Chapter 2

 

"My turn, it's my turn," another man states, "Open up."

Ganymede is on his knees.  He had  been a prince once.  He had been the son of a King.  What's a king to a God though?  The all powerful Zeus had felt Ganymede was far too handsome to be among mortals, so he changed himself to an Eagle and kidnapped Ganymede.  He gave him immortal youth and made him the cupbearer of the Gods.  After all Zeus was the king of the Gods.  He got everything he ever wanted.

"Swallow it.  Yeah.  Did Zeus cum down your throat?"  one man says, "Look, I'm putting my load in Zeus's favorite whore."

He had become numb to it by now.   He just opened wider.  He just let the cum drizzle down his neck, down his cheeks, down his chest and all around his naked body.   Three other cocks were around him.    Eight more demi-gods were starting to stroke their dicks.  He'd have to please all of them before the day was done.   He's covered in the milk of Demi-gods.  Chaos had rained in Olympus since the 12 Olympians were killed.  Every demi-god felt like they had a big enough cock to come to Olympus and enter the halls of the 12.    On purpose they defiled the room of the gods and he had no power to fight against them.

He was nothing more than a cupbearer so silently he does what he is told.

He opens his mouth as another rather large, immortal cock gets shoved towards the back of this throat causing him to gag.   His mouth gets fucked over and over and he's bathed with the semen until it runs down his face.   He doesn't fight it.  He doesn't say a word.

The gods were gone.  All hope was lost.  From the corner of his eye he looks at the round table of the gods.   The 12 reigned over Olympus in that round table but now it was empty.  Now there was nothing.

"That boy is the Cupbearer of the 12 Olympian Gods," a voice states out of nowhere, "None of you look like the 12 Olympians."

Someone had walked into the hallway.   On his knees Ganymede can see the figure.  The figure is a hooded figure.  It walks through the door.

"The Olympians are dead," one of the minor gods shouts out to the stranger, "Swallowed by the Titans.  Haven't you heard?"

"New Olympians are coming to take their place.  12 new Olympians.  Haven't you heard?" the stranger asks.

There is laughter in the halls.  The Fates had called for the Heirs of the Olympians to come to Mount Olympus.   No one really took it seriously.  The 12 Olympians had ruled for so long that it was all people knew.  The idea of New Olympians came as a joke.

"I'll wipe my ass with any new Olympians."
"Say that again?" The stranger asks, "I didn't hear you."

"I said I'll wipe my ass with the new Olympians."

"Closer."

"I said..."

He stops.  He stops because he makes the mistake of getting too close to the stranger.  The stranger hits him.  The punch is so strong that it sends a shockwave throughout the room.  Several of the other men stagger backward in shock.  There is a crackling sound.  It's a strange crackling sound.  For a moment Ganymede thought Zeus himself had returned when he realizes what the crackling sound was.  The crackling sound was the sound of teeth clattering on the floor.

"Zeus?" Ganymede asks.

Tears are in his eyes.  It isn't until the stranger removes his hood that he realizes that it's not Zeus.  No.  The man was tall like Zeus.   His skin was brown like Persians.  His beard was dark and thick.   The thick beard hung just like Zeus.  But he was younger.  He was a younger immortal handsome man, probably never aged over than 30.

"You're him.  The Divine hero..." one of the men states, "Son of Zeus."

"I guess I'm the first New Olympian to arrive," he states, "Did anyone else have anything to say about the New Olympians?"

There is silence at that moment.  They all look at the floor.   They all look at the minor god who lost all his teeth.  Immediately a panic sets in as they see the divine hero.  Everyone knew who he was.  They had heard of his labors.  Like Ganymede the Divine Hero had once been a mortal but had been changed into a God.

The men vacate the room within seconds.

"You're Hercules..." Ganymede states.

"I've been called that," he states, "Or Alcides.  But you may call me Heracles.    And you must be Ganymede.  My father's cupbearer."

