Chapter 18: Kirk

                Kirk studied his ring. He turned it in his hands and practiced drawing out the cestus and the sword. He finally slipped on the ring. Again, he was amazed at how much of a perfect fit it was. Almost like it was made around his fingers. “Yeah. I don’t even know where to start to find some magical golden apples.”

                “Well, that’s why we have this.” Aphrodite said before waving her hand. Out of thin air, she produced a rolled-up piece of paper. “The last time I lost these I made sure to put a little tracker on them. They show up as little blips on this map.” She said unrolling it, her slim fingers smoothing it out. “Right here, here, and here.” She said pointing on the map. Kirk looked at the map closely before taking a step back.

                “Where do we start? We have three options. Which one do we pick? Do you have a suggestion, Elise?” He said quietly. Elise was about to speak, but Aphrodite interrupted.

                “It doesn’t matter.” She interjected. “It’s up to you to decide where to start, but you need to get to it.” She said beginning to sound impatient. “So, if there aren’t any other questions, we’ll be going.” She said grabbing Ares by the hand and turning to leave.

                “Wait.” Kirk said taking a step forward. “What about our dad? What do we do about him?”

                “Do you feel like you need to tell him? He already knows that you’re demigods. Did you need to make sure that he’ll let you go?” Ares said in a teasing tone. “Goodbye, kids.”

                “Wait!” Kirk objected, but they were already gone. He fell back into a chair. “Can we do this?” He said quietly as he looked at his ring. He twisted it slowly on his finger. 

                “Isn’t this what demigods do?” Elise said quietly, looking at Kirk. Kirk stood up from his chair.

                “Theseus. Perseus. Hercules.” Kirk said quietly. “They all did stuff like this. We’re heroes like they are. We just need to prove it.” He said clearing his throat. He turned to Elise. “Are you sure that you’re okay doing this?”

                “Kirk, if this means meeting our moms then I’m all for it. We can do this.” She said looking into his eyes. “Do you think we need to talk to dad? It might just be better if we just leave. This doesn’t seem like it would be according to his plan.”

                “He really is trying.” Kirk said quietly. “We might as well just go, though. Come on.” He said before turning toward the door and walking out.

Chapter 17: Elise

“I’m not sure if this is legal.” Elise said, sounding rude and ungrateful. Which must have been why she had gotten such a cold look from the larger man.
“You don’t have to pick one kid.” Ares said to her curtly, getting a subduing hand out of Aphrodite.
“Hush Ares. Sometimes you can be so-nevermind.” She closed her delicate blue eyes and calmed herself. She had a power of the man, an unseen power that Elise could sense. Call it what you will, womanly wiles, or using her femininity, she had power over Ares and he wasn’t even aware. “You will need a weapon for this quest, Elise.” She said her name and for a moment it sounded sweeter and smoother than the world’s best milk chocolate.
“Before I do this, will you tell me about her?” Elise said, stepping closer to Aphrodite. “Please?” She pleaded, looking up at Aphrodite with doe eyes. Elise desperately wanted to know about her mother, anything she could. She didn’t care if Aphrodite had said, ‘She likes to wash her clothes in cold water.’ It would have been more than enough for Elise.
“Your mother is beautiful and strong. A very good combination.” Aphrodite smile down at Elise and stroked her face with her hand. Her smooth skin graced Elise’s cheek and lingered near her chin. “If you do this, you can meet her yourself.”
Elise knew that Aphrodite was using Elise’s desire to see her mother to get her to do the quest, but she didn’t care. She wanted to meet her mother since the day she asked her grandparents who her mother was. They didn’t answer her, they couldn’t answer her, but now the answers were right before her and she needed to know them. From the history books Elise has read she knew the gods were deceiving and said one thing but meant another. She also knew that the only way to ensure that their end of the bargain would be fulfilled was the River Styx.
“Swear on the River Styx.” Elise said confidently, look Aphrodite in the eye. “Swear that you will take Kirk and I to Olympus to see our mothers.” She demanded, seeing a smirk tugging at Aphrodite’s pink lips.
“I swear on the River Styx.” She raised her right hand and smiled at Elise. “Now please, pick a weapon.” Her hand moved toward the box of weapons held out by Ares.
When Elise stepped back and looked at Kirk he had a look on his face that read, ‘You could’ve gotten us killed’, but Elise ignored it and turned to Ares. “How many do we pick?”
“As much as you think you’ll need.” Ares said with a smirk, holding the box a little lower for Elise to reach easily.
Her eyes traveled across each weapon. They all glimmered and gleamed in the light. Their blades and points were sharp and fresh, as if Ares himself had just sharpened them. Her hand touched a small golden blade.
“I’ll take this one.” She took the blade out of the box and held it up. She watched the metals shine in the light as it turned.
“A knife? Close combat. You seemed the type.” Ares nodded at Elise. “You next kid.” He shot a look at Kirk who flinched subtly.
Kirk walked up to the box and looked it over. His hand reached for a couple weapons but retreated as he questioned himself. Finally he pulled out a bronze cestus and an old fashioned Spartan sword.
“Spartan sword and a cestus? Nice choices.” Ares managed a smile that still seemed to look like a scowl. He closed his box of weapons and made it disappear.

