For the Love of Chaos

That wasn't the way it was meant to go. It was just supposed to be a prank. Nobody was supposed to get hurt. As CEO he probably should have gotten some help from the science department before mixing chemicals together in the ventilation shafts. He was trying to make red smoke come out of the vents to cause a slight panic. He didn't know that dry ice would cause such a problem. Some of the employees had gotten sick and those with respiratory problems were now either in the hospital or the morgue. As for Jack, the CEO responsible for the prank gone wrong, he was now in jail facing charges for criminal negligence and, as of an hour ago, involuntary manslaughter.

"Oh, how I love April Fools Day," a female voice in the corner of his cell startled him out of his self loathing.

"How did you get in here," the thin man demanded, pretty sure he was alone when the officer had put him in there.

She let out a very wicked sounding laugh, stepping deliberately around in a wide circle within the cell like a predator, "You atheists are so unimaginative. If science can't prove it then it can't exist."

"I may not show it much but I am a Christian," he tried to sound firmly offended but his instinctual fear caused his voice to crack. He wasn't sure why but he was terrified of her.

Her eyes glowed with agitation and she paused in her walking, which somehow was more frightening than the predatory circling, "By the Lord of Tartarus, if that isn't a thousand times worse. You're ridiculous interpretations of your so called Holy book would have you deny the existence of all other Gods."

At the attack on his faith he took a deep breath to gather his courage, "Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have..."

"No other Gods before me," she interrupted with a sneer, "Zeus could demand the same of his worshippers without denying the existence of his family. Do the school teachers cease to exist if a parent says to their child, 'You shall have no other authorities before me?'"

She watched amused as he was rendered speechless by her argument. He stared at her, trying to understand what she was claiming to be. Her hair was tied by her neck in a cascade ponytail over her left shoulder. The rings holding it firmly in place appeared to be some sort of metal, possibly gold if he was going by color. Her grey gown was ripped at the floor length hem and hung from her left shoulder like a toga. It was held closed by a gold belt and adorned with a sash of the same color. Slight as she was he could feel a sinister power emanating from her like a demon.

Beyond her appearance she also had an accent that caught his attention. He couldn't place it but it wasn't American in his opinion. She also spoke of things like Tartarus, a deep pit in the realm of Hades as if she revered it as a sacred place. Her anger at the idea that only one God was real along with the way she spoke of Zeus in a tone that sounded protective and familiar almost made him feel like she thought she was a member of the family she claimed he would not deny. Was she claiming to be a Greek Goddess? His mind raced back to the Greek mythology unit in his high school English Literature class, trying to figure out which Goddess she was pretending to be.

His eyes widened as he suddenly knew. There was only one Goddess who would delight so much in a holiday meant to cause chaos and even a mortal pretending to be her would prove life threateningly dangerous. Her smile widened as she sensed he was getting closer to accepting the truth. As if to prove herself, or maybe just to frighten the poor man, she held out her empty palm. With barely any visible concentration a glowing golden apple appeared in her palm.

"Eris," he whispered, shaking his head in fear and disbelief, his mind in shock at the small but effective display of immortal power.

Her eyes gleamed in mischievous delight and she sauntered towards him, placing the apple in his hand while he was still too surprised to move away. Trembling, he looked down at the item. Etched into the peel were a set of Greek letters he did not recognize. She waved her palm over the engravement, forcing the letters to shimmer into their own translation to the English language: For the consort of Discord. She was asking, perhaps demanding him to become her lover.

"No," he whispered almost imperceptibly.

The Goddess cocked her head, obviously not used to being rejected by mortals, "No?"

"No," he repeated louder and only a barely noticeable degree braver, "Romans 8:39..."

She again interrupted, "No power of Hell nor scheme of man," she scoffed, "But your own scheme marks you as it did Cain. Murderer!"

He swallowed back tears at the reminder of his mistake, "No! It was an accident. God will forgive me."

"Cain said the same thing," she smiled, "He didn't think it through any more than you researched your prank. Still Abel's soul called from the grave for retribution as the souls in the morgue now call against you."

