“No.”
“It is a fountain that I happen to have in my possession…on this very terrace in fact. It has the ability to show truth to those who drink from its refreshing waters. It might show things that have happened, or are happening or will happen in the future. But whatever it shows you is relevant in some significant way to you.”
I remembered seeing him drinking from a fountain just yesterday, from a plain tin cup.
“You drank from it yesterday, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Yes, I did. And that is how I can be so sure that we will prevail.”
“What did you see?” I asked hesitantly. “Do you know if any of us die fighting Zeus?”
“I didn’t see that,” he answered solemnly. “Although the odds would suggest that some of us will die. But this fight is worth the risk, Em.”
I knew that was true. But it didn’t keep me from wanting to know if any of my loved ones would perish.
“What did you see?” I asked again.
Hades was silent for a moment as he stared pensively into space. He swirled his nectar around the bottom of his glass before he finally spoke.
“I didn’t see the actual war,” he admitted. “I saw what life appears to be like afterward. It is peaceful and pleasant… perfect, really.”
“Perfect?”
“Yes. It seems to be so. At least for me. I couldn’t see anyone else. Would you like to drink and see what it will show you?”
I nodded. I both wanted and didn’t want to see what it would show me.
I approached the old fountain hesitantly with Hades and stood as he dipped the plain cup into the icy cold waters. He brought it to me, the water dripping down the sides of the cup. I took it from him and without hesitation, I sipped the water.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, my thoughts were consumed with visions so clear that they seemed to be happening right in front of me.
I saw Ares swinging a sword, fighting in a bloody battle.
I saw Aphrodite crying on an ornate chair, her eyes red and bloodshot.
I saw Harmonia and Cadmus fighting side-by-side behind Ares.
I saw the Amazons yelling as they rode into battle.
The scene was most certainly one of war. There was screaming and blood and the loud clang of weapons being hurled and struck. In the sky, a blood red sun hung low. It was as crimson as it could be and as I watched, blood dripped into the sky and leaked onto the earth below. This vision was strange. Clearly the bloody sun was a metaphor for something. The sun couldn’t actually bleed.
And then I saw Brennan.
He was fighting as hard as anyone else, his muscular body glistening with sweat as he heaved a heavy silver sword. Blood streaked down his arms from wounds that he had sustained, superficial, non-threatening wounds. I covered my mouth with my hand as I watched the fierce expression on his face. War had changed him into a man, that was for certain. His eyes were jaded as he fought, something I’d hoped I would never see. I had wanted him to always keep his youthful outlook.
And then I gasped. More startling than Brennan’s skills in war was the person whom he was fighting beside.
Armed with an identical sword, Apollo fought by Brennan’s side.
My eyes flew to Hades as the tin cup fell from my hands and clanged on the stone terrace tiles. Apollo was on Zeus’ side. Why would Brennan be fighting with him?
“I know not,” Hades answered my silent question. “And I believe we will not know for some time to come, until all of the truths of this war are revealed to us. Come, do not dwell on it now, daughter. Let us rejoin the others. There is much to discuss.”
I nodded silently, still not able to trust my voice. Surely Brennan wouldn’t defect to Zeus’ side. Surely, he wouldn’t. He would never leave me. He promised.
I walked slowly back to my seat and Brennan smiled.
“I was starting to worry,” he said, stroking my hand lightly. “You were taking awhile.”
“Oh, I’m fine,” I answered. “I was just talking to Hades.”
Brennan nodded, satisfied, and continued to stroke my hand. I watched his fingers moving absently as I thought about what I’d seen. There had to be an explanation for it, something that I just didn’t know yet. Brennan would never forsake me. Not ever. If he was fighting with Apollo, there had to be a valid reason. Hades was right. All would be revealed in due time. The only thing certain right now was that there was going to be a war.
And I knew who would be fighting with me. I looked around the table at each earnest face. That much was certain, too. Everyone here would fight for me.
I looked down at Brennan’s hands again and focused on his black wedding ring.
Time is nothing…Love is everything.
Time would tell. Time would tell who would live, who would die and who would turn against us. Until then, we just had to hold on to those that we loved and everything that we held dear. That was all that we could do. And then when the time came, we would fight for what we believed in… we would fight for our lives.
Hopefully, we would win.
The End