Ganymede looks at the divine hero and he's star-struck.   Here he was covered in semen.  He had been so lifeless and all of a sudden he was able to feel embarrassment again.  Heracles had to be the most handsome man he'd ever seen.  It wasn't just that.  Heracles had saved him.  He had saved him from those savages who were taking advantage of Zeus's death.

"Yes...I am," is all Ganymede can say.

His nerves are getting the best of him.

"Let me help you up.  You are the cupbearer of Zeus.  You deserve to be treated with the highest respect.  I apologize for them.  When I am King of the Gods I'll make sure they are all punished," he states.

"King of the Gods?"

"Yes.  I've been named Zeus's heir.  I am a new Olympian.  I plan to win the trials.   Haven't you heard?  There were will be trials to name the king of the Gods.  Who better to win it than me?  Zeus's son?"

Ganymede looks up at him.  This entire time he had not been turned on by these men.   Sure most of the demi-gods who had their dicks in his faces were attractive.  It was hard to find an unattractive god, except perhaps maybe Hephaestus.   He hadn't felt anything with those demi-gods though.  With Heracles it was different.  Heracles was...a MAN.  He was the good of strength, god of heroes, the god of masculinity.  He'd just been a minor god until this point but if there was ever someone who could replace Zeus...it was him.

"Surely it is you."
Heracles nods.  He smiles.  He has a dazzling smile.  He takes his shirt off at that moment and Ganymede's ass gets wet.  That's when he begins to carefully wipe Ganymede off.  He wipes the cum of Ganymede's face.  No one had ever been so strong and so gentle with Ganymede at the same time.  His heart is doing backflips.

"I'm glad you believe in me," he states, "You are cupbearer.  I'm sure you know a lot of information."

"Any information you need is yours, sir."

"Where are the other New Olympians.   This hall has been defiled.  Surely I can't be the first to arrive."

Ganymede nods, "You are sir.  Many of them are being attacked."

"By who?"

"Unknown sir.  But I believe the same forces who unleashed the Titans," he explains, "Not of the attacks succeeded, except one.  The son of Aphrodite was attacked with a godkiller."

"Is he dead?"

"I'm not sure sir.  We just got the report today.  Same report is saying  he's the most beautiful thing in the world."

"More beautiful than you?" Heracles asks.

Ganymede's face blushes with red.  Heracles didn't even have to try to be charming.  He didn't have to try to sweep someone off their feet.  Within seconds Ganymede was willing to give it all for him.  Just like he had done for his father.

"Yes...sir," Ganymede states, "Even more beautiful than his mother."

"Impossible."

Ganymede had heard the rumors of Aphrodite's son.  It was a scary thing.  Ganymede was comfortable with Aphrodite's beauty.  She was the type of woman who walked into a room and it was hard to remove your eyes from her.  Several times Zeus had banned his daughter from important events so that people would not be too distracted.   Ganymede, however, had always been the most attractive boy.  The fact that there was someone out there who was a boy that had the beauty of Aphrodite shook him to his very core.

"Maybe it's best he die sir."

Heracles seems interested.  Too interested.  Ganymede watches the reaction of Heracles, "Why do you say that, cupbearer?"

"Ares and Hephaestus almost tore Olympus apart over Aphrodite.  Imagine what kind of chaos her son would bring?  Olympus may not be able to take that."

If Aphrodite's son was killed by the assassins then it would be better for everyone as far as Ganymede was concerned.  The last thing they needed was the same sort of chaos that Aphrodite could bring.   He expects Heracles to nod and agree but Heracles doesn't say a word.  He turns away from him at that moment.  Heracles is just looking at the table.

"No."

"Sir?"

"No.  If I am to rule then all 12 gods should be there...including Aphrodite's son," he states, "Ares and Hephaestus were weak.  It takes a real god to tame that kind of power."

Heracles sits at the table.  He sits at the head.  Even before the trials.  It may be a good sign though.  It'll bring Olympus into order at least temporarily.  It made Ganymede nervous that Heracles didn't see the danger in Aphrodite's son though.  Heracles was known for his strength and his courage.  But there were legendary tales that were also told of his sexual prowess with not only women, but men as well.