The tears let loose down his cheeks, "Why me?"

"You are the one who killed them," she replied.

"No," he stated a tad more firmly, "Why did you, Eris, immortal Goddess of chaos and discord choose me, Jack Halen, a mortal, a nobody, to give this to," he held up the apple.

She chuckled, "Why would I choose a man with such a knack and enjoyment of chaos to share my immortality with in a bond of eros and ludus, with the hope of eventually pragma?"

He blinked at her rewording of his question. While there were words in there he did not understand he got the general idea of what she was saying, "I admit that I've played a few pranks over the years but I wouldn't call it a knack for chaos."

"Let's see," she paced, feigning as if she were speaking to herself, "How far back into memory could I take his mind, without magic, but with one simple word. Loki," she stopped and looked at him to see his reaction.

He needed to sit down. It had been years since he heard that nickname. He'd caused so much chaos in school that his peers had labeled him as an embodiment of Loki, the Norse God of mischief.

"How long have you been watching me," he wasn't sure he wanted her to answer that but given her track record over the last five minutes or so he knew she would.

"Oh, I've been around since the moment you decided that you like mischief. With my influence you often avoided any real consequences and my offer is exactly that. Your Christian soul is on a platter, all ready to be served to Lucifer in Hell. I have the power to make you my consort, a demigod, thus plucking you from Prince Morningstar's dinner table," he had to admit she had a dark poetry about her speech but she was poetic nonetheless.

He gave it a thought. No way that this was a dream. He could be pretty creative when it came to pranks but he was in no way presumptuous enough to dream up a Goddess playing knight in shining armor to his damsel in distress.

"I killed them. I know what I deserve. Maybe not eternity, after all it was an accident, but torment nonetheless," he stated quietly.

In a graceful motion she was seated by him on the bench, "I can not save you if you submit to the devil for even a day. I may have some pull with Hades if I ask him nicely but not with Lucifer Morningstar."

"If you ask," he whispered the question, knowing she'd still hear him.

"Normally when a God or demigod seeks retribution from Hades for a mistake he sentences a month in Tartarus. After that a loved one has to go in and retrieve them. There's a price though. I would have to bring a mortal soul to replace yours. The population in Hades may go up but never down."

"I'm in a prison. This state still has the death penalty. It shouldn't be too hard to snatch a Hell bound soul off death row. Don't see how it matters where a sinner is tortured if Heaven won't let them in anyway," he reasoned.

"True," she agreed, "However, a month in Tartarus is enough to drive a man insane."

"Or," he corrected, "Enough to help a man repent."

"Repent from chaos and where does that leave us," she was clearly getting frustrated with him.

"Not from chaos," he assured her, "From recklessness. I didn't think it through and the result was not what I wanted. Isn't the point of being a God or demigod to control the outcomes of your power," she nodded, "Then I'll learn to think before I act. We'll make chaos together but we'll know the result beforehand and prevent what we don't intend. One month is all I am asking and then I'm yours. Now take me to Hades."

She gently lifted his hand towards his mouth. The apple which felt in his palm like solid gold, was surprisingly soft against his lips. Taking a bite was easy and his body did not protest the instant loss of the life force within it. As it happened he found himself sitting in his own lap, the apple no longer in the hand that was still raised to his lips. The heavy clang of gold hitting the floor of the cell drew his attention to the mystical fruit, as it rolled across the floor where it landed, having rolled out of the hand of the lifeless corpse beneath him.

"What will they think happened," he asked as the picked up the apple and polished it on her skirt.

"An autopsy will have them believe you succumbed to your own prank. The bite you took dissolved into the same substance you put into the air in your office building and settled into your lungs," she handed him the apple again, "You get to keep one possession in Tartarus. This will let me find you. I always know where my treasures are."

He nodded, "Thank you. I'll cherish it and learn to love you my Goddess."

"Sweet boy," she brushed blonde locks away from his dark brows allowing her to better look into his deep green eyes, "Sweet naïve boy," she kissed him and it felt as natural to him as breathing had only moments ago, "You needn't learn what you already know, my Loki."

(To be continued...)