Chapter Two: The Search

Than disintegrated and dispatched to several cities throughout the world, collecting the souls of the dead. The more he disintegrated, the more difficult it was for him to focus on his most important task: finding a way to make Therese his queen. Ares had been clever last summer on Mount Olympus when he’d made them all swear on the River Styx not to make her a god like them, nor were they allowed to retrieve her from the Underworld once she died a mortal death. The situation seemed hopeless, but Than was not without hope. He was determined to find a way.

For the past ten months he had traveled from god to god, taking counsel from all those who would give it. Most of them had urged him to give up his dream of making Therese his wife and queen. They told him love was fleeting, and he would learn to forget her. They said she would be dead within the next eighty years, and this amount of time was but a blink of an eye to a god. Even his own father told him to forget her, saying she wasn’t worthy. Hades had gone so far as to force Hip to swear on the River Styx, like the gods on Mount Olympus, never to make Therese a god.

But Aphrodite wept for him and understood his pain. They sat together on Mount Olympus in the banquet hall, alone except for Hestia’s coming and goings as she set the table for the next meal. Aphrodite took Than’s hand into her own and kissed it, something no god save his mother had ever done.

“I’m so sorry for you,” she said softly. “You may not believe this, but I know how you feel. I’m not allowed to be with my true love either.”

“Hephaestus isn’t your true love?”

She pulled her hand away. “Lower your voice.” She waited for Hestia to leave the room.

“You knew that, Than. Everyone knows Ares has my heart.”

“Then why are you married to Hephaestus?”

“Has it never occurred to you why the most beautiful god would be wed to the only ugly one?”

Than shook his head. “Love is deeper than beauty?”

“God, no.” She waved her hand in the air as if to bat such an idea away. “Beauty trumps all, my dear, and Zeus knows that. He feared the people would worship me above him, so he bound me to that hunchback.”

“But what good did that do?”

“Beauty also comes from happiness. Some of my beauty faded after my marriage.”

“I wouldn’t know. I can’t imagine you more beautiful.”

Aphrodite gave him a smile. “What do you want from me?”

“Can you persuade Ares to change his mind about Therese? Ask him to do it out of love for you?”

“Of course, but that won’t help. We’ve all sworn an oath. Even if Ares sympathizes with your cause, he can’t undo what’s already been done.”

“Does he sympathize?”

“He hates you.”

Than was momentarily distracted from the beautiful goddess by the soul of another plant in the hands of a young Indian boy he accompanied to Charon. More and more he was seeing plants evolving souls of their own, like animals and humans. He had been adding these plant souls to his chambers in preparation for the day Therese would join him. He wanted to add as many plants and animals to his chambers as possible for his nature-loving bride-to-be.

Aphrodite touched his hand again and brought his focus back to her. “I’m sorry. Truly. But there’s nothing we can do.”

“I can’t accept that. There’s got to be a way. Will you at least think about it, and let me know if an idea comes to you?”

Aphrodite nodded, but her face held no hope.

Then today, months after his conversation with the goddess, Hermes appeared with a summons from Mount Olympus. Aphrodite wished to see him.