“Pardon me asking but,” Elise started, getting a look from Kirk. “Oh relax, I just have a question about out weapons.” She rolled her eyes at him, then looked at Aphrodite and Ares. “How so we…carry these around? I mean they aren’t that conspicuous.” Elise held up her knife.
“I could hide them in an object if you like.” Ares suggested, stepping forward a bit and holding out his hands. “Got anything in mind?” He asked the two kids.
Kirk looked at Elise, then his weapons, then back to Elise. “I-“ He started, a little nervous as he stepped toward the god of war. “Could you hid them here?” He slipped off his ring and held it up to Ares.
“Clever boy! The sword on one side and the cestus on the other! He must have gotten the brains!” Ares let out a hearty chuckled and took the weapons and ring. Holding them both in his hands he clapped them together. A bright light emitted from the weapons as they shrunk and soon disappeared all together. When Ares opened his hands and all that was left was Kirk’s ring. “Sword on this side.” He showed Kirk the side of his ring with a lightning bolt. “Cestus on the other.” He flipped it to the side with the music note. “Simple, right?” Ares handed Kirk back his ring and held out his hand to Elise.
“Oh, I don’t…” Elise looked down at her knife and back up at Ares.
“Here.” Aphrodite said in a calm voice as she walked over and slipped the necklace off of Elise’s head. “Put it on this charm.” She held the black raven’s feather charm up to Ares, who took it gently from Aphrodite’s slender hands.
Elise walked up to Ares and handed him the knife. He did the same with her charm and knife as he did with Kirk’s ring and weapons. Soon her raven feather charm contained a golden knife. Elise slipped the necklace over her head and looked at her brother who practiced summoning the two different weapons.
“Where do we go first?” Elise asked in a timid voice, her fingers playing with her new charm/weapon.

Chapter 16: Kirk

Kirk was…speechless. His mind kicked itself into overdrive. He sat down and put his face in his hands. “Where are the signs?” He muttered to himself as he searched through the memory of his life. “The dream. The picture. The ring. The- The ring.”  He suddenly stood and the thrusted his hand into his pocket. The grabbed the ring and pulled it out. “What is this? Is this from my mom?” He said, frantically holding it out to Ares and Aphrodite. Ares took the ring from his hand.

“Good ole Celestial Bronze. It’s from your mom alright.” He said flipping the ring back to Kirk. “Lightning bolt. That means Zeus. He took your mom as a consort and they made the Muses. Hence the music note.” Kirk stared at the ring for a moment before finally slipping it on his finger.

“Well, what about the message inside? ‘Stay on your guard’? Stay on my guard for what? What am I supposed to watch out for?” He asked quietly. Ares looked at the pile of dust, formerly known as Tiffany.

“I probably just killed it.” Ares said bitterly, his eyes glowing slightly. “Look. Enough questions. Are you going to help her or not?” Ares said impatiently. Kirk fell backward into his chair.

“I…I failed….” He muttered to himself. He was heartbroken.

“Aww…be nice, honey. This is big news for them.” Aphrodite said with a sigh. Ares turned to her.

