Chapter 6: Celebration

The beautiful Goddess cracked her neck and groaned in pain. "I stayed in that disguise for much too long. My neck and back are killing me."

"It's your own fault, Aphrodite," Bion said.

"Aphrodite?" Lena gasped and stared wide-eyed at the Goddess.

"You knew who she was all along?" I asked the satyr.

"She turned up on my doorstep a few days before she brought the lot of you into my inn, claiming that she needed to be here. She never told me why," he grumbled.

"Why are you here, mother?" Eros demanded. "Have you come to interfere into my life?"

"Watch your tone, Eros, or I will use my potions on you," Aphrodite threatened.

"You know perfectly well that I'm immune to your potions."

She sighed and took a seat at the table. "The Fates. They told me that you will be in danger once you leave Kingdom Gora. I've come to ensure that you stay here for as long as needed be."

"And how long would that be? Do you plan on locking me in here for years like you did after someone poisoned me in Olympus?" Eros rubbed his temples in distress. "I can take care of myself, mother."

"You may be a God, but you're still young. Let me handle it. If only the Fates gave me something more than a string of nonsense words... Helm, souls, sunflower. It —"

"The helm!" I interrupted. "Did the Fates say anything else? Anything other than those three words?"

"They told me an odd story about a mountain of forgotten treasures of the first king of Gora. He'd hidden his riches in a deep cave of that mountain when he'd become gravely ill." She laughed. "Those old hags must have lost their touch, because they were spewing utter nonsense near the end. What does that cave of treasures of a mortal have anything to do with my son?"

"Perhaps they knew that you would tell us this story!" I got up from my seat, a new fire igniting within me. The Fates never do anything without intent. That's what grandfather always told me. "That must be where the second piece is! We should go to that mountain."

"Second piece of...?" Aphrodite frowned.

"The Helm of Darkness," Lena, Eros and I said at the same time.

"How can you be sure that it's even there?" Bion asked.

"I'm not," I said. "But it wouldn't hurt to check."

"It would. It would hurt very much when the poisonous snakes sink their teeth into your flesh." His eyes looked serious when they finally met mine. "That treasure in the mountains? Many humans and satyrs have tried to steal, but no one ever came back alive." He shifted his gaze to Aphrodite. "The Fates have failed to mention that the king filled the cave with poisonous snakes to ensure that his treasures couldn't be taken by anyone after his death. The selfish bastard."

"Poisonous snakes?" Aphrodite exclaimed. "Eros, you're not going there."

Eros looked uncomfortable. "I... I could—"

Bion snorted. "Are you afraid? Isn't mortal poison like a sting of a bee to Gods?"

"While that may be true, let's not take any chances," Aphrodite asserted.

"No, I'll go," Eros said with a determined voice, shooting daggers at the satyr with his eyes. "You can stay here. You're afraid to leave your inn anyways, am I right?"

Bion gritted his teeth. "I'll go too. I'm the only one that knows the way to that mountain. You might get lost without me."

Eros scoffed. "I think we can manage just fine."

"My clan lives very close to that mountain. I might as well pay them a visit. It's been a while." Bion stood up.

Eros stood up as well and the two of them had a stare-off until Aphrodite smacked the backs of their heads. "Oh stop it, you two. You're making yourselves look like fools. Sit down and finish your meals. You can't go there on an empty stomach."

"Will you come with us too?" I asked the Goddess.

She nodded. "Of course! I have to—" Eros shot her a serious look and she sighed. "I suppose I can stay here and look after the inn. But you all must come back as soon as possible!"