"Sir.  The trials haven't even begun."

Heracles shrugs it off, "Doesn't matter.  I'll win them.  And when I become King of the Gods, I might take Aphrodite's son as my as prize..."

~

" I feel like I've passed out.  I wake up at that moment and I can hear voices.  My abdomen still hurts. It's been stitched up. I'm in a room.  It's some hotel or something like that.

"He looks like her, doesn't he?"

"I don't think he looks all that."

"He does. You're just jealous."

"Screw that... I'll show pretty boy."

I pretend like  I am asleep long enough to feel a marker on my face.  I jump up at that moment screaming as loud as I can.  I scare off what looks like a boy and girl.  They have to be about the age of five each.  I'm shocked when the boy who was drawing on my face with a marker lifts up into the sky.  And he just...suspends there.  He is just literally suspended in the sky as though being held up by something that I can't see!

What the fuck is this!

"Both of you!  Out!" someone barks as the door opens.

Just at that moment, the two disappear in thin air right in front of my eyes.  I realize that the person walking in the room is Cupid.

"What the..."

"Erotes..." Cupid says seeming highly annoyed, "They are winged gods of love.  Those two were Himeros, god of pressing love  and Anteros, god of unrequited love."

I just stare at him.  I just fucking keep staring at him.

"Where's my dad?"

"I should probably reintroduce myself to you.  You seem...nervous," Cupid states, "My name is Eros, but you can also call me Cupid.  I am t

~

I wake up.  Cupid is at the side of my bed.   He has a bow out.  It's some sort of high tech bow.  Some 21st-century hunting bow or something.  I swear it has night-vision scope on it.  He doesn't realize I'm up or at least I don't think he does until he says something.

"Don't try to move again just yet...you were injured by a god-killer.  A god-killer is a special weapon that can kill gods.  I don't know how that mortal got it, but it's one of the only things that can kill you."

"Why?"

Cupid turns to me, "Because you're an immortal Thad."

This kind of talk freaked me out.  I look down at the cut.  I remember the knife that Deandre had used.  It was a weird knife, that's for sure.  My whole day had been somewhat weird though.  I look over at Cupid trying to find understanding in all the shit that has happened that day.

"Cupid...I really need to talk to my dad."

"He said his goodbyes," Cupid explains, "Unfortunately you are not allowed to see him again.  There are rules against it.  There is a minor goddess named Nemesis who would kill him immediately if you even attempted to contact him again."

I sit up on the bed.  This was all so serious.  I want to cry, but I don't.  The tears don't come to my eyes.  As weird as all of this was, I had this feeling in my head that it was coming.

How else could you explain my life? Deep inside I always knew something would change and I think my dad did too. I didn't belong in his world and we both knew that.

So I sigh, as strange as that sounds, and accept whatever Cupid is saying.

I was...

I was an immortal.

"Is he safe?" I ask.

Cupid nods, "Safer with you gone.  Yes."

For some reason, I feel...relief.  I can't speak to my father again, but I knew he didn't have me to worry about anymore.  He didn't have to keep moving.  He can settle down.  He can start his life.  I had thought so many times about running away.  Maybe this was the universe telling me that I needed a way out.  Besides, looking at the reflection in the mirror near my bed, I can't lie.   I'd always known I was different.

"Good," I state.

"That's all?" he asks.

"Yes."

"Do you need a moment to adjust? A moment alone?"

"No."

The expectation was there but I also feel anxious.  I'm on edge.

"This is a lot easier than I thought it would be," he says crossing his arms and giving me a hard look, as though trying to figure me out.

"I always knew I was different," I respond to him, "I guess I never imagined how different though.  Men are...attracted to me.  All of them.  If I want someone to fall for me I can make it happen just like that..."

I snap.

"Is that right?"

"Even you."