“Come on. They can’t help us.” He said with a sneer before turning to leave.

“Hey!” Elise said, taking a step forward. “Why us? What is it you need help with?” She asked, trying as hard as she can trying to seem brave. Aphrodite looked at her with a small smile.

“I need you to collect something for me.” She said calmly. She tucked her hair behind her ears and wiped an eyelash from her face. “A uh…friend of mine. He collected these apples. Golden ones actually. He collected them for me in exchange for my…affection.” She said choosing her words carefully. “And so he brought them to me. And my end of the bargain slipped my mind. And that jerk! He took them back and scattered them all over England!” She said, looking at Elise.

“Okay. So-“

“I mean who does that?!” Aphrodite asked looking at Ares and then back at Elise.

“So what-“

“Can you believe that?! He just took them from me!”

“What do-“

“MY apples! My golden apples! He took-“

“ENOUGH ABOUT THE DAMN APPLES!” Elise shouted, a few strands of her brown hair falling into her face. She took a few deep breaths and blinked a few times. “So, what? What do you want us to do about it? Find the guy? Kill him? I’ve never even touched any kind of weapon. I can’t kill anyone.” She said with a shrug.

“She wants us to get them back.” Kirk said quietly, having finally regained his composure. “So, are you sending us on a quest? Like Odysseus or Theseus? Like the other heroes?” Kirk said, standing up and walking over to stand next to Elise. Aphrodite still looked shocked from Elise’s outburst. Ares glared at Elise before looking at Kirk.

“A quest of sorts. It’s more of a favor.” Ares explained. Kirk looked at the two gods for a second, his mind deep in thought.

“Well, if this is a quest, then there’s no way we don’t run into a monster like Tiffany. How do we defend ourselves? You gonna give us that sword of yours?” Kirk asked plainly. Ares’ eyes flared under his red sunglasses.

“Don’t even think about touching my sword.” He said aggressively. “Defending yourself is where I come in.” He snapped his fingers and a table full of weapons appeared in front of him. “Take your pick.”

Chapter 15: Elise

Kirk stood there like an idiot as the more than hideous woman tried to kiss him. Elise cringed as he puckered, then cringed again, when a blade shot out of her stomach. When a woman with long blonde hair walked out. She was crazy beautiful, like the woman before was a scraggly rock compared to a princess cut diamond.
“A-Aphrodite? A-Ares?” Elise stumbled through her words. “Like the Greek gods?” Elise took several shaky breaths, not entirely sure what had happened. She had read about Aphrodite and Ares getting it on. Only to be caught by Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s jealous husband, but that was only in storybooks.
“Well I’m a goddess, but yes. The very same.” Aphrodite smiled, her brilliant white teeth all in a perfect line. Her feminine features were graced with no makeup but she looked better than the stars on the red carpet. The man next to her was big and bulky. He looked like a jock that never grew out of his letterman jacket. Instead he switched it for a leather one.
“W-why to do y-you need to talk to us?” Kirk stammered, embarrassing himself. His cheeks flushed and he looked away, causing Aphrodite to giggle softly.
“I need the help of two very worthy demigods.” Aphrodite smiled and looked at Elise who was holding it together better than Kirk. “I have lost some things of mine.” She spoke so sweetly. Her voice sounded like milk and honey.
“What are demigods?” Elise asked, at the risk of sounding stupid. “Demi means…”
“Half. In Greek.” Aphrodite informed her. “Demigods are also known as half-bloods, or heroes.” She smiled. “Offspring of the gods and mortals.”
“Oh…” Elise still didn’t understand. Why was she talking to them…wait. Why were they talking to her? She could be a robber or a pedophile for all she knew. “I must be bonkers. I almost believed that you were the actual goddess, Aphrodite.”
“Elise Black, of course I am.” Aphrodite smiled and stepped forward. “Don’t you realize that the world is so much more than people perceive? Take the empousai. You could see her for what she was, am I right?”
“You mean an ugly witch?” Aphrodite giggled and nodded at Elise. Kirk stood, his mouth still ajar.
“Wait, are you saying that we…” Kirk pointed at his sister then himself, staring at Aphrodite. “Are children of Greek gods?”
“Weren’t you listening!?” The burly man named Ares, stepped forward. Kirk flinched and stepped back.
“Now I know I’m mad.” Kirk muttered to himself, loud enough for Elise to hear. She looked at her brother then at Aphrodite.
“The Greek gods are alive and well children. So are the stories surrounding them. You two are just two characters in these new chapters of Olympus.” She smiled at Elise then Kirk, who flushed a deep red. “I need your help.” She said with a soft smile, her whole body seemed to radiate at the same time.
“Okay, with what?” Kirk answered a little too eagerly.
“Shut up Kirk!” Elise hit his shoulder and stepped in front of him. “If we are children of the gods then who are our mothers?” She demanded of Aphrodite to tell her. Elise knew very well that her father was not Greek god. She knew that he was the furthest thing from it. Since neither Kirk nor Elise knew their mothers, they had to be the godly ones, if this woman wasn’t as bonkers as Elise thought she was.
“You two have not been claimed yet?” Aphrodite raised a delicate hand to her mouth. Turning to Ares she whispered something that sounded like. “If Zeus hears about this…” She said something inaudible. “We have to tell them. If not, then it goes against the promise.” Ares nodded at her and she turned back to them.
“What promise?” Elise began to get angry. She wanted to know who her mother was so badly. Sometimes she would stay up at night and wonder if her mother had always been in her life, she was just to oblivious to notice. Other times she would wonder if her mother was even alive, or why she didn’t care about her daughter. “I want answers!” Elise stomped her foot.
“Kirk Black, son of memories, prince to the throne of the forgotten and the remembered. Son of Mnemosyne.” Kirk’s mouth dropped as a small symbol appeared above his head. Elise didn’t notice it, she was too busy looking at her own when Aphrodite told her who her mother was.
“Elise Black, daughter of the night, heir to the hours of darkness. Daughter of Nyx.” Elise felt her body relax, like a weight was lifted. Looking up she saw a picture, blurred at the edges. It was a starry night sky. In the star she made out a face, very angular and intense, and yet it looked delicate and loving.