"We will," I assured her. "As soon as we find the second piece."

~~~

"We're here," Bion grunted as he started climbing the tall grey mountain in front of us. "The cave should be on the other side. Follow me."

We all climbed to the very top of the mountain and I stopped to admire the sky above us. It was covered in soft white clouds. Sun rays peeked through the gaps between them, making them look as if they were glowing.

"It's beautiful," Lena gasped beside me, her gaze on the magical clouds.

"Did you want to find the thing you're looking for or not?" Bion said impatiently. "There's the cave." He pointed to an opening below.

"It's so dark," Lena whispered when we entered the cave.

I pushed more fire through my skin, illuminating the uneven surface of the rocky walls around us. "Watch your step everyone, there's a dip ahead."

We walked deeper and deeper into the cave that seemed to have no end. I gripped the hilt of my sword when I heard a piece of rock fall somewhere in the distance.

"Didn't you say that it was filled with snakes?" Lena asked Bion. "We haven't seen a single one."

He shrugged. "That's what I've heard. They must have left to find a place with more prey."

Something fell on my shoulder. I felt its scales on the skin of my neck before I heard its hiss in my ear. I screamed and threw it off me, shooting fire on it when it hissed once again and tried to attack me.

My heart was pounding against my ribcage and I tried to catch my breath. "It came from above..." I said.

We all slowly looked up.

The ceiling of the cave was full of colourful snakes as they slithered on its rocky surface.

There looked to be hundreds of them.

"Uh... I think we should run," Bion whispered, eyeing the scaly creatures above us.

"Cassia, can't you fry them all?" Lena asked quietly, as if afraid that the snakes would hear her.

"And make them rain down on us? I could also burn you all," I said, carefully taking a step forward.

"Then we run," Eros said. "I saw a gleam of something shiny ahead. That must be the treasure."

I whipped my head around and saw the shiny gleam of a golden plate a few metres away. "You all have your swords?" They nodded. "You three run to the treasure, then I can let my fire loose and burn these snakes down without worrying about hurting you." They hesitated. "Go!"

As soon as they were out of range, I let fire consume my hands and arms. Then I released it onto the poisonous creatures above me.

The burned snakes fell to the ground like raindrops from the sky until there were no more left.

The fire burned the sleeves of my shirt off, leaving my arms bare. I sighed. I liked those sleeves.

"Cassia! You have to see this!" Lena called out.

"Coming!"

My eyes widened when I saw the treasure. It was a mountain of gold. Golden plates, spoons, chalices, crowns, and weapons laid on a bed of golden coins. But what caught my eye was the thick black piece of metal that lay at the bottom of that mountain.

The second Helm piece.

"It is here," I breathed out, picking it up and putting it in my sack.

"Great, now we can leave," Eros said.

"You're just going to take that ugly piece of metal and leave all this gold behind?" Bion asked in disbelief.

"We came for the Helm, not the treasure," Lena responded.

Bion shook his head. "You must be idiots." He approached the golden mountain and started to put the treasure into his sack.

From the corner of my eye I saw a green snake slither out of a pile of coins beside Bion's foot.

"Bion, watch out!" I yelped, running to him with my sword out, but I was too late.

The snake lunged forward and sunk its venomous teeth into his leg. Bion screamed in pain and shook the snake off. It fell to the ground before I beheaded it.

"Are you all right?" I asked him.

"Bloody hell," he cursed and dropped to the ground. "I can't feel my leg. I can't," he breathed. "I can't... Feel..."

Then he lost consciousness.

~~~

"Where am I?" Bion asked when he opened his eyes and looked around tiredly.

A satyr with long horns and a chalice of wine in one hand slapped his shoulder. "You're home, brother. If your friends didn't bring you here sooner, you would have been dead. Now come on, get up! We're celebrating today!" He gulped down the wine and smacked his lips.

"Every day is a celebration here," Bion grumbled, covering his ears from the loud music a group of young satyrs were playing by the large table that was filled with a big feast.

"We should celebrate every day we live to see!"

A cheer erupted at his words and every satyr started to dance.

Bion groaned and lifted himself up to a sitting position. "Orion, I see you haven't changed one bit."

The satyr with large horns laughed and smacked Bion's shoulder once again. "Happy to finally see you, little brother. From that tense look in your eyes, I can tell that you've been struggling by yourself." He shook his head. "This won't do. Get up. We're celebrating your return tonight, and you know you can't leave without celebrating with us. We have a lot planned."

"I bet two golden coins that he won't be able to resist his nature," Eros murmured quietly to me.

"You don't have any gold with you," I reminded.

