The Weaver

Prologue

"Father, we have to do something. The entire pantheon grows weaker each year. So few follow the old gods. We get almost no prayers. No one believes, no one remembers,” Erato said, her voice heavy with passion.

Zeus turned around to face her, his eyes bright with anger. “You do not listen, girl! I said no contact with the human world. None. At all. On pain of banishment.”

Erato snorted in derision. “Only because you and your brothers couldn’t keep it in your pants and your bastard offspring were upsetting the balance of nature itself. Let’s let the blame fall where it belongs, father.”

The stony look in his eyes chilled her fervor for a moment. “Careful, child. My wrath is best left to others.”

Erato was never one to shy away from irritating her father, but something deep inside told her to hold her tongue this time. He seemed irritated and perhaps now was not the time to push him. The consequences had been disastrous for others in the past. Erato was immortal, she could try again. She nodded. “Yes, father. Please at least think about it. There are ways the muses can help without direct contact. Just let us work with Morpheus.”

He gave the barest nod, so she turned and walked away before he could say anything, hoping she’d made some progress with the stubborn old man.

Erato burned with the passion and desire to help her people. Even the divinity of the pantheon needed help sometimes and they all grew weaker as the humans forgot them. The prayers weren’t what kept them strong. They needed to be known. If not worshipped, then at least respected and remembered. If her father had his way, they would all fade into obscurity and she couldn’t figure out why he let it happen.

She prepared herself for the possibility of having to act on her own. Some things were worth Zeus’ wrath. She loved her family and would do anything to keep them safe and strong, even if it meant being banished to Earth.

Chapter One

Well, the secret was out now. I knew any minute I’d see my father storm through the halls, intent on banishing me from the only home I’d ever known. But I’d have done it again in a heartbeat. I was right and there was absolutely no way he could deny it now.

A twinge of guilt ate at me. Perhaps seducing and then blackmailing Morpheus hadn’t been the wisest course of action, but I knew he’d never go against my father unless he was forced. It hadn’t even been hard. My erotic inspiration was nearly impossible to resist and the few creatures who could stand against it were ones I would never attempt to seduce anyway. The venerated god of dreams hadn’t stood a chance against my determination.

The sex had been amazing. He’d fucked me hard and deep. I was more than happy to do all the dark, dirty things he would never ask his precious wife to do. The goddess of light and rainbows was considered too “pure” for the nasty things he wanted. I, however, was a shameless slut and had no compunction whatsoever about using my body to get what I wanted. Certainly, my divine talents had been gifted to the right goddess.

Once our passion had cooled, Morpheus had no choice but to agree with my plan. He was horrified at the idea of Iris finding out what we’d done. And my blackmail wasn’t an empty threat. I would have marched straight to her and shared every detail if he’d refused to help me. My mission was more important than her feelings or their marriage. It was more important than anything else. Even my own life on Mount Olympus. I could have kept it going, but my success gave me away.

As I heard the thundering footsteps in the hall drawing closer, I knew it may very well come down to that. Father would have no choice but to banish me. He couldn’t be seen as weak among the other gods. He had to rule the pantheon with an iron fist. Otherwise, the wayward gods and goddesses would do exactly as they pleased, no matter the consequences for those on Earth. Unsurprisingly, eons of forced separation from the mortal world had bred a deep apathy for human life into most of the pantheon. They were selfish and cared only for themselves.

I hated that they couldn’t see the path of self-destruction Zeus had chosen for us all. Without the humans acknowledging our existence on a wide-spread level, we had all grown weaker. As the years passed, our powers began to fade. For some, they were near death, or as close to death as immortals could get. My own mother had become dangerously weak as the years of neglect sapped her strength. The great Mnemosyne, titaness and goddess of memory, was fading from knowledge. It had snapped the last thin thread of my resistance.

With Morpheus’ assistance, I’d sent some very detailed erotic dreams to humans who worked in the entertainment industry. Celebrity seemed to be the new pantheon and I was certain I could reach the world through human entertainment. I’d sent some of my more inspired story ideas set in ancient Greece about the gods, being sure to include my mother in one of the main storylines. Within days, several blockbuster movies were in the works and our names were being spoken more and more. By the time the movies were released, thousands of humans spoke about us every day.

It worked exactly as it should. By the time I went back to see my mother, she had been greatly restored. Certainly not back at full capacity, but she’d been near the end. Death for us was more of a comatose state, one we were less likely to wake from the longer it continued. From the verge of the long sleep, my mother was up and lively again. I would take banishment for a thousand lifetimes if it kept her in the world.

Mnemosyne wasn’t the only one to benefit from the boost in power, either. It would be hard for Zeus to ignore the efficacy of what I’d done, even if it was in defiance of his edict. Others would ask questions. Others would say something about the change and my banishment. He would have to take some kind of action. If he banished me and allowed my sisters to work with Morpheus, it would still be worth it.