Chapter 14: Kirk

Kirk smiled back at Elise. “Just watching out for you, sis.” He said with a chuckle. The two of them followed close behind their father, Elise snapping pictures the whole time.

                “Ah! Here we are!” Their father exclaimed, paying very little attention to what had just happened with his children. He enthusiastically swung open the door and stepped inside. Kirk and Elise sighed before following him into the posh lobby.

                “Can I help you, sir? The secretary asked with a, more than likely mandatory, smile on her face. Their father nodded and stepped toward her desk.

                “We’re here to see the Dean. Nigel is treating us to lunch and then giving us a-“

                “Paul! Kirk! Wonderful to see you!” Nigel interrupted as he stepped out of his office. He walked over and gave the two of them friendly, hand-crushing, handshakes before turning to Elise. “and this beautiful girl must be Elise. It’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady.” He said giving her a much softer greeting. He turned to Paul. “You ready for lunch, old chap? We can catch up over cocktails!” He said with a hearty laugh as he patted Paul on the shoulder.

                “Cocktails? My kids are barely old enough to drive.” Paul said, his brow furrowed. Nigel chuckled.

                “No, no, no, It’ll be just us. They won’t be joining us. They’ll be getting a tour.” Nigel said insistently. “Did I say –My mistake. My apologies, children. I’m getting old. First thing to go is your head!” He said with a hearty laugh again. Just then, a door opened behind Kirk. He turned to see the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “Ah. Tiffany.” Nigel said, fixing his hair. “Thank you for coming on such late notice. This is Kirk and Elise Black.” He said before glancing Tiffany up and down. Elise looked at Nigel with disgust before turning to Kirk and rolling her eyes. He slapped him in the arm, knocking him out of the trance.

“Put your eyes back in your head, would you?” She said rolling her eyes. “Hi, Tiffany. I’m Elise.” She said calmly. Tiffany gave her a short glance before turning back to Kirk.

“Hi, Kirk. I’m Tiffany. I’ll be showing you around for a while.” She said, walking past him and grazing his arm with her fingers. “What do you say? Shall we be off?” She said with a wink. Kirk nodded goofily.