He pulled out a handful of coins from the pocket of his pants with a grin. "Then what do you call this?"

"I should have known you'd steal from the treasure," I muttered.

He shrugged. "The king it belonged is long dead." He threw a coin up in the air then caught it with the same hand. "I need these more than he does."

Lena twirled in with a satyr she'd been dancing with. "What are you two doing just standing there? Join the fun!"

"You too," Orion said, dragging Bion off the cushions and throwing him at me. I caught him by the shoulders. "Now go and dance."

Bion cleared his throat and met my eyes. "Would you like to... dance? With me?" He offered a hand.

I hesitated for a moment before accepting it. I tried not to show my disappointment that it wasn't Eros pulling me into the group of dancing satyrs.

Bion spun me away, extending his arm before tugging me back toward him. He placed one hand on my waist as we moved to the music that has gotten even louder as drunken satyrs abused their instruments.

"I apologize for acting strange around you," he suddenly said. "Before Aphrodite brought you and your friends to my inn, I haven't interacted with anyone for many years. Especially women. And the way we met wasn't very... graceful."

"May I ask why you left your clan?" I asked carefully, unsure if he would answer, but to my surprise he did.

"I'd caused a great deal of pain to my brother." He glanced at Orion. "He may not show it, but I see it. The grief is still there, though he tries to drown it in wine... During one of our many celebrations, I'd had too much to drink, and a nymph tried to seduce me."

He looked at Orion again and I followed his gaze. His brother was pouring himself yet another chalice of wine and gulping it down like water.

"I knew that nymph was his beloved, so I pushed her away," Bion continued. "But in my drunken state I used much more force than I intended to, and she hit her head on a rock when she fell."

I widened my eyes. "Did she...?"

He nodded. "She died. And I ran away like a coward." He clenched his jaw. "Orion hadn't done anything to me. He could have chased me down and beaten me to a pulp. I deserved it. But he let me run away. And now after all these years he still hasn't said a word about it." Looking down at his snake bitten leg, he murmured, "He even healed me. Why not just let me die?"

"How can I let my own brother die?" Orion was suddenly beside us, no longer holding a chalice. Too caught up in our conversation, we didn't even notice him approach.

The two brothers stared at each other, having a silent conversation of their own. Pulling my hand out of Bion's grip, I walked away. I had a feeling that they were about to have a much needed talk, and I was in the way.

"Well? How was dancing with a satyr?" Eros asked, biting off a large chunk of an apple in his hand. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Did he confess his feelings yet?"

"He did," I said. "But not in the way you're thinking."

"Oh." He rolled his shoulders back. "Not what I was expecting."

Melodic laughter echoed through the walls of the caves before a group of nymphs walked in. Every step they took looked graceful, their long hair and dresses flowing behind them as if caressed by the wind itself. They were utterly beautiful.

"The nymphs are finally here!" one of the young satyrs cheered before whisking a nymph away and engaging her in a dance. It didn't take long for the rest of them to do the same, and soon the celebration was in full swing.

Music and delighted laughter filled my ears as everyone danced and ate and drank. Nymphs and satyrs started dancing in a large circle around the long table, pulling Eros and I into it with Lena. My head was spinning from the little wine I'd had as I twirled around with a smile.

When the circle broke off and satyrs once again paired up with nymphs and Lena, I plopped into one of the cushions by the walls, afraid that I would stumble and fall if I continued to stand on my feet.

"Is your head spinning as well?" a nymph asked as she took a seat beside me.

"A little," I groaned. "And I only had a few sips!"

She giggled. "It's a very strong wine. I can only handle a few sips myself. I'm Zoe. Named after my mother's friend," she declared. "What's your name?"

"Cassia," I introduced myself, giving her a smile. "I was named after my grandmother."

Zoe grinned back. "It's beautiful." She moved her face close to mine, staring into my eyes. "And your eyes are magnificent. Looks like golden suns in pools of ocean."

"Please, they're nothing compared to mine." Another nymph joined us, taking a cushion across from ours.

"Yours are just muddy green, Selene." Zoe rolled her eyes.

