were clenched into fists.

Ares sighed heavily. Was Eros wrong? Or was Sage so angry at him that she was punishing him like this? But why, why would she do that?

"Sage, I-"

"Enyalios." Sage's voice was different all of a sudden. "Enyalios, can you hear me?" Sage was speaking in an ancient tongue, one that no mortal should know. And she was calling him Enyalios.

"Mother?" Ares questioned, confused.

"Help me, Enyalios."

Ares' eyes widened. Oracles had once been called 'the mouthpieces of the gods' because the gods could speak through them.

"Mother, what's wrong? What's happened?" He asked loudly, speaking in a language Hera would be more familiar with.

"Hephaestus is holding me hostage. You need to come home, my son."

It was just as he'd feared. The enemy was already in Olympus – and it was the new crown prince.

"How?"

"Take the mountain pass. My guardian's will help you to find your way. You must declare war on your brother."

Ares' eyes blazed.

"I'm good at war."

**

Sage woke up, feeling foggy and confused. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Broken images of what had happened, flickered across her mind and a slow tear trailed down her face. Ares had returned to Olympus. He'd gone home.

She sat bolt upright, fear coursing through her system. He was going to fight in a war for Olympus. If he lost, it would cost him his life. She scrambled out of bed and practically flew down the stairs.

"Sage?" Jaz asked. Sage blinked bewilderedly. The café was empty of customers and the shutters were all down. It was evening.

She struggled to process the sight of Jaz and Eros sat together at a small table, sipping tea. Were those two friends now?

"Ares has gone back to Olympus." She told them, breathing heavily.

"I know, Sage." Jaz's voice was soothing.

"I need to stop him. This fight-"

"Has already started." Eros cut in. He gestured to the door. "Take a look for yourself."

Sage's stomach was heavy with dread. With slow footsteps, she approached the door. She could make out strange sounds coming from outside, sounds she'd never heard before.

With a shaking hand, she pushed back the deadbolt and allowed the door to swing open. Sage gasped and quickly covered her mouth, horrified.

The sky was on fire.

Jaz approached Sage from behind and showed her his phone. He was watching a news update.

Breaking news.

The news reporter looked frazzled as she addressed the camera.

"The world is looking up to the sky today and questioning, what is going on? Millions of us have seen bizarre and terrifying things in the heavens. We've been sent footage of chariots that seem large enough to carry the sun, fire-breathing horses and robots fighting it out in the sky. Many specialists have theories, but this man claims to have the answers."

The camera panned to a beautiful-looking man who stared directly at the audience and smiled.

"Hello world." He greeted in a smooth, suave voice. "My name Orion, and I'm an immortal being that has been watching earth from the heavens, for thousands of years."

The banner across the bottom of the screen told viewers that the constellation Orion, has disappeared from the sky – coinciding with this man's appearance.

"Why have you come to Earth?" The reporter asked.

"A war is being waged on Olympus. Without Olympus' shields in place, many beings, such as myself, can return to earth. Travel between the realms is once again possible."

"And do you mean us harm, Star Immortal?" The reported asked nervously.

The beautiful Orion smiled.

"I can not speak for all creatures and what they may do. But I can promise you, that I intend to fight the worlds monsters."

Jaz groaned loudly and Sage turned to look at him confused.

"Not him!" He moaned.

"You know him? Wait, is he really a god?"

"A half-god, yes."

Sage looked warily back at the handsome man on screen.

"Is he bad?"

Jaz looked at her blankly.

"Is any immortal good?"

Eros coughed behind them but Jaz ignored him.

"But what is happening in the sky?" The reporter asked Orion.

"The war on Olympus will probably take many years. Its outcome will change the heavens forever and a lot remains uncertain. What you have all been able to see, is a distant view of the gods fighting. I don't know what the outcome of this war will be. But..."

"But?" The reported pressed, on the edge of her seat.

Sage shivered, thinking that Orion's eyes - whilst shining - were somehow cold. The camera zoomed in on his devastating beauty and many hearts across the world, skipped a beat.

Orion smiled charmingly.

"But I know that the starting of it, has at last reunited the worlds of gods and men."