“Let’s get going, then, Paul.” Nigel said as he gave a small nod to Kirk and Elise. “Thanks again, Tiffany.” He said before giving her one last glance and walking out. Paul walked over to Kirk and Elise and looked them in the eye.

“I want you two on your best behavior.” He said letting his eyes linger on Elise just a moment longer. “Pay attention to what this young lady has to say. It could be very important.” He said seriously before nodding and following Nigel out the door. Tiffany watched Paul and Nigel walk out before turning to Kirk.

“Well, Kirk.” She said looking him up and down before taking a few steps forward. “Why don’t you come over here and give me a kiss?” She said giving him a radiant smile. Kirk’s eyes widened and he took a step forward. Elise grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a look. Tiffany waved a hand and Elise froze in place. Kirk stared in terror as his sister became seemingly petrified.

“What did you do to her?!” He asked backing away from her. Suddenly, she transformed into a horrible creature with fiery hair and white skin. Bearing red fangs at Kirk she waved for him to come closer.

“Come. Give me a kiss.” She said with a seductive voice. Kirk couldn’t resist. He didn’t have control. He took a step forward. Trying to stop he took another step forward and another until she was right in front of him. She put a hand on his chest and as she moved her head forward Kirk felt something sharp press up against his stomach. Tiffany froze and Kirk backed up. He looked down to see the tip of a sword protruding from her stomach. Behind her he saw a man in a leather jacket with scars on his cheeks. He lifted the sword up splitting Tiffany in half. She exploded into dust. Kirk turned to Elise and caught her just as she started moving again.

“Empousai.” The man in the leather jacket said, sheathing his sword. He walked over to an office door and knocked. “You can come out now, babe. They’re here.”

“Empousai? As in the Greek monster, Empousai? Who are you?” Kirk asked, his mind trying to absorb what just happened. The door opened and out stepped a beautiful woman. She was indescribably beautiful. Kirk couldn’t speak, he was so enamored with the woman.

“Oh, Ares.” She said pouting slightly. “You got dust all over the floor.” She sighed looking at where Tiffany had been standing before turning to Kirk and Elise. “Oh, hi! Come on into my office.” She said smiling at her. Kirk stared at them both.

“What is going on?” Kirk said starting to become frustrated with his confusion. He looked around. He hadn’t realized it until now, but the room was empty. The secretary had disappeared no one else was there. The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Oh. Silly me. I’m Aphrodite. This is Ares. We need to talk to you.”

Chapter 13: Elise

Elise followed her father and her brother. She admired each building’s structure, the details of each stone and roof tile. It was beautiful. She raised her camera to her eye and snapped dozens of photos to be painted later.

“Beautiful.” She muttered, looking down at her camera she continued to follow her brother and father. Elise wasn’t looking and ran into someone holding books, knocking them all over the ground. “Oh! Sorry!” She blushed and knelt down to pick them up.

“It’s no problem.” A male voice rang in her ears. He sounds hot. Elise thought to herself and looked up to see hazel eyes. “I wasn’t really paying attention anyway.” He smiled, revealing the straight white pearls that were his teeth. Elise blinked a couple times, trying to figure out what her name was.

“I-“ She gulped down the lump in her throat. “I was uh…” Smooth Elise, smooth.

“Taking pictures?” He smirked at her, picking up another book. His soft brown hair was a little spiky, not so much that he looked like a porcupine, enough that made Elise want to run her fingers through all of it.

“Yeah.” Elise looked down and picked up the last of his books and handed them to him. “Sorry about that.” Elise shrugged. She could feel her face becoming hot and bright red.

“It’s no problem.” He giggled. “I’m Ryan.” He extended a hand, balancing his books in the other.

“Elise.” She said, blushing. “You aren’t from the UK are you?” Are you flirting with a college guy? You go Elise. She cheered herself on.

“I was born in here, but I’ve been living in the US with my mom.” He smiled at her. Was he flirting back? Yes, yes he was. “Got accepted here, so I thought it would be good to get back to my hometown.”