He laughs, "I don't doubt that you are stunning."

"And if I want them to be really devoted to me...I can make them obsessed...just with a thought.  Sometimes, it goes out of control."

"You give off pheromones," Cupid explains, "You can do with a stare what I can do with my bow.  Maybe that's why she chose you."

"Your mother?"

"Our mother."

I didn't look anything like Cupid, nor those two little kids who were outside of the hotel room playing loudly.   It made me wonder how she looked.

"She really dead?" I ask.

"She was swallowed by Titans."

"What are they?"

Cupid shakes his head, "The world is ruled by 12 gods. The gods of Mount Olympus. The twelve Titans were the group of gods immediately preceding the 12 Olympian Gods. The Olympians defeated the Titans in a battle — the Titanomachy.  Led by Zeus, the gods Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and our mother Aphrodite defeated them.  The Titans are sealed away.   But they were released and killed all the Olympians leaving only minor gods."

"Who released them?" I ask.

Cupid shrugs, "The Fates have it down to one of two people.  We'll worry about that though.  I want you to focus on your role.  We need to figure it out but before that, we need to replace them.  That's where you come in."

"I'm no Olympian."

"You are..." he explains, "Whether you want to be or not.  You are Thaddeus, God of Love."

I press my back against the headboard.  Not every day you hear some shit like this!

Cupid keeps studying my face.  It's as though he's expecting me to break.  I wish I could at that moment.  Maybe it would stop making him stare at me as though expecting something I wasn't too sure I was willing to give.

"And if I refuse?" I ask.

"You can't refuse destiny," he explains to me.

"I get what I want."

"You are used to getting things your way. And maybe it will even work on me. But not in this. In this, I cannot fold. You will succeed Aphrodite."

He was saying no to me. Men never said no to me. This had to be important.

"It's just..."

I pause.  It's all so awkward talking to Cupid.  He's a nice guy.  It wasn't that he wasn't being as soft-spoken and casual about it all.  It was just the stress.  A few days ago I was worried about whether I had what it took to get an extra 200 dollar bonus on my check.  Now he was telling me that I was the supreme god of love?

"Talk to me, brother," He states.

Hearing him call me that warms my heart a little bit.  It made me not feel so alone in this.  He was a god of attraction though.  Maybe he was used to knowing just how to talk to people to get them to like him.

"I don't feel much like a God."

"Not yet...but you will."

"When?"

"Tonight we are going to Olympus. You will meet the other Heirs.   The new 12 Olympians are going to be announced and then the trials begin."

He says it so smoothly as though I won't notice but I'm definitely paying attention to all his verbiage at this point.

"Trials?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

He doesn't answer. Cupid has this smile.  There it was.  The likable guy was out the window and it was misplaced by this mischievous guy who just reeked of impish rogue behavior.  I can see the glitter in his eyes and I just have an idea that things are going to go from really fucking weird to godly weird.

And I wasn't sure I was ready for any of it.

~

It's the middle of the night.   The Erotes are close by.  They are rude little shits.  Cupid drives us in a 2010 Camaro and the backseat is really small so I can hear all the shit they are talking about me.

"I thought he'd be taller," the boy says, "Like Apollo."

"Yeah me too," the girl says, "But he's clearly gay so I guess with homosexuals it doesn't matter how tall they are."

"Back in the day...most all of the Olympians had homosexual lovers."

"The minor gods are going to wear Thad out.  I guess we are going to have to design some sort of divine enema for the Gods."

I turn my head completely irritated by just how rude they are being.  They stop talking and give me a childish smile at that moment as though they are innocent.  I have to remember these people were way older than me because I literally want to have a sit down with the both of them about manners at this moment.

Cupid is completely immune to all of the talk, making me fear that this is something to be expected from the imp attendants.

"We're here," he states.

"I don't see anything..."

"The phone booth."

"What is this the Matrix?" I ask.

Cupid raises his eyebrows clueless about what I'm talking about.