The steps had grown very close, and I tensed my body, ready for the argument that was sure to come as soon as my father found me. I wasn’t hiding, but I wasn’t running out to meet him either. The ornate carved marble door to my chambers was thrown open, slamming back into the wall with a thunderous crash and cracking. Lightning tore open the sky outside all around us.

“ERATO!” Zeus bellowed.

I cringed inwardly but let none of my discomfort show as I turned to face him. “Hello, father.”

His stern features twisted into a mask of rage and I unconsciously took a step back. Zeus in a rage was a fearsome sight to behold. He could blink me out of existence if he chose to. I had to be careful.

“What have you done?” he shouted, the sound making my bones quake.

I steeled my spine and rose my gaze to meet his. “I did what I had to. It has been decades since I brought my plan to you. Mother was dying!” I stood my ground and let some of my anger seep into my voice. “And it worked! You can’t deny the changes around here to power level to all those mentioned in the dreams I sent.”

Zeus let out a low growl that made the hair at the back of my neck stand on end. That was a dangerous sound. “You defied me, Ero. That can’t be allowed to stand. No matter the result of your actions, you went against my edict.”

“I technically stayed within the boundaries of the edict. I didn’t travel to the mortal world or make any kind of direct contact. I just sent a few inspiring dreams to some key people in the entertainment industry,” I said, keeping my voice calm and controlled. I couldn’t be seen as mocking his authority, not after I’d already flouted the rules so completely.

He ran a hand through his long white hair and sighed in frustration. “I know that! And still, you’ve put me in the position of having to banish my own daughter for insubordination. I have no choice, Ero. You did this!” His voice still boomed off the walls, drilling into me like a blow from a meaty fist.

I nodded. “I know. And for that, I am deeply sorry. Father, I did what I had to do. I had to try something. As much of an annoyance as it is to have to banish me, now you know that our power can be restored. It will never be ancient Greece again, but we don’t have to wither and fade as we have been. We can be strong. We can be known to more than just the dusty old philosophers and historians, real to more than just the museum curators. We are more than ‘mythology,’ father.”

Mythology was a dirty word on Mount Olympus, and it was said with all the disdain I could muster. Just the idea that humans thought we were figments of imagination to explain how and why things happened in their lives made me livid. But it wasn’t truly their fault. This was my father’s doing. He’d closed the entire pantheon away from the mortal world. When we vanished and no longer made an impact in their lives, what else were they to think? Why would they continue to worship gods and goddesses who abandoned them?

Zeus ran a hand over his face, looking far older than I’d ever seen him. “I’m so tired, Ero. You can’t even imagine.” He sighed and turned away toward a balcony that overlooked the rift into the mortal world. “You are banished from Mount Olympus, daughter. It is only because your little stunt proved effective that it isn’t a permanent banishment. You have the next one hundred years on Earth to work your muse magic indirectly and prove to me that you can bring sustained power back to Olympus. If you can do this, I will allow you to return to us. Then, you and your sisters will be allowed to work with Morpheus, along with others I approve, to send dreams and inspiration to the mortals. You are absolutely forbidden from revealing yourself as a goddess.”

I tried to keep the joyous expression his words evoked off my face. From my father’s sour countenance, I don’t think I succeeded well. While technically a punishment, I’d gotten everything I wanted. I had no doubt whatsoever that I could meet his expectations. With a full century, I could have Olympus buzzing with power again.

“Can I present myself as a believer in the pantheon?” I asked as my head spun with ideas.

Zeus nodded. “That is acceptable. But you can exhibit no divine powers without a plausible explanation. I don’t think they would do well with definable proof of the divine right now. Humans are strange creatures, Ero. They are not like you remember from your time on Earth. I’ve been watching, waiting for the right time. Perhaps I’ve gotten too stuck in my ways. Regardless, you’ve forced my hand. Go now, Ero. Prove it was worth it. If you fail, you can never come back. I hope it is worth the risk.”

He looked so sad, but it lasted only a moment. My father was a man of passion, quick to anger and he could hold a grudge unbelievably long. But even so, I still knew he loved me and didn’t want to send me away with the chance I could never come back. This was not easy for him. He did not change quickly or easily.

“Am I allowed to say goodbye to mother and the others?” I asked, doing everything I could to appear cowed and chastised.

He shook his head. “No, you must go now. This is supposed to be a punishment, Ero.”

I bowed my head, looking somber. “Yes, father. I understand.”

I turned from him and my home as I walked across the balcony. At the rail, I stopped and spent a moment admiring the vista of Olympus around the rift. The border between this world and the mortal realm shimmered like water and through it I saw my new home waiting, full of possibility. I sent one last look behind me before I climbed the rail. I stood there for a second, letting the wind blow my gauzy dress around me. Then, I threw myself over the side, freefalling toward the chasm holding the rift.