“Cool. Are you-“ Elise was about to ask a question when she felt a tug on her arm. Turning with a scowl she saw Kirk with a smirk.

“Hi, Kirk.” Her annoying brother extended his hand and shook Ryan’s. “I’m her brother, we have to get going. Nice meeting you.” He nodded at Ryan, who smiled at Kirk then Elise.

“Oh, here. You dropped this.” Ryan handed Elise a silver necklace tucked between his papers.

“This isn’t mine.” She took the silver chain and held it up. On it was one charm, a black raven feather, just a little smaller than her pinky.
“It isn’t mine.” Ryan shrugged and looked at Elise. “Keep it. I sure don’t want it.” He chuckled and waved goodbye as Kirk dragged her off.

“You suck.” She muttered as Kirk dragged her along.

“Oh shush.” He rolled his eyes at her. Elise glanced up at Kirk then down at the necklace Ryan had given her. She slipped the long silvery chain over her neck. For a moment the charm seemed to hum and whisper her name. Looking down it hung there, completely normal. For some reason Elise felt like the necklace did belong to her.

Chapter 12: Kirk

Kirk slipped the ring onto his middle finger. It was a perfect fit.  The ring looked like a normal class ring. It was gold and had an amber-colored stone in the middle. He took it off and examined it more closely. There was a lightning bolt engraved on one side and a musical note on the other. He felt the engravings. The ring didn’t look new, but the engravings seemed fresh. He turned the ring and read the inscription. ‘Μείνετε σε επιφυλακή σας. - M’ He stared at it after reading it. He could tell that it was Greek. He read it over a few times. ‘Stay on your guard.’ It translated into. “M?” He said to himself. “Mom?” Just then a short rap on the door startled Kirk back to reality. He threw the box into a drawer and slipped the ring into his pocket. He walked over and opened the door a crack. His father was standing there anxiously peeking in. Kirk rolled his eyes and opened it all the way.

                “Are you ready?” his father asked appearing nervous.

                “No, it’s only 9:30. Dad what is wrong with you?” His father sat down in Kirk’s desk chair. Kirk eyed him suspiciously and sat down on the edge of his bed.

                “I just want to make sure this goes well. That’s all.” His father shifted in the chair. He patted the armrest then stood back up. “Well, get ready or we’re going to be late.” He said with a nod. He excused himself and left. Kirk stood there briefly staring at the door. He shook his head a few times. He pulled the ring back out and slipped it on. Kirk shrugged and set it on his bed. He took out his typical outfit and changed out of his post-shower clothes and into them. He slipped on the ring and laced up his sneakers. He checked his watch. It was just now turning 9:45. He sighed and headed down to the den. He grabbed the newspaper and sat down a few moments later he heard footsteps on the stairs. He folded down the newspaper and looked up to see his sister. Kirk’s eyes widened at the vision of Elise. She looked older and more mature. The only thing that helped Kirk remember who it was he was looking at was the camera hanging from her neck. She descended the stairs and stood in front of Kirk. Kirk put down the newspaper.

“Wow, Elise. Where’d you get that dress?” He asked with a smile. Elise giggled bashfully and looked down at the dress.

“Kensi picked it out. Apparently, dad told her to do some shopping.” Elise had a warm smile on her face.

“Well, you look beautiful.” Kirk told her. She giggled again. “So are you ready to take some pictures?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean I hate it when I’m forced to do something, but I really do see that father is trying.” She said studying the ground and fidgeting slightly. Kirk smile softly.

“Well, if you ever need to talk to someone. Or if you want to just knock off while you’re here….” Kirk gestured toward himself. Elise smiled again. He walked over and hugged her. At the same moment, their father walked in.

“Well,” he said brightly. “Are we ready to go?” Kirk and Elise nodded. “Then let’s go.” The two of them followed their father into the garage and into the car. In a moment, they were off. Needless to say, their father was more excited about the visit then Kirk and Elise were. The car ride there mostly consisted of Kirk staring out the window, Elise taking pictures of the architecture, and their father telling them how great it will be. They finally arrived on campus and Paul parked the car. The three of them got out and looked up at the campus. “Let’s go, gang.” He said as he led the way to where they would be meeting Nigel for lunch.