It's one of the Erotes who budges in, "It's some human entertainment movie about a group of people who wake up to some deformed reality of what they thought was the real world."

"Oh," Cupid states, "In that case...I guess so. Or consider it similar.  Just go in the phone booth and dial 8490.   Once you arrive in Olympus go ahead and just wait for me before you board the subway."

"Olympus has a subway?"  I ask.

"What were you expecting?" Himeros asks, "A toga party?"

"Sort of..."

"That's only on Sundays."

I get out of the car and head to the booth.  I look over at the car and see that Cupid is getting bags out of the car.  They are clearly my stuff.  From the looks of it, it seems as though my father packed those things.  It makes me wonder how long I had been out.

I go to the booth.  My heart is pacing.  Once I do this I had a feeling it was no going back.  Once I did this, I had the feeling that I was really accepting this crazy path.  I was a god and I was going to Olympus...to live.  To rule.

I hit the button.

8490.

And then all of sudden the booth gets real bright.

~

When the booth clears up I know that I'm somewhere else.  I can feel it.  I look outside the booth and see what looks like a bustling train area.   It reminded me a lot of when I went to Grand Central station as a child. I remember Dad didn't want to let my hand go but I was so stubborn and shook him off.  I ran out into the crowd and got lost for ten minutes before finding him again.  I hadn't expected anything like this.  I didn't expect this place to be so...modern.

And then just when I feel as though there is no difference between my world and this world, I see someone who is over 8 feet tall walk past me.  It seems the high roofs have taken account the fact that there were giants walking around this place.

"Ticket?" a voice states.

I turn and see someone standing there.  He's just very...thin.  He is looking down at his watch.  That's when I notice something.  I notice pointed ears!  I notice clear beautiful wings.

"You're a fairy," I realize.

"No shit---Prometheus," the fairy states, "Hand me your ticket for boarding please."

"Actually my name is Thaddeus and I'm waiting for my brother to..." I start, "Uh..."

The fairy has looked up at me.  His eyes glare at me.

"You're...gorgeous..."

That look.  It was interesting that even in this world I still had that sort of control. Hey

"No boarding pass. Does that matter to you handsome?"

His face gets red, "You think I'm handsome?"

"Of course. You wouldn't mind me sitting, would you?" I ask, "To wait for my brother?"

"You can do anything you'd like," the fairy smiles at me.

He's clearly flirting.  I take a seat in the crowded station.  I'm looking around.  Everywhere I look I swear I see mythical creatures.  My heart is beating fast wondering what they all do here.  This place is bustling.  The fairies who are helping with the travel have on green uniforms with the words HERMES EXPRESS written on them.  Further past them are trains.  They remind me of subways except they glitter of gold as though they were made up of a million stars.    I stare at them and this excited smile just spreads across my face.

I don't realize that a commotion is taking place and all of a sudden I see this boy take off heading my way.  He's handsome.  Tall, dark, and completely shirtless.   His muscles were gleaming under the lights from the transit station.  He has on leather pants that are hanging so low they are drifting off of his body.  He moves unlike anyone I'd ever seen in my life.  He's beyond fast.  He dodges through people with ease without touching a single soul.

He slides across the floor and somehow ends up behind the bench I'm sitting on.

He is so intense!

"Please don't give me away," he whispers to me.

He's literally right behind me.  In the next moment, I see a group of what looks to be soldiers headed my way.  The soldiers have on a golden color.  The fit of their uniform reminds me a regular military uniform except for a golden plate that goes over it.  I also notice that they have spears instead of guns in their hands.   None-the-less they looked fierce and scary.  I sit completely still wondering why I'm protecting this guy as they file past towards the next subway terminal.

"They're gone," I state.

Just at that moment, he comes up from behind me.  He sits in the empty chair next to me and slouches over.  He's breathing heavy.  As he's breathing I realize a few very important things.  One---his breath smelled really good.  Two----he was more attractive up close than I thought he was.  Three----he had a tattoo on his forehead.  It was a triangle with an arrow inside pointing down to his nose.