Selene gasped in offence. "Excuse me? They're emerald green. Emerald."

"Are you certain you don't mean crocodile green?" Zoe argued.

Selene gritted her teeth. "I'm certain. Gods, I didn't even come here to speak with you Zoe. I'm here to ask her something." She looked at me. "Tell me his name."

I followed her gaze until my eyes found Eros. He was throwing grapes into an empty chalice at the other side of the long table with Bion. By the irritated look on Bion's face, he seemed to be winning whichever game they were playing.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked.

"Don't you have eyes? How can I not want to know his name?" She stood up and harshly yanked me to stand as well. "Come. You'll introduce me."

I contemplated smacking her in the head, but held back my itching fist and followed her to the table instead.

"Will you let us join the game, boys?" Selene asked. She tugged on my sleeve, silently telling me to start the introductions. I ignored her.

"Not now," Bion said distractedly, squinting one eye as he aimed a grape at the chalice. "I'm almost tied with Eros."

Selene pursed her lips, then smiled when Bion threw the grape and missed. "Looks like we can start a new game now. Why don't we pair up?" She moved to stand beside Eros. "You two can be a team. Hmm." She put a finger on her lip as if deep in thought. "What should the winning team get?"

"But I--"

"Oh, I know what!" she interrupted Bion. "A dance with each other!"

"And the losing team gets a smack in the head," I suggested, ignoring Eros's amused expression.

Selene shrugged. "Why not? Let the games begin!"

Tying back my hair, I quietly mumbled to myself, "Prepare to lose."

Eros and Bion were up first. They each grabbed a single grape and prepared to shoot. Eros's grape went straight into the chalice, and I bit my lip nervously when it was Bion's turn. He aimed and threw, and --

"Yes!" I cheered when he scored us a point.

Selene and I were up next. I took a grape and aimed it, throwing it in a perfect arc straight into the chalice. With a triumphant smile, I took a step to the side to let Selene shoot. She squinted both of her eyes and threw her grape.

I held my breath as it flew toward the edge of the chalice.

It won't make it. It won't make it. It won't make it.

The grape bounced off the edge and went in.

Selene grinned. "Score!"

I resisted the urge to groan in annoyance.

The game went on for a while. Eros and Selene were one point ahead, and it was Bion's and Eros's turn to play. Bion went first, making me chew my bottom lip as he aimed. If he missed, we would lose. If he scored and Eros missed, we would win. It was the final round.

I released a breath of relief when Bion's grape made it into the chalice, sucking in more air when Eros picked up a grape.

Selene looked pleased, a confident smile on her face as she adjusted her dress and fixed her hair, prepared for her dance with him.

Eros aimed and we all waited in anticipation as he held the final grape -- the grape that would decide our fate.

I sighed in dejection. Who was I kidding? He hadn't missed a single time during the game. The outcome was obvious. They will be the winning team and Selene will get what she wanted.

Eros glanced at me before finally throwing the round fruit. It flew over the rest of the food on the table, making its way to the chalice. And then it passed it.

He missed.

Selene's smile was quickly wiped off her face and I dropped my jaw.

"I got a sudden cramp in my arm," Eros explained himself. "Looks like we lost, nymph."

"Great!" Bion exclaimed with a loud laugh. "I've been itching to smack Eros in the head. Come here." He beckoned the God, who begrudgingly accepted the punishment.

"A deal's a deal," Selene sighed and approached me. "Go ahead."

She flinched when I raised my hand, but instead of slapping her, I brought my hand down to pat her on the head. "Your aim is better than I thought," I said. "Good game."

She rolled her eyes and pushed my hand away. "My aim is incredible. And so was his..." She glanced at Eros. "Cramp," she scoffed. Grabbing Bion's elbow, she started to drag him away. "I'll dance with you instead."

I raised a brow at Eros who was now busy eating a handful of grapes. "Why did you purposely miss the last shot?"

The corners of his lips lifted in a smile and he plopped a grape into my mouth.

"She's not the one I want to dance with."

***

Uhh, what's that supposed to mean, Eros? *suspicious squint*