"I owe you one," he states still catching his breath.

He has these really dark eyebrows.  His lips are so goddam kissable.  I can't stop looking at them.  It's his body, however, that makes him spectacular.  He didn't have a shirt on and I didn't think he ever needed to ever wear one again.  It was as though his body was molded by art.  There was no way he could be a mortal.  I'd never seen abs so perfectly defined, or nipples so perky on a defined chest.

"I'll have to take you up on that offer," I state.

"Sure..."

He was walking away without looking at me.  I don't know why I get desperate at that moment.  I reach for his arm.  I grab him and pull him back.  He looks me in my face.  He sees my face.

"Wait a while."

"Really got to get going man," he states.

I'm shocked.  He looks at my face as though it's nothing.  He looks at my face as though I don't mean a fucking thing.  There is no long stare.  There is no deep connection.  I was putting out every pheromone I ever could at that moment but nothing. You would think he was looking at a blank wall by how he's staring at me.

"But...it's me..." I state.

I don't know why I say it.  The words just come out.  No man had ever NOT given me attention.

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

After a lifetime of being stalked by anyone who I wanted there was someone who seemed completely immune to it.  He looks at me as though I'm the most basic person.  He looks at me as though it doesn't matter how beautiful I am.  He doesn't cry like Cupid did or change his tone or anything of the sort.  He acts completely normal.

Just as I get shocked I see an arrow zoom past him.  I turn at that moment and realize the person who shot the arrow was Cupid.

"Get away from him Deimos!" Cupid barks, "That was a warning shot."

Deimos. It was a beautiful name.

The boy with that tattoo on his forehead instantly turns and starts freerunning down the train station using parkour to get through it all.   I am hypnotized by how he moves.  I can't help but keep watching him.

"We'll pursue," the Erotes tell Cupid.

I watch as they take off.  They aren't running though.  They are flying down after the boy with the tattoo with bows bigger than they were.

"Are you OK?" Cupid asks.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Trouble," Cupid responds.

~

We're on the train before I know it.  I look out of the window.  It's clear that we are headed up a mountain or something.  It seems like we are going up hill.  Every few minutes it stops and I'm amused by the name of the stop. According to Cupid everything was separated by bureaus broken out into different subdivisions.  For example we go through several stops for the Nymph Bureau.  I see beautiful pale women exit the train in long flowy gowns and sandals.  They look like hippies.  They are all laughing.  Cupid tells me that's normal for Nymphs.   Each stop In the Nymph bureau is broken into different subdivisions.  The subdivisions were based on the different types of nymphs which were based on natural features such as mountains (oreads), trees and flowers (dryads and meliae), springs, rivers and lakes (naiads) or the sea (nereids).

"Nymphs are natural deities.  Very important!  The Nymph bureau protects the rights of Nymphs everywhere.  The Goddess Artemis was their patron, when she was alive that is..." he tells me.

Cupid isn't really worried about the Erotes pursuing the sexy guy.  Truth is I can't get my mind off of him.  Sure the nymph talk was fascinating.  But they weren't sex demons who ran up on me the moment I entered the immortal world. There was something about him that was just so...real.  There was no other word to describe it but real.

"That guy that you shot at...what was he?"

"He was a god.  His name is Deimos.   His name means dread.   His twin brother is Phobos who is personified by panic and fear.   Since the death of the Olympians, the two have been attempting to kill each other to become the heir to Ares."

"That means they are the sons of Ares?" I ask.

He nods, "Yes. Deimos is the son of Ares and Aphrodite."

"He's our brother?" I ask, "Damn...I was interested."

"That shouldn't be a reason to be concerned.  Most of the gods are related if you think of it."

"Well oh..."

"However you should be concerned.  I won't let him around you. You are much too important. The reason you should be concerned is because remember I told you that the Fates found out who released the Titans?"

"Yeah..."

Cupid leans in close, "Well it was either Deimos or his twin brother Phobos."